Hey! Welcome to Thursday Movie Picks where you get to share your movie picks for each topic presented every Thursday! Based on the theme presented each week, you can pick up to 3 to 5 movies and explain why you picked those movies! This meme is being hosted by Wandering through the Shelves!
This week's theme is: Favorite Films by Steven Spielberg!
OH MY GOD!!! I love this topic! I have been a huge fan of Steven Spielberg's films ever since I was a child and I had a lot of favorite films from him! So, here are some of my favorite Steven Spielberg films!
A pragmatic Paleontologist visiting an almost complete theme park is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose.
Oh my goodness! I had always LOVED this movie growing up! I just loved the way that the movie explores about the ups and downs of creating something that you thought would benefit mankind, but it ended up destroying mankind due to you losing control over your creation! Also, DINOSAURS!!!
Intrepid reporter Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock's ancestor.
When Captain James Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.
I remembered loving this movie when I was little and it was one of the late Robin Williams' finest performances! I also liked the alternative take it had on the Peter Pan mythos! I may need to rewatch this film again to see if it still holds up.
This first film in the Jurassic Park franchise is terrific. I wasn't too sure about it when I first walked into the theatre but it grabs you almost from the first instant and doesn't let go until the end. Sadly the same can't be said for the sequels.
ReplyDeleteI didn't love Hook. Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman are super but Julia Roberts is terrible as Tinkerbell and drags the film down. It's not a disaster but I thought it was middling.
I haven't seen Adventures of Tintin. I'm not much for comics and since I wasn't familiar with this one I just never had the urge to seek it out.
I've seen most of Spielberg's films but I’ve used all of my favorites (Raiders, Saving Pvt. Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, Lincoln, Bridge of Spies and The Post) theatrical releases before so I turned to a handful of his early TV films that I admired.
Duel (1971)-Suspense film of salesman Dennis Weaver driving through the desert and unconsciously offending a psychotic truck driver who then doggedly pursues him with the object of killing him. While it sounds simple Spielberg makes it incredibly taut. His first solo film directing effort was an enormous hit making his reputation.
Something Evil (1972)-Married couple Paul and Marjorie Worden (Darren McGavin and Sandy Dennis) move into what seems to be a bucolic Pennsylvania farm house with their kids and at first all is good. But suddenly disturbing events begin to transpire and Marjorie suspects what had only been hinted at by the locals before-the house is possessed by the Devil! Good acting and Spielberg’s firm hand make it a cut above. A precursor of his later Poltergeist.
Savage (1973)-Martin Landau plays Paul Savage, a renowned TV investigative reporter with his own weekly show (think a 70’s Anderson Cooper) covering the proposed nomination of a candidate to the Supreme Court. When the news is announced Savage is contacted by Lee Raynolds, a young woman in possession of damaging evidence she’s willing to sell. Savage goes to the network boss (a very young Dabney Coleman) for the cash but then word arrives that Lee is dead, a supposed suicide. But is that really so? Looking for answers leads Savage into a labyrinth of lies and deceit. A decent story enhanced by Spielberg’s directorial touches and aided by a strong cast including Barbara Bain (Landau’s wife at the time), Will Geer (Grandpa Walton) and Pat Harrington. This was Spielberg’s final TV gig before moving into features.
Bonus:
Eyes (1969)-Claudia Menlo (Joan Crawford) a fabulously rich but mercenary woman (she tells her doctor "My single abiding interest is MYSELF"!) who has been blind since birth blackmails a surgeon (Barry Sullivan-who also appears in Savage) to transplant the eyes of a desperate man she has bought so she can see for twelve hours. The surgery is a success but an unexpected hitch pitches her back into darkness. The second segment of the pilot for the TV show Night Gallery was Spielberg’s first professional directorial job and he aces it with an assured hand helped by Crawford’s accomplished performance.
Oooh! I didn't know that Spielberg worked on some TV shows before he became a movie director. Very interesting list!
DeleteAww Hook! I forgot about Tin Tin, that was a pretty decent film. We match on Jurassic Park
ReplyDeleteJurassic Park was such a fantastic film (way better than the sequels anyway).
DeleteWe share Jurassic Park.
ReplyDeleteCool!
DeleteOh man, Hook was SO GOOD! Glad to see it on a list this week!
ReplyDeleteAgree!
DeleteWait, Hook is Spielberg!? I like that movie but I can't remember if I've seen it 100% from start to finish. I'd have to rewatch it just in case.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Spielberg directed Hook. I need to rewatch that movie too!
DeleteJurassic Park is a good film and bloody scary. It much better than the ones that come out now I have no real desire to see Tin Tin but I did enjoy Hook which I watch 2 years ago and it was better than I thought it would be. Williams is great as he always is
ReplyDeleteAgree!
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