Extra Criticum

"Late Night" Thermometer

With Conan's last Tonight Show now a memory, I thought I'd do a quick run down of the winners and losers in the latest edition of the late night wars.

Twelve things I'm left with, three days after the Golden Globes

I’ve had a few days to digest the Golden Globes and these are the things that have stayed with me (even though I tried intense therapy to remove them from my consciousness)

NARRATIVE Films that Have Influenced My Documentary

[cross-posted at alifesworkmovie.com/blog/]

Rolando Teco, fearless leader of this blog, threw down a challenge. Here is his comment to my post "Five Films that Influenced My Film."

Five Films that Influenced My Film

[cross-posted at alifesworkmovie.com/blog/]

Because I have lists on the brain, here's another:  films that have had a huge impact on me in general, and on my documentary, A Life's Work, in particular.

Best of the Naughts?

Right, we just closed out a decade and you know what that means. It's time for a list of the best films (that I’ve seen) of this decade that just mercifully left us.

We all know the drill. I throw down a bunch of films, you read it, you leave a comment like, “WTF!?!” or “How could you forget about___?” And then I respond with either “Urgh, I hated that film!” or “Doh! You’re right, how did I leave that off the list” or maybe “...eh…”

Here they are, in no particular order:

What a Wonderful Town! (What should I go see tonight?!)

So the rainy afternoon turned snowy and, I don't know about you all, but that just gets me in the mood for a show. And, particularly, something musical and intimate. Maybe it's the cold weather. I don't know... So I fired up the old computer and started searching around town. And, it's 6pm and I can't decide what I'd like to see more. Here's just a small sampling of what's out there tonight in this great city of ours.

The sheer variety just floors me! What should I choose?!!!

"And I had some beautiful cutlets that were cut just right ... "

If there's one thing I hate it's blanket statements. The burr under my saddle today is "voice overs don't work." Next time someone says this, I'm not going to correct them with words of wisdom such as, "I'd qualify that. Bad voice overs don't work." No, instead, I'm going to tell them to watch Kind Hearts and Coronets. No, check that, that's in black and white and English, and anyone who would make such a ridiculous proclamation probably wouldn't know Ealing Studios from East L.A. No, I'm just going to make them watch this scene from Goodfellas.

Scariest Movies of All Time

Just read Martin Scorsese's list of the 11 scariest movies of all time.

These lists are totally subjective, I mean, duh, so I'm not going to argue with his selection. Instead, here's my 11 scariest movies of all time. Like that Facebook quiz that asks me to list 15 books I'll always take with me, I'm not spending any time on this. Great horror is visceral, and this list is jotted down viscerally.

It's All About the Ensemble: Which Law & Order Cast Worked Best?

One major key to the success of the original Law & Order series is the intangible known as "ensemble."

Which of the following combinations of core actors do you think resulted in the best chemistry? Register your vote (with explanations, please) in the COMMENTS section below.

Top 10 Movie Characters

Nathaniel R. over at the ever delightful Film Experience got tagged in a meme asking for a list of one's ten favorite movie characters, a daunting task but one that immediately had my wheels turning. With so many characters in so many films to choose from, how does one even begin to narrow it down to ten? What criteria does one use -- Outstanding performance? Excellent screenplay? Classic film? My ten characters are a mixed bag; what they all have in common is their persistent hold on my imagination, independent of the stories in which they appear and of the other characters that surround them in their films.

And Bette Davis, the queen of screen characterization, takes the first two positions on the list.

Craig Ferguson How Could You Do This To Me?

Yes it's true Craig Ferguson or Craig-i-la as I use to lovingly refer to him has married.  I knew he was involved with someone for like the last 3 years but then he took it to the next level and married 'her'.  I'm sure I'm not the only one to have admired him in this way, but I knew once we met the sparks would fly. 

10 Best American Movies? Really?

A friend of mine sent me an e-mail last night, subject field: “blog fodder?” In the e-mail, a link to a New York Times blog. Here it is. When you open this page, make sure to hold your breath, because it stinks.

http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/the-10-best-american-movies/?em

It stinks so bad, I don’t want to acknowledge its existence. But since it is THE TIMES, I feel like attention must be paid.

And the Works of Art in My Life (with nods to Licata & Truffaut)

I was really jazzed by David's post on the films that have had significant impact on his life and so decided to take him up on his invitation to chime in with my own. And I encourage the rest of you to post your own. What's not to love?

I, however, being someone who is pathologically obsessed with my escape from rigid categories as they might define me, have chosen to open my list up a bit to include all works of the performing arts.

And the Films in My Life

I'm re-reading Truffaut's The Films in My Life and it has made me wonder, what are the films that have made an impression in my life? I'm not talking about "favorite" or "best," those would be something else. No, these are films that changed the way I thought or saw in some way. Some of them are great, some of them aren't so great.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, just the first several that came to mind. I'd be interested in knowing what you think of this list, and I welcome everyone to comment with lists of their own, and not just of film, but of plays, performances, books, musical compositions, paintings, or any combination of those. It's a blog, after all.