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Movies and TV Shows That are Great


Cassandra

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His Oscar was for Bridge Over the River Kwai. He was actually nominated for an Oscar for Star Wars, but did not win (and probably would have regretted the role even more if he had). This may have been a Lifetime Achievement award -- he was certainly worthy of one.

 

It was estimated that Guinness' share of the gross from Star Wars amounted to about $500 million (he owned 2.25% of the film). Even with all that money, he did not like the way the film came out or Lucas' simplistic philosophy (a lot of the actors had problems with Lucas' script -- Harrison Ford in particular complained about the "nonsense" technobabble he had to use).

 

This article has a great summary of some of Guinness' best work, much of which is barely seen in the US (particularly his early-career association with the work of Charles Dickens).

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isle of Dogs (2018)

 

The entire canine population of Japan has been sent to an island full of garbage after being accused of carrying plague. A boy goes to the island seeking out his own bodyguard-dog and becomes involved with a cynical stray (voiced by Bryan Cranston). Although he doesn't know it, the boy is in a race against time before his father, the local political leader, can fumigate the island and kill all the dogs.

 

Yes, Isle of Dogs is a "children's film" about genocide. Which makes it especially powerful and relevant. And while there were many controversies surrounding it (writer/director Anderson was accused of cultural appropriation), it's strong stuff. I was shaken almost to the core after I saw it.

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On 11/22/2019 at 9:41 AM, Michael Hopcroft said:

The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993)

 

Charles Addams was a cartoonist known for the macabre characters he drew for prestigious magazines. There have been many adaptations into film and television, but these are the best of them. It's the brilliant set-piece scenes that are worth the price of admission, but the real appeal is the amazing chemistry between Raul Julia's Gomez and Angelica Huston's Morticia. They are one of the hottest screen couples of their generation. Christina Ricci is also brilliant as Wednesday, a little girl who seems slightly "off" and the role model for a generation of weird children (who turned into gloriously weird adults). The whole series is a celebration of the unique and of the resilience of strong family bonds.

 

I have not seen the new animated film, which presents the closest visual approximation to the characters as Addams drew them but was roundly panned by critics.

 

I watch reruns of the TV series growing up, and I've seen the comic a few times. But to me, this is the definitive vision of The Addams Family. Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christina Ricci, Christopher Lloyd, and really the entire cast did such a fantastic job that it's hard for me to picture anybody else in any of those roles. I haven't made it a point to see the recent animated film, because I'm 99.7% confident that it would be a disappointment.

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Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1946)

 

One of the very best film performances of the classic era can be found in this adventure film set in 1930s Mexico, and that is courtesy of Humphrey Bogart, a man who helped define modern film acting in the United States, If you are not familiar with Bogey's body of work, you need to remedy the situation.

 

Bogart plays Fred C. Dobbs, an American drifter stuck in northern Mexico without a penny to his name. Even as a beggar, he retains a sort of quiet dignity. But when he and a friend take up an "old-timer" prospector to search for gold, Fred's fortunes finally take a turn for the better. Now all he has to do is protect the claim, and make sure he gets to keep his cut -- a cut that keeps growing as greed eats away at his mental and moral condition. This swift, tragic deterioration is terrifying to behold, and must have had a considerable impact on 1946 audiences used to seeing Bogart play anti-heroes like Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon) and Rick Blaine (Casablanca) who always effortlessly kept their cool even when dealing with impossible moral choices.

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Adventure Time with Finn and Jake (2010-2019)

 

It's easy to dismiss this show because of its singular art style (with arms working in weird ways), but this animated series produced for Cartoon Network broke ground in numerous ways and easily transcended the notion of what a comedy adventure cartoon should be.  It chronicles the adventures of the last surviving human in the psychedelic wonderland that has followed a nuclear war in the distant past. It is funny and weird, but also sad and frequently moving. It even succeeds in making a creepy, delusional bad guy (who engages in some truly repulsive behavior) into one of the most tragic figures in the history of American animated television; and he is just one of many great characters in the series.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Scooby Doo, Where are You ? (1969-76)

I am deliberately picking the original run on CBS as this was before it got mucked about and before they added THAT wretched thing. it set the template of a crime being committed that is covered up by a supernatural story. It was fun as two of the group were cowards (Shaggy and Scooby). And it gave us the line that has stuck to us all 'and I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids !'

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5 hours ago, Cancer said:

When it was on rabbit ears channels, I agree.  I don't watch the cable only crap.

 

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the move to E$PN. But it is what it is.

 

Personally, I thought that season with Dennis Miller was among the best. I realize I'm very strongly in the minority on that opinion.

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17 hours ago, Pariah said:

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, and even if it has, I don't care, because it's a great show.

 

Monday. Night. Football.

 

I haven't watched NFL in years.  I do watch some college and other sports, but NFL lost me when they fully transitioned from football to ruleball with commercials.   It was one of the superbowls (I cannot recall exactly which year now) where a call was made and had everyone confused, once I payed attention to the time it was over 20 minutes before anyone could find the call.  Mass confusion and then crying because it changed the game and most people/players/coaching staff/commentators didn't even know it was a rule.  From later commentary it had been a rule for a while. but not usually enforced.  

 

That ended my interest, when a game has so many rules and regulations that they become impossible to remember, well it is no longer a game.

 

Just an opinion of course, many of my friends are still big fans.

I just cannot get up any enthusiasm anymore.  Not when there are so many great sports to watch out there where you can actually follow all the rules in play real time without a book and research team to check it. :winkgrin:

 

 

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44 minutes ago, Spence said:

Just watched Richmond (85) winning over Geelong Cats (66).  Australian Football. 

I have no idea of the rules or what was happening.  Just seemed to get sucked in and found myself watching the whole match. 

 

Always happy to see Geelong lose. Rules are simple: kick the ball to a team member (called a mark) or punch it to a team mate (a handball). If you kick it between the middle posts (a goal, 6 points) or either side (a behind, 1 point). There are 4 quarters each about 20 mins. 

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Command Decision (1949)

 

Clark Gable plays a General who sends his Bombers against three targets to prevents the Germans from building Jet Fighters, despite heavy losses, and the opposition of his superior (Walter Pigeon) who is more concerned with getting political support for the bombing program.

 

Memphis Belle (1990)

 

The crew of the first B-17 on it's twenty fifth and final mission which means the end of their combat tour if they survive.

 

 

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