Line(s) of the Day #ShoelessJoe

Three years ago at dusk on a sunny evening, when the sky was a robin’s-egg’s blue and the wind was as soft as a day-old chick, I was sitting on the verandah of my farm home in eastern Iowa when a voice very clearly said to me, “If you build it he will come.”

As said by the story’s narrator John Kinsella in the magic realism book Shoeless Joe (1982). W.P. Kinsella’s novel, which wonderfully tells of an Iowa farmer building a farm so as to see the spirits of legendary baseball players, was famously adapted for the 1989 film Field of Dreams.

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Film Quizzes: My Favourite Films Part 1

I’ve done so many film quizzes since this early feature on New York, that I thought I’d continue the bloggerversary theme by putting films that just blew me away when I first saw them. Originally I thought about putting a mix of good and bad films, but I’ll save the shockers for another day. Whether they had me in hysterics, the edge of my seat, in deep thought or close to tears, these films really left an impression when I first saw them. Unsurprisingly I couldn’t fit them all into  one post, so look out for part 2 soon.

  Film 1.

  Film 2

  Film 3

  Film 4

  Film 5

  Film 6

  Film 7

  Film 8

  Film 9

  Film 10

  Film 11

  Film 12

   Film 13

  Film 14

  Film 15

Answers below

Awards/Notifications: Liebster Time

An awards post now. My thanks to the ever awesome Vinnie who continues to entertain, educate and impress on his stylish blog, for the nomination. You should definitely hop on over if you haven’t already.

I’ll have to skip the 11 fun facts for reasons of time, but I’ll happily answer Vinnie’s questions and provide my own for nominees.

Film Quizzes: James Horner

It was with a very heavy heart that I heard of the death of legendary composer James Horner. An avid pilot, Horner was alone on his small S-312 Tucano MK1 plane when it crashed within a remote area of the Los Padres National Forest, about 100 miles from Los Angeles. Composing since the 1970s, Horner won 10 Academy nominations throughout his long career, winning twice for his work on Titanic. In his time within Hollywood, Horner worked with some of the industry’s biggest directors, including Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, George Lucas, Ron Howard, James Cameron and Terence Malick.

Ruth at Flixchatter posted a lovely tribute about her favourite musical pieces, and below is my own tribute to the man himself. Like with Robin Williams, it isn’t about super hard clues but more of a celebration of the wide range of films he worked on.

 (1980s)

 (1980s)

 (1980s)

 (1980s)

 (1980s)

 (1990s)

 (1990s)

 (1990s)

 (2000s)

 (2000s)

 (2000s)

 (2000s)

Answers

Gr8at – Desert Island Films

What three records would you like if you were stuck on a desert island?
The long distance swimming record would be a good start!

Assuming that wouldn’t work,  I’d set up a makeshift chair, split open a coconut and enjoy some very fine movies. Here are my Gr8at films if I was stuck on a desert island.

The Third Man

My favourite ever film so no chance I could miss this out. It was released in 1949 and it’s still a joy to the senses. The dialogue is outrageously sharp, the cinematography sublime, the directing imaginative and the acting of the highest calibre. A thought-provoking classic of what the fascination and drawbacks are of being immoral, and what affects it has for those caught in the middle.

Clerks

I’m always amazed when I run into people who haven’t seen this film. The Naked Gun trilogy, Airplane and the Marx Brothers set are all super funny, but Clerks is still the film that makes me laugh most. The glorious cynicism in two friends in dead-end jobs dealing with a whole spectrum of customers would be a fun way to while away time on a desert island.

Field of Dreams

I’m a huge sports fan, but have never come close to understanding people’s love of baseball. But Field of Dreams is a film that really does go beyond that. It’s a magical, sentimental and captures the beauty of daydreaming. It’s the kind of upbeat message I’d need if I was to be alone on an island.

Battle Royale

Well I just had to have this on here! It’s such an entertaining film with a brilliant premise. Just what would happen if a group of schoolkids were dropped off in an island and left to fend for themselves? What separates this from just being just an extension of Lord of the Flies is the motives for why they’re there, being both boys and girls, and the use of weapons.

Bridge on the River Kwai

I’ve always loved this film. The idea of how people act when they think no one is watching and just what constitutes a hero has always intrigued me. Add in the superlative Alec Guinness as the misguided Lt. Colonel Nicholson, an epic setting, and a storyline that builds to an explosive crescendo and you have one of the best war films ever.

The Godfather

It’s not too often that a truly great novel becomes a truly great film. The story of the Corleone family is one of cinema’s most phenomenal of achievements and a masterclass of how to adapt a literary classic. It’s also an acting extravaganza that may well be the coolest film ever. With the time I’d have spare, I might finally be able to master the legendary voice too.

Prefontaine

Not that well known in the slightest, and not even the only film to have been made about the star in question, but Prefontaine really is a superb piece of filmmaking I’d hate to go without. It’s still my favourite film for getting inside the mind of an athlete, especially before the era of high-end sponsorship. Deserves far-wider recognition.

Whatever it Takes

For a while I was between Reservoir Dogs and The Dark Knight, but I’d need a lighter movie and ‘Whatever it Takes’ always puts me in a good mood. Though the standard varies wildly, I’ve always had a soft spot for teen movies, and this loose remaking of Cyrano de Bergerac has plenty of laughs.