1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15-20, and 22 for the Movie Lover's Asks, please?
A movie you consider a gift to humanity?
Okay, okay, I'll just go ahead and say the expected thing: Lord of the Rings. That trilogy did so much for us in the areas of adaptation, revitalizing the fantasy genre, and just movie-making in general. They were the first (I think?) to make a fully CG, photorealistic character stand alongside real people and be 100% believable. They invented techniques and programs that are still used to this day. They did things a lot of people probably thought could never be done, and did them so well that it's like a challenge to the rest of the world to make something even half as good. We owe them a debt of gratitude.
3. A movie that could have benefited from a different director?
I've always thought that the only director who really understood Harry Potter was David Yates. Thankfully, he was in charge for half the series, but if he'd been at the helm for the first four movies as well, I think they'd be a lot better.
5. One of your favourite lead acting performances?
*deer in the headlights* There are so manyyyy.... Okay, just to pick one: Max Records in I Am Not a Serial Killer. He plays John Cleaver, the main character (who is a sociopath but not a serial killer), and he does such a phenomenal job of it. There's such a subtlety in all of his acting choices, where you can often see both him trying to act normal but also, if you're paying attention, you can see his thoughts teetering on the edge of the depths that he both wants to plunge into and doesn't at the same time. And he was still a teenager when they filmed it!
7. One of your favourite secondary acting performances?
Luis from the first two Ant-Man movies XD He's my favorite part of both movies, especially the scenes where he's telling his convoluted story of how he got some information or something. I was really disappointed when he wasn't in Quantumania.
9. One of your favourite ensemble cast performances?
The whole cast of the Dungeons and Dragons movie was a real hoot. They all played off each other really well, and each of them did a really good job with their individual characters too. Which is really appropriate for a D&D movie!
11. A favourite soundtrack and how it elevates the movie?
The Signs soundtrack did not need to go as hard as it did. It's just a horror movie, right? It could have mostly consisted of just creepy music, violins scraping frenetically during the jumpscares or whatever. But no, M. Night Shyamalan got James Newton Howard to do the soundtrack. And so he started with just a three-note motif, and bent that into so many different shapes. With just three notes, he was able to convey anxiety, terror, heroism, determination, dread, hope, peace...everything the characters feel is conveyed so masterfully. Another thing that's so great about how the soundtrack is used is actually in the parts where the music doesn't play. If you ask me, the most effective part of the horror of this movie is in the sounds (which is what always scares me the most anyway). And there are lots of moments where the music cuts out entirely, and sometimes there's not even that much to look at, so you find yourself leaning in closer, straining to catch the slightest sounds. The restraint of the soundtrack is just as impressive as when the violins are galloping away on that three-note motif. And even if you aren't familiar with the movie...you gotta admit that the last track is just really beautiful.
12. A movie with superior costumes/make up?
After LotR, Star Wars is probably the one I think of first when I think of good costumes. A lot of the costumes are relatively simple, just Jedi robes and straightforward uniforms, but every bit of the costumes tells the story it needs to - from the choices of color, to the real-world associations with samurai for the Jedi or Nazis for the Empire. And of course everything Padme wears and every intricate way she does her hair is just eye-popping. Oh, and let's not forget that a large part of the costumes is all the makeup and prosthetics and full-body suits they had to put on people to make such a diverse range of alien species too.
15. A movie with superior animation?
I gotta put in a good word for The Wild Robot. Every frame of that movie looks like a painting. The colors are so vibrant and pretty!
16. One of your favourite musicals?
I'm not a huge fan of musicals in general, but Mary Poppins has always been one of my favorites. Almost all of the songs are memorable and very singable, even by someone like me. Just a couple weeks ago, my sister and I burst into a chorus of "Sister Suffragette" XD
17. One of your favourite singing performances in a musical?
Since I watched it semi-recently (okay...it was actually like six months ago ^^'), The Sound of Music came to mind immediately. I really like the scene where Captain Von Trapp comes inside, sees his children singing, and then joins in himself. The harmonies are beautiful, everyone's performances are so soft and sweet, and it's such an emotional high point in the story too. It became even more touching when I learned that Christopher Plummer was a bit aloof on set before that point, so when he comes in all smiling and softly singing, so obviously full of love and joy, some of the children started crying for real because they'd thought he was as mean and stern as his character :')
18. A story you want to see as an animated movie?
I had a stray thought out of nowhere recently that it would be really cool to see Half-Magic by Edward Eager turned into an animated movie, with a similar style to the illustrations in the book. I'm imagining the animation being stylized kind of like in the "Rhapsody in Blue" sequence from Fantasia 2000, just something that gives off a very 1920's(?) feel.
19. A story you want to see as a live action movie?
I've always thought The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi would make a really good movie. Yes, it would be hard to do it in live-action, since most of it takes place on a ship and you'd have to have a real one in the water (at least, it would certainly look a lot better than doing the whole thing on greenscreen). And you'd have to find just the right girl to play Charlotte. But it's such an exciting story, I think it would make for a riveting movie.
20. A movie you want a sequel to?
A QUIET PLACE 3 WHEN >:( It just really feels like we need more of a conclusion to wrap up the story of this family we've followed and agonized over for two movies.
22. A sequel that was better than the original?
I'm of the unpopular opinion that Aladdin and the King of Thieves is juuuuust slightly better than the original Aladdin. That's probably got a lot to do with my penchant for father-son stories, as well as...well, even though a lot of the movie revolves around Aladdin and Jasmine's wedding, I like the romance even better because it's already established (and is no longer founded upon lies). Not to mention that, while I love the Genie no matter what, I think his jokes are a bit funnier in King of Thieves. My siblings and I still quote a lot of them to this day (such as "Do not attempt to move, or we will be shooting ourselves.").
