Random Movies and Linked Movies

Recently, I had more than two weeks at home, without Sherry, leaving me with two weeks of evenings which I could fill with whatever solo entertainment I wanted.  But I anticipated a problem.  

 You see, my pattern, when I have a block of time on my own, is that I feel like watching "something,"  but indecision paralyzes me.  I end up wasting so much time considering all of my options that I end up avoiding the issue by channel surfing, or getting distracted by things, until I don't watch any of the many, many options I have. (I own a very large number of movies, not to mention multiple TV series.  And of course, I have access to the myriad offerings from the streaming services.)

So, I was facing this period of opportunity, and I discussed the situation with my friends. Eric Nelson had a clever idea - list all the movies I wanted to see, assign each a number, and then roll dice to make my choice. Simple, random, and no reason to doubt whether I really wanted to see the movie which chance had selected. After all, if I had put it on the list, I must want to see it.

I really liked the base concept - starting with "make a list of movies I would really like to see right now."  

You see, I own a large number of movies (have I said that already?) And the reason I own them is because I would enjoy seeing them again.  However, I don't always feel in the mood to see some of them.  So, the start of this process was to look at my movies and create a list of movies I wanted to see at the time I was making the list.

This worked out very well.  I ended up with a list of over 20 films.  I wasn't going to have time to see all of these, so I started organizing them -- with the intent to use the second part of Eric's idea -- to assign numbers and roll dice.

As I organized, a few interesting things happened.

First, and most helpfully, I discovered that some of the movies were "must watch."  That is, as I considered all of the movies I had put on the list, and as I looked ahead to several nights of viewing, I knew there were several that I really, really wanted to watch, and with so much opportunity ahead of me, I didn't need to trust to randomness. I just put those on the top of the list. (Side Note: Christopher Nolan films were prominent on the "must watch now" list. Batman Begins; The Dark Knight; The Prestige.)

Next, I would put a movie on the list, and then realize that another movie -- a connected movie -- was not on the list, but should be. I hadn't been super focused when creating the first list, so I neglected even considering a few - a few which ended up on my list because they had some similarity with another film which had made the first cut.  For example, once I noticed those Nolan films I mentioned above, I remembered that I had not seen "Memento" since I first bought it, and it became a "must watch." After augmenting the list, the final number from which I selected was 25 movies deep, with another 12 I decided to save for the future.

Finally, this "Linked Movies" concept spread through my list, and made organizing it even easier, and watching the movies even better.  My final list was grouped into pairs or triples of movies which were linked somehow.  Then I assigned a number to the group, so when I eventually finished the "must watch" movies, I rolled a die and ended up watching a linked group.

Examples will help.  

One of my groups was "Ella Enchanted" and "A Knight's Tale." While there are several similarities, the "link" in my mind was "uses modern music in a medieval setting."  I get such a kick out of "Somebody to Love" in "Ella" and "The Boys are Back in Town" in "Knight's."

Another group was "Field of Dreams" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."  The link here? Lead character fathers whose lives were taken over by a strange compulsion.

It all worked marvelously.  I saw all the movies on my "must watch" list, and then saw one or more of the movies from five other groups - where the group was chosen my rolling a die.  (I had 10 "random" groups.)  I watched 12 movies in those two weeks (plus a couple of limited series on streaming services.)

And now I have the list. And I am facing another few days alone, so the list has come into play again.  I just watched "Stand By Me" and am moving from that to "The Shawshank Redemption."  (Great movies based on Stephen King stories.)

What fun!

Star Wars Movie Soundtrack - Album 5 of 10

Album Title: Star Wars
Artist: Movie Soundtrack

Album 5 of 10 in the 10 Album Challenge

Thoughts

Star Wars, the original movie, with no "A New Hope" subtitle, came out in 1977 and I saw that film, in the Decorah movie theater, 22 and 3/4 times.

That, right there, is probably enough justification for this album to be on my list.

But this whole challenge is about how these albums influenced my taste in, and appreciation for, music.  So, for this particular album, its inclusion in my list is about more than the fact that it's the album from one of my favorite films of all time.

I do not know film history.  I do know my history with film.  After seeing Star Wars a few times, I realized that one of the aspects of George Lucas' genius in making this epic space opera (it's not a sci-fi film, but let's not fight about that) was how absolutely perfect the music is for the story.  That, of course, is also a tribute to the genius of John Williams, too, but I give credit to both Lucas and Williams, because Lucas clearly recognized the impact a good score would have.  Bravo!

And because of Star Wars and its music, a couple things happened to me, where music is concerned.

First, I realized I could really enjoy music that had no lyrics.  That is, in a lifetime where almost all music I heard was "pop" music, accented a bit by the music I sang in choir.  I did appreciate a couple of pieces of "classical" music, but only a couple.  John Williams' score had pieces I could just listen to and smile, or sigh, or (almost) cheer.  I figured there must be more music like that, and so I opened myself up to the idea of looking for more instrumental music.

Second, I began paying attention to the music in films, and then eventually, I started listening to film scores -- other than the "musicals" I talked about in Album 3.  Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Man from Snowy River, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and on and on until, for example, I was obsessed with the soundtrack from Lord of the Rings movies for years.  Inception and Interstellar would not have been nearly as successful without their scores.  Period.

So, this one belongs on my list.  I'm so glad Shawn tagged me in his first post on this topic.  I love thinking about the music in my life.  And revisiting this particular album has brought up a joy I can really use during this time of isolation.

The Music Man Movie Soundtrack - Album 3 of 10

Album Title: The Music Man
Artist: Movie Soundtrack

Album 3 of 10 in the 10 Album Challenge

Thoughts

 As I said in the Anchor Post, and in a post I wrote in 2008, my musical tastes are eclectic. I listen to music very, very frequently, but I rarely listen to the same kind of music all day, or to the same music on Wednesday as I listened to on Monday.

One of the genres of music I have loved since I was young is represented by today's selection --  musical theater.

When I was selecting my 10 albums, I knew I had to select something from musical theater.  Because my appreciation for this kind of music started when I was very young, I had to select something my parents would have introduced me to.  Three albums came to mind:

My Fair Lady - the Broadway version with Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison

Camelot - the Broadway version with Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet and Richard Burton

And the one I chose, The Music Man movie soundtrack with Shirley Jones and Robert Preston.

I think I heard each of these almost equally as I grew up, and I heard all of them many times before ever seeing them on stage or in the movies.  But I loved them.  I loved how much Dad enjoyed them.  I loved hearing him talk about specific lyrics he thought were very well written.  Examples:

• Music Man: "The Sadder-but-Wiser Girl for Me" - Harold sings 'I hope, and I pray, for Hester to win just one more "A".'  This is a literary allusion to The Scarlet Letter, of course.  And of course I had not read it, but I could appreciate how using knowledge of other art to inform new art was very creative, and I could see how much my father liked it.
• Camelot: "The Seven Deadly Virtues" [You need the Broadway version to hear this song; it did not make it into the film version.]. Mordred sings "You'll never find a virtue unstatusing my quo/Or making my beelze bubble burst".  Verbing "status quo!" Adding "Beelze" to "bubble" for a play on Beelzebub!  That's brilliant.

Ultimately, I chose The Music Man in part because it's also a part of my (very limited) personal theater history.  I was a bit player in the cast of the production at my high school when I was a sophomore.  That experience proved instrumental (Hah! Pun!) in the remainder of my high school experience, as it got me into the "theater crowd" where I met and hung out with some really fun people, allowed me to learn mimeand a little about stage performance (I could hardly call what I did "acting,") and eventually led me to singing on stage as the Jester in Once Upon a Mattress when I was a senior -- one of my absolute favorite memories from high school.

My love of musical theater continues today.  Seeing Wicked and Rent on Broadway -- amazing; being able to listen to, and sing along with, the soundtracks - liberating and joyful.

So, there it is.  That's why a "musical" had to be among my 10 Albums.  Tomorrow, another genre is represented. 

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 110

Just "new to me" movies this time. Also trying to get back to smaller reviews.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit	70	Decent “origin” story. Not among the best Jack Ryan tales.
Grand Budapest Hotel (The)	68	Quirky, as expected from Wes Anderson. Worked for me.
Despicable Me 2	65	Funny again.  Less innovative than the first time.
Land Ho	55	Independent “buddy” film with retirement age buddies.  I liked it.  You might not.
American Hustle	64	The memorable cast played with commitment. Doubt I’d see it a second time.
Jersey Boys	60	Pros and cons compared to the stage version, but good music.  Not something I’d watch over and over, though.

Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 109 - Amazing Spiderman 2; Heaven Is For Real; Book of Eli

A few older movies, and a couple of new ones.

Book of Eli (The)	91	This is what a post-apocalyptic sci-fi story should be like!  OK, there are a couple of kinds of endings such a story can have, and they chose one which was very satisfying.  Denzel Washington was exceptional. Gary Oldman was frightening. Don’t let someone spoil this movie for you.  See it for yourself – if you can handle the violence. P.S. Mila Kunis is not “Jackie” – and by her last scene could be a young Angelina Jolie.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes	70	I really liked the first half of this story, partially because John Lithgow improves anything he’s in.  And I was totally taken with the animated apes.  Somehow, this just didn’t make me say “it’s good enough to own.”  But worth seeing, sure.  [And we do own it, now.]
Divergent	71	Sci-fi allows us to examine aspects of humanity very directly. Here: classes and labels. Broadly done, visually interesting, with a few well-considered surprises.
Heaven is for Real	60	This was a lot less preachy, and a lot more like just telling a story than I expected.  The child actor played his role very well, Kinnear and Riley were quite believable.
Amazing Spiderman 2	66	I liked the new take on Electro, and the introduction of Harry Osborne Jr.  But the movie almost felt like a transitional story, but I don’t know if they will continue.
Noah	64	If you’re going to retell a well-known story, decide what points you’re trying to make. Some enjoyable additions (e.g. the Watchers). The effects were great. The acting was good. But if the directors had an ultimate point to make, it got muddled.