Art, Media, Movies

Red Carpet Time

86 Comments

I’m not much of a movie-goer – too cheap and too fussy. I prefer to wait until movies come around on the small screen; if it’s dreadful I can turn it off and not feel badly about wasting time and money.  It it’s good, I can watch it again!

That’s just one of the reasons that I don’t pay too much attention to the Oscars. Most years I haven’t seen any of the nominees.  In addition, I’m still not over the 1977 Oscars in which not only did Network win for Best Picture over All The President’s Men but Faye Dunaway won Best Actress beating out Liv Ullmann in Face to Face. Faye Dunaway.  I’ll pause for dramatic effect.

So I doubt I’ll be watching the festivities this weekend. I’ve actually seen one of the movies this year as YA chose it for our Christmas morning movie; The Shape of Water isn’t something that I would nominate but since I haven’t seen any of the other movies this year, I guess I shouldn’t judge.

Do you have a favorite movie? Oscar winner or not.

86 thoughts on “Red Carpet Time”

  1. A former brother-in-law hosts an Oscars party each year. Attendees had to predict the winners in all categories. The meal was a pot luck affair that involved a side competition for “best-Oscar-related food.” The people attending this party were smart, highly educated folks primarily from the computer world and the nurse-midwife world.

    I decided to make a game of this. Could I win the competition? It seemed like a challenge, mainly because in the world of the Oscars the most deserving person or film wins about 40 percent of the time. People and films get Oscars for silly reasons, so the whole thing would seem to be unpredictable. And of course, the whole thing was indeed silly, since so much good work was passed by and so much garbage gets rewarded. In 2006 a pretentious piece of trash called Crash beat out Brokeback Mountain and other superior films. Could that have been predicted?

    I invented a technique for picking winners. First, I couldn’t see any of the nominated films, for seeing them would create favorites and that would spoil my chances to pick the winners. The heart of my technique was doing research in gossip columns that predicted the winners. Those folks share the values–for better or worse–of the Academy voters. I also used a principle called “the wisdom of the crowd.”

    For five years in a row I picked the most winners. I typically could predict 20 of the 24 winners. I almost always got the big ones right, but I sucked at predicting the short film categories. And of course, it was a pointless except for one thing. I proved that it was possible to study and predict essentially irrational behavior. I found that oddly comforting.

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  3. I have an eclectic and quirky list of all-time favorites that share only one thing: great writing.
    The Apartment
    Tremors
    Wild River
    The Princess Bride
    Casablanca
    Lolita
    Godfather 2
    Some Like It Hot
    The Wizard of Oz
    and today’s favorite: Lone Star

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    1. I think I may have written this at some point in the past but I read The Princess Bride before I saw the movie. It was OK but I wasn’t enthralled. But I was bowled away by the movie. Went back the next night with someone else and then a third night by myself. One of my very favorites.

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      1. I loved the book when I first read it and eagerly anticipated the movie…which then took years to come to fruition. It’s a top movie pick for me, too.

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  4. Have not been in a theater for so long I have never seen the new seating.
    Find awards, contests, firsts/bests, favorites in arts of unsound purpose. The great movies, books, paintings, etc often went unnoticed or meligned. Steve points out how wrong are the Oscars, how promotion wins a the day. “Tinkers” folks. Read that novel if you can. Then think if you can see any reason it won the Pulitzer. The award that has a notorious rate of failure. Loved “The Yearling.” But compared to the other books of that year. Wow.
    Prefer quiet little movies. Last Picture Show is brilliant. How did it rise to fame? Unlike so many other true works of brilliant story, camera work and acting. Now it has become a great quiet little movie. I will not watch anything in which guns are portrayed in that way, you know the way. Hollywood speaking out against gun violence is hypocrisy. Friendly Persuasion is rich and full and anti gun. The Liz Taylor “Little Women” is rich, textured, colored, rhythmic in a way no movie is any more. Not necessarily great, but an example of what Hollywood does not do any more.

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    1. Magic Town is spot on commentary about opinion poling, made in 1947. Talk of the Town is a Thoughtful commentary about the court system from same era. Many movies from 30s and 40s could make an excellent study of current American culture. Meet John Doe, mr Deeds Goes to Town, Mr Smith Goes to Washington are commentaries on the press that are still true. Ride the Wild Country. Who would make that today. If you like The Quiet Man, as i do, then read Walsh’s short story for its simplicity, economy of words, its understatement.

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      1. all the above are favorites
        i loved john doe, me smith mr deeds
        others of the era are wonderful too. stories that have something to say
        actors and actresses who had something to say and something to take pride in.

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    2. all that stuff you’re mentioning the combination of wonderful cinematography and wardrobe and music that goes along with the story can do so much to make it enjoyable
      when you think about some movies what you remember is the feeling that the cinematography get you more than the acting at the story I love that

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  5. OT sister Cleo flying through at noon. Went to grocery store for a few things. As clerk was checking me out, he was also playing a game on his cell phone.

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    1. I have commented to some of the customer service people that put you on hold or sit there and wait for you to do something for 10 minutes while you’re on the phone with him but maybe they should get a game but they’re good at on the phone like she local or some math O’Brein challenge game to serve a purpose while they’re waiting for 25 minutes out of every hour for the person on the other end of the phone to finish the task at hand

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        1. have you ever called in to talk to an issue resolving customer service person who tells yo to go to your screen click on this and waitr for 10 minutes fo rit to download before you get to the next step? i dont do it often but when i do i am always impressed with the polite demeanor od the geeky individual on the other end and their patience while you sit for 10 minutes to see if the stuff they want you to do is gonna fix the problem i suggest they find a brain teaser game or something to occupy themselves. they often hadn’t thought of it

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  6. I haven’t seen get out or call me by my name but I’ve seen all the others
    sherrilee you missed it shape of water is the best picture of the
    three billboards wonderful cream him thread is a typical wonderful Daniel Day Lewis movie who could probably win best actor again
    I’m just like purely on the movie thing except I’m that way with Books
    So many writers are just so so why not just wait till the movie comes out find out if the book is worth reading
    some great movies turned out to be not such great book
    River ran through a wasn’t even a book it was just a short story
    I started going to the Tuesday movies for five dollars with my mom about a year ago and it’s turned into our weekly bonding very nice way to hang out with her and to get to enjoy some great movies for 10 bucks a week
    there’s also a new thing if anybody’s interested I’ll get the name and provide the link work for $90 you go onto the movie club and can go only one movie a day for free
    I’m not sure I need to have an excuse to go see one will be a day that might be detrimental to my busy calendar but it seems like a great great value $100 a year would get me close to even on the wine that I don’t drink anymore

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    2. Well we’ll just have to disagree about Shape of Water. The combination of the raw realism and the fantasy aspect just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t hate it. Just didn’t love it.

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        1. I think you’ve probably hit on one of the problems between my imagination and my visual cortex. I’d really prefer my imagination most days then to see things on screen.

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  7. I rarely see a theater movie anymore… I sometimes read AARP Magazine’s “Movies for Grown-ups” and pick from there, if it’s not in the theaters anymore, get the video. One that I loved from last year, and would actually buy as a video if on sale, was “Lion”. Watched it a second time with Step-son when we visited… could see it again and again.

    I like Steve’s list of “eclectic and quirky list of all-time favorites”. Mine include:
    The Parent Trap (original with Hayley Mills)
    A Thousand Clowns
    Mister Roberts
    Irma La Duce
    Robin and Marian
    … to be continued, perhaps.

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  8. Few months ago stumbled on a movie in Netflix or Prime, probably prime , which I mention for you Downtown Abby fans. Stars a young Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hughes). From 1983. Another Time, Another Place. B & W. One of those movies that takes you to the gritty level of another time and place. About Italian POWs in Scotland in WWII. Also stars Gregor Fisher, who is always a delight.
    Tom Courtenay did some exceptional movies, such as the B & W Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and I Heard the Owl Call My Name, which you will never find, a Canadian made for TV movie. Filmed on location on the Canadian Pacific Coast.

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  9. OT: I’ve had a streak of exceptionally good books lately. I earlier mentioned What the Dog Knows, an intelligent and remarkable discussion of cadaver dogs. You will be amazed. Then I read Canoeing with the Cree, by former CBS newsman Eric Sevareid. Right now I’m reading the ultimate biography of Joni Mitchell, a book called Reckless Daughter. The author analyses Mitchell so knowingly that you can’t believe he is going to go on writing lines like that for the length of a book. She has had a difficult life and is surely a difficult person, but this book is amazingly thoughtful and readable. In other words, this isn’t a fan book; it is a stunning analysis of a complicated, talented person.

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  10. “Princess Bride” has already been mentioned, as has “Casablanca.” Another, decidedly not artsy or “high end” or concept-y that I watch and re-watch is “Moonstruck.” The love story is more than a bit contrived, but Olympia Dukakis is so wonderful (and gets all the best lines), I’m willing to forgive the contrivances. “Old man, if you give those dogs another piece of my food, I’m gonna kick you ’til you’re dead!” is just one. Plus there is opera (“I knew she was sick…”).

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    1. I love that movie too. Another of my favorite scenes is toward the end when Olympia Dukakis says “do you love him?” And Cher says “Ma I love him awful”. And then Olivia Dukakis says and says “that’s too bad”.

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    2. Cher is one of those people that I just don’t get (Mary Tyler Moore and Celine Dion are two others). But in “Moonstruck” she did a great job. Same with Mary Tyler Moore in “Ordinary People.” Still waiting for Celine to appear in something where I don’t want to barf. I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

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      1. I’ve watched Ordinary People several times. I suspect that Tyler’s role was so perfectly played because it wasn’t much different than her real-life personality.

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      2. she seems to be 100% who she is and that is either a blessing or a curse. seems to work for her…not for you or me
        cher and mtm were celebs recognized 100% for cuteness first and talent that was secondary. i think that messes with you.
        everybodies messed up but me and you… and i wonder a bit about you

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        1. I remember seeing an interview once with Robert Redford discussing the casting of Mary Tyler Moore in Ordinary People. He said he had actually seen her walking along the beach in Malibu a few years before (they had houses a half mile or so apart.) She was deep in thought and all bundled up against the cool air. When he went to cast Ordinary People , he thought of her and thought she could probably do this. He had a huge long protracted fight with the producers and the studio who did not think that the comedian Mary Tyler Moore was good for this role. I’m really glad he persisted.

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  11. Oh, I am such a boring drudge! I haven’t been to the movies in years. I only watch movies at home that I know the endings to already. My aversion to suspense is getting worse, and will only improve when I am retired and not a therapist any more. I don’t think I could even stand watching a comedy. Books are better for me these days.

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        2. Almost anything with Adam Sandler…movies where people do things that would probably get them seriously maimed or killed in real life.

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        3. adam sandler was trying ot do a serious role a couple of years go . it was like jim carey trying. once the idea is cast its hard to go back. he may have been ok but i cant get past his moron roles and certainly cant see anything but a twit when i see him

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  12. I, too, don’t see many movies these days, and certainly not in theaters. The sound is too loud, too much “action” and graphic violence. A lot of rude, inconsiderate people in the audience don’t help either. Besides, at home we can pause the movie to go get some refreshments and visit the bathroom, not to mention that it’s a lot cheaper.

    I’m no expert movie critic, and I often find myself having no affinity for movies that audiences and/or movie critics rave about. I also find that what I like in a movie has changed over the years. I suspect that some movies that I loved when I originally saw them I would no longer enjoy.

    I tend to prefer personal stories over “big picture” films. Movies like “American Splendor,” “Amelie,” and “Big Fish” really appeal to me. Quiet little films that I can relate to.

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    1. Here, in no particular order, are some other films that I loved:
      Cinema Paradiso
      The Last Picture Show
      The Shawshank Redemption
      The Celebration
      The Departed (the 2006 remake)
      Nashville
      My Sweet Little Village
      Five Easy Pieces
      The Tree of Wooden Clogs

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      2. got three new movies in there to check out maudie with the same lead actress as shape of water. it fits your wished for storyline and is very well done.

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  13. My all-time favorite movie was Harold and Maude. I was around 30 when it first came out. I knew beyond a doubt that she was my 80-year in waiting. Maude was the kind of old lady I would be in the future. And, I was right! Since age 60, I’ve shed more conventions, done more mischief, cared much less about what others think of me, and danced my Tina Turner-style way into being called, “Dancing Grandma” in the western burbs. I’ve learned that shedding inhibitions is like shedding weight, and that old ladies are applauded for doing the same things that younger women are judged harshly for.

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  14. I like biopics if they are well made. There were two versions of Capote, both excellent. Coal Miner’s Daughter was really terrific. Sissy Spacek did her own vocals and was pretty amazing. I liked Jessica Lange as Patsy Cline, too, in Sweet Dreams.

    When Phillip Seymour Hoffman died, I made a note to myself that I should put every movie he ever made on my list of movies to rent. He was one of those actors who brought something remarkable to every role. I liked Flawless, in which he played a transexual voice coach to Robert DeNiro. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth searching out.

    Also anything with Alan Rickman. The St. Paul library used to have a VHS copy of a British movie called An Awfully Big Adventure, based on the novel by Beryl Bainbridge. I haven’t seen it for years, not sure if it is even available anywhere, since the library got rid of all its VHS movies.

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  15. OT – Don’t know if Mig will announce this herself, but she must be bursting the buttons off her blouse with pride.

    “STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Lucas Mueller (Fy./St. Paul, Minn./Nova Classical Academy) earned a trip to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a fantastic race at the Pointer Final Qualifier, a last-chance meet held on Saturday. Mueller won the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:21.48, a 14 second-improvement over his victorious time at the conference meet last weekend.

    Mueller posted a 24-second margin of victory on Saturday. His time—when converted to account for the banked track to be used at nationals this year—is 8:15.72, which would be seventh-fastest in the country.”

    How’s that for a great effort? Run, Lucas, run.

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  16. Hey—
    Have been quiet lately as I’m coming into Tech week again. At least this show includes my wife in the cast so that’s fun. We get “dates” every night!

    Movies:
    All That Jazz
    Pocketful of Miracles
    SecondHand Lions
    Wall-E
    Up
    Mr Magoriums Wonder Emporium
    Music Man
    Singing In the Rain

    The 2015 version of ‘The Little Prince’ with Jeff Bridges is really good.

    Daughter watches a lot of movies. We get DVDs from Netflix. She just watched the 1938 version of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn and I was surprised how much she enjoyed that.
    Course there was lots of swashbuckling sword play and men jumping out of trees so
    Lots of things she could act out.

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  17. harvey, fisher king, born yesterday, philadelphia story, tracy and hepburn movies, may tracy movies, quiet man is wonderful (women today are appalled) , paul muni is the daniel day lewis of the 40’s. he played the role so completely you didnt see the actor you saw the role. there are 3 or 4 of mice and men i enjoyed. burgess meredith #1, et, the trouble with harry, the misfits, bus stop, it happened one night, thousand clowns for sure, to kill a mockingbird, roman holiday, my fair lady,
    my kids laugh because i regularly say this is one of the greatest films ever made and i mean it every time.

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  18. It’s not surprising, but it’s interesting that, to look at all your lists you would think that no memorable movies had been made in the last 20-30 years. And maybe for this group that’s so. Certainly it’s been a long time since we were Hollywood’s target market. I wonder if we are representative of our age cohort or not?

    Like many of you, I don’t do violent movies, I don’t do action adventures for the most part, I don’t do suspense, especially “real life” dramas. Somebody must or they wouldn’t keep making them but their appeal is lost on me.

    It’s hard to say why certain movies stand out. Hard to completely separate the writing from the performance from the direction. They need not be “great” movies. All I can say for sure is that the movies I would gladly see again are mostly character based.

    I had forgotten about “Moonstruck”. That was an outstanding movie. It puts me in mind of “ My Cousin Vinny”, which has similar stand-out performances.

    We’ve done movie lists here before and so I’m likely repeating myself but my favorites haven’t changed:

    Local Hero
    Time Bandits
    Cold Comfort Farm
    The In-Laws (original version with Alan Arkin)
    Cosi
    Midnight in Paris
    Manhattan (for the B&W cinematography)
    Oh Brother, Where Art Thou

    I was just the other day looking to see if The Grey Fox was available in dvd. Inexplicably, it doesn’t seem to be available anywhere except in VHS. Too bad. It was a great movie starring Richard Farnsworth and a soundtrack featuring the Chieftans.

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    1. brazil is a time bandits relative but i believe it has a running form the bad guys premise. iet was so well done. the first time i saw terry gillams genius,
      i looked so forward to baron von munchhausen but terry appears to have gone off the deep end and lost control over the production with actors and studios quitting on him to release a lessor product than he envisioned,

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  19. ladybird, 3 billboards, shape of water, phantom thread, darkest hour, the post , dunkirk,
    the big sick, wonder, victoria and abdul, i tonya, beauty and the beast, man named ove, manchester by tghe sea and la la land were great last year but it begins to blurr. there were other good ones. one about a plane crash with 2 survivors, one about a group of 3 girls who got snatched and kept in a basement, ones you see enjoy and forget, one with the old hottie from the paul newman movie as a drunken lawyer, one with the old woman living in the back of the car, the stories go on and on they never end. the worlsd is an intersteing place and there are interesting stories.
    clyde cant stand the sound i cant get enough. i would live to have my house set up with the huge sound systems that surround the seat in the theater today, the comfy seats are great. the reclining are excellent, popcorn and butterscotch and a giant water or tea is all i need… and this ashtray, and this lamp. thats all i need

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  21. Food movies:

    -Babette’s Feast
    -Big Night
    -Tampopo
    -Tortilla Soup
    -The 100-Foot Journey
    -The Ramen Girl
    -Jiro Dreams of Sushi
    -Mostly Martha (remade as No Reservations)
    -Chocolat

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  24. Bill’s right – a lot of our favorites come from ‘way back. Part of that is that I just don’t remember what I’ve seen recently. Ishould start a list of movies/DVDs I see, same as books, so I can remember what…

    A couple more quirky old favorites:
    Cool Hand Luke
    Shirley Valentine

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  25. west side story, caberet, apocolypse now, bill murrray and tom hanks and mewryl streep al make nothing but great movies. i really like johnny depp as an actor, i will add a wrinkle in time in another 2 weeks, black panther was predicrted by me to be as blow your face off as it has proven to be. the trailers showed woinderful attention to dea=tail and cinematography. i think the movie making industry has gotten so good at the movie making part of the equation that all they need is the story. i think the great stories like hidden figures and moonligh last year and all the little stories that they do so well nowadays. there is a new one coming out by the guy who did grand budapest hotel except it is an animated film. coco and two or three others are supposed to be good this year. i dont do animated but i should. i have enjoyed every one i have ever done starting with show white and fantaisia and going on through aladin, beauty and the beast, pocahontas, toy story and polar express. the ability to do films that dont need to come out of the 5 or 10 studios is excellent, sundance and the indie film industry are so fun. i would think the 15plex cinamas will start putting out cinema small time instead of the mgm and big time stuff.

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  26. Can’t think of a favorite movie. But whatever it is, it would not be a musical. The general rule with me is that I can’t stand musicals (with a couple exceptions).

    For comedy films, me and the kids get a big kick out of What About Bob? Gosh, that one is funny.

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      1. Fiddler on the Roof. Mary Poppins. Sound of Music.

        My main beef with musicals is they seem to have 5 minutes worth of plot in a two-hour (or so) movie and then they just fill up the rest of the time with song and dance. These movies have more than 5 minutes of plot and for some reason I don’t mind all the songs. I even like some of the songs.

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