Category Archives: Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites: Favorite Montage – The Great Movie Ride

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.

I haven’t done a Friday Favorite in a while, mostly because no one read them, but I was in the mood to revive it for at least today.  Whenever the Oscars roll around, I always find myself thinking back to go the great films throughout 100 years of movie history.  And whenever I find myself contemplating the power and history of film, I always turn to one, 3 minute montage that completely embodies film for me.  Take a look:

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Favorite Moment – Star Trek: First Contact

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.

Star Trek: First Contact is without a doubt my favorite Star Trek film, even over Wrath of Khan.  I’m well aware that I have a bias towards the Next Generation crew, but there is so much in First Contact that makes me pick it over the other 10 films.  It has a great screenplay by longtime Trek writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore, which gives all of the characters moments to shine and shows an intimate familiarity with the universe.  The same goes for Jonathan Frakes, who directs the film with a light touch that can only come from years of working with the same cast and crew.  It has some of the best action of the series and a great villain in the Borg.  The non-TNG cast are great, especially James Cromwell and Alfre Woodard.  The effects are a huge step up from previous efforts and the new Enterprise-E is gorgeous.  Beyond all that, the film has some interesting ideas both about our past and our future.

There’s one moment that really cements the film in my mind, but it requires a bit of plot background.  Continue reading →

Favorite Moment – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.

In a further attempt to get over my inability to write about Harry Potter, I give you today’s Friday Favorite, from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  Until the release of the two part Deathly Hallows films, Goblet of Fire was my favorite of the Harry Potter films.  While many people preferred Prisoner of Azkaban, I liked this one the best.  I thought it gave an emotional depth and realism to the characters that was a big step beyond anything we had seen in the previous three movies.  Big credit for that goes to director Mike Newell and screenwriter Steve Kloves, but I also felt the cast had finally matured to the point where their performances could bring the characters to life in a new way.  I particularly loved Emma Watson’s performance in the film, and she’s given so many chances to shine, but there’s one moment in particular that stands out to me.  Take a look, and read on for my thoughts:

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Friday Favorites: Favorite Performance – School of Rock

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.

I’m not particularly a fan of Jack Black.  Sure, I like Kung Fu Panda, he wasn’t bad in Tropic Thunder, and admittedly his extended cameo in The Muppets was fantastic, but otherwise I generally avoid his movies.  However, he has one performance that I think is truly fantastic, and that is as Dewey Finn in School of Rock.  I realize that there’s not a lot of heavy acting required for the role, as Jack Black is basically playing himself, but I was struck by something when I caught the film on TV recently that I hadn’t noticed before.

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Friday Favorites: Favorite Scene – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.

As I’ve said before, I have a hard time writing about Harry Potter.  It’s something that’s so personal for me that I’m unable to separate my emotions enough to talk about the things that mean so much to me, much less do a full on analysis.  In spite of that, however, there are some things I can’t resist bringing up, one of which is this scene from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (starting at 1:10, with the Piertotem Locomotor as just a bonus):

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Friday Favorites: Favorite Character – The Fifth Element

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.

Last week in part 1 of my Friday Favorites devoted to characters from The Fifth Element I talked about how much I enjoy Ruby Rhod as played by Chris Tucker.  However, there’s one other character in the film that holds my attention every time he’s onscreen, and that is Gary Oldman’s villainous Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg.  Zorg would probably go in my top 10 most memorable film villains of all time.  Much like with Ruby Rhod, Zorg is the perfect combination of writing, styling and performance that makes him hard to forget.

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Friday Favorites: Favorite Character – The Fifth Element

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.

The Fifth Element is a divisive film.  People either love it or can’t stand it, and considering how often it gets shown on TV, it’s probably safe to assume that most people have seen at least part of it.  I’m on the side that loves it, as it’s right up my alley.  I love the style of the film, with some truly unique costumes and set designs and it’s unusual musical selections.  I like it’s tone, which blends humor and action in interesting ways, but also has some real pathos to the story in its emotional core.  And it’s super cheesy, which appeals to me immensely because there’s nothing I love more than a cheesy film that wears its heart on its sleeve, and it doesn’t get any cheesier than love being the ultimate power capable of defeating evil.  What I love most of all, however, is the film’s odd cast of characters, beyond just Korben and Leeloo, so this week’s and next week’s Friday Favorite will each focus on one of my favorite characters from the film.

The Fifth Element spends its first third as a quirky, bizarre sci-fi action comedy, telling the story of a mysterious perfect being who, through a chance encounter, ends up with a former special forces officer who now drives a cab for a living.  The two are sent on a mission to gather a weapon to stop an ultimate evil, and Korben is sent undercover as a contest winner in order to gain access to the flying hotel where he needs to pick up some magical stones.  As goofy as that sounds, the movie switches in an instant from silly to batshit crazy and fascinating in an instant, when this happens: Continue reading →

Friday Favorites: Favorite Scare – The Exorcist

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.

I have a bit of a complicated relationship with Halloween when it comes to movies.  I’m not big on “scary” movies, where things are designed to jump out and get the audience to scream.  However I do love suspenseful movies that create a sense of dread that hangs with you for days afterwards.  I love the films of Hitchcock, the classic monster movies of the 30s, and other films that set out to create more of an atmosphere than to get simple scares.  I’m also a fan of “spooky” settings and the macabre in film, but I don’t watch movies to be spooked.  Slasher movies have no interest to me, I don’t want to see creepy children climbing out of TV sets, and the trick of loud bangs and things jumping out is just annoying to me.

However, there are exceptions.  Continue reading →

Friday Favorites: Favorite Songwriting – Beauty and the Beast

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.

I’ve seen Beauty and the Beast more times than I could possibly remember, and have listened to the soundtrack even more frequently.  It’s one of my favorite song scores for film, particularly as its structure and styling is very reminiscent of traditional Broadway musicals, filled with reprises and cast cues that feel very familiar to those on the stage.  (It also helps that the songs for the film were largely recorded live with the orchestra, helping it to feel more like a Broadway cast album rather than a studio recording.)  Perhaps that’s one of the reasons its stage version was so successful.  However, until just this week I had never picked up on one of the most clever aspects of the song score.

During the opening number, “Belle”, we’re introduced to the film’s protagonist, who is viewed by the villagers as too dreamy and bookish for their tastes despite her beauty.  Continue reading →

Friday Favorites: Favorite Scene – Beetlejuice

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Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.

Whenever Halloween approaches, I always think of Beetlejuice.  Maybe it’s because I dressed up as the title character one year for Halloween, or because the movie fits in with the season so well.  And whenever I think of Beetlejuice, my mind immediately jumps to one particular scene.  It’s the scene, for me, that perfectly captures the essence of the film’s spirit, despite the fact that features none of the 3 lead actors of the film.  Take a look, and read on for my thoughts:

What scene did you think I was going to pick? Continue reading →