♫ SUMMERTIME AND THE BLOGGING IS EASY ♫
Do you love movies? Here’s a fun summer #Blogfest for cinema buffs.
Credit goes to my friend Guilie Castillo, who tagged me to play along on Twitter.
DETAILS:
Answer this question: What four films define you? Describe how and include a brief outline and trailer for each movie.Help yourself to a logo (below) and link back to this post. When you’re finished, add your entry to the list below. It will be open until Aug. 31, so take your time. If you don’t have a blog, or prefer not to write a post, you can play along in the comment section. In the spirit of a good linkup, please visit the other participants, comment on their posts and share them to your social media networks. Thanks for joining the party!
[NB: Entries that do not contain a post specific to the theme will be summarily removed!]
Here we go!
I’ll post the descriptions and trailers first,
adding my personal connections underneath.
EASY RIDER
Easy Rider is a 1969 American independent road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper played two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South carrying the proceeds from a cocaine deal.
The success of Easy Rider helped spark the New Hollywood era of filmmaking during the early 1970s. A landmark counterculture film, and a “touchstone for a generation” that “captured the national imagination”, Easy Rider explores the societal landscape, issues, and tensions in the United States during the 1960s, such as the rise of the hippie movement, drug use, and communal lifestyle.
Real drugs were used in scenes showing the use of marijuana and other substances. Easy Rider was released by Columbia Pictures on July 14, 1969, grossing $60 million worldwide from a filming budget of no more than $400,000.
Critics have praised the performances, directing, writing, soundtrack, visuals, and atmosphere. The film was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1998. – WIKIPEDIA
More than any other, I adore this movie on many levels! Ever since Scott McKenzie first sang about San Francisco in 1967, the hippie philosophy has captured my imagination (without the drug aspect – was never my “thing”. More about that in a second.)
And the music! Getting high on the music was and still is MY drug of choice. So many great songs are peppered throughout this film. My love affair with Steppenwolf’s music began in 1968, when “Born To Be Wild” first came out.
This taste of ‘heavy metal thunder” started my transformation from “teenybopper” to “hippie/rockchick”. The movie completed it.
EASY RIDER SOUNDTRACK
THE BUCKET LIST
The Bucket List is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.
The main plot follows two terminally ill men on their travels, with a wish list of things to do before they “kick the bucket”, from which the film gets its title.
It premiered on December 15, 2007 in Hollywood and opened in limited release in the United States on December 25, 2007, by Warner Bros. The film then had a wide release on January 11, 2008.
Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film was chosen by National Board of Review as one of the top ten films of 2007 and was a box office success, grossing $175 million worldwide.
– WIKIPEDIAI’m all about the “Bucket List” these days! (Minus the sad terminal illness part, thank goodness.) Several years ago, it hit me hard that time was running out, faster and faster every day.
I made it a personal mission to cross off as many items as possible, while we’re still young and (relatively) healthy enough to do so. (I’m 63 and hubby will turn 68 next week.) So far, several items have been crossed off:
#1 Visit Greece (2013)
You can read about that fabulous trip HERE. This is an ongoing series.
There will be some Greek stops during our cruise this fall as well.
#2 Go back to my German birthplace (2013)
After 41 years away, not much had changed. Details HERE.
#3 Visit Italy (1968, 1990, 2013)
First, there was a trip to the Italian Riviera with my mother.
Later on, I married an Italian whose family still lives in Italy (Bari and Rome).
We have toured Rome and the south extensively and will add more stops in the fall.
(Plus revisit Rome)
GREEK ODYSSEY – A LIFETIME DREAM COME TRUE!
ROME, ITALY 1990
HOME AGAIN AFTER 41 YEARS!4. See all my favourite singers/bands in concert
“Confessions of an Ageing Rockchick” outlined most of these, but one remained elusive.
FINALLY, after waiting many years, I got to see Metallica last summer (2017). What a trip!
In the fall, five more bucket list items will be crossed off, during our 45th Anniversary Trip:
Barcelona, Florence/Pisa, Malta, Corfu and Venice.
We’ll have to start adding some new items after that!
PIRATE RADIO
The Boat That Rocked (retitled Pirate Radio in North America), is a 2009 British comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis, with pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s as its setting.
The film has an ensemble cast featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, and Kenneth Branagh. Set in 1966, it tells the story of the fictitious pirate radio station “Radio Rock” and its crew of eclectic disc jockeys, who broadcast rock and pop music to the United Kingdom from a ship anchored in the North Sea while the British government endeavours to shut them down. – WIKIPEDIA
This movie didn’t do so well at the box office, but, it was a big hit with me! Not only was it a fun story, but more importantly, the music transported me back to the time I was living in Europe and listening to the real pirate radio. Talk about a “Soundtrack Of My Life” moment!
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Midnight in Paris is a 2011 fantasy comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. Set in Paris, the film follows Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a screenwriter, who is forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationship with his materialistic fiancée (Rachel McAdams) and their divergent goals.
These become increasingly exaggerated as he travels back in time each night at midnight. The movie explores themes of nostalgia and modernism. It premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and was released in the United States on May 20, 2011.
The film opened to critical acclaim and has commonly been cited as one of Allen’s best films in recent years. In 2012, the film won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Screenplay, and was nominated for three other Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Art Direction. – WIKIPEDIA
Now it’s your turn!
If you’d like to participate in the blogfest, let me know in comments and add your entry to the list below. It will be open until Aug. 31/18, so take your time. In the spirit of a good blog hop, please link back to here, grab the logo above, visit the other participants, comment on their posts and share them to your social media networks. If you don’t have a blog or prefer not to write a post, you can play along in the comment section. Thanks for joining the party!
Wishing everyone a great summer!
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Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
29 thoughts on “MOVIE LOVERS #BLOGFEST”
OK, so I joined and didn’t respond here?? My head is up my butt but I love the films you show here. I always have to laugh about Easy Rider because my mom was told to rent it and she did! She didn’t understand a thing and thought it was so stupid…I know the person who recommended it to her and probably had a good laugh:) I have to still see Midnight in Paris which is one Woody Allen film I really always wanted to see. The Boat that Rocked sounds and looks hilarious with my fav-Bill Nighy. I have this on my list to see and hope to see it one day soon. I love it that you listened to the real boat at that time. How wonderful to be able to step back in time and enjoy Europe and the music.
Hi Birgit; No worries; it’s summer and blogging takes a backseat to other things. 🙂 It’s a pity you’re the only one who joined up, though. I guess this idea was too much work for others, as opposed to a simple Q&A, which I did last year. Oh well! It was fun to do, regardless. I’m glad you enjoyed my selections. Easy Rider left a huge impression on me and was pivotal in my musical and personal evolvement. ♥ You will LOVE “Midnight in Paris”, guaranteed! Pirate Radio didn’t do well at the box office, but it sure brought back a lot of memories for me. Plus, it was a fun story and I too love Bill Nighy. (Love, Actually is my all-time fave). Thanks for coming by. Hope you’re having a good summer. Cheers!
Oh wow! I totally forgot that you had done this blog hop post! I remember you teasing it and then somehow I missed it (which isn’t hard to believe; my life is so crazy that I feel scattered more often than not these days…). Anyway; AWESOME POST!!! You did an amazing job with this one Debbie.
Love your movie picks — well, three of them. I have not yet seen “Pirate Radio”but you can bet I’m going to see it as soon as I can. THAT looks like a fabulously fun film! I hope I can find it on Netflix or Hulu or Vudu or somewhere…
Re: “Easy Rider”: fantastic movie that I haven’t seen in quite a long time. I’m trying to recall the exact ending; I know someone gets shot and I can’t remember if it’s Jack Nicholson or he’s the one who does the shooting. It’s a disturbing ending I remember, yet I can’t recall it fully. Guess I’ll have to see that one (again) too… Didn’t Jack Nicholson get his first Oscar nod from his performance in this movie? He was so young back then! He’s had quite the career. I remember a few years back when Peter Fonda made a surprising guest appearance in a movie and it was so cool when he showed up on screen. I remember being in the theater at the time and it was such an exciting moment, the whole audience stirred over seeing him. What movie was that?? I can’t remember now. I’ll go look it up in a minute. The Easy Rider soundtrack is fantastic! And now The Pusher is probably going to be my earworm all day tomorrow. 🙂
“Bucket List”: I saw it on the Big Screen when it first came out and loved it. It’s hard not to love a movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, two of my faves. You, my friend, have an incredible life. The amount of world traveling you have done astonishes me. If only I could be so lucky. Maybe in another lifetime…
Your 45th Anniversary trip is sure to be out of this world!
As for “Midnight in Paris” – when I saw the title, I didn’t remember seeing it but then I recognized the synopsis and was thrilled to see the trailer and the scene with Owen Wilson and Corey Stoll (LOVE him!). That was such a cool movie. Another one I saw at the theater when it came out. What a fun concept that script/movie was.
Oh, and I figured out which movie it was that Peter Fonda made a surprise cameo in: it was “Wild Hogs”, the 2007 movie starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William Macy. It was a delicious treat seeing him in that film.
I’m pretty sure I’m going to join in on this hop. When is the question. At least I have until 8/31. Hopefully I can find some time to devote to it between now and then…
Excellent post Debbie. I so enjoyed…
I’ll get to your travelogue post later. I have to go to bed now. it’s almost 3am and I have to get up early…
talk soon,
Michele at Angels Bark
Hi Michele; The sad part about Easy Rider is that all three main characters get killed. I found this interesting opinion piece about it:
http://screenprism.com/insights/article/downbeat-ending-easy-rider
Wiild Hogs is one of my favourite comedies! 😀 Loved Peter Fonda’s cameo! He still looks cool. I was lucky to have lived in Europe. Travelling there is so easy there, with all those small countries close together. Hubby caught the wanderlust fever from me and he’s as eager to travel now as I am. Although he was born and raised in Italy, he never explored his fabulous country when he was young, I can’t imagine that! 😮 Pirate Radio has to be available online somewhere, but likely not Netflix. At least, I haven’t seen it there. It’s a fun movie with a fantastic soundtrack! Thanks for coming by and checking out the blogfest. I hope you’ll get the chance to join in. Sounds like you’re pretty swamped these days!
Debbie,
This looks like a fun blogfest. I hope to join in but I’m not sure if I will get it done before the end of August. We watched “The Bucket List”…correction we started it but lost interest then I finished it up one day while on the Elliptical. It was an okay film but the ending was so sad. Those kind of movies usually aren’t big winners with us. We also saw “Midnight in Paris” which was a fun flick. It almost seems like we’ve seen “Easy Rider” but I don’t remember anything about it. As for the others, they are new-to-me. Good mewsic in movies is hard to beat and sometimes help you to remember them better or like you said connects you with memories. Happy Birthday to Canada and thanks for joining me on the dance floor today, my friend. Have a groovy summer!
Thanks for checking out the blogfest, Cathy! 🙂 No pressure at all to join, but, the more the merrier. Bad time of year for such things, I guess, which is why I’m keeping it open so long. Yes, The Bucket List had a sad ending, but for me, it’s more about embracing the philosophy, which I have, wholeheartedly. We all die eventually and don’t know when, so I feel it’s important to see and do as many things we love as we can before it’s too late. Have a fabulous 4th of July!
Fascinating blog hop, Debbie. Love your choices…and most of all your own bucket list. So important to have one! I will join you as soon as I’ve finished stressing over my own list…how to boil it down to 4! Sigh. Now you’ve got me going… Thanks. Hugs!
Thanks, Vidya! 🙂 Looking forward to your entry. No rush! It’s open until Aug, 31. I Appreciate your interest. ♥
I can’t believe I haven’t seen Easy Rider yet. I need to. I’m a Like Water for Chocolate kind of gal myself. Sexy and has chocolate.
Easy Rider was a pivotal film for our generation, Rebecca. Hope you get the chance to see it. If you’re into rock music, the soundtrack is also fantastic. I haven’t seen Like Water for Chocolate, but your description makes it attractive. 🙂 Thanks for coming by!
I’ve only seen one of these movies – The Bucket List. Midnight in Paris is now on my ‘must watch’ list!
I’m sure you’ll love “Midnight in Paris”, Corinne. I was captivated and charmed by it! ♥ Thanks for coming by and have a good weekend.
This is a neat idea, DEBBIE.
I have seen the first and fourth movies you listed. I really liked ‘Midnight In Paris’, also.
I would need to give this concept some thought to make sure I got it right. But I do know, without having to think about it, that the first movie on my list would be ‘MONTE WALSH’, a 1970 Western starring Lee Marvin & Jack Palance.
The first time I saw that movie, I was so overwhelmed by the realization that Monte Walsh (Lee Marvin) was me, that I watched the entire movie a second time, when I woke up the next morning — about 8 hours after having seen it for the first time.
Another movie that would probably have to be on my list also happens to be my favorite movie of all time — ‘KOYAANISQATSI’ (1982). The film has no story, no actors, no dialogue. It’s just images and music. How I would manage to explain how THAT defines me would be a rather tricky creative exercise, but I’d find a way.
Interesting post, Debbie!
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents ‘BATTLE OF THE BANDS’
I’m glad you like this blogfest idea, Stephen. Pretty sure I saw Monthy Walsh a long time ago. I’ve never heard of “Koyaanisquatsi”, but the Wiki sounds interesting:
The film consists primarily of slow motion and time-lapse footage of cities and many natural landscapes across the United States. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and music. Reggio explained the lack of dialogue by stating “it’s not for lack of love of the language that these films have no words. It’s because, from my point of view, our language is in a state of vast humiliation. It no longer describes the world in which we live.”
Thanks for checking this out! I hope you’ll join us. Open until Aug, 31, so you have plenty of time. 🙂
I’ve seen all of these movies, and I heartily approve of your choices. I guess that makes sense, since I heartily approve of you. I also congratulate you on setting goals and reaching them.
Love,
Janie
Thank you, Janie. We are doing our best to make the most of things with the time we have. 🙂
I have not watched these movies, so I really don’t know what to say. Leave it to you to feature films with prominent soundtracks, which is cool.
I went for a long time without seeing any full length feature films. However, recently, my grand kids watch movies at our house, and I will sit in. I really enjoyed the two films that featured Groot. They had a lot of songs I know well.
No surprise about the music, for sure! 🙂 I had to Google “Groot”. Guardians of the Galaxy, yes? No kids in my world, so I guess we’re missing out. Thanks for coming by!
You certainly are all over the board movie-wise- though all are music themed, no surprise! I am not much of a movie person and would be really hard-pressed to come up with something that I have both actually watched and meets the criteria. Though I imagine it would have to be some kind of Monty Python style farce, lol!
Hi Chris; Music is such a huge part of my life, so yes, it’s logical that two of these have killer soundtracks. The other two resonated in different ways. Monty Python and the Holy Grail? 😉 Thanks for checking this out.
I’ll have to think about it (which movies define me) but I will try to be a part of this. Looks fun (and introspective)
It is easier for me with tv shows (JD from Scrubs, Hawkeye Pierce from MASH)
Hi Roshan; Yes, please do join us. 🙂 This linky list is open until end of August, so there’s no rush. Haha! Lots of TV shows with doctors in them. That would be easy for you. Thanks for coming by!
Okay. I know this was about the movies but I’m really in love with your bucket list and I am so happy that you’re crossing so many things off! Yay, you! Super happy for you! – I’ll have to think about some movies. I do like your pick of Easy Rider. One word to describe it? Cool… The Bucket List movie I liked the general idea but as a cancer survivor, I tend not to watch movies with that theme.
Thanks, Mimi; I think it’s important to make as many memories as possible while we still can. That’ll give us something to remember in our old age. 😉 I can understand why you wouldn’t want to watch any movie about people having cancer. Living through it must have been horrendous. So glad you did! I’m sorry this terrible disease has invaded your family. I hope you’ll join the blogfest. It’s open until the end of August, so no rush. Thanks for checking it out! 🙂
Well, I saw Midnight in Paris and have the DVD around here someplace. I never even heard of the other movies. Not sure what I would pick.
Midnight in Paris totally captured my imagination! 😀 You must like it too if you have the DVD. I do, as well. The Bucket List drove home the point that life is short and we need to enjoy it while we can. Thanks for dropping in, Denise! 🙂
This does sound very interesting, Debbie! Will think it over.
Oh, and The Bucket List is one of my fav films! 🙂
I’m glad you’re interested, Shilpa! 🙂 Lots of time to decide. Thanks for checking it out. The Bucket List totally inspired me. 😀