Thursday 13: 13 Movies for Valentine's Day

Whether you're spending the night in with someone special, or you're going stag (in which case, you're still spending it with someone special), here's a few of my favourite romantic movies for Valentine's Day (I should have put it in order, but I didn't really)...

1. Better off Dead (1985) - I've heard that John Cusack hates this movie, but I always get a kick out of it. Now, suicide is not amusing, but that kick in the gut from lost love (and surviving it) can be - and is, in this movie. My preferred way of spending Valentine's Day - my little love note to the suckiness that is romance at times. If nothing else, you'll learn the invaluable rule: pay your damned paperboy on time.
2. Juno (2007) - While Twee Hipsters normally just make me want to vomit, these ones deserved a big hug.
3. French Kiss (1995) - Cheesy? Oh, oui! Certainement! Worth a good bowl of popcorn and a few hours? Oh, most definitely, yes! Kevin Kline is so oddly compelling in this film, I watch it over and over - and Meg Ryan? Well, she's just adorable.
4. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) - Yes, a teen comedy. But I fell for it! I feel no shame.
5. The Wedding Singer (1998) - I know, Adam Sandler isn't exactly the First Name in Romance, but this movie has me sighing every time - and if you're alone on Valentine's Day, his rendition of "Love Stinks" will have you jumping with glee on your sofa.
6. The Pelican Brief (1993) - Not a romance, you say? I guess not. But the chemistry kills me, and friendship, affection, partnership can all be better in the long run than the most sappy of proclamations, no?
7. Say Anything (1989) - I know, the second Cusack movie on the list, but come on! Lloyd Dobler is basically wonderful - a noble slacker, before slackers just became punks, and he's absolutely dedicated to one principle: I can love Diane Court better than anyone else in the world. Something of a men's liberation film, I think. And nothing will ever top that ghetto blaster scene, which could never be reproduced. (Imagine him holding up an iPod dock?)
8. John Adams (2008) - Yep, I mean the HBO miniseries. Has there ever been a screen couple as wonderful as John and Abigail Adams are in this series?
9. City Lights (1931) - Such perfection! So sublime, it isn't even really a movie. I don't know if that makes sense, at all, but my goodness... I don't know if this movie has a HEA ending or not, but the beauty of that last scene is transformative.
10. What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) - Possibly one of the most stirring romances, ever, in my opinion. Love saves a drowning man, not because he's rich or swank, but because he's good and he deserves it. Really, how can you do better than that?
11. LA Confidential (1997) - A hooker with a heart of gold and some pretty seriously effective bromance - this one has something for everyone! Plus, Bud White - need I say more?
12. Notting Hill (1999) - In the late-90s and the early-00s, no one did romantic comedies like the Brits, and this one hooked me. I saw it in theaters at least three times, if I recall, and I still pull it out every now and then. So cute! And, yes, it was fairly fresh when it was new; that so many films have copied it since is no fault of Notting Hill's.
13. Pride and Prejudice (1995) - The Big Granddaddy of all that is wonderful.

Bonus: Bull Durham (1988), anyone? Yum!

So, what are some of your favourite romantic flicks?

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! And happy viewing!

A Tribute to Vincent Price

I have been thinking a lot about Vincent Price, since it's coming upon Halloween, and just a few days ago it was the 18th anniversary of his death - by the way, can you believe it's been that long? Pretty much all of my students this term were born the year he died! Time flies!

Surprisingly, Vincent Price was born in St. Louis, Missouri, of all places, on May 27, 1911. I say this not to cast aspersions on the good people of Missouri, but Price did an excellent job of always sounding so very, very continental. Eternally dashing, it is quite a mystery how he never made it as a leading man. Perhaps it was the intensity of his face, that awesome voice (which could be easily recognized a mile off and underwater), and his noteworthy height of 6’4” that kept him firmly etched in the catalog of American horror saints.

In honour of a man who helped raise my generation, I have elected to watch The Last Man on Earth (1964) as tonight’s entertainment. While this movie seems to be one of those that viewers either love to death or hate passionately, don’t let reviews sway you. I find it gripping from the first seconds of narration all the way to the poignant ending, even with my cheapie DVD print, and it seems just as watchable today as it did when made, perhaps even more so.

A world-wide plague sets about killing off humankind, but for, so it seems, the last man, Dr. Robert Morgan (Price), who is forced to make his way in the world and keep his sanity, even after it is revealed that the disease doesn’t just kill its victims, but turns them into mindless nocturnal zombies (bear with me). In the end, Price is faced with the question whether these zombies are the monsters, or whether he is, and the whole thing ends in a sort of fable about how misguided intentions can destroy everything.

I'm not usually a major booster of the whole zombie genre, and maybe this film wouldn’t work so well if it were another actor (I can put up with a lot for a good glimpse of Vincent Price), but I enjoy this thing every time I see it. The opening situation of a man alone, and facing being alone for the rest of his life, who dares not even hope for so much as a pet as company, becomes wonderfully enthralling, especially when that man is normally so well-groomed and contained. Further, the camera use and sound, while rough in places, almost seems avant-garde, and the low budget technique gives the film an eerie, pseudo-documentary feel.

Thumbs up, all the way, and, along with Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Carnival of Souls (1962), this is one of my all time favourite B thrillers of the decade.

Vincent Price died on October 25, 1993, just a few years after his touching cameo in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990), and remains one of the few actors of his era who is as cool and recognizable as ever, due to his appearance in some 179 movies, TV shows, radio spots and music videos over a nearly 60-year career. Let’s see those leading men try to claim that!

Mourning My Local Blockbuster

I went to pick over the bones of the local Blockbuster the other day, taking advantage of their closing out sale. I got a heap of DVDs for $25. I was pleased with the deals, but it was sad to see their empty shelves.

Back in 2001 or so, I was living in Halifax, NS, when I bought my first DVD player at some department store. My boyfriend and I at the time each got one DVD to go with the player - he got Star Wars, and I got Hannibal. The next day, I popped into a Blockbuster, and I got Bridget Jones' Diary. My second ever DVD.

I now have thousands of the things, since film is my main area of research interests and I am a major film buff. I am a constant trawler of cheap bins. I have a rule that if I ever come across an Oscar winner that I don't already own in the discount basket I buy it. I like Amazon, but Blockbuster's "previously enjoyed" shelves were my favourite haunts.

And now, this is no more.

It used to be HMV near campus, but that closed over a year ago. I then turned my impulse DVD shopping to the local Blockbuster by my bank and grocers. I loved wandering in there and seeing what I could find. Since having a baby, I hardly ever go to the cinema, so discount DVDs were my salvation.

I hate shopping, normally. I buy pants about once a year, and I rely on my mum to send me cheap t-shirts most of the time. I look kind of like a beatnik sporty hobo, but it's worth it to avoid clothing shopping. I buy socks at the same time as I buy my yearly pair of shoes. Groceries are a necessary evil. I don't mind book stores, but the prices kill me. I like my regular trips to the Salvation Army, but that is fairly far away for a non-driver.

DVD shopping was my one vice; my retail therapy. No matter how low or lost I felt, I could go in and get a couple cheap disks and feel a little cheerier. I will certainly miss that, now that I have no place to find secondhand DVDs locally - or at least close enough to make it an impulsive trip just because I feel like doing something fun and frivolous.

I do some buying on Amazon, but I don't impulse shop online. When I am buying something online, it's because I went there to look for something - or, I look at the things on my wishlist for the millionth time before I finally get it, and it's usually something I've already seen. I never just randomly grab something because I like the blurb and cover, and it's cheap.

I can still get a few random DVDs at the drugstore, I guess, but I won't have any place I can just get up and go to and find some new friends.

One of my favourite places to snoop for over ten years is now just a memory, and I can't help but think my life will lose a bit of colour with it.

So, goodbye Blockbuster. I'm sorry it came to this.

By the way, I got three Anthony Hopkins movies on this final trip to the Blockbuster. Nice to see some old friends are still around since that first DVD purchase.

Cavalcade of Holiday Movie Enjoyment!

To many people over the age of ten, Christmas entertainment can be a bit tiresome. For example, I absolutely loathe holiday parades, especially those in the cold weather - Oh look! People in chintzy costumes! And they are walking. And waving! And I got a ten cent candy cane for my trouble. Yay!

But, I must admit that I actually like Christmas movies, to be honest. It is not that I believe that the magic of Christmas always brings out the best in everyone, and troubles miraculously disappear if you only believe hard enough, yadda, yadda, yadda. Rather, it is that I enjoy the mythology of Christmas films, as well as that crisp hope that radiates from some, or that callous spite that rolls off others. Truly, there are few movie seasons like Christmas, so I find myself jumping at the chance to pick and choose my favourite ones.

Be warned, though: I am not terribly traditional in my definition of Christmas movie, but there are some limits. Unlike cable TV, I refuse to believe that My Fair Lady (which I believe takes place in Spring) or The Sound of Music (which, aside from the words “crisp and white, clean and bright” is not all that Christmassy, really) are Christmas films. Therefore, I will try to give brief reasons why each film is a holiday film in my book.



Now, people try to pin romance on Valentine’s Day, or possibly lazy summers by the lake, but, for my money, those last weeks of December and those first nights of January really make up the Season of Love. This is why every Christmas, I start leaning towards the rom-com genre, which, luckily, has a good crop of Christmas crossover appeal. A sure fire bet, and one of the best romantic comedies ever made, is When Harry Met Sally…. Sure, purists may deem this not a holiday movie, but when Harry runs into that New Year’s Eve dance to find the woman he has just realized he loves, and says those great words… You get the idea. (Love + magic + decorations = Holiday, ok?) This movie always tops my holiday viewing list – enjoyable story and good characters, and, let’s face it, Billy Crystal has never been more loveable before or since.

Of course, if your mood for romantic comedies requires a larger portion, you can’t go wrong with Bridget Jones’s Diary, or the rash of hip British winter-themed romantic comedies that followed it, including About a Boy (“Santa’s Super Sleigh” kills me) and Love, Actually. Still, for my money, WHMS is the tops.

However, while the holiday season is the perfect time for love, it is also a great time for disaffectedness, alienation, existential angst, and abject romantic poverty. If this group includes you, you will find your comfort in the numerous anti-Christmas pictures made over the years. I am tempted to throw The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in there (hey, there was that one Christmas scene… right?), but my pick for this category would have to be, for modern stuff, The Ice Harvest, which is about as cold a holiday film as you can get. The clue: when someone’s wife is found dead kneeling over her Christmas presents on Christmas Eve, this is not a feel good film for the joy of the season. A contemporary noir, The Ice Harvest is often grizzly, but seldom dull, and it illustrates nicely how everything can go to hell at Christmas.

In terms of classics, I find it odd that no one recognizes Chaplin’s The Gold Rush as a holiday film. The fact that it takes place in snow helps, of course, but the Tramp’s dejection on New Year’s is a tragedy that plays itself out so regularly during the festive season that one cannot help but see this comedy masterpiece as a timeless tale of Christmas blues.

Now, classics buffs would scream if I did not mention It’s a Wonderful Life.

Ok, done.

No, seriously, It’s a Wonderful Life is a fine film, though not as sugary as it has been cracked up to be by parodies and memories. Sadly, the film's dark undercurrent of suicidal tendency is probably all too relevant for the holiday season. However, if we are going for Capri-corn, I have to suggest a lesser known but just as enduring and touching film, Meet John Doe. “John Doe,” played by the always alluring Gary Cooper, is a man seemingly pushed to his limits by the inhumanity of the system, and who demands that the world change, or he ends it all on Christmas Eve. Of course, in the meantime there is love, hard-bitten reporters and other things we have all grown to demand from 1930/40s melodramas, but there is also heart and wit here, too, and I find it an unforgettable film.



Next, we have a story that is very nearly a genre in its own right – Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. This is an oft-told tale, but one you’d be hard pressed to dislike. It's one of my favourites, all year round. Scrooge, the iconic miser, is about as great as a character gets, and the basic myth of Christmas presented in this story makes this a permanent foundational text of our culture. However, not all versions are created equal, though I’d say you’d be safe watching any version shown on late night TV on Christmas weekend (there is a certain thrill to watching this movie after midnight on Christmas Eve – check it and see). My favourite all time versions have to include the beloved Bill Murray updated version, Scrooged, the classic 1951 Alastair Sims version Scrooge (they dropped the fancy title in honest recognition of who is the real attraction of this story), and the cute Muppet’s Christmas Carol staring Michael Cane as Scrooge, and Kermit as Bob Cratchit. However, even less glorified versions deserve a look in, such as Patrick Stewart’s HBO rendering (featuring the wonderful Joel Grey and Richard E. Grant in supporting roles).

(Best Christmas line ever? “Must I be accosted by these blasted sea urchins?”)

Finally, the best and the greatest of all Christmas movies, as even acknowledged by its unvarnished title, has to be A Christmas Story. Maybe the title doesn’t even ring a bell, but the gist should come back to you if I yell, “You’ll shoot your eye out!” Remember it now? A beautiful piece of American nostalgia, this film reminds us that it isn’t always about getting exactly what you want (because answered prayers can still turn bad), or about having a perfect family or home. It is about the kind of memories that the holidays leave you with that matter in the long run. And a perfect holiday meal can be served at your dining room table or at a Chinese restaurant, but that makes it no less perfect.

So, no matter what you like to watch, Christmas and seasonal films can entertain, warm the heart and delight the soul, and there is a wide variety for them to choose from. From the absurd to the sublime, Christmas has become part of our shared cinematic heritage, so stay in, hug someone you love tightly, and enjoy the season of screen magic.

Happy Holidays!