Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Which movie...

...most reminds you of a happy night in your life? (It doesn't even have to be a happy movie to do so.)

41 comments:

Pope said...

Hmmm...Maybe (500) Days of Summer :)

NATHANIEL R said...

i know i often think of EVITA. it was such a fun night out with a huge group of friends. even though the movie is very TRAGEDY with ballads.

paco. said...

Probably the most recent is the first Paranormal Activity, a bunch of friends and me went to see it on my birthday, had a lot of fun, we all had class the next day and none of us had any sleep, fun night indeed.

Devin D said...
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Devin D said...

The Dark Knight.

I had joined one of those fan-boy websites a few months back and had been ignoring their emails ever since. Then one day, when I got home from work, I only had one new item in my inbox, so I read it. I won two free tickets to a free screening on the IMAX in San Francisco the Tuesday before its release. I called a friend, told him to check his email (knowing he too had definitely receiving the newsletter), and watched as he managed to get the 249th "Admit Two" coupon of 250. A week later, the two of us and our girlfriends (who were just as excited as we were) were waiting to be let into the theatre for a 9pm showing.

Side-note:
I love trailers, but was too antsy to care to see any on that night. Quite fortunately, the only trailers we "had" to sit through: Watchmen (which, if you remember, was far better than the film itself) and a 23 second spot for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Sorry for going on and on, but - if you're still reading - let me know and I will shake you warmly by the hand. Actually, no, not really.

Volvagia said...

This may be extremely bitter, but: I'm only happy watching a great movie or TV show. To summarize: Gay people = hated by the over religious. Asexual people = no real HATE, per say, but, also no acceptance, no regular mainstream debate. (I don't even think The Big Bang Theory has sparked regular debate.) Why? 2 Reasons:
1. I guess the reason people love romantic comedies is because they're a clean(er) form of traditional love. Traditional means: Of course the bedroom's going to happen.
2. It's The Big Bang Theory that currently has to spark the debate. As much as I hate to admit it, an unarguably, but unnamed, ace jock would be an auto powder keg. Same scenario with an ace nerd? Not so much.

Andreas said...

Weirdly enough, it's The White Ribbon! I saw it on my birthday this year with my significant other and some friends. Depressing movie, great memories.

Rebecca said...

The Triplets of Belleville. Saw it at the end of a great day w/some friends and loved it. It made my night, and that's part of why I love it so much.

Devin D said...

I would correct my grammatical errors, but I believe they accurately illustrate the excited haste with which I wrote my post. I still can't help but smile whenever I think of that night.

Deus Ex Machina said...

Maybe the premiere of MILK. I went with my best friend and sat in front of Jack Nicholson. When the movie ended we went downstairs and I embarrassed myself in front of Winona Ryder, whose dress almost got stained with the shrimps sauce on my plate.

Daryn G said...

Halloween II, which is playing on cable right now. I went to my first Halloween party in 8th grade, instead of trick-or-treating, and we watched this on the VCR and played video games on a state-of-the-art ColecoVision.

Jeremy said...

Before Night Falls---watched it the night my boyfriend and I decided to get back together.

Unknown said...

Chocolat; which I've only seen the first half hour of, actually. After about a month of dating my girlfriend we were skyping one night and she told me she watched it with her best friend adding "because that's what people in love do." For some reason that joke stuck with me because like two weeks later we sat down to watch a movie and she instinctively chose Chocolat. My cheesy romantic mind concluded that if watching Chocolat is what people in love do, and we were watching Chocolat together, then we were in love. Cheesy. But I was right. Happy times.

Unknown said...

also I'd like to add that DarynG kicks ass for even mentioning ColecoVision

/3rtfu11 said...

Dogville

The movie isn’t special but the experience in actually getting to see it theatrically was. An attractive older man whom was somebody at the Gay and Lesbian center located right next door to the movie house hit on me. My friend who took me did it as a favor. An episode of The Simpsons parodied the experience of seeing foreign films in an art house. I called my friend to let her know how much it mirrored ours. She’s passed on but the experience of going to the movies to see the film is a warm movie memory.

Stevee Taylor said...

Inception, even though I walked out of the cinema in tears.
I think it was just because I had been waiting for it for such a long time and it exceeded my expectations and that made me really, really happy.

NATHANIEL R said...

Devin D -- i read the whole thing but you don't have to shake my hand. but that does sound like a memorable night.

Deus Ex -- EEK. i love name dropping. more more more

Casey -- i hate Chocolat but that is funny

i just remembered another one that i'll always love BRING IT ON... after a long day of sun fatigue at the beach. perfect capper on a beach weekend with my bestie.

Jeremy said...

Wonderful question. These 2 are from my tender youth - I believe I saw both around age 16. It was what I felt was such a magical discovery, the crumbling 'art house' in my city, before I ever knew that phrase, and they forever changed the way I think about the movies, plus I saw them with my best friend in the world: 'Blue Velvet'... and Laurie Anderson's 'Home of the Brave'.

stjeans said...

"Cabaret" that's when I realized I was Gay (I was 8). Michael York my first HUGE CRUSH!

adelutza said...

Thelma and Louise ... though it is a tragedy, it still speaks oodles about friendship, as it did to me at that time.

Robert said...

Spider Man 3, oddly! Haha. I barely remember the movie at all, but I went on opening night with a bunch of friends and we had sushi afterwards and there was just so much fun about that night that I always remember it fondly. Gooood times.

Anonymous said...
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Jackson said...

Summer 2008, went to watch Dark Knight in Maryland with a couple friends. They were leaving after that night and it was the weekend the movie opened, and everybody was so excited to watch it. Midnight showing, packed theater, no annoying cell phone users or crazy screamers or anything. The movie exceeded all our expectations. Perfect all the way around.

Jackson said...

I guess another one too would be Goodfellas. After I've gone out on a couple of dates with a girl, I make them watch Goodfellas to see if the relationship could go anywhere. Always provides telling and remarkable results.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

1) The Dark Knight - I went to a midnight premiere in Oahu with three of my brothers. There are few moments greater than spending time with your family but having your expectations blown through the roof while doing so is one of them.

2) Scream - While certainly not a feel-good movie (ha!), it was the very first one to pique my interest in cinema. Randy was my original screen idol. Can't wait for Scre4m!

3) Stand by Me - After seeing this one -- and crying for about an hour -- I didn't want to let my friends out of my sight ever again. Ultimately, the greatest movies are the ones that change your life for the better... and this one delivered big time!

Andrew R. said...

While I don't remember the actual movie (I think it was a sports movie, it was definately awful), I once had a birthday at a movie theater when I was small (think 8).

The movie was not only terrible, it was boring (my parents hated it too), and I remember the chaos that ensued very fondly. It was hilarious if you were 8.

We had a popcorn fight, and we dumped popcorn all over each other. (I feel so bad for the cleaning person.) Since some of the kids were small, we were hitting each other with booster seats. No one got hurt, but since everyone was running around, it was just chaotic.

And the best part? One kid actually ran out of the movie theater. He went to the ice cream store next door, so my parents found him quickly, but it was still funny, especially since I didn't actually like that kid and my parents didn't really seem all that concerned.

Anyway, since I was actually behaving (I was just watching everyone go crazy, since it was better than the movie), my parents weren't mad at me, and they look back on it fondly too.

Of course, if I was there, I'd either pull out a shotgun or be grateful that a group of several 8 year olds was doing something more entertaining than that movie.

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

The "Sex and the City" films are always huge events for me an my best friend. We dress up and have cocktails afterwards while we bitch about which of us is Carrie.

Paolo said...

Flash Gordon. Edgar Wright was showing it for his Wright Stuff series. He told us what plot keywords to clap for (green blood, the end?). Awesome movie. Don McKellar was there and after the movie I was telling this short, casually dressed girl how awesome it was to be in the same room as Wright and McKellar, and she was stoked as I was. For some reason I didn't clue in that said girl was Wright's girlfriend Academy Award nominated and youngest Tony nominee Anna Kendrick. I will never stop telling this story.

chris na Taraja said...

NACHO LIBRE reminds me of the Halloween a few years ago when I went out with a group of friends dressed as mexican wrestlers. We were wrestling random people down on the the streets. That was a total blast!

Joel Burman said...

When seeing Home Alone 2 and the Net in the cinema with my dad when mom was out of town.

theo said...

maybe 2001? one of fond memories of this past summer was being high with my two closest friends and watching the light show to the end. we never watch movies together, so that felt like a rare time and it was a blast.

pulp fiction is another one i think. i introduced it to pretty much every single one of my friends in high school and slowly but surely it became one of the most quoted things between us. we even made a parody video for sophomore year english. i can't watch that movie without thinking of that group of friends, generally with a smile.

The Pretentious Know it All said...

Crooklyn, no question. It is one of the few movies I can remember watching with my entire immediate family (lots of time spent together, but my parents were never big film watchers). We actually sat around the television, fire roaring (shut up, I'm Canadian) and watched it together one Saturday night in full-on, vomit-inducing Norman Rockwell glory. For that, the movie will always hold a special place in my heart.

Popcorn and Cigarettes said...

Volver.
I watched it alone at night, and I don't really know how to describe it but, the conditions were absolutely perfect and it heightened the whole experience of watching the film.

Michael Parsons said...

Shortbus.

It reminded me of New York so much and made me miss it, yet the memories made me so happy

Unknown said...

I remember Hannah and her sisters fondly even though I went to see it alone. But I loved it so much that I felt warm and happy afterwards. I run home to tell my brother right away.

Magicub said...

Moulin Rouge! march 20, 2002

NATHANIEL R said...

michael -- glad to hear that. I always thought Shortbus was amazingly NYC-feeling.

magiccub -- i remember my first screening of Moulin Rouge! so well (jampacked theater, with close friends. so happy throughout). Weirdly I don't remember the next two or three showings but I do remember the last time I saw it in theaters, knowing that it would be the last time. *sniffle* i think -- though i may have forgotten something that it's the movie i saw the most in theaters in the Aughts. I saw it 4 or 5 times -- PAYING. not critics screenings ;)

Deborah said...

I've had some awesome movie dates.

My first date with my first husband, when I was a mere slip of a girl, was a non-double feature double feature. We saw Star Wars in Times Square, had a snack or lunch, then walked around the corner to another Times Square theater for Annie Hall.

Perfect date. Even though the man was a psycho and the marriage was mercifully brief, I relish the memory of that day.

Volvagia said...

Perfect date. The movie that won (and deserved to win of the field) Best Picture and the one everyone thinks deserved it because its way over seen and over loved. There's a place for Star Wars. Not that either of those are my "Best" picture of the year. That's Eraserhead, but that's the disadvantage of auto awarding. The really, really small things, the weird things, the depressing things and the foreign films sometimes need years, not months, to get re-evaluated and put in their proper place, especially with the motto of "it's just entertainment" being regularly cast by the big media now. Essentially, the Academy should host small memorial ceremonies, two or three a year. Somber and short (90 mins-2 hrs) would be the agenda. Why? Every year has a Withnail & I or a Performance waiting around the corner and it's sad that there's no room for them.

Robert said...

I AM LOVE, this past July.

I saw it with my best friend who was moving from the states to London the next day. We always went and saw tons of movies together over the years (including Moulin Rouge 4 times) and I knew this would be the last one we saw together for a long time.

It was a late showing on a warm summer night here in Utah and the movie was just so... exhilarating. Good memory.