30 Day Movie Challenge - Day 23-26
Feb. 10th, 2011 01:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trinityvixenYesterday was our official lab christening or whatever. We toasted the rich guy who gave us all the money for the new floor. I had about three sips of wine and champagne and a ton of cheese before I started to feel not so hot. Our lab had happy hour plans, though--to welcome the new members--so I went out with them and sipped a diet soda for a while. By the time I left for the bus, I was shivering, and by the time I got home, it took me twenty minutes under blankets for my teeth to stop chattering. Guess who's home sick today after spiking a 101.6 fever! Me!
I don't usually get sick this often, so I'm more mad about that that anything. It's the worst time, too. I keep getting sick right when I need to do a procedure. Oh well. Not much else for today but memes. That's about my mental speed. I'll have to cover this weekend, too, since I'm going away. (Yes, I'm sick, but, no, I'm not missing my friend's PhD defense in Boston.)
Day 23 - Your favorite character from any movie
I have trouble with these "favorite" labels. I don't have just one favorite. I don't even have one character that I quote more often than others. But if I had to pick a character who I pretty much liked, start to finish, regardless of what happened in the movies around that character, it would probably be Ellen Ripley. It helps that I think Sigourney Weaver walks on water, I'm sure.
But it's more than that. There's an amazing amount of progression with Ripley's character, despite the fact that the character passed through so many hands in the making of the Alien movies. I think her refusal to do what is wrong or what is easy is probably her most endearing trait. Because that proves, moreso than even charging in to an Alien den, how brave she is. There is also precious little about Ripley, even from the beginning, that is prone to weakness. Yes, she gets scared, but she powers through it, and she figures out the solution. I like that she uses her head but isn't entirely cerebral. She has real emotions, real fears, real loves, real connections with the people around her.
I think that may be why I like Aliens the best of all the movies. The supporting characters are well-written to begin with, but how the heroine connects with them is a big part of how much the audience connects with them. And Ripley has meaningful interactions with all of them. She's a main character that you really can hang the rest of the movie on, and i love her for it.
Day 24 - Favorite Documentary
Wow, I didn't even need to think about this one. It was the first one to pop into my head, and I can't question that impulse because this is a superbly good documentary. There are other, "better" ones that deal with subject matter that is, objectively, more important. But the issues addressed in this movie hit every one of my buttons.
This movie exposes the hypocrisy and inherent bias in the movie rating industry. Every thing they do that is annoying or wrong--to my mind--is pretty much shown to be about abuse of absolute power. The people who determine the ratings get to say what is an R, and unless you're a major studio with millions of dollars, they're not going to tell you what makes an R an R. The system is hidden from people and is therefore horribly corrupt--surprise!--and prone to serving itself more than serving the public. (Again, an organization that keeps everything it does secret doesn't really serve the public? SURPRISE.)
If it were just hypocrisy of rich movies versus indies being screwed over, I probably wouldn't care as much as I do. But Kirby Dick makes a good case for the people in this ratings cabal being both prudish and, frankly, racist. (Missionary sex at medium distance? PG-13! Oh, wait, they're black? Um...) The rules that govern who can't be a rater or not are (I'm tired of saying "surprise" already) aren't followed, so the ostensible reason these people should have the power to rate things isn't valid. And yet they're still in charge.
Day 25 - A movie no one would expect you to love
I almost put L.A. Confidential here because, back when that came out, I saw it four times in the theaters and my Dad was surprised that I had such good taste (this was around the time when the only things I saw multiple times in the theater were things like Con Air). So that definitely was something that he, at least, didn't expect me to like. It was a "Wow, my daughter can distinguish a good movie from a bad one?" moment for him.
But speaking nowadays, I'd have to go with Legally Blonde. I don't particularly care for Reese Witherspoon, and her character is just short of being Paris Hilton. Yet I quite like this movie. It's quotable, and it's fun, and the whole court case at the center of the movie plays out like an episode of Scooby Doo. What's not to like? Okay, so the heroine is shallow and solves her case with her extensive knowledge of hair care, but as long as I'm not around people like that in real life, I can deal with it in a movie.
What's funniest to me is that despite the famous people in the cast, the one actor who surprised me the most for being in it was the asshole boyfriend (whose dumping of the heroine leads to her following him to law school). He was in Urban Legends 2: Final Cut as, I couldn't make this up if I tried, twin brothers, one of whom shows up out of the blue when the other apparently commits suicide. Perhaps it makes me a bad person, but that bit of soap opera-level dun-dun-DUN!!! reveal kills me. I wasn't able to pay attention to much else in Legally Blonde the first time around.
Day 26 - A movie that is a guilty pleasure
Isn't this kind of redundant with the entry above? Oh well. I could have put any number of things here. I like plenty of movies that are so, so bad, but that I, nonetheless, kind of love. The first Fantastic Four movie, where the rich guy with billions of dollars with which to ruin his enemies decides instead to kill people to get what he wants. The Holiday, with Cameron Diaz and Jack Black, of all people. (And, no, Kate Winslet doesn't necessarily make up for them). Surely, the Resident Evil movies must count. Street Fighter? Mortal Kombat?
Nah, you can figure out why anyone would have fun with those. This is a direct-to-DVD sequel to The Crow, and it's not even the first such sequel. It has tenuous relations to plot and character building and it stars Kirsten Dunst. (Thankfully, not as the Crow.) Yet I almost totally love it. There's a lot of potential with the story--a lot of wasted potential, sure, but potential! Instead of being murdered, the man who becomes the Crow is being put to death for a murder he didn't commit, and his coming back as the Crow is as much to clear his name as to get revenge. The bad guys this time around are a bunch of crooked cops, which makes their villainy all the more imperative to stop, seeing as they're never at risk of being prosecuted (hell, they're not going to get caught). And! At one point? The uber bad guy sews Kirsten Dunst's mouth shut, which is a total bonus.
I have this one favorite line, too, which I tell people about and invariably get o.O faces back at me. Basically, the Crow attacks one of the crooked cops, only just realizing that the guy might not be on the level when the cop starts feeling up a drunk girl and shoots the Crow in the face. The cop starts monologuing, confessing to everything and still being all superior and shit. He then says something to the effect of, "There! You happy now, freak?" for his having told him. The Crow grabs the cop's gun, shoves it in the cop's mouth, and says, in all seriousness, "I'M WORKING ON IT." I find that whole exchange amazing. Now I want to go watch this again.
Day 01
Day 02
Day 03 - 06
Day 07
Day 08
Day 09
Day 10
Day 11-13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17-19
Day 20
Day 21
Day 22
Wow, this is the longest I've been upright for twelve hours. I'm going back to sleep now.
I don't usually get sick this often, so I'm more mad about that that anything. It's the worst time, too. I keep getting sick right when I need to do a procedure. Oh well. Not much else for today but memes. That's about my mental speed. I'll have to cover this weekend, too, since I'm going away. (Yes, I'm sick, but, no, I'm not missing my friend's PhD defense in Boston.)
Day 23 - Your favorite character from any movie
I have trouble with these "favorite" labels. I don't have just one favorite. I don't even have one character that I quote more often than others. But if I had to pick a character who I pretty much liked, start to finish, regardless of what happened in the movies around that character, it would probably be Ellen Ripley. It helps that I think Sigourney Weaver walks on water, I'm sure.
But it's more than that. There's an amazing amount of progression with Ripley's character, despite the fact that the character passed through so many hands in the making of the Alien movies. I think her refusal to do what is wrong or what is easy is probably her most endearing trait. Because that proves, moreso than even charging in to an Alien den, how brave she is. There is also precious little about Ripley, even from the beginning, that is prone to weakness. Yes, she gets scared, but she powers through it, and she figures out the solution. I like that she uses her head but isn't entirely cerebral. She has real emotions, real fears, real loves, real connections with the people around her.
I think that may be why I like Aliens the best of all the movies. The supporting characters are well-written to begin with, but how the heroine connects with them is a big part of how much the audience connects with them. And Ripley has meaningful interactions with all of them. She's a main character that you really can hang the rest of the movie on, and i love her for it.
Day 24 - Favorite Documentary
Wow, I didn't even need to think about this one. It was the first one to pop into my head, and I can't question that impulse because this is a superbly good documentary. There are other, "better" ones that deal with subject matter that is, objectively, more important. But the issues addressed in this movie hit every one of my buttons.
This movie exposes the hypocrisy and inherent bias in the movie rating industry. Every thing they do that is annoying or wrong--to my mind--is pretty much shown to be about abuse of absolute power. The people who determine the ratings get to say what is an R, and unless you're a major studio with millions of dollars, they're not going to tell you what makes an R an R. The system is hidden from people and is therefore horribly corrupt--surprise!--and prone to serving itself more than serving the public. (Again, an organization that keeps everything it does secret doesn't really serve the public? SURPRISE.)
If it were just hypocrisy of rich movies versus indies being screwed over, I probably wouldn't care as much as I do. But Kirby Dick makes a good case for the people in this ratings cabal being both prudish and, frankly, racist. (Missionary sex at medium distance? PG-13! Oh, wait, they're black? Um...) The rules that govern who can't be a rater or not are (I'm tired of saying "surprise" already) aren't followed, so the ostensible reason these people should have the power to rate things isn't valid. And yet they're still in charge.
Day 25 - A movie no one would expect you to love
I almost put L.A. Confidential here because, back when that came out, I saw it four times in the theaters and my Dad was surprised that I had such good taste (this was around the time when the only things I saw multiple times in the theater were things like Con Air). So that definitely was something that he, at least, didn't expect me to like. It was a "Wow, my daughter can distinguish a good movie from a bad one?" moment for him.
But speaking nowadays, I'd have to go with Legally Blonde. I don't particularly care for Reese Witherspoon, and her character is just short of being Paris Hilton. Yet I quite like this movie. It's quotable, and it's fun, and the whole court case at the center of the movie plays out like an episode of Scooby Doo. What's not to like? Okay, so the heroine is shallow and solves her case with her extensive knowledge of hair care, but as long as I'm not around people like that in real life, I can deal with it in a movie.
What's funniest to me is that despite the famous people in the cast, the one actor who surprised me the most for being in it was the asshole boyfriend (whose dumping of the heroine leads to her following him to law school). He was in Urban Legends 2: Final Cut as, I couldn't make this up if I tried, twin brothers, one of whom shows up out of the blue when the other apparently commits suicide. Perhaps it makes me a bad person, but that bit of soap opera-level dun-dun-DUN!!! reveal kills me. I wasn't able to pay attention to much else in Legally Blonde the first time around.
Day 26 - A movie that is a guilty pleasure
Isn't this kind of redundant with the entry above? Oh well. I could have put any number of things here. I like plenty of movies that are so, so bad, but that I, nonetheless, kind of love. The first Fantastic Four movie, where the rich guy with billions of dollars with which to ruin his enemies decides instead to kill people to get what he wants. The Holiday, with Cameron Diaz and Jack Black, of all people. (And, no, Kate Winslet doesn't necessarily make up for them). Surely, the Resident Evil movies must count. Street Fighter? Mortal Kombat?
Nah, you can figure out why anyone would have fun with those. This is a direct-to-DVD sequel to The Crow, and it's not even the first such sequel. It has tenuous relations to plot and character building and it stars Kirsten Dunst. (Thankfully, not as the Crow.) Yet I almost totally love it. There's a lot of potential with the story--a lot of wasted potential, sure, but potential! Instead of being murdered, the man who becomes the Crow is being put to death for a murder he didn't commit, and his coming back as the Crow is as much to clear his name as to get revenge. The bad guys this time around are a bunch of crooked cops, which makes their villainy all the more imperative to stop, seeing as they're never at risk of being prosecuted (hell, they're not going to get caught). And! At one point? The uber bad guy sews Kirsten Dunst's mouth shut, which is a total bonus.
I have this one favorite line, too, which I tell people about and invariably get o.O faces back at me. Basically, the Crow attacks one of the crooked cops, only just realizing that the guy might not be on the level when the cop starts feeling up a drunk girl and shoots the Crow in the face. The cop starts monologuing, confessing to everything and still being all superior and shit. He then says something to the effect of, "There! You happy now, freak?" for his having told him. The Crow grabs the cop's gun, shoves it in the cop's mouth, and says, in all seriousness, "I'M WORKING ON IT." I find that whole exchange amazing. Now I want to go watch this again.
Day 01
Day 02
Day 03 - 06
Day 07
Day 08
Day 09
Day 10
Day 11-13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17-19
Day 20
Day 21
Day 22
Wow, this is the longest I've been upright for twelve hours. I'm going back to sleep now.
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no subject
Date: 2011-02-10 06:47 pm (UTC)Favorite documentary: either that one or Who Killed the Electric Car?
A movie no one would expect you to love: Love, Actually. It's a romantic comedy, after all, and I'm not known for my fondness for that genre, though I like more of them than I usually admit. :)
Movie that is a guilty pleasure: The Replacements. A sports comedy with Keanu Reeves? Really? But it's way too much fun.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-10 07:42 pm (UTC)I'm only really seen one Alien movie (not countin the AVP films) my whole life and I think it was the first one. When I was a kid, they were too scary for me and now there's just so much shit out there to watch that I haven't gotten around to the rest.
This Film Is Not Yet Rated! Rented it when it came out and loved it. My jaw dropped when I saw the list of directors who've had films slapped with the "X" rating and it included just about every big name in the business. But yeah, it made me so angry, seeing how corrupt the system really is. And it also irks me that it will probably continue getting away with it because there are so many people like me who, since it is hidden, don't really think about it. *sigh*
I'm the only person I know who actually found some level of enjoyment in The Crow: City of Angels and the Stairway to Heaven series (I thought Mark Dacascos made a good Draven) and I have the Salvation soundtrack and VHS, but I have not yet seen it. One of these days.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-10 08:10 pm (UTC)What is involved with attending a PhD defense? Is it held in a coliseum or Thunderdome? Does she have to fight with robots?
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 03:43 am (UTC)I only just saw The Replacements last year. All I kept from that was Rhys Ifans saying "Wiry!" in his crazy accent.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 03:46 am (UTC)Ugh, I loathed The Crow: City of Angels, but mostly, I think, because it was trying to connect to the previous movie. Can't hold a candle to the bullshit that was The Crow: Wicked Prayer, which starred, I shit thee not, Edward Furlong, David Boreanaz, Macy Gray, and Dennis Hopper. (Oh and Tara Reid.) What a piece of shit that was.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 03:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 04:09 am (UTC)HA! I was working at the video store when Wicked Prayer was released and I had to laugh when I saw Boreanez and Reid were in it. Ugh, I didn't noticed Macy Gray was in it as well though. At least it had Dennis Hopper, who was one of my favorite actors. I'll have to see that hot mess sometime, too.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 04:41 am (UTC)