tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post2230729084246523229..comments2023-11-03T08:30:19.544-07:00Comments on Spulge Nine: All’s Well: A List of Great Movie EndingsJasphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12689449554756071995noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-18161283018760205772007-05-03T05:50:00.000-07:002007-05-03T05:50:00.000-07:00So the first Saturday must have provided a lot of ...So the first Saturday must have provided a lot of delight for your folks, or else they wouldn't have kept dropping you at the Terrace.<BR/><BR/>I wonder if that was a euphemism between them? "Wanna swing by the Terrace?" Or "Let's drop the girls at the Terrace."<BR/><BR/>If it hadn't gone well the first time, they might still have tried again, but your mom might have used a euphemism like, "OK, bring on Mr. Limpet."Jasphhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12689449554756071995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-7103527029920113632007-05-02T17:42:00.000-07:002007-05-02T17:42:00.000-07:00Kirkrik dasn't forget "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" ...Kirkrik dasn't forget "The Incredible Mr. Limpet" when examining the career of Don Knotts. <BR/><BR/>I am an expert on this film, which features the wistful ballad, "I wish, I wish, I wish I were a fish."<BR/><BR/>The reason I am an expert on this film is that my parents dropped my sister and me at the Terrace Theater four Saturday afternoons in a row in 1964. <BR/><BR/>I've since learned that this was their strategy <BR/>for having a little afternoon delight. Eww.<BR/><BR/>So don't get me started.Mol the Dollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03997207832311500998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-46041760935445353222007-05-01T22:32:00.000-07:002007-05-01T22:32:00.000-07:00Notice how the level of discourse rises, once you ...Notice how the level of discourse rises, once you leave the actual blog and get to the comments?<BR/><BR/>A spark of some kind of manic recognition got stuck in my hyperthyroidal eye as I vaguely recalled "The Reluctant Astronaut" and then expunged the memory by washing my eye out with Tang.<BR/><BR/>Thanks, Kirk, for keeping me up late, laughing.<BR/><BR/>And Scott, you're a prime candidate for "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MInd," if you haven't seen it. The ending depends for its effect on this beautiful Beck song that takes us from the ghostly, hopeful, evanescent final image into the credits. I think you'd love it.Jasphhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12689449554756071995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-73702416830794141392007-05-01T15:27:00.000-07:002007-05-01T15:27:00.000-07:00hmmm...I don't think I represented Don Knotts corr...hmmm...<BR/><BR/>I don't think I represented Don Knotts correctly when I wrote " a spark of unexpected recognition twinkling in Knotts’ eye". <BR/><BR/>In reality, it was more of a manic fear and frustration, exhibited by his quivering, bug-eyed head - spinning and darting about, moments from tearing at his floating prison with his comically-large space gloves. Then, after a patented "triple take", focusing directly on his discovered salvation - the "retro rocket" button.<BR/><BR/>That sounds more "Knotts-like." Sorry for the confusion.Kirk Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04462628861921903546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-87178148885374709002007-05-01T13:26:00.000-07:002007-05-01T13:26:00.000-07:00Hey Jim-Jim, The screen adaption of Westside Story...Hey Jim-Jim, The screen adaption of Westside Story is the example I chose to show the existence of echo and undertone as experiential outcomes of viewing a movie. One might ask if their obvious use by the composer in his overall score for the movie wold be adaptable to other plots and themes. I would answer yes, and each case would prove very different. It would be a matter of discreet artistic choices and not exact theory, but it wouldbe a distinctive approach. Yes, Romeo and Juliet become Tony and Maria,but if you check this film out pay close attention to the incredible thematic structure and power of the musical score all the way thru the final credits.scotlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01549546977518972516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-22651275139897008602007-05-01T11:11:00.000-07:002007-05-01T11:11:00.000-07:00My favorite movies involve anti-heros who, being c...My favorite movies involve anti-heros who, being called up from obscurity, and without a proper support community, ultimately find the untapped knowledge and strength within themselves to “save the day”. <BR/><BR/>A fine example of this theme is found in “The Reluctant Astronaut” starring Don Knotts.<BR/><BR/>Although just a lowly janitor at NASA, and with acute acrophobia, Knotts finds himself alone in a space capsule, circling above earth’s atmosphere, stranded because uncontrolled floating peanut butter has jammed all the communication devises. All hope of his return to earth is lost. <BR/><BR/>At this point the filmmakers could have left their protagonist struggling with his truer self, (foolish, ignorant, cowardly) floating to his inevitable demise as nature intends - thus foreshadowing Richard Crenna in “Marooned”, 1969, and later Tommy Lee Jones in “Space Cowboys”, 2000. (Coincidently, Jones has signed on to star in the upcoming Jerry Bruckheimer Trilogy: “The Fife Dossier: Bullet in my Pocket”, 2009, “Fife 2: Otis Unlocked”, 2011, and “Fife 3: The ‘Barber’ of Mayberry”, 2012)<BR/><BR/>But instead of watching a man suffocate, we see a spark of unexpected recognition twinkling in Knotts’ eye. The hordes of doubters and naysayers who surround him don’t know what he knows. But when the camera shows us Knotts’ point of view, we see it too: a button on his control panel that reads “retro rockets” – the same button Knotts used to push while working a kiddie-ride at the fairgrounds of Sweetwater, Missouri. To the surprise of his friends and family on the ground, Knotts pushes the button and successfully brings the space capsule back to earth.<BR/><BR/>Knotts look into his soul – and the “everyman” becomes the hero. And we as audience members follow his journey so that we too can learn how to take control of our own lives.<BR/><BR/>Next: The true hero of “The Computer wore Tennis Shoes.” (Hint – it’s not Kurt Russell!)Kirk Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04462628861921903546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-90581862127852114362007-05-01T09:44:00.000-07:002007-05-01T09:44:00.000-07:00Double the comments, double the fun, with doubleNe...Double the comments, double the fun, with doubleNeed, doubleNeed, doubleNeedle-mun.<BR/><BR/>What "Million Dollar Baby" needed was for that skanky dirty fighter who broke Our Heroine's neck to show up at the hospital and apologize. And she gets all worked up over what she's done, a rare display of emotion for a skanky dirty fighter, and she vows to clean up her act, and then Morgan Freeman does a voice-over to explain. "And though her neck was broken, Our Heroine nodded, metaphysically, recognizing in the skanky dirty fighter a trashy, tough-broad sensibility not unlike her own."<BR/><BR/>Or it could be the voice-over from "War of the Worlds," really. You're missing the point about Morgan Freeman. He is God.Jasphhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12689449554756071995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-13364819462587305842007-05-01T09:02:00.000-07:002007-05-01T09:02:00.000-07:00Sorry, don't know what just happened. See what hap...Sorry, don't know what just happened. <BR/><BR/>See what happens when I try to comment when you're talkin' 'bout something deep? Sheesh.Tinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03826297564438748022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-4015234871760615592007-05-01T09:00:00.001-07:002007-05-01T09:00:00.001-07:00I HATED the ending for "Million Dollar Baby!" Yeah...I HATED the ending for "Million Dollar Baby!" Yeah, I get it. Every sports movie ends in triumph. Ooh, it's soooo different! And—while we're complaining about Clint Eastwood, can I also interject by asking how many more movies we need Morgan Freeman dispensing wisdom?<BR/><BR/>Saddest ending ever: "Dancer in the Dark." Starring that quirkly little untweezed swan, Bjork. Wow, did I sob. And the next morning, just thinking about it, I sobbed some more. <BR/><BR/>Saddest, then happiest ending ever: "E.T." Geez. Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions. Thank goodness I had my Mork & Mindy rainbow suspenders on to help cheer me up.Tinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03826297564438748022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-30397288936302689042007-05-01T09:00:00.000-07:002007-05-01T09:00:00.000-07:00I HATED the ending for "Million Dollar Baby!" Yeah...I HATED the ending for "Million Dollar Baby!" Yeah, I get it. Every sports movie ends in triumph. Ooh, it's soooo different! And—while we're complaining about Clint Eastwood, can I also interject by asking how many more movies we need Morgan Freeman dispensing wisdom?<BR/><BR/>Saddest ending ever: "Dancer in the Dark." Starring that quirkly little untweezed swan, Bjork. Wow, did I sob. And the next morning, just thinking about it, I sobbed some more. <BR/><BR/>Saddest, then happiest ending ever: "E.T." Geez. Talk about a rollercoaster of emotions. Thank goodness I had my Mork & Mindy rainbow suspenders on to help cheer me up.Tinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03826297564438748022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-10172782340095911522007-05-01T06:22:00.000-07:002007-05-01T06:22:00.000-07:00Nice addenda! Can't believe I forgot "One Flew Ov...Nice addenda! Can't believe I forgot "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Mol. I saw "Midnight Run," but have no memory of the ending. <BR/><BR/>As to 6th Sense, Ihooq: I never saw it coming, because I'm thick. I'm like a child at the movies. I just thought he was wearing an overcoat cuz it was raining. You have to club me over the head to pull me out of the moment and anticipate something. So I rarely see anything coming, unless it's porn.<BR/><BR/>To answer both guinea pig questions:<BR/><BR/>1. In late March, Pez had twins, a virgin birth that caught us all off-guard. We awoke to three ballistic furpedoes racing around the cage, crapping every three seconds. It was a shitstorm, my friends, and rather than found a new religion on the miraculous event that made it all possible, we called the pet store. They were sympathetic and happy to strike a money-back deal at three for one.<BR/><BR/>2. Haley Joel can only see our guinea pig if he goes to Waldo Pets.<BR/><BR/>Scotland, I don't recall the ending of West Side Story, but doesn't it parallel Romeo & Juliet? The lovers sacrificed to lay the inter-family enmity to rest?<BR/><BR/>The last time I remember an audience applauding spontaneously after a film (other than at film fests, where it happens all the time) was when I saw "Babe." That should actually be on my Uplifting list.<BR/><BR/>Another Uplifter I forgot: Amelie. Beautiful!<BR/><BR/>OK, lhooq: Movies That Pissed Me Off:<BR/><BR/>1. 300<BR/>2. The Godfather III<BR/>3. The New World--but only because the wrong actor died. It should've been Colin Farrell. Not in the movie, but in real life.<BR/>4. Come to think of it, the ending of almost every Spielberg movie has pissed me off. No one ruins a great movie with a crap ending like that guy.<BR/>5. And any movie by Nora Ephron. Not just the endings, either. There should be a law.Jasphhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12689449554756071995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-64586945491604786802007-04-30T12:19:00.000-07:002007-04-30T12:19:00.000-07:00Best surprise ending came from Kevin Spacey in The...Best surprise ending came from Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects. Never saw it coming.<BR/><BR/>Can we have another category?<BR/>Movie That Most P*ssed Me Off:<BR/>THE SIXTH SENSE. I'm no genius, but when Bruce Willis wears a big black trenchcoat to his first meeting with Haley Joel Osment...<BR/>SNAP! WINGS OF DESIRE!!! = Bruce is dead.<BR/><BR/>I tried to disprove my BruceDead theory for the next 2 hours, but it was pretty obvious once the surprise was carelessly blown by 2% overkill. Completely avoidable with more subtle wardrobe and dialog during that first meeting.<BR/><BR/>Runners Up:<BR/>"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", <BR/>and "Million Dollar Baby."<BR/>I like Clint. But sometimes he leans toward smarmy and overdone.<BR/><BR/>Is Haley Joel Osment able to see your Guinea Pig?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-82566026204430084672007-04-30T09:52:00.000-07:002007-04-30T09:52:00.000-07:00I've always missed the fact that sometime during t...I've always missed the fact that sometime during the 1960's, we as a society ceased to publicly applaud the ending of a movie at the local cinema. That in itself has a value which affirms where reality exists and where it is only suggested. <BR/><BR/> What I really like is an ending that hasn't given up its attempt to enter our more real world as if the reason why we didn't clap was that we were witnessing something profound. Anything else is creative staging at its best or an obvious sales pitch. <BR/> There is an enevitable experience of echo and undertone which supports the kind of magic that is more than an ending.<BR/> I like Westside Story!scotlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01549546977518972516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36487206.post-65090923699094587702007-04-28T15:02:00.000-07:002007-04-28T15:02:00.000-07:00The number 1 uplifing movie ending for me is the p...The number 1 uplifing movie ending for me is the poetic act of defiance in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."<BR/><BR/>Worst, most manipulative ending ever? "Titanic." "I'll never let you go. Oops. My bad." <BR/><BR/>One of my favorite li'l surprise endings is "Midnight Run." The movie is enough of a sleeper that I don't want to spoil it for anyone. (May have been predictable for some people-- I suspend reality more willingly than anyone I know.) Anyway, the film was so great at showing how people work through externally imposed antagonism to build friendships.<BR/><BR/>This next one puts me over the top as a sentimental jerk, but I think the mystical ending of "Music Man" is rewarding and fun.<BR/>How did all those little kids turn into a fully-orchestrated, grown-up marching band. Huh?<BR/><BR/>What happened to your guinea pig?<BR/><BR/>I agree with you about Wizard of Oz. The "only a dream" device reminds me of what happened in 1979, when three out of four of us decided we'd had enough of our marathon Risk game. Judi, the 4th, has never forgiven us for "wasting six hours of her life." Like those hours wouldn't have been wasted if she'd completed her conquest of Europe.Mol the Dollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03997207832311500998noreply@blogger.com