Yeah, I am really surprised Cool Hand Luke hadn't been picked yet. It's one movie that I just happened upon by accident, watched out of boredom and loved.
Saw Local Hero the other night and loved every minute of it. It was described mainly as a comedy here and on IMDB, and although I laughed aloud a few times, it was more of a "smile throughout" kind of comedy. I found Mac's personal journey/growth to be completely engrossing, and it had plenty of that British subtlety in both the humour and the drama. I love that, and was very happy with how the film ended and it's last couple scenes.
But the thing I would have to say I loved about it the most were all the little touches, or "brushstrokes of color," if you will, that went mostly unexplained but served greatly in enhancing the mood of the area, Mac's spiritual journey, and the film itself. Such as, the injured rabbit, the speeding motorist on the bike, "whose baby is that anyway?", the quirky astrological interests of the Lancaster character, and many more. It reminded me of the some of things I wrote about NCFOM recently, in that part of that film's allure is in what is not shown/explained to the viewer, and I had the same feeling here. It gave it a magical, special quality all good films seem to have.
Saw Local Hero the other night and loved every minute of it. It was described mainly as a comedy here and on IMDB, and although I laughed aloud a few times, it was more of a "smile throughout" kind of comedy. I found Mac's personal journey/growth to be completely engrossing, and it had plenty of that British subtlety in both the humour and the drama. I love that, and was very happy with how the film ended and it's last couple scenes.
But the thing I would have to say I loved about it the most were all the little touches, or "brushstrokes of color," if you will, that went mostly unexplained but served greatly in enhancing the mood of the area, Mac's spiritual journey, and the film itself. Such as, the injured rabbit, the speeding motorist on the bike, "whose baby is that anyway?", the quirky astrological interests of the Lancaster character, and many more. It reminded me of the some of things I wrote about NCFOM recently, in that part of that film's allure is in what is not shown/explained to the viewer, and I had the same feeling here. It gave it a magical, special quality all good films seem to have.
Thanks for the recommendation!
I'm really glad that you liked it. You actually summed up my feeling about the movie perfectly too.
Little touches abound in this film. Like when Mac is trying to buy shampoo from the corner shop. "Dry, Normal, or greasy?" says the shopkeeper to which Mac replies "Normal. Extra normal." Or when Mac is plowing his change into the phonebox trying to keep the conversion going amid the constant beeping of the phone. My absolute favourite moment is when Mac sees the Northern Lights for the first time. "It's Red all over, It's Red all over!" Brilliant stuff. Local Hero is certainly not a movie that you'll laugh out loud at very often but it leaves you feeling completely happy inside, and also a little sad too in a way, especially at the end.
I must admit, sadly, I have not seen Cool Hand Luke. Sounds like I need to get on that!
Ro you gotta watch Cool Hand Luke if for no other reason than to hear the classic line, "What we've got here is... failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach. So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it... well, he gets it. I don't like it any more than you men." Genius!
Let's go people. This is the second time Proto has gone out of town without sending his picks in to the commish in advance. COME ON! 26 people are being inconvenienced by you when you do that.
Also liam and everyone else, feel free to jump right up and make your pick if the person before you hasn't met the 15 hour deadline. Obviously GirlySports is very busy these days. We shouldn't have to need her to update the thread title in order for us to know when to pick.
Don't have a lot of time, hopefully I can get more of a write-up later...
Surprised this one hasn't been picked up already (at least I don't think it has - did a quick search and got no results)... In the category of Western, we select, Fred Zinneman's seminal High Noon.
One of, if not my fav western ever. Did a lot to establish the revisionist period of the American Wester, playing around with a lot of the traditional elements. One of the most tense climax sequences you'll see in any genre. Just a great, great film that holds up very well over time.
Ok, I lied, I took a bit longer than an hour, but Team Pineapple Express is proud to select as its pick in the fantasy category, Big Trouble in Little China. Yeah, that's right. Big Trouble in Little China! I've been told many times that no self respecting film fan should like this one, but I do, so help me, I do. I like Kurt Russell. I like his cheesy one liners. I like the fights, I like the cheesy music and sound effects. I just plain like it. I may just be nice enough to post some stuff about it later for you all to look through.
__________________ I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love." - John Steinbeck
Little touches abound in this film. Like when Mac is trying to buy shampoo from the corner shop. "Dry, Normal, or greasy?" says the shopkeeper to which Mac replies "Normal. Extra normal." Or when Mac is plowing his change into the phonebox trying to keep the conversion going amid the constant beeping of the phone. My absolute favourite moment is when Mac sees the Northern Lights for the first time. "It's Red all over, It's Red all over!" Brilliant stuff.
Ah well, it was bound to happen sometime. Really thought I was in the clear for that one. Anyway, moving on....
In the War category, Direct2Video selects The Manchurian Candidate (2004).
As far as remakes go, this one is pretty solid. It's one of those movies that keeps the tension ratcheted up the whole movie. I love the fact that you can never really tell whether Denzel Washington's character is really crazy or not, until the very end of the movie.
My favorite scene, mostly because of the stuff going on in the background behind the fogged glass...really captures how Marco feels and how the world must look to him.
Ok, I lied, I took a bit longer than an hour, but Team Pineapple Express is proud to select as its pick in the fantasy category, Big Trouble in Little China. Yeah, that's right. Big Trouble in Little China! I've been told many times that no self respecting film fan should like this one, but I do, so help me, I do. I like Kurt Russell. I like his cheesy one liners. I like the fights, I like the cheesy music and sound effects. I just plain like it. I may just be nice enough to post some stuff about it later for you all to look through.
