Valentine’s Day montage & the movies we love
This mash-up was making the rounds a month ago, so by saving it I knew we were risking it being seen already by many of you. Hope it’s still fresh enough to serve as my funny corny Valentine to all of you today.
This time of year, it’s hard to avoid feeling cranky about all the wrong-headed head-scratching selections that have bubbled to top of the tail-end of the awards cycle. Easy to forget the reason we’re drawn to Awards Daily in the first place: our lifelong love of movies. All kinds of movies, for all kinds of personal reasons. Movies ranging from guilty pleasures to childhood favorites to grown-up masterpieces.
One type of post we do here always gives me reason to revel in the deep feelings Awards Daily readers have for film — the passionate champions of all sorts of movies. I love the posts where we ask readers to share their favorite movie moments. We sometimes seem to gripe as much as we glory in the annual pageant of cinema, but in the end it’s good to take a moment to remember: we don’t have to agree on which movies to love, so long as we remain devoted to seeking, finding and loving the movies that change our lives. Let’s talk about that here today, ok?
It’s a grand theme. Maybe too vague, maybe too romantic for everybody’s mood. But I’ll toss it out there anyway as a basic premise for this open thread. Let’s set aside the conflicts, hug it out, and wallow in all our fondest feelings for movies. Want to share your heartfelt thoughts about the movies than have meant the most to you? Valentine’s Day feels like the right occasion. Tell us about the movies that have made your soul soar when you were peaking, and the movies that have soothed your gloom when you were feeling low. Here’s the place to open up and share a few paragraphs about your most meaningful movie infatuations of the past in a topic devoid of haters, happily populated with all the pure movie-lovers out there.
We see a lot of flare-ups and quarrels this time of year, but I just want to say how much I love spending time with all you loyal readers every single day; and most of all, how much I deeply appreciate that Sasha created Awards Daily, and given us this wonderful refuge where we can come together 24/7 to talk about all the movies we love.
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Sasha and I were putting together two different Valentine’s Day posts without checking to see what each other were doing.
So looks like I’ve done something redundant, oops.
Is there enough movie love for two topics? We’ll see. I won’t get my feelings hurt if this thread is neglected. Won’t be the first time I’ve chased the wrong Valentine and ended up spending the day alone.
Two movies that always lift my spirits high are The Shawshank Redemption (for obvious reasons) and The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. If I have the time to watch all 3 I would, the emotional pay off that one receives watching the return of the king is unparalleled. It is the definitive movie about how even in the darkest of days when there can be no hope, even the smallest individual can change the course of the future and give hope to those that have none. Really moving stuff. But for this years valentines day…I’ll be watching Drive haha
There are so many films that I love and make me feel better (e.g. when I’m completely down). “The Bucket List” (for its easiness), “The Shawshenk Redemption” + “Cast Away” (for their undying hope), “The Secret Of My Success” + “Shakespeare In Love” (for their devotion), “Notting Hill” + “When Harry Met Sally” (for their true love), “Inception” (for its complexity). Just to have named a few. A film that recently uplifted me so much was the French film “Intouchables”, a film that embraces life with plenty of warmth and humour.
Thanks Ryan for the awesome post.
Some movies I love: Jaws(its not truly summer until I break this movie out), Halloween(still scares the crap out of me), Plane, Trains & Automobiles(makes me thankful for my wife and makes me laugh my ass off),Pulp Fiction(makes me want to have conversations in diners and cars)and 48 hrs(because Eddie Murphy will always be great to me and this is one of the performances that makes me remember that).
Speaking of that, I can’t figure out what Eddie Murphy movie is featured in this clip above. Can someone please enlighten me?
My favorite scenes and moments from film that keeping running through me like their part of my blood:
The May 11th 1980 scene from GoodFellas.
Travolta and Thurman in Pulp Fiction
Robert DeNiro shooting away from the deer in The Deer Hunter
The diner scene between Tuesday Weld and James Caan in Thief
Al Pacino and Chris Sarandon on the phone in Dog Day Afternoon
Leonardo DiCaprio watching his kids play at the end of Revolutionary Road
Pacino and Keaton walking down the leafy residential street, figuring our who’s really naive in The Godfather.
And from this year, Lisbeth saying “I have made a friend” near the conclusion of Dragon Tattoo.
Boy, that’s a grim collection when you add it all up. Oh well. Happy Valentine’s Day!
My first love in movies was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. That movie will stay with me for all time.
Others:
Casablanca
Vertigo
Chinatown
Beauty and the Beast
Most Pixar movies
There Will Be Blood
Thanks Ryan for this thread and opportunity to reconnect to movie magic.
For the hopeless romantic I am:
Marsha Mason & Richard Dreyfus “The Goodbye Girl” – the moment she realises he is not dumping her and comes back to kiss her – completely drenched, and with his requisite retorts and crumpled cuteness.
Julie Andrews & Christopher Plummer – “The SOund of Music” (or ‘Mucus’ – thank you Mr Plummer) – the moment where the handsome Captain and the beautiful ingenue kiss in silhouette under the pergola.
(Honorable mention to Eleanor Parker “The Baroness” who with great dignity and love, accepts that she is not the one for Captain Von Trapp
“There is a young lady waiting for you, who shall never be a nun”)
James Stewart and Donna Reed – “It’s a wonderful life” – especially the moment that he rushes in and embraces her, after his transpersonal expereinces with ‘Horace’ the angel, and sees the love that there is for him in the community and his family, and the love of his life – his wife.
I could not just have heterosexual moments (of course they are the dominant ones in the movie culture) – so also want to add my favourite moment from my favourite gay film “Beautiful Thing” – where teenagers Scott Neal and Glen Berry dance to Mama Cass at the end of the movie in front of all the neighbours – out in the open – it is a wonderfully romantic and empowered gay scene.
Katie and Hubbell in front of the Plaza Hotel at the end of The Way We Were……..finally reconciled with acknowledging they have outgrown their love for each other yet somehow stronger because they had each other once in their lives.
I swoon every time I see Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun — the scene where they’re dancing, she says, “Are they looking at us?” and they run to the veranda for more sweet words and embraces in close-up as the music swells. Pure heaven.
Just saw Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Incredibly close to Hugo that is! These 2 films are like twins aren’t they? Like they’re 2 versions of the same book, one kept the period setting, while the other was contemporized.
Consider these:
2 hyperactive boys with amazing crafting skills
2 mysterious objects (the automaton and the key)
2 fathers dying after some sort of explosion
2 old men (Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow) with their respective old lady companions
2 wild frantic searches
2 girl pals who helped solve things (Chloe and Viola)
2 revelations
2 messages from the dead dads
One dejavu after another!
Well I thought EL&IC was a terrific film, so I’m wondering why it’s getting a bad rap. My only problem was Sandra Bullock’s own little revelation towards the end which I thought was totally unnecessary as it somehow abates the huge efforts of her son to solve his problem. I thought Thomas Horn was fantastic and so was Max von Sydow. Now that makes 3 acting nominees this year who didn’t utter a single word in their roles, the most since 1927/28. At the first Oscars all 6 acting nominees acted in silent films. The following year, I think there was only 1 from a silent movie. After that, a few deaf and dumb roles got nominated and won like Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda and Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker.
Oh, the mash-up was wonderful, though I was expecting several I Love Yous in the end, and then of all films, all those romantic films out there, the lone I Love You had to come from Total Recall, brilliant!