Q&A Part 2: Guilty Pleasures, Boytoys, and Best Animated Feature
Tuesday, March 24, 2015 at 1:10PM 
Yesterday I answered reader questions about film sets worth living in and all time favorite actors and I hope that conversation keeps going because I haven't heard from too many of you what your choices are. There were so many good question this week let's keep the party going for an extra day. Here's the next six questions featuring Guilty Pleasures, Oscar's Best Animated Feature and Unseen Classics. One question will be answered in a forthcoming theme week that's already been planned and one final question is getting its own post.
You can't say we've been slacking here at TFE.
LADY EDITH: Do you have a favorite Altman?
I do. And it's no contest. I just shout Nashville (1975) as enthusiastically and loudly as I can when asked. Which is not to dismiss the rest of Robert Altman's always at least interesting filmography. My other two favorites are Three Women (1977) for its psychosexual actressing and Gosford Park (2001) for the sheer pleasure of it but I love his movies... well, maybe not Dr T and the Women but I love quite a few of his movies.
JEFF: What's your biggest guilty pleasure movie? Or a movie that most of the readers would be surprised that you happen to love.
After so many years writing online about movies I fear I have no secrets left. I love the usual guilty pleasures and probably talk about them too much (Xanadu and Showgirls chief among them). I suppose in terms of things I rarely write about the #1 guilty pleasure would be that I do kind of have a (small) thing for B grade action movies and affection for the sometimes limited actors that star in them like Jean Claude Van Damme, Jason Statham, and Schwarzenegger of course. This is not a blanket genre appreciation; I never was interested if the movie starred Steven Seagal or Sylvester Stallone. I've seen Highlander (1986) with Christopher Lambert several times because my brother and his friends loved it. I loved Universal Soldier (1992) for some reason. One truly terrible movie that I used to enjoy with an old friend was Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991) starring Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee. This actually happens in it...
This B action picture fixation* disappears for long periods of times and then reignites suddenly and flames out just as quickly. I can't predict it and I rarely seek it out. It happens less and less frequently and I have theories about this (too much misogyny in the movies and too many guns in place of choreography) but the last two times it happened strongly were Ong Bak (2003) with Tony Jaa and Crank (2006) with Jason Statham. The last pure action movie that I thought was very satisfying was Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) but that's more mainstream respectable. Perhaps superhero films and Daniel Craig era Bond films now reside in that old space in my brain and they're of much much higher quality and I don't need the bad stuff anymore?
* Action as "guilty pleasure" does not include James Cameron pictures. He is a genius and everyone should love all of his movies without guilt, just pleasure.
SONJA: What's your favorite and least favorite best Animated Feature winner at the Oscars?
This question is so hard! Well, not the least favorite part. That's Shrek, the first winner, and literally the only winner of this category that sucks, the others being good to great. I didn't like it then and it's aged even worse. Monsters Inc was robbed. Not just robbed but stripped, tied up, humiliated, robbed and then robbed again in perpetuity -- it's a thousand times the film Shrek is yet Shrek will always be the first winner of this category.
The flames...breathing... on the side of my face
The best one? That's a tough choice but in the end my heart belongs to WALL•E (2008) which is just sublime and daring and moving and funny and magical and wise -- everything the best movies can hope to be. People are still angry about the Best Picture lineup in 2008 not including a blockbuster but they keep citing the wrong film as the tragic snub. WALL•E's all-years win edges out two very worth titles, the ever hilarious and exciting spectacle of The Incredibles (2004) and the creativity and eccentricity of Spirited Away (2002) so next time I complain about this "ghetto category" please feel free to smack me because thanks to this category three masterpieces of their form have Oscars that wouldn't otherwise have been so honored.
FOREVER1267: Who is your Celebrity Boyfriend? Celebrity Husband? Celebrity Boy Toy?
Ki Hong Lee in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
I only get three? Pass. Polyamory forever when it come to showbizness. Okay Okay. Right at this specific moment on March 23rd, 2015 at 1:10 PM? Ki Hong Lee, Ewan McGregor, and Jussie Smollett.
JOHN T: What are three classic films you have never seen and why have you put them off?
• The Godfather Part 2 - because people love it so much I thought I'd save it for last (I have like 3 Best Picture winners left to see. I'm slow!)
• The Searchers - because for a long while I thought John Ford movies were boring (I was so wrong) and because I don't like John Wayne and because I heard that you have to wait for the very end for Natalie Wood and if you're promising Natalie Wood, you betta deliver!
That's only two but they were the one's that popped into mind.
JAMES: Do you ever use a movie or performance as a shorthand way to describe something?
I wish I could think of more than one immediate example but, yes. The Boyfriend and I shout "Pink Coat" indignantly whenever a director uses a super heavy-handed visual symbol, a la that damn pink coat in the otherwise black and white Schindler's List (1993)
Your turn, readers. Time for you to answer these same questions in the comments. Or engage with mine. This is meant to be a participatory series and if you don't participate it goes bye bye.
Reader Comments (54)
Favorite Altman? I'm going to have to say M*A*S*H. I was surprised because I had never been a big fan of the show, but I found the film strangely delightful in an almost surreal way. The football game at the end was great.
Guilty pleasure movie: Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet. Somehow I go back to it over and over again. Spice World gets the title to worst film I really enjoyed but so far I've only seen it once
Best Animated Feature: l still haven't seen Happy Feet so I guess it can't count but least favorite may be Brave. The story was blah, there were too many dumb jokes, and it should never have beaten Wreck-It Ralph. Spirited Away will forever be my favorite. It's my absolute favorite movie of all time and it's win will be my favorite Oscar moment ever forever.
Celebrity Waifu: Rachel Liang Wen Yin (Taiwanese singer who also had a minor role in Cape No. 7), Emma Watson, Reese Witherspoon
Classic Films: So many I haven't seen I'm not sure where to start. I guess I'll just list the prominent Chinese films I'm missing being that I'm Chinese: Yi Yi, A Brighter Summer Day, City of Sadness
Shorthand: Can't think of anything
I love that line! I say it quite a lot and I'm not even in danger.
Favourite Altman: I haven't seen them all, but for now I'll say Short Cuts. I remember being mesmerised by it, and by how lightly it wore its running time. I suspect Nashville might overtake it on a rewatch, though - and I'm really looking forward to seeing Three Women one day.
Guilty pleasure: I firmly believe one shouldn't feel guilty about taking pleasure in movies. But my favourite film that I suspect other people might consider a guilty pleasure is Basic Instinct. So trashy and so good!
Best Animated Feature: I haven't seen them all, but the one I liked least was Shrek. I liked the first half of Wall*E a lot but thought the second half was disappointingly conventionally heteronormative. So I'll go with Ratatouille, which I don't love but which has been a grower. I haven't yet seen Spirited Away.
Celebrity boyfriend, husband, boy toy: I'm not sure about how to do all of these, so let's say Viggo Mortensen (older), Bradley Cooper (same age) and Morgan Marinne (younger) for three gorgeous guys and call it quits!
Classic movies I haven't seen: Three that spring to mind are Meet Me in St. Louis, Seven Samurai and The English Patient. I've tried the last of those twice and haven't made it to the end - not a good sign. But I'll have another go. In fact, I want to see all the remaining Best Picture winners I've yet to see - I think I've got about 15 to do (almost all of them pre-1950).
Shorthand: Not sure. Normally prefer longhand!
Yes to Nashville, Lily Tomlin in that movie forever!
Unusual song choices used for a gratuitously/graphically violent scene in a movie became 'CUTE' with a movie discussion group I'm part of. Someone thought Quentin Tarantino's initials was text spelling for an ironic use of cute, and it stuck.
As for movies, the amount of grief that I have endured for not having watched the original Star Wars trilogy only makes me more determined never to watch the damn things. If it comes with "you're not a real man/American/human being", no matter how jokingly said with the discovery, it makes me want to burn a box set in front of them.
So since you didn't mention The Last Picture Show under classics that you haven't seen, does that mean you finally saw it? :-)
And you should not feel guilty at all for those guilty pleasures because you picked essentially the cream of the crop. I don't think any of them are bad at all. I also remember liking Universal Soldier for some reason and it's not because it has peak Dolph and JCVD. I think it had a pretty intricate plot that held up despite the ridiculousness, sort of like Crank. I'd put Transporter and Taken into this category as well.
Favourite Altman: He's my favorite movie director and I can't name a favorite so today I'm feeling like Kansas City (an underrated gem).
Guilty pleasure:
Best Animated Feature: The Incredibles followed by Spirited Away. Not a fan of Wall-E and the only thing bearable with Ratatouile was Peter O'Toole.
Celebrity boyfriend, husband, boy toy: Ryan Philippe in Cruel Intentions <3
Classic movies I haven't seen: Way too many. I just have an aversion to things that get hyped up too much. Off the top of my head, Godard and Truffaut's "Breathless." Oh and "The Fifth Element."
Shorthand: I always say something is very "Bladerunner" when I make a reference to something so obscure. Guess I just know way too many people who've never heard of it. :/
You HAVE to do a blog post about The Godfather 2 whenever you watch it. I love reading film analysis from you and Nick Davis -- you're both WAY better (and more openly idiosyncratic) than most of the so-called "established" critics.
Favorite Altman - Depending on the day, 3 Women or Gosford Park. Unless I think about Carol Burnett, and then I'd consider A Wedding for at least a minute or two.
Biggest Movie Guilty Pleasure - Probably Jawbreaker or Drive Me Crazy, though I don't feel the slightest bit guilty about loving Jawbreaker.
Favorite Best Animated Feature Winner - Spirited Away, though I like Ratatouille and the Were-Rabbit a lot. Least favorite - Frozen.
Celebrity Boyfriend, Husband, Boy Toy - Mads Mikkelsen, Lee Pace, Sufjan Stevens.
Speaking of Ewan McGregor, I use Down with Love as shorthand frequently. It's a noble failure, a stylistic tour de force, a forgotten gem, a confection of the highest order. It's shorthand for Sarah Paulson's versatility, Ewan McGregor's underratedness, Renee Zellweger's canny starpower. And it contains one of the most essential "reveals" by a conman (woman) in cinema.
Spirited Away is far and away the best Animated Feature, but Wall-E and Toy Story 3 are great too.
Altman: Gosford Park--easily. But I really like A Wedding and Nashville as well.
Guilty Pleasure: I love the Bourne films. All 4 of them. I actually have a thing for stupid action films.
Animated Feature: Up
Boyfriend, Husband, Boy Toy: Daniel Craig
(Eduardo Noriega Jr. comes close as does Fassy)
Classic Films: Far too many to mention.
Shorthand: "But I don't want to be a pie!" from Chicken Run. I use it whenever I am required to do something annoying or inane with no escape.
Ratatouille and The Incredibles for the win. Happy Feet is very meh.
Favorite Altman: Cookie's Fortune.
Guilty pleasure: Kurt Russell in Soldier. That one always makes me cry.
Unseen classics: To Kill A Mockingbird, On The Waterfront, Schindler's List.
Thank you for answering my question, and you have excellent taste. "Nashville" is my favourite and "Gosford Park" is my runner up.
I'm don't feel terribly guilty - but I do have a thing for world war 2 movies. I love spitfires, jeeps, amphibious landings, and suicide missions to blow important stuff up.
Best Animated Feature: "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" Wallace & Gromit with Helena Bonham Carter as the unforgettable Lady Tottingham, & Ralph Fiennes. - Worst: "Shrek"
Celebrity BFF: James McAvoy, James Corden, and Matthew Goode
Classic movies - You aren't the only one, when I saw "The Searchers", I just didn't get all the fuss -John Wayne isn't my thing either. I have never seen "A Clockwork Orange"
Shorthand: "Sophies Choice" for a no win, brutal decision. When I'm talking about an under appreciated film I use this phrase... "I wonder if this will be a "Lebowski" in 10 years?"
Celebrity boyfriend: I also have a thing for Ki Hong Lee, as well as Theo James, Michael Trevino and a variety of the male extras on Modern Family.
So many classics I haven't seen. But at the top of the list are: The Bicycle Thief, The 400 Blows, Murmur of the Heart, Jules and Jim.
I am so jealous that you will be watching The Godfather Part II for the first time! I remember as a kid it blew me away, pardon the pun. In my All-Time Top Ten.
I wouldn't have thought of the Bournes as a "guilty pleasure", but if they count, I'm with Henry. I watch Bournes 2 and 3 often. And if there was a Pam Landy channel on tv I'd probably watch that every day (ideally it'd still feature a lot of those fab casts - Damon, Cox, Strathairn, Cooper, Stiles, Owen, Bruhl, etc.).
"Get some rest, Pam. You look tired."
"Get some rest, Pam. You look tired."
Oh I love The Searchers. But you know that.
Two actressexual reasons to see The Godfather 2: Diane Keaton, who has one of best scenes ever here, telling Michael that she did SHUT UP, and Talia Shire, sooooo good.
Since I like this series so much I'll participate to keep it going though whenever I do I stay away for days in shame: Why do I have to say anything bad about anybody? Typos! Bad English!
Altman – «Nashville». But I got to believe him too anti-gay (no gays in fashion or ballet!) and my worship disappeared.
In public, all sorts of guilt. But in private, if I like it I feel no guilt: «Mommy Dearest» forever.
I don't think there should be animated pictures – 3 minutes of puerile nonsense are more than enough. Hate the category because due to completism I have to sit through them – keeping all razors away. After suffering all through it, cried buckets at the end of «Toy Story 3».
There is a sequel. Sorry. When I start…
My favorite guilty pleasure movie is, BY FAR, Simply Irresistible - in which, a magic crab somehow turns Sarah Michelle Gellar into an amazing, Like Water for Chocolate-level chef overnight, allowing her to save her little hole-in-the-wall NYC restaurant. Yes, you read that right; A magic fucking crab helps auburn-haired Buffy make orgasmically good eclairs and vanilla fog and another dish that is so good it literally stuns Patricia Clarkson into silence. It is a terrible, terrible film, with awful performances from everyone (except Patty), a snooze-worthy Lilith Fair-lite song score, and a central couple completely lacking in chemistry... but I find the whole thing so goofily endearing and love it to pieces anyway. And now you all know.
I'm also totally with Nathaniel on the love of B-level action movies starring Statham and Van Damme - only for some reason I never feel guilty about liking them only for the scenes when the leads are shirtless and/or dripping with sweat.
Too old for Forever1267's game but I'll list my actors:
Marlon Brando per secula seculorum.
Charles Laughton
Since I'm a Warner Bros baby (the only thing the show on TV in my country);
Erroll Flynn
John Garfield – «Humoresque»
Had my John Nicholson phase but when I realized he didn't know how to walk («Batman») gave up on him.
Other phases: Al Pacino, Kevin Costner, Gary Cooper.
Two or three years ago became enamored with my childhood bane, George Brent, to such an extent that…you don't want to know.
cal, I know the Diane scene you mean...absolutely CLASSIC! After a few glasses of wine, I stood up and did a dramatic re-enactment of her speech at a dinner party.
Favourite Altman - Three Women by far
Guilty Pleasure - Death On The Nile (1978) Whenever it's on TV I have to watch it. The acting, the locations, the costumes. Just sublime.
Animated Features - To be honest, I don't really like any of them that much. The very worst is Happy Feet.
Celebrity Men - Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal and Nicholas Hoult
PART III (nobody wants it)
ERROL, of course. I couldn't believe the Errol of my childhood tabloids was the Errol of my pictures. I saw «The Roots of Heaven» a week or two ago and I thought he was a hunk. 9 vs 64.
Most egregious classic miss: Dreyer/Falconetti Joan. Bored to death once or twice.
Only BPW missing, «The Artist». Missing 25 BPNs altogether.
Fellini Movie, Antonioni Movie. "But you ARRRR, Blanche!"
Read you Saturday.
ScottC: I'd say that 4's the only one you could really be guilty about. "He's gonna run out of brain."
A while ago I ranked the (at the time) 13 winners for Best Animated Feature and just added the latest winner. They are all films I either like or love (Nat, I will never understand why you hate Shrek so much, since even now that I'm an adult, I find it quite entertaining and the message pretty satisfying, basically picking up where Beauty and the Beast left off). Here is my ranking:
14. Big Hero 6 (I enjoy it a lot, but it's probably the only winner that feels, shall we say, ordinary)
13. Happy Feet
12. Brave (the mother-daughter relationship gives this one plenty of value)
11. Frozen
10. Shrek
9. Spirited Away
8. The Incredibles
7. Toy Story 3
6. Rango
5. Up
4. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
3. Finding Nemo
2. Ratatouille
1. Wall-E (even though the top two are almost a tie)
Favorite Altman: Nashville.
Guilty Pleasure: probably some stupid rom-com I saw on a plane that made me cry. I'm a soft touch on long flights.
[Not invested enough in animated film to answer that one.]
Celebrity Boyfriend: Murray Bartlett
Celebrity Husband: David Geffen
Celebrity Boy Toy: What's that out gay soccer player's name?
(Like Nat, I'm polyamorous, so this is not set in stone.)
A few neglected classics: High Noon, The Rose Tattoo, Auntie Mame
Shorthand: I used to call what Sandra Bullock did pulling a "Kitty Foyle." But from here on out, it will be called "Blind Side"-ing other actresses.
Favourite Altman: Gosford Park by far.
Guilty pleasure: Fired Up!, She's All That and any of the other fluffy teen comedies of their ilk. They're dumb but give me a chuckle.
Three classic movies I haven't seen: Jules and Jim, Schindler's List, Apocalypse Now
Paul Outlaw - The only out soccer player I know is Robbie Rogers.
1. Spirited Away
2. Toy Story 3
3. WALL-E
4. Rango
5. Finding Nemo
6. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (I 100% love the first three Wallace & Gromit shorts though)
7. Frozen
8. Ratatouille
9. The Incredibles
10. Big Hero 6
11. Brave
12. Up
13. Shrek (I think I've only seen the whole movie back when it came out and I liked it then (I was in my early teens), but it sure seems quite lame now)
Haven't seen Happy Feet yet.
Denny, amongst my friends, Simply Irresistable is the ne plus ultra of bad movies. Whenever someone tells me a movie is bad I usually ask them if it is as bad as that talking magical crab movie. No one has ever topped that. For years we called it Simply Excruciating. So hats off to you!
And if we're picking our own kind of guilty pleasure movie, I am a sucker for anything involving a makeover. Yes, you heard me. A movie where the "ugly" man or woman gets a makeover, often a montage set to a jaunty pop song, and voila, they are suddenly the gorgeous movie star they were before the movie started. Think Funny Face or Princess Diaries or The Mirror Has Two Faces.
That's him, RobMiles!
Well, if we aren't limited to film stars, Gareth "Alfie" Thomas is my everything. I'm also partial to early Tom Hardy. LIke Rock N Rolla/Oliver Twist period. Don't care much for the roided up version.
Henry -
The Bourne movies were actually acclaimed by both critics and audiences, so nothing to feel guilty about. Well maybe the fourth, but I loved that too :)
As for my guilty pleasure, I love a bad Clint Eastwood movie. The fact that Gran Torino exists is something we should celebrate every day.
I've also always had an affection for Sweet Home Alabama.
Favorite of the animated winners are WALL-E and Ratatouille. Hate Shrek, but I might prefer it to Happy Feet. Brave, Frozen, and Big Hero 6 are all middling, while I truly believe the rest are masterpieces or close to it. That category has rewarded such great movies that I am almost willing to forgive Shrek winning.
Classics I haven't seen: The Godfathers, Citizen Kane, Pulp Fiction (is this considered a classic yet?)
Another good question would be classics you just don't like. I have a few...
Classic I don't like. Psycho. I hate it. Bores me to tears.
Henry - I feel you on Psycho. I never understood why people say it's terrifying. Maybe back in the day, but for me it was blah. Creepy, sure. But was I scared? No.
nathaniel my question was so good man, about recasting Birdman in another decade? amazing ass question. hope its a question that gave u an idea for another post.
Altman: The Long Goodbye
Guilty: Fast & Furious movies; Grant/Dunne and Garson/Pidgeon movies
Animated: Best-The Incredibles; Worst-Frozen
Boy/Husband/Boy-Toy: right now? Eddie Redmayne/Kyle Chandler/Zac Ephron
Classics: A bunch of French New Wave films, esp from Godard, like Alphaville and Breathless
Short-hand: "I like to watch [television]" describing friends and relatives who don't to do anything, or have to be cajoled into going somewhere. Also, when having a bad day, "I don't need anything, Except this ashtray. And this [other random stuff]."
Wait a minute: "...I've ever seen ON A MAN." Hm, that sounds intriguing.
Favorite Altman is Gosford Park. I can (and do) watch it with even the slightest provocation. "Hey, The English Patient is on instant view now. That stars Kristen Scott Thomas. She was in Gosford Park. Let's watch Gosford Park." That and store-bought-marmalade. Also have a deep love of The Player, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Short Cuts, Nashville, and MASH.
My biggest guilty pleasure movie is Clue.
Favorite Animated winner is Spirited Away; Least is Shrek.
Today's Celebrity BF/Hubby/boytoy: Jake Lacy / Chris Evans / Max Irons (tyvm MNPP)
Unseen classics: Rules of the Game, Jules et Jim, The Bicycle Thief, Ruggles of Red Gap
Movie Short-hand: "Kimmy Pie!" from the perennial Shelly Long classic Hello Again
Celebrity BF is a hard one for me. It's been Channing Tatum since '06 (yeah, I'm an old-school Chan stan, ride or die) but lately he's being eclipsed by Chris Hemsworth. However, I've been in love with someone who looks like a lot like Chris Hemsworth (in a Minnesota, real-person kind of way) so that might be deluding me.
My favorite Animated winner is Up. That movie WRECKED me. I love the score, too. "Lilo & Stitch" didn't win but I find it to be one of the more underrated Disney films.
My biggest guilty pleasure film is "Miss Congeniality". I've probably seen it 100 times, especially on April 25th.
I still watch Lilo and Stitch about once a year and it is still just as lovely and touching as ever. Great film.
Hee. I actually meant only one boyfriend/husband/boytoy, but as how you define him. But I guess i do do the same. My Celebrity Husband has been Kevin Costner ever since "Bull Durham", and my Celebrity Boyfriends have included Tom Selleck, Tim McGraw, Jon Hamm, Jake Gyllenhaal, Alec Baldwin, and believe it or not, Seth Rogen.
I have a minor lust for hirsute fellows.
I have not seen "2001" or "Lawrence of Arabia" and I haven't seen either because I've been holding out to see them on the big screen. That has proven difficult.
Best Animated Film: "The Incredibles"
I agree with Nathaniel for Worst: "Shrek". (but I would have given Eddie Murphy a Voice Over Oscar)
Favorite Altman might actually be "Gosford Park", but "The Player" and "MASH" would be close.
CAPITA, you're never too old for a man!!!
^I'm doing the same, forever. Haven't seen Lawrence of Arabia and desperately want to see it on the big screen. I also haven't seen Star Wars (except for Episode 1-- as in Jar Jar Binks) or Indiana Jones. Whoopsies.
Celebrity boyfriend (Love spending time with him): Ben Whishaw
Celebrity husband (I have eternal allegiance to him): Jake Gyllenhaal
Celebrity boytoy (Newly enamored): Jack Falahee
Favourite Altman: Thieves Like Us. Peerless evocation of the Depression era. Criminally underrated.
I think Nashville is Altman's masterpiece, but I have mad love for Short Cuts, 3 Women, The Player and The Long Goodbye. I find his whole body of work fascinating - even the "failures" are interesting studies in how/why they somehow missed the mark. Altman's championing of Shelley Duvall is one of my all-time favourite director-actress creative partnerships.
Best Animated Film ranking:
1. Ratatouille
2. Incredibles
3. Toy Story 3
4. Finding Nemo
5. Spirited Away
6. Up
7. Wall-E
8. Frozen
9. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (I don't think I really remember any moments specific to this film though)
10. Shrek (major points deducted for beating Monster's Inc., no lie)
11. Rango
12. Brave
Will probably see Big Hero 6 during the Easter break or summer. Very unlikely to see Happy Feet.
Guilty Pleasure...
THE ART OF LOVE..Dick Van Dyke, James Garner, Elke Sommer, Angie Dickenson, and Ethel Merman...Sublime..