Movies for People Who Like Books

Hey everybody
This started out as a conversation between my brother Andy, Erin his wife, Lindsey and I Sunday night. Been on my mind, though it's not very important in the grand ol' scheme of things.

Can you even type movies into genres anymore? I think so.

There's the big three: Comedy, Drama, Action. Every movie made fits into these three in some sort of fashion. But it's harder and harder to come up with categories for movies.

Dramedy, SciFi, Fantasy, Action comedy, romantic comedy, horror, thriller, martial arts, fantasy action, fantasy romance, tragedy-drama, triumph-drama. And of course, High School Musical.

What's the difference between science fiction and fantasy? Andy says that true science fiction is feasable, it could happen or can be somehow explain by science. So, Star Wars is a SciFi movie and Lord of The Rings is fantasy. But come on. It can't be that simple. Jabba the Hut explained by science? The Force as a feasable medium for elite corps of soldiers?

Is Terminator 2 an action movie or a science fiction movie? Is The Princess Bride a romance, a comedy or a fantasy? What the heck is Moulan Rouge?

or Pocahantas for that matter? Stereotypically fictionalized musical comedy biopic with talking animals. Where's that section in the store Blockbuster?

Alright, enough about genres. Let's get down to business.

The top ten movies I've ever seen (trilogies counted as one movie):
1. Star Wars IV-VI
2. The Godfather Pt. 1
3. Braveheart (before The Patriot and Passion of the Christ)
4. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
5. LOTR
6. The Jerk
7. Goodfellas
8. Resevoir Dogs
9. Silence of the Lambs
10. Die Hard pt. 1
(11. the most badass, adreneline-fueled, testosterone-filled movie of all time: 300)

The top ten movie MOMENTS of all time:
1. "Luke, I am your father." "That's not true, that's impossible."
2. The baptism/assassination scene at the end of the Godfather.
3. Jim Stewart and friends leaving the house in The Birds.
4. The reveal of the true Kaiser Scosa in the Usual Suspects.
5. The last twenty minutes of Temple of Doom.
6. The reveal of the real dead person in Sixth Sense (be honest, you didn't see it coming!)
7. The first sight of Jaws jaws. "We're gonna need a bigger boat."
8. E. T. taking off with the bikes.
9. The first word of Dwane in Little Miss Sunshine.
10. The first utterance of the now infamous line, "Yippie-kay-yay, motherf***er." Die Hard

Some interesting points here: Stephen Spielberg is involved in three of these, Bruce Willis for two, and, who knew, Toni Collete (Sixth Sense, Little Miss) in two.

Some movie moments that should've never been made:
Ewoks!! I know my brother will probably have some theological point to say why the Ewoks were appropriate but, please!! The empire gets destroyed by a bunch of teddy bears.

Kathy Bates' nude scene in About Schmidt. Every Ashley Judd movie. Godfather Pt. 3. Ending All the Presidents Men with a bunch of headlines. The reveal of The Village (be honest, we ALL saw it coming). Any fake birth filmed and put in the movie: Knocked Up, Children of Men, Hills Have Eyes II. Pocahantas as a half-black, half-Chinese, half-Polynesian and NO-part Native American for the kids. Filming Hannibal without Jodie Foster as Clairece Starling. Starting every Rocky movie with 10 minutes of the last Rocky movie, come on Sly.

And, most of all, the BIGGEST mistake in movie history, a genius of my generation of movie stars, Leonardo DeCaprio, starring Titanic. I sympathize with my brother who is not a Leo fan but kinda stopped watching him after that dreadful, never-needed-to-be-made, three-hour-snoozefest. Let's add 'em up: Basketball Diaries, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, The Beach, The Aviator (show me all the blueprints), Gangs of New York, The Departed, Romeo and Juliet, Blood Diamond and Catch Me if You Can. Annnnndd....Titanic. I think we can let that one slide. If you haven't seen Gangs, Aviator, Departed, or Blood Diamond, watch them this week. You can borrow Gangs and Departed from me if you want. But, people of the world who gave up on Leo after Titanic, Andy Bryan, it's time to give him another chance.

Alright folks, sorry to ramble, but I'm sitting in class and we're off on some tangent that is in no way important to anything I will ever be tested on or need in my life. I love movies almost as much as I love music. I encourage everybody to find your local independent movie theater, the Tivoli in KC and the Ragtag in Columbia. Don't really pay attention to the Oscars, but rather watch the festivals, Toronto, Tibeca, Cannes, Sundance, for what movies are causing a stir there and find them. See EVERYTHING that Stephen Spielberg, Martin Scorcese, Quinten Tarantino and Clint Eastwood (yes, Dirty Harry) direct. Watch cheesy horror movies and Mel Brooks comedies. Listen to directors commentaries. Listen to actors commentaries (the Anchorman commentary is so funny it's like a second movie). Go to movies on a couple of afternoons a month to beat the prices but see movies as they're intended to be seen. (i'm really just typing to stretch the time out longer)

So, I'm done. I'd be interested in additions, subtractions, and amendments to my lists. Take care everybody.

Peace, BB