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pippin06

Member since 1/15/2006, last signed in last week.

"So many movies...so little time!"

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Personal statement:

The Muppets are philosophical geniuses: 'Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending...'

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Forrest Gump

Revisiting Forrest Gump for the ...
By pippin06 in Reel Thoughts
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"What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here:http://www.spout.com/blog s/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25 756.aspx Forrest Gump is on the following AFI lists: The Original Top 100 (#71)100 Movie Quotes (#40 - Forrest Gump: "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.")100 Most Inspiring Movies (#37)The Revised Top 100 (#76) I believe that Forrest Gump happens to be one of the most polarizing films in the popular film lexicon. Take any sampling of people who have seen this film, and, almost guaranteed, half will say this is a modern masterpiece, while the other half will claim that it is melodramatic and manipulative tripe with a problematic protagonist. For the record, I am of the former category. This is one of my favorite films for so many reasons. On the most basic level, it holds up to repeat viewings so well, I actually notice aspects of it with each new viewing that ... " [More]

Coal Miner's Daughter

Oscar Flashback: Coal Miner's D ...
By pippin06 in Reel Thoughts
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"What's an Oscar Flashback (tm)? Read here: Next on my Netflix queue was Coal Miner's Daughter, which was nominated for Best Picture and for which Sissy Spacek won the Best Actress Oscar; John W. Corso and John M. Dwyer were nominated for the Best Art Direction Oscar; Ralf D. Bode was nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar; Arthur Schmidt was nominated for the Best Film Editing Oscar; Richard Portman, Roger Heman, and Jim Alexander were nominated for the Best Sound Oscar; and Tom Rickman was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar (film year, 1980; awarding year, 1981). The other nominees in these categories were: Best Picture Ordinary People (Winner) The Elephant ManRaging BullTess Best Actress Resurrection - Ellen BurstynPrivate Benjamin - Goldie HawnOrdinary People - Mary Tyler MooreGloria - Gena Rowlands Best Art Direction Tess (Winner) The Elephant ManThe Empire Strikes BackKagemusha Best Cinematography Tess (Winner) The Blue LagoonThe FormulaRaging Bull Best Fil ... " [More]

The French Connection

Viewing The French Connection f ...
By pippin06 in Reel Thoughts
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"What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here:http://www.spout.com/blog s/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25 756.aspx The French Connection is on the following AFI lists: The Original Top 100 (#70)100 Most Heart-Pounding Movies (#8)100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains (Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle is the #44 hero)The Revised Top 100 (#93) Since my priority is the AFI Project, I took a small hiatus from the regularly-scheduled Netflix queue to order up the next entry on the Original AFI list. I'm on movie #70, people! That's quite a few movies, and with this current go-round on the original list, it's probably going to be two years by the time I can finally move on to the next list of the series. Still, this project has provided me the opportunity to watch films I've heard much about but never paid much attention or given much thought to, including this rough-and-tumble cop drama. I have never seen it before because it's not the ki ... " [More]

Shane

Viewing Shane for the AFI Project
By pippin06 in Reel Thoughts
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"What's the AFI project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here:http://www.spout.com/blog s/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25 756.aspx Shane is on the following AFI lists: The Original Top 100 (#69)100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains (Shane is the #16 hero)100 Movie Quotes (#47 - Joey Starrett: "Shane. Shane. Come back!")100 Most Inspiring Movies (#53)The Revised Top 100 (#45)10 Top 10's (#3 Western) I knew nothing about Shane prior to ordering it up from the magical Netflix queue. Since it’s a western, and since, as most loyal readers of this blog know, westerns constitute my least favorite genre of film, my anecdotal knowledge of anything involving cowboys and gunfights and covered wagons in film is pretty limited, even if it’s a film that is considered great by the American Film Institute. So, anytime I watch one of the westerns on the lists, I must actively work to moderate my bias against the genre in order to enjoy the f ... " [More]

An American in Paris

Revisiting An American in Paris ...
By pippin06 in Reel Thoughts
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"What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here:http://www.spout.com/blog s/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25 756.aspx An American in Paris is on the following AFI lists: The Original Top 100 (#68) 100 Years...100 Passions (#39) 100 Greatest Film Songs (#32 - "I Got Rhythm") 25 Greatest Movie Musicals (#9) I initially watched An American in Paris when I was attempting to complete this original AFI list the first time, back in college. I remembered liking it, if not exactly loving it, because for a couple of semesters, I played violin (second) in the Michigan Pops Orchestra at the University of Michigan, and one of our concerts was Gershwin-themed. The actual American in Paris piece, which is the foundation of the finale ballet at the end of this film, was the Orchestra’s piece de resistance after cycling through numbers like Rhapsody in Blue, excerpts from Porgy and Bess, and other goodies. I remember relating to the ... " [More]

Norma Rae

Viewing Norma Rae for the AFI P ...
By pippin06 in Reel Thoughts
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"What's the AFI project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here:http://www.spout.com/blog s/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25 756.aspx Norma Rae is on the following AFI lists: 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains (Norma Rae Webster is the #15 hero)100 Most Inspiring Movies (#16) This film also represents the fifth of nine Oscar-nominated dramas topping my Netflix queue, just in case you were keeping track. Sally Field has always been one of those actresses that I enjoy watching in film (and even on TV, at least in Gidget). She may not be my favorite actress or even, necessarily, the most memorable one, but I have yet to see a bad film with her in it or, at least, a bad performance by her. I think I queued Norma Rae up because she has always been so consistent and because I knew this film was on the AFI lists it was on but also because I knew that the film would be enjoyable, good, even if not necessarily memorable. That is, after all, the k ... " [More]

The Manchurian Candidate

Viewing The Manchurian Candidat ...
By pippin06 in Reel Thoughts
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"What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here:http://www.spout.com/blog s/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25 756.aspx The Manchurian Candidate is on the following AFI lists: The Original Top 100 (#67)100 Most Heart-Pounding Movies (#17)100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains (Mrs. John Iselin is the #21 villain) This is a film that I have been looking forward to watching for quite a while now. After all, the plot summary alone is intriguing, but then, the film received a high-profile remake treatment featuring the likes of Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep. I swore off the remake (even as the previews tantalized and teased me) in favor of the original because I knew it was on my AFI lists and because, from everything I've ever read or been told, the original far surpasses its successor. I'm happy to say, my anticipation was well rewarded because this is one of the best films I've ever seen, i think, or it's at least the best ... " [More]

Gorillas in the Mist

Oscar Flashback: Gorillas in th ...
By pippin06 in Reel Thoughts
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"What's an Oscar Flashback (tm)? Read here: Next on my Netflix queue was Gorillas in the Mist, for which Sigourney Weaver was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar; Stuart Baird was nominated for the Best Film Editing Oscar; Maurice Jarre was nominated for the Best Score Oscar; Andy Nelson, Brian Saunders, and Peter Handford were nominated for the Best Sound Oscar; and Anna Hamilton Phelan and Tab Murphy were nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar (film year, 1988; awarding year, 1989). The other nominees in these categories were: Best Actress The Accused - Jodie Foster (Winner) Dangerous Liaisons - Glenn CloseWorking Girl - Melanie GriffithA Cry in the Dark - Meryl Streep Best Film Editing Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Winner) Die HardMississippi BurningRain Man Best Score The Milagro Beanfield War (Winner) The Accidental TouristDangerous LiaisonsRain Man Best Sound Bird (Winner) Die HardWho Framed Roger RabbitMississippi Burning Best Adapted Screenplay Dangerous Liaisons (Win ... " [More]

Network

Viewing Network for the AFI Pro ...
By pippin06 in Reel Thoughts
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"What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here:http://www.spout.com/blog s/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25 756.aspx Network is on the following AFI lists: The Original Top 100 (#66)100 Movie Quotes (#19 - Howard Beale: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!")The Revised Top 100 (#64) Network, instantly viewed on Netflix, is one of those films that I've always vaguely heard about but never paid much attention to until reviewing the films for this project. When I read the premise and prior reviews, I was greatly intrigued but otherwise had no preconceived notions. I'll leave it at that until after offering the obligatory plot summary. Network is a wily satire of the machinations of television. The term floated in the film is "trash TV," though the film easily makes the argument that all television is trash. For the purposes of the film and its plot, though, trash TV seems to refer to exploitative, se ... " [More]

Out of Africa

Viewing Out of Africa for the A ...
By pippin06 in Reel Thoughts
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"What's the AFI Project, you ask? For more information, or if you just enjoy my bemused ramblings, read here:http://www.spout.com/blog s/pippin06/archive/2008/3/1/25 756.aspx Out of Africa is on the following AFI lists: 100 Years...100 Passions (#13)25 Film Scores (#15) This film also represents the third of nine Oscar-nominated dramas topping my Netflix queue, just in case you were keeping track. Out of Africa is one of those movies that I've heard about ever since its release in the mid-80s but never paid much attention to; after all, I was a child at the time and much more mesmerized by contemporary films like Back to the Future. Still, as I've gained years of age, I've also gained a growing appreciation for one of my favorite actresses, Meryl Streep, and I've made it something of a mission to cover more of her filmography. Thus, when Netflix was making its convenient recommendations to me, I popped Out of Africa on my queue. As it turns out, Out of Africa is based on the writ ... " [More]

Re:Who is your favorite member ...
By pippin06 in Movie Polls
"[quote user="Risselada"] [quote user="pippin06"] But Palin would run a close second because many of Cleese's best stuff was supported by Palin. Everyone's favorite dead parrot sketch is the two of them. [/quote] It would be hard for me to pick, but I ended up just selecting Palin because he is so likeable!! And I would argue that even more enjoyable than the Cleese / Palin / customer / shopkeeper sketch of the dead parrot sketch is the cheese shop sketch. Although I do have a personal obsession with cheese. Did you know that John Cleese's family surname used to be "Cheese" but his dad changed it at some point to Cleese? [/quote] I did actually! I have a lot of Monty Python related stuff and have read a lot about them, and I remember reading that somewhere along the way. I like Cheese Shop. That's one of my favorites too, and really, that is Palin's sketch. Cleese's character is incidental/support really because he's just requesting all of the cheese. Oh, and the hilarious in ... " [More]

Re:Who is your favorite member ...
By pippin06 in Movie Polls
"As probably cliche as it is, I had to go with Cleese. Running through all my favorite Flying Circus sketches in my head, he's in the majority of them. Running through Holy Grail, he plays some of the best supporters (the black knight, Tim the enchanter), and he's just a generally funny man. Even when he's supporting, like in the majority of Life of Brian, it's his crazy facial expressions that get me going in the background. But Palin would run a close second because many of Cleese's best stuff was supported by Palin. Everyone's favorite dead parrot sketch is the two of them. And Palin inaugurated the gumby. And Palin is Dennis in Holy Grail and says one of my favorite lines (Help! Help! I'm being repressed!). Of course, my favorite sketch in the world, which is Self Defense Against Fresh Fruit, has all of them in it, and Cleese is the center point, but the best supporter there is Idle. So obviously, I like them all for different reasons. My least favorite is probably Gillia ... " [More]

Lists

AFI's 100 Inspiring Movies (24)
The American Film Institute's 100 most inspiring movies.

AFI's 25 Best-Scored Films (17)
The American Film Institute's 25 movies with the best music.

AFI's Revised 100 Greatest Films (62)
The American Film Institute's 100 Greatest FIlms as of 2007 - for consideration

AFI's 100 Heart-Pounding Films (30)
The American Film Institute's 100 Scariest Films

AFI's 10 Top 10 Epics (5)
The American Film Institute's 10 best Epic films

Films I've seen (1022)
Films I've seen

Oscar Flashback (34)
To be added to the queue.

Films I want to see (1380)
Films I want to see

AFI's 100 Quotable Films (31)
The American Film Institute's list of 100 films with the best quotes.

2009 Movies I'm dying to see (8)
My up and comers for 2009.

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