Theater Thursday 7.29.11

It's Theater Thursday again! I got great feedback last week and have been pumped about writing about movies again! I got this TALL order from Will's sister, Sara, on Tuesday:

I have some ideas for your Thursday blog (really I am just interested in your opinion on these things because your movie knowledge is practically infinite compare to mine):

Favorite movie quotes
Romantic comedies
Regular comedies
Period pieces
"Classics"
Adaptation of a novel into a screenplay
Sequels
Onscreen couple chemistry
Holiday movies
Independent films
(Loosely) based on a true story
Films of the 80s (or any other decade)
Actors/actresses you love/hate or would like to meet and why?

Grossly underrated/overrated films

Did you make it through the list of Oscar-winning films? What were your top ten?

Sometimes a "worst" list can be fun too.

Looking forward to your next post!
See you soon,
Sara

WHEW!!!

Okay, Sara... I will get to all of them eventually, I promise! I feel like a challenge has been extended. And I am up for it!

For today: Best Black & Whites (for Mrs. Ann!), Best Romantic Comedies (for Sara!), Best Main Character Demise (for the Debbie Downer in me!). Side note: All the movies on my list are links to their IMDB pages in case you want to check them out further. :-)

Best Black & Whites. Sometimes we need to be transported back in time and enjoy simpler laughs and lighter plot lines. Here are my favorites:

1. The Philadelphia Story - This is actually one of my favorite movies overall. Kate Hepburn is incredibly funny and a style icon. This movie also has Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart - love and love. Side note: anyone who thinks my dog is named after the Showtime show is wrong. He is named for Cary Grant's character in this movie... C.K. Dexter Haven!

2. Schindler's List - I mentioned this one last week but it's worth mentioning again here. Forget Harry Potter, Ralph Fiennes is terrifying in this movie. Also, the little girl in the red dress makes the black and white that much more powerful.

3. Casablanca - I love that way back when movies already had endings that really threw you. Humphrey Bogart wasn't handsome but he was a great leading man and this (along with The African Queen with Kate Hepburn... not black and white, so it didn't make this list) was his best.

4. Bringing Up Baby - It is really cheap to put two Kate Hepburn/Cary Grant movies on this list. Too bad I don't care. This movie is super funny. I mean, they lose a leopard named Baby. Brilliant.

5. It Happened One Night - Claudette Colbert lifts her skirt to flash her calf in order to catch a ride. It's amazing to think of a time when that would have happened - and worked. And Clark Gable is ten times better in this than in Gone With the Wind. Trust me.

Best Romantic Comedies. Starting this list I thought, "This will be tough because I really don't like a lot of romantic comedies." They always seem so contrived. Then I started the list and had to whittle it down to five! Guess I am a bigger sap than I thought:

1. Notting Hill - In high school I literally wore my VHS copy of this movie out. I would put it in every night and fall asleep to the sounds of Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts flirting and fighting. I love this movie so much. And there is a random Alec Baldwin appearance!

2. You've Got Mail - Best ending to a romantic comedy ever (in my humble opinion). It's one of those movies where you know how it's going to end but Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are so great in it that I cry every time. Somewhere Over the Rainbow playing in the background definitely kills me, too. "I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly." Ugh!

3. The Mirror Has Two Faces - Okay, I put a Barbra Streisand movie on my best romantic comedies list. Will is mortified, I am sure. But 'The Dude' (Jeff Bridges) is also in this, so does that help me at all? Anyway, I could have known way back when that I was going to be an odd duck because I loved this movie at the age of 11, when I first saw it. Weird. I know.

4. Something's Gotta Give - This was a really tough call for me - Something's Gotta Give vs. It's Complicated (both great Nancy Meyers movies). BUT, I was actually kind of rooting for her to end up with Alec Baldwin in It's Complicated. So, when thinking about which one is the better romantic comedy I had to go with Something's Gotta Give. Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson are both priceless. I could watch it a hundred times.

5. The American President - "My name is Andrew Shepherd and I AM the President." Michael Douglas. Annette Bening. Martin Sheen. Michael J. Fox. I think this is my favorite romantic comedy. It's kind of campy and silly at times (and I don't always agree with the politics, clearly) BUT I just love the idea of someone dating the president. Especially when that president is Michael Douglas at his hottest. And Michael J. Fox says "chicken sh*t" - which is hilarious. Okay, I need to watch this movie again soon. Love it.

Best Main Character Demise - this may be strange (read: I know that it is strange) but I happen to like a lot of movies where the main character dies at the end. I think it's because I feel like I saw that person's whole story. I am not a pessimist by nature but when two characters "ride off into the sunset" at the end of a movie I tend to think, "Yeah, sure. They started arguing about who was driving three seconds after the word 'cut.'" Okay, these are major spoilers if you haven't seen them:

1. Moulin Rouge - Okay, the first time I saw this movie I have to admit that I left the theater confused and hating it. HOWEVER, one crazy day that I don't remember I decided to watch it again. And. I. Loved. It. Baz Luhrmann is such a different and awesome (in the literal sense of that word) director. Moulin Rouge is his story of love through song and it's so fun to watch, sing along to (the songs are all reworkings of pop songs) and cry through. The ending is tragic but completes the love story so poignantly. Also, if you get a wild hair you should watch Strictly Ballroom (his love story through dance). It is crazy and hilarious... and no one dies!

2. Braveheart - I know he's gone crazy since then but there is a reason he's an Academy Award winner and this is it. This is one of those guy movies that girls can still enjoy. And his death scene at the end is really sobering.

3. Million Dollar Baby - I vividly remember seeing this in the theater when I was in college. I also remember rewatching it and catching all of the foreshadowing that Eastwood did that I never caught the first time around. This movie has so many layers. And the fact that I can love it so much despite the fact that Hillary Swank is in it is a testament in and of itself.

4. American Beauty - Ok. I know that this movie is seriously twisted. However, it is also fascinating. It is so interesting to watch how quickly someone's life can really spiral out of control. And Kevin Spacey is one of the best living actors. For sure. Another one of his that could have made this list is The Life of David Gale. Heavy.

5. Out of Africa - "I had a farm in Africa." It is clearly no longer a secret that I have a weird love for Meryl (I got a text from my friend Anna that she saw her at dinner in LA and immediately thought of me - ha). And this is one of her best ever. And it has Robert Redford. That, my friends, is what we call an embarrassment of riches. The love story in this is irresistible. He washes her hair for crying out loud. If you've never seen this movie watch it. I haven't ruined it for you by putting it on this list so don't worry about that.

Hope you enjoyed today's lists. Signing out for a long weekend in Little Rock!