tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post115037654876851745..comments2024-03-28T08:21:50.194-05:00Comments on Althouse: The new AFI top 100 list: "most inspiring films."Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150601641347057862006-06-17T22:34:00.000-05:002006-06-17T22:34:00.000-05:00Spy GameSpy Gameaaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11511239246957960529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150601276727441492006-06-17T22:27:00.000-05:002006-06-17T22:27:00.000-05:00No porn?!?No porn?!?aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11511239246957960529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150601185001201542006-06-17T22:26:00.000-05:002006-06-17T22:26:00.000-05:00Harold and KumarVan WilderGood Will HuntingOld Sch...Harold and Kumar<BR/><BR/>Van Wilder<BR/><BR/>Good Will Hunting<BR/><BR/>Old Schoolaaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11511239246957960529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150600830985792282006-06-17T22:20:00.000-05:002006-06-17T22:20:00.000-05:00Vanilla Sky?What about Office Space?Independance D...Vanilla Sky?<BR/><BR/>What about Office Space?<BR/><BR/>Independance Day?<BR/><BR/>Dark City?<BR/><BR/>Wall Street.<BR/><BR/>PI<BR/><BR/>atticus, Princess Bride-- Good Call<BR/><BR/>GATTACA!! How can that not be in there?<BR/><BR/>Fight Club too.<BR/><BR/>What about Clockwork Orange? Sticking it to the state.<BR/><BR/>Monty Python, The Life of Brian.<BR/><BR/>Lola Run<BR/><BR/>Princess and the Warrior<BR/><BR/>Dirty Pretty Things<BR/><BR/>No Anime???<BR/><BR/>Caddie Shack<BR/><BR/>Super Troopers<BR/><BR/>Dazed and Confused<BR/><BR/>Ferris Buelher, another good call<BR/><BR/>Trainspottingaaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11511239246957960529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150562521949072272006-06-17T11:42:00.000-05:002006-06-17T11:42:00.000-05:00Well, if "cloying" is disqualifying the whole list...Well, if "cloying" is disqualifying the whole list -- the whole <I>concept</I> of the list -- is disqualified. <BR/><BR/>As for H&M, I can't remember it well, even enough to remember if I saw it or just heard/read about it.Ann Althousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150561814381550132006-06-17T11:30:00.000-05:002006-06-17T11:30:00.000-05:00but it's so [expletive] cloyingbut it's so [expletive] <I>cloying</I>David McDougallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11020826602374694194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150458241676197722006-06-16T06:44:00.000-05:002006-06-16T06:44:00.000-05:00"Harold and Maude" is an example of a movie that a..."Harold and Maude" is an example of a movie that actually has inspired people (not that <I>is</I> inspiring). It was a huge cult film. The inspiration -- despite the elements of suicide and age-inappropriate love -- is about the joy of living -- as personified by Ruth Gordon -- who really is always a lot of fun.Ann Althousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150438026989508362006-06-16T01:07:00.000-05:002006-06-16T01:07:00.000-05:00Harold and friggin' Maude?Just exactly who does it...Harold and friggin' Maude?<BR/><BR/>Just exactly who does it inspire to do what? Or do I really want to know?<BR/><BR/>And why isn't American Pie on the list? People? Masturbation with baked goods!michael farrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10232229721381140090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150435968061402862006-06-16T00:32:00.000-05:002006-06-16T00:32:00.000-05:00"Matewan": Yes! (Also, John Sayles: Yes!)That film..."Matewan": Yes! (Also, John Sayles: Yes!)<BR/><BR/>That film also contains the version of "Amazing Grace," of the gazillion I've heard, that I find the most moving.reader_iamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17352836883752091339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150421774206052652006-06-15T20:36:00.000-05:002006-06-15T20:36:00.000-05:008 Mile didn't make the top 100?saving Private Ryan...8 Mile didn't make the top 100?<BR/><BR/>saving Private Ryan was 'inspirational' in a weird kind of way for about 20 minutes - and those 20 minutes are maybe the best war movie in American history, while also the most brutal. after that the movie becomes the kind of soulless, heartstring-tugging cinematic condescension that passes for emotion in post-blockbuster Hollywood. <BR/><BR/>Biggest omission: United 93.David McDougallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11020826602374694194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150420796414171552006-06-15T20:19:00.000-05:002006-06-15T20:19:00.000-05:00Babe? Future BLT dispenses life lessons.Babe? Future BLT dispenses life lessons.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08791314877257904422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150418330178707022006-06-15T19:38:00.000-05:002006-06-15T19:38:00.000-05:00Halo: The "instruction" got pretty open ended, esp...Halo: The "instruction" got pretty open ended, especially when I got to the "do anything but..." part.Ann Althousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150402578025318552006-06-15T15:16:00.000-05:002006-06-15T15:16:00.000-05:00Inspiring, ha! Last time I watched It's a Wonderfu...Inspiring, ha! Last time I watched It's a Wonderful Life I wanted to reach into the TV and slap George. His "sacrifice" didn't strike me as selfless at all, more like self-indulgent. Boo-hoo, he didn't follow his dreams. Life involves choices, learn to live with them. He seemed so spoiled and full of himself. As if there weren't a ton of people in 1946 with real problems, who were more deserving of an angel's intervention.howzerdohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18006962611508474821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150400654852665782006-06-15T14:44:00.000-05:002006-06-15T14:44:00.000-05:00Belushi in Animal House...Hopper in Blue Velvet......Belushi in <I>Animal House</I>...<BR/>Hopper in <I>Blue Velvet</I>...<BR/>Hopkins in <I>Silence of the Lambs</I><BR/>Brodrick in <I>Ferris Buehler</I>...<BR/><BR/><BR/>ah...inspiration!Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08791314877257904422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150400395002271972006-06-15T14:39:00.000-05:002006-06-15T14:39:00.000-05:00XWL, as much as I enjoy both volumes of Kill Bill,...XWL, as much as I enjoy both volumes of <I>Kill Bill</I>, it can't sustain the weight of its own hypocrisy. Sorry, I just can't buy anyone who so casually snuffs out life the way The Bride can not aborting an inconvenient pregnancy the moment it became known to her. But maybe that's just me. Also, I'm curious about this redemption you speak of: we can not speak of The Bride as being saved, even from herself; she's still the same. All she did was destroy her enemies, which is not at all the same thing as saving herself.<BR/><BR/>Most inspiring film that I can think of at the moment would be <I>Spider-Man 2</I>, in which Peter Parker has to come to terms with being who he is, and doing what he needs to do: IOW, growing up. It was fantastic.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06093453920666892035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150397362045613162006-06-15T13:49:00.000-05:002006-06-15T13:49:00.000-05:00Inspiring films?Kill Bill Vol.1&2 (taken as one fi...Inspiring films?<BR/><BR/>Kill Bill Vol.1&2 (taken as one film), a <I>truly</I> inspirational story of a mom looking for vengeance and finding redemption along the way (tell me you didn't tear up when she meets her daughter, if you didn't you have no heart).<BR/><BR/>Trading Places, an inspirational odyssey into the world of finance, plus when I was 12 I found Jamie Lee Curtis' breast arousingly inspirational.<BR/><BR/>Duck Soup, inspiring irrationality, Freedonia Forever!<BR/><BR/>Superfly, inspiring not really for the film itself, but Curtis Mayfield's amazing soundtrack.<BR/><BR/>And in a bit of anticipatory overreach, I'm going to suggest that <A HREF="http://www.snakesonaplane.com/" REL="nofollow">Snakes on a Plane</A> will undoubtably be the most inspirational American film of the 21st century, of this I have little doubt. It stars Sam Jackson, and it's called Snakes on a Plane, that should be enough for anyone. This film has already inspired huge interest on the internet (best example <A HREF="http://www.snakesonablog.com/" REL="nofollow">Snakes on a Blog</A>) and did I mention it's a movie about SNAKES ON A PLANE?!?!?XWLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13646729965929680256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150393790009668652006-06-15T12:49:00.000-05:002006-06-15T12:49:00.000-05:00LOLAMS.I did a double-take there for a second when...LOLAMS.<BR/><BR/>I did a double-take there for a second when I misread "Working Girl" as "Working Girl[s]," and entirely different movie (though, in my opinion, a better one) (um, but definitely not inspiring).reader_iamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17352836883752091339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150393466508181502006-06-15T12:44:00.000-05:002006-06-15T12:44:00.000-05:00And yeah, I'm odd about movies sometimes, but I fo...And yeah, I'm odd about movies sometimes, but I found "Raging Bull" to be inspiring (though not "cheer about" material). But then, in a twisted way, I find some of John Waters' movie inspiring, so what the hell do I know?<BR/><BR/>And Ann's own favorite, "My Dinner With Andre," inspired more than few conversations nights back in my own day.<BR/><BR/>"Inspiring": What a squishy word, the meaning and value of which is pretty much determined by what follows the implied "of/to what." It's really not a concept that lends itself to the "universal," either, as much as we kept being told it does.<BR/><BR/>Just my opinion.reader_iamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17352836883752091339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150393281605640252006-06-15T12:41:00.000-05:002006-06-15T12:41:00.000-05:00The Drill SGT: for another take on the Professor K...The Drill SGT: for another take on the Professor Kingsfield (based on an actual professor), I recommend Scott Turow's first book, the nonfictional "One L." It's about his first year in law school and he wasn't too fond of "Kingsfield."billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16116980864333670109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150392933141530772006-06-15T12:35:00.000-05:002006-06-15T12:35:00.000-05:00I found some of these to be inexplicable, but in m...I found some of these to be inexplicable, but in most--though not all--the choices began to make more sense when I read the quote containing the words "something to cheer about"; this would, for example, help explain "ET," which otherwise isn't particularly inspiring, by my (not-heart)lights. I suppose it could also explain "Officer and A Gentleman"--but what a stretch, and retro to boot. (That doesn't mean I haven't been known to tear up at the "take her away from all that scene," but that's schlocky sentimentalism on my part, an embarrassing thing, not inspiration.)<BR/><BR/>"Something to cheer about" isn't necessarily the same thing as inspiring, is it?reader_iamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17352836883752091339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150392497165439162006-06-15T12:28:00.000-05:002006-06-15T12:28:00.000-05:00I've seen so few of these movies it's ridiculous.H...I've seen so few of these movies it's ridiculous.<BR/><BR/><I>Hotel Rwanda</I> popped into my head before I looked at the list, so I'm glad that's up there.<BR/><BR/>I don't see how <I>Dances With Wolves</I> is inspiring. Your country forsakes you, but don't worry you can still find a nice girl of your OWN race to run off and go tribal with.<BR/><BR/>And <I>Pinocchio</I>? WTF? I mean the movie has a good message for kids - the older Disney movies are SO much better this way - but inspiring?Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12824506338738265111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150392444217431872006-06-15T12:27:00.000-05:002006-06-15T12:27:00.000-05:00Am I the only who's getting a HUGE kick out of "Ha...Am I the only who's getting a HUGE kick out of "Harold and Maude" making this list?<BR/><BR/>I'm inspired to ... I'm inspired to ... I'm ... .<BR/><BR/>Um, maybe not.reader_iamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17352836883752091339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150392382525144822006-06-15T12:26:00.000-05:002006-06-15T12:26:00.000-05:00yes, that's the onehas a suicide in it and a bunch...yes, that's the one<BR/><BR/>has a suicide in it and a bunch of weird study group members.<BR/><BR/>Professor Kingsfield<BR/><BR/>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070509/The Drill SGThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16394309533144027391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150392221661675492006-06-15T12:23:00.000-05:002006-06-15T12:23:00.000-05:00Paper Chase: he did sleep with the professor's dau...<I>Paper Chase</I>: he did sleep with the professor's daughter.billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16116980864333670109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1150390952048769092006-06-15T12:02:00.000-05:002006-06-15T12:02:00.000-05:00I agree with some of them, and can't figure out wh...I agree with some of them, and can't figure out why others made the list. Paper Chase for example. I like the flick and have it on DVD, but everybody in it is obsessive about something, and lawyers as inspiring? <BR/><BR/>I see too much politics of inclusion in the list, but I'm an old white male. <BR/><BR/>I enjoyed looking at the list of 300 candidates to see some flicks I like that didnt make the list as well.The Drill SGThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16394309533144027391noreply@blogger.com