Summer Survey. Katey & JA (Pt. 2)
Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 8:00PM To recap... now that summer movie season 2012 is a wrap, we're polling contributors, friends and YOU about your favorite and least favorite things of the summer. It's just a glass of something light and bubbly to raise, gulp down quickly and bring a little closure before the heavier stuff hits.
In Part 1, we heard from a few good men and here's two more voices for Part 2. Parts 3 and 4 are the podcast this weekend!
KATEY
who you know and love from Cinema Blend and the occasional podcast here...
Best Movie I Saw All Summer:
I'm surprising myself by answering Magic Mike. It's got more confidence, more imagination and more willingness to let it all hang out than most anything else the studio system produced all year.
Scenes I ♥ So Much I Thought My Heart Would Burst:
1) Natasha's interrogation scene at the beginning of The Avengers-- I've always been wishy-washy on Whedon but his feminist credentials are unbeatable. 2) Norman's confrontation with the witch at the end of ParaNorman, some of the most dazzling and daring animation for kids I've ever seen. 3) The completely insane vampire-chase-on-horseback scene in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, a not-very-good movie that I admired for its insane ideas all the same.
At Least The Theater Was Air Conditioned:
Hit & Run. Bad, self-indulgent filmmaking coupled with an awful audience that laughed at every dumb joke that made me cringe.
If Only "Hulk" Had Smashed...:
Battleship, to save Taylor Kitsch from himself.
Mash-Up ~Two Summer Characters I'd Like to Introduce: Hushpuppy from Beasts of the Southern Wild and Snow White from Snow White and the Huntsman, to teach her a thing or two about making your way through nature and asserting your power in a world that wants to shove you down.
Rank the "Magic Mike" Strippers:
I actually wrote an article with this exact ranking!
Jiminy Cricket, he's flown the coop!"
- Edward Norton in Moonrise Kingdom
JA of MNPP
Best Movie I Saw All Summer:
Moonrise Kingdom, which I only fell even more in love with on a second viewing. Everything feels just right, from Frances McDormand's sweater over house-dress ensembles on up. Or maybe Todd Solondz' Dark Horse, which broke my heart into fifty thousand little pieces.
Scenes I ♥ So Much I Thought My Heart Would Burst:
The Lovecraftian C-section to end all Lovecraftian C-sections in Prometheus and all of the stripping sequences in Magic Mike (although it wasn't really the "heart" part of my anatomy that was fit to burst....)
Things I Actually Learned (at summer movie camp!)
1) Joss Whedon should direct every superhero movie from now on (I figured as much beforehand but The Avengers circled and underlined my suspicions)
2) Woody Allen should probably only make a movie every two years.
3) Prostate exams and currency debates can totally add up to sexy.
Princess Merida, Katniss or Hawkeye?
Only one of these people twirled a dress right into flames, and as much as Jeremy Renner wishes, it wasn't him.
Choose only one archer! Katniss, Princess Merida or Hawkeye
The Dark Knight Rises
Christopher Nolan's camera
Best Old Movie I Saw For the First Time This Summer - Go Me! :
I bet this is the first time that David Lean's "Kate Hepburn takes Venice" movie Summertime has ever tied for anything with Squirm, the 1976 earthworms-run-amok flick, but that's just how I roll.
Major Summer Crush(es): BOMER. CHARLIZE.
Mike beats Ken only because Channing can out-dance everybody else put together. From there it's The Kid, Dallas, Tito and Tarzan.
Mash-Up ~ Two Summer Characters I'd Like to Introduce:
Bane and Jackie & David Siegel from The Queen of Versailles, for obvious reasons
I don't really like the word 'depressed'. I prefer to say I'm in a tailspin."
- Greta Gerwig in Damsels in Distress
And that's it for us until the podcast! If you have your own blog, answer the questions in a post and I'll link up. Otherwise, what do you think of JA's and Katey's summer summaries? The "Katniss, Merida or Hawkeye"? question is such a roscharch. No two answers are quite the same!
Reader Comments (9)
Long time reader, first time commenter.
Best line reading of Summer (which is winter for me in Australia) was Anne Hathaway saying 'Girls gotta eat' in The Dark Knight Rises.
And then this scene is followed by her punching a man through her hat. Immediately my housemate and I tuned to each other excitedly and said 'HATWOMAN!'. My single favourite moment from Nolan's trilogy.
Nathan -- welcome. that story is great. "hatwoman" hee. I love movie moments that are so shared with friends like that.
Meanwhile, I'm still LOLing up about JA's Jeremy Renner line.
Glad you liked that Nat - I really wanted to work in Shirley Maclaine's "It TWIRLED up!" line somehow but couldn't quite get it to work. So I'm just going to take this opportunity to make you all stop for a moment to imagine Jeremy Renner hollering "It TWIRLED up!" Okay? Okay. Carry on.
Best Movie I Saw All Summer: Beasts of the Southern Wild, easily (though Magic Mike is a close runner-up)
Scenes I ♥ So Much I Thought My Heart Would Burst: The tugboat brothel in Beasts, the scenes in the witch's hut in Brave, "Puny God" in The Avengers, and I have to agree with Katey about the final confrontation with the witch in ParaNorman - some of the most stunning animation I've seen.
Major Summer Crush(es): Ryan Lochte and Dannell Leyva (I always see less movies when the Olympics are in season) Runners-Up (aka Movie Division): Magic Mike, Sam and Suzy from Moonrise Kingom (he says as not-creepily as possible - how can you not fall that depiction of first love?), and of course CHARBENDER.
Things I Actually Learned (at summer movie camp!): How to escape from scout camp (Moonrise Kingdom), how to crack open a crab (Beasts of the Southern Wild), how to use a penis pump (Magic Mike)
Princess Merida, Katniss or Hawkeye? Kill Katniss (don't get me wrong, I love Katniss, but after all she's gone through she would be such a downer!), Marry Merida (it would be a sexless marriage, but it would be for the good of the kingdom and we would both be free to be awesome on our own while having fun together for the rest of our lives) and Do Hawkeye (multiple times). Oh wait... that wasn't what you were asking, was it?
At Least The Theater Was Air Conditioned: Ted. It wasn't horrible, but without the air conditioning it probably would have been unBEARable. *GROAN*
If Only "Hulk" Had Smashed...: The Amazing (Completely Unnecessary) Spider-Man.
Mash-Up ~Two Summer Characters I'd Like to Introduce: Dallas from Magic Mike and John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) from Ted. Because we know Marky Mark has the moves!
Best Old Movie I Saw For the First Time This Summer - Go Me! : The Apartment. Was reminded of just how much I love Jack Lemmon, and GOD but Shirley MacLaine was great, but that has to be one of the oddest choices for Best Picture ever (considering the category I'd probably pick it, too, but still), despite how good it is.
Rank the "Magic Mike" Strippers: 1. Mike (duh) 2. Dallas (works the crowd best and had the best solo strip) 3. Ken (cleverest routines) 4. Big Dick Richie (tall, dark, handsome... and a little too stiff...) 5. Tito (a non-entity despite how good he looks in uniform) 6. The Kid (too green) 7. Tarzan (too one-note)
Line Reading That Stuck In My Head...
Just about every other line from Moonrise Kingdom (especially "what kind of bird are YOU?" and everything Tilda Swinton says), just about every other line Maggie Smith says in Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (especially "There's an INDIAN in there!")
Nat-here is mine: http://theworldofjot29.blogspot.com/2012/09/summer-movie-survey.html
This survey is really appealing to the obsessive listmaker within. And I LOL-ed at Katie's Taylor Kitsch crack.
Best Movie I Saw All Summer: Beasts of the Southern Wild. I cried harder in that movie than I have at things that have happened to me in real life.
Scenes I ♥ So Much I Thought My Heart Would Burst: The brothel scene in Beasts. I may have audibly sobbed at that point.
Major Summer Crush(es): Lizzy Caplan and Portia DeRossi since I just watched Party Down and Arrested Development for the first time in the last few weeks. And Marion Cotillard for giving my eyes something to look forward to in The Dark Knight Rises. Can't wait for Rust And Bone! Rashida Jones for writing Celeste And Jesse Forever, which I was really surprised by in a really great way. So them, and my permanent crush on Ryan Gosling only increased when he announced he was going to direct a movie starring Joanie. Oh and Idris Elba and Charlize Theron for helpfully reminding me how how they are with their presence in Prometheus. Lots of crushes this summer, jeez.
Things I Actually Learned (at summer movie camp!): I learned a whole lot from The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 which I recommend to EVERYONE.
Princess Merida, Katniss or Hawkeye? I'm going with Katniss. Hawkeye is lame, and I'd constantly be paranoid that Merida was going to turn me into a bear any time I disagreed with her.
At Least The Theater Was Air Conditioned: The Dark Knight Rises. I mean really. Not a single part of that crapfest worked for me. Not even Anne Hathaway could save it.
If Only "Hulk" Had Smashed...: Chris Nolan. Seriously, what was that movie?
Mash-Up ~Two Summer Characters I'd Like to Introduce: Hmmmm. I feel like Hushpuppy and Katniss are meant to be BFF. They could roam the wilderness together, killing animals and not
talking together forever.
Best Old Movie I Saw For the First Time This Summer - Street Angel! A very cool, very sweet, beautifully shot silent film from 1928 starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, directed by Frank Borzage. Kudos to the person who saw The Apartment for the first time though! That's my all time favorite movie.
Rank the "Magic Mike" Strippers: 1. Channing Tatum, 2. Matthew Bomer, 3. Joe Manganiello.................................andddddd everyone else. But none for Alex Pettyfer, bye!!
Line Reading That Stuck In My Head...
"I'm going to go cut some wood." --Bill Murray in Moonrise Kingdom. HILARIOUS. Man is that director/star relationship a perfect match or what?
Anne Hathaway's awesome fake scream in her heist in The Dark Knight Rises.
"People gonna know. Once there was a Hushpuppy and she lived with her daddy in the Bathtub."
....SOB.
Best Movie I Saw All Summer:
The Cabin in the Woods
Scenes I ♥ So Much I Thought My Heart Would Burst:
Kiki, Lizzy C and Isla Fisher snorting coke and tearing Rebel's dress. And seeing all those actresses together.
Things I Actually Learned (at summer movie camp!)
Don't pee in public pools in because the pee might dye the pool. Thanks Sarah Polley!
Princess Merida, Katniss or Hawkeye?
I haven't seen Brave and I was pretty bored by both Katniss and Hawkeye. I'll say Hawkeye cos he's doable.
At Least The Theater Was Air Conditioned:
I had a nice nap in The Dark Knight Rises
If Only "Hulk" Had Smashed...
Robert Downey Jr.
Best Old Movie I Saw For the First Time This Summer - Go Me! :
Nosferatu 1922
Major Summer Crush(es):
the younger man in Beauty (South African)
Rank the "Magic Mike" Strippers
I haven't seen it but based on the pictures and by most doable Ken, The Kid, McConaghey, Tatum, the black guy, the wrestler and Alcide last.
Mash-Up ~ Two Summer Characters I'd Like to Introduce:
'Hog' from The Bunny Game and Marion Cotillards character in The Dark Knight Rises. My answer to what two movie characters would you want to meet is always one of Cotillard's characters and someone violent.
Line Reading That Stuck In My Head...
n/a
I don't understand how Merida is losing this, I just don't. (This feature was just too fun for me NOT to take part on my blog.)
Also, I'm so pleased that JA gives SUMMERTIME another mention. One of my favourite Lean films. It's gorgeous, and so is Kate in it.
Best Movie I Saw All Summer:
Magic Mike. Laid back and lived-in performances and milieu. Quietly talks about the times we live in, and great to look at. (In every way that means)
Scenes I ♥ So Much I Thought My Heart Would Burst:
1) The Kid's first introduction to the gang at Xquisite (or maybe Dallas's final dance)
2) The C-Section in Prometheus. My boyfriend held my arm so tightly I thought he was turning into the Hulk.
3) The young lovers setting up camp on the beach for the first time in Moonrise. Such detail, such necessities.
Major Summer Crush(es): Emma "Do you know my name is an anagram for 'I Love'" Stone, Chris Hemsworth in The Avengers (they finally made him funny!), Tommy Lee Jones in "Hope Springs" so tortured, such heartache, and the Bachelorette's coke fiend trio of Kiki, Isla, and Lizzy because of all the actressing and general misbehavin'.
Princess Merida, Katniss or Hawkeye?
Merida. Brave is far better than anyone gave it credit for, and she's a better shot than both of them.
At Least The Theater Was Air Conditioned:
Dark Shadows. Such a weird amalgam of a movie with some great actresses. But didn't they all feel miscast?
If Only "Hulk" Had Smashed...:
Will Smith so that he decided to do "Django" instead of another unnecessary "MiB" flick.
Mash-Up ~Two Summer Characters I'd Like to Introduce:
Magic Mike and the boys and the ladies of Bachelorette. That'd be one great party.
Best Old Movie I Saw For the First Time This Summer - Paths of Glory. Early Kubrick at his best. The ideas don't feel pasted in.
Rank the "Magic Mike" Strippers:
1) Mike 2) Big Dick Richie (we giants have to stick together) 3) Dallas 4) The Kid 5) Ken 6) Tito 7) Tarzan
Line Reading That Stuck In My Head...
"I love you, but you have no idea what you're talking about."
- Sam (Jared Gilman) Moonrise Kingdom