Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Summer Viewing List

Hey, I'm afraid I haven't been that exciting this past week: not much readable writing, or even deep thinking about the elements of good writing. I did go see The Avengers over the weekend, which was written and directed by Joss Whedon, who I talked about last week. Therefore, the characters were awesome. And the movie was awesome. I have already had a post about my "Summer Reading List", but as I have said before, I am the Story Fanatic, not just the Book Fanatic. There are some excellent stories in movies, so I thought that today I would give a list of some of my favorite films, a summer viewing list, if you will.

Anything by Pixar: they don't make a bad movie, and their characterization is excellent
How to Train Your Dragon: good writing, good music, exciting plot
Enchanted April: slow-paced movie, but inspiring and perfect for lazy summer days
Disney's Beauty and the Beast: one of the best movies ever. 'Nuff said.
A Knight's Tale: rock and roll and jousting. Fun characters (Chaucer), fun plot, just a great jaunt.
The Prestige: this is an excellent example of the genre of the fantastic and is mind-bendingly interesting
O Brother, Where Art Thou?: based on Homer's Odyssey but set in the 1930s with escaped criminals. Very well done
Iron Man: Robert Downey Jr. does an excellent job as the title role - snappy dialogue, action, excitement. Actually, I have a soft spot for all Marvel films.
The Princess Bride: do I have to explain this one? It's a classic!
Penelope: modern-day fairy tale with great characters. Uses a lot of traditional fairy tale tropes.
Sherlock Holmes: see note for Iron Man, but with a Watson adding to the awesome. No to be confused with BBC's TV show Sherlock, which is also excellent.
All 3 of the Lord of the Rings films: well-made, wonderful adaptation. Music and casting top-notch.
Tangled: one of Disney's best. Fun, clever story, and both the guy and girl are strong characters.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: not true to the book at all, but the sense of humor in the film alone is worth watching it.
While You Were Sleeping: one of my all-time favorite romantic comedies because of the crazy family.
Hairspray: because I had to have a musical on this list, and this one reminds me of the fun, carefree elements of summer.

Just so you know, this is a just a list of some of my constant favorites, the ones I don't say no to watching. There are more, and I'm about as picky with films as I am with books. I'm also a fan of Hitchcock films, I love a good action flick (yes, there is an emphasis on good), and I like way more musicals than I listed. I tend to go through phases with movies, just as I do with books, and summer tends to be more action/adventure.

On a final note, I just realized a lot of the movies on my list are based on  or inspired by books. At least 8 of them. Huh.

3 comments:

  1. Might I recommend, if you haven't seen it already, Chronicle? It may not end up on your favorites list [I for one don't know that I'd ever watch it again, more due to the darkness of the film than anything] but the writing is fantastic and the characters are incredibly realistic. If you do see it, let me know what you think will you?

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    1. Emily, when you commented I hadn't seen Chronicle, but now I have. You're right, it's really dark. I agree that the writing is fantastic. The dialogue is clever and yet it sounds like what teenage boys would say. I thought it was one of the most realistic superhero origin stories I've ever seen. If the guys I know got powers, they would definitely use them to pull pranks and fly.

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    2. haha, absolutely! and as much as you want Andrew to become a hero, I'm really glad he didn't because, really, not all kids in his situation would be able to rise above it

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