I haven’t gotten around to catching Inglourious Basterds (remember: one of the big buzz movies of Cannes this year) yet, but it’s definitely on my must-see list.
All the press around the movie’s release got me thinking about some of my favorite war movies. Inglourious Basterds looks to be kind of a campy take (that’s not a knock; I’m a big fan of campiness) on War World II, but I think realistic war movies are very important. While I don’t imagine any film can capture the horror and intensity of real combat, some (like Saving Private Ryan) supposedly come pretty close.
So I submit to you a list of my favorite “realistic” war movies (in no particular order; just however they popped into my head):
Saving Private Ryan
Tora! Tora! Tora!
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Full Metal Jacket
Platoon
All Quiet on the Western Front
Patton
Apocalypse Now
The Dirty Dozen
From Here to Eternity
Black Hawk Down
Band of Brothers
Flags of Our Fathers
Memphis Belle
Das Boot
Generation Kill
The Hurt Locker
Sands of Iwo Jima
Catch-22
MASH
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Shows I’m Looking Forward to this Fall
The new TV season is upon us, and I’m getting pretty excited for the return of some of my favorite shows. While reruns, TV on DVD, and summer season shows like Burn Notice gave me a decent amount to watch the last few months, it’s just not the same as fall TV. Yes, I realize I have no life.
I thought I’d let you know a few of the shows I’m most looking forward to returning, as well as a few cancelled shows I’ll miss.
Looking forward to:
30 Rock
I watched some of the older episodes on DVD to get me through the summer, but I need some fresh Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy.
Castle
I missed this during the regular season, but I’ve been catching up via reruns. Very implausible, but definitely entertaining.
Dexter
No big cliffhanger to follow up on this season, but the promos lead me to believe it’s going to be a good one.
How I Met Your Mother
There are still a lot of people who have yet to give this show a try. Do it for NPH, my friends. He would watch your show.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it: this is the funniest show in all the land.
Mad Men
This has already started. Okay, I’m still not caught up on the last two seasons, but I’m working on it. And as soon as I am, I’ll have all the new episodes waiting for me on my DVR. The geniuses who invented TV show seasons on DVD and the DVR should win Nobel prizes.
Psych
This has already started as well, and so far it’s shaping up to be a great season.
The Office
OMG! What will happen with Jim and Pam?!? OMG! I love Jim and Pam! OMG!!!! (This has been brought to you by my girlfriend.)
Top Chef
We’re already one episode in, and this might be the best group of chefs they’ve had yet.
Gone but not forgotten (I can’t talk about these — the pain is too fresh):
Life
Pushing Daisies
The Unusuals
I thought I’d let you know a few of the shows I’m most looking forward to returning, as well as a few cancelled shows I’ll miss.
Looking forward to:
30 Rock
I watched some of the older episodes on DVD to get me through the summer, but I need some fresh Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy.
Castle
I missed this during the regular season, but I’ve been catching up via reruns. Very implausible, but definitely entertaining.
Dexter
No big cliffhanger to follow up on this season, but the promos lead me to believe it’s going to be a good one.
How I Met Your Mother
There are still a lot of people who have yet to give this show a try. Do it for NPH, my friends. He would watch your show.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it: this is the funniest show in all the land.
Mad Men
This has already started. Okay, I’m still not caught up on the last two seasons, but I’m working on it. And as soon as I am, I’ll have all the new episodes waiting for me on my DVR. The geniuses who invented TV show seasons on DVD and the DVR should win Nobel prizes.
Psych
This has already started as well, and so far it’s shaping up to be a great season.
The Office
OMG! What will happen with Jim and Pam?!? OMG! I love Jim and Pam! OMG!!!! (This has been brought to you by my girlfriend.)
Top Chef
We’re already one episode in, and this might be the best group of chefs they’ve had yet.
Gone but not forgotten (I can’t talk about these — the pain is too fresh):
Life
Pushing Daisies
The Unusuals
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Renting vs. Buying
We sometimes have discussions around the office about people who rent movies versus people who buy movies (I know: we sound like major party animals over here).
Before I started working here, I had always assumed that most people rent the majority of the movies they see, and buy the ones they want to watch over and over. That’s how I roll, and I hold myself up as the standard for movie consumption normalcy. A sampling of my DVD shelf: The Godfather, Almost Famous, Casablanca, Super Troopers, Better Off Dead, Band of Brothers.
But it turns out there are people who rarely rent movies. A former coworker would actually go to the store every Tuesday and buy a couple of new releases. If there wasn’t a new release he wanted, he would buy an older title. He just had to feed the monkey. So he owned thousands of movies. And most likely a house the size of the Taj Mahal.
So there’s people like me who balance renting and buying but lean towards renting, then people who almost exclusively buy movies. And I’m assuming there are some people who only rent and some who mainly buy but rent occasionally. It’s all very confusing. And I guess there are those who don’t like movies (aka weirdos), and neither rent nor buy them.
So my question for you is: what kind of movie consumer are you? Let me know via Twitter.
Before I started working here, I had always assumed that most people rent the majority of the movies they see, and buy the ones they want to watch over and over. That’s how I roll, and I hold myself up as the standard for movie consumption normalcy. A sampling of my DVD shelf: The Godfather, Almost Famous, Casablanca, Super Troopers, Better Off Dead, Band of Brothers.
But it turns out there are people who rarely rent movies. A former coworker would actually go to the store every Tuesday and buy a couple of new releases. If there wasn’t a new release he wanted, he would buy an older title. He just had to feed the monkey. So he owned thousands of movies. And most likely a house the size of the Taj Mahal.
So there’s people like me who balance renting and buying but lean towards renting, then people who almost exclusively buy movies. And I’m assuming there are some people who only rent and some who mainly buy but rent occasionally. It’s all very confusing. And I guess there are those who don’t like movies (aka weirdos), and neither rent nor buy them.
So my question for you is: what kind of movie consumer are you? Let me know via Twitter.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Top 10 Road Trip Movies
It’s your last chance (and probably too late for some of you) to get in that summer road trip. I myself have been trying to plan a Great Southern Road Trip. The idea was to head from Texas to Lorman, Mississippi (home of the Best Fried Chicken in the World), then up through Atlanta, on to Memphis, and finally ending in Nashville.
Alas, since my girlfriend refuses to spend more than six hours at a time in the car and most of my friends are now “adults” with “children,” I don’t think it’s going to happen this summer. To console myself, I’ve put together a list of my top 10 favorite road trip movies. This list tends to run more to the zany side, because I feel zaniness is a key element to a road trip movie.
1) Fandango
This only beat out Smokey and the Bandit because it’s based entirely in Texas and briefly features The University of Texas.
2) Smokey and the Bandit
The best road trip movie car and the best road trip song (/poem) ever:
Eastbound and down, loaded up and truckin’,
We gonna do what they say can’t be done.
We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there,
I’m eastbound, just watch ol’ Bandit run.
You’re welcome for getting that stuck in your head.
PS—I listened to that song like 10 times while writing this post.
3) National Lampoon’s Vacation
This movie still holds up as one of the best travel movies ever. And it features the second best road trip song: Holiday ro-ooo-ooo-oooad!
4) Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
I’m a loner, Dottie, a rebel.
5) Planes, Trains and Automobiles
With Steve Martin and John Candy, this was never going to be anything short of a classic.
6) Easy Rider
Every time I watch this, I’m determined to get a motorcycle for the next week or so. Then the realization that I would quickly kill myself on one sets in. Then I am sad.
7) The Muppet Movie
Muppets are the best.
8) Road Trip
This pretty much had to be on the list for the title, if nothing else.
9) Rain Man
I had a very tough decision to make between Rain Man and Dumb and Dumber here. I put Rain Man to show my serious side. But just know that in my heart, this spot is reserved for Dumb and Dumber.
10) The Cannonball Run
Since this is a race, it may not technically count as a road trip. But I’m putting it here because I love wacky hijinks and shenanigans, and because I thought — nay, I knew —that this list needed two Burt Reynolds movies.
Very difficult decisions were made in selecting these movies. Here are some honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut:
Dumb and Dumber
Gymkata (Okay, this isn’t technically a road trip movie, but it is one of the best movies of all time, and it does involve travel. And ninjas. And gymnastics-based martial arts.)
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
Into The Wild
Little Miss Sunshine
Lost In America
Midnight Run
Sideways
Thelma & Louise
The Blues Brothers
The Motorcycle Diaries
The Sure Thing
For others of you who can’t make a trip this year, check out our Virtual Movie Road Trip.
Alas, since my girlfriend refuses to spend more than six hours at a time in the car and most of my friends are now “adults” with “children,” I don’t think it’s going to happen this summer. To console myself, I’ve put together a list of my top 10 favorite road trip movies. This list tends to run more to the zany side, because I feel zaniness is a key element to a road trip movie.
1) Fandango
This only beat out Smokey and the Bandit because it’s based entirely in Texas and briefly features The University of Texas.
2) Smokey and the Bandit
The best road trip movie car and the best road trip song (/poem) ever:
Eastbound and down, loaded up and truckin’,
We gonna do what they say can’t be done.
We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there,
I’m eastbound, just watch ol’ Bandit run.
You’re welcome for getting that stuck in your head.
PS—I listened to that song like 10 times while writing this post.
3) National Lampoon’s Vacation
This movie still holds up as one of the best travel movies ever. And it features the second best road trip song: Holiday ro-ooo-ooo-oooad!
4) Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
I’m a loner, Dottie, a rebel.
5) Planes, Trains and Automobiles
With Steve Martin and John Candy, this was never going to be anything short of a classic.
6) Easy Rider
Every time I watch this, I’m determined to get a motorcycle for the next week or so. Then the realization that I would quickly kill myself on one sets in. Then I am sad.
7) The Muppet Movie
Muppets are the best.
8) Road Trip
This pretty much had to be on the list for the title, if nothing else.
9) Rain Man
I had a very tough decision to make between Rain Man and Dumb and Dumber here. I put Rain Man to show my serious side. But just know that in my heart, this spot is reserved for Dumb and Dumber.
10) The Cannonball Run
Since this is a race, it may not technically count as a road trip. But I’m putting it here because I love wacky hijinks and shenanigans, and because I thought — nay, I knew —that this list needed two Burt Reynolds movies.
Very difficult decisions were made in selecting these movies. Here are some honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the cut:
Dumb and Dumber
Gymkata (Okay, this isn’t technically a road trip movie, but it is one of the best movies of all time, and it does involve travel. And ninjas. And gymnastics-based martial arts.)
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
Into The Wild
Little Miss Sunshine
Lost In America
Midnight Run
Sideways
Thelma & Louise
The Blues Brothers
The Motorcycle Diaries
The Sure Thing
For others of you who can’t make a trip this year, check out our Virtual Movie Road Trip.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Integral Soundtracks
Since this week marks the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, I thought I’d highlight some movies where the soundtrack plays an important part. In many movies, the music sets the tone for a scene.
The movies below take it a step further, though. The music is an essential part of the film. Take it away, and you’d have a completely different end product. Most of the plots are about music or musicians, so that makes sense. But all of them feature a soundtrack that’s as important as the setting or a main character.
Almost Famous
My favorite movie and one of my favorite soundtracks. The classic rock is used perfectly to give you a sense of place. Nearly every character in the film loves music, and the soundtrack helps get that across. Especially when characters actually interact with a song, like in the Tiny Dancer bus scene.
High Fidelity
Another favorite of mine. Not only is it chock full of hilarity, but it gives great insight into the kind of strange characters who make up the indie music scene. While they may seem like caricatures, I have met plenty of people like this. The soundtrack, full of great indie and underground rock, ties in perfectly.
The Commitments
Again, the music the characters love (in this case soul) makes up the soundtrack, adding more depth to the characters and the film as a whole. This one is a little more under the radar than some of my other choices, and definitely worth watching.
Singles
Yeah, this is the second Cameron Crowe movie on the list. It’s no accident — that dude can really knock together a soundtrack. Which isn’t surprising, considering his first career was in music journalism. The Singles soundtrack places you right in the middle of the grunge movement of 90s Seattle. Bonus points for casting Eddie Vedder.
The Blues Brothers
The blues, soul, and classic R&B fueled Jake and Elwood’s “mission from Gad.”
The Breakfast Club
Soundtracks are very important in almost all John Hughes movies. Like his films, the soundtracks are of the time, and yet they hold up well years later. I picked The Breakfast Club mostly because of the famous final scene, but many of his movies could have gone here.
And while we’re on the subject of music, I’m going to put in a plug for our Rock Band poll. KISS cannot be allowed to win, people. Vote now!
The movies below take it a step further, though. The music is an essential part of the film. Take it away, and you’d have a completely different end product. Most of the plots are about music or musicians, so that makes sense. But all of them feature a soundtrack that’s as important as the setting or a main character.
Almost Famous
My favorite movie and one of my favorite soundtracks. The classic rock is used perfectly to give you a sense of place. Nearly every character in the film loves music, and the soundtrack helps get that across. Especially when characters actually interact with a song, like in the Tiny Dancer bus scene.
High Fidelity
Another favorite of mine. Not only is it chock full of hilarity, but it gives great insight into the kind of strange characters who make up the indie music scene. While they may seem like caricatures, I have met plenty of people like this. The soundtrack, full of great indie and underground rock, ties in perfectly.
The Commitments
Again, the music the characters love (in this case soul) makes up the soundtrack, adding more depth to the characters and the film as a whole. This one is a little more under the radar than some of my other choices, and definitely worth watching.
Singles
Yeah, this is the second Cameron Crowe movie on the list. It’s no accident — that dude can really knock together a soundtrack. Which isn’t surprising, considering his first career was in music journalism. The Singles soundtrack places you right in the middle of the grunge movement of 90s Seattle. Bonus points for casting Eddie Vedder.
The Blues Brothers
The blues, soul, and classic R&B fueled Jake and Elwood’s “mission from Gad.”
The Breakfast Club
Soundtracks are very important in almost all John Hughes movies. Like his films, the soundtracks are of the time, and yet they hold up well years later. I picked The Breakfast Club mostly because of the famous final scene, but many of his movies could have gone here.
And while we’re on the subject of music, I’m going to put in a plug for our Rock Band poll. KISS cannot be allowed to win, people. Vote now!
Friday, August 7, 2009
My Favorite School Movies
Since it’s almost back-to-school time, I got to thinking about high school. Like many people, I don’t have the fondest memories of it. There were definitely some good times had, but also a lot of cliques and drama. What I do have very fond memories of are high school movies.
The great high school movies of the 80s, 90s, and Double Aughts (many of them by John Hughes) give you a sense of all the cliqueyness and drama, but at a distance. And the zany hijinks in the movies are much zanier than any real-life zany hijinks I was privy to.
So here are some of my favorite high school movies, with comments where appropriate:
The John Hughes Collection
John Hughes set the standard for high school movies in the 80s (and also made a lot of other fantastic movies). He defined both a genre and a generation. He will be missed.
The Breakfast Club
This is the consensus number-one high school movie as rated by anyone who has ever rated that on the internets. I don’t disagree.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
This is actually one of my favorite movies, period.
Sixteen Candles
The Donger makes this movie, as far as I’m concerned.
Pretty In Pink
Duckie forever, y'all.
Weird Science
Not only is this an awesome movie, but it’s just so plausible.
Other Greats
American Graffiti
American Pie
Better Off Dead
Can't Hardly Wait
To me, this ushered the high school movie into the 21st century (followed shortly by American Pie).
Dazed and Confused
Excellent movie, and it was shot in Austin, one of the greatest cities in all the world.
Election
Fast Times At Ridgemont High
Spicoli is one of the heroes of American cinema.
Napoleon Dynamite
Fun Napoleon Dynamite Fact #1: I met Pedro at a special showing of the movie at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin. Jealous?
Fun Napoleon Dynamite Fact #2: I always thought that ND was set in some sort of alternate reality where the 80s and the present collided. But I met a girl from Idaho once, and she said that’s actually how it is there.
Rushmore
Risky Business
Say Anything
Superbad
Reminisce about your own high school experience with our School Days Poll.
The great high school movies of the 80s, 90s, and Double Aughts (many of them by John Hughes) give you a sense of all the cliqueyness and drama, but at a distance. And the zany hijinks in the movies are much zanier than any real-life zany hijinks I was privy to.
So here are some of my favorite high school movies, with comments where appropriate:
The John Hughes Collection
John Hughes set the standard for high school movies in the 80s (and also made a lot of other fantastic movies). He defined both a genre and a generation. He will be missed.
The Breakfast Club
This is the consensus number-one high school movie as rated by anyone who has ever rated that on the internets. I don’t disagree.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
This is actually one of my favorite movies, period.
Sixteen Candles
The Donger makes this movie, as far as I’m concerned.
Pretty In Pink
Duckie forever, y'all.
Weird Science
Not only is this an awesome movie, but it’s just so plausible.
Other Greats
American Graffiti
American Pie
Better Off Dead
Can't Hardly Wait
To me, this ushered the high school movie into the 21st century (followed shortly by American Pie).
Dazed and Confused
Excellent movie, and it was shot in Austin, one of the greatest cities in all the world.
Election
Fast Times At Ridgemont High
Spicoli is one of the heroes of American cinema.
Napoleon Dynamite
Fun Napoleon Dynamite Fact #1: I met Pedro at a special showing of the movie at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin. Jealous?
Fun Napoleon Dynamite Fact #2: I always thought that ND was set in some sort of alternate reality where the 80s and the present collided. But I met a girl from Idaho once, and she said that’s actually how it is there.
Rushmore
Risky Business
Say Anything
Superbad
Reminisce about your own high school experience with our School Days Poll.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Must-See Movies
The Online Content Team has put together a list of movies that we think everyone should see. These are the kind of movies that you might have missed, but if you told one of us that, we’d give you the stinkeye. Which nobody likes to get.
A Room with a View
Almost Famous
Being There
Brick
Chinatown
Come September
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
Enchanted April
Giant
Indiscreet
Memento
Office Space
Rear Window
Shaun of the Dead
Swimming with Sharks
The Boondock Saints
The Dead Zone
The Fall
The Final Countdown
The Italian Job
The Man Who Would Be King
To Catch a Thief
A Room with a View
Almost Famous
Being There
Brick
Chinatown
Come September
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
Enchanted April
Giant
Indiscreet
Memento
Office Space
Rear Window
Shaun of the Dead
Swimming with Sharks
The Boondock Saints
The Dead Zone
The Fall
The Final Countdown
The Italian Job
The Man Who Would Be King
To Catch a Thief
