Movie Night

TNR said...eh, forget it.

Yesterday, Ace of Spades talked about the best movie made from a computer game (Mindsweeper). But later in the post, he asks his guests a couple of more inclusive questions:

1. Guy Movies That You Can Force A Chick To Watch Which She Might, Possibly, Somehow End Up Kinda-Sorta Liking, and

2. Movies You Should Not Even Bother Forcing A Chick To Watch Unless Two Hours Of Accusatory Silence Is Your Idea of A Really Good Time

For the most part, I’m not a chick-flick fan (with some exceptions). But then, I’m not an average chick but a military-indoctrinated chick--a retiree of the USAF/USAFR—and I would say that this fact makes a difference as to my entertainment choices. Many of us women who serve/have served in the military defy some of the stereotypes that are held (rightfully) about women. Even a great many of us women who served in the USAF—considered the least face-to-face combat-oriented of the five services--aren’t inclined to be comforted entertained *in the traditional manner* via our pop-cultural intake. I’d daresay that this fact is what made us open to joining up in the first place.

Keep that theory in mind as you note my favorite fifteen movies (alphabetical order, ignoring ‘the’ and ‘a’).

1. The Abyss (water, claustrophobia, romance and magic)
2. Aliens (Great action and possessing of some of the most enduring one-liners and dialogue in cinema.)

Pvt. Hudson (a man): Have you ever been mistaken for a man?
Pvt. Vasquez (a short-haired, tough woman): No. Have you?

(You might be able to guess why that's my favorite dialogue from that movie.)
3. The Color Purple (yes, it’s a chick-flick, but as someone said over at Ace’s, Whoopi and Oprah shined in this one; plus there’s some serious blues/gospel singing near the end which would cause many present-day praise/worship artists to just hang it up.)
4. Glory (Denzel Washington greatly deserved his Oscar here.)
5. The Godfather, parts I and II (after a few viewings, III wasn’t that bad either.)
6. The Hunt for Red October (Sean Connery was the man, in spite of his Scottish-accented Russian; additionally, there’s prospective presidential candidate Fred Thompson’s line: “Russians don’t take a dump without a plan, son.”)
7. Lord of the Rings series (enough said; favorite character as portrayed in the movies—Theoden.)
8. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (I like Russell Crowe better with a little meat on him; favorite scene, however, was when that one-armed midget, Lord Blakeney--portrayed by young Max Pirkis--capped one of his foes.)
9. Scent of a Woman (One of the few scenery chewings—by Al Pacino—that actually enhanced a movie. “God doth have a sense of humor.” However, Chris O’Donnell gave the better performance here.)
10. Serenity (Tough men, tough women, cannibalistic zombies; what's not to like? I haven’t seen the TV series, Firefly, yet, but the DVD from the first season just arrived via my Netflix account!)
11. The Shawshank Redemption (Whatever we conservatives may think about liberal Tim Robbins as far as his political views go, no one can deny that he gave an awesome performance in this one.)
12. The Silence of the Lambs (For a long time, this movie was my absolute favorite; I had read the book and, as far as the movie went, the storyline and the performances were absolutely masterful.)
13. A Soldier's Story (A little known WWII tale about an all-black unit from the then-segregated US Armed Forces featuring Denzel Washington, the late Howard Rollins of the nineties TV show In the Heat of the Night and the late Adolph Caesar, who portrayed Mister’s father in The Color Purple.)
14. The Spy Who Shagged Me (So sue me; after walking out of the theater, I told my date that it was the stupidest movie that I’d ever seen. He countered with this: “Yes, but you laughed your a** off the whole time!" True. It deserves special mention for introducing the concept of a ‘mini-me’ into the English vernacular.)
15. Star Trek (the usual; the Original Television Series, Deep Space Nine, II, IV, VI and First Contact); I even liked Insurrection, if only for this Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) line:

We're *through* running from these mutha-f*ckas b*stards.

What I just watched: Syriana (I got the message--that unseen forces are pulling the strings of world events. I just wish that the message had been more entertaining. And I don't like George Clooney with a little extra meat on him. Perhaps that's because I don't like him slim either.)

UPDATE: Next on the viewing list--Lawrence of Arabia.

Comments

[Samantha]

I've never been in the military but if I were the list making type we would have similar lists. I don't do girly movies either. Sci fi, fantasy, and action flicks (with a good story, action for action's sake doesn't do it for me) are what I like.

Firefly rocks! You're going to love it. Glory was the first movie I every saw in the theater. Imagine a movie theater full of 8th graders openly weeping and cheering at the same time.

[RRRoark]

I haven't seen Mindsweeper but wasn't Hunt for Red October adapted from the naval wargame Harpoon?

[Stormy70]

I am with you on most of those movies.
LOTR extended editions are watched in their entirety once every two to three months. The Color Purple with the scene where Shug starts walking to the church and singing? It devastates me every time. Plus, my brother likes to sing "Sister" to me when I pick him up at the airport, because he is not quite right in the head.

Did you know that Russell Crowe and Christian Bale are filming a western together? I think I might die and go to heaven seeing those two in western garb on the big screen.

Firefly is the greatest TV series I have ever seen, so I think you will be as ticked off at Fox as all its other fans when you finish it.

I think I am going to go check out Stardust, the new fantasy flick that opened this weekend.

Disturbia is pretty good, and available on Netflix.

I am rambling, so I will just say have a great weekend!

[Iron Mike]

J,
Your list and my list are very similar.

Firefly, I must say, is one of my favorite series ever, which makes it all the more sad for me that the idiots at FOX didn't keep it. And also makes me wish that the idiots at SciFi channel would take it up (as well as Enterprise).

You hit on one of my absolutely fav movies that I haven't seen in years, and the movie for which I think Denzel Washington should have gotten his first oscar, A Soldier's Story. If anyone out there has not seen it, buy it or rent it now.

I would add to that another D. Washington movie that I liked, and for which he should have also won an oscar: Cry Freedom, about Steven Biko and the newspaper reporter who wrote about him in S. Africa. A masterful perfomance by both Washington and Kevin Kline.

And finally, a movie with an actor that I normally don't like and whose wife I totally despise: The Thirteenth Warrior. Outstanding. Especially when you realize that Anthony Flags is the only "known" actor in it. (Of course, Omar Shariff, but he's hardly in it.) All the rest are Danish or Norwegian. And it's definitely not a chick-flick. Whenever it comes on, my wife becomes mesmerized with the screen, and can't stop watching it. (Despite the fact that we own the DVD.)

And your addendum, Lawrence of Arabia, is a worthy addition. I have said in the past that a worthwhile enterprise would be a movie theater that showed some of these older films on the big screen, and I always think of Lawrence of Arabia as the prime example of a film that MUST be seen on a big screen. WOW! Talk about a movie.

--Mike

[ErikZ]

I think you'll like Firefly, the series was better than the movie.

That is, if you can get the DVD to play. Netflix disks tend to be kind of...worn.

[El Duderino]

I can't stand Whoopi and can barely tolerate Oprah, but you they were both perfect in the Color Purple. I shocked myself by liking that movie so much.
Lawrence of Arabia is a great film, I hope you enjoy it.