My Dinner with Andre, The Commitments, Encounter with the Unknown (in the “so bad that it’s good” genre), The Woman in Black, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Dresser, Duel, The Return of Martin Guerre, Being John Malkovich, Wit, Secret Honor, Wise Blood, The Brainiac/El Barón del Terror (another “so bad it’s good” entry), A River Runs Through It.

The Life Aquatic's about a Jacques Cousteau figure who has seen better days... I don't want to give too much else away other than that the film is like a very compassionate, funny, colourful aquarium. I've seen this about five or six times and it keeps revealing more - maybe more surreal than Wes Anderson's other films, less cynical, less clever for its own sake and with more of a heart. And at heart it's a discussion about art, discovery, nuance, beauty; the transcendent power of attention. Hence it's my favourite Wes Anderson film.

<u>drama (non-Shakes,non-mus,Eng-only)</u>
The Barretts of Wimpole Street,
The Petrified Forest,
The Grapes of Wrath,
Mr Smith Goes To Washington,
Casablanca,
Maltese Falcon,
Stage Door,
High Noon,
Shane,
Ivanhoe (Robert Taylor & Elizabeth Taylor),
Quo Vadis,
The Silver Chalice,
Excalibur,
Ladyhawke,
The Secret of NIMH,
The Fisher King


<u>comedy (non-Shakes,non-mus,Eng-only)</u>
Bringing Up Baby,
The Philadelphia Story,
Sons Of The Desert * (Laurel & Hardy, 1933)
A Night at the Opera,
A Day At The Races,
Room Service (w/ early Lucy, playing straight to Marx Bros),
The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin, 1940)
To Be Or Not To Be (Carole Lombard & Jack Benny)
Snow White And The Three Stooges (great ice skating scene)


<u>musicals</u>
The Magic Flute (Ingmar Bergman - best opera on VHS/DVD),
Jesus Christ Superstar,
Evita,
Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber),
Amadeus,
Carmen Jones (black cast, 20th cent USA, new lyrics to Bizet),
Kiss Me Kate *,
Yellow Submarine,
Concert For Bangladesh,
Swan Lake (almost any version - greatest ballet ever),
Spartacus (Vladimir Vasiliev w/ Bolshoi Ballet),
Oklahoma,
The Student Prince,
South Pacific,
Camelot,
Can Can *,
Man of La Mancha,
The Magic Bow (Paganini biography),
I'm Not There (surrealistic Bob Dylan biography)


<u>Shakespeare</u>
Taming of the Shrew * (1st WS talkie, Mary Pickford & Douglas Fairbanks),
Henry V (Sir Laurence Olivier, film opens & closes in "The Globe"),
Richard III (traditional version w/ L. Olivier, 1955),
Taming of the Shrew (Elizabeth Taylor),
Romeo and Juliet (Zeffirelli version),
Richard III ** (R3 as 1930s fascist - Ian McKellen, 1995),
Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh & Derek Jacobi version),
Midsummer Night's Dream (Flockhart & Kline version),


<u>foreign, generally non-musical</u>
Alexander Nevsky ** (Eisenstein - medieval Russian hero as WWII metaphor),
Orphee (Jean Cocteau - Orpheus as a 1950s beat poet),
Belle et la Bete (Jean Cocteau),
El Tesoro del Rey Salomon * (Tin Tan & Ana Bertha Lepe),
Carmen (Carlos Saura - a director discovers a lead & fantasizes about her)


<u>Sci-Fi and Horror</u>
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (original version),
War of the Worlds (original version, 1953),
Things To Come (WWI doesn't end & society crumbles, 1936),
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (Vincent Price as Moses - take that, Heston!),
Theater Of Blood (V Price & Diana Rigg having fun with the Bard)


-----------------------
* = kinky warning
** = maybe too violent
-----------------------

Robert Meyer




[This message has been edited by Robert Meyer (edited August 12, 2008).]

Other poets' lists here:
http://www.speechlessthemagazine.org...ovies_home.htm

Gail, I'm not much of a movie person, but one recent favorite of mine (and one you might enjoy, being a fellow statesman) is A Love Song for Bobby Long, an independent film from 2004 set in New Orleans, starring John Travolta and Scarlett Johansson. It's based on the novel Off Magazine Street, by Ronald Everett Capps -- lazy plot, heavy on atmosphere, and one of the more realistic depictions I've seen of Louisiana life. If you liked The Big Easy, this is NOT the movie for you.

Travolta plays a retired alcoholic English professor, a misfit who spends his days quoting Auden, Shakespeare, and the usual suspects, along with a writer friend. When an intimate female friend of theirs dies, her sober daughter (Johansson) comes to live with them. They get her into Tulane; she restores them to hope, and belief in a few lost ideals. Bittersweet. In tone and mood, I would say it leans toward Carson McCullers, maybe Tennesse Williams.

Mr Hulot's Holiday.

Who has time to go to the movies!?

I guess the final hour and a half episode of "The Avatar" doesn't count, does it? That's the closest thing to a movie I've seen, lately.

I really did enjoy The Bucket List, though.

Omigod! Don't get me going!

SUPERNATURAL THRILLERS:

The Sixth Sense - if you haven't already
The Others - lesser known, quietly eerie gem
The Invisible - a strange, haunting, poignant ghost story
Dead of Night- the grandfather of them all! (the British film from the 40's, not the one with Vampira!)
Carnival of Souls - low-budget, cult classic. Can't miss if you're a horror buff.

SUPERHEROES

I haven't seen The Dark Knight because I haven't liked the other Batman entries. I didn't like Batman Returns

On the other hand, Superman Returns is excellent.

Spiderman I, II, III He's such a sweet, awkward, appealing superhero.

COMEDY

Lars and the Real Girl - sweet and charming
Napoleon Dynamite - hilarious, offbeat charmer. Nerds rock! Vote for Pedro!

MARION'S ALL-TIME PICKS

Free Willy Boy meets captive killer whale. 'Nuff said. Co-starring the beautiful Keiko.

You've probably seen it but Lord of the Rings I loved the books, but the movie's better. Costarring the beautiful Orlando Bloom.

Tristan and Isolde - Haunting, passionate, beautiful. The actors are perfect. It didn't receive the acclaim it deserved, but the critics didn't get it! The absolute best version of this story, literary or cinematic, I have ever seen, and I've probably seen 'em all. Costarring the beautiful James Franco.

Regarding Tristan and Isolde -

yes, Marion: I wouldn't praise it quite so highly, but it was pretty good and got little attention.