Alphabetical Movie – The King and I
Two characters, separated by over forty years. Both of them are characters who died tragically – perhaps before their time. Both died for the same reason. Both of them leave their audiences asking the same question.
“Wait – what did they die of again?”
I’m talking, of course, of the King of Siam and Padme Amidala.
Think about it now. Why do they die? Both of them die because they lost the will to live. Amidala loses the will to live because her husband crossed over to the dark side and force choked her. The King of Siam lost the will to live because the woman he secretly loved convinced him to show compassion.
The horror.
Alphabetical Movie – Kim Possible: So the Drama
You know, I really didn’t think I was going to have to watch this movie. I was pretty sure it was straight to video and the rules clearly state that I’m only watching films that received a theatrical release. I figured I’d be skipping right over this one.
Unfortunately, my wife had to tell me that she was pretty sure at least one Kim Possible movie was in movie theatres and because she told me that, I was forced to look it up. Once I looked it up, I discovered that I was, in fact, going to have to watch the film.
Movies like this one can prove to be a rather major obstacle for the Alphabetical Movie Project because I really don’t want to watch them. The movie isn’t awful but it is pretty banal. Sure, you say, I could have skipped it. There is nothing forcing me to watch it except an arbitrary set of rules that I put in place because I decided that I should really watch every movie we own at least once.
Alphabetical Movie – Kill Bill Vol I & II
When I talk about Kill Bill, I typically refer to the two films as my favorite Tarantino films. I differentiate them from what I consider his best film because those are two distinctly different concepts. One is talking about the movie I derive the most pleasure from watching. The other is evaluating the skill of the filmmaker.
Both are subjective measures, of course. Calling a film your favorite is a far more honest measure and one that doesn’t invite any useful argument. How can you possibly disagree with me about which Tarantino film is my favorite?
We can disagree all over the internet about which film is his best. Yet those arguments are always informed, at least a little bit, by which ones are our favorites. Read More…
Alphabetical Movie – Kiki’s Delivery Service
My youngest is at the age where he is capable of watching movies over and over again. He’s reached the point, though, where he doesn’t watch the entire movie. He’ll only watch parts of it.
He seems to be keyed in to the Alphabetical Movie Project a little bit. This may be a result of the fact that I try to watch most kids’ movies with the kids. Makes it a nice family event. What it means, though, is that Devon has typically already been watching the next movie on the list.
He won’t watch the movie all the way through, though. He’ll just watch his favorite parts over and over again. Often he’ll watch the end of the movie and then skip to somewhere in the middle and then skip to someplace near the end again and then go back to the beginning. It’s as if he is taking these films and trying to cut them together the way Quentin Tarantino might.
Alphabetical Movie – Kick-Ass
I’ve written about Butt-Numb-a-Thon a few times over the course of the Alphabetical Movie Project. It is one of those unique moviegoing experiences that I’m supremely fortunate to experience every year.
One thing about being in a room filled with rabid, cheering film geeks, however, is that I never really know how good a film is.
I mean, Harry tosses something awful at us almost every year, but that’s on purpose. He also shows us a lot of premieres that I inevitably enjoy because of where I am watching them. When I sit down and try to evaluate them later, I’m left puzzled to determine if I liked them because they were good movies or if I liked them because of the unreal environment that is Butt-Numb-a-Thon.
Alphabetical Movie – The Kennel Murder Case
If there is one thing that I really enjoy about the availability of cheap DVDs, it is the ability to pick up an old film I’ve never heard of for just a couple of bucks. Most are horrible, grainy copies of movies that are in the public domain but they aren’t on Netflix so how else am I supposed to watch them?
Aside: Why aren’t they on Netflix? They are in the public domain!!!!
The Kennel Murder Case is just such a movie. I was browsing the shelves at half price books and there it was for a measly $2.00.
Now Half Price Books has a lot of cheap old movies for sale. I don’t buy every one of them. Hell, I hardly buy any of them.
But this one had William Powell in it and I have a hard time saying no to a $2.00 movie starring William Powell.
Alphabetical Movie – The Karate Kid
I’ve always enjoyed the song “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama.
I would imagine that is the reason that I’ve had fond memories of the Karate Kid soundtrack. With “Cruel Summer” on there, the whole thing must be golden, right?
It’s been a while since I watched the film. I watched it a lot in the 80’s and 90’s and I remember every dramatic beat in the movie. I can recite huge sections of the film from memory and not just the parts about the Crane Technique. I know the film pretty darn well.
Alphabetical Movie – Just Like Heaven
Anybody remember Terri Schaivo?
I bring her up because Just Like Heaven came out right around the time Schaivo’s name was a big deal on the political scene. In fact, it came out about six months after she finally passed away.
While it is probably just an amazing coincidence, I find it striking every time I watch this film, which involves someone who is in a coma and a doctor who is pressuring her family to pull the plug. While it is just a cute romantic comedy, it feels like there is a deeper message at play.
Alphabetical Movie – Jurassic Park
Life finds a way.
So we are told by Dr. Ian Malcom in Jurassic Park.
We will ignore the problems with the fashion in which this happens in Jurassic Park – it is Science Fiction after all – because I’m really intrigued by the concept that life finds a way.
Grail Diary 