Thursday, November 15, 2018

Thursday Movie Picks: Museum


So here it is, it's Thursday, and you're looking for a nice, family trip this weekend. You've been to the movies a thousand times. I know this is Thursday Movie Picks hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves, but you don't want to do that again. Amusement parks are closed, and you really don't feel like going to Chuck E. Cheese or some other such establishment. I know. Gentlemen (and ladies), let's broaden our minds. Let's head to the museum!


Batman
(1989)
It's not like I need an excuse to pick a Batman movie, but this topic gave me one. Whatever flaws you may find with this movie, it certainly isn't lacking in the fun department. One of its most fun scenes is the museum meeting between Jack Nicholson's Joker and Kim Basinger's Vicky Vale. Joker and his goons run roughshod over the place while carrying a boombox blaring Prince's "Partyman." Of course, the Caped Crusader crashes the party.


Ocean's Twelve
(2004)
This movie's predecessor has become a heist-movie classic. This one is an underrated gem. I like it nearly as much as 2001's Ocean's Eleven. Instead of ripping off a casino, this time, our lovable felons are tasked to swipe the famed Fabergé Egg from a heavy-duty, high security museum. That just means it's going to require some ingenuity. No problem.


Hitch
(2005)
I'm not a huge rom-com fan, but this movie is one I really enjoy. It's just chock-full of charm and about a guy who tutors others on pretending to have just that. The problem, when he's the guy in love, it's a little tougher to make sure everything turns out perfect, but he sure does try. One of this movie's most endearing scenes is the date he takes his leading lady on to the Immigration Museum on Ellis Island.




21 comments:

  1. That scene in Ocean's 12 is my favorite moment of that trilogy. I wish I could do moves like that.

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  2. Oh that lasers scene in oceans 12 was amazing! fantastic music too

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  3. Batman is an inspired choice. I've seen all your picks this week, but I completely forgot Hitch existed.

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  4. Good choices. You know I'm not a big fan of Oceans 12 considering it the weakest of the trio but that scene is a standout in the film. The museum scene in Batman was a real kick. I remember so little about Hitch including this scene.

    I love museums, when I lived in D.C. I use to roam the Smithsonian on my days off, but they can be exhausting. Anyway I had four come to me right away and I couldn't decide which to eliminate....so I didn't!

    Mysteries of the Wax Museum (1933)-Sculptor Ivan Igor (Lionel Atwill) and his partner, Joe Worth (Edwin Maxwell), run a famous wax museum in London. Joe burns down the place down for the insurance money leaving Igor trapped inside. Though terribly burned he survives. Decades pass and Ivan surfaces in New York as the curator of a new wax museum, boasting incredibly lifelike statues. When model Joan Gale (Monica Bannister) goes missing reporter Florence Dempsey (Glenda Farrell) follows the clues to Igor's museum, where she discovers a terrible secret. Remade with Vincent Price as House of Wax.

    One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing (1975)-Lord Southmere (Derek Nimmo) is being chased by a ring of Chinese spies pursuing him to gain possession of a secret microfilm he holding which reveals the formula for the mysterious Lotus X. While being chased through London’s Natural History Museum, Southmere hides the film in the bones of a Brontosaurus skeleton. When he’s captured it's up to his old nanny Hettie (Helen Hayes) and her hardy band of fellow nannies to find the film and keep it from the clutches of the evil Hnup Wan (Peter Ustinov). Pleasant Disney fare.

    The Hot Rock (1972)-Fresh out of the slammer John Dortmunder (Robert Redford) is approached by his brother-in-law Andy Kelp (George Segal) to steal a priceless diamond from the Brooklyn Museum and return it to the African nation it was originally taken from. Helped by an expert getaway man and an explosives wizard, they steal the gem with a little assistance from bombs, a faked car crash and dressing up as uniformed guards and doctors. However, almost as soon as they get their hands on the loot and prepare to transfer it to an African diplomat, they lose it. Breezy caper film with a light touch.

    How to Steal a Million (1966)-Cat burglar Simon Dermott (Peter O'Toole) is hired by the chic Nicole Bonnet (Audrey Hepburn) to steal the reproduction of a priceless sculpture made by her father Charles (Hugh Griffith) a master forger from to the Kléber-Lafayette Museum in Paris before it is examined and found to be a fake and ruins père Bonnet’s reputation. Complications and romance ensue.

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    1. For me, you might remember, 12 is very nearly on par with 11, with 13 lagging far behind both. 8 fills the gap between 12 and 13, by the way.

      I've never been to the Smithsonian. I'm jealous.

      Haven't seen any of your picks. I'm jealous of that, too.

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  5. I remember liking Ocean's Twelve, but it's not as much fun as Ocean's Eleven. Too self-aware. But it is fun.

    Burton's Batman is better than Nolan's. YEAH, I SAID IT.

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    1. Fair points on 12.

      I've no problem with anyone having Burton's Batman as their fave.

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  6. The Ocean's Twelve scene is amazing, but Batman's in my favourite. You just can't not love that scene

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    1. Nicholson is just having so much fun during that scene it's contagious.

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  7. Awwww yeah, I'm a big fan of all these picks. That scene in Batman is legendary, as Jack's dance moves are f--king hysterical. And that scene in Hitch is so completely terrible/amazing it always makes me genuinely feel bad, you know? Like, he took a shot, did something romantic...and it just blows up right in his face. Should have went to Chuck E. Cheese instead.

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    1. Chuck E. Cheese would've been a much better choice, given what happened. That said, it was a great shot - he practically had a breakaway dunk and clanged it off the back of the rim.

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  8. Haven't actually seen any of your picks. Even if I've seen Oceans 13 and Oceans 8. Not really intrested in Hitch, but if a non rom guy like you likes it then maybe worth a try

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    1. It isn't going to make your all-time favorites list, I don't think, but Hitch is a fun movie. I really hope you get to see the other Ocean's movies.

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  9. Yes, Batman. Wonderful scene. Love that movie. Not a film, but I love the clip of House of Cards bit when they're staring at a painting. "We're in the same boat now. Take care not to tip it over. I can only save one of us from drowning."

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    1. How sad is it that I've never seen one second of House of Cards?

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  10. I haven’t seen Batman since the 80’s but I think I hated that scene because I love art so much..hahahaaa. That scene from Ocean’s 12 is brilliant and I always try to see a faux pas in the filming. I like that rom com film which is better than many. That scene is hilarious and how inventive to think of this film. Great choices!

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    1. Thanks! Yes, as ridiculous as it is, that is a very well done scene in O12.

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