BAB Firsts (Doug's 1st 5X to Love Post): 5 Films to Love

This post was originally published on July 27 2009

I'd like to start a revolving series of posts where Karen and I shoot your way our opinions of multi-media pop culture. Today I'll start with five movies I really, really like -- they won't necessarily be my "top 5 of all time" or anything like that. But these are movies I'll stop and watch when I see them on the telly, or even fire up the DVD player with them on occasion. So, in no particular order...

1. Planet of the Apes, 1968.

I've previously discussed not only this film, but the entire franchise (though not in exhaustive detail -- you can see my musings here: http://bronzeagebabies.blogspot.com/2009/06/get-your-hands-off-me-you-damned-dirty.html). As I commented at the end of the aforementioned post, I caught a few of these films last weekend on the Fox Movie Channel; I also spied the Tim Burton remake on FX just last evening. I started to watch it, and while there is much to love about it (time has been kind in regard to special effects, make-up, etc.), the general story and execution just doesn't do it for me. I think, although grossly different from Pierre Boulle's novel, that the folks at 20th Century Fox created a classic, a masterpiece, back in '68. Heston's melodramatics, Roddy McDowell's coolness, and the emotional acting of Kim Hunter really carry the story -- a morality play in a time when apocalypse in one form or another was (or maybe should have been) on the movie-going public's minds. As I said earlier, Planet of the Apes had a tremendous sense of adventure and even scariness for me as a child that is still there, but to which has been added a sense of appreciation for the larger stereotypes, social mores, and general ecological warnings that have jumped to meet my adult mind.

2. Logan's Run, 1976.

I think I first saw this on network television in the late '70's, although it could have been a bit earlier on HBO. I've only seen the film all the way through once, but have often caught bits and pieces on the various cable movie channels. What I remember is that sense of futuristic wonder at the cityscape and the terror of the premise that everyone had to die at the age of 30. When I first saw the movie, that didn't seem so bad; at the ripe old age of 43, however...

I recall that Michael York as Logan-5 was just studly enough to carry his part, and his range of emotions was strong. Jenny Agutter was of course beautiful as the VERY scantily-clad Jessica-6, as was Farrah Fawcett (lord, how I loved Charlie's Angels!!) as Holly. The scenes in Washington DC evoked the ending of Planet of the Apes, and further cemented in my mind that we all could be going to hell sooner than later.

3. Jaws, 1975

Wow. I don't even care to swim all that much and this movie scared me to death. Perhaps my lasting memory of the movie comes from a trip to Florida when I was 12; trust me, I didn't venture too far out into the ocean! As the film was huge that summer of '75, the various companies that bring book orders into the schools filled it up with books about sharks, shark attacks, ocean adventures, etc. I bought a book called Sharks: Attacks on Man. I read it until the pages came out. I recall that there were some photos in that book, mostly of chewed-up surfboards and people with mouth-shaped stitches on their sides and appendages -- ugh...

Steven Spielberg just did a fantastic job with this film. The characterization is wonderful, and the suspense created by the score is virtually without peer. Think how long it is until you see the shark -- but you know, you just know that it is a beast to be reckoned with. Spielberg got more out of a few notes on a piano... The film also has its memorable one-liners, and my favorite is Martin Brody's subtle announcement that, "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

4. The Empire Strikes Back, 1980.

A few weeks ago Karen wrote of her love of Star Trek. For whatever reason, and I don't have a good excuse to offer, I never got into Star Trek. I can't figure out why -- it was syndicated on television when I was a kid, and while I loved reruns of Batman, Wild Wild West, and the various Japanese imports like Ultra Man and Space Giants, I never watched too much Star Trek. However, when Star Wars Episode Four: A New Hope came out I was hooked!!

The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite in the 6-film Star Wars franchise. From the opening scene with the AT-AT Walkers to the ending scenes on the Cloud City, the film is just a whirlwind of amazing sets, new machines and characters, and growing characterization. George Lucas really made the Star Wars Universe with this film. He showed that his story was an incredibly dense tale that really did occupy a galaxy far, far away. The film ended with a feeling of darkness that left this young viewer yearning for the next installment. Three years would be a long time to wait!

Just as a last note -- I am one who really didn't care for the additional footage that Lucas added to his first trilogy of films when they first were pressed onto DVDs. I felt in some way that it was unfair to those who'd seen the movies at the theater, and although they were released theatrically in their updated versions, it still just smacked of money-grubbing. They should have left it alone -- it certainly wasn't broke!

5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 1969.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of the "funnest" films I've ever seen! The chemistry between Paul Newman and Robert Redford is out of sight -- the banter, the physical acting, their facial expressions are just perfect. I know I've heard, as you perhaps have as well, that other actors at one time considered included Steve McQueen and Jack Lemmon. I think they made the right choices.

I think my favorite scene in the film is the battle to see who will become leader of the Hole in the Wall Gang -- just classic Newman! Of course the last scene is great, too -- that on-screen chemistry lasted 'til the end.

So that's five for now -- and I haven't even gotten to Rollerball, Animal House, or Caddyshack!

Discuss: Captain America: The Winter Soldier -Spoiled Edition!

Karen: OK, we've waited an appropriate amount of time -now we can blab about all the great stuff in Captain America:The Winter Soldier! To get the ball rolling, I'll share some email exchanges Doug and I had about the movie. Maybe you can build off that, or share your own thoughts about this great Marvel flick!

SPOILERS!!!!

Doug: Captain America was just wonderful -- what a great superhero movie. As others have remarked, it's in Marvel's top 3 alongside Iron Man and the Avengers. Chris Evans makes me believe that he is Steve Rogers. This screen version of Captain America, although a bit more tolerant of lethal force than I'm used to, is truly how I'd see the character. The increased roles for the Widow and Nick Fury were welcome, and the Falcon was incredibly well-handled. Throw in the Lemurian reference, a Stephen Strange reference, the way they played Arnim Zola and Batroc, Baron Strucker, and three (!) Helicarriers and there was a lot to love.

Karen: I thought you'd love Cap. They really did a fantastic job on the film. I feel like Chris Evans has finally grown into the role -I actually believe him as Cap now. I'm very happy to see that principled character I grew up with up there on the big screen. I really can't fault his performance at all.

Karen: I also was very pleased with the Falcon and how they introduced him. Thankfully he was not an agent of SHIELD! His comics origin would have been too convoluted to use, but I liked what they did, especially the idea that he was counseling returning veterans. And the flying! That was outstanding. His relationship with Cap was perfect too. I loved how they met. And some of his lines -"I do what he does, only slower." -classic.

The whole infiltration of Hydra into SHIELD was a great idea. I've been interested for years in Operation Paperclip and the incorporation of Nazi scientists into our space program and other areas  of government, like post-war intelligence networks, and it's very troubling. It's not that hard to imagine that in a world of super-beings, a group like Hydra could worm its way into a large organization like that. We've been very lukewarm viewers of the Agents of SHIELD show, but I have to say, the way they tied this movie's events into the show was pretty clever. All this does make you wonder how the rest of the films will be affected.

I loved Arnim Zola! Do you see a trend here? Love, love, loved it all!

Doug: I'm a little confused on two things in the first bonus scene, however. Didn't Loki have the scepter with him when he sat on Asgard's throne at the end of the last Thor picture? And, are we to assume that the Maximoff twins will not be mutants but instead genetic constructs of Hydra?

Karen: I thought Loki/Odin was holding Odin's spear at the end of Thor 2, but I'd have to check. As for the twins, I guess this is their workaround for not being able to use the term 'mutant' -they just make them experiments. Did you notice that Pietro's hair was still dark in this scene, but in the pictures from Avengers: Age of Ultron, it is turning white? Maybe as he uses his powers, it will turn white? Also, it seems that perhaps Wanda's powers may be more telekinetic than probability-altering? Perhaps that would be easier for an audience to understand?

Doug: I missed the whole Crossbones thing, but then I have no experience with the character. Was he the main Hydra soldier, that was with Cap in the initial scene and then was the main guy in the control room scene when Agent 13 put a gun to his head?  Also, when Fury was being attacked by the Washington, DC police, did I hear his "Jarvis" say that there were no humans in range? So were they all LMDs?

Karen: Yes, you got it. Brock Rumlow =Crossbones. It will be interesting to see if they put him in his mask. He could be interpreted as  a Bane rip-off by some.

I didn't pick up on the LMD comment. I'll have to listen for that when I see the movie again! (NOTE -On my second viewing, it sounds to me like the AI says "No units in the area," referring to the Metro police).

I thought the scene with Peggy was unnecessary. It didn't actually do anything for the story. They should have either cut it, or built upon it. The only mis-step in the movie, in my opinion. 

Doug: See, I thought the Peggy scene served to cement Cap's "man out of time" element. Looking at how young she was, and how beautiful she was in the first film, it did (for me) hammer home the point that Cap and Bucky would be 95 years old! So for me it worked, because it would later bring the incredulity to Cap when he saw the Winter Soldier unmasked. Of course, at the end of the film we got to see Bucky in a cryogenic chamber in that KGB folder. 

Karen: Don't get me wrong, I like Peggy a lot, and would like to see more of her, but I felt that scene needed more follow up -it felt sort of thrown in there.

Doug: Speaking of, and I need to research this -- didn't the KGB go away when the Soviet Union fell in 1990? If so, it would be difficult for the Widow to be KGB trained, as she'd have been 6 years old.

Karen: I asked the same thing about the Widow to my husband, who just shrugged it off, after the film. We're getting pretty far away from the Soviet era  now. I asked also why the Winter Soldier had the red star on his shoulder if he'd been working for Hydra all these years -or was it  Hydra within the KGB? It is a little confusing but I guess it doesn't prevent me from enjoying the movie.

And how about Cap taking down a whole jet with just his shield? Wasn't that an incredible scene? It gets across the point that he deserves to be a part of the Big Three. That to me felt very much like comic book action.

Doug: So there you have it -- some thoughts from your hosts to get things rolling today. Have at it!