This meme is the result of my first-ever foray into the world of generative AI. It—the meme—presumes some things, and is a little sideways to my usual mode of thinking. However, it is easy and intriguing to explore this new(-ish) technology, so I will open my heart and mind to it, and see what happens.
22. What’s a film you think everyone should watch at least once?
Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner), a 78-year-old balloon salesman, is about to fulfill a lifelong dream. Tying thousands of balloons to his house, he flies away to the South American wilderness. But curmudgeonly Carl's worst nightmare comes true when he discovers a little boy named Russell is a stowaway aboard the balloon-powered house.
Sweet, sad, funny, inspiring, beautiful.
23. Which foreign film has stuck with you the longest?
Amélie is a fanciful comedy about a young woman who discreetly orchestrates the lives of the people around her, creating a world exclusively of her own making. Shot in over 80 Parisian locations, acclaimed director Jean-Pierre Jeunet invokes his incomparable visionary style to capture the exquisite charm and mystery of modern-day Paris through the eyes of a beautiful ingenue.Pushed upon me by a la-di-dah friend who was a sucker for all things precious, I thought I would hate this movie. Instead, it slipped under my skin and charmed me.
24. What’s the scariest movie you’ve ever seen?
The Rev. Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) is a religious fanatic and serial killer who targets women who use their sexuality to attract men. Serving time in prison for car theft, he meets condemned murderer Ben Harper (Peter Graves), who confesses to hiding $10,000 in stolen loot. Released from jail, Powell is obsessed with finding the money, and he tracks down Harper's widow, Willa (Shelley Winters), and her two children.
Robert Mitchum can be a hard sell, because he made a lot of movies when script quality could be even more sketchy than it is today, and he tended to be typecast. This one is probably his best film. He is masterful as the Reverend Powell. The movie gave me real chills, and the effect has stuck with me for months.
25. Which movie has the most beautiful cinematography, in your opinion?
it's a tie.
In early 20th-century Montana, Col. William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) lives in the wilderness with his sons, Tristan (Brad Pitt), Alfred (Aidan Quinn) and Samuel (Henry Thomas). Eventually, the unconventional but close-knit family encounters tragedy when Samuel is killed in World War I. Tristan and Alfred survive their tours of duty, but, soon after they return home, both men fall for Samuel's gorgeous fiancée, Susannah (Julia Ormond), and their intense rivalry begins to destroy the family.
A film that, for personal reasons, I will NEVER watch again, this remains one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
Disgusted with human evolution, a foul mouthed monster (Robert John Burke) kills anyone who crosses his path. When a news crew sent to investigate the monster disappears, a guileless young woman (Sarah Polley) is dispatched to follow up on the story. She befriends the monster and becomes his only hope in ending his life of misery.
Surprising, funny, and deeply weird, this movie is a lot like my favorite people. The stark and awesome cinematography spawned my fervent interest in Iceland, too.
26. Is there a documentary that made you see the world differently?
Visionary director Terry Gilliam has a dream. He wants to film the classic story of Don Quixote by recasting it as a trippy, time-traveling, mistaken-identity adventure with Johnny Depp as Quixote. After struggling for years to get financing, insurance and a cast in place, Gilliam travels to Spain and promptly watches his dream fall apart. From flash floods to cast no-shows to serious injuries, Gilliam and his crew suffer one setback after another.
This film opened my eyes to realities of filmmaking. It's not all Hollywood glamour, success, and ease. It's a crap-shoot, it's sometimes dangerous, it's boring as Hell, and it can be really hard work.
27. What’s a guilty-pleasure film you’d never admit (except here)?
although I loathe that phrase...
A group of friends reunite for their 10-year high school reunion including a jazz pianist thinking about taking a sales job, an aging jock having an affair with the married former prom queen and another afraid of commitment.
Why "guilty pleasure"? Because it's a little sexist, a little too easy, and has a slightly creepy layer that can be hard to see past if you're looking for it. However, it's also thoughtful, very funny, and intensely romantic—and I love it more each time I watch it.
28. Which movie endings left you stunned, thrilled, frustrated, or ...?
• perplexed: Green Card (1990), reviewed here. "From the Orlando Sentinel review, 'It pains me to see a good movie with such a bad ending.'"
• annoyed: Kiss Me Deadly (1955), reviewed here. "...and then it goes completely off the rails, with a bizarre, propagandistic, unexpectedly stupid and very poorly acted and shot detour into Sci Fi."
• flabbergasted: The Usual Suspects (1995), reviewed here. "When it was over, I wanted to immediately see it again."
• frustrated: The Bone Collector (1999), reviewed here. "Roger Ebert's take: 'Most movies with a zillion clues have the good manners to supply a couple that are helpful.'"
• whiplashed: The Score (2001), reviewed here. "...the ending was so good that it made me want to go back and punch the rest of the movie in the mouth."
• happy: Take Me Home (2011), reviewed here and here. "I had a huge smile plastered on my face as the movie ended, and wanted to immediately start over and see it again."
[ChatGPT blog meme questions, a set called 'Plate 2: Exploration & Reflection'; the title quotation is by Matt Haig, from The Humans]
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