Jim!...Hey, Jim!...I'm in trouble over PLEASANTVILLE again.
Pike, I can see you feel strongly about the movie; I don't, and I suggest we just agree to disagree. I'm happy to say I support your opinion that GROUNDHOG DAY is not just another comedy. It is a deeper and more important movie than many who saw it realise. That's why I placed it first on my list of Ten Seriously Funny Movies .
Thanks for taking the trouble to list the stories. I've read the Simak, the Ellison, the Russell, the Campbell, the Merrill, the Clarke, and the LeGuin. I think you underrate the Campbell, but it is the oldest story there, I think.
And I see you're a true sf fan: all true fans have ratings systems; mine involves stars out of five, which, counting half-stars, gives you ten grades - twenty is cutting it a bit fine, I think.
No problem Bertie, I'm always ready to agree on disagrement, but I'm also ready for a discussion if you feel like it. And I'm sorry, but I just have to say that I think that both "The Truman Show" and "Pleasantville" deserve a place on your "seriously funny movies" list.
Among the short stories I like NEMESIS (not his best, mind you, but I have a weakness for stories that take place over very long periods of time), THE FIRES WITHIN (about a new life-form found beneath Earth's crust), and THE STAR (one of his most irreligious but most-anthologised stories). The story that's probably his most anthologised, THE NINE BILLION NAMES OF GOD, is good, but I consider it to be fantasy rather than sf.
Jim, the Dreamcast movie I'd love to see is I AM LEGEND, starring Mel Gibson. Existing versions are THE OMEGA MAN [71], starring Charlton Heston, and THE LAST MAN ON EARTH [64], starring Vincent Price. TOM is probably my favourite Guilty Pleasure.
I can't say enough good about all of these books: I think children's books are so refreshing because unlike adult fiction, whose writers often loose the point they are writing about, children's authors write from the heart, and write to teach children how to live.
I'm afraid I've never read either author. Another series that has been suggested to me but which I haven't had time to get into is the "Redwall" series by Brian Jacques.
I have only seen "Glory" twice, but I enjoyed it. I'm afraid I don't know how truthful it is, but if nothing else it is a vehicle for some great actors. I thought beach setting for the final assult was arresting in its uniqueness. The Civil War was fought in 10,000 places, but I often forget the land invasions.
Bertie--I've read most of King's work published before @ 1995, then I got out of his stuff. Truth to tell, "The Stand" barely squeezed out "The Dark Tower" series in my opinion. I didn't include it because I think "The Gunslinger" and "The Drawing of the Three" are hard to get though or get interested in. I loved "The Waste Lands" as well as "Wizard and Glass". How's that poem go? "Bird and bear and hare and fish, give my love her fondest wish..."
"Pleasantville" isn't just another comedy for me and I don't understand how can you look at it that way. Just like "The Truman Show" isn't just another comedy, or "Groundhog Day". It made me cry on several occasions which is something a regular comedy does not do, now is it? And if "Pleasantville" doesn't have real emotions, please tell me which one does so I can see it right away. It's one of the most beautiful, subtle and heart-warming movies in the last decade and in the same time very, very funny. Such movies are pretty rare, I'd say.
Thank you. I'm glad you liked my list and you're right. It is a subset of my best of the nineties list and "All About My Mother" is at no. 21, written in Spanish. "Out of Sight" is at no. 60 of my list and I only posted the best 50, because I thought all 100 (which is the full list) would be too long.
It has been a long time since I read any of Clarke's short stories, so I can't remember any distinct titles--any suggestions?
as for "The City and the Stars" I have read both versions and (I think I am right here) "...Stars" was the remake of "Against...". I think Clarke's second try at it was much smoother. I've also read "Beyond the Fall of Night"...not so good.
Have to disagree strongly on PLEASANTVILLE. Sure, it was technically well done, but the ending takes forever and drips with sentimentality. As a wise man once said, sentimentality is what you have when you don't have real feelings. I can see how comedy can lead to sentimentality, as it often does, but it should never be allowed to. For me, a good comedy is utterly ruined by a sentimental ending. Puff, pant, gasp...okay, I've had my rant for today.
Wow! William Gibson and James Hilton on the same list. Can you say 'eclectic'?
How much King have you read? I prefer IT to THE STAND. The latest of his I've read is BAG OF BONES, in which I was very disappointed. However, the second-latest I've read, DESPERATION, is classic King - fully recommended.
Excellent lists! One thing I'd note . . . This list seems to be a subset of your "movies of the nineties" list, but All About My Mother and Out of Sight don't appear on the "nineties" list.
Glad to see Out of Sight included though; great movie!
1989, thanks for the catch. While I haven't seen Olivier's Henry V, I've seen other plays with him, and I've never been particularly impressed. But to be fair, that is probably because I've never seen him live. I imagine he shines onstage, but watching him do Shakespeare on video leaves me cold.
Branagh's liplessness never bothered me before, but now I won't be able to watch his stuff without thinking of it. Thanks alot. :-)
It's not a movie, but I just got reminded of the single most jarring line in the entire five-year run of Babylon 5: "As my great-grandfather would say, COOL!"
It's not just *jarring*, it's wrong, especially in a sci-fi series that actually managed to pull out some great dialogue. Personal favorite: "I'm sorry, Captain. We thought you were dead." "I was... I got better."
"Heart and Soul", T'Pau. Definitely the best song ever performed by a band named after an elderly Vulcan, at least until that guy at Polygram finds out about my new band, Surak and the Saaviks.
Here's what we might call the converse of this list . You'll see in the comments that I almost hit upon your brilliant idea before you did. But "almost" is as good as a mile - to coin a phrase.
Actually this list came about exactly as my comments suggest. What I didn't add was that this was several years ago and the Listology gave me a vehicle to share this foolishness with others. I visited the list you mentioned and made a couple of suggestions.
It was all the abuse and pity, but no one stopping it or fighting. That is what gets me the most
Jim!...Hey, Jim!...I'm in trouble over PLEASANTVILLE again.
Pike, I can see you feel strongly about the movie; I don't, and I suggest we just agree to disagree. I'm happy to say I support your opinion that GROUNDHOG DAY is not just another comedy. It is a deeper and more important movie than many who saw it realise. That's why I placed it first on my list of Ten Seriously Funny Movies .
Thanks for taking the trouble to list the stories. I've read the Simak, the Ellison, the Russell, the Campbell, the Merrill, the Clarke, and the LeGuin. I think you underrate the Campbell, but it is the oldest story there, I think.
And I see you're a true sf fan: all true fans have ratings systems; mine involves stars out of five, which, counting half-stars, gives you ten grades - twenty is cutting it a bit fine, I think.
Haven't read the "Dark Tower" series, because I have an irrational prejudice against series novels; I prefer stand-alone novels.
Btw, I'm bound to say that Ursula LeGuin has written better novels than the one you list. Have you read her THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS?
No problem Bertie, I'm always ready to agree on disagrement, but I'm also ready for a discussion if you feel like it. And I'm sorry, but I just have to say that I think that both "The Truman Show" and "Pleasantville" deserve a place on your "seriously funny movies" list.
Among the short stories I like NEMESIS (not his best, mind you, but I have a weakness for stories that take place over very long periods of time), THE FIRES WITHIN (about a new life-form found beneath Earth's crust), and THE STAR (one of his most irreligious but most-anthologised stories). The story that's probably his most anthologised, THE NINE BILLION NAMES OF GOD, is good, but I consider it to be fantasy rather than sf.
Jim, the Dreamcast movie I'd love to see is I AM LEGEND, starring Mel Gibson. Existing versions are THE OMEGA MAN [71], starring Charlton Heston, and THE LAST MAN ON EARTH [64], starring Vincent Price. TOM is probably my favourite Guilty Pleasure.
I can't say enough good about all of these books: I think children's books are so refreshing because unlike adult fiction, whose writers often loose the point they are writing about, children's authors write from the heart, and write to teach children how to live.
I'm afraid I've never read either author. Another series that has been suggested to me but which I haven't had time to get into is the "Redwall" series by Brian Jacques.
I have only seen "Glory" twice, but I enjoyed it. I'm afraid I don't know how truthful it is, but if nothing else it is a vehicle for some great actors. I thought beach setting for the final assult was arresting in its uniqueness. The Civil War was fought in 10,000 places, but I often forget the land invasions.
LOL! This list makes a fine companion-piece to the Cinema Cliches (villains section) List Jim found.
Bertie--I've read most of King's work published before @ 1995, then I got out of his stuff. Truth to tell, "The Stand" barely squeezed out "The Dark Tower" series in my opinion. I didn't include it because I think "The Gunslinger" and "The Drawing of the Three" are hard to get though or get interested in. I loved "The Waste Lands" as well as "Wizard and Glass". How's that poem go? "Bird and bear and hare and fish, give my love her fondest wish..."
"Pleasantville" isn't just another comedy for me and I don't understand how can you look at it that way. Just like "The Truman Show" isn't just another comedy, or "Groundhog Day". It made me cry on several occasions which is something a regular comedy does not do, now is it? And if "Pleasantville" doesn't have real emotions, please tell me which one does so I can see it right away. It's one of the most beautiful, subtle and heart-warming movies in the last decade and in the same time very, very funny. Such movies are pretty rare, I'd say.
Thank you. I'm glad you liked my list and you're right. It is a subset of my best of the nineties list and "All About My Mother" is at no. 21, written in Spanish. "Out of Sight" is at no. 60 of my list and I only posted the best 50, because I thought all 100 (which is the full list) would be too long.
It has been a long time since I read any of Clarke's short stories, so I can't remember any distinct titles--any suggestions?
as for "The City and the Stars" I have read both versions and (I think I am right here) "...Stars" was the remake of "Against...". I think Clarke's second try at it was much smoother. I've also read "Beyond the Fall of Night"...not so good.
Have to disagree strongly on PLEASANTVILLE. Sure, it was technically well done, but the ending takes forever and drips with sentimentality. As a wise man once said, sentimentality is what you have when you don't have real feelings. I can see how comedy can lead to sentimentality, as it often does, but it should never be allowed to. For me, a good comedy is utterly ruined by a sentimental ending. Puff, pant, gasp...okay, I've had my rant for today.
Wow! William Gibson and James Hilton on the same list. Can you say 'eclectic'?
How much King have you read? I prefer IT to THE STAND. The latest of his I've read is BAG OF BONES, in which I was very disappointed. However, the second-latest I've read, DESPERATION, is classic King - fully recommended.
Did you know there are two versions of THE CITY AND THE STARS? - the other version is titled AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT.
I would include CHILDHOOD'S END and A FALL OF MOONDUST on this list. And what about short stories? - any favourites?
What stories did you like in The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of the 20th Century? - and who edited it, btw?
Excellent lists! One thing I'd note . . . This list seems to be a subset of your "movies of the nineties" list, but All About My Mother and Out of Sight don't appear on the "nineties" list.
Glad to see Out of Sight included though; great movie!
1989, thanks for the catch. While I haven't seen Olivier's Henry V, I've seen other plays with him, and I've never been particularly impressed. But to be fair, that is probably because I've never seen him live. I imagine he shines onstage, but watching him do Shakespeare on video leaves me cold.
Branagh's liplessness never bothered me before, but now I won't be able to watch his stuff without thinking of it. Thanks alot. :-)
It's not a movie, but I just got reminded of the single most jarring line in the entire five-year run of Babylon 5: "As my great-grandfather would say, COOL!"
It's not just *jarring*, it's wrong, especially in a sci-fi series that actually managed to pull out some great dialogue. Personal favorite: "I'm sorry, Captain. We thought you were dead." "I was... I got better."
"Heart and Soul", T'Pau. Definitely the best song ever performed by a band named after an elderly Vulcan, at least until that guy at Polygram finds out about my new band, Surak and the Saaviks.
Here's what we might call the converse of this list . You'll see in the comments that I almost hit upon your brilliant idea before you did. But "almost" is as good as a mile - to coin a phrase.
Actually this list came about exactly as my comments suggest. What I didn't add was that this was several years ago and the Listology gave me a vehicle to share this foolishness with others. I visited the list you mentioned and made a couple of suggestions.