Movable Picture Photo-Plays - Or, The Film Thread

Back in my day, we didn't have these fancy multiplexes!

Actually that's true, the first soulless multiplexes came to my neck of the woods when I was 12 or so. I remember theaters that only had 6 screens at the most, and many Saturday afternoons spent waiting in a long line at the box office.

Anyways, movies.

When I was a little 'un they didn't even have that. One screen. Two if you were lucky.

The earliest movie I can recall seeing in a theater was Star Wars. Can't guarantee it was the first, but it felt like it.

I don't see a lot of movies in theaters these days.

The general disappointment of Avatar mixed with the high price of popcorn has ensured this.

That much said, some favorites:

• Two Thousand One
• The Kubrick version of The Shining (save for the inexplicable furry scene DX)
• This Is Spinal Tap
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters
• Monty Python And The Holy Grail
• Evil Dead II
• The first two Alien films (even if I don't particularly like the second one's director anymore)
• Anything MST 3 K has covered, by proxy
• Original Star Wars trilogy. I thought the prequels were okay, but didn't have the energy of the originals. At least it gave us more Expanded Universe stuff. That much said, not really big into the whole Star Wars experience now.

edited 15th Mar '11 10:53:59 AM by Charlatan

I'm Juan Carlos 11, and the post above me is my favorite post in the citadel Old Folks Home.

Although I'm not a big 2001 fan. Mostly because Kubrick is one of the most overrated directors of all time.

edited 15th Mar '11 10:59:36 AM by juancarlos11

Top Five Favorites:

Pulp Fiction
Fight Club
Dark Knight
The Shawshank Redemption
A Clockwork Orange

Speaking of movie theaters, Austin has some really good ones. There's the paramount, which does showings of old Criterion Collection kind of stuff, and The Alamo, which is just plain awesome. It's got quote alongs, MST 3 K type stuff, really good food (and not movie food, stuff like burgers, sandwhiches, salads), and good beer.

edited 15th Mar '11 11:04:31 AM by LolipodDistortion

I really miss working at a theater. It spoiled me working there for so long cause I got to see god knows how many free movies. The best part was when our sister theater had midnight movies going on in the summer. It's where I first saw Rushmore, Shaun of the Dead, Back to the Future, The Room, The Warriors, and oh so many others.

I want to see The Warriors.

Anyone seen Streets Of Fire?

The Warriors looks so cool.

edited 15th Mar '11 11:05:16 AM by LolipodDistortion

I'm more of a "director" man, if that makes sense. Normally I like most movies a certain director does but have some exceptions.

From the top of my head:

Quentin Tarantino: Except for Death Proof.

Steven Spielberg: Every film before Jaws.

Orson Welles: His Shakespeare films. Although it's not that I don't like him but I believe that they aren't as great as The Trial, or Touch Of Evil.

Christopher Nolan: No exceptiions so far.

The Warriors seems to be really awesome. I only want to see it because...well, you know...

edited 15th Mar '11 11:05:51 AM by juancarlos11

I liked Death Proof.

My top five, in no order cause I just can't pick-

• Hedwig And The Angry Inch
• Annie Hall
• Yellow Submarine
• Rushmore
• Hot Fuzz

So is anyone interested in that movie Rubber?

Annie Hall was pretty good. But I like Woody Allen's slapstick output more. Specially Love And Death.

I keep meaning to see the early period slapstick stuff. Something about Annie Hall though is like ingrained in my psyche. Every time I watch it, it just resonates a little more than before, and I find another quote I love.

I'm not a big fan of Woody Allen, mainly because he's a grade A Doucebag.

Well, I don't like Woody himself. But the fucker's funny. And as general rule, I don't care for a director's / actor's personal life. I wouldn't like Chinatown nor Rosemarys Baby if it wasn't because of that.

They're good movies, I just don't want to show any support for him by watching them.

Well...

Yeah, I mean I adore Phil Spector's contributions to music production even though he's a scumbag.

I am disappointed with that big list of directors who wrote that famous letter in support of Roman Polanski couple years ago. A lot of people signed their names to it

Yeah, that pissed me off. People seem to have this notion that having talent is a free pass to act like an asshole.

Misplaced professional pride, perhaps?

And a lot of admiration there, as well.

Yeah, I mean just cause someone's an asshole doesn't mean you still can't admire their works, but the opposite is true too, you can't let someone's talent blind you to their faults.

Wholly agreed. Polanski is a talented man who did a very, very bad thing a long time ago and ran from it.

I wish those who signed their names to it would think that such attitudes are partly why he did it in the first place — the attitude that as a famous director he didn't have to keep to the rules of civilized behavior was, I suspect, a good part of what did the damage in his head that let him do it in the first place.

Top 5 movies in no particular order:

• Network
• Amadeus
• My Neighbour Totoro
• The Italian Job (original version)
• Life Of Brian

Theatres still tend to be pretty small where I live. The one I frequent has about 4 screens.