* * * * (Out of * * * *)
1. Wild Reeds (1994)
2. The Bronte Sisters (1979)
3. The Witnesses (2007)
4. Unforgivable (2012)
5. Thieves (1996)
6. My Favorite Season (1993)
7. I Don’t Kiss (1991)
8. Strayed (2003)
9. The Girl on the Train (2009)
10. Alice and Martin (1998)
(I saw it on an old VHS tape)
11. Rendez-vous (1985)
12. Barocco (1976)
13. In the Name of my Daughter (2014)
14. Hotel America (1981)
15. Changing Times (2004)
16. The Scene of the Crime (1986)
A regular visitor of this site nicknamed JW of the website entitled “Film & Nuance” has nominated me for his alternate version of the “Liebster Award” which according to a blog post on it has nominated me for it. Click on this link for more info: https://filmandnuance.wordpress.com/2016/04/04/liebster-award-2/ This award seems to be one of those recognizes excellence in film blogging or lack thereof. Win or lose, I just want to give a big thank you to him for nominating me because it encourages me to believe that my blog is worth reading despite the fact that a majority of it consists of lists of my favorite films by various directors 🙂 While I am happy to be recognized, I personally feel that their are more deserving candidates than myself. For me, just seeing various people (bloggers or not) visiting this site and either leaving a positive comment or just liking a post is a significant achievement for me alone because it really shows that people find my blog interesting 🙂 Anyway, since I am a nominee, I have given 11 questions below (click on the above link) to answer since it is rule for all of the nominees 🙂
1.) What is your favorite hobby other than blogging(if it already is)? And why do you love it so much?
I love to go swimming because the water feels relaxing 🙂 I also love to watch tons of films via Blu-ray/DVD or just seeing them in the theater.
2.) What are your top 3 movies of all time? And your worst 3?
This had become a very tough question for me. This is not so much due to the fact that I love a lot of films, but it is because I am pretty much a firm believer in the “Auteur theory” which you can read more about on wikipedia (click on this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auteur_theory). At the same time though, If one were to ask me what my top 10 favorite films of all-time were, I would probably feel unsatisfied since for me that is a limited number 🙂 Since I talk about filmmakers a lot on this site though, I will say that as of now, my top 3 favorite filmmakers of all-time are: Robert Altman, Alfred Hitchcock and Akira Kurosawa. As with all of my favorite directors, I have more than 3 favorites, but here goes. My top 3 favorite Robert Altman films would be: Nashville (1975), Short Cuts (1993) and McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971). My top 3 favorite Alfred Hitchcock films would be: The Birds (1963), Psycho (1960) and Vertigo (1958). My top 3 favorite Akira Kurosawa films would be: Throne of Blood (1957), Ikiru (1952) and Rashomon (1950). Luis Bunuel is another favorite, but I have not had the time to rank his films despite the fact that I ranked his films already (I plan on updating it again). I know this answer is more complicated, but I hope I at least provided a fascinating one. As for my top 3 worst films of all-time, their is plenty but here are some worthy candidates: Forrest Gump (1994), Titanic (1997), American Beauty (1999), Gladiator (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2001). I know that was more than three, but I could not resist. What do they all have in common? They have all won the prize for Best Picture sadly. As for worst filmmakers or overrated ones, I would rather not say.
3.) If you had a chance to rewind life to any point in your life, would you? If yes, then to which point in your life? If no, why not?
Probably when I first started the blog back in 2012 because between than and late May of 2015, I seemed to have written glowingly about some films that I now have mixed emotions about (i.e. Boyhood, Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel). That and their are some directors I listed, who are no longer favorites (please note that the names you see in My Greatest Film Directors of All-Time list right now is on-going and I do not mean them).
4.) Name your most anticipated 2016 movies?
As of April 2016, the most anticipated film for me is director Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The BFG which opens this summer in late June/early July I believe. After the back-to-back disappointments of Lincoln (2012) and last year’s Bridge of Spies, I hope this is a return to form especially since the screenwriter of The BFG is the late Melissa Mathison (who also wrote the screenplay to Spielberg’s E.T.).
5.) Recall your favourite childhood memory or a particular instance where you felt overjoyed?
For me, this one can be applied to both childhood and adulthood and that deals with family and friend activities. One example is social gatherings involving friends and family because their is this pure joy that comes out of it due to being with a group of people who either love you (i.e. your family) and those who love to hang out with you (i.e. your friends). 🙂
6.) If you could be any character from any movie/tv series/book, who would you be? And why?
I do not know If their is a character from any movie/tv show/or book that I would want to be because let’s face it their lives are probably as complicated as ours 🙂 Nevertheless, I have always saw myself as a really nice person and the legendary late leading actor Jimmy Stewart was a lot like that. To put it in other words, I had always wanted to be like Jimmy Stewart even though he is a real actor and person and not a character from fiction.
7.) Would you rather lead a safe, conventional and routine life or a life bound only by your own rules? Why?
That is kind of a difficult question because I do live by my own rules, but my own rules come off as worthy as those to a mild-mannered person like myself. Now this is just me speaking, I can not speak for others who live by their own rules because each person who chooses that method does not live by the same rules I do. Since I did describe myself as mild-mannered though, does that mean it is a code word for safe and conventional? 🙂
8.) What are the collectibles (e.g. posters, toys, figurines, plushies etc)/ objects do you have and are most proud of? It could be movie/book related or anything really.
The collectible I am proud of is my Cryptkeeper doll 🙂 Do you remember that great horror anthology show that ran on HBO from 1989-1996 (I own all the seasons on DVD) called Tales from the Crypt? That and every single Blu-ray/DVD that I own 🙂
9.) Walking in the park or walking in the city?
I love to walk in both the park and city areas 🙂
10.) If you could be fluent in one other language, what would it be?
I always wanted to learn how to speak Japanese because I have always been fascinated by Japanese culture and four of my many favorite filmmakers of all-time are Japanese: Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, Kenji Mizoguichi and Shohei Imamura.
11.) Why did you start blogging?
I started to blog back in 2012 because all of my friends said that I should start a blog because my knowledge of film was and still is pretty extensive. So I took the bull by the horn and with a little help from different people, I was able to start this blog up. I owe them a considerable amount of credit because without them, this site would not be possible. Despite the fact that I have written posts that are mostly lists, I hope to go beyond that and write a blog entry that reads like a review or an essay on a genre or filmmaker or something like that. Prior to 2015, visitors on this website was climbing but slowly but last year I started to get more likes on my blog entries and from visitors from all over America and abroad. As long as people have encouraging things to say about my blog and as long as they love what I type, I will remain very happy with this site 🙂 For me that is more satisfying than winning any type of blogging contest 🙂
Those are the answers to my questions. Now I have to let JW know I have the answers up and running on the new blog entry 🙂 If all of you readers are hoping that I win the contest I appreciate it, but as I implied numerous times in this post, I am just happy with the people who come and visit this site and like my posts as well as leaving encouraging replies 🙂
To the average joe, people probably only remember female director/writer Elaine May as the female partner of the late Mike Nichols in their comedy tour “An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May.” At least I believe that is the title? When the two parted their own ways, they each began their directing careers respectively. Here is where the big difference comes in; almost everybody has seen Nichols films, but hardly anyone can remember a May film. This is highly unfortunate because in many ways and despite only four directed films on her resume, May is actually the superior filmmaker. Even though I was no fan of Mike Nichols films (may he rest in peace), I am not trying to bash him as a person or even as a director (though I always found them uninteresting), he was probably a great man at heart. Let us get back to Elaine May though. Her first film, A New Leaf (1971) was originally intended to be a dark romantic comedy drama running a maximum of 180 minutes long, but Paramount head Robert Evans took it away from her and edited it down to 104 minutes. Who knows If the original version still exists (lead actor Walter Matthau reportedly preferred this version), but it still works and Elaine May’s Golden Globe nominated performance is still truly hilarious. In 1972, she was hired to direct The Heartbreak Kid based on a story by Neil Simon. This film opened to both critical and commercial acclaim and Mikey & Nicky followed in 1976. As with A New Leaf, this crime drama staring John Cassavetes and Peter Falk had a troubled production history and according to reports, she was fired and then re-hired quickly. As with her first film, this one was a commercial failure despite critical acclaim. Speaking of production problems, the expensive comedy Ishtar was released in 1987 and was notorious even before it’s release due to cost overruns and mistreatment of the press. The film stared Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman as two bad songwriters who get a singing gig to Morocco and end up involved in political turmoil. Unlike her first three films, Ishtar was not only just a commercial bomb, but it was also a critical failure as well. The film does have it’s defenders though; Jonathan Rosenbaum has come to it’s defense ever since it’s initial release in 87. Sadly, May has not directed another film since than though she has written screenplays for her former partner Mike Nichols; The Birdcage (1996) and Primary Colors (1998). Reportedly, director Stanley Donen is preparing a new film with a script by Elaine May (or is she directing?) and all I can tell you is I hope it actually happens because May did not deserve to be treated so horrible by Hollywood. Now without further ado, I have compiled a list of my favorite films by director/writer May below.
* * * * (Out of * * * *)
1. A New Leaf (1971)
Despite being edited from 180 minutes to 104, A New Leaf still remains a truly witty and subtly observational romantic comedy drama. Aside from being her first feature, Elaine May also co-stars as the woman that Walter Matthau’s character (a soon to be ex-millionaire) tries to marry in order to con her with hilariously disastrous results.
2. Mikey & Nicky (1976)
As with A New Leaf, Mikey & Nicky is another film where Elaine May found herself clashing with Paramount Pictures over. Fired and then re-hired right away, the film has two versions. Either way, this is a deeply fascinating crime drama taking place over one night that deals with a hood (John Cassavetes) trying to get help from one of his fellow buddies (Peter Falk) in repaying a debt to the mob.
3. The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
Elaine May’s biggest commercial success to date is also the only one that garnered Oscar nominations; Eddie Albert and Jeannie Berlin garnered Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress respectively. Based on a Neil Simon story, Charles Grodin stars as a newly married Jewish New Yorker, who while on a Miami honeymoon with his wife (Berlin), sets his eyes on an ingenue (Cybill Shepherd) and follows her all over to her hometown of Minnesota. As in all of May’s films, the result is typically hilarious.
* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)
1. Ishtar (1987)
A notorious flop due not only to it’s critical and commercial failure, but also to it’s costly delays, numerous re-shoots and mismanagement of the press. Nevertheless, it still manages to be laugh out loud funny. The plot has two bad song writers (Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman) hired to perform a gig in Morocco, but end up getting embroiled in political turmoil with a mysterious woman (Isabelle Adjani) catching their eyes. In some ways, this plays out like May’s version of a Hope/Crosby comedy for the 1980’s. Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography is stunning as always and Paul Williams intentionally bad songs are frequently hilarious. Former Chicago Reader film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum’s defense of this film has arguably incited more people to come out and defend it as well.
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