My wife is a huge Austen fan so I’ve seen all of the adaptations (if you ever want to absolutely infuriate a big Austen fan, watch the BBC version of either P&P or S&S with them and every time a new character appears on the screen, ask your friend “is that Kate Winslet?” “is that Donald Sutherland?” etc).
the hollywood S&S really just had an insane cast. you got Tom WIlkinson, you’ve got Snape AND Umbridge. And Hugh Grant, if you watch him in this, it’s like he’s stealing Tom Cruise’s mannerisms from The Firm, it’s kind of uncanny.
When I was a kid, I loved getting athletes’ autographs. Now, I would rarely even consider it.
When I did enjoy getting autographs, it was really just a memento of the experience of meeting the person. I usually liked to get the autograph personalized - people would say that it decreases the value, but I never intended to sell it, so I enjoyed the personal touch. Hell, I have Mickey Mantle’s autograph on my little league baseball mitt and baseball, along with a few other random Brewers I met at the same time.
It was just a fun thing to do in my childhood. We’d go to baseball card shows and meet players, usually Brewers, and hopefully get a chance to spend a few seconds saying hello. My parents were good at knowing when someone was going to be signing at a department store or local bank and in those cases, there was rarely anyone there, so we could hang out and chat for a bit.
Once, I met a random Brewer and my dad took our picture (we would do that whenever possible, which was usually). A year later, he was at a card show, so we brought the pic for him to sign. He actually thought that was great and appreciated the fandom.
But yeah, as an adult, I couldn’t care less. Sure, it would be fun to meet someone famous and shake their hand or something, but I don’t need an autograph or a selfie.
I do remember Ransom being pretty good, though it’s probably not a great sign that I’ve just got it combined with Payback in my brain as being the same movie.
Speaking of 90s Gibson, I’ve forever found it kind of hilarious that in the final hand of Maverick, Gibson makes the absolutely absurd demand that, in the middle of a hand of five-card draw, he be granted a card from a new deck and a new dealer. Though I did clock the fact that he does this and then immediately gets the reaction you would get for that (essentially, “LOL no”), so I figured there must be some reason for including it in the movie. Naturally, a smarter movie viewer than myself provided an explanation as to why this was actually a smart move that ensured that he was getting the royal flush and winning the hand:
Was just watching the movie Maverick where Mel Gibson plays a old west poker player who enter a half million prize poker tournament. At the end he claims it’s magic that allowed him to get the Ace spades and the money. But if you watch close his character doesn’t take his eye off the dealer when shuffling the new deck. Also the Spaniard doesn’t cut. Knowing the top card on a brand new deck is the Ace of dpaids maverick notices it never gets shuffled in and doesn’t get cut in, and the kicker the dealer pulls from the bottom. When he pulls the royal flush draw he knows if he can get the top card he’ll win. Also recognized the tells of a good hand from his opponents so, he asks for a new deck knowing he won’t get one but will get a new dealer who he can direct a draw off the top from and trap his opponents into going all in. So has got a sure thing.
The only famous person I ever sort of “revered” was leonard cohen. In my twenties I organized an academic conference on his work and he came. I got to meet him. It was awesome. I do remember him offering me his autograph and being sort of surprised when I said no worries I didn’t need it.
Such a pleasure to rewatch Punch Drunk Love. Adam Sandler earns every bit of credit that propelled him out of dumb comedies and into smart dramas. This is a close contender with There Will Be Blood for my favorite PTA movie.
Really a great movie. Even if it’s on some level a traditional romcom, it strikes a completely unique tone even within the PTA filmography and feels kind of irreplaceable.
But…
I suppose it’s okay since you said favorite and not best. (There Will Be Blood is the best movie of the past 30 years by any director IMO.)
Oh no doubt. I wouldn’t say it’s competing for best, just easily slots into which of his movies I’d prefer to watch over and over again. I love the performance from Sandler. The romance is sweet despite or maybe because of Sandler’s struggle with rage. Without this movie, we may never have gotten his other outstanding dramatic roles, such as Spanglish, Uncut Gems, and Men, Women, and Children (which I love despite it getting trounced in reviews).
