Written as part of the blogathon hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves. Join us by picking three movies that fit the week's theme and writing a bit about them!
It's the last Thursday Movie Picks of the year! And so, I WILL NOT miss it! But, in order to achieve that goal, I gotta do this quick-and-dirty style.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher, 2011) I didn't like this one as much as Niels Arden Oplev's Swedish version (which I saw first), largely because it is cold, remote, and largely sedate - which wouldn't be a problem if it didn't have that incredible, pulse-racing credits sequence, which captures an energy the story could never hope to match. But when I think of winter, this is pretty much what it looks and feels like.
Frozen (Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, 2013) Olaf the Snowman is the MAN. This smart update of Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen is a future classic. Proof? You already know the songs. At least one of which by heart.
Fargo (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1996) The Coen Brothers' masterpiece? Quite possibly. A masterpiece of tone and comic timing.
Of the three Fargo would be far and away my favorite. Frances McDormand rules! One of the most atypical but deserved Oscar wins ever.
Remote is a perfect way too describe Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. I enjoyed it but once was enough for me.
You know how I am about animation so I've never willingly sat down and watched Frozen but with three great nieces and a great nephew you know I've seen every bit of the damn thing at one point or another! The mind reels at the number of little Elsa's that will be running around the planet in about 15-20 years!
Not by plan but my three all ended up having some sort of sport related theme however peripherally.
Mystery, Alaska (1999)-Mystery, Alaska is a small, quiet town where hockey is the most important thing in the lives of the townsfolk. The mayor oversees special "Saturday Games" selecting locals to play against each other for the enjoyment of the other townspeople. When an article about the town and their hockey playing is published in Sports Illustrated a native son, who has left and made a name for himself in sports, convinces the NHL to have the N.Y. Rangers play a televised exhibition game in the town for publicity. This causes no end of upheaval. This was Russell Crowe's last film just before moving on to superstardom in Gladiator.
Iron Will (1994)-Having recently lost his father and in peril of losing the family farm a young man, Will Stoneman, enters a grueling dog sled race across the frozen north just before the outbreak of WWI. As he endures many hardships the newspapers latch onto his story and he becomes an inspiration for the country famed as "Iron Will".
Ski Party (1965)-Silly comedy, basically a beach party movie moved to the slopes. Two college boys pretend to be women on a ski weekend to meet other women. Taking into consideration the name of the movie your expectations should be low to start with but this is still a pretty dumb time waster. The major redeeming feature would be the appearances of James Brown and even more so Lesley Gore. Notice how whenever someone sings the movie switches to stereophonic sound! Also the scene of night skiing with color flares over which the opening credits are projected is very striking but otherwise...well read the description.
IRON WILL!!! What a blast from the past. I loved that movie when I was young. Ski Party sounds like a winter version of all the Frankie & Annette Beach Party movies.
Fargo is brilliant and I didn't pick it because I thought I would see it everywhere today but you are the only one so far:) I guess everyone thought the same thing. Girl with the Dragon Tatoo I enjoyed quite a bit even though it is dark...and dirty. I have to see the Swedish film still which my niece also states is better. I still have to see Frozen. When it came out and there was all the hoopla about it, it just turned me off. Anything I saw about Olaf made me want to place him somewhere hot but seeing this clip makes me want to see this film now. One thing?.....I hate that song! I can let it go and never hear it again:)
LOL I definitely had a period of time where I was SO OVER "that" song - working with little girls it was ALL they wanted to hear. But it's such a good song that I eventually came back around. Olaf is WONDERFUL. Josh Gad's vocal performance goes to some unexpected places and really makes the character great.
I considered all three of these, man. Great picks! Fargo is my all-time favorite movie...period. I already picked it for another theme earlier in the year. Easily the first one I though of.
Absolutely do not blame you for having Fargo as your all-time favorite movie. Have you seen the TV show? I haven't yet and I feel kinda bad about it since people said it was good.
I've heard about Frozen being an update of The Snow Queen, but it seems unrecognizable from The Snow Queen I read as child. The only similar thing is a magical queen in winter right? Hey you're a musical person right? What did you think about Frozen's music. Comparable to the older Disney classics?
...yeah, Frozen is VERY loosely based on The Snow Queen. I absolutely LOVE the music in Frozen. Absolutely stands up to the Disney Classics, especially "Do You Want To Build a Snowman?" the end of which is just heartbreaking in the best way.
Inventive picks!
ReplyDeleteOf the three Fargo would be far and away my favorite. Frances McDormand rules! One of the most atypical but deserved Oscar wins ever.
Remote is a perfect way too describe Girl with a Dragon Tattoo. I enjoyed it but once was enough for me.
You know how I am about animation so I've never willingly sat down and watched Frozen but with three great nieces and a great nephew you know I've seen every bit of the damn thing at one point or another! The mind reels at the number of little Elsa's that will be running around the planet in about 15-20 years!
Not by plan but my three all ended up having some sort of sport related theme however peripherally.
Mystery, Alaska (1999)-Mystery, Alaska is a small, quiet town where hockey is the most important thing in the lives of the townsfolk. The mayor oversees special "Saturday Games" selecting locals to play against each other for the enjoyment of the other townspeople. When an article about the town and their hockey playing is published in Sports Illustrated a native son, who has left and made a name for himself in sports, convinces the NHL to have the N.Y. Rangers play a televised exhibition game in the town for publicity. This causes no end of upheaval. This was Russell Crowe's last film just before moving on to superstardom in Gladiator.
Iron Will (1994)-Having recently lost his father and in peril of losing the family farm a young man, Will Stoneman, enters a grueling dog sled race across the frozen north just before the outbreak of WWI. As he endures many hardships the newspapers latch onto his story and he becomes an inspiration for the country famed as "Iron Will".
Ski Party (1965)-Silly comedy, basically a beach party movie moved to the slopes. Two college boys pretend to be women on a ski weekend to meet other women. Taking into consideration the name of the movie your expectations should be low to start with but this is still a pretty dumb time waster. The major redeeming feature would be the appearances of James Brown and even more so Lesley Gore. Notice how whenever someone sings the movie switches to stereophonic sound! Also the scene of night skiing with color flares over which the opening credits are projected is very striking but otherwise...well read the description.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, Joel!
DeleteIRON WILL!!! What a blast from the past. I loved that movie when I was young. Ski Party sounds like a winter version of all the Frankie & Annette Beach Party movies.
Fargo is brilliant and I didn't pick it because I thought I would see it everywhere today but you are the only one so far:) I guess everyone thought the same thing. Girl with the Dragon Tatoo I enjoyed quite a bit even though it is dark...and dirty. I have to see the Swedish film still which my niece also states is better. I still have to see Frozen. When it came out and there was all the hoopla about it, it just turned me off. Anything I saw about Olaf made me want to place him somewhere hot but seeing this clip makes me want to see this film now. One thing?.....I hate that song! I can let it go and never hear it again:)
ReplyDeleteLOL I definitely had a period of time where I was SO OVER "that" song - working with little girls it was ALL they wanted to hear. But it's such a good song that I eventually came back around. Olaf is WONDERFUL. Josh Gad's vocal performance goes to some unexpected places and really makes the character great.
DeleteI considered all three of these, man. Great picks! Fargo is my all-time favorite movie...period. I already picked it for another theme earlier in the year. Easily the first one I though of.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely do not blame you for having Fargo as your all-time favorite movie. Have you seen the TV show? I haven't yet and I feel kinda bad about it since people said it was good.
DeleteI've heard about Frozen being an update of The Snow Queen, but it seems unrecognizable from The Snow Queen I read as child. The only similar thing is a magical queen in winter right?
ReplyDeleteHey you're a musical person right? What did you think about Frozen's music. Comparable to the older Disney classics?
...yeah, Frozen is VERY loosely based on The Snow Queen. I absolutely LOVE the music in Frozen. Absolutely stands up to the Disney Classics, especially "Do You Want To Build a Snowman?" the end of which is just heartbreaking in the best way.
DeleteI miss Fargo. Still haven't watched Frozen, which I must do. Thank you for reminding me of these.
ReplyDelete