Popcorn or Candy?
Popcorn. Way too much salt, no butter, and a diet Coke.Name a movie you've been meaning to see forever.
Night of the Hunter. I love Robert Mitchum, and the movie is a classic. Plus it inspired a line in one of the Clash’s greatest songs, “Death or Glory.” (“Love and hate tattooed across the knuckles of his hand….”) And worse yet, I OWN IT— a birthday gift from my co-best friend Andreas a few years ago. I know Mrs. Yen won’t watch it with me—she doesn’t like scary movies. It’s just one of those movies, I think, that I will have to be ready for.Maybe I’ll watch it on Christmas, just to get in the mood. Right after the Grinch.
You are given the power to recall one Oscar: who loses it, and to whom?
Take away all Forrest Gump Oscars— am I the only one in the world who didn’t find that movie particularly good or interesting? And give it to Martin Scorsese, probably for Raging Bull (though my favorite of his is Casino—I’m in a distinct minority on that one)
Steal one costume from a movie for your wardrobe.
One of the suits worn by the guys in Reservoir Dogs, preferably before the shooting starts. And Tim Roth’s hair. And sunglasses, for that matter.Second place: Robert Duvall's outfit in "Apocalypse Now."
Your favorite film franchise is:
I’m with Bubs on this one—the Sean Connery's James Bond films.
Invite five movie people over for dinner. Who are they? Why'd you invite them? What do you feed them?
Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Terry Gilliam, Penelope Spheeris and Dennis Hopper. They all seem like people I’d have an interesting conversation with, and frankly, I just like their work.
I’d get Rick Bayless, from the Frontera Grill, to cater. One of the few cooking shows you can get me to watch—I love the food he makes, I love his passion for the food, and it would give me an excuse to have him there—he seems like he’d be a good guy to have a drink with. Especially if he brings some great agave and makes margaritas. Just as long as someone has bail money ready.
Plus, his chipotle salsa kicks ass.What is the appropriate punishment for people who answer cell phones in the movie theater?
To sit repeatedly through Godfather 3. Without their cellphones.
Choose a female bodyguard: Ripley from Aliens, Mystique from X-Men, Sarah Connor from Terminator 2, The Bride from Kill Bill, or Mace from Strange Days.
Of that list, I’ve only seen Aliens and Terminator 2. Ripley. She kicks ass in 8 different ways, and is as hot as they come. Much like Rick Bayless' chipotle salsa, but even sexier.
Better yet, Vasquez, from the same movie. What's the scariest thing you've ever seen in a movie?
When I was a kid, maybe 4 or 5 years old, I saw Ray Milland’s “The Man With X-Ray Eyes.” The end scene, when he stumbles into the church tent revival meeting, and the preacher yells “If the eye offends thee, pluck it out…” and you can guess what he does—the final scene gave me nightmares for years. Non-movie things that did the same: the rolling eyes on Aladdin's Castle at the Riverview amusement park in Chicago, and one of those neon cowboy handwaving signs that I saw in Texas on a family trip.
Your favorite genre (excluding "comedy" and "drama") is...
Gangster movies. When I was a kid, WGN would show all the old Cagney, Bogart and Edward G. Robinson gangster movies. By far my favorite was Cagney (“Top of the world to ya, Ma!”) The Coen Brothers added to the genre with their splendid “Miller’s Crossing.” “Look inta ya heart….”
You are given the power to greenlight movies at a major studio for one year. How do you wield this power?
Give Phil a big contract to be a leading man. And make John Carpenter start making good movies again. Bonnie or Clyde?
Bonnie. If Faye Dunaway was good enough for Peter Wolf, she’s good enough for me.
16 comments:
You've seen Reservoir Dogs and not Kill Bill?! Dude. WTF?
Hey-- I haven't had a chance to watch Jackie Brown and I own it! I've got two jobs and two kids. Cobbling the time together for two 3+ hour movies is tough.
I think there's a generational difference here, too-- Reservoir Dogs is the gold standard of movies, let alone Tarantino for a lot of people my age (I'm 45). It was a hard act to follow, much as I loved Pulp Fiction.
The Night Of The Hunter is a must see. While watching, see if you can catch the lines that are also used in Raising Arizona. Plus, it isn't so scary, your wife might like it.
The Kill Bills are also must see. I have them if you would like to borrow. It is a tough comparision to Resevoir Dogs, since Kill Bill aspires to be much more. Just very different movies.
Thanks for the greenlight.
I disagree with your opinion of Frontera's chipotle salsa. Although one can never go wrong with margaritas.
I have to say I am going with Grant Miller on this. Whoever the hell he is. The Frontera jarred salsas are usually burnt and strange tasting, although I have eaten at the grill and Tompo, both were quite good. If you really want a kick assed salsa at home, I have dozens of recipes. Chipotle, arbol, or puja, any one makes a different delicious and good salsa. This will only require a good cast iron pan and ventilation, both of which I believe you possess.
Phil- Raising Arizona is my favorite Coen Brothers movie, and one of my favorite movies ever. And now I'm intrigued-- Night of the Hunter and Raising Arizona.... what lines could they have in common--
"Son-- you got a panty on your head..."
"Ma'am-- we didn't mean to influence anyone here..."
"We released ourselves on our own recognicance..."
Grant-- au contraire-- one can go wrong so easily with margaritas-- that's their charm....
Palette-- yes, my salsa-producing environment is good-- my wife just has a problem with me combining my cast iron pans and good ventilation-- she doesn't think it's appropriate for a married man...
"...most of our students are on a field trip to a Jail Boot Camp"
That's an interesting phrase.
Gotta see Night of the Hunter. After I showed that to my kids years ago I got plenty of mileage out of singing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms". And I'm glad I'm not the only person who was underwhelmed by Forrest Gump. I think the problem was that I didn't see it until Gump-mania had taken hold, and it had been really built up to me. I still find it interesting that conservatives seemed to set up the running retard as a role model.
Johnny-As far as Raising Arizona and Night of the Hunter, it is the dualality that the two film are exploring that make them similar. You just gotta see it. I think you'll be surprised.
Me, I liked Forrest Gump, my Dad a Vietnam Veteran with two Purple Hearts claims it is as accurate a depiction of Vietnam you will see.
Bubs-- "I still find it interesting that conservatives seemed to set up the running retard as a role model." I think you've summed up the elections of 1980, 1984, 2000 and 2004.
Phil-- I think that's part of what I found problematic about the movie-- the combat footage was graphic, and apparently accurate, but to what end?
Well, I would say the accurate depiction of something, at the very least, teaches us what things were actually like.
I agree with you on that, Phil-- there's a value in the accurate depiction, particularly the inaccurate depictions given by a number of other well-known Vietnam-themed movies. I'm just at a loss at what the greater message was-- was it that Forrest's literal mental retardation was an asset in life? I'm just trying to figure out why the hoopla about the movie-- I really must have missed a point about the movie.
I think the hoopla comes from how many people were touched by it. It's a well made movie that tugs at the heartstrings.
For me, he was just stupid enough to be completely ignorant of the obstacles infront of him. He is only ever concerned with the task at hand, and I don't know enough Toasist phylosphy to strengthen my argument. He is without desire, other than to be with Jenny.
By being unconcerned with anything other than what's right infront of him, he frees himself to accomplish things no one would have ever thought possible.
My point is, watch Night Of The Hunter.
Ah-- I'd never really thought of Forrest Gump from
that angle. Thanks for illuminating it, Phil. And I
will definitely watch Night of the Hunter soon.
I can see what you're saying about duality in Raising
Arizona-- it's one of the reasons I love the movie so
much. The main character, a career criminal, is easily
the most likeable guy in the movie. The most
respected, Nathan Arizona, is an asshole. And it's the
former police officer that forces Hi to kidnap the
baby in the first place.
To be fair, the context of my viewing of Forrest Gump
probably had something to do with my opinion of it. I
saw it in Frankfurt, Germany with my friend Andreas
and his girlfriend. I'd wanted to see Pulp Fiction,
which was debuting there that night. I got outvoted. I
wasn't happy to be seeing Forrest Gump to begin with.
I think also that the point of the movie was
overshadowed by the fact that we were 1. drinking-- in
Germany they sell bottles of beer at the concession
stand ("and I ain't talkin' about no paper cup"-- how
cool would that have been to see that scene in Pulp
Fiction while swilling a bottle of beer in a European
movie theater) and 2. Andreas and I were laughing
uproariously at the German sub-titles-- the attempts
to translate the southern colloquialisms and American
slang into German, which is a ridiculously literal
language. We were the only two people in the theater
laughing through the whole movie (his girlfriend
didn't speak German, and missed the joke). Apparently,
he and I were the only ones who both knew southern
phrases (he's German, but grew up largely in Florida)
and spoke German (I can still speak, read and
understand it pretty well 30 years after learning it
in high school.)
The only movie I saw in Europe was "the Man Who Wasn't There" in Amsterdam and with a beer.
Kill Forest Gump. Thank you.
Post a Comment