1 Plug, 10 facts, 20 quotes

First, a quick plug (or plea) for those of you readers that are LAMBs. You probably know it's time again for the LAMMY awards, and I'd appreciate some nominations in these (and whatever other categories) you'd consider me for. Thanks!

Next, I've been tagged by The Movie Ness for the latest meme going around. So here's 10 Movie Facts About Me:

1. When I was growing up, I wanted to be Princess Leia.
2. I'm not big on movie snacks at the theater, but if my friends get popcorn I always end up eating some.
3. I don't remember a time when I hadn't seen classics like Citizen Kane, Singin' in the Rain, Some Like it Hot, etc. I was raised on them.
4. I really hate when people are loud at the theater, talking through a movie. I got mad enough once to tell some people off before moving seats. (At home, though, I don't mind movie talk, as we can always rewind and are often rewatching anyway.)
5. I love spotting character actors from one movie to another. (When I don't know their names, I call them by the previous character name I recognize.) I'm always so pleased to yell out, "Hey, it's so-and-so from whatever-movie!" as if I've just seen an old friend!
6. I still watch my VHS tapes. While I've upgraded a bunch of favorite movies to DVD, I kept the VHS copies and store them in the bedroom (theater 2) for easy viewing.
7. I've never been to a drive-in movie, but I would really like to go. (If only I could find one somewhere!)
8. The only movie I ever went to see by myself  was A.I.
9. I wish my life could be more like a musical.
10. I'm excited (and trying to prepare for disappointment) about the Tron Sequel. I want this shirt to wear when I go see it.

And finally, a little while back (on a blog that no longer seems to exist) I played a game where the readers could guess the source of 20 movie quotes. I found it fun and thought I'd try it here as well. I'd like to say no cheating (as in, no help from google!) and although I can't really enforce it, I trust ya'll. Just comment with your answers for each number and I'll mark them off as they are gotten. (Hint: There's both classics and newer movies represented here.) Have fun!

1. Well, here we go, fast and loose. - The Hustler
2. I'll tell you right out, I'm a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk. - The Maltese Falcon (Alex)
3. I like to like what's better to like. - Born Yesterday (NoirGirl)
4. Don't you think that daisies are the friendliest flower? - You've Got Mail (Jess)
5. Lay off 'em, you'll live longer. - The Palm Beach Story
6. No matter what you think you think you think the same as I think. - Adam's Rib (Java Bean Rush)
7. People? I ain't people. - Singin' in the Rain (trulymadlygeeky)
8. It's not a pretty face, I grant you, but underneath its flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character. - An American in Paris (Java Bean Rush)
9. I'm fine all over! - The Apartment (Alex)
10. You ate a lonely dinner, then got into the tub to read. - Laura (NoirGirl)
11. Let us be crooked but never common. - The Lady Eve (Java Bean Rush)
12. Sometimes he said I laughed too much. - The Third Man
13. He's just kissing her for you. - Take Me Out to the Ball Game (Java Bean Rush)
14. What care I for colds when there is such a man? - Sense and Sensibility (Jess)
15. Could you say that in English? - Guys and Dolls
16. I've seen detergents leave a better film than this. - The Muppet Movie
17. I want my two dollars! - Better Off Dead (Alex)
18. Pay the two dollars! - North by Northwest
19. Let's just keep this brain melting stuff to ourselves. - Back to the Future (Alex)
20. There's a double meaning in that. - Much Ado About Nothing (trulymadlygeeky)

Say kids, have you heard the one about the girl tuba player who was stranded on a desert island with a one-legged jockey?

Imagine yourself stranded on a desert island. With a working DVD player. And the foresight to pack 8 DVDs you could watch over and over again. (Stay with me.) What movies would you pick?

This is the question posed by the Fandango Groovers Movie Blog multi-blog event, Desert Island DVDs. I've decided to play along, albeit with my own spin on things. This event happens to give me a push to write about a similar discussion my father and I have had about picking movies for a desert island stay, but with the additional proviso of choosing the work of only one director.

In a way, I actually find this easier than picking out any 8 DVDs. The field there is too wide. Trying to narrow down my favorite movies to just 8 is pretty painful. Even thinking about what movies I'm happy to watch over and over again, it seems impossible to choose just 8. However, narrowing things down to director, well, now we're getting somewhere.

It would have to be a director whose work as a whole I enjoy and can watch over and over again. Who did I seriously consider?

Vincente Minelli or Stanley Donen - I figure if I were really stuck on an island for the rest of my life, I'd be a bit depressed. Some light movies and musicals might be just the thing to cheer me up.

John Huston - Made some of my all time favorites, yet I'm not sure I'd be happy with his catalog of films as a whole. (Similar story with Orson Welles, Preston Sturges, Howard Hawks and Frank Capra: moments of brilliance but not enough there to sustain me on an island.)

Charlie Chaplin - To be honest, it would be more of a film school island for me if I chose Chaplin's work. I confess I have not seen all of his movies, and being stranded would probably finally provide the push I need. (Although I'm sure I would miss hearing people talk.)

Steven Spielberg - If I had to choose from only modern directors, I might end up picking him, although it would mean I'd end up with movies I like but don't really love.

George Cukor - Would provide a good variety of films with wonderful performances by some great actresses.

Alfred Hitchcock - A definite master with plenty of great films to choose from. But I think his paranoia and suspense would not help my stranded-on-a-desert-island mental state.


In the end, there's really only one choice for me (and my dad). Billy Wilder.

His body of work provides a wonderful variety that I'm sure I would need on a desert island to prevent boredom. (Feel like comedy? Drama? Romance? Noir? Check, check, check, and check.) Mix together some talented actors, witty dialogue, a slightly cynical perspective on people tempered by compassion and a good dose of humor and you've got the Wilder formula for a great movie. If I had to narrow it down to 8 by him, these would be my picks:

 
That's The Apartment, Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, The Major and the Minor, Sabrina, Some Like it Hot, Stalag 17, and Sunset Boulevard. (If you prefer, you could swap in Ace in the Hole, The Fortune Cookie, or Witness for the Prosecution.)

But I'm not the only one getting hypothetically stranded. See what movies everyone else would take.

Who would be your Desert Island Director?

Feeling Fabulous!

An embarrassingly long time ago, Clarabela at Just Chick Flicks tagged me for the Fabulous Blog Award. I am grateful, though slow to react, and now in honor of award season I'm here saying thanks (I think Just Chick Flicks is fabulous, too!) and passing it on. The rules (there's always rules to these things, you know) are to link back, post, write 5 random things, tag 5 more people...

So here's those 5 things you may or may not be interested in knowing about me:

1. Like the person who tagged me, I look younger than I really am. When I was a teen getting kids' menus this bothered me more, but the older I get the more OK I have become with still getting carded. ("Let's just say I'm old enough to know what to do with my young feelings.")
   
2. I love cheese. I've never met a cheese I didn't like. But I do love some more than others. One of my favorites is Manchego. Yum!
3. I graduated high school a year early. Not so much because I'm so smart, but because I had the credits and was ready to get out and move on with the rest of my life.
4. I stink at real bowling, but I'm really good at Wii bowling.
5. I have this strange thing about numbers, being comfortable with some and uncomfortable with others. Like, say the number of blogs I'm following is 30, or 33, or 35, that's all good. If it's 38, it really bugs me, and I seriously consider unfollowing 3 or adding on 2 more. (I said it was strange!)
   

And here's my tag-you're-it picks:

Kate Gabrielle of Flapperdoodle (Who is currently having an unfounded crisis of confidence in her art, as well as an awesome sale.)

The other girls keeping my Chain O' Movie Reviews going:
KC at Classic Movies
Amanda Cooper of A Noodle in a Haystack
and Sally, who's Flying Down to Hollywood (I only recently discovered this blog, but I love it!)

And, to round out the 5, (good thing it's 5 and not 6, which would bug me) a blog I've enjoyed reading for a while but have only recently gotten around to following:
Insight Into Entertainment

That's all, folks. Feel free to talk about awards in general, or the Golden Globes in particular (Avatar? Really?) in the comments.

That's "Mrs. William Holden" to you

This silliness began over at Asleep in New York with Mrs. Richard Conte, and pretty soon everyone was playing along. (Well, the girls anyway. Guess you guys didn't play this game growing up or something.) Anyway, here's my results:

(Don't know why there's all this space here. Must be spoiler space, since it is a glimpse into the future.)

		I will marry William Holden.
		After a wild honeymoon, We will settle down in New York in our fabulous House.
		We will have 12 kid(s) together.
		Our family will zoom around in a puce Studebaker.
		I will spend my days as a detective, and live happily ever after.

I was a bit relieved to have dodged Joel McCrea (wouldn't want my 12 kids having his nose) but I was rather sad not to have ended up in Casablanca.

Who else has a fun movie fantasy future? Mrs. Dana Andrews (yes, we're all jealous), Mrs. Tyrone Power , Mrs. Rudolph Valentino, Mrs. Robert Taylor, and Mrs. Gower Champion.

I'd like to see some of you men try it... doesn't someone out there want to be Mr. Marilyn Monroe?

100 films to see before you die

The staff at Yahoo! Movies has put together this list of the 100 films you must see before you die. How many have I seen? I'm going to make the ones I've seen bold, and italicize the ones I want to see. I will also star * those I definitely agree are must-sees.

(Before anyone asks, since I've said before I choose not to see R-rated films, the ones on the list I mark as seen will be the edited for TV versions. Thanks!)

*12 Angry Men
2001: A Space Odyssey
400 Blows
8 1/2

The African Queen
Alien
*All About Eve
Annie Hall
Apocalypse Now

The Battle of Algiers
The Bicycle Thief
Blade Runner
Blazing Saddles
Blow Up
Blue Velvet
Bonnie and Clyde
Breathless
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Bringing Up Baby
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
*Casablanca
Chinatown
*Citizen Kane
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Die Hard
Do the Right Thing
Double Indemnity
*Dr. Strangelove
Duck Soup

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Enter the Dragon
The Exorcist

Fast Times At Ridgemont High
The French Connection

The Godfather
The Godfather, Part II
Goldfinger
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Goodfellas
The Graduate
Grand Illusion
Groundhog Day

A Hard Day’s Night

In the Mood For Love
It Happened One Night
*It’s a Wonderful Life

Jaws

King Kong (1933)

The Lady Eve
Lawrence of Arabia
The Lord of the Rings

M
M*A*S*H
*The Maltese Falcon
The Matrix
*Modern Times
Monty Python and the Holy Grail

National Lampoon’s Animal House
Network
Nosferatu

On the Waterfront
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Paths of Glory
Princess Mononoke
Psycho
Pulp Fiction

Raging Bull
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raise the Red Lantern
Rashomon
Rear Window
Rebel Without a Cause
Rocky
Roman Holiday

Saving Private Ryan
Schindler’s List
The Searchers
Seven Samurai
The Shawshank Redemption
The Silence of the Lambs
*Singin’ in the Rain
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Some Like It Hot
The Sound of Music
*Star Wars
*Sunset Blvd.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day
*The Third Man
This is Spinal Tap
Titanic
*To Kill a Mockingbird
Toy Story

The Usual Suspects

Vertigo

When Harry Met Sally…
Wild Strawberries
Wings of Desire
*The Wizard of Oz
Women On the Verge of Nervous Breakdown
The World of Apu

There's several on here that are on my mostly-seen list (I've seen part or almost all of the film and know the story) but if I didn't sit through and watch from beginning to end I didn't mark it off.

I'm not sure about some of these choices. In particular I've always disliked Groundhog Day, but hey, that's just me. I know my foreign film knowledge is pitifully small, so I should probably try to remedy that.

If it were my list, I would add some more classics, like An American in Paris, The Apartment, The Magnificent Ambersons, West Side Story, Out of the Past, The Philadelphia Story and Gone With the Wind.

So, how many of these have you seen? Mark them off and link back to share your list. Don't forget to include what movies you would have added to the list and what you disagree with!

How does an obsession begin?

This started as a Q&A on Classic Hollywood Nerd, and I couldn't resist joining in with my answers.

Who was the actor/actress that you were first interested in?
When I was maybe ten, I remember my best friend and I were filling out lists of our favorites, and for actor I put Clark Gable. (She had no idea who he was.) I'm not sure why I picked him at the time, although I always liked Gone With the Wind and I vaguely remember that It Happened One Night was one of the first movies my family recorded off TV with our new VCR.

How old were you when you really began watching old movies?
I don't remember a time when I didn't watch old movies. My love of them began in childhood, thanks to my classics-loving father, and never really stopped.

What was the first old movie that caught your interest?
As a kid I had all the dialogue (though a few lines were off) to The Wizard of Oz memorized. My parents had to ask me not to say every line along with the movie.

Who is currently your favorite actor?
I always like Bogart and Spencer. I like to look at Paul Newman, Dana Andrews, William Holden and Brando. I am strangely fascinated by George C. Scott and George Sanders. I think Ray Milland and Fred MacMurray are underrated. The more I see of Kirk Douglas and James Mason, the more impressed I am with them. And most recently I've been enjoying Edward G. Robinson.

Who is currently your favorite actress?
For a while now I've been identifying with Ginger Rogers.

What is your favorite old movie and why?
Only one? I really enjoy The Maltese Falcon for the unfolding mystery and Humphrey Bogart's great reactions to the assorted crazy characters. The Third Man is also high on my list. While it's artistic and moody it also has some great little moments of humor.

How many old movies do you own? How many old movies do you have recorded/on the dvr?
How should I know? What am I, an accountant? ;-)

Not as many as I'd like to own. I haven't counted, probably around 50, but I have a lot more recorded from television. And maybe 10-15 taking up space on the dvr. Putting my collection at what I would guess to be more than 100, but less than 200.

If you could go back in time and visit any actor/actress, who would it be?
I imagine that conversations with Orson Welles and/or Katharine Hepburn (if I could keep up with them) would be interesting. I think visits with Jimmy Stewart and/or Jack Lemmon would be pleasant.

Who is one actor/actress that you want to know more about?
It seems the more I learn about actors, the less I like them. Since learning about the real lives of actors is often disappointing to me, I usually prefer to know and appreciate them on-screen only. However, I did just watch an American Masters about Gene Kelly that was pretty interesting and not entirely depressing.

What film could you watch over and over again?
Among my go-to favorites for re-watching are The Big Sleep, Laura, and The Philadelphia Story.

What is your favorite Hitchcock film?
Probably North by Northwest.

Who is your favorite director?
Billy Wilder is genius.

Share your answers here or on your own blog. :-)

My answer to the 20 Actresses Meme: I like Actors better

There's a 20 favorite actresses meme going around. It started at The Film Experience blog. I've had a terrible time trying to come up with a list of my own. Not because there are so many actresses out there, but because I've realized that there aren't a lot of actresses I think are really great. How can this be? I don't know. Maybe I am jealous watching someone else get the leading man of my dreams. Maybe I am jealous of really beautiful women. Maybe as a girl, I've just learned to be catty to other girls. Isn't that sad? Whatever the case, I have come up with a list of 20 actresses that don't (usually) annoy me:


That's Leslie, Lee, Marilyn, Cate, Grace; Katharine, pre-botox Meg, Ingrid, Tina, Judy; Meryl, Natalie, Ginger, Mary, Amy; Hayley, Gwyneth, Judy, Agnes & Lauren.

Cate Blanchett has the distinction of being the only one on this list whose movies I don't own. I just think she is a good actress (and she doesn't irritate me).

My favorites on here are Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman & Ginger Rogers.

As I was making this list, I decided it would be much more fun to make a list of favorite actors. I thought, surely someone is bound to answer back the top 20 actresses list with their top 20 actors, right? It might as well be me. And so I made this list, and it was such a breeze! Here come the men:

That's Clark, Henry, Gene, Joseph, George C., Spencer, Humphrey, Dana, William, Jack; Cary, Paul, Jimmy, Ray, Orson; Marlon, Kirk, Sidney, George & Alec.

You'll see this list was made with only classic movie actors. So as a bonus, here's another five new(er) actors I happen to like:

Jude, Harrison, Ewan, Leo & Tom.

If I tried to narrow this list down to top favorites, it would probably be Spencer Tracy, Jack Lemmon, Humphrey Bogart, Dana Andrews, Cary Grant, Ray Milland, Orson Welles, Jimmy Stewart, Paul Newman & Tom Hanks. See how much more generous I am to the males?

If you want to make your own list, feel free to choose actresses or actors or both. If you do actors, please link or comment here with your lists. I'd like to see some more testosterone about. Let the 20 Actors meme begin!

One Hybrid Movie Meme

Don't know where they started, but I found two movie memes here and here. I am merging the best bits (that is, the questions I want to answer) from each into one hybrid movie meme.

1. One movie that made you laugh: The Palm Beach Story

2. One movie that made you cry: A River Runs Through It

3. One movie you loved when you were a child: The Wizard of Oz

4. One movie that you have seen more than 10 times: Citizen Kane

5. One movie you've seen multiple times in the theater: Apollo 13

6. One movie you walked out on: Cabin Boy

7. One movie that you can and do quote from: Joe Vs. the Volcano ("I know he can get the job, but can he do the job?", "I'm not arguing that with you!", "I have no response to that.", "Brain cloud," with the accompanying hand gesture over the top of the head.)

8. One movie you loved, but were embarrassed to admit it: 13 Going on 30

9. One movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven't gotten around to watching yet: Ninotchka

10. One movie you hated: Signs

11. One movie that scared you: Touch of Evil

12. One movie that made you happy: Stranger Than Fiction

13. One movie that made you miserable: The Conversation

14. One movie musical for which you know all the lyrics to all the songs: Oklahoma! (yes, even "Pore Jud is Daid")

15. One movie that you have been known to sing along with: Evita

16. One movie you would recommend that everyone see: 12 Angry Men

17. One movie character you’ve fallen in love with: William Holden as Paul Verrall in Born Yesterday. (I think it's the glasses.)

18. One actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie: Dana Andrews

19. One actor that would make you less likely to see a movie: Can I choose a writer instead? Anything adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel. (Sorry, Nicholas Sparks.)

20. One of the last movies you saw: Across the Universe

21. One of the next movies you hope to see: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

If you want to play along, consider yourself tagged!

The Alphabet Meme

The idea here is simple: Pick your favorite film for each letter of the alphabet. Thanks go to Blog Cabins for getting this started. Check there for more detailed rules, or read my summary below.

• Choose one film for each letter of the alphabet.
• Using a film that starts with "A" for A or "The" for T is not allowed.
• Films from a series must use the first letter of the actual title they were released under (ex: Return of the Jedi would go under R and not S for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi).
• Films that begin with a number belong filed under the first letter of that number spelled out (ex: 12 Angry Men would go under T).
• Link back to Blog Cabins in your post to give credit where it's due.
• If you're selected, tag 5 more people. (If you're not tagged, it's fine to make your own list anyway!)

I just did my top 50 movies, which should have given me a major head start here. But I thought it would be more fun (and challenging) to come up with movies I like that didn't quite make that list. So here they are:

Aladdin (my last list was sadly lacking in animated films)

Big Sleep, The

Corrina, Corrina (because Tina Majorino is super cute and reminds me of my niece)

Days of Wine and Roses, The

Ever After

Fugitive, The

Gigi

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

It Happened One Night

Jurassic Park

King and I, The

Long Hot Summer, The

Marty

Natural, The (not my favorite baseball movie, that would be A League of Their Own)

Ocean's Eleven

Parent Trap, The (1961)

Queen, The (although I prefer The African Queen)

Regarding Henry

Stranger Than Fiction

Thirty-Nine (39) Steps, The

Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The

V irgin Queen, The (2005)

Wall-E

X-Men (what else is there?)

You Can't Take It With You

Ziegfeld Follies (well, at least the bit with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly)

Whew, that was not easy! Because of the constraints, I can't say that I love all the movies on here. And I still feel like I'm missing some of my favorites. Oh, well, I still had fun with this.

Next, I tag Cesia and David Bishop. (Since you've both just made your top movie lists, it should be easy, unless you opt for new titles too.)

If you want to play along but get stumped along the way, try Yahoo! Movies to browse titles by letter.