11 posts tagged “movies”
I loved the book The Time Traveler's Wife. It's a moving, touching love story wrapped up in a very clever concept. It's like Harlequin romance meets sci-fi, only better written.
Seeing the trailer for the film-adaptation has frightened the hell out of me. I'm a little pissed off that Hollywood continues to ruin my favorite books (see Simon Birch that was so bad John Irving took his and Owen Meany's name off of it).
Last time I ranked the Pixar movies in December 2007, I hadn't yet seen Cars and Wall-E and Up hadn't yet been released. Now I've remedied the Cars situation and as of Friday afternoon have seen all the Pixar feature-length films (and all of the short films too). I've spent the better part of this cold-ass rainy day pondering the Pixar ranking list. I've been debating with myself over storylines, art, and voice actors. I've been trying to determine if visual stunningness should beat out story or if the story's moral should beat out entertainment.
After weighing all the many factors that go into making such a list, I present to you the most true and accurate ranking of Pixar movies from best to worst that ever has existed. Here we go:
1. The Incredibles. A surprise, I know. I thought for sure Wall-E would claim the top spot too. In everyday mathmatics Robots > Superheroes. But this isn't everyday math, this is Pixar, and when you boil it all down, The Incredibles is lifted over Wall-E because of the storyline. The middle-aged superhero trying to find glory seemed a bit more original than the doom and gloom environmental tale.
2. Wall-E. If this surprises you, you're not paying attention.
3. Toy Story 2. I thought for sure Up would beat out this old horse, but I was mistaken. Toy Story 2 sure stands the test of time. I eager await the release of Toy Story 3 in 2010.
4. Up. The first 20 minutes of this one shows the most beautiful, heartbreaking romance captured on film. No lie. If the rest of the movie weren't a tad on the predicitable side, Up would have totally been elevated above Toy Story 2. However, what Up lacks in original storytelling it makes up for with visual stunningness and good, old-fashioned funny.
5. Bug's Life. Again the voice talents of Brad Foley, Phillis Diller, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, David Hyde Pierce, Kevin Spacey, and Denis Leary puts this movie in the top five easily.
6. Toy Story. First, does not always equal best. However, it's still pretty damn good.
7. Monsters, Inc. We've got something of a shocker here. After many years of coming in behind Ratatouille, Monsters, Inc. pulls off the upset of the century. Why? Monsters > Rats. Also even though Anton Ego's critic speech from Ratatouille remains a classic, the tale of using comedy instead of fear to gain power is a story that can't be beat.
8. Ratatouille. See above.
8. Cars. Not bad, but not all that good either. Anthropomorphic cars just aren't that interesting.
9. Finding Nemo. Sentimental schlock that does grow on a viewer after repeated viewing, but still, come on.
Here's the thing, I love Pixar. I really do. But if they don't start making some movies with kickass girls or women as the main character I'm going to riot. Enough with these male-dominated stories, let's hear it for the girl, at least once.
Once again, the wrong-headness of certain individuals has left me no choice but to further elucidate on the bestness of a certain stratum of pop culture.
10. Lucas -- It's got a Cory, Winona Ryder, and an ending that features a slow-clap sure to raise a lump in the throat of even the toughest jock.
09. Can't Buy Me Love -- What I love about this one, is that it starred a bunch of no-names (at least Patrick Dempsey was a no name at the time) and it was still great, gotta love the nerdy guy who decides to rent the cheerleader.
08. Pretty In Pink -- Ducky Dale is probably the best nerdy sidekick an 80s girl could want, bonus points for Harry Dean Stanton as Andie's unemployed father. How can you deny this classic tale of rich vs. poor?
07. Sixteen Candles -- Long Duck Dong, need I say more?
06. Better Off Dead -- I want my two dollars!
05. Say Anything -- John Cusack + Eric Stoltz + Lili Taylor + Frasier Crane's dad as a crook, double-plus bonus points for the use of The Replacements' "Within Your Reach" over the closing credits
04. Heathers -- It crushes me that this was released in 1989, because I would have put it at the top of my 90s teen movies list. Damnit.
03. Fast Times at Ridgemont High -- Oh calm down, yes it's at #3, just because you start the genre doesn't mean you're the best. However it does have the best soundtrack on the list.
02. Breakfast Club -- This is like the go-to 80s teen movie, the first one everyone's mind when the topic comes up. It's a great, great example of the genre, I don't deny that, but it's only because #1 defies it's genre.
01. Ferris Bueller's Day Off -- Duh. What did you think you'd find here?
Honorable Mention
Weird Science
Valley Girl
Some Kind of Wonderful
Just One of the Guys
One Crazy Summer
Lost Boys
Thank God it is actually a 90s movie:
Pump Up the Volume
We Loved the 50s: these movies don't really seem to fit the 80s-teen genre, even though they are totally 80s teen movies
Dead Poets Society
The Outsiders
Rumble Fish
Stand by Me
Back to the Future
Goonies
Lest the Voxosphere think we're all a bunch of curmudgeonly Gen-Xers, I've decided, as a public service to you, to offer an alternative to the other Best of 2007 list.
The Year in: Movies
5/ I am not so qualified with judging the movies of 2007, because I don't go to the movies too often
4/ It's not really an enjoyable experience for me, because I have ADD and sitting in a darkened theater for 2+ hours is a little like what I call Hell
3/ Shrek the Third
2/ Ratatouille
1/ Juno
The Year in: Recorded Music
5/ Challengers -- The New Pornographers
4/ Remainder -- Fesit
3/ Armchair Apocrypha, Andrew Bird
2/ Night Falls Over Kortedala -- Jens Lekman
1/ Reunion Tour -- The Weakerthans
The Year in: Live Music
5/ Laurie Lindeen Fakebook -- June, Fitzgerald Theater
4/ Paul Westerberg -- September, First Ave
3/ Wilco/Andrew Bird -- October, Northrup Auditorium
2/ The New Pornographers -- Octoberish, First Ave
1/ Mike Doughty -- May Sometime, Hippiefest
The Year in: Books
5/ Dead Boys, Richard Lange
4/ Love is a Mix Tape -- Rob Sheffield
3/ Throw Like a Girl -- Jean Thompson
2/ An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England -- Brock Clarke
1/ The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting -- Jim Walsh
The Year in: Television
5/ Austin City Limits
4/ American Masters
3/ 7 Ages of Rock
2/ Project Runway
1/ Bret Michaels, Rock of Love
- All the great 90s floppy boy hair, god I loved that look
- Rex Manning day!
- Only movie where Renee Zellwegger is remotely tolerable
- You say you need a little of my ooh la la
- There's a dude in the movie who goes by the name of Coyote Shivers
- Deb's fake funeral
- Lucas the turtleneck wearing beatnik who loses all the money
- AJ glues the quarters to the floor
- Damn the man, save the Empire
- Mark eats pot brownies and the GWAR video talks to him
- Warren Beatty
- The entire Dire Strait's "Romeo & Juliet" scene
- Sinead O'Rebellion. Shock me shock me shock me with that deviant behavior.
- This music is the glue of the world Mark. It's what holds it all together. Without this, life would be meaningless.
- The way the wacky kids band together to save The Empire
- Lucas walking around with the couch cushion
For lunch today I had a viewing of Juno at the Shakopee Town Theater. I love the STT because it's old and rundown. Being the only one in the theater never surprises me. In fact, I kind of dig it. When the theater is empty I can sit in the handicap row and have lots of room for my legs that never end.
The only time I've ever seen the Shakopee Town Theater packed was when I went to the late showing of The Omen on 6/6/06. So, yeah. Duh. But it was my birthday, so I had an excuse.
Until today, my favorite movie-going experience at the STT was when I went to go see the Lords of Dogtown with the entirety of Shakopee's skateboarding community. There were probably 15 of us in the theater. When the movie let out and we filed enmasse to the parking lot, I was the only one who got in their car and drove home. The rest of them were waiting for their moms to come pick them up. I'm not even kidding.
Today, however, probably tops that. Today my viewing companions for Juno, the story of an unwed 16-year-old girl, was a sixty-something couple. He was the kind of dude with a stooped back and a tweed cap who didn't move too quickly. Both were total white hairs.
While I took up residence in my beloved handicap row a moment before the movie started, they nested way up in the second to last row. There was an ocean of empty seats between us. I smirked to myself as I settled in, wondering how they'd dig the movie.
If their laughter is any indication, they fucking loved it. I think they laughed harder and more often than I did. It was awesome.
I just discovered that The Incredibles is on cable RIGHT NOW! Since I have spent today practicing for my future career as a destitute, no-life, shut-in, this is the best thing to happen to me all day. I think The Incredibles might just be my all-time favorite Pixar movie. In fact for those of you not familiar with the genius that is Pixar I present to you their movies in order of greatness (sans Cars, because I never got around to seeing that one):
- The Incredibles
- Toy Story 2
- A Bug's Life
- Toy Story
- Ratatouille
- Monsters, Inc.
- Finding Nemo
I had a tough time with the list, because I thought Ratatouille would appear much higher. I really loved Ratatouille, and the speech by Anton the critic guy is utter brilliance, but I forgot about A Bug's Life and come on Kevin Spacey, Brad Foley, Dennis Leary, and Niles Crane. . . the props gotta go to A Bug's Life.
Putting Finding Nemo in the bottom slot is going to give someone a heartattack. It seems everyone on the planet thinks this movie is the best thing ever. They are wrong.
About a bajillion years ago, our favorite flame-haired beauty Hotrod, said he would eat his shoe (or a shoe) on camera if Across the Universe is not the shittiest movie of all time (I still contend that that title should go to "Magnolia").
I totally forgot about the whole ordeal until I tripped over this review in the New York Times. It looks like a good review. A GOOD REVIEW.
I wonder what would taste better a Chuck Taylor or a Doc Marten.
Through some sort of gratuitous serendipity I found myself awake at six this morning (rotten cold) with a DVR filled with my favorite movies circa 1989.
It struck this morning that even though I was a kid, I loved these movies (and this includes The Outsiders) that had writing or writers as such a central theme. I always thought it wasn't until I was much older (about the time the movie "Shakespeare in Love" came out) that I developed this fetish for movies about writers. But clearly, it was inside of me all those years ago and I just never noticed it.
- Back to the Future
- Goonies
- Zoolander
- Stepmom
I type this as I watch Back to the Future for probably the 92,018th time. I love this movie.
