Movie Talk

I love Best in Show. I'd rank it very high on that list. I have a soft spot for Harold and Kumar - I've seen it several times. I too have seen a bunch of them and they were all fine for the most part.

I still don't see Sideways as a number 1. Though I don't have a substitute.

Morganna said:

I saw several of the movies on the list of 45 but other than Best in Show, I didn't care for any of them. Comedy is trickier than drama.

I remember thinking at the time it was in theaters that Sideways was a fun little movie that was way over-hyped for its own good.  I doubt I would have even thought of it if I was making my own list, much less as No.  1.    There's also the problem of the broad definition of comedy.  E.g., I liked Lady Bird a whole lot but not sure I viewed it as a comedy to an extent that would make me think of it for a comedy list.  Glad Obvious Child made the list.  Worthy.

And on a list of 45, I would have included Pinapple Express.  A silly stoner comedy but I just love the bromance reparte between Rogen and Franco and, later, Danny McBride.  

Personally, I'd stick Dodgeball on that list and maybe We Are the Millers. Not high art, but pretty funny.

My mind is opening up:  Chef (funny and feel good with great cast) (87% rating on RT), the Duplass brothers movies, especially Cyrus, with John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, and Marisa Tomei (80% on RT).

I liked Chef a lot, but then I'm a big fan of cooking shows too. Never saw Cyrus.

It's a strange list for sure. I'd add Forgetting Sarah Marshall, In Bruges, The Lego Movie, Booksmart, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Zombieland, both Paddingtons, Mean Girls, Chicken Run... 

All of which made me laugh more than most of that top 10.

When a comedy list includes Parasite, the effort shows.

We had a comedy list up not long ago that had real treasures on it. Don't know why this list didn't do it for me. I'd rather laugh than eat.

Actually there are a few commercials that always make me chuckle. I thought it deserved a thread but wondered if there was enough good material. I love Dr. Rick on those Progressive Insurance commercials. 

Morganna said:

We had a comedy list up not long ago that had real treasures on it. Don't know why this list didn't do it for me. I'd rather laugh than eat.

Actually there are a few commercials that always make me chuckle. I thought it deserved a thread but wondered if there was enough good material. I love Dr. Rick on those Progressive Insurance commercials. 

 My wife just said "The waiter doesn't need to know your name."  We love those commercials.

bub said:

 My wife just said "The waiter doesn't need to know your name."  We love those commercials.

 The facial expression when a man asks, "Was I hashtagging?"

The way he snatches the sign "No fussin, no cussin, ...... and throws it in the garbage.

He's classic.

I watched The Entertainer for the first time the other night. It’s a comfort to know that as I near the end of my sixth decade on Earth, a performance by one of the most prolific and commonly praised actors of his century — to the point of no longer giving him a second thought — can still be a revelation. My God, Lawrence Olivier, that was sublime.

I can’t remember if this came up here before, but a while ago a Twitter thread solicited picks for favorite three-movie streaks by a performer. (The parts didn’t have to be star turns; some of the more interesting suggestions involved bit players with cameos in back-to-back-to-back great films.) I’d put Olivier’s trifecta of The Devil’s Advocate, The Entertainer and Spartacus right up there.

Do you mean The Devil's Disciple?

DaveSchmidt said:

I watched The Entertainer for the first time the other night. It’s a comfort to know that as I near the end of my sixth decade on Earth, a performance by one of the most prolific and commonly praised actors of his century — to the point of no longer giving him a second thought — can still be a revelation. My God, Lawrence Olivier, that was sublime.

I can’t remember if this came up here before, but a while ago a Twitter thread solicited picks for favorite three-movie streaks by a performer. (The parts didn’t have to be star turns; some of the more interesting suggestions involved bit players with cameos in back-to-back-to-back great films.) I’d put Olivier’s trifecta of The Devil’s Advocate, The Entertainer and Spartacus right up there.

 This I will give thought

Pacino:

Serpico, GF2, Dog Day Afternoon

drummerboy said:

Do you mean The Devil's Disciple?

 Whoops, yes. My brain had corrected itself, but the fingers didn’t get the message.

A Dustin Hoffman quartet, 1973-76:

Papillon

Lenny

All the President's Men

Marathon Man

Tracey Walter: Midnight Run, Married to the Mob, Batman.

Catching up with movies long on my mental list,  from cult trash to exalted art film.

The former is "Q: The Winged Serpent," a low budget over the top horror movie with a lot filmed on location in early 80 NYC, starring Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, and Richard Roundtree.  I recommend it.  It won't scare you.   Just stupid fun.

At the other end is "The Seventh Seal," starring the striking looking young Max Von Sydow.  Good enough to watch.  Has a Euro art film tendency towards an excessive amount of existential brooding and musing by all of the characters.  

Memorial Day = Sergeant York

bub said:

Catching up with movies long on my mental list,  from cult trash to exalted art film.

The former is "Q: The Winged Serpent," a low budget over the top horror movie with a lot filmed on location in early 80 NYC, starring Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, and Richard Roundtree.  I recommend it.  It won't scare you.   Just stupid fun.

At the other end is "The Seventh Seal," starring the striking looking young Max Von Sydow.  Good enough to watch.  Has a Euro art film tendency towards an excessive amount of existential brooding and musing by all of the characters.  

 The Seventh Seal! I saw most of Bergman's films. Yes lots of brooding about God's silence. When it came to Euro art films, I leaned towards all things Fellini.

drummerboy said:

Memorial Day = Sergeant York

 I've been watching Born on the 4th of July. I would love to see Coming Home, which is never played.

Groucho, Harpo, and/or Chico:

Animal Crackers

Monkey Business

Duck Soup

A Night at the Opera

A Day at the Races

As a kid I was a huge fan of Dean Martin's Matt Helm secret agent movies. So, today as I was looking at the TV schedule, I noticed a movie called The Silencers, and I said, gee, that sounds very familiar, and sure enough, it's a 1966 Matt Helm movie, which I do remember seeing way back when.

But what struck me was the accompanying graphic, which is about the most ridiculously phallic movie poster I can remember. I'm sure that at age 9 though, the reference, er, blew right by me.

Geez how obvious and absurd.  

Today is Dean Martin’s birthday.

That would explain all the Dean Martin movies on TCM.

Just watched Oslo. Terrific. 

jeffl said:

Just watched Oslo. Terrific. 

 I thought it was great. Posted on the politics thread asking if anyone had watched it.

Watching The Quick and the Dead. I'm not a big western fan, but this one kicks butt. My favorite.

And when does Gene Hackman get his Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oscars? The Golden Globes did it almost 20 years ago.

drummerboy said:

Watching The Quick and the Dead. I'm not a big western fan, but this one kicks butt. My favorite.

And when does Gene Hackman get his Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oscars? The Golden Globes did it almost 20 years ago.

 Hmmm, sounds like an invitation to list favorite Gene Hackman films.

Did he first rise to fame in The French Connection films? Just watched him a few weeks ago in The Firm.