Heartbreaking film. He seemed on the precipice of profound achievement, but something went...... horribly wrong.

Round One
Category: Science Fiction on Earth

The Fly

Most of these categories are pretty deep but I am not personally a fan of westerns; maybe I just need to see more or maybe they aren’t my cup of tea.


So I’m going to take my favorite now because there are only 3 that I like.

By taking this, I’m also taking out a neo-noir that woulda done great in my category. It has a top 3 villain and I enjoy every minute of it each time I watch it. It’s perhaps more of a neo-western, set in modern times but definitely has themes like bemoaning the modern world leaving small town western towns behind.

No Country for Old Men for Western category.

great pick!

Correct

Dom is going to rate the f*ck outta my pick. I can feel it.

heh only fair to let ppl know I ninja edited my post when I saw it was answered by Nicholas selection and that's what he was responding to he isn't just being conceited and saying I'm correct that he made a great pick.

it's ok. his post works either way, you goof

you ready for some bizarro baseball?

heh ya interested to see how it works and I'll pretty much take any baseball I can get been getting familiar with the Korean league.

I've been watching the Taiwan League streamed in Chinese. It's been a long time since I've had so much fun watching televised baseball.

Okay, I’ll take the only Ozu I’ve only seen: Tokyo Story.

Write up later.

Riverboatking up

THERE'S NO FIGHTING IN THE WAR ROOM!!!!

going with a Kubrick film I watched a million times in college usually on the tail end of a psychedelic trip always laughing my ass off and having a total blast.

it's great how Kubrick set out to make a straight doomsday film and realized there was just no way to not have it be a comedy and what a comedy it is.

def in contention for greatest comedy ever and it holds up insanely well.


Dr Strangelove 1- Kubrick

My first pick is Ozu's Dragnet Girl. This is a silent gangster flick from the early 30s. It stars Kinuyo Tanaka as Tokiko, a fun-loving typist/gun moll, who, either intentionally or unintentionally, takes over the whole movie by the middle reel.*



Kinuyo Tanaka went on to have a long and illustrious career as both an actress and a director, and it easy to understand why after this performance. Her presence in any scene becomes the focus of attention.



And, as a special treat, here is Cyndi Lauper's review:

*afaik, the first american movie where the secretary takes control of the film doesn't come until 1944's Phantom Lady.

I'll figure out who's next and PM him.

For the Ozu Movies category I am drafting Late Spring

I've not seen it. Like Dom, the only Ozu I've seen is Tokyo Story. I can't give it a review so I'll share the review that made me choose this one

For my next pick I'm choosing something for the Kurosawa Movies category and I'm drafting Rashomon

I think this movie is great. It's a really interesting and inventive film making to tell the same story from different points of view. I like how it's not fact, it's the subjective retelling from each character and even as the audience you've not got all the information. You have to choose who to believe. There is no correct answer and it's one of the early movies not to tie everything up with a neat bow and leave things on an ambiguous note.

Also you have to love this Simpsons reference to it:

Marge: Come on Homer. Japan will be fun. You liked Rashomon
Homer: That's not how I remember it

I can sense a spicy pick incoming from Phat Mack

my action adventure buddy flick pick comes down to shanghai knights or big trouble in little china.

Animation is a tough pick for me because I love so much of it. The first flick I ever saw in a theater was animated and I never once doubted it was real. I'm going to pick Paprika because: a) it may be the best film of this millenium; b) it is by Satoshi Kon, a true master of the field; and c) it's not widely known in the West and I want to encourage people to check it out.



Paprika's plot gets categorized in several ways, but I won't attempt to do so -- not only would it be pointless, it would be futile. Let me just say that it is pretty bizarre and leave it at that.

I *will* comment on the quality of its animation. It reaches a standard that is Looney-Tune-esque in its composition. Here's a sample:



PMing RBK

ok, this got stupid real f-in quick with all this Chinese stuff no one on Earth has ever had any interest in

there are so many amazing neo noir films and it might be my fav film genre of all so I have a million films I want to pick but man I just don't know how I can not take arguably the greatest script ever written and one of the best endings ever?

I could go on and on extolling the virtues of the film but so many better critics have done it far better than I ever could so I'll simply leave this here for your enjoyment



dr strangelove 1 - Kubrick
chinatown 2 - neo noir

Now that’s a man that knows how to pick a movie. And a strong western theme bit*h slaps this film from beginning to end; a man with no name film.

I was planning on Strangelove with my next pick At least that is a very deep category but that is the only Kubrick I would have entertained but lots of Hitchcocks I will be happy with.

baseball movies: bull durham(sorry major league)

football movies: varsity blues(sorry rudy)

capers: lock stock and two smoking barrels.

rundown: the rundown.

Delayed write up for pick #1

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 American*black-and-white*science fiction film*from*20th Century Fox, produced by*Julian Blaustein*and directed by*Robert Wise. The film stars*Michael Rennie,*Patricia Neal,*Hugh Marlowe,*Sam Jaffe,*Billy Gray,*Frances Bavier*and*Lock Martin. The screenplay was written by*Edmund H. North, based on the 1940 science fiction short story "Farewell to the Master" by*Harry Bates, and the film score was composed by*Bernard Herrmann.

*"Klaatu barada nikto".





I saw this film on TV in 1962 and was mesmerized by it: the flying saucer, the robot, the whole worldwide theme, and I saw it years later and was more impressed by the film and the major themes and aspects. I think through the years this film has actually gained in stature, especially given when it was made. Shows a timeless quality. A feature of any great film.

1. The Day the Earth Stood Still: Pick 1 Sci-fi on earth

Wtf? The Natural? The original Angels in the Outfield? Field of Dreams? Can you have a baseball movie without William Bendix? Joe E. Brown? Or even Gary Cooper?

I just joined, jackass, and that would seem a bit desultory.