1001 Movies (101-161)

You know that book, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Stephen Jay Schneider? I don’t know if I would watch some of these if I only had a little time left. I mean I’m sure they all have cinematic significance but not all of them are fun. If I were about to shuffle off the mortal coil, I wouldn’t want to watch a bunch of lame movies just beforehand.

So, I went through the ones I’d seen to check.

Movies 1-60 ::  Movies 61-100 ::  Movies 101-160 :: Movies 161-220

Movies 221-260 ::  Movies 261-300

On the rating system:
Watch anytime:  Superb entertainment
Repeat viewing: Good entertainment
Worth once: if you’ve nothing better to do
Historical significance: not for pleasure

no. 110. Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs 1937.
Type: animation
Rating: worth once
Comments: Though I feel heretical for saying this, there are better animated films. On the other hand, the queen is the first of Disney’s feature film villains and still one of my favorites.

no. 111. The Awful Truth 1937.
Type: comedy
Rating: repeat viewing
Comments: This is fun, classic screwball comedy. It’s especially good if you have a soft spot for little dogs.

no. 113. Jezebel 1938
Type: period
Rating: historical significance
Comments: I like Better Davis but I thought this was lackluster. It’s decent enough if it happens to be on…

no. 114. Adventures of Robin Hood 1938
Type: adventure
Rating: historical significance
Comments: Meh. This is well thought of but I don’t think you’d lose much by passing on it.

no. 118. Bringing Up Baby 1398
Type: comedy
Rating: watch anytime
Comments: This one, however, you MUST see. I find myself speechless in trying to convey how right this movie gets it. I think the key is that nothing they do makes sense but they really could do nothing else.

no. 123. Wizard of Oz 1939.
Type: fantasy
Rating: repeat value
Comments: This is a huge part of pop culture and it’s still entertaining in its own right. It’s got appealing costumes and sets, enjoyable dance numbers and Judy Garland singing “Over the Rainbow” without irony. You ought to see it for that, anyway.

no. 126. Gone With the Wind 1939.
Type: period
Rating: historical significance
Comments: This movie was not for me. I liked the bit when Scarlett is looking for a doctor for Melanie on the battlefield. I don’t think it has aged well.

no. 131. Wuthering Heights 1939
Type: period
Rating: historical significance
Comments: It’s not Brontë and it’s shallow even for classic Hollywood romance. But it is lovely to look at. You could play it on mute with music of your preference.

no. 131. His Girl Friday 1940
Type: crime
Rating: historical significance
Comments: I had gotten the idea that this was a comedy and had great dialogue between Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. The second part of my impression was correct. But the crisis that they encounter later in the movie seems less funny than tragic to me. I guess you could just watch the first scenes, and it would be funny enough.

no. 133. Rebecca 1940
Type: crime
Rating: repeat watching
Comments: An excellent adaptation of a classic Gothic novel. Joan Fontaine somehow makes meekness seem adorable.

no. 134. Fantasia 1940.
Type: animation
Rating: repeat value
Comments: The one without the flying whales. I’m fond of it but I don’t know how fresh it is. You could probably pass on it.

no. 134. Philadelphia Story 1940
Type: romance
Rating: repeat value
Comments: Good fun. This is the kind of movie that I think of as rather bland. But when I re-watch it, I keep thinking, “now this is one of the good scenes” until I realize I’ve included every one of them.

no. 138. Pinocchio 1940
Type: animation
Rating: worth once
Comments: This one is definitely worth watching. The grimmest of all early Disney film – yet still gentler than the book. (The part in the book with the thieves attempting to cut open Pinocchio’s mouth with their knives still unnerves me.) It makes me wonder what American animation would have been like if the Disney company had had more Coachmen and fewer Jiminy Crickets. Oh well.

no. 142. Lady Eve 1941
Type: comedy
Rating: worth once
Comments: This is cute. It won’t waste your time but it’s not like your soul will be empty without it.

no. 143. Dumbo 1941
Type: animation
Rating: historical significance
Comments: It’s got the creepy pink elephant clowns and a heart-wrenching parting of mother and child. But the crows who befriend Dumbo make this an difficult movie experience – perhaps only for prepared adults.

no. 151. Now, Voyager 1942.
Type: drama
Rating: repeat watching
Comments: See this one. The prototype for make-over movies. The best part is that her life is still awful though she becomes Hollywood elegant. I love it to pieces despite the staggeringly idiotic conclusion.

no. 154. Cat People 1942
Type: horror
Rating: worth once
Comments: Very much worth seeing. Creepy and more subtle than most horror movies, then or now.

no. 156. Yankee Doodle Dandy 1942
Type: musical
Rating: historical significance
Comments: Won’t hurt you any to watch it. For years, this was the only James Cagney I had ever seen – he sings and dances with stupendous amount of energy. It reminds me of Strictly Ballroom in its exuberant crowd-pleasing efforts.

no. 160. I Walked with a Zombie 1943.
Type: horror
Rating: worth once
Comments: I watched this one fairly recently and really liked it. It’s a variation on Jane Eyre but it’s got more to offer than a simple retelling.

After the break is the full list from 101 to 161:

Queenie Chan and Dean Koontz

In my last post, I mentioned that I wanted to read something else by Chan. I got a notice today in my email that she is making a graphic novel based in the world of Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas series. Previews are available on the site and I think it’s is a good match for the 2 creators.

On a side note, before I see their photos, I typically envision creators as resembling their personalities. But in the photos or films, the intense ones look completely relaxed and the ones with cute personalities look fierce and so on. I kind of pictured Queenie Chan as looking rather no-nonsense and in her photo she looks glamorous. It always surprises me.

Sharon Shinn, Queenie Chan, L. J. Smith, Kitchen Princess

I have become busier than I had expected and work on my posts are developing very slowly. I’ve been reading these books.

Two Books

Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn – Coming-of-age fantasy novel. Each summer, young Coriel, a witch in training, visits Castle Auburn and crushes on the handsome prince. However, she finds as she grows older that the world is more complex and more sinister than she ever dreamed of as a child. Charming and engrossing.

Spellbinder by L. J. Smith. Paranormal romance/young adult. A young witch Thea must keep her attraction to a ‘human’ a secret from everyone, even him. If she doesn’t, both of them will be killed by the creatures of the Night World. Enjoyable – easy to read and lots of angst-filled fun.

One Graphic Novel (series)

The Dreaming by Queenie Chan. (read all 3 vols.) Horror/young adult. Haunted house story set in the Australian bush. Recently orphaned twin girls, Jeanie and Amber, are sent to a remote boarding house. They find the places holds more to dread than homework and spiteful classmates. Creepy. I’d like to read more of Chan’s work. The omake, bonus pages, at the end are funny, especially the one in the 3rd volume.

Two Manga (series)

Good Witch of the West by Noriko Ogiwara (read vols. 1 & 2). Shoujo. A pretty teenage girl Firiel lives in a magical kingdom. Her mother is dead and her father abandons her for a distant research mission. When her best friend Rune is abducted, Firiel musters her courage and strength and sets out to rescue him. This looks promising.

Kitchen Princess by Natusumi Ando (read vols. 1 -3). Shoujo. Orphan Najika goes to Seika Academy to find her ‘flan prince’ who once comforted her and gave her a spoon. More importantly, Najika is discovering who she is and becoming a chef just like her parents. Her love interests are Sora and Daichi who are estranged brothers who both attend Seika Academy too. There are recipies for each of the dishes that Najika prepares in the volume. I’m enjoying it quite a bit.

Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible

Dr. Horrible

Just found this today.

If you are a Joss Whedon fan (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Angel), you should watch Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

It is a musical comedy about a would-be archvillain named Dr. Horrible (Patrick Harris) who is trying get recognized by the League of Evil. His nemesis is the hero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion) and he has a crush on a girl named Penny (Felicia Day)

It made me laugh out loud and I liked the “Everything’s Slipping” song a lot. It’s also Whedon, so there is a lot more going on than the camp. The production values were much better than I expected too.

It’s free till tomorrow night and then it will be available on iTunes. WATCH!!!

links and changes

First the links:  In His Likeness – James Hatton made it to his 500th comic and gave us the Angelettes!  Yeah!  xckd was parodied in Foxtrot recently. Dionne Galace is treating her readers to a online paranormal romance.  At Devil’s Panties, the heroine of the strip has discovered she’s a double D.  The non-romance of Faye and Sven is amusing me at Questionable Content.  Planet Karen hasn’t updated since May which is distressing.   And Sinfest, though dipping into fan service too much lately,  had a great one about cats recently.

Then the changes: Several of the bloggers I’ve been reading for a year or two are experiencing big changes in their lives. Theology Girl – Adrienne is nearing the end of her pregnancy. At Underwear Drawer, Michelle has finished her residency and has moved to Atlanta. Juice of the Tales of the Liberry has bought a new house and is leaving his liberry.  His readers fear he’ll cut us off but maybe not. Miss Information has been accepted by library school.

I guess the big change in my life is that I’m almost done with my program and will be moving in less than a month.  Since I don’t know when I will have regular access to the Internet, things might become sketchy in August.

8 essential elements (romance novel)

The 8 essential elements from Pamela Regis‘ The Natural History of the Romance Novel (pp. 30-39).

1. Society Defined
2. The Meeting
3. The Barrier
4. The Attraction
5. The Declaration
6. Point of Ritual Death
7. The Recognition
8. The Betrothal

And three optional elements – The Wedding or Dance or Fete; Scapegoat Exiled; Bad Converted.

I have a few comments:

Society Defined: the setting of the romance is flawed and in some way oppresses the hero and heroine (p. 31). The love and union of the hero and heroine changes it for the better. An example of a flawed society changed by romance is Strictly Ballroom.

The Barrier: can be internal or external but it’s difficult to think of one kind without the other. The barrier in Austen’s Emma is almost entirely (but not quite) internal as there is little outward reason why she and Knightly should not marry. Cora and Hawkeye in Last of the Mohicans don’t question themselves or their love. It is only external forces which threaten to separate them.

The Point of Ritual Death: Regis argues that the prototype for the modern romantic novel has been drawn from the myth of Persephone and Hades. Hades’ abduction of Persephone into the Underworld is reflected in overt or subtle threats to the life of the heroine or hero (p. 35).

Manga and Romance

I have been thinking for some time about a series of posts that I am very excited about. A friend of mine told me I’d lose all my readers if I did it. However, my stats have dropped so low that I think I am safe in attempting it now. (I don’t mean you, gentle reader.)

I am bemused by the separate spheres of readers for my favorite format and my favorite genre. I mean graphic novels and romantic fiction. I read blogs about manga, and the die-hard shojo readers claim they would never read a text romance. Blogs and websites devoted to romantic fiction don’t seem to have much interest in the GN format. This, despite the fact that they are enthusiastic about ebooks, audio books and movies.

This strikes me as odd. One of the most likely reasons is the poor reputation of romantic fiction. Another reason might be that adult women still may think of comics as either kids’ stuff or men’s stuff and not for them. (This was true for most of American comics history.)

The same kind of reaction that has plagued romantic fiction for ages is being applied to manga. I have read posts by concerned adults worried that girls will be badly affected by reading the love stories in manga.

Welltun Cares and Kyon

Oh, spoilers…and (unnecessary) parentheses.

Now that I’ve been drawn into Haruhi Suzumiya‘s world, I discovered that Cullen Waters from Welltun Cares is a fan too (or was last year). I first discovered his blog via a link to his bitter, bitter man post and it amused me enough to keep checking back. I really don’t get the jokes or references in his posts for the most part. (Perhaps it’s a generational thing or I’m anti-cool.) But when he discusses something I do know about, he makes good points and he’s witty. Ooo! I hadn’t visited his links page, he’s got a lot of webcomics that I’ll have visit.

Here is Waters’ first post on Haruhi Suzumiya : second post: third post

I haven’t seen the first disc. I do, however, agree with Waters’ comment: “Dude, I am not joining Haruhiism. Kyon is far superior.” I’ve known too many people just like Haruhi. While they are a lot of fun and can shake things up like nobody’s business, it can be draining too. It’s hard to keep up the level of enthusiasm needed to satisfy them. (I’m not even sure if it’s worth it outside of a fantasy/SF context.)

Kyon, though, I like a lot. I love that he’s pissy about every one of Haruhi’s schemes but still caves to her whims. His reveries make sense and (so far) he’s keeping his integrity while dealing with the weird turn his life has taken. On a cosmic level, what else can one do but face the vagaries of the universe with a level head and some affection? Waters doesn’t mention that Kyon is very cute but it might not have occurred to him.

Examples:

I did see the episode that provoked this statement: “And while the fight is brutal (shockingly so, considering what has come before), it never feels excessive or done for shock’s sake.” That’s the one in which Kyon is going about an ordinary day at school and then must fight for his life.

Since I was expecting a light shojo comedy (for instance, Ultra Maniac), I have to admit I was probably more shocked by the turn of events than Kyon. He confronted the whole situation better than most people would have. (In particular, I think I would have crawled under a desk and whimpered.)

Waters also thought to compare the anime to the Twilight Zone episode, “It’s a Good Life” and Star Trek‘s “Squire of Gothos.” Melancholy is interesting to me because its character development makes the fantasy elements more frightening and more tragic than those efforts. Most of the short stories I’ve read on theme just had concepts with faces. I haven’t finished the series, so I’m eager to find out how things develop.

manga buying frenzy

So, my sister and I put together an order (from 2 different companies as it turned out) for graphic novels.

Our intention was to combine our orders to get the free shipping. But then we overbought because we got into a big discussion about our series.

My sister is collecting Threads of Time by Mi Young Noh, which has some beautiful artwork but is too violent for me. Edit: I was confusing Threads of Time with another title Samurai Deeper which my sister says is fairly rough.

She’s also collecting Queen’s Knight which I like a lot too. A teenage girl somehow gets drawn into a Medieval world and she is thought to be the lost queen. The man who discovers her pledges to be her knight. The artwork doesn’t completely appeal to me but it’s very cute.

She decided to start collecting Absolute Boyfriend by Yuu Watase which I liked at first. think Watase lost her way by the end.

We started talking and she asked me if I wanted her DN Angel (Yukiru Sugisaki) collection, she’s got up to volume 10. She said she there was too much Daisuke and not enough Dark. But…she wanted my Aishiteruze Baby (Yoko Maki) and Kare First Love (Kaho Miyasaka) in return. I enjoy Aishiteruze Baby but as I long as I can read it I don’t need to keep it.

Kare First Love is a different kettle of fish. I love makeover stories as I’ve mentioned before and I loved the beginning. Karin was more interesting as an ugly duckling than she is as a pretty girl and I have neglected the series for awhile. So, I told her she could have Aishiteruze Baby (I bought 2 more volumes for her to make it fair) but I’d have to see how Kare First Love ends.

I got 2 Red River (Chie Shinohara) manga. There are so many left! How many more times can Yuri be abducted? Still, this is a good series and I’ll be glad to get back into it.

I got a Tramps Like Us (AKA Kimi wa Petto) by Yayoi Ogawa. I like Sumire a lot – she’s only grown up woman protagonist that I’ve encountered in manga. I wish there were more scenes of her at work, those are the best parts.

And I got Kilala Princess volume 2. (art by Nao Kodaka and written by Rika Tanaka) What can I say? It’s cute.

I also bought Promise by Keiko Nishi. I have no clue what it is about. I think it’s something that Matt Thorne translated which means it might be shojo.

Also Delicious Seasons by Rainbow Buddy- a cooking school romance. Should be fun.

Honey Mustard by Ho-Kyung Yeo. A girl accidentally kisses the wrong man and now has to marry him.

The Aromatic Bitters - I have had all of Erica Sakurazawa’s book on my to-buy list for a long time. I have finally gotten the one about the two unhappy women on a road trip.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

This contains spoilers. Here is a description of the series without revelations.