# Help me with some movie programming, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 4, 2023, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118 "2023-12-04T23:48:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/41 "2023-12-05T14:21:55Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Wow, a Brad Pitt month with neither Fight Club OR Twelve Monkeys (or even Snatch), I would personally only rate Moneyball as watchable of those three. But if anything the dope has taught me is that everyone has every opinion… 🙂 Choices do not necessarily reflect _my_ tastes entirely. I am programming for two, and need to take that into account. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/42 "2023-12-05T14:22:27Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > _Gravity_? The Bullock/Clooney film. Definitely “Stuff goes wrong in space, and we have to get our [wo]man home using engineering” or at least, she has to get herself home. Good choice. I’d forgotten about that film, and neither of us has seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/43 "2023-12-05T16:20:22Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > I would personally only rate Moneyball as watchable of those three. Strong disagree - **A River Runs Through It** is a gem. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/44 "2023-12-05T16:58:01Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I would do a Paul Newman month: > > - The Sting > - Cool Hand Luke > - The Hustler > - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid > - The Verdict\* Not _Hud_, _Cat On A Hot Tin Roof_, _The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean_ or _The Hudsucker Proxy_? For shame, sir, for shame! (I kid; Newman has so many good performances that it’s hard to distill down to a narrow list.) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/45 "2023-12-05T17:15:13Z")
> [@carlb](#): > > I was going to pair _Apollo 13_ with _The Martian._ Stuff goes wrong in space, we’ve got to get our men/man back home through science and engineering. But then I was thinking I’d rather do _The Right Stuff_ paired with _Apollo 13_. So, if I went that route, what would you pair with _The Martian_? Or, leave the original pairing as-is, because _The Right Stuff_ is long enough as it is, and maybe best shown by itself? I would lump _The Right Stuff_ and _Apollo 13_ together as “highly fictionalized recounting of real events”. _Gravity_ is a pretty film but it’s kind of nonsensical and somewhat fantastical, whereas _The Martian_ actually tries to be grounded in the reality of dealing with survival and abandonment in space (at least until the final act, and with some significant conceits that planetary scientists and engineers would object to). Maybe pair it with [_Moon_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/), or perhaps [_Countdown_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062827/) or [_Marooned_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064639/) if older movies are acceptable. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/46 "2023-12-05T19:36:44Z")
**Noir** _Murder My Sweet_ (1944) _Gilda_ (1946) _The Killers_ (1946) _Out of the Past_ (1947) _D.O.A._ (1949) _Night and the City_ (1950) _The Big Combo_ (1955) _Kiss Me Deadly_ (1955) _Touch of Evil_ (1958) **Michael Powell/The Archers** _The Spy in Black_ (1939) _Contraband_ (1940) _The Thief of Bagdad_ (1940) _A Matter of Life and Death_ (1946) _Black Narcissus_ (1947) _The Red Shoes_ (1948) **Carol Reed** _Night Train to Munich_ (1940) _Odd Man Out_ (1947) _The Fallen Idol_ (1948) _The Third Man_ (1949) _Outcast of the Islands_ (1951) _Our Man in Havana_ (1959) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/47 "2023-12-05T19:46:11Z")
Wes Anderson month John Hughes month Great Race month: - It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World - Rat Race - Cannonball Run - Around the World in 80 Days Rock Movies: - This Is Spinal Tap! - Bohemian Rhapsody - Help! - Almost Famous BTW when I was reading your OP the first thing that came to mind was **Deep Blue Sea**. I am a big scaredy cat and even I thought this movie was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/48 "2023-12-06T01:43:19Z")
> [@carlb](#): > > Because _that_ leads into Brad Pitt month (my wife is a Brad Pitt fan) with: > > - A River Runs Through It > - Oceans 11 > - Moneyball > - Legends of the Fall What an awesome structure for flowing through actors! I’d move Ocean’s 11 to the end, since there are so many points to pivot to. Maybe a Julia Robert’s month to get an actress? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/49 "2023-12-06T03:40:12Z")
> [@carlb](#): > > Thanks for confirming this. In my mind, I draw a distinction between “monster movies” and “horror movies,” although obviously there’s overlap. Horror is a tougher sell to my wife than I think some of the goofier monster movies would be. I’ll throw “Arachnophobia” on the list. There’s a movie called _The Abominable Dr. Phibes_ that might fit on one of your offbeat horror playlists. Vincent Price plays a mad genius (he plays a pipe organ, for crying out loud) seeking revenge on the medical team who failed to save his wife after a car accident. He starts killing them in ways that are inspired by the biblical plagues in Egypt. I wouldn’t call it a spoof, but it’s very stylish and a bit tongue-in-cheek. Hmm, how about a “mad genius who plays a pipe organ” month? > [@MrDibble](#): > > _Gravity_? The Bullock/Clooney film. Definitely “Stuff goes wrong in space, and we have to get our [wo]man home using engineering” or at least, she has to get herself home. Clooney also did a version of _Solaris_ in 2002. I haven’t seen that version, but I understand that stuff goes wrong in space. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I would lump _The Right Stuff_ and _Apollo 13_ together as “highly fictionalized recounting of real events”. _Gravity_ is a pretty film but it’s kind of nonsensical and somewhat fantastical, whereas _The Martian_ actually tries to be grounded in the reality of dealing with survival and abandonment in space (at least until the final act, and with some significant conceits that planetary scientists and engineers would object to). Maybe pair it with [_Moon_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/), or perhaps [_Countdown_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062827/) or [_Marooned_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064639/) if older movies are acceptable. How about a month of _The Right Stuff_ _Apollo 13_ _The Martian_ _2001: A Space Odyssey_ in that order, each movie getting farther from Earth. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/50 "2023-12-06T03:50:44Z")
How about a month of sports movies? _Hoosiers_ _Bull Durham_ _Rudy_ or _Remember the Titans_ _Miracle_ (2004) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/51 "2023-12-06T03:54:24Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Hmm, how about a “mad genius who plays a pipe organ” month? _The Abominable Dr. Phibes_ _Dr. Phibes Rises Again_ _Phantom of the Paradise_ _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_ I don’t recall a pipe organ in _Phantom_, but the mad genius (Winslow Leach) does play piano and keyboards. Close enough? As for _20,000 Leagues_, it’s hard to say whether Captain Nemo is a mad genius, but he’s undoubtedly a genius. And he’s equipped the _Nautilus_ with a pipe organ that he can and does play. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/52 "2023-12-06T04:12:53Z")
I was thinking of _The Pink Panther Strikes Again_. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/53 "2023-12-06T05:00:45Z")
How about an evening of [movies with the word “Rise” in the title](https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?title=rising)? ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/54 "2023-12-06T11:36:51Z")
For comedy horror I recommend _Shaun of the Dead_ Brian ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/55 "2023-12-06T17:40:31Z")
_ **The Great Race** _ has both a great race and an evil genius who plays a pipe organ. Another great race is in _ **Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines** _. Dunno if you’d call _ **Eaten Alive** _ a comedy, but I sure laughed my ass off watching it. And, it has Carolyn Jones in a bit part. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/56 "2023-12-06T17:45:41Z")
I suppose you could call [Big Man Japan](https://youtu.be/WM25JNS8tQ4?feature=shared) a “light-hearted” monster movie, but I think “pretty darn weird” is probably more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/57 "2023-12-06T20:16:21Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > > Hmm, how about a “mad genius who plays a pipe organ” month? > > _The Abominable Dr. Phibes_ > _Dr. Phibes Rises Again_ > _Phantom of the Paradise_ > _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_ > > I don’t recall a pipe organ in _Phantom_, but the mad genius (Winslow Leach) does play piano and keyboards. Close enough? > > As for _20,000 Leagues_, it’s hard to say whether Captain Nemo is a mad genius, but he’s undoubtedly a genius. And he’s equipped the _Nautilus_ with a pipe organ that he can and does play. I like it, but let’s add _Mystery Men_. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2023, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118/58 "2023-12-08T23:11:50Z")
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone - lots of great ideas. Cheers! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-with-some-movie-programming-please/994118.md?page=2)