Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
I’m a big fan of movies that manage to capture the entire film in just one scene, especially when it is done in a way that doesn’t scream, “This is what the movie is about,” in an annoyingly obvious way. Hook is by far the best example of this, but discussing that scene is an essay for another time, so instead I present you with a similar scene from Pitch Perfect. Take a look:
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
It would be safe to say that Data is one of my favorite characters in all of art, literature and storytelling. He’s most certainly my favorite TV character. There’s something about his story of an android longing to be human, without realizing that in all the ways that matter he already is, that’s innately compelling. Add in a dash of Pinocchio and Frankenstein’s Monster and you’ve got Data. Those of us who were big fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation were thrilled for many reasons when it transitioned to the big screen at the end of its run. But for me, one of the greatest joys of the movie is Data’s acquisition of the emotion chip, leading to this small scene, which remains one of my favorite things I’ve ever seen:
In the film, Data installs the emotion chip after a failed attempt at humor during Worf’s promotion ceremony. Continue reading
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
I’ve mentioned previously my love for Tangled. It has many things at appeal to me, specifically. It’s hilarious, has great music, a strong female protagonist (in my opinion… I know there’s some disagreement about that) and is gorgeously animated. The highlight of the film, musically, artistically and from the standpoint of character, comes as Rapunzel finally gets to see the “floating lights” that she has dreamed about her entire life. But for me there’s one particular moment that I can relate to above all things. Take a look, and read on for my favorite moment:
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
In light of my recent post about film critics, I decided today’s Friday Favorite could only be Anton Ego’s review from Ratatouille. It’s certainly something that I can relate to, both as a film buff and as something of a critic. And as I’ve said before, I love a good movies speech. Take a look:
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
After the big news (on my birthday) that the Supreme Court had struck down DOMA and Prop 8, I knew I wanted to feature something related to the topic for my Friday Favorite. There were many choices. I could have used Lynn Redgrave’s amazing scene in Kinsey, or anything from Philadelphia or Rent, but I kept coming back to Valerie’s letter from V for Vendetta. I know it seems like an odd scene given the happy news from this week, but I think it’s important to realize both how important this news is and how far we still have to go.
V for Vendetta is an interesting movie, given that I’ve heard positive things about it both from liberals and conservatives. Continue reading
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
The Birdcage is, for my money, a perfect movie. I’ve seen it dozens of times and it has lost none of its wit, heart or humor. I watch it fairly often on DVD, and I can’t pass it over when I see it on TV (truly, the sign of a great movie). I could easily pick half a dozen scenes and lines as favorites (John Wayne, “It’s ASPIRIN with the A and the S scraped off,” the soup bowls, “Why you gotta be such a bitch to everybody?”), but for me there’s no scene better or more representative of The Birdcage than this one:
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
Today’s Friday Favorite, from the final film of the trilogy, is one that I actually spent a long time discussing in part 1 of my Pirates of the Caribbean analysis. As the final battle approaches, Elizabeth, Barbossa and Jack head to parley with Beckett and Davy Jones (with Will alongside, having lead the East India Company fleet to Shipwreck Cove). Watch the scene below (in two parts, of varying quality, sorry) and then read on for my analysis: Continue reading
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
High School Musical is the sort of film that feels like it was made just for me. I’m sure everyone has a couple of those, that feel like the opening credits should contain the words “This one’s for you!” When I first saw it I was living alone in California, and at the time I watched a lot of the Disney Channel. I would always catch pieces of it, previews for it, or song clips from it, but it was almost a year after it premiered before I finally caught it in its entirety, and I was immediately sucked in. (I went out the next day, bought the DVD, and watched it two more times that night.)
It was the opening song that caught my attention, but what cemented the movie in my brain was the character of Kelsi. Continue reading
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
Juno is, for me, a near perfect movie. It owes a lot of its success to a clever script by Diablo Cody and great direction by Jason Reitman, but the bulk of its magnificence rests on the shoulders of its cast. Ellen Page is Juno, and all of the supporting cast (Michael Cera, J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney and Jason Bateman, just for starters) give heartfelt and genuine performances that are simultaneously hilarious. But one character that I feel has always gotten a bad rap is Jennifer Garner’s Vanessa.
I’ve had several conversations about Juno with people I know. Some of them love the movie, some hate it, but one of the surprising things that I hear often enough to bother me is that people hate Vanessa. Continue reading
Welcome to “Friday Favorites” which highlight some of my favorite movie-related things.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a bit of an oddity. It’s the third film in a trilogy of sorts, one that started with The Wrath of Khan and continued with The Search for Spock. It has none of the hallmarks of any other Star Trek movie: there are no space battles, no action to speak of, no Enterprise, and almost none of the film takes place among the stars at all. The Voyage Home is half fish-out-of-water comedy and half environmental sermon, and it’s the latter half that’s so remarkable. In fact, it can be summed up by just one shot, my favorite in the film:
The Voyage Home was a bold move for Star Trek. Continue reading
The Love Pirate 