WHO SAID THAT?
Let’s have some fun with some famous movie lines. See how many you can correctly identify which movie they come from. For bonus points, the character that said the line. Answers at the bottom. No cheating!
1. “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn”
2. “Who are those guys?”
3. “The stuff that dreams are made of”
4. “I’ll have what she’s having”
5. “It’s alive!”
6. “There’s no crying in baseball”
7. “Play it again, Sam”
8. “Carpe diem; seize the day, boys!”
9. “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get”
10. “Fasten your seatbelts! It’s gonna be a bumpy night.”
12. “Rosebud”
13. “You’ve got to ask yourself one question- do I feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?”
14. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore”
15. “Here’s looking at you, kid”
ANSWERS:
1. Rhett Butler as he leaves a tearful Scarett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind.
2. Paul Newman to Robert Redford when they can’t shake their pursuers in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
3. Humphrey Bogart to the room at large, describing The Maltese Falcon
4. Nearby diner, played by Carl Reiner’s mom, on hearing Meg Ryan describe faking an orgasm to Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally
5. Dr. Frankenstein (Carl Clive) on seeing the monster (Boris Karlof) move in Frankenstein
6. Tom Hanks to Geena Davis when something goes wrong in A League Of Their Own
7. Humphrey Bogart to pianist Dooley Wilson in Casablanca, though the actual quote is “Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By”.
8. Robin Williams to his Prep School English class in Dead Poets’ Society
9. Tom Hanks to lady on a park bench in Forest Gump
10. Bette Davis to partygoers in All About Eve
11. Tom Hanks to Mission Control in Apollo 13.
12. Orson Welles as a dying Charles Foster Cane remembering his boyhood in Citizen Kane
13. Clint Eastwood glowering down at a captured street punk in Dirty Harry
14. Judy Garland to her little dog in The Wizard Of Oz
15. Humphrey Bogart to Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca
12-15 Cinephile
9-11 Fair
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Sunday, July 23, 2017
WINE
In my short (okay, pretty long) lifetime, North Carolina has gone from zero wineries to around 145. Who woulda thought it? Maybe some day we’ll have our own wine movie. For right now, wine movies are about other places, and some are quite good.
Sideways (2004) is the film that made pinot noir famous. Paul Giamatti plays a wine buff who is somewhat sticky about it. He takes good old boy Thomas Hayden Church on a tour of wineries in the Napa Valley. This is to be a last bachelor outing before Church’s wedding. Hijinks ensue. And Virginia Madsden’s (as Maya) two minute monlogue on the romance of wine is a highlight. Funny and charming, Sideways did well at the box office and with the critics, and sold many cases of pinot noir.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969) is that the tiny village’s only product is wine, and that it must be kept out of the hands of the occupying Nazis. Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani head a fine cast, and Hardy Kruger is good as a civilized German officer. How do you hide a million cases of wine? Watch and see!
Keanu Reeves agrees to pretend he is married to the gorgeous Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, so that her winemaker father won’t freak out when he learns she is pregnant. A Walk In the Clouds (1995) is pure romantic nonsense, and I liked it a lot. The Napa settings are beautiful and so are the people. Do the main characters fall in love? Is this a Hollywood movie?
A Good Year (2006) is based on Peter Mayle’s very popular memoir, A Year In Provence. Russell Crowe is the high stakes London financier who inherits a battered chateau and aging vineyard in Southern France. After he goes there to check out his inheritance, he gradually comes to realize the quiet charm of this place. Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner) is the unlikely director. And yet, I think it works pretty well. Marion Cotillard is ideal as the love interest. The two principals had a brief, but delightful, meeting as children.
The little-known but utterly winning Bottle Shock (2008) is the fascinating story of how the American vintners soundly whipped the snooty French at a blind tasting on France’s home court. Alan Rickman is perfect as a British wineshop owner who devises the plan after a trip to California to taste the local products. Before this event, the world at large viewed American wines as little better than soda pop. After this, the playing field was never the same. The movie does a good job portraying what happened.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
###
In my short (okay, pretty long) lifetime, North Carolina has gone from zero wineries to around 145. Who woulda thought it? Maybe some day we’ll have our own wine movie. For right now, wine movies are about other places, and some are quite good.
Sideways (2004) is the film that made pinot noir famous. Paul Giamatti plays a wine buff who is somewhat sticky about it. He takes good old boy Thomas Hayden Church on a tour of wineries in the Napa Valley. This is to be a last bachelor outing before Church’s wedding. Hijinks ensue. And Virginia Madsden’s (as Maya) two minute monlogue on the romance of wine is a highlight. Funny and charming, Sideways did well at the box office and with the critics, and sold many cases of pinot noir.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969) is that the tiny village’s only product is wine, and that it must be kept out of the hands of the occupying Nazis. Anthony Quinn and Anna Magnani head a fine cast, and Hardy Kruger is good as a civilized German officer. How do you hide a million cases of wine? Watch and see!
Keanu Reeves agrees to pretend he is married to the gorgeous Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, so that her winemaker father won’t freak out when he learns she is pregnant. A Walk In the Clouds (1995) is pure romantic nonsense, and I liked it a lot. The Napa settings are beautiful and so are the people. Do the main characters fall in love? Is this a Hollywood movie?
A Good Year (2006) is based on Peter Mayle’s very popular memoir, A Year In Provence. Russell Crowe is the high stakes London financier who inherits a battered chateau and aging vineyard in Southern France. After he goes there to check out his inheritance, he gradually comes to realize the quiet charm of this place. Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator, Blade Runner) is the unlikely director. And yet, I think it works pretty well. Marion Cotillard is ideal as the love interest. The two principals had a brief, but delightful, meeting as children.
The little-known but utterly winning Bottle Shock (2008) is the fascinating story of how the American vintners soundly whipped the snooty French at a blind tasting on France’s home court. Alan Rickman is perfect as a British wineshop owner who devises the plan after a trip to California to taste the local products. Before this event, the world at large viewed American wines as little better than soda pop. After this, the playing field was never the same. The movie does a good job portraying what happened.
All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
###
Sunday, July 16, 2017
WHAT WENT RIGHT?
When I heard these movies were coming, my expectations weren’t great. And yet each of them turned out to be a home run, delighting all those (ok, most of those) who thought the enterprise was doomed from birth.
Judith Guest’s Ordinary People (1980) is an incredible first novel that astonishes with its depth and feeling. So when I heard the movie was to feature comedienne Mary Tyler Moore as the mother, and that it was to be directed (in his first effort) by matinee idol Robert Redford, I despaired. Wrong. Ms. Moore, Donald Sutherland, Judd Hirsch and Timothy Hutton are all absolutely on the mark. Mr. Redford won an Oscar, as did the screen writer, Mr. Hutton, and the picture, itself.
Forrest Gump (1984) is a rather hateful book about a mentally deficient clown from the deep south. I was wondering why they even made it. And it only won six Oscars and deserved every one. The performances director Robert Zemekis gets from his talented cast makes this film both a critical hit and an audience delight. Tom Hanks is perfect as Forrest, and is ably backed up by Sally Field and Gary Sinise. Forrest is present at practically every important event of the 60s, and doesn’t understand any of them.
The main problem with filming Apollo 13 (1985) isn’t the lack of a good story- the problem is everyone already knows there is a happy ending and the astronauts safely complete the flight. But director Ron Howard and screenwriters William Broyles and Al Reinert turn this into a wonderfully suspenseful film full of drama, excitement and unusually good special effects. And it doesn’t hurt to have Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise in a fine cast.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s monumental trilogy about Middle Earth, The Lord of the Rings, is unbeatable cinematic material. But could it satisfy the legion of cult followers and the casual movie-goer? Yes. Peter Jackson has pulled together incredible special effects, a fantastic story, and absolutely breath-taking scenery into one of the truly unforgettable movie experiences. Released in 2001, 2002 and 2003, these are movie movies! And yet, they could not leave well enough alone and the Hobbitt sequels are at best so-so.
Cold Mountain (2003) is a justly-praised first novel by Tar Heel Charles Frazier and perhaps the best civil war novel ever written. So when I heard it was to feature Jude Law (a Brit), Nicole Kidman (an Aussie) and Rene Zelwegger ( a comedienne) , and that it was to be shot in Romania (!), I was all set for it to crash and burn. Instead it soars, bringing the story perfectly to the screen.
All of the films in this column are available on DVD. All are fine for 8 and up.
###
When I heard these movies were coming, my expectations weren’t great. And yet each of them turned out to be a home run, delighting all those (ok, most of those) who thought the enterprise was doomed from birth.
Judith Guest’s Ordinary People (1980) is an incredible first novel that astonishes with its depth and feeling. So when I heard the movie was to feature comedienne Mary Tyler Moore as the mother, and that it was to be directed (in his first effort) by matinee idol Robert Redford, I despaired. Wrong. Ms. Moore, Donald Sutherland, Judd Hirsch and Timothy Hutton are all absolutely on the mark. Mr. Redford won an Oscar, as did the screen writer, Mr. Hutton, and the picture, itself.
Forrest Gump (1984) is a rather hateful book about a mentally deficient clown from the deep south. I was wondering why they even made it. And it only won six Oscars and deserved every one. The performances director Robert Zemekis gets from his talented cast makes this film both a critical hit and an audience delight. Tom Hanks is perfect as Forrest, and is ably backed up by Sally Field and Gary Sinise. Forrest is present at practically every important event of the 60s, and doesn’t understand any of them.
The main problem with filming Apollo 13 (1985) isn’t the lack of a good story- the problem is everyone already knows there is a happy ending and the astronauts safely complete the flight. But director Ron Howard and screenwriters William Broyles and Al Reinert turn this into a wonderfully suspenseful film full of drama, excitement and unusually good special effects. And it doesn’t hurt to have Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise in a fine cast.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s monumental trilogy about Middle Earth, The Lord of the Rings, is unbeatable cinematic material. But could it satisfy the legion of cult followers and the casual movie-goer? Yes. Peter Jackson has pulled together incredible special effects, a fantastic story, and absolutely breath-taking scenery into one of the truly unforgettable movie experiences. Released in 2001, 2002 and 2003, these are movie movies! And yet, they could not leave well enough alone and the Hobbitt sequels are at best so-so.
Cold Mountain (2003) is a justly-praised first novel by Tar Heel Charles Frazier and perhaps the best civil war novel ever written. So when I heard it was to feature Jude Law (a Brit), Nicole Kidman (an Aussie) and Rene Zelwegger ( a comedienne) , and that it was to be shot in Romania (!), I was all set for it to crash and burn. Instead it soars, bringing the story perfectly to the screen.
All of the films in this column are available on DVD. All are fine for 8 and up.
###
Sunday, July 2, 2017
WHAT WENT WRONG?
When you’d read the book, or just heard they were making the movie, you were excited. You couldn’t wait to see this story brought to the silver screen. Then it was. And it was terribly disappointing. What went wrong?
Cormac McCarthy’s All The Pretty Horses (2000) was a wonderful book, winning popular and critical acclaim. It was incredibly cinematic. But the film, with Matt Damon and Henry Thomas (of ET fame) just never gels. First time director Billy Bob Thornton’s tracks are painfully obvious- bad editing, uneven pace. It’s not that it is a bad movie- it just could have been so much better.
On the other hand, there is Beloved (1998). Toni Morrison’s densely ethereal novel would be a stretch for anyone to put on the screen. And the film is a total mess. It singlehandedly sidetracked the career of Thandie Newton (who isn’t that bad), and proved that even Oprah Winfrey can be very wrong. Full of pseudo spiritualism and hocus pocus, it requires a leap of faith not worth making.
Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil (1997) is a quirky but quite entertaining book about Savannah, murder, voodoo and the best stripping male impersonator ever. Clint Eastwood directed. Kevin Spacey is always good, as is John Cusak. But the movie doesn’t get it. Perhaps Eastwood tried to include too much of the book, but it is wandering and very disappointing.
In Tom Wolfe’s wickedly funny book there are really no heroes. And that is just one of the problems in Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), one of the worst movies of the 90's. There is talent to burn (and it is burned in this movie). It was directed by Brian DePalma and featured Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Melanie Griffith. But the characters are turned to pasteboard and the story jumps the tracks and we are left not with satire but mean-spirited hatefulness.
Chaplin (1992) wastes a sterling performance by Robert Downey Jr. in the title role and an incredible career story by never deciding what it wants to be about. Chaplin’s life is interesting, but his films are the thing, and the writers and director just don’t seem to get it.
Some other near and far misses include Ali (2001), a strangely emotionless film about the heavyweight champ, and two Broadway musicals with all the stage magic drained out- A Chorus Line (1985) and Annie (1982) and (2014).
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
I was asked recently why I stopped saying movies were available for streaming. That’s because I don’t know if they are or not, and there are so many streaming outlets I can’t keep up. For a while, I was blithely saying films were available for streaming just because the DVD was out. But one doesn’t necessarily follow the other.
When you’d read the book, or just heard they were making the movie, you were excited. You couldn’t wait to see this story brought to the silver screen. Then it was. And it was terribly disappointing. What went wrong?
Cormac McCarthy’s All The Pretty Horses (2000) was a wonderful book, winning popular and critical acclaim. It was incredibly cinematic. But the film, with Matt Damon and Henry Thomas (of ET fame) just never gels. First time director Billy Bob Thornton’s tracks are painfully obvious- bad editing, uneven pace. It’s not that it is a bad movie- it just could have been so much better.
On the other hand, there is Beloved (1998). Toni Morrison’s densely ethereal novel would be a stretch for anyone to put on the screen. And the film is a total mess. It singlehandedly sidetracked the career of Thandie Newton (who isn’t that bad), and proved that even Oprah Winfrey can be very wrong. Full of pseudo spiritualism and hocus pocus, it requires a leap of faith not worth making.
Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil (1997) is a quirky but quite entertaining book about Savannah, murder, voodoo and the best stripping male impersonator ever. Clint Eastwood directed. Kevin Spacey is always good, as is John Cusak. But the movie doesn’t get it. Perhaps Eastwood tried to include too much of the book, but it is wandering and very disappointing.
In Tom Wolfe’s wickedly funny book there are really no heroes. And that is just one of the problems in Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), one of the worst movies of the 90's. There is talent to burn (and it is burned in this movie). It was directed by Brian DePalma and featured Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Melanie Griffith. But the characters are turned to pasteboard and the story jumps the tracks and we are left not with satire but mean-spirited hatefulness.
Chaplin (1992) wastes a sterling performance by Robert Downey Jr. in the title role and an incredible career story by never deciding what it wants to be about. Chaplin’s life is interesting, but his films are the thing, and the writers and director just don’t seem to get it.
Some other near and far misses include Ali (2001), a strangely emotionless film about the heavyweight champ, and two Broadway musicals with all the stage magic drained out- A Chorus Line (1985) and Annie (1982) and (2014).
All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All are for grown-ups.
I was asked recently why I stopped saying movies were available for streaming. That’s because I don’t know if they are or not, and there are so many streaming outlets I can’t keep up. For a while, I was blithely saying films were available for streaming just because the DVD was out. But one doesn’t necessarily follow the other.
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