Monday, June 09, 2008

A long movie-ing list

Ever since I have come to the US, I have indulged in much movie watching. The rate may have averaged around a movie per three days, I get the feeling that much remains to be seen.

While I am on the topic of movies, let me take some effort to drop at least a line per movie:

The Marx Brothers movies:
  • A day at the races
    Groucho (a vet) fakes as a doctor and takes charge of a hospital. My favorite scene includes Harpo taken to this doctor, and the doctor takes his temperature by putting a thermometer in his mouth. Harpo muches into the mercury scale, and swallows it. Groucho has, "Oh I can see the temperature going down there" comment to offer. Harpo is wonderful as a jockey. Great fun, as is any other Marx brothers movie.
  • Go West:The brothers try to find a hidden treasure in the dessert, getting involved in Cowboy fight on the way. Hilarious, yet a bit lower on my personal ratings for the Marx Brothers.
  • A Night in Casablanca: Yes, it's the same movie that made Groucho reply to Warner Brothers, justifying that he saw no similarity between this night in Casablanca with another great film starring Bogart and Bergman. The scene in which Groucho, the hotel manager insults the head of local laundry association is one of my favorites!
  • A Night at the Opera: In this one, Groucho is an assistant to a millionaire lady ready to spend her money lavishly on Opera. The crowded scene on the boat is out of this world, and so is the scene where Chico and Groucho cut corners on an agreement. I simply loved the opera!
  • Room Service: Loosely resembles with 'jaane bhi do yaaron' in which a dead body is involved in on-stage drama. In this drama-tic comdey, Groucho plays director-dum-producer of a drama, living in a hotel without paying the room rent for ages, having the whole crew rehearse in the ball-room of the hotel.
  • At the Circus
    : If I were to recommend one movie to someone new to the Marx-ist cult, I'd strongly recommend At the Circus, which by co-incidence was the first Marx movie I watched. Have you heard of Lydia, the tattooed lady? No? The you must watch this! There is this scene in which Groucho is trying out walking on the ceiling with his girl. "I didn't think we'd be hanging around with each other so soon," and "I guess I am head over heels in love with you" are only a few examples of the unimaginable quality of Marx humor!
Other, Non Marx movies:
  • The Letter (Betty Davies - Based on Somerset Maugham's short story)
  • Fargo: Based on a true crime story. Notorious for 'oh yeah?' Minnesota expression!
  • Mrs Miniver: A fantastic old movie (winner of 1942 Academy Award for Best Film)
  • The Pursuit of Happyness: Will Smith plays a man against all possible odds, who's in pursuit of happiness. His Son is another great actor in making.
  • All the President's Men: Based on the true story of Watergate scandal, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play the two Washington Post reporters that burst the scandal.
  • Tootsie: Dustin Hoffman is all over in this movie! He makes fool of the audiences when he fakes himself as the character actress on a famous TV show! A Sydney Pollack film. I guess he could have easily won the best actress award that year!
  • I Am Legend: Another version of Night of the Living Dead. Remembered only for the Legendary actor that Will Smith is!
  • Autumn sonata: Two Great Bergmans together for the only time. Ingmar Bergman directs Ingrid Bergman, who won her Best Actress Academy award for this one. An intensely emotional drama, that raises so many questions yet no answers!
  • The Inn of the Sixth Happiness: Another Ingrid Bergman film, based on a true story of an English woman who went to China and helped hundreds of orphans to safety when the Japanese attacked the northern china. Bergman's charm is all over the film here!

Descriptions Coming up (soon):

  • Mutiny on the Bounty (Marlon Brando)
  • The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola)
  • Goodfellas (Martin Scorcesse)
  • Blood Diamond
  • The Grapes of Wrath
  • Forbidden games (french)
  • The human beast (Renoir, french)
  • The Apartment (Jack Lemmon)
  • An Ugly American (Marlon Brando)
  • The Untouchables (Rober de Niro)
  • Raging Bull (Robert Di Niro)
  • The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman)
  • A Streetcar named desire (Tennessee Williams play, Marlon Brando+Vivien Leigh)
  • The Departed (Martin Scorcesse: Leonardo Di Caprio)
  • The Importance of Being Earnest (Based on Oscar Wilde's wonderful play)
  • The Insider (Al Pacino + Russel Crowe)

1 comment:

koustubh kulkarni said...

interesting list ... and good idea with one line descriptions ... saves a lot of time !!