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I just assumed he was joking. I had been kicking around something similar, but hadn't yet decided between Koyaanisqatsi and Quest for Fire as my nomination for best romantic comedy.
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Have you seen the other two? I was just thinking about adding them to my Netflix queue. What about Baraka?
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Powaqqatsi was kind of different, but still very good. Naqoyqatsi had moments of sheer genius, but it was also so faked and disconnected. One and two showed the world and the third showed how if you do things to the images of the world it proves your point.
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Huh. I'll have to see them, but it sounds as though I won't like them as well as the first. Did I ever tell you that when I was at KU Philip Glass came and conducted a live performance of the music during a screening of Koyaanisqatsi? By all accounts it was a cool experience, but unfortunately I wasn't able to go for reasons that I no longer really remember.
Porter, the first of them came out when I was in 5th grade, I think. I remember sitting in the theater just completely entranced by it. There's no narrative to the movie in the traditional sense, although meaning is definitely conveyed. It's hard to describe. You can read what its creator has to say about it here.
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I agree with you about Dead Again. It's one of my favorite movies of all time.
I watched it several years ago with my older children - it's rated R, so I watched it by myself first. I decided it would be appropriate for my 16 and 17 year olds, so I watched it again with them. (If I recall, it was probably rated R for some language and the tense nature of the film. What violence there was was in shadow and off screen). I'll probably add it to my Netflix to watch again with my BF. I think he'll really like it.
<goes to the phone to ask him if he's seen it>
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I saw it at Governor's school. It's like, 3 hours long. I fell asleep and didn't feel like I really missed anything. After watching it you will chant "Koyaaaaaaaaaaanisqatsiiiiiiii" for (looks at watch) three years after you see it.
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Back to the subject of You've got mail ( ), I have to say that I hated it when I saw it for the first time. I didn't see it again for years until TBS started showing it every other day. My sister and I (diehard While You Were Sleeping fans) started watching it when it came on...and it grew on me like a very stubborn fungus. I bought the DVD last month and we've watched it twice a week ever since...even my younger teenage brothers will go into my room, grab the DVD and watch it.
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I think 50 First Dates would've been MUCH higher on my list except for the sad, sad portrayal of his assistant and the brother on steroids. They took the whole movie down with them, IMHO.
Don't even know why they felt like this was a necessary set of characters.
Also, we should probably give mention to Groundhog Day which has a great concept carried to perfection by Bill Murray. It could've been beaten to death, but he really pulled it through.
I was pleased to see OSC's list as it reminded me of some really great films. The Truth about Cats and Dogs is great. Adam's Rib is amazing.
I obviously need to get a copy of Sense and Sensibility.
I can't see Far from the Madding Crowd as romantic comedy. The book is not a romantic "comedy" is it? I think of it as a romantic tragedy.
???
The Lion in Winter is great, btw, for any who haven't seen it.
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I'm with you on the miserable brother and assistant in 50 First Dates. Now I just tune those parts out (while admiring the actors for being so game as they played such repulsive parts). So 50 First Dates had to grow on my during repeat cable showings. Now I cry like a baby at the end.
I would have included Groundhog Day, only it's a romantic FANTASY isn't it? <grin>. Depending on how widely you spread the tent, it should certainly be on any list. How many other movies lead so many people to have parties for a particular obscure holiday just so you can watch them?
Another couple of movies that should have been on my original list: One Fine Day and Green Card. (Given that I really hate watching Andie McDowell, why is she in two of my favorite romantic comedies/fantasies?)
How do we characterize "About Last Night"? Besides its being a guilty pleasure ...
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I love Groundhogs day. I was going to say it but I'm not sure if it counts as a romantic comedy.
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Okay...I cry at the end of 50 First Dates too. I could love that movie but for those two characters. You're right about the actors being game enough to pull off those parts, 'cuz they really are bad parts.
I'm going to wonder a long time why they did that to a great movie. Maybe Adam Sandler was insecure about doing a straight-up romantic comedy? He needed a crutch?
I doubt I'll ever buy a copy, but I'd watch it again...
I'm not sure on the whole "comedy" "tragedy" and "fantasy" distinction. My drama-wise future spouse informs me that "comedy" doesn't necessarily mean you laugh. I say "oh, like that Gallagher guy? Not funny?"
"No," she says patiently. "Like 'not funny,' as in it wasn't intended for you to laugh."
Oh...
I'm just not working with the agreed upon vocabulary here. It's not that I'm completely dense (although that's certainly part of it).
Anyway, there are two ways that "fantasy" description seems to be used:
1) The setting: Annie Hall set in Oz would be a romantic fantasy. Set in New York and Hollywood, it's a romantic comedy. I guess The Princess Bride would fit that bill...a basic romance story set in a fantasy kingdom.
2) The situation (i.e., the setting is present day reality, but the events or people are so bizarre (or surreal?) that it can't be construed as a movie about real people living real lives. Amelie might be a mildly good example, I suppose, or maybe All of Me in which the major premise involves mind transferance. Oooh, better yet, L.A. Story.
But if it's just bizarre behavior that changes something from "comedy" to "fantasy" then You've Got Mail must certainly cross that line. Who would ever meet and have a romance with someone they met over the internet?
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About the movie, I read that OSC said that Andserson and Graff were just adult placehold.ers Not importent but not even minding if they were changed into women and stuff. I find that wrong, I found that Graff at least was a major part in the book. Anyone agree with me?
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I don't think anyone has mentioned Ten Things I Hate About You. I admit there's a possibility that it's because everyone here thought it sucked. But it's in my top five. Speaking of top five lists, High Fidelity was also a pretty good romantic comedy that no one has mentioned yet. Not one of the best, but decent nonetheless.
Why did I like 10 things? I dunno. I guess I've always liked The Taming of the Shrew story--and it definitely makes a good fit with the high-school-movie-where-all-the-actors-are-WAAAAY-too-old-to-actually-plausibly-be-in-high-school genre.
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I happened to catch part of "You've Got Mail" on television and since Meg Ryan's character (who owns a children's book store and is shown as an expect in the field) can't spell "Noel Streatfeild" correctly, she deserved to have her business taken over by a big box book store one street over! It's EI not IE!
quote: About the movie, I read that OSC said that Andserson and Graff were just adult placehold.ers Not importent but not even minding if they were changed into women and stuff. I find that wrong, I found that Graff at least was a major part in the book. Anyone agree with me?
Looking at what an absolute SMASH hit the new Battlestar Galactica is (in my opinion, the best Sci Fi TV or even movie EVER), OSC is free to replace any character he would like with a female. I never in a million years expected to like the new Battlestar because of this, but I was totally wrong. As long as he thinks it will make the movie better, Go for it!
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I can’t believe Notting Hill hasn’t been mentioned yet! It’s most certainly my favorite romantic comedy of all time. It has two romantic comedy greats as the leads (Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant), plus the minor characters are all lovably quirky. Nothing about that movie isn’t great.
I also adore The Princess Bride, but I don’t consider it a romantic comedy, and not just because it’s fantasy. I just feel that it focuses too much on plotlines that have little to do with Westley/Buttercup to be a romantic comedy. Plus the fact that their love is assured from the beginning kind of puts it outside the genre. I’d consider it more action/adventure/fantasy/parody/romance than romantic comedy. (Besides, in the end it transcends any normal genre and is just one of the best movies EVAH! It wouldn’t be fair to compare it to a normal romantic comedy, because they all just fall flat when compared to the genius of The Princess Bride. IMHO, that is).
quote:About the movie, I read that OSC said that Andserson and Graff were just adult placehold.ers Not importent but not even minding if they were changed into women and stuff. I find that wrong, I found that Graff at least was a major part in the book. Anyone agree with me?
I agree that Graff is much, much more than an adult placeholder, and I would be rather upset if his gender was changed. Anderson is not so important (in fact, is it ever confirmed that the character is in fact male? I don’t remember…). But as we learned eairler in this thread, not everything we’ve heard/read that OSC said is true Posts: 25 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Absolutely. I purchased the box set the day it came out. I adore all of Joss Whedon's work and I am really looking forward to Serenity this fall. (I even read his X-men comics- it's great to see the great dialogue and banter back in the series!)
Until about 5 episodes into the new Battlestar, I still ranked Firefly at #1 and Classic Star Wars (A New Hope and Empire) as #2, but slowly the brilliance of the new Galactica won me over and it jumped from #3 to #1 in my book. I think I've seen every episode at least 5 or 6 times now. As much as I adore Firefly, I've never watched an episode and then went back to the beginning and then watched it again right away (except when I watched it plain the first time then with commentary the second time).
Moving from #1 to #2 doesn't lesson my feelings for Firefly, Shoot, Serenity the ship even has a few cameos in BSG! I just found something that I feel takes it to the next level. I do get a little bit annoyed when it gets some of the credit for innovations in special effects that Firefly was responsible for, but they did have the same fx house.
As for B5, I never got into it. I think I would enjoy it if I had all 5 years of the show and watched it in order, I just never put the time into it.
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BSG has jumped to being my second favorite TV SF, edging out DS9 by a pretty wide margin. It's a fantastic show, no question about it, but it still isn't able to touch Firefly for me.
I haven't watched B5 either, but like you I expect that I'd like it if I were to sit down and watch it from beginning to end.
Lately I've been watching Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis, but they strike me as fun-but-forgettable popcorn shows.
Never got into Farscape. I rented an abridged Season 1 DVD set and was put off by the few episodes I watched. I'm told that I should give it a second chance, and I probably will at some point, but I don't see myself getting around to it any time soon.
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Really, Noemon? I'm surprised. Firfly is as good scifi as I've ever seen/read/etc..
And while B5 is my favorite scifi story ever told, it suffered from two huge deficiencies: 1) The first season is *extremely* rough, and enough to turn many people away. 2) It's very difficult to get into the story after the first season.
I started watching it during the second season, but I had a friend who explained all the back story that I had missed in the first season.
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Hmm--what did I say? I must have misspoken. Firefly is far and away my favorite TV SF, period. The new Battle Star Galactica is my second favorite. It's a phenomenally good show, but still can't touch Firefly. Deep Space 9 comes in third.
Is that what you thought I was saying Porter? 'Cause that's what I meant.
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I'm watching DS9 on DVD, getting it a disk at a time from Netflix. In the second season there is a 3 episode story arc that deals with the same ideas that are dealt with in the Firefly episode Jaynestown, and I'm stunned by how much more deftly. Sisko's platitudes, which went on forever, didn't come anywhere close to Mal telling Jayne
quote:It's my estimation that every man ever got a statue made of him was one kind of sommbitch or another. Ain't about you Jayne. 'Bout what they need
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Firefly was too intelligent to last on Fox. The closest Fox got to intelligence was the X-Files, but since the lead male's name was 'Fox' they very well couldn't cancel it.
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This was a very smooth transition from Romantic Comedy to Sci Fi. I approve.
Firefly is my #1 sci fi, #2 being Stargate SG-1. I've seen ads for BSG but it just doesn't interest me much. I have a soft spot in my heart of Stargate Atlantis even though I consider most spinoffs to be morally reprehensible.
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After you've seen the last episode in the set, watch it again with the commentary even if you aren't usually into that kind of thing. You can also turn on the closed captioning if you want to make sure to follow the dialogue better. Joss is on his own and really does a great job of talking about what the whole show meant to him as well as the episode itself.
It's not like all of the commentary isn't worth listening to, this episode's is just something special.
Oh, and since I was also raving about the new Battlestar Galactia, and now speaking of commentary tracks, this show has commentary available (Podcasts) for each episode that can be downloaded (starting with episode 9) on the Sci Fi Channel's web page. They are MP3 files that can be downloaded in one chunk or in pieces so you don't have to pause it during commercial breaks. Also, all the episodes have deleted scenes for download. It has more interactive material now than what is available on many DVD collections.
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quote: This was a very smooth transition from Romantic Comedy to Sci Fi. I approve.
. . . and thus we should be discussing shows that have both, like SG-1 (yay!) and Lois&Clark (due out on DVD in June! WAHOO!) Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Oh. It's not that I don't appreciate it, it's just that I'm not familiar with it. I've heard of it, but by the time I was aware of it it was well into the show's story arc. I decided not to try to pick it up in the middle. I'll probably get the series through Netflix.
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