Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Sarge At the Movies

(Source)
So what are my favorite movies? Well, it's kind of a long list to be sure. I like action films, mysteries are alright as long as they're not too attention intensive (miss one line and for the rest of the film you have no effing idea what is going on), comedies, as long as they're not too sophomoric, and that's about it. I'm sure as I write this, other categories might spring to mind, or not. I'm getting to an age where nothing springs anymore. If'n you get my drift.

Well, I just thought of a category of motion picture that I generally can't abide. Musicals.

Now mind you, it's not that I would rid the planet of that genre if (by some bizarre circumstance) I ascended to the throne of global overlord. Not that I'm actually seeking that post, but I digress.

Alright there are a few musicals which I not only tolerated but actually enjoyed. Films such as The Sound of Music, or Jesus Christ Superstar I found to be not only tolerable but enjoyable. Oh yes, there was also a musical version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol with Albert Finney (Scrooge) that I actually enjoyed as well. But in general I cannot abide a musical. Just not my thing really.

I don't mind formulaic type films of the sort where the good guy gets kicked around in the beginning of the movie and then spends the rest of the film avenging himself upon the bad guys. Get the audience all riled up and mad at the bad guys and then see them (the bad guys, not the audience) get their butts kicked at the end of the film. Most satisfying if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Do I like really violent movies? Well, that depends.

I mean sure, I do get a visceral satisfaction at seeing really evil forces get completely destroyed. But will I watch a movie simply because it's violent? No. It has to have some sort of plot, otherwise it's just a form of non-sexual pornography. Can I think of an example of such a film? Well, Natural Born Killers springs to mind. Didn't care for that film at all. Not one iota.

I do like war movies and those are, by definition, violent. I do prefer that the film is reasonably close to being historically accurate, though that's not a hard and fast rule. The Battle of the Bulge  starring Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Telly Savalas, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews and Charles Bronson is an exception to the historically accurate rule. It's alright as far as historicity goes, just a little fast and loose with certain aspects of the battle. I'm okay with that. I was entertained by it as a lad. I even watched it within the last few years and still enjoyed it, though not as much as when I was young.

Okay, Mel Gibson's Braveheart and The Patriot weren't that historically accurate but I still enjoyed them. A lot. Firstly, Scotland, secondly, American Revolution. That's my only justification and I hope all of my English friends don't read anything in to those two selections. (As in both films the English are truly evil and worthy of absolute destruction. Though in reality the English did great things in their time upon the word stage. Just hard convincing the Scots and the Irish of that. Or any number of other subjects of the old Empire.)

As to comedies, well I have a story of the time I spent nearly eight solid hours laughing. It involved comedy films, one or more of which could even be judged "sophomoric," but you know, I have so few hard and fast rules that one could drive a truck through the various and sundry exceptions to those rules. (And yes, I've been known to mix a metaphor or two.)

It was some years back and I was on the 2300 to 0700 shift. What we called "mids" in the Air Force and what my civilian counterparts at my place of gainful employment call "third shift." The beauty of that shift is that there are no suits or strap-hangars anywhere to be seen. Those minions of the dark populate the day (or first) shift, which seems out of character. But I digress.

99% of the work we did on that shift was testing. Longevity testing. Which means that you let the system run for literally hours. On a new system (which it was at the time) you don't stress it too much. You want to see if you can periodically exercise some basic functionality but not crash the system. I suppose it's like letting your car idle until it runs out of gas, occasionally blowing the horn and turning the lights on and off, as opposed to driving your car cross-country in the dead of winter.

It's nice to know that certain things will stay up and running before one starts beating on the system trying to make it fail. Which is what I call the fun part of testing. Can you troop-proof a system to the point where it won't choke? (The short answer there is no. The troops will always find a way to use a system which the manufacturers never thought of. Trust me, I know these things.)

Hhmm, I digressed. Where was I? Oh yeah, night shift and not much to do except watch the system run and once an hour do something on the system which would take 5 to 10 minutes, tops.

One of the guys brought in three movies on CD. Not a single one of which could be considered a "high brow" comedy. Were they sophomoric? You be the judge. The movies were:
  • Super Troopers
  • Old School and
  • Dodgeball
We watched all three that night. When the denizens of day shift came in, they couldn't understand why we were all giggling and had red eyes. Now that I think of it, those movies are not exactly sophisticated humor. But are they sophomoric? I think Spaceballs is sophomoric. Admittedly I enjoyed it the first time I watched it. I tried watching it again this past summer and couldn't get through the first 15 minutes. Perhaps my tastes in comedy have changed. I know I have watched those three movies listed above many times. They never get old. There are some great gags in all three. Though, as always, YMMV.

So what are some of my favorite movies? Bear in mind that what follows is not an exhaustive list, your list might be different than mine, but feel free to share yours in the comments. I won't judge you. (Much.)

Some of my favorite movies, in no particular order, are (drum roll please) -
  • The Hunt for Red October
  • Blazing Saddles (IMHO, the funniest movie of all time)
  • Monty Python and The Holy Grail (IMHO, the second funniest movie of all time)
  • Tora, Tora, Tora
  • Braveheart
  • Dr Strangelove (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb)
  • Patton
  • Battle of Britain
  • Zulu
  • Paths of Glory
  • The Final Countdown
  • Tunes of Glory
  •  Waterloo
  • Tobruk
  • The Longest Day
  • Fury
  • Amistad
  • April Morning
  • Saving Private Ryan
  • The Dirty Dozen
  • The Battle of the Bulge 
  • The Devil's Brigade 
  • Cross of Iron
  • Gangs of New York
  • The Last of the Mohicans
  • Super Troopers
  • Old School
  • Joyeux Noël 
  • The Blue Max
  • Breaker Morant
  • Kilo Two Bravo
  • The Flowers of War
  • Letters from Iwo Jima
  • Flags of Our Fathers
  • Gallipoli (1981 version)
  • Dodgeball
  • A Christmas Carol (the 1984 version with George C. Scott)
  • Das Boot (auf Deutsch bitte, nicht auf Englisch)
  • Jaws
  • Twelve O'Clock High
  • Cast a Giant Shadow
  • Full Metal Jacket
  • Seven Samurai
  • Yojimbo
  • Red Sun
  • Red Dawn (The original)
  • Black Hawk Down
  • Gettysburg
  • Gods and Generals
  • Revolution (Al Pacino and Donald Sutherland)
  • Schindler's List
  • We Were Soldiers
  • Glory
  • A Bridge Too Far
  • Sergeant York
  • Unforgiven
  • The Outlaw Josey Wales
  • Gran Torino
  • The Great Escape
  • Enemy at the Gates
  • Kelly's Heroes
  • Where Eagles Dare
  • Downfall
  • Gladiator
  • Kingdom of Heaven
  • Troy
  • Inglorious Basterds
  • The Last Samurai
  • Hell in the Pacific
  • The Patriot
  • Lawrence of Arabia
  • Dances with Wolves
  • The Great Santini
  • Top Gun (I know, I know but Tomcats!!)
  • The Imitation Game
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron
  • Tombstone
  • Love Actually (I know, surprised me too)
  • Airplane
  • Hot Shots! Part Deux
  • Goodfellas
  • Pulp Fiction
  • Reservoir Dogs
  • Office Space
  • Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  • Caddyshack
  • Ghostbusters
  • Big Trouble in Little China
  • Escape from New York
  • John Carpenter's The Thing
  • Alien
  • Aliens
  • The Wind and the Lion
  • Ground Hog Day
  • National Lampoon's Vacation
  • National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
  • Independence Day
  • The Guardian
  • The Finest Hours
  • The Godfather
  • The Godfather Part II
Okay, the list could actually be longer. A lot longer. I'm sure there's a couple (or fifty) that I forgot. But I think that gives you a pretty good idea of what I like.

Oh, while I'm on the subject, here's one of my favorite lines from a movie. (Yes, I have dozens, perhaps a post is in order on that very topic, perhaps based on the list of favorite movies...)





56 comments:

  1. Very similar in my movie taste for many of the same reasons. My list would not be so high on the war genre. I would have to add to any list, "Inherit The Wind" (more great memorable lines that any movie). And for comedy "My Cousin Vinnie" Is a must. Also the original "King Kong."
    "Dodgeball" might be the greatest bad movie ever made. "If you can dodge a wrench..." still makes me laugh!

    Also like you, I do love when a dude get bullied early on and comes back to kick the spit out of his tormentors. I notice you left out any and all superhero movies...I agree.

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    1. I'm not sure if I've seen Inherit the Wind, which I find alarming. I must track that down and watch it. Spencer Tracy alone is worth the price of admission!

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  2. I really like Bogart movies. Right up there with John Wayne. The Big Sleep is a good one to start with. When he walks into that bookstore, he mimics a light loafer type. That just floored me when I first saw it. He went into that seamlessly. If anyone doesn't think he's an actor, just watch that bit. WOW.

    I'm with you on most of these movies. You got good taste, man. (I was gonna poke at your northerness, but decided against it. When I turned 16, I learned that D--n y----e was really two words. I've since dropped the first, and use the second only advisedly. If you are erudite, you have the vocabulary to curse without profanity.)

    Great posts always make me think, this was a Grrrrrrrreat! one. (Sorry Tony, I could never do that justice.)

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    1. I need to watch more Bogart, one movie of his (that probably should have made the initial list) was Sahara. Not to mention The African Queen. Both of which I really enjoyed.

      As to my "northern-ness," an accident of birth I assure you. I love grits but the only place to get good grits is in the South (always capitalized). In my case they have to consumed in South Carolina. Preferably in or near Charleston.

      I also know how to spell "y'all." Many Yankees get that wrong.

      What is a Yankee? (From an old saying.)

      To someone from the South, a Yankee is someone from the North.
      To someone from the North, a Yankee is someone from the Northeast.
      To someone from the Northeast, a Yankee is someone from New England.
      To someone from New England, a Yankee is someone from Vermont.
      To someone from Vermont, a Yankee is someone who eats apple pie.

      So, by that definition, I truly am a Yankee. Though I'm a Red Sox fan.

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    2. OMG, African Queen. One of the best!

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    3. Indeed it was. Bogart and Hepburn, superb. (Also I like the historical connection!)

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    4. I was in Baton Rouge eating breakfast, when 2 gentlemen came and sat behind me in the next booth. There was a buffet line, and they went through it. They were complaining about the "gravy" having lumps in it and being almost tasteless. I was tickled. The beauty behind the cash register asked me how the food was when she rang me, and I said I knew I was in the cradle of civilization when I got grits for breakfast without asking for them. Those two guys went , "ohhh...."

      Side note: I don't remember if she was white or black, or really homely or cute. She had that deep south honey-dripping accent, and I just go soft focus and weak in the knees when I hear it.

      Also, I've moderated a lot on my inherited opinions. We are Just Folks. (And yes, my favourite poet is Edgar Guest.)

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    5. It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home,
      A heap o’ sun an’ shadder, an’ ye sometimes have t’ roam
      Afore ye really ’preciate the things ye lef’ behind,
      An’ hunger fer ’em somehow, with ’em allus on yer mind.
      It don’t make any differunce how rich ye get t’ be,
      How much yer chairs an’ tables cost, how great yer luxury;
      It ain’t home t’ ye, though it be the palace of a king,
      Until somehow yer soul is sort o’ wrapped round everything.


      Oh my, he is good!

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  3. Great List. Seen 90+%. A couple or three I'd add A Lion In Winter, The Man Who Would Be King, To Kill A Mockingbird. Although not 'movies' I'd add Band of Brothers and The Pacific. ShoGun, The Winds of War (I was an 'extra' in this one) and War and Rememberance.

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    1. All excellent films / mini-series. (To me a mini-series is simply a movie so long it has to be watched in parts.)

      You were an extra in The Winds of War? That's an absolute favorite (which goes hand-in-hand with War and Remembrance). Which episode/scene? I need to re-watch that. Loved Robert Mitchum and Polly Bergen in that. (Books were excellent as well.)

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    2. Loved the books. Mitchum and Bergen were perfectly casted. I was just back from 8 month cruise on Kitty Hawk. They asked for volunteers to go to Pt Mugu for the weekend. I said yes. MiLady was not happy. Been gone 8 month, new baby girl (3 months) and I take off. Anyway 3 bus loads of KHawk officers and sailors go up. We're at The facility at Port Hueneme where they have some old destroyer types tied up. The kicker is this, on December 7th 1981, they're filming the attack using real Zeros, Kate and Val aircraft. They were making low passes, we extras were running around crazy while they were filming with explosions were going off everywhere. Pretty cool, but very surreal being the 40th anniversary of the real deal. We just started watch the whole thing again.

      Also agree with your reply later on about all The Duke's films. Anywhere, anytime.

      Everybody is just adding to the list. All excellent choices.

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    3. Wow, you were in the Pearl Harbor scene? That must have been awesome on the one hand and eerie on the other, given the date.

      Agree with your assessment of the casting of Pug and Rhoda Henry. That was exquisite.

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  4. You left off the Enemy Below, and Duck Soup. Some movies that are actually quite good, I want nothing to do with, because I have seen them too many times. While in college, I worked part time at The Strand theater, on the Capital Square in Madison. I would not watch Escape From New York, as I saw it 50 times in two weeks. After a certain number of viewings, you start seeing the things that were done wrong, and badly said lines, etc.

    The George C Scott Christmas Carol is perhaps the supreme color version. ( I really love the Alistair Sim version ) It has by far the greatest Ghost of Christmas present scene, with The Ghost revealing the two Children of Man. " The Boy is Ignorance, the Girl is Want, beware them both, but particularly beware the Boy ". I do have to watch the Albert Finney SCROOGE! every year, it makes me feel good, but then, I quite like musicals.

    When I watch KELLY'S HEROS, and the get to the point where they shoot the Tiger in the butt with a paint shell, it makes me think of something that DID happen in WWII. An M-5 Stuart came around a corner in a village, and found itself facing a King Tiger's rear end. The Stuart fired 2 of the tungsten cored AP rounds that were showing up in the winter of 44-45 into the engine compartment, wrecking the engine, and setting the King Tiger on fire. So there was at least one Stuart that took out a King Tiger in a gun fight.

    I loathe Peter Jackson's LOTR, as it has very little to do with the books, but I rather enjoy his The Hobbit. Even if Smaug is the wrong color, in the book, he is a large red/gold dragon, not a green one. Of course, since the actor who played Radagast was one of the early Doctors, Smaug never stood a chance, what with going up against Dr. Who, Gandalf, and a dwarf named Bofors.

    I saw CASABLANCA for the first time when I was in my late 30's, and The Maltese Falcon for the first time 4 rears ago, and did not care for either one, although I believe that was through no fault of either movie, but rather after so many decades of hearing about how they are about the best movies of all time, they could not possibly live up to what I was expecting. That is why I have never watched Citizen Caine, as I am not sure I would enjoy it.



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    1. I didn't forgot those two movies, they are good movies, just not favorites. Yes, watching a movie too many times would kill my enjoyment of it, that's for sure.

      Your opinion's of Peter Jackson's treatment of J.R.R. Tolkien's work is the opposite of mine. I love the LOTR movies, especially the Director's Cuts (which are each well over 3 hours in length). I thought the movies tracked well with the books. I was really glad all of the Elvish poetry didn't make it into the movies.

      I watched all three Hobbit movies and saw each get progressively worse. I have the LOTR movies on DVD, won't waste money getting copies of the Hobbit movies. Once was enough. Three movies from a short book? It's all marketing methinks. (And Peter Jackson was brought into those films very late.)

      I haven't watched Citizen Kane, not sure I ever will. It seems overblown.

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  5. Agree pretty much with all. You really don't enjoy The King and I? or Showboat? or My Fair Lady? or South Pacific? Gosh. Love them all. The Quiet Man is, perhaps, my favorite of all, though.

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    1. Let me see Cap'n...

      The King and I is tolerable, the latter three? No, it's alright, and no. Something about musicals just bugs me. It's a personal quirk, might even be a bug as opposed to a feature.

      I did notice that my list is completely devoid of John Wayne movies. A major malfunction of my memory software. The Quiet Man, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Sands of Iwo Jima, They Were Expendable, In Harm's Way are all outstanding movies. I might actually need a separate post for John Wayne movies!

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    2. Yep, The Duke is hard to beat. In addition to the ones you note, His US Cavalry trilogy (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon et.al.) are must sees every time they show up for me. South Pacific rhymes with a lot of WestPac memories--both my father's and mine!

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    3. If The Duke is in it, I'll watch it!

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  6. My Fair Lady is superb! It isn't a musical, but I quite enjoy Breakfast at Tiffany's. My favorite characters are Cat, Rusty Trawler, and Mag Wildwood, who found the solution to so many problems, " I'm gonna take you down to the zoo, and feed you to the yak".

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    1. Again, musicals just aren't my cup of tea. The Missus Herself and The Nuke both adore Audrey Hepburn. So I've been exposed to Breakfast at Tiffany's (and other Audrey Hepburn films) but wouldn't watch it on my own. But it does have some great lines, one of which you mention.

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  7. Really tremendous list there. "Das Boot" is the longest movie that ever held my attention in a vice-grip for the entire length of it - and had me actually rooting sympathetically for Nazis. Amazing film.

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    1. As regards Das Boot, I read the book (which was superb) and am a fan of Jürgen Prochnow, I first saw it in English, then saw it in the original language in Germany. Now I can't watch it in anything but German. I almost don't need the subtitles.

      While I did "root for" the crew, I didn't (and don't) view them as Nazis. Though at least one was a card carrying member of the Nazi party. Many folks watch WWII movies and don't make a distinction between Nazis and Germans. I get that but I also get frustrated by those who don't understand the difference. I'm sure you do Jim, just wanted to make a point of that.

      During the Cold War I also understood that not all Russians were Commies. Another (somewhat) subtle distinction when you're on opposite sides of a conflict.

      My uncle, infantryman in the European ETO, hated all Germans. Of course, in 1944-45 they were trying to kill him.

      It all depends on perspective. I have Jewish friends who despise all WWII era Germans. With damned good reason.

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    2. Hitler once complained that he could not be expected to win the war, when he had a "reactionary Army, a National Socialist Air Force, and a Christian Navy".

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    3. And an idiot of a böhmischen Gefreiter in charge!

      Yes, some of the Luftwaffe, outside of the fighter wings, was very politically correct for the times.

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  8. Allow me to offer the classic British war movie The Dam Busters. What they did with those Lancs was amazing.

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    1. A very good film and, as I remember it, very historically accurate. The idea of spinning the bombs to get them to skip across the water then slide down the back side of the dams was brilliant. As was the idea of the two spotlights to maintain altitude, both of which were covered in the film. Great choice!

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    2. As I understand it, any number of people have considered doing a remake but they always seem to run into the 'sticky wicket' of the name of Gibson's dog, which was used as the code word for a successful dam breach.

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    3. Yes, that would be bothersome these days.

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  9. Thanksvfor adding The Last Traditopm to your blog roll

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  10. We've always had pretty much the same taste in movies although there are a few on your list I still haven't seen.

    You left out "Young Frankenstein" and "Silent Movie". Actually all Mel Brooks movies top my list of comedies. As far as sophomoric, I even enjoy those. I have what's probably the most cheesy movie ever produced called "Kung Pow" on my
    desk that I watched with my tech's during our last "meeting". Still laughed all the way through it! But then I'm
    easily entertained.

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    1. Mel Brooks is a genius. There are many movies which didn't make the list simply because I forgot. If I really worked at it I could probably list hundreds of movies I like. But yeah, to leave out Young Frankenstein was almost criminal negligence. Marty Feldman, God rest his soul, is an all time favorite of mine.

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    2. You're the one who turned me on to Mel Brooks movies when we were at Kadena. Young Frankenstein was my
      first and I was sold from then on!!!

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    3. Man, your memory is way better than mine!

      (Well, that's not saying much.)

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    4. I was wondering about Young Frankenstein myself; with Our Humble Scribe's Waterloo posts I keep seeing Frau Blücher scaring the cavalry!

      Bruce Jones

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    5. Hahaha!

      Cloris Leachman was excellent in that movie!

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  11. Musicals are ok... but better when seen on the stage (IMHO)

    Our tastes are quite similar (go figure!), but my list of favorites is much, much shorter.
    But then movies I hate would probably be even shorter yet.

    Treasure of Sierra Madre and Blazing Saddles stand out as favorites.
    Saw The Dam Busters when it first came out and still remember the story and Richard Todd and (Sir) Michael Redgrave.
    Zulu stands out, too.

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    1. Not surprised that we have similar tastes.

      I define a "favorite" movie as one I can watch multiple times. It's not as exclusive as some might define a favorite. Now I'm trying to think of movies I really can't stand. That would be a short list. Of course, I would have had to actually seen the movie through to the end. There's only one movie I ever paid money to watch and then got up and walked out of. A bio-pic of Janis Joplin, a talented lady but one who's work just rubs me the wrong way.

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    2. "Werewolf in London" filled that "get up and walk out" bill for me.

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    3. I believe we all have of one of those!

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  12. Interesting set of movies, not only for what's there, but what's not there! :-)

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    1. The list isn't exhaustive so you really can't read much into what's not there. But you could maybe recognize certain trends. (Like: "Wow, I guess Sarge likes war movies.")

      Heh.

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  13. I agree with the list, but wish to add "The Magnificent Seven" (original) to the list. Yeah, a take-off of "Seven Samurai" but it really dealt with the issues of the civilization of the West very well.

    Quigly Down Under - Tom Selleck as a quiet, smiling badass. Great movie.

    And to bring in the Errol Flynn movies:
    Captain Blood
    The Adventures of Robin Hood (with Basil Rathbone and Elizabeth de Havilland (in a smoking hot silver silk dress, youwsers!!))

    I will find myself watching "Young Frankenstein," "Casablanca," "Sahara," and "Kelly's Heroes" whenever they are on the tube and I am alone. Just fantastic movies.

    "Citizen Kane" is a great movie that I never want to watch again. It is well written, well filmed and just dark. Many good movies are like that. Fantastic movies once, never want to watch again. "Amadeus" is one of those movies, great and too dark to watch again.

    "Rocky Horror Picture Show" is one of my once-a-year-or-so movies. Funny, smart-assed and just wrong. I know you don't much like musicals but this one is just too darned weird to miss.

    Several Bruce Willis movies come to mind. The Fifth Element, Die Hard, RED.

    And the best Shakespeare based movies ever: Good costuming, good acting, pretty damned true to the original story
    The Taming of the Shrew (Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton)
    Romeo and Juliet (the '60s version)
    Henry V (with Kenneth Brannaugh)

    (as to Braveheart, great movie for story, can't stand to watch it for all of the historical inaccuracies in costuming and armor and aahhh, yeah, I still watch it.)

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    1. Some great films there Andrew!

      Sir Kenneth's St. Crispin's Day speech in Henry V is brilliant, "We few, we happy few...".

      Rocky Horror Picture Show I have seen, more than once. It is a musical but so much more.

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  14. A lot of my favorites on that list. One, The Last Samurai, I thought was just so so the first time I saw it. Somehow, I ended up watching it a second time and enjoyed it much more. Big Trouble in Little China for me suffered from being over-hyped. That and "The Gods Must Be Crazy" were both so over-hyped as to what great movies they were but didn't live up to expectations.
    I'd add Silverado to the list. And maybe a guilty pleasure, The Last Starfighter. Robert Preston as an alien con man, ala the Music Man, is worth the price of admission..

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    1. I stumbled across Big Trouble in Little China years after its release so I wasn't exposed to all the hype. Didn't know, until just now, that it had been over-hyped.

      Sometimes it's good to maintain a buffer zone between one's self and the outside world.

      I liked The Last Samurai because I enjoy Japanese culture in general and the acting of Ken Watanabe in particular.

      Another favorite movie quote is from Watanabe-san, "They're all beautiful..." watching the cherry blossoms as he lay dying.

      Silverado, absolutely.

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  15. I may be weird in that I saw El Dorado before Rio Bravo, and enjoy the first more; the second is reputedly the better movie. Open Range is a recent western I have in my library.

    And I'll throw in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a catch-all; the only reason I haven't seen the Netflix series is that I don't have a subscription and want all the shows in my library. ABC deserves a dope-slap for not releasing the latest seasons of Agent Carter and Agents of SHIELD on Blu-Ray, as the deleted scenes, gag reel, and especially the actor/crew commentaries are the driving reasons for hard-copy. You don't get those from ITunes or Google Play.

    Bruce Jones

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    1. Open Range, Roger Duvall, excellent film, loved it.

      Roger that on Marvel.

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  16. so it turns out that you're another bohemian romantic. well done! Love Actually was fun.

    The movie lies in fine company. I like the rest of your list.

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    1. Thanks Cap'n. I was prepared to dislike Love Actually, I was more than pleasantly surprised when I watched it. It's now a favorite, which reminds me that I haven't seen it in a while.

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  17. Great list. Some of my all time faves are on there. Big Mel Brooks, Monty Python, Clint Eastwood fan. "Outlaw Josie Wales" is my wife's favorite movie ever. There are a few oddballs that I watch over and over. I never get tired of "My Blue Heaven" with Steve Martin. A very underrated comedy. "Killer Klowns From Outer Space" is a great sci-fi spoof. "Second Hand Lions" is a favorite of both the lovely missus and me. Robert Duval and Michael Caine. Super.

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    1. I would have added Mars Attacks! to the list if I had thought of it. Slim Whitman's yodeling makes the Martians' heads explode. Hahahaha!

      (Slim Whitman made my head explode when I was younger.)

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  18. While " The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly " is not strictly a war film, I think that the war scenes are some of the most realistic that I have ever seen.

    Paul L. Quandt

















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    1. Well the list isn't intended to be a list of strictly war movies. But you have a point there Paul, there are some excellent scenes in that movie.

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  19. Uncurable romantic.

    Roman Holiday
    Desk Set
    Much Ado About Nothing

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    1. Nice!

      Let's hope there's no cure for being a romantic!

      Delete

Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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