High upon a hillside, A preacher tells a story to a crowd

Okay, let's talk about the films from which I took the lines that nobody guessed. Links will lead you to more opinions and information about the movies, some by me, some by others.

This is the last line of this film, but is sometimes cut from commercial television broadcasts, which has the effect of hollowing the whole film out as far as I'm concerned:


"You can't come in here."

It is a biopic, and has the name of the person it's about in its title.

Oh, allright, that person was a comic...

...The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.

"Did you ever dream about a place you never really recall being to before? A place that maybe only exists in your imagination? Some place far away, half remembered when you wake up. When you were there, though, you knew the language. You knew your way around. *That* was the sixties. [pause] No. It wasn't that either. It was just '66 and early '67. That's all there was."

...is from a film associated with a man who is making out like a bandit at the moment.

...The Limey, directed by Steven Soderbergh, currently a winner at the box office with Ocean's 13. Get it?

"I'm gettin' too old for this shit."

I don't mean any of the Lethal Weapon movies. However, that doesn't mean at least one of the stars of that series wasn't involved with this film...

...Maverick. Okay, so maybe watching this movie isn't quite as pleasant as it used to be now that we know what we know about its stars. But if that doesn't get in the way of your enjoyment, it can still be a lot of fun.

(a teenaged boy is watching a woman in her late 30's take clean laundry out of a basket)

Boy: Can I eat you out?
Woman: Not now. Folding.

...is from one of those controversial movies that tries to mix explict sex and real drama.

Namely, Ken Park.



This is the only one of these films that I don't necessarily recommend. It's not the explicit sex that makes it a failure--actually those scenes are well-shot-- it's the drama, or rather melodrama, of the story.

I thought the same director's Kids and especially Bully were at least somewhat underrated. But here the whole thing is so extreme that it sacrifices credibility. He does give us at least one or two characters to care about, but at least as many unpleasant ones. And fails to give any of them anything really engaging to do.

I do like that dialogue exchange, though.

"Hello, Mr. Griffith."
"Hello, Mrs. Page."

...is from a movie starring a frequent host of Saturday Night Live.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles, starring Steve Martin & John Candy. If you don't know the movie, don't watch this clip. But if you do know the movie, and just forgot the lines, please enjoy the ending again with me. I always, but always cry.



A couple of other notes: The music playing over the scenes of Martin on the train is an instrumental of the song "Power To Believe" by Dream Academy. One or two of you long-timers might recognize the lyric, I tend to post it when I'm feeling most hopeless.

And I've always admired the performance of Laila Robins, who plays Mrs. Page. She took what could have been the very definition of a thankless role-"the wife"-and found riches in it.

(man to his dying son)

"Pesaram, I am here!"

...is from a film starring someone who both I, and homosexual women apparently, feel is one of the beautiful people.

Sigh. If you people had better memories than goldfish, this hint might have worked. The film is House Of Sand And Fog, starring Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley.

"You'll be hung!"
"Oh I am, I am, and very well thank you."

...is from a movie starring a former juvenile lead in a family drama who never quite launched an adult career. This movie didn't help. It's one of those treasured by people who love bad movies, sometimes painfully bad, and a guilty pleasure of mine.

I really can't believe not one of you got this one. I'm talking about, of course, The Pirate Movie.



Hm, Did I say Ken Park was the only one of these films I wouldn't recommend? Pirate Movie is bad on any number of levels-but at least Ted Hamilton's Pirate King, who delivers the punchline in question, seemed to be having fun. And that is fun to watch.

But, there is that whole bad-on-any-number-of-levels thing, and Hamilton was also the executive producer.

And finally,

Woman: Have you broken something?
Man: Only my tailor's heart.
[She kisses him]
Man: What was that for?
Woman: For saving my life.
Man: Remind me to do it more often.

...is from a movie with music by John Barry...

I think Moonraker is a film most "serious" Bond fans would rather forget.

I've gone back and forth on it myself. It was the first Bond I ever saw, when I was like seven so all it was to me was a fun movie.

Even if, at that age, I didn't quite understand why all those ladies kept getting in the way.

FF some eight years later when, heavily influnced by the Edgar-nominated book The James Bond Bedside Companion, I renounced the more humorous films and insisted on the "serious" ones.

Like Goldfinger.

I was a bit of an stereotypical anal-retentively obsessed fan, really.

But recently, I've found myself noticing something. One or another of the cable channels runs a "salute to 007" seemingly every month.

I still like films like Dr. No and The Living Daylights; I'll watch them almost any time.

But the movies I most often find myself watching again are the ones that are just good fun and terrific experiences.

Like this one, or Diamonds Are Forever. I even think Die Another Day was more adroit than most people seem to feel.

Meanwhile, a film like For Your Eyes Only, which "serious" fans tend to think is the best of the Moores--puts me right to sleep...