Wednesday, February 22, 2012

F This Movie! - Patrick's Favorite Movies

Doug and JB talk Patrick through his five picks as the Favorite Movies series at long last comes to an end.



Download this episode here. (40.1 MB)

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Also discussed this episode: Tango & Cash, The Woman in Black, Humanoids from the Deep, Grand Theft Auto, This Means War

27 comments:

  1. 'He put the 'COC' in 'Cocteau''... LOL! :-p

    Yay, the last of the 'Best of' movie podcasts is over. Our long national nightmare... I mean, this fine and erudite series of enlightening peeks at the cinematic hearts and souls of the 'F This Movie' podcast's family members has come to an end. Back to movie podcasts the way I like 'em effed: one-at-a-time, doggie style (yes, I like it when JB or Alex bark into the microphone... I'm weird like that).

    I've read about Cocteau's '46 opus and have held it my hands many times whenever Barnes & Noble has one of its 50% off Criterion sales. Just never been able to pull the trigger but, like I did with "Charade" when Mark Ahn broke into my brain and held it at gunpoint, I'll make sure to buy "Beauty and the Beast" on Blu-ray so it sits proudly in my vast collection of unwatched media (where "Charade" sits proudly now waiting its turn). Hey, it's the only foreign language B&W film out of 40 recommendations from eight different co-hosts, so it must be really good. :-(

    Saw "Wizard of Oz" for the first time the last couple of years on Blu-ray and it's one of the few times my cynical bastard self was totally blown away by a movie I had no issues with whatsoever. It helps that I've been exposed to "WOO" references on every other form of media I've consume since forever (ZAZ movies, "MST3K" has at least two "WOO" references in each episode) but the real deal is actually pretty entertaining, solid and old-school Hollywood movie magic of the highest order. Haven't seen the other three but I just bought the "Back To The Future" trilogy on BD so whenever I watch the original it'll be my first time watching it. The flick better live up to Patrick's sky-high hype, or I'm boycotting 'F This Movie' by only commenting on every other posts you guys make... yeah, I'm easy!

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    1. Dude, there's no fucking way you won't LOVE it. I'd bet my right nut on it (it's the smaller one but STILL)!

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    2. ^^^ As long as its salty but low on sodium I look forward to munching on your tiny right nut... unless "BTTF" blows me away (which, I swear on my stack of "Alex Mack" DVD's, is what I hole happens). ;-)

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  2. Thankfully, Making of the Wizard of OZ is pretty easy to find at my local library and I've requested it; sounds fascinating.

    I'd never heard that Joe Dante line about Pinocchio! What a great description of that terrifying scene.

    Oh, Brian DePalma. I wish I could like you, but besides Carrie I've never found a movie of yours that wasn't a mess or didn't have a rather...squirmy feeling in regards to parts for women. I have a female friend who adores Phantom of the Paradise, and we usually have very similar taste...but that one leaves me out in the cold. (And honestly, the look of the movie to me is pretty much a 2nd-season Wonder Woman episode.)

    Sadly, for a second I thought JB was quoting the good mobster movie, Bugsy Malone. Yeah, I know, it's silly but I have a huge amount of affection for it.

    Matinee is one I've somehow completely missed over the years. Ill be watching that this week!

    Oddly, my wife still has not seen Back to the Future at around 40.

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    1. Interestingly enough, Paul Williams wrote the score for both Phantom of the Paradise and Bugsy Malone!

      Did I just BLOW your mind?

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    2. He also played a racist children's show host on the episode of GIMME A BREAK that taught me all about racism. All of these things are KIND OF THE SAME.

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    3. He also played "Little Enos" in Smokey and the Bandit. I see your Paul Williams and raise you a Burt Reynolds, sir!

      I said good day!

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    4. He's certainly a talented songwriter (he also wrote the wonderful score for the last great Muppet movie, The Muppet Christmas Carol, as well as a lot of other Muppet scores). Really odd bit on his resume? He voiced The Penguin for Batman: The Animated Series. I see your Burt Reynolds and raise the the Goddamned Batman.

      Good Day!

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    5. ^^^ So there are classic movies ("Smokey...2") that feature both an elephant AND Paul Williams? MIND BLOWN!!!

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  3. Some great choices Patrick, particularly The wizard of Oz and Back to the Future.

    When I was around eight of nine my grandparents bought a special edition VHS of The Wizard of Oz that had a making of feature on it, and some days I would watch both the film and the documentary and then rewind it and watch the whole thing through again. I must have seen it nearly a dozen times some weeks. That look behind the scenes was a real first for me, and fairly apt given the film itself, and I think really helped me to realise I was interested in all the mechanics of the film making process. Also, I ‘m in agreement with the students JB mentioned, the flying monkeys truly are the stuff of nightmares.

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  4. I GUESS I won't take a big dump on your picks because (a) it's not nice and (b) they're so much better than Doug's (kidding Doug - you're my boy!).

    Wizard of Oz - I think this is one of the first real VHS movies we had - a gift from a relative in the States where I don't think tapes were quite as expensive as in Canada - and I watched the shit out of it until I was about 10, but haven't watched it since. I'll definitely pick up the blu-ray sometime soon because I think I'd appreciate it in a whole new light now.

    La Belle et la Bete - This was the SECOND VHS tape I ever owned...yeah right! An obscure and interesting pick that I'll definitely have to check out sometime as it sounds like something special.

    Phantom of the Paradise - Wow, another obscure and interesting pick that I haven't seen. From my time spent "with" you guys I feel like my movie-sensibilities lie somewhere between yours and Doug's (not that you seem that far apart) so I predict a reaction similar to his, but I respect your (and everyone on the podcasts) opinions enough to definitely give it a shot!

    Matinee - Dammit, haven't seen this one either. I remember it coming out and thinking that it looked interesting but then it fell off my radar and I haven't thought about it again until today. This one I think I could really like.

    Back to the Future - F! This Movie! It could easily have been on my ever-growing Top 5 list (I choose to use the term metaphorically rather than literally!). I watched this when the blu-ray set came out and had been trying to convince my spousal equivalent to watch it with me for awhile, but she remembered hating it for some reason and wouldn't budge. On Valentine's Day I pitched it as a ROMANTIC movie and asked her to give it just 10 minutes, promising to shut it off if she wanted. OF COURSE she was hooked and loves it now too! This really is a PERFECT movie. It's just so fucking tight - every second of it feels like it belongs with just one great moment after another. I watched some of the deleted scenes afterwards and it was PERFECT that they were deleted - movies today don't cut that shit out and that's why they're NOT PERFECT. It's really a shame that the sequels go on to be not nearly as perfect but they certainly don't tarnish the original either.

    All-in-all another awesome podcast guys - I actually really enjoyed the "Favourite Movies" series and it was great to hear y'all (see, I can speak American) talk about movies you have such a deep and genuine love and enthusiasm for.

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  5. Thanks, Sol. I hope you'll check some of the movies out. I can't promise you'll love all of them (like you have CORRECTLY promised others they will love BttF), but I appreciate your willingness to give them a chance.

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  6. Speak of the devil! You guys metioned Dorothy's Ruby Slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" on the podcast as being the most iconic movie props in movie history. The Academy agrees with you and they want to make those Slippers the centerpiece of a brand new museum: http://www.deadline.com/2012/02/ruby-slippers-are-the-holy-grail-for-academys-planned-museum/

    Spielberg, along with Leo DiCaprio on other 'angel' investors, was instrumental in the acquisition of these Slippers for an unknown amount of $$$ (at least 2-3 million) just announced today. Between this and his clout to get Paramount to restore "The Godfather" movies before it was too late Spielberg is one of the good guys in Hollywood. Who knows, this might just be good-enough for most of us to forgive him for wasting our time/money with "War Horse" and "TinTin" last year. ;-)

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  7. Excellent episode, gentlemen. It's always a pleasure to get all three musketeers in one single episode. JB has really got my interest piqued with his talk of the short "Fabulous Flying Books of Matthew Latimar's Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus and the Little People." I am definitely going to be checking that out, hopefully tonight. Sounds awesome, as does the book discussed on the making of the Wizard of Oz (which I will be referring to as WOO. WOO!)I've got it in my Amazon shopping cart and will pull the trigger on that one tomorrow, which is payday.

    Awesome picks, Patrick. I was expecting something personal and specific to your interests, and that's what we all got. I've only seen two off of your list (WOO! and BTTF), but I'm chomping at the bit to see the other three. I actually have an AVI file of Phatom around here somewhere that I...ahem...acquired when you discussed it the last time, I just haven't made it around to watching it yet. The list of movies I need to see is ever growing, and there's just not enough time in the day. Curse this job of mine!

    I wasn't even aware of this French version of Beauty and The Beast, but it sounds a-fuggin fantastic, and right up my alley. Same goes for Matinee. I feel like you guys have also talked about that one before, and that's been on the list too. Seriously, job, go screw yourself! I've got movies to watch!

    Patrick, on the last episode post for Doug's picks, you asked for mine. I didn't see that until earlier this week, so I figured I'd just save mine for this week's comments. Given the caveat that these choices are fluid and that it's impossible to truly narrow down all the movies one loves to just 5, if I had to say what they were today, it'd go a little something like this:

    5) Almost Famous
    4) Sweeney Todd
    3) Out of Sight
    2) Batman (1989)
    1) Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

    On any given day most of those except for Batman and Robin Hood could be switched out with other movies like The Graduate, The Beatles' Yellow Submarine, Edward Scissorhands (big Tim Burton fan over here), The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders Of the Lost Ark, or maybe even Jackie Brown. But that's the list today. As I'm getting into older movies from the silent era and into the 30s and 40s, I think some of those will earn a place in time, but I just haven't watched them enough times to qualify yet.

    Thanks as always for the quality entertainment and the insightful discussions that make me want to watch as many movies as I can get my hands on. It's always fun.

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    1. Oh! By the way, Doug, I haven't gotten my movies from the contest yet, but if I was the lucky soul who ended up with Harvard Man, it will be on its way back to you, first class.

      :)

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    2. Heath-

      Love Almost Famous! Although I still regret not buying the director's cut of it. Wait, I have a job, what am I waiting for?

      Respectfully, Robin Hood is one of those movies I love/hate. It's my accursed affinity for books that trips me up, because I grew up reading all these Robin Hood books, and then I had that moment where the movie didn't jive with my reading experience, and so I lost interest, and that sucks because I end up not giving the movie a fair shot.

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    3. @Heath - The movies are on the way. Sorry for the delay. I don't remember who got Harvard Man, but I have a feeling IT'S YOU.

      @Mark - Have you seen the director's cut? I know there's a lot of people who like it, but I actually like the theatrical version better. I guess if you love the movie, the longer cut is just more of a good thing.

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    4. Heath - Thanks for sharing your list. I'm completely fascinated by your love of Robin Hood: PoT, and I didn't realize you were such a Tim Burton fan. My apologies if I've dissed him in the past; it's only because I'm frustrated by his output since around the mid-'90s (I have no problems with Sweeney Todd except that it's not really for me).

      I'll be interested to hear your thoughts about Phantom of the Paradise if you're able to watch it. It has a lot of the same kind of Guignol theatricality (if you'll PARDON MY DOUCHE) as something like Sweeney Todd. It's also really dated and pretty polarizing.

      That Wizard of Oz book with NOT disappoint, especially if you're really getting into older movies and film history these days. It will speak directly to all of that. It's really terrific.

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    5. PBiddy-

      I have seen the director's cut, but only once. I agree that it works because I just wanted to spend more time in that world, but I could see why the theatrical version would work better. It's been awhile since I've seen either, but I want to go back to it. I AM A GOLDEN GOD.

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    6. You left out 'shower.' You are a Golden Shower God.

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  8. The best part of "Robin Hood: Price of Thieves" (on the SE two-disc DVD and Blu-ray) is the commentary track where Kevin Costner and the director with whom he was stranged since they made "Waterworld" (Kevin Reynolds?) make-up and Costner admits his accent in the movie is not worth a damn. I mean, the accent thing got the biggest laugh in Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men In Tights" which was made almost entirely to cash in on the success of Costner's '91 movie. For a guy that's perceived to be too full of himself Costner's crack about his accent made me realize the man has at least some sense of humor about himself.

    I'm really looking forward to a podcast of "Robin Hood: POT" effing it real good, DOUG-ie style (wink, wink). ;-)

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    1. I don't know if I ever listened to the commentary track! I don't think the original DVD had that. I have the blu-ray now, so I will have to check that out. Costner seems like a good dude, and he's made some movies I really enjoy him in, but he was totally not even trying to sound English. He is a good dude, though, it seems, even if he can be a little intense and too connected to his work. I mean, can he direct a movie that's under three hours? I think the evidence says no.

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  9. I haven’t seen Prince of Thieves in ages, but at around ten years old it was my favourite film. I had loads of the toys and they filmed some of it not too far from where I live, I’m pretty sure they still have some of the sets that you can visit.

    I hope it’s Ok to put my list here too.
    1)Total Recall
    2)Blade Runner
    3)The French Connection
    4)The Warriors
    5)The Shining

    That would be my list at the moment, but on another day Aliens, The Wizard of Oz, Jackie Brown or Blowout could get in there, and having watched all of the Eon Bonds over the last few weeks The Living Daylights could sneak in too.

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    1. Nice. Happy to see Blow Out getting some more love. Thanks, Stuart!

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  10. Mark, Almost Famous is awesome, innit? I think I only saw the theatrical cut once (opening night in theaters) but all my subsequent viewings have been of the director's cut. I honestly don't remember what is in the director's cut that isn't in the theatrical version. I'm a very musically driven person (particularly the rock scene of the mid to late 60s and early 70s), and that movie really plays to a lot of the stuff I love. It pays tribute to the scene of that time but also doesn't hide the warts and the downside and dangers of the excesses, which I love. It shows the ups and downs without judging.

    Patrick, yep, I'm a Tim Burton dude. I don't blindly love him and I think he's made some missteps (and I still haven't seen Alice in Wonderland) but I do cherish quite a few of his movies. Also I'm a big Johnny Depp dude as well, and I find he and I share a lot of sensibilities (Keith Richards adoration, hats, nomadic fashion influences), so of course that just strengthens the Burton thing. Tim Burton's Hammer horror influences just ooze out of him, and I love that stuff. It's never bothered me that you don't dig all his stuff. It can be pretty specific. And for things like Sweeney Todd, I can't even explain it. Well, it's got Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, AND Alan Fucking Rickman. And it feels like Hammer made a musical. Well, I guess I did a pretty good job explaining it after all.

    I'm thrilled to see some support for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It seems like a lot of us really enjoyed it when we were kids. I remember Patrick saying how could it not be the biggest grossing movie of the year, or something to that effect. It's so not a good movie, and I have no idea why they cast Costner, but to a 12 year old, it was THE SHIT. I can't even explain it. It just hit me at the right time with the right aesthetic and the right kind of action. Mark, I feel you on movies not living up to books, and I can totally understand. I hated the Prestige because the book was so much better (and had some subtle plot twists that the movie didn't) and wasn't able to appreciate that movie until a few months ago.

    Stuart, where do you live? Where are these locations where they filmed some of Robin Hood? I'm packing bags as we speak. Can I just crash on your couch for a couple of days?

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  11. Oh, Stuart, I still have a lot of those Robin Hood toys, too. I even have the Sherwood Forrest playset, which was a re-painted Ewok Village that Hasbro originally sold in 1983 for Return of the Jedi. Costner's figure looks just like him, but The Sheriff of Nottingham looks nothing like Alan Rickman. Even as a kid I was disappointed by that. I could have doubled it as a Hans Gruber figure.

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  12. Oh wow, I never had any of the playsets, but I had (and still have somewhere) a lot of the figures. As a big comedy nerd growing up it used to amuse me that I had a toy of Mike McShane; Which I remember had the same body as a Star Wars figure. It seems they were giving a load of old stuff a new coat of paint and selling them as something new then.

    The stuff that was filmed closest to where I grew up is the fight between Robin Hood and Little john in the river. It was filmed at Aysgarth Falls, I used to go there all the time with my parents at the weekend. It’s a really beautiful place. The sets that you can, or at least could, look around were somewhere on the outskirts of Nottingham I think, but it’s been a while and I can’t find any info about it online at the moment. So maybe it's not there anymore. I use to have a leaflet about the place somewhere but can't find it now.

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