posted
Bob, I dadn't heard about the musical. Must've been a hoot. Toronto is, alas, a bit out of our way, even for Ash. <g>
I'm looking forward to seeing Bruce Campbell in Bubba Ho-tep, though, when it finally comes through here. (Or on DVD, whichever comes first.)
Btw, I second the praise for Branagh's Hamlet. I *wish* that one were on DVD, but so far I haven't seen it anywhere. I also liked his mini-series about Shackleton and the Endurance.
posted
I've had a long running debate with a friend once about who you would give the only shotgun to when the aliens land (or the zombies arise, etc.).
I said Ash, hands down. He said Jack Burton (Big Trouble in Little China).
I said he's nuts. He questioned my parentage. Things got ugly after that.
Ash has the best one-liners of any action hero:
"Groovy."
"Give me some sugar, baby."
"It got in my hand, so I lopped it off at the wrist."
"Aw, baby. That's just what we call pillow talk."
"I could've been king. But in my own way, I am a king. Hail to the king, baby!"
And of course:
"Good. Bad. I'm the guy with the gun."
All Jack Burton gets to say is, "You know what Jack Burton always says..."
posted
BTiLC was kind of too weird for me. It seems to appeal guys who have a creepy obsession with Asian women. So I'd say it's a litmus test, but not in a good way. Same for You've got Mail. Did he know she would rather be a writer when he stomped her store into the ground? Or was he taking away the thing, from what he could tell, that she wanted most? I guess if I want to keep criticizing it, I'm going to have to watch it again. But I guess I have a particular problem with my husband liking it.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
*wants pooka to know that she has no creepy obsession with Asian women
Mind you, not that I don't like Asian women. It's just, you know, I really liked the cheesy one-liners.
I do remember the guy who shot lightening. That was cool. But I remember that the stereotyping really made me uncomfortable. And I had the same reaction as you to You've Got Mail.
quote:Did he know she would rather be a writer when he stomped her store into the ground? Or was he taking away the thing, from what he could tell, that she wanted most?
See, I didn't see this as a personal competition at all. Near the end, Meg Ryan's character says to his constant "It's not personal; it's business,"
"What does that mean anyway? Maybe it's not personal to you. But it's personal to a lot of people. It was personal to me."
And he asks for her forgiveness. He starts to realize by the end that smashing someone's beautiful little store like that is personal and hurtful. I've always thought that it would be cute if he re-rented her little "Shop Around the Corner" and made it the children's section of Fox Books. But then, I'm not a business-oriented person, so I'm not even sure that would work.
posted
The litmus test only works in the positive sense for me. If I hear that someone likes a certain book or work, then I know that I will like that person.
(I can't really do it for movies, because I have missed too many. It's sad. I realize I should have seen all these movies y'all are talking about, but I've only seen about a quarter of them. (I need for people to drag me to see movies, I guess. I won't go by myself, for some reason.))
But anyway, my litmus test works are these:
Books: Dostoyevsky's The Idiot Heidi by Johanna Spyri Round the Bend by Nevil Shute
Plays: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett Our Town by Thornton Wilder
Posts: 968 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Gattaca, really? This is another one my husband really liked, but I thought it was creepy that the Jude Law character did what he did in the end. Whew. I do know how to kind of avert a spoiler. I guess I've spent too much of my life persuading myself that that is just wrong to tolerate it. I mean, my husband countered that it was necessary to the success of the hero, but...
See, my husband puts this in the same category as "Erin Brokovich", "Men of Honor" and "The Matrix". But I had issues.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
So I married an Ax Murderer. What's the difference between a litmus test movie and a cult movie? Like I was looking at Groundhog day sites and they only gave it a 2 for cult value. But they gave it a 3 for rewatchability (I'm assuming out of 10) so obviously this dude could NOT be a good person.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I found a new movie my husband and I both really enjoy: "Big Trouble". Now I realize almost no one else did like this movie. And it does have a lot of swearing, especially in the first scene. Apart from that, most of the swearing falls into the "I might react that way also" category. Actually, I might even say that about the first scene.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
It was written by Dave Barry. It has the guy that played Johnny Johnson, Krunk, and the Tick. It makes fun of Martha Stewart. Stanley Tucci, Tim Allen, Rene Russo. They're all funny. The guy that played Friar Tuck as the wandering jerk.
And best of all Jason Lee in the intro. Anyone who likes any of the Kevin Smith movies must rent Big Trouble for Puggy alone.
It has a great ensamble cast, a warped sense of humor, and even some sweetness. I can't understand why anyone would not like this movie now. There's a bit that would be rough post 9/11, but I think it's been long enough that only family members of the deceased would still be bothered.
Of course, I can't understand why anyone would think American Wedding was funny, either, so I may not be the best person to ask.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
Someone is reviving an old thread, so I'll throw in my opinion.
My litmus test is a little on the opposite side. If someone likes certain movies that I abhor, I tend to shy away from them.
Movies that I detest with a passion:
Titanic (the only decent thing about this movie is Wierd Al's knock off of the theme song)
Pretty Woman
Any and all Adam Sandler films (the same can be said for Van Damme, Steven Seagal, and Vin Deisel).
Silence of the Lambs (and sequels)(the most disgusting and disturbing movie I have ever seen-and one of only two movies that I ever walked out of)
The Pokemon and Digimon movies (if you are an adult)
Grease
The Little Mermaid (lets take a little girl who breaks every rule and does everything she isn't supposed to, and give her everything she ever wanted in the end-worst message for kids from a Disney film)
and my all time least favorite movie ever:
Nightfall (worst adaptation ever and I have only found a few people who even saw it and none that ever liked it)
Posts: 279 | Registered: May 2004
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posted
I agree with CT and Dagonee that although someone might not like the same movie, we could still be friends and/or sit at lunch together. However, I can think of some movies at each end of the scale of my own tastes, which are very, very ecclectic:
Movies that would lead me to take an instant liking to you:
Any old Godzilla movies (pre 1980) Akira Donnie Darko Big The Evil Dead 2 The Godfather 2010 The Abyss Aliens Silverado Yellowbeard Time Bandits/The Neverending Story (tie) 2000 Maniacs
Movies that make me wonder about you (There IS a pattern here )
Godzilla, The Movie Legend of the Overfiend Killer Clowns from Outer Space The Man With One Red Shoe The Evil Dead The Godfather III 2001 Deep Six Alien 3 Wyatt Earp The Pirates Of The Carribean Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets/Neverending Story 2 Microwave Massacre
Posts: 1870 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Ooh... I loved Speed's listing of A Fish Called Wanda and Harold and Maude. Also on my list of must-like films would be:
Brazil The Princess Bride The Big Kahuna Lawrence of Arabia and all of Hal Hartley's films
Also, it's a must for anyone who spends a lot of time with me that they have no aversion to reading subtitles. Some of my favorite films aren't in English. Posts: 1295 | Registered: Jan 2003
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