#MTOS - Sunday 28th December - Monster Movies

Movie Talk on Sunday

Sunday 28th December - MONSTER MOVIES

Hosted by @katriona1013

 

 

I love monster movies. I love their schlock, their steep in the Victorian, and their ability to be both about the misunderstood soul-searching for their place in time and the most unique of bloody laughable massacres. In recent years, the latter has become more favourable. 

So let's talk monsters, in all their forms. Let's talk Frankenstein's Monster, the Kaiju, inexplicably large snakes, gorillas too far from the jungle, and the lesser mentioned water predators with a penchant for skinny dippers.

Starting at 20:00 (GMT) on Sunday 28th December 2014, I'll ask one question every 10 minutes. So, please retweet the link and get folk involved in the event. Just make sure you include the question number and the #MTOS hashtag in your tweets when you answer. That way we can keep track of who says what, making discussion and debate that little bit clearer. For example:

"#MTOS A1. Just try and tell me there's a better monster movie than Mommie Dearest." 

And without further ado, here are the topic questions:
 

Q1. What is your favourite serious monster movie?

Q2. What is your favourite monster movie that doesn't necessarily take itself that seriously?

Q3. Is there a monster movie you hate? In the generation of movies that walk the tightrope of pastiche and parody, is there one you simply cannot stand? And why?

Q4. What monster/super-animal do you feel are currently under represented in the current monster movie market?

Q5. What is your favourite type of monster? Examples of its best scenes?

Q6. Which short-lived character from a monster movie do you wish lasted longer in the film than they did and why?

Q7. What's your favourite battle/action scene from a monster movie?

Q8. What's your favourite character death from a monster movie? Do provide links where possible so we can all enjoy.

Q9. What's your favourite tagline from a monster movie? Bonus question - do you have better, more fitting taglines for a particular film?

Q10. If you could have two movie monsters square off against each other, which two would you choose? Which do you think would win?

#MTOS - Sunday 16th November - Westerns

Movie Talk on Sunday

Sunday 16th November - WESTERNS

Tombstone... Monument Valley... Hill Valley circa 1885... The Old West itself. The stark American landscape which saw hard living, hard dying and the births of legend. For this week's #MTOS, we're going to devote our time to the best of the Western genre. Who made it good, who made it beautiful, who made it the foundation of American cinema. Did Eastwood look the best in a stetson? Is it Newman, Morricone or Bernstein you hear when you think of those dusty plains? Was it Ford or Hawks that stirred your passions for the great American frontier? Come on and join the fun as we celebrate, denigrate and generally pontificate over one of the great genres of film.

Starting at 20:00 (GMT) on Sunday 16th November 2014, I'll ask one question every 10 minutes. Just make sure you include the question number and the #MTOS hashtag in your tweets when you answer. That way we can keep track of who says what, making discussion and debate that little bit clearer. For example:

"#MTOS A1. Jonah Hex is the best Western ever. Period."

So, please follow me on Twitter (@PaulCinephile), retweet the link and get folk involved in the event. I look forward to seeing what kind of standoffs and uneasy partnerships develop over the course of the evening.

Saddle up, folks, here are the topic questions:

1. Do you like Westerns? Were they always a part of your movie-watching life, or something you came to later?

2. Violent and gritty or slow and elegiac; lawmen vs. outlaws or settlers vs. the frontier... what type of Western do you prefer?

3. Which director do you think made the best work in the Western genre?

4. Wayne, Cooper, Eastwood, Murphy, or someone else... to you, who is the defining face of the Western genre?

5. Who is your favourite Western hero (or anti-hero)? Who is your favourite villain?

6. Westerns had given us some cracking music over the years, both in song and in score. Furnish us with your favourite piece.

7. Westerns have often been given a twist and combined with other genres (noir, sf, comedy, etc.). What are some of your favourite films to do this?

8. Other countries have taken their own crack at the Western genre. What non-American Westerns do you enjoy?

9. What do you think is the best "classic" Western (pre-1990)? What do you think is the best contemporary Western (post-1990)?

10. What 3 Westerns would you recommend for people who are just beginning their journey into the Western?



Thanks for taking part, cowpoke. Now go set yourself up with a nice sarsaparilla. I gotta be getting along.

#MTOS - Sunday 30th March - Technology and Special Effects

 Movie Talk on Sunday

Sunday 30th March - TECHNOLOGY AND SPECIAL EFFECTS

 Hosted by @katriona1013

Viewers may experience feelings of Atomonesia!

This week I want to take a look at Technology and Special Effects in the movies.

Let's talk about the best and worst movements in technology throughout cinema history, and the present state of things. Are we going down the right road at the moment with IMAX, CGI and Higher Frame Rates? Are there any pieces of technological history, like stop motion, glorious Technicolor or model work that you miss or are there pieces like Cinerama that you feel have passed us by that you think warrants another look? What about audience experience and how that's changing? Are we going dangerously close to William Castle with D-Boxes and the 4D experience?

Starting at 20:00 (GMT) on Sunday 30th March 2014, I'll ask one question every 10 minutes. To answer, make sure you include the question number and the #MTOS hashtag in your tweets. That way we can keep track of who says what, making discussion easier. For example:
"#MTOS A1. There is no better resolution than on paper film. There just isn't!

The questions are below.

Example of how Cinerama looked

Q1. What piece of film technology do you think changed movies for the better?

Q2. What piece of film technology do you think have changed movies for the wrong reasons?

Q3. What has been the most important change or movement in film technology thus far?

Q4. Do you have a cinematic pioneer or hero and why?

Q5. Who do you think has been the most influential person in cinema and why?

Audience enjoying some 3rd Dimensionality

Q6. Is it important we keep moving forward in technology/gimmickry or are we reaching a critical mass?

Q7. Does the world still have a place for older technologies, like stop motion or model work?

Q8. Are there any lost techniques you think should be reevaluated or rediscovered, for example Cinerama?

Q9. Where would you like cinema to go next in terms of technological advancement?

Q10. What do you think is the future of cinema, or the next big thing?

Thanks for joining in!

How was it for you?