The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here to see all 50 questions in a nice and organized list. It’s such a pretty list.
movieguyjon
50DMC – 5 – Favorite Documentary
The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here to see all 50 questions in a nice and organized list. It’s such a pretty list.
TODAY: What’s your favorite documentary?
50DMC – 4 – Favorite Animated Film
The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here to see all 50 questions in a nice and organized list. It’s such a pretty list.
TODAY: What’s your favorite animated film?
50DMC – 3 – Movie I’ve Seen The Most
The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here to see all 50 questions in a nice and organized list. It’s such a pretty list.
TODAY: What movie have you watched the most in your life?
50DMC – 2 – First Movie I Remember Seeing
The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here to see all 50 questions in a nice and organized list. It’s such a pretty list.
TODAY: What is the first movie you remember seeing in theaters?
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen other films before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie in the theater, but I don’t remember them. I was quite the fan of the Turtles from the start, so when the film came out I absolutely HAD to go! I remember being drawn in by how well the puppetry was done in this film, as well as how dark the film was in comparison to the Saturday morning cartoon. And while the film has gotten a bit silly with age, I distinctly remember it being “the best thing ever.”
The scene I embedded below is perhaps my favorite scene in the entire film, and the one that got all of us kids who had gone to see it roaring with laughter. “Damn” was a bit of a naughty word at that age, and to hear it in the movies was a bit of a thrill. What would our parents do when they heard THE MOVIE SWEARING?!?!
It’s probably best that Dad took me to this one. Mom might not have been too thrilled.
50DMC – 1 – My Favorite Movie
The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here to see all 50 questions in a nice and organized list. It’s such a pretty list.
TODAY: What is your favorite movie?
Whenever I tell someone that I’m interested in making movies or that I’m “kind of a movie buff,” they almost invariably ask me to name my favorite film. For the longest time I would randomly say whatever film came to my head that sounded cool or that fit the social scenario I was in. If I were among classmates from film school I would say that Dr. Strangelove was my favorite film in order to impress them, or if I were at a bar with people who quoted Old School like it were god’s gift to cinema I would say that The Princess Bride was my favorite film so I could feel superior to them. But somewhere in the journey that is life I decided to settle down and actually pick a favorite film. Garden State is that film.
Having just dealt with tragedy in my life and feelings of estrangement from my family I was able to connect with the film in a profound way. The selection of music and the overall mood “spoke to me,” to use a cliche. I was already a fan of Zach Braff from Scrubs and to see him take on a more serious role was refreshing. Not only that, but this film marked the birth of the “manic pixie dreamgirl” that we’ve come to roll our eyes at.
Here’s a trailer with great music and a pretty accurate feel of what the movie is like.
The 50 Day Movie Challenge
I REALLY like memes. Don’t believe me? There’s a post of 100 Things I Love About My Favorite Movies on my blog that will delight fellow movie lovers and sadden them at the same time as the myriad of youtube clips overload and crash their browsers.
This particular meme caught my eye as it was making the rounds on both Facebook and various other blogs. The idea is to post one each day for fifty days and to provide clips where possible. I plan to post these throughout the weekday, skipping Saturday and Sunday to get a bit of a queue built up.
Here’s the full list of questions. I will add the links to the latest posts as they get uploaded.
1) Your favorite movie
2) The first movie you remember seeing in theaters
3) The movie you’ve seen the most (repeatedly) in your life
4) Your favorite animated film
5) Your favorite documentary
6) Your least favorite movie by your favorite director
7) Your favorite movie soundtrack
8) Your favorite opening sequence
9) Your favorite movie ending
10) The movie that least deserved to win Best Picture at the Oscars
11) A movie you walked out on in theaters
12) Your favorite male performance
13) Your favorite female performance
14) A movie that made you cry
15) Biggest movie character crush
16) The scariest movie you’ve ever seen
17) The funniest movie you’ve ever seen
18) A movie that disturbed you
19) A movie you’re surprised you enjoyed
20) A movie you thought you would love but were disappointed
21) A movie that most fans and critics loved (but you hated)
22) A movie that most fans and critics hated (but you loved)
23) A movie you think is critically or commercially overrated
24) The most beautiful movie you’ve ever seen
25) The best-scripted movie you’ve ever seen
26) The most embarrassing movie in your personal collection
27) An iconic movie that you still haven’t seen
28) A movie you REFUSE to see
29) The one movie you think everyone should see
30) The last movie you saw in theatres
31) The worst movie you’ve ever seen
32) Favorite sequel
33) Favorite remake
34) favorite series
35) Favorite book-to-screen adaptation
36) Most Uncomfortable Date Movie –
37) A film you could never watch with your parents
38) Movie World that you would most want to live in
39) Favourite Musical
40) Favourite Movie Death
41) A film that you quote most
42) A movie that you would love to tour the locations for
43) Your favourite music scene from a non-musical
44) Your favourite comfort film
45) A movie that turned you on
46) A film you would like to remake
47) Currently unfilmed book or idea that should be a film
48) Movie Scene That Most Makes You Wince
49) A Movie that will always make you think of a special moment
50) Favourite Black and white film
I Totally Love Hate Android
I complain about Android a lot. You really only have to find the nearest social network and check the first page on my profile to see some new issue I have with the mobile OS. I’ve pretty much lamented everything from fragmentation to the lack of screencapping (without root) as well as everything in between. Lest this outspokenness be construed as simple dislike or at worst Apple Fanboyism, I’d like to offer you a nice and tidy list of the things I love and hate about Android. It’s not a comprehensive list by any means, but I feel like it should give you some perspective the next time you see me flailing my arms and ranting about the next big thing that “super sucks” about Android.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT ANDROID
The Notification Tray
I like that there’s a notification tray at the top of my phone and that everything I need to know that’s urgent goes there. I’ve seen the popup notifcations in iOS and I can’t say that’s something that appeals to me. Granted, I have an SMS popup app, but that’s because I like being able to quickly respond to texts from friends. I also like that I can quickly see the progress of my apps that are updating while I browse the web or do something else. What’s even cooler is that I can expand the notification tray and remove all the notifications from the tray if I so choose.
The Third-Party Apps That Get It Right
iOS apps are known for how elegant and glossy they look while retaining functionality. There are some Android apps out there that have taken this to heart recently and have made their Android counterparts comparable in design and functionality. It’s apps like these that make excited for what the OS can do. Foursquare and GoWalla are two shining examples on that front as well as Evernote, Angry Birds, Facebook and Twitter. And then there are the apps that don’t have iOS equivalents that manage to stand out or add functionality to Android. Stuff like Launcher Pro or Folder Organizer Lite or even Widgetsoid.
Access To The File System
I love being able see all the files on my phone and being able to do whatever I want with them. I love that I can throw a resume/script/story/song onto my phone to have with me at a whim. If it’s there I can access it like I would on my PC or Mac. It’s one of the big things I would miss if I were to pack up and move over to iOS tomorrow.
WHAT I (OPPOSITE OF) LOVE ABOUT ANDROID
The “Results May Vary By Phone” Factor
Android has come a long way and this gripe of mine has become less and less of a problem. But still, I read story after story of one phone having a set of problems while another phone has a completely different set of problems. I’ve been told on numerous occasions that if I want the most consistent Android experience I should go with the Nexus line of phones from Google itself. Why does it take an inquisition into the tech pool to find out what I’m getting when I go into a multi-year contract for an Android phone? Shouldn’t “it just work?”
The Ugly Third-Party Apps
While there are some great Android counterparts to some iOS apps, by and large a lot of the apps are underdeveloped and lacking in many modern/key features. Stuff like GetGlue or Miso are fairly easy examples of this as they have significant lag between the Android and iOS versions. It’s tough to want to use my version of the app when a much better version is being used next to me. I fully understand and respect that it takes time and resources to develop for two different OS’s, but I’d rather have no app than a crippled one.
The Rooting/Jailbreak Disease
Rooting/Jailbreaking your phone has become insanely easy these days. All you need to do is plug in the USB cord to your computer and run some software. It’s also become much easier to undo said Rooting/Jailbreaking in case you need to return your phone to the store or [insert random reason here]. Frankly, I think Rooting/Jailbreaking is bullshit and the time spent doing this could be spent making better apps or fighting to get Android/iOS to improve. I’d rather that both Android and iOS “just work” and I’d rather these platforms compete on aesthetic and not functionality.
100 Things I Love About My Favorite Movies
Travis McClain, Nathan Chase and my girlfriend Jandy Stone did this neat thing where they posted their 100 favorite things about the movies
The rules–set down by the original prompt by Beau Kaelin–are quite simple and are as follows:
Rather than posting your 100 favorite films (which has been done and overdone), you simply post your favorite things about movies. I dig the concept, because instead of obsessing over whether the films you put on a list are “objectively good enough” to put on said list, you simply jot down 100 moments/lines/visuals that have made a lasting impression on you or sneak their way into running gags between you and your friends.
Below are such 100 such moments/lines/visuals that have made quite the impression on me over the years. They’re not in any particular order, nor are they really all that definitive. I’ve more than likely left some stuff out, which I’ll of course realize after this goes to post.
Be warned: there are a shit-ton of youtube embeds in this post, so if you have a slow connection you might want to go run some errands as everything loads. Where I couldn’t embed clips I put images linking to the youtube clips. If I had my way I’d have every moment on here be youtube embeds, but alas!
Anyway, here’s 100 Things I Love About My Favorite Movies
[EDIT 12/4/11: Added pagination to split up the post some. You should see the links to go to the other pages underneath the share links and the “similar posts” widget-thingy.]
The Opening Credits to Run Lola Run
What better way to start off this list than with the opening credits to my first foreign film. If it were legal to embed every minute of this gem, I would.
Doug from Ghost World
Really, the whole film is fantastic, but I kind of love every moment that this character is onscreen.
The 5.6.7.8’s Long Take From Kill Bill: Vol. 1
I like long takes, and this one from does a great job of setting up the scene before shit hits the fan. My absolute favorite part from this sequence is the glimpse of the kitchen you get as the camera swoops up. SO FUCKING GREEN.
Kim Pine & Stephen Stills in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
I suppose I identify most with Scott Pilgrim, but my favorite characters in the film are most definitely Kim and Stephen. Case in point: the cutaways to Kim’s scowling face and Stephen’s freak-out during the Crash and the Boys show.
The Opening to Once Upon A Time In The West
The opening to Once Upon A Time in the West is amazing. There’s no dialog or music for roughly ten minutes and yet it’s perhaps the most thrilling scene I’ve ever encountered in a western. Sergio Leone is, as Knives Chau might say, “Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaziiinnggggg!”
The Balcony Scene in Annie Hall
It’s a great scene from my second favorite Woody Allen film. Or is it actually my favorite? I dunno. This and Manhattan kind of switch places every now and then.
The Lovers Meet in William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is perhaps my least favorite Shakespeare story out of the bunch; or at least it was my least favorite until I watched Baz Luhrmann’s exciting adaptation. Claire Daines and Leonardo DiCaprio pretty much own their respective characters and the scene where they meet for the first time is romantic. Like REALLY romantic.
Klaus Daimler in The Life Aquatic
Every moment that this character is on screen is a brilliant moment. Willem Dafoe pretty much steals the show here.
Ben Stiller in Mystery Men
Not a huge Ben Stiller fan, but he’s absolutely delightful in this film as Mr. Furious. His usual shtick plays out best amongst the obscenely wacky cast. Best deconstruction of a super hero film? MOST DEFINITELY.
The Opening Credits of Casino Royale
The opening credits for Casino Royale are perhaps my favorite for the series. If that’s blasphemy to the other Bond openers, then so be it.
Whammy Burger Scene in Falling Down
“I think we have a critic! I don’t think she likes the special sauce, Rick!” While Falling Down kind of falls apart in the third act, it still remains one of my favorite films of a white-collar worker finally losing it on perhaps the hottest day of the summer. And this scene is perhaps my favorite out of the entire film.
Your Song in Moulin Rouge
I seriously had trouble picking out my favorite moment from this film, since there are so many. What eventually made me pick this one was the sheer charisma of Ewan McGreggor in this cover of the Elton John song.
The Bride Reunited in Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Ennio Morricone is a musical genius, and his opener to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly fits perfectly in this scene. Kudos to Quentin for being able to evoke such a strong emotion from an already strong musical piece. Both this scene and the original play in my head when I hear this.
The Naked Chainsaw Scene in American Psycho
My first experience with Christian Bale is this film, and what sold me on him was this very scene. Now go from this to The Machinist and you’ll understand why he’s a favorite actor of mine.
Private Pyle’s Demise in Full Metal Jacket
If all you’ve experienced of Vincent D’Onofrio is his stint on Law and Order: Criminal Intent you need to go watch this film ASAP. More specifically, you need to watch this scene that ends the first (and best) half of the film. It’s quite an unforgettable moment.
The Impregnation Scene In Slither
What a delightfully disgusting film. The scene in which Michael Rooker impregnates the woman he was having an affair with is perhaps my favorite thing about this film. Doesn’t hurt that it’s juxtaposed with Nathan Fillion putting the moves on Elizabeth Banks while some lame-ass country song is playing. The effect is a bit unnerving.
Introducing The Magnetic Fields
If you follow me on any of the social networks in current existence, you’ll know that my favorite band of all time is The Magnetic Fields, putting Stephin Merritt as perhaps my favorite musician of all time. I came across this band while listening to a particularly sad and mopey episode of This American Life. The episode was called Break-Up and it featured contributor Starlee Kine as she dealt with a particularly bad break-up. She talked about how sad songs somehow were able to express how she felt when she could not, citing “I Don’t Want To Get Over You” as an example.
That was when I fell in love with The Magnetic Fields. Immediately I got ahold of every album I could of theirs and listened to them on repeat for days, finding little bits here and there that I could relate to with each new listen. And now I’m sharing this love with you. I’ve made what I consider to be an essential introduction to The Magnetic Fields that encapsulates what I love about the band and what make them click for me.
You can listen to the songs here, but I URGE you to go buy the albums, which I’ve linked below.
Enjoy.
Postscript:
I recently had a chance to stand about 5 feet away from Stephin Merritt while waiting in line at the concession stand at a local theater. Given my superb acting training, I was able to restrain myself and not go completely apeshit-fanboy. But manic Daffy Duck was alive in the back of my mind, bouncing around and screaming “WAAOOOO! WAAOOOO! IT’S HIM!!!!!!!!”
EDIT (6/16/2012):
There’s a Magnetic Fields music video? HELL YES! It’s one of the songs that I’ve added to the Spotify playlist above.
