Dead Poet's Society

Dead Poet's Society was such a formative movie for me. It came out the year I turned 10, although I may not have seen it for a few years. But I know I watched it when I was in school, when I was learing Keating and Tennyson and of course Walt. My resume for a long time had a quote I adapted... I came to the city because I wished to design... I thought it was rather witty. :) And it was totally based not only on my own reading of the text but from Robin William's whispered "Seize the day" on his first day of class.

Reach for your dreams, boys and girls, and do what's right. Be prepared for people not to understand you, and for them to mistreat you. But don't give up, and don't give in. Carpe Diem.

Dave

I do believe this copy of Dave was "liberated" from my parents' house. Either that or I liked the movie so much that I did actually go purchase it at some point. My last post was about inner-city teachers, and this one is about presidents. I've probably only got about 5 movies where the president has a prominent role, but still, it's a number.

The idea for this is great, because it's like the Prince and the Pauper only one-sided, and Dave didn't really come up with the idea so much as had it forced on him. But what a great opportunity to be president for a few months. I wonder how I'd do?

Dangerous Minds

So i just counted, and I have at least six teacher movies. You know, new idealistic teacher goes to the inner-city classroom to attempt to help the children learn and grow. The first day is always horrible, and someone usually either dies or gets arrested (or both). Dangerous Minds is one of these.

If I can write about it with such ambivalence, you might ask whether or not I really like these movies. I do. I love them. I most especially adore them when they're based on real stories of a man or woman who defied culture, norms, and the odds. It's just odd when you think about them all together.

But this is a great one. They all are.

The Cutting Edge

When I first saw The Cutting Edge, I absolutely fell in love with it. I probably saw it somewhere around the Olympics, and anything with ice skating... plus there's such a great play between the two of them. You know, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I love you. :)

Here's my two favorite lines:
"There are only two things I do well, honey, and skating's the other one."
--Doug

"In case you didn't notice, I'm throwing myself at you!"
--Kate

Coyote Ugly

It's kinda fun to watch Coyote Ugly just two movies after Cocktail. They're both movies about lead characters who want to make it big, and start off as bartenders wowing the crowds with their bottle skills and good looks.

Some good songs, and some funny scenes. I wish Tyra's character had a bit more to it, but then again she would've stolen the show. The only thing (spoiler alert, sorta) that really kills me is that Piper Paraboo doesn't do her own singing. I was so bummed the day I found out. That's what I get for reading the credits. And it explains why she didn't get a solo in Because I Said So. But that's for a later post... much much later. :)

Connie and Carla

Every time I break out this old VHS tape I ask myself why I haven't bought Connie and Carla on DVD yet. It's such a great happy film. You know, girl sees murder, girl flees murderer's henchman, girl becomes transvestite, girl gets guy... it's fantastic. Oh and there's singing and Debbie Reynolds. It's fabulous. :)

Cocktail

Well, here's an oldie but goodie. I don't even want to guess at how many years it's been since I've watched Cocktail. I used to watch it all the time though. I love love love the soundtrack. My cousin and I used to listen to it all the time--I think it's how I was introduced to the Beach Boys.

The poem that young Brian Flannigan recites always cracks me up--of course partly that's because he mentioned drinks like Sex on the Beach and the Orgasm, and I was like 9. Well, 9 when the movie came out. Here's hoping that my parents didn't actually let me watch it when I was that young. Of course my little sister's favorite movie at the age of 9 was Pretty Woman. That's pretty much my fault though, 'cause I watched it all the time, at the ripe old age of 14. But that's for a later post.

I love how Brian works really hard to make something of himself, and learns that fast and easy is not the best way to get to the top and stay there. Here's hoping that I can take that advice, and find my Flugalbinder out there somewhere.

And if you're still keeping track, Elizabeth Shue is now connected to Kevin Bacon... and so is everyone else from Adventures in Babysitting, Back to the Future, and the Karate Kid. :)

Clueless

So in the first 5 minutes of Clueless I realized that this is, hands down, one of my favorite movies. Which is a tiny bit embarrasing, until I looked at the release date--1995. This movie about high school romance came out while I was smack dab in the middle of--high school. Duh. I didn't have the clothes, the car, or the money, but I could totally vibe with the themes.

What's great about it also is the realization that Cher comes to, after thinking that the new girl in town was clueless, she realizes that she in fact (Cher) is the one who doesn't get it. How often do we think about others as knowing less than us about the way life is, and suddenly we realize that we're actually in the dark? I don't know about you but I have that happen to me all the time.

So this movie is a great blast from the past, but it also reminds me that we're all of us clueless in one way or another, but what really matters is that we reach out to the people around us, because together we get it. Plus, she totally gets the guy at the end. And that's of course my goal too. :)

Chicken Run

It was quite providential that I watch Chicken Run tonight. No, not because of some special message in the movie. Rather it's because I just needed a cute light movie that I didn't really have to pay any attention to while I did stuff on the computer. And this fits the bill. It was kinda funny hearing Mel Gibson's voice as a rooster just a few movies away from Braveheart though.

I'm realizing as I go through my movies that I have trends already--actors and actresses repeating, chick flicks from college (although I am going through all my college and post-college VHS movies so it makes sense) and of course, 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. I'm not really good at doing it all in my head though, but I'm sure Mel and Kevin are connected pretty closely.

Ok I just tried for a minute and I'm not quite there. Oh well, maybe next movie. :)

And I'll leave you with the best line, wings-down: "I don't want to be a pie... I don't like gravy!"