Once upon a time a boy moved from NJ to CA, hence NJtoCA. Now he's in Austin, TX
The old man of the boards (yeah, I remember getting sent home from school when JFK was shot).
Some Lists:
Some best though not necessarily favorite films...1. Schindler's List (1993)
2. Nashville (1975)
3. The Godfather (1972)
4. Breaking the Waves (1996)
5. The Wizard of OZ (1939)
6. Das Boot (1981)
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
8. Annie Hall (1977)
9. Greed (1925)
10. Napoleon (1927)
Some favorite though not necessarily what I consider as best films...Back to the Future
City of Lost Children
A Hard Day's Night
The Graduate
Smoke
Smoke Signals
This is Spinal Tap
Das Boot
Run Lola Run
Do the Right Thing
American Beauty
Some of the funniest films...Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Ruthless People (1986)
Sleeper (1973)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Lost in America (1985)
Duck Soup (1933)
Roger & Me (1989)
Take the Money and Run (1969)
Airplane! (1980)
Silent Movie
Spaceballs
Some overlooked films (not Documentary)...Allegro non troppo (1976) Better than Fantasia and a lot funnier.
Life Is Sweet (1990) - Bittersweet, touching film by the U.K.'s Mike Leigh
Resurrection (1980) - Brilliantly underplayed, with Ellen Burstyn as a healer
Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980) - The 'Big Chill' without the glitz
Risky Business (1983) - fun teen fantasy film with a youg Tom Cruise
Smoke (1995) - Harvey Keitel at his best
Smoke Signals (1998) - Native American buddy road film
Stunt Man, The (1980) - Mysterious happenings on the set, with Peter O'Toole as a mysterious director
Tampopo (1986) - Sexy Japanese spaghetti western with noodles
Tender Mercies (1983) - Low key Americana with Robert Duvall
Babe: Pig in the City (1998) It would have been better for this surreal, dark film, if Babe I had never been made.
Defending Your Life (1991) Albert Brooks humorous view of purgatory, with a delightful Meryl Streep
Frankenhooker (1990) Sex, dismemberment, but mostly humor
A Special Day (1977) Mastroiani and Sophia Loren alone in a war-evacuated town
High Art (1998) Ally Sheedy is excellent as a lesbian photographer, and the supporting cast is right on
Patti Rocks (1988) If you could handle the misogyny of &In the Company of Men,& this is a good companion piece
Scarecrow (1973) Pacino and Hackman excel as they travel cross country
Smash Palace (1981) Difficult film about an obsessed man and his family in New Zealand
Sweet Lorraine (1987) Low key story of a small Catskill resort, with Maureen Stapleton
Central Station (1998) Moving and unsentimental, a woman takes a motherless boy to find his father
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987) - A serious take on the life of Karen Carpenter, starring Barbie and Ken Dolls!
Films I hate that everyone loves...Star Wars IV: A New Hope (1977)
The Thin Red Line
Good Will Hunting
Blood Simple
Wall Street
Reds
The Blues Brothers
Boogie Nights
The Natural
Like Water for Chocolate
High Fidelity
Dead Poets Society
Bridget Jones's Diary
Silence of the Lambs
Get Shorty
Other films I absolutely hated...A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
Prizzi's Honor (1985)
Metropolitan (1990)
The Karate Kid, Part II (1986)
Dumb & Dumber (1994)
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Bolero
Favorite documentaries...Gates of Heaven (1978) - Fascinating study of two California pet cemeteries, by Errol Morris
Murderball (2005) - Intense look at the players on the U.S. Paralympic players and the people around them as they compete at the highest level
Man on Wire (2008) - incredible story of an unbelievable event
Best Boy (1979) Excellent, touching story of a 53-year old retarded man who lives with dying parents and needs to become independent
Times of Harvey Milk, The (1984) - The life of the gay San Francisco supervisor who was gunned down along with mayor Moscone by Dan White. Before Milk, there was this.
Dreams With Sharp Teeth (2008) - Documentary on writer Harlan Ellison, who is sharp-tongued and hilarious. An amazing guy who has no self-censorship button.
Throw Down Your Heart (2008) - Banjo player Bela Fleck takes his banjo to Africa to try to find its ancestral roots and to play with musicians in 5 very different locations in Africa, all the while learning about their cultures and the slave trade. The title? Tanzanians, who had never before seen the ocean, knew that if they saw the beach, they would never see home or family again. Great, joyful soundtrack.
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) - What really happened? Whom do you believe?
Berkeley in the '60s (1990) - The chronology of Berkeley, from the free speech movement to the Vietnam protests
Day After Trinity, The (1980) - the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who developed the atomic bomb and then realized its horrors
Brother's Keeper (1992) - A simpleminded man accused of murdering his brother
Malcolm X (1972) - Just a documentary on his life
Roger & Me (1989) - Michael Moore's sarcastic look at General Motors' role in creating and leaving Flint, Michigan
Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999) - Story of an infuriating little man who went from designing electric chairs to being a Nazi apologist. Another great one by Errol Morris.
Baraka (1992) - Wordless study of man, his rituals throughout the world, and nature.
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991) - The surreal and horrific making of Apocalypse Now.
Image of an Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film (1998) - Lets you study the tape until your head splits
Pumping Iron (1977) Behind the scenes of a bodybuilding contest, with Arnold and Lou Ferrigno
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979) - Best of Pryor.
Say Amen, Somebody (1982) - window into the lives of young and old Gospel singers
Stop Making Sense (1984) - Jonathan Demme's unusual view of a Talking Heads concert
Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959) - Donald Duck talks math
Sherman's March (1986) - A filmmaker follows the path taken by General Sherman, but he and his love life become the subjects of the film.
Favorite movie characters...1. Nigel Tufnel - This is Spinal Tap (These go to eleven)
2. Maude - Harold and Maude
3. Bridget Gregory - The Last Seduction
4. HAL9000 - 2001
5. Miette - City of Lost Children
6. Ed Gentry - Deliverance
7. Michael Corleone - The Godfather
8. Bess McNeill - Breaking the Waves
9. Lola - Run Lola Run
10. Edna McCauley - Resurrection
11. Sam Stone - Ruthless People
12. Dottie Hinson - A League of Their Own
13. Finbar McBride – The Station Agent
14. Miles Monroe - Sleeper
15. The Scarecrow - Wizard of OZ
16. Dr. Peter Venkman - Ghostbusters
17. Reggie Hammond - 48 Hrs
18. Allison Reynolds - The Breakfast Club
19. Eric Draven - The Crow
20. Pinky - Duck Soup
21. Amelie Poulain - Amelie
22. T800 – The Terminator
23. Xixo - The Gods Must Be Crazy
24. Joe Buck - Midnight Cowboy
25. Ninotchka (Nina Ivanovna Yakushova) - Ninotchka
26. Dedee Truitt - The Opposite of Sex
27. Derek Flint - Our Man Flint
28. Inigo Montoya - The Princess Bride
29. William Canfield Jr. - Steamboat Bill, Jr.
30. Suzanne Stone Maretto - To Die For
31. Terry Prescott - You Can Count On Me
32. Sonny - Dog Day Afternoon
33. Lee - Enter the Dragon
Favorite TV Shows...1. The Sopranos
2. Seinfeld
3. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
4. The Prisoner
5. Mad Men
6. The Twilight Zone
7. Star Trek TOS
8. The Dick Van Dyke Show
9. Leave It to Beaver
10. Buffalo Bill (Dabney Coleman, Geena Davis)
11. Alive From Off Center (PBS Avant Garde show)
12. Your Show of Shows
13. St. Elsewhere
14. Siskel & Ebert
15. SNL 1975-1979
16. Cheers
17. Pardon the Interruption
18. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
19. Hill St. Blues
Favorite TV characters...1. Tony Soprano – The Sopranos
2. Spock – Star Trek
3. Elaine Marie Benes – Seinfeld
4. Don Draper – Mad Men
5. Ed Norton – Honeymooners
6. Darlene Conner – Roseanne
7. Bugs Bunny - "The Looney Tunes Show"
8. Frank Costanza - Seinfeld
9. Ralph Kramden - Honeymooners
10. Rob Petrie – The Dick Van Dyke Show
11. Wally Cleaver – Leave It to Beaver
12. Number 6 – The Prisoner
13. Lisa Simpson – The Simpsons
14. Herbert T. Gillis – The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
15. Diane Chambers - Cheers
And the songs I love...1. Layla (Derek & the Dominoes)
2. It's Only Love (Beatles)
3. Oliver's Army (Elvis Costello)
4. One Night in Bangkok (Murray Head)
5. Black Magic Woman (Santana)
6. I Feel Fine (Beatles)
7. Big Log (Robert Plant)
8. Feel Irie (Lucky Dube)
9. With You There to Help Me (Jethro Tull)
10. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Beatles)
And yes, I have User Comments on some filmshttp://www.imdb.com/user/ur0003394/comments
