JonParker

> Another movie that came to mind is about a doctor who > gives a man a pill to take. With time, he becomes > smaller and smaller. The movie is "The Incredible > Shrinking Man". Actually it's an accidental combination of exposure to radioactivity and insecticide that causes him to shrink. That's a really excellent movie though.

> Irish-themed classic Hollywood movies, especially > ones with full-sized leprechauns, like "Luck of the > Irish." Or "Leprechaun in the Hood"? > Both Pee-Wee Herman movies. ("Something you'd like > to share with the rest of us, Amazing Larry????") I love love love Pee Wee. "Big Top Pee Wee" was not nearly as good as "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" though.

Alice Terry. Lillian Gish Kay Francis Modern times: Christina Ricci and Thora Birch

Mine is easy: The Passion of Joan of Arc. This movie is a masterpiece in every way. > The last movie to bring a tear to my eye and > choke me up with a big lump in my throat was, > Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001). I know a lot of people who have said that and I just don't get it. SPOILERS David is, after all, a machine. He is programmed to be loved as a child, and has no other real purpose. Even over thousands of years he fails to progress beyond his programming, illustrating that while his experience is capable of growth, his "emotions" are not real. That really takes away the ability of the movie to cause tears, since the protagonist has as much in the way of real feelings as an alarm clock or a cell phone. Any emotional investment we have in David is strictly anthropomorphized.

I loved that quote. I lived in OKC for quite a while, then moved to Ravia (as I mentioned in the Dale Robertson thread). My dad is from NE OK. His prize possession is his Hooker 25 year reunion baseball cap.

> Cool! How nice to see pics of one of our own. Your > grandmother seems a pistol, you go girl! And Happy > Birthday. She is indeed, not to mention that I don't think she looks anywhere near 90. > > So a live journal is like a blog? Yeah. It differs from a traditional blog in that it allows easy linking of friends. Their posts appear onn one page so you can keep up with all posts made to their LJs. Most of the people on my friends list are my real life friends.

Not that this has too much to do with Dale Robertson, but I used to live on a piece of the old Autry spread in Ravia.

Great site on Emo The absolute best Project Runway blog. Also covers ANTM, his cat, and other topics. It's very funny. My own Live Journal. Content warning: contains some strong language, political ranting and photos of yours truly.

" The Big Sleep " remake was a > bore and a hack work, in the worst way. In fairness, it was Bogey, Bacall and cinematographer Sid Hickox that carried the first one. I love Chandler, but that plot is a mess.

My r.a.b. friends (those into tattoos, body piercings and the like) have a saying: the difference between people with tattoos and people without is that the people with them don't care that others choose not to get them. This thread seems to illustrate that perfectly. For Fred and some others the fact that TCM has movies that don't fit their idea of what the channel should show is offensive. It doesn't matter that TCM is still showing stuff that fits their personal definition of "classic," just the existence of things they won't watch is reason for outrage. There's just not a whole lot you can do with people like that, especially if they insist on using terms like "sluts" and saying things like "I know I'm right." They're sort of like Bush supporters -- no matter how divorced from reality they are, you can't convince them otherwise. Best just to let them alone and hope they wake up eventually.

The excellent lzcutter posted a great response to this sort of question here. It should be made a sticky thread, IMO.

It's a great movie. Until that time you should try reading his books. They're available from Amazon, or you could try getting them at your local library. I especially recommend "Pop. 1280," which is Thompson at the top of his game. All of the others mentioned below as being movies are well worth reading as well.

> Thompson sounds interesting, JonParker. > > I can still see the scene in The > Grifters in my mind's eye. I'm sorry not having > seen After Dark My Sweet, especially if it is > similar. "After Dark My Sweet" is actually better than "The Grifters." I would love to see TCM do a Jim Thompson spotlight, featuring "The Killing" and "Paths of Glory," the French "Coup de Torchon" (based on Pop. 1280), Steve McQueen's "The Getaway," which was also based on a Thompson novel, and maybe Stacy Keach in "The Killer Inside Me." It will probably never happen, but I can dream.

> I thought he was also good in "The Killing", which I > believe came out in '56. It's recognized as a great > film noir that also stars Elisha Cook Jr. I keep meaning to catch this but haven't yet. It's notable in that the script is attributed to Kubrick, but apparently he didn't actually write it. The bulk of the script was done by Jim Thompson, who was in my view the best crime novelist who ever lived. Thompson was credited for "additional dialogue." Later Thompson worked for Kubrick again on the script for "Paths of Glory," receiving a co-writer credit even though he once again did the bulk of the work. Thompson's novels are fantastic, sordid peeks into the minds of criminals and psychpaths. There are no sympathetic characters in them -- everyone is working an angle. They are well worth reading, especially "The Killer Inside Me," "Pop. 180," "After Dark My Sweet" and "The Grifters." The latter two were made into movies in the early 90s. Sorry for going off-topic, but I couldn't resist.

The single most important thing to do about trolls is to ignore them. Just continue the discussion as if nothing happened. If people do respond, PM them or post in the thread politely asking them not to. Trolls thrive on seeing people get upset. Refusing to play is like depriving a fire of oxygen. There are several things the admin can do, depending on the capabilities of the message board software. But rather than wait for that to happen all the regulars need to take a vow that they won't respond, period. Educate new people or those who come here infrequently. If there's no reaction, there's no trolls.

> Yes....but. Is it a coincidence then that it began > when TCM changed their audience focus? > > What DID bring this creep here? And I repeat the > question, why can't this creep's IP address be > blocked? I'd have to say yes, it is a coincidence. If you'll remember, I was debating HE OF MANY NAMES on the Rob Zombie thing -- I was for it, he was against it. Now, you could probably call me based on my music listening habits a punk goth (creep is a value judgement that I will leave to others). But I'm also a fan of pre-codes and silents, and I'm at least reasonably knowledgable about them. I actually agree with the rest of your post -- I'd love to see the IP blocked, and I love the free speech on the board. It should be that way. But the fact is that Fred once again cannot back up anything he says. The reasonable people have been pleading for civility here, and he comes along and posts something inflammatory that stops just short of being troll bait. It's easy to ignore the out and out trolls -- it's more difficult when it's coming from intelligent people who can make valuable contributions to the discussions here when they want to.

> TCM has been running that tattooed **** promo all day > today, and the more trashy stuff like that they air, > the more rude creeps we will be seeing on this > message board. I'd like to see one shred of evidence that any of the rudeness here was committed by "punk goth creeps" who were attracted here by "trashy cult film baloney." Show me just one. I dare you. Seems to me it's been people here discussing classic films.

I haven't seen it anywhere. I have a good DVD-R of it, but it's not commercially available at all.

Wow, those are almost exactly opposite of my tastes. I've never seen Titanic, Brokeback Mountain or All that Jazz. I love Tarantino, Cabaret and Nosferatu. Don't much care for Woody.

As I understand it, the version of Baby Face will be the newly restored complete version as it existed prior to being censored. I think TCM is supposed to show it at some point as well.

That's an improvement, but it would be even better if "Citizen Kane" and "Texas Chainsaw massacre" switched places.

> I'll play too! > OMG that's the best list ever.

Jewel Robbery is a must-see. It's a great movie from start to finish.

> I don't mind "The Graduate" so much because at least > it had some good acting in it. But "Easy Rider"???? > IS there a more tendious movie than this one??? There probably isn't a more tedious movie, but it was influential. > And while it may deserve to be in the list, I really > cannot abide "Citizen Kane" as the best film ever > made. What a snoozefest that one is! Amen. > > 1. While I do not 'hate' the 70's and believe there > were a few bright spots there, I don't think it was > the strongest decade for film making. Given a choice > between the 70's, 80's, and 90's, I'd rank them in > reverse order. I think the 70s were very strong. The Godfather (1 & 2), Mean Streets, Boxcar Bertha and Taxi Driver from Scorcese, Star Wars ... there's a huge list. I think the shape of movies changes a lot during this decade. > > 2. Silents: I saw my first silent film about a year > ago - "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" and have > spent alot of time over the past year rooting around > in the silents. Bravo! I'm madly in love with the whole silent era. All the ones you mentioned are great. Be sure to check out the European directors like Murnau, Fritz Lang and Dreyer. I think it was the most creative and interesting period in film history.

I actually took the time to watch "Transgression" last night. Once into it I realized I had seen it before. I didn't much like it. Kay's character is just stupid in this one. Watching her relationship with Ricardo Cortez develop is like watching a car wreck in slow motion -- it's perfectly obvious that he's a slimeball from the beginning. Songbird2 was absolutely right about her looking chic, but Kay always looked chic. I prefer her as strong, intelligent and chic rather than whimpering, dumb and chic though. The only character I really adored was Paul Cavanaugh at the end. What a great guy! Also, I just really hate Ricardo Cortez in general.