To properly understand my position here with Cinematical, it is imperative that you understand one fundamental fact: I'm just your everyday schmuck. I just happen to be a schmuck who knows way more than is probably healthy about comic books and who writes reasonably well. Usually, this means I get to sit in front of my computer and share my thoughts with world. I write, and you read. But hey, you've got opinions too, opinions which are as valid as my own. For this reason, I occasionally turn the tables and ask you to give me advice. When X-Men 3 happened, I used The Geek Beat to poll the general opinion of geekdom regarding the film, and it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had here at Cine. There was also a point when I asked for snack suggestions from my readers because I'd developed a case of the munchies while writing.
Today, my friends, is another of those cases. I've got a question I'm curious about, and I'm going to take advantage of the fact that I've got thousands of readers who tend to be quite a bit like me. You know me by now, folks -- or at least, you know my general movie tastes and opinions. I'm obviously into the geek genre films, I love a good comedy, and I adore the Muppets. Let me explain the issue I'm turning to your for an opinion on:
The Geek Beat Guy married a gal who is surprisingly supportive when it comes to my geeky hobbies. She may not read comic books, but she understands and encourages my addiction. She's an enabler, if you will.
Like most couples, among our favorite ways to pass time together when we have nothing that needs doing is watching movies together. Geek movies aren't necessarily her favorite films, but she enjoys a good action flick and is certainly willing to give just about any movie a fair shake. Like most ladies, she enjoys a good "chick-flick" and I typically don't mind giving them a fair shake either. We line up best when it comes to campy, feel-good family films. And we both like animated Disney movies up to and including Aladdin, although she leans more Lady and the Tramp/Little Mermaid while I lean more Sword in the Stone/Great Mouse Detective, and we meet in the middle at Robin Hood.
Your job, good and faithful reader, is to suggest movies for the Geek Beat Guy and the Geek Beat Gal to watch and enjoy together. You can go in any direction here, I'm not asking for a list of guy friendly chick-flicks or girl-friendly action movies -- I just want to know what movies YOU watch with your significant other. What movies can you share together and both enjoy? Give me one, give me a list, break them down by category, I don't care what you do, just sell me on them.
If you give me an impassioned argument, it'll likely show up in a future column. I plan on taking the most compelling suggestions and trying them out with the Geek Beat Gal. Afterward, I'll share with you which movies we watched, and give you a rundown on what we thought of them. If this goes well, it could turn into a great reference list for all of us. Everybody will win.
If anybody manages to suggest a film which REALLY impresses -- maybe something I decide I need to go out and purchase after watching it on your suggestion -- I'll figure out something special to do for you. I have no idea what, yet, but I'll figure out something. Maybe I'll buy you a copy of one of the gal and my's favorite date movies. Maybe I'll dedicate a future Geek Beat to your favorite movies in honor of your excellent tastes. Be warned, however. If you submit an unworthy movie, I reserve full rights to poke fun at you.
So get to it. Tell me your favorite mixed-company flicks, and give me your best passionate explanation of why I should watch them. Remember, you're not just doing this for me, you are doing it for each other.
Oh, and for a quick note: If you were thinking of suggesting About a Boy, you are thinking along very good lines. However, you should probably suggest another movie because I already own it, and the Geek Beat Gal and I have watched it more than once together. Likewise, The Princess Bride is a perfect choice, but everybody already knows that. And you needn't suggest anything with Jimmy Stewart in it, because I'm already well aware of his amazing movie powers. Other than that, have at it.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
8-08-2006 @ 3:37PM
gambit410 said...
oh this is too easy, the top 2 geek movies that your significant other will love are Chasing Amy and The Princess Bride. Others i would throw in there depending on her taste include Labyrinth, the crow, mallrats and Dark Crystal. And just because the're good movies that anyone should like, try the lord of the rings trilogy, Unbreakable, Pirates of the Carribean, Spiderman 1 and 2, Xmen 1 and 2, Memento (no so much a geek film but you'll really like it and Chris nolan directed batman) and hey you could even try True Romance.
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8-08-2006 @ 3:42PM
Martha Fischer said...
I dunno, gambit. I'm a girl (although, granted not Mark's wife) and I HAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE Chasing Amy. Just, you know, for what it's worth. I'd say avoid that one like the plague!
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8-08-2006 @ 3:50PM
Vanessa said...
One really good date movie would be Millions. I also liked Notting Hill, Bridget Jones' Diary, My Best Friends Wedding. Indiana Jones is always good fun and so is the Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink.
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8-08-2006 @ 4:01PM
bgdc said...
For odd romances:
Secretary
Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down. (I'm not kidding about either. )
The Notebook too. It seems like a chick flick but it's just damn good in the end.
Thriller/Action films:
Red Eye. Girls embrace it because Rachel McAdams is tough and believable and guys like it because it's clever and fast.
The Rundown. Girls tend to like either The Rock or Seann William Scott and the odd humor and action are different, yet safe enough that nobody ever is offended.
Bound - strong acting, smart script and beautiful cinematography. Best film the Wachowskis ever made. I've watched this with several girlfriends and when it's over they're all...a little worked up in the right way.
Charade - Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn at their best. Girls always dig it. And it's a clever spy flick.
Comedy
Beautiful Girls - smart script, never condescends women, strong characters and great acting. I don't know a girl who dislikes this movie. And if you're not in love with natalie portman at the end...well you don't have an Nabakovian leanings.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - this one's always been money until my current girl who found it silly. Argh. Most girls embrace it for the humor, the love story, the fact it's not a normal cowboy movie.
Horror:
Scream - smart script, funny, and not at all scary.
Foreign:
Amelie - great visuals, funny, smart
A Very Long Engagement - great visuals, good story, smart
Devil's Backbone - horror with a brain and heart.
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8-08-2006 @ 4:03PM
bgdc said...
Martha, what was wrong with Chasing Amy? Curious as I find only two of Smith's movies watchable: Amy and Clerks II. The rest I could never see again and be very happy.
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8-08-2006 @ 4:19PM
Bishop said...
I would have to recommend The Boondock Saints, Ladder 49, and as my personal favorite Stand By Me. All these movies me and my girl are able to watch and enjoy together, even if we have seen them all multiple times.
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8-08-2006 @ 4:36PM
Amanda said...
Since you've already got Jimmy Stewart films covered (and I dearly hope that includes The Philadephia Story), I'll suggest throwing in some Hepburn and Tracy films - especially Adam's Rib...that one just never gets old...
Benny & Joon - my all-time fave picture, hands down. Gotta love a movie with the tagline "A romance on the brink of reality". Mary Stuart Masterson and Johnny Depp are unbelievable in this. The movie is surreal, beautiful, and just perfect, IMHO.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - how can you not love Terry Gilliam?? This one's got a semi Princess Bride feel to it, but much stranger and dreamier (when I had to pause the movie, I honestly felt like I had been woken up).
War of the Roses - So dark, and so funny. If you're having a fight, watching this will make your problems not seem so bad...(Unless your wife has an evil streak, and you have a dog you're attatched to. Don't want to give her any ideas.)
Raising Arizona - On the other side, if you're feeling a little screwed up relationship wise, this one might give you some hope. Holly Hunter and Nicolas Cage are PERFECT in this - so odd, so sweet...
Doctor Zhivago - 'Cause if you have to watch a chick flick, it might as well be a wicked awesome epic.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - great performances, great writing. I find this one really comforting, and it's definately romantic...
Garden State - another comforting one for me. Beautiful acting, dark humour, great visuals, and very hopeful (but without being sugary) - love it!
The Frighteners - campy and cheesy, but really intelligent. Just a fun movie, with some nice moments thrown in...Peter Jackson's great at letting you think you have the story figured out, and then messing with you...And the villians at the end just seem sooooo evil to me...
The Lost Boys - REALLY campy, really cheesy, and so so so much fun. I have to turn this one on anytime it's on...If you feel like reliving the eighties... :)
This Is Not a Film - really interesting mockumentary...Can't think of another romantic comedy where only half of the couple is in the movie...The acting in this one is really impressive, great job at pulling off non-actors on camera....
Amanda
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8-08-2006 @ 4:51PM
Kevin O'Shea said...
As a film major in college being in a similar situation with my girlfriend(four and a half years now), I have found that the middle road is hard one to find with movies, especially since not only is she NOT a geek, she also has a very short movie attention span. So, if a movie is too boring for her she uses the classic tricks of “distraction”. I find it kind of a challenge to find movies that the two of us can actually watch together, so here are a list we both went over and give our seal of approval of a geek and an enabler:
Garden State: Sappy, indie quarter life crisis goodness. This film is a staple in most rom-com diets.
Love Actually: Splendid rom-com with an amazing cast. It has the king of rom-com's, Hugh Grant, and a plethora of talent including: Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, and Liam Neeson. This film came out of nowhere for us, we went out to dinner and missed the original movie we had planned on seeing, and instead saw this, and it was worth it. The quirky cast and plot lines end up making this one of our favorites in our DVD library.
Sean of the Dead: This film was kinda a surprise hit with us, I knew I would like it since it had zombies and British humor, but I didn’t know how it would go over with my girlfriend. In short, she LOVED it. This film was fantastic for us, for two reasons: 1) It is laugh out loud hilarious, and 2) British Accents. Now, it is a scientific facts that members of the female persuasion love foreign accents, specifically European. This film was chock full of humor and had a great and unique spin on the zombie apocalypse story.
The Baxter: Fantastic comedy with a different take on romantic films. It comes from the same guys who did Wet Hot American Summer, MTV’s the State, and Comedy Central’s Stella. It stars Michael Showwalter, Michael Ian Black, and David Wain. It is a fun movie, with a pretty awesome cast.
More Films:
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
Grosse Pointe Blank
Say Anything(Anything from the Brat Pack really…)
The Royal Tenenbaums
Melinda and Melinda
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8-08-2006 @ 5:37PM
eugene said...
it's not as in depth as some of the above comments. and the only reason i put this is because the sheer shock i got from the reaction...
Con Air. i have a weakness for cheesy nic cage/bruckheimer action flicks. i thought this was solely a guy cheesy indiscretion, but my last lady friend absolutely loved Con Air and we watched that together for night of fun.
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8-08-2006 @ 7:35PM
Malla said...
My man & I are fairly evenly geekish, but he's a bit more out there than me. On days we're feeling not too geekish or can't agree these are our favorites not mentioned already.
Edward Scissorhands
The Thin Man series
Royal Tennenbaums
Baz Lurhmann's "Red Curtain" trilogy (Moulin Rouge, Strictly Ballroom, Romeo+Juliet)
Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
Now depending on how strong your collective senses of humor are, try:
Dudley Doright (Brendan Frazier & Sarah Jessica Parker)
Brenda Starr (Brooke Shields & Timothy Dalton, might be VHS only)
And finally, if you ever want to try some TV shows, give one of these a spin:
Freaks & Geeks
NewsRadio
Sledge Hammer
Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
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8-08-2006 @ 8:03PM
Icupnimpn2 said...
Mark,
Try "Amelie"
It's a real charmer that is just romantic enough for her and quirky enough for you.
I'd seen it before, but watched it with my wife while we were still dating and it won me brownie points. She, by the way, is a conservative/religious type while I am more alternative/geek with a strong interest in comics.
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8-08-2006 @ 8:48PM
janice said...
I'm glad I'm not married to you if you're showing the films recommended. Garden State??? That has to be one of the worst movies ever and I'm from NJ and I love Zach Braff. I'd stick with the campy ones and throw in silly ones like Captain Ron and anything with Steve Martin in it.
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8-08-2006 @ 9:28PM
Matt said...
Grosse Point Blank (I would say High Fidelity but you prob already own it)
The Jerk
The Great Escape (so well made that it got my g/f into war movies)
The Last of the Mohicans (For Her Daniel Day Lewis, For you bad ass fighting in the places where you grew up, if you are from New England/Upstate New York)
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8-08-2006 @ 10:48PM
Winston said...
Hmm well many of the good ones have been suggested, here's a few more.
The Sting - I saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid listed above, but the Sting is the better Paul Newman/Robert Redford duo. Classic Joplin soundtrack, fun con man movie, classy the whole way through.
Amelie - most definitely
Elf - watch it around the holidays or not, but it's one of Will Ferrel's classic performances, light hearted but not cheesy (until the ending, but it's forgivable)
Millions - hopefully destined to be a classic, this movie has great imagination, great story, and most of all, Danny Boyle handles it with great fun.
Waking Ned Divine - great little Irish comedy about a town attempting to claim the lottery prize won by one of their own. Unfortunately his elation was his demise, but they try to honor him well.
Danny Deckchair - great little Australian comedy about a man who lives as he wishes, until he finds out what living is truly about. I really loved this movie. Maybe has a feeling like About a Boy, which I too love.
Almost Famous - one of Cameron Crowe's autobiographical movies about being on the road with a rock band in the 70's. Great quotes and superfun soundtrack.
Edward Scissorhands - this is a great geek chick flick. Seriously, Johnny Depp as a Frankenstein with scissors for hands? And there's romance? Too good to pass up.
In America - film about a couple who moves into Hells Kitchen new york to find a better life. This movie is completely touching, I love the scene especially where the oldest daughter sings "Desperado." That scene has so much subtle meaning. Excellent film.
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8-08-2006 @ 11:36PM
Jette said...
Some of the movies my husband and I have watched and enjoyed together include Repo Man, The Big Lebowski, Duck Soup, Dick, The Blues Brothers, and the 1938 classic Holiday. We're also quite fond of SpongeBob SquarePants (the movie and the TV show). He can't stand Muppets, I'm bored by Star Trek, but it all works somehow.
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8-09-2006 @ 11:29AM
Brendon Connelly said...
She and I went to see Hostel on Valentine's day this year.
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8-09-2006 @ 12:30PM
WillK said...
Excellent question, and love what everyone is saying, you're giving me ideas too.
The best nothing-to-do-right-now, movie-watching-with-my-girlfriend times I've had are with seasons of Angel and Buffy. There is not only so much included for both sexes (fighting, mythology, mystery, complex themes and excellent writing, good love stories) but they tend to switch around styles as well. One episode funny, another dark, one episode romantic, another flipant. AND there is so much of them decision time when trying to watch something is easy as it takes forever to finish a season, and there's 12 of them total.
But if you're not going to splurg on all of them at once seasons 2 and 3 of both Buffy and Angel are the best, with season 2 of Angel being my fav. Avoid season 4 of both series.
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8-09-2006 @ 12:39PM
King Dan said...
Get a bottle of red wine, rent Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, and make a night of it.
Everyone I know enjoyed seeing Donny Darko for the first time.
And I agree with a few people above. Eternal Sunshine is a movie that most people seem to get into for one reason or another.
Also, I know it just came out in theaters, but you might want to take her out to see Little Miss Sunshine. It covers a whole lot of ground.
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8-09-2006 @ 1:57PM
Matty said...
Check out Mumford. It's my favorite movie that few people know about. Great cast. Lawrence Kasdan doing what he does best. If you like quirkiness, you'll love Mumford.
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8-09-2006 @ 9:30PM
JTA said...
Woody Allen romantic comedies, such as Annie Hall and Manhattan, and, for those who don't really like watching Allen in his films, the great (and greatly underrated) Sweet and Lowdown. Sean Penn and Samantha Morton are beyond wonderful.
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