Episode 112: BF Movie Touchstones

Somewhat in the spirit of Extra Hot Great’s television Canon, your hosts each assembled a list of favorite movies and agreed to make a universal Bellwether Friends list out of intersecting titles. In this episode, we reveal our picks to one another. Click here for the joint list! *sounds of paper rustling*

Links
Alene’s List (revised)
10 Things I Hate About You
The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert
Amadeus
American Dreamer
Arsenic & Old Lace
Babe

Black Panther
Blockers
Booksmart
Cabin In The Woods
Charade
Clerks (Kevin Smith)
Coming To America
Cornetto Trilogy: Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End
Crazy Rich Asians
The Cutting Edge
D.E.B.S.
Deadpool, Deadpool 2

Desk Set
Desperately Seeking Susan
District 9
Easy A
Fargo (The Coen Brothers)

The Fasts And The Furiouses (all)
The Favourite
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes)
French Kiss
Get Out

Ghostbusters (2016)
Grosse Pointe Blank
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Hidden Figures
The Holiday
The House Bunny
How To Train Your Dragon (all)
Howl’s Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki)
Legally Blonde
Let The Right One In
Love Actually
Magic Mike, Magic Mike XXL
Moana

Moonlight
The Nine Lives of Christmas
Ocean’s 8
Out Of Sight
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure
The Philadelphia Story
Pitch Perfect, Pitch Perfect 2, Pitch Perfect 3
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino)
Say Anything
The Silence Of The Lambs
Singles
Sleepless In Seattle
Sliding Doors

The Sound Of Music
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Spy
Step Up (all)
Stranger Than Fiction
The Sure Thing
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil
The Usual Suspects
The Vanishing (1988)
When Harry Met Sally
Wings Of Desire
Wonder Woman
Zombieland, Zombieland 2: Double Tap

Anna’s List (revised)
Beauty and the Beast
Best In Show
*Black Panther
Blades of Glory
The Blues Brothers
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Bring It On
*Charade
Clue
Clueless
Cold Comfort Farm
*Crazy Rich Asians
*The Cutting Edge
*D.E.B.S.
The Dead Don’t Die
Desert Hearts
Fire
*Get Out
*Grosse Pointe Blank
Halloween
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
It’s In The Water
Labyrinth
A League Of Their Own
*Legally Blonde
Logan’s Run
The Lord Of The Rings trilogy
Mean Girls
The Meg
Miss Congeniality
*Moana
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
*Moonlight
Much Ado About Nothing
Mulan
The Music Man
*Ocean’s 8
The Parent Trap (both)
Persuasion
Pirates Of The Caribbean
*Pitch Perfect series
Pride and Prejudice (BBC)
The Princess Bride
Robin Hood (Disney)
Robin Hood (1938)
Romancing The Stone
A Room With A View
Saving Face
Say Anything
Singin’ In The Rain
Sleepless In Seattle
So I Married An Axe Murderer
*The Sound Of Music
Spaceballs
*Spy
Star Wars (original trilogy)
Strictly Ballroom
*To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Wayne’s World
When Harry Met Sally

Anna’s Honorable Mentions
*10 Things I Hate About You
Adventures In Babysitting
*The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert
The African Queen
Aladdin
American Pie
Annie
*Arsenic And Old Lace
Austin Powers
Back To The Future
Bend It Like Beckham
Better Off Dead
Captain Marvel
*Coming To America
The Craft
Crocodile Dundee
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
*Deadpool
Deliver Us From Eva
*Desk Set
*Fast and Furious franchise
*Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
*French Kiss
*Ghostbusters (2016)
Gia
The Gods Must Be Crazy
The Goonies
*Guardians of the Galaxy
Highlander
Jumanji (2017)
The Karate Kid
The Little Mermaid
Love & Basketball
Mad Max: Fury Road
*Magic Mike XXL
Meet Me In St. Louis
Moonraker
*The Nine Lives Of Christmas
*The Philadelphia Story
Short Circuit
Shrek
*The Silence Of The Lambs
Speed
*Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Star Wars (new trilogy)
Tank Girl
Thor: Ragnarok
While You Were Sleeping
White Christmas
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Willow
*Wonder Woman

Other mentions:
The Thin Man
Sunset Boulevard
Wait Until Dark
Johnny Belinda
The Lady Eve
True Grit
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Blazing Saddles
The Harvey Girls
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Good Morning, Vietnam
Pearl Harbor
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis
Top Gun

Musical Obsessions
Anna: Bad Blood by Taylor Swift
Alene: The Dead Don’t Die by Sturgill Simpson

Obsessions
Anna: To L and Back (podcast)
Alene: KissCon, Loretta Chase, Megan Frampton

Episode 104: Romantic Comedies Part II

In this episode, we discuss our favorite romantic comedies that were not on the list we covered in Episode 103. More happy endings for lesbian couples! The Sandra Bullock sidebar! Aunt Lynne’s picks!

Links

Charade
Romancing the Stone/The Jewel of the Nile
American Dreamer
Desperately Seeking Susan
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Zombieland

So I Married an Axe Murderer
Grosse Pointe Blank
Miss Congeniality
Two Weeks’ Notice
The Proposal

Ocean’s 8
Bend it Like Beckham
Bring it On
Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy: Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz/The World’s End
Father Goose
Walk, Don’t Run

Funny Face
The Thin Man
Singin’ in the Rain
After Hours
Something Wild
Who’s That Girl?

Overboard
But I’m a Cheerleader
Jeffrey
D.E.B.S.
Imagine Me and You
It’s in the Water

Saving Face
Raising Helen/How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
The Wedding Planner/Maid in Manhattan
French Kiss
Only You
Mrs. Winterbourne
Sweet Home Alabama
The Cutting Edge

Serendipity
Deliver us from Eva
Can’t Hardly Wait
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Set it Up

Isn’t it Romantic?
Intolerable Cruelty
Out of Sight
Love & Basketball
The Holiday

Earth Girls are Easy
Down With Love
A Lot Like Love
50 First Dates
Groundhog Day

Musical Obsessions
Anna: “Gotta Get Up” by Harry Nilsson
Alene: “Causing a Commotion” by Madonna (from Who’s That Girl?)

Obsessions
Anna: What Men Want
Alene: Pipsticks

Episode 76: Horror Movies: The Next Chapter

 

In this episode, we recap the 17 horror movies we’ve watched since we last checked in, and what we Learned About Ourselves in the process of watching them. Content warning: we couldn’t resist spoilers for some of the movies, and there is a brief discussion of sexual assault in The Evil Dead.

Links

The Others (2001)
The Babadook (2014)

Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Scream (1996)
“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult

Scary Movie (2000)
The House Bunny (2008)
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)
The Conjuring (2013)
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)

Zombieland (2009)

Psycho (1960)
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
The Stepford Wives (1975)
The Evil Dead (1981)
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Ginger Snaps (2000)

Let the Right One In (2008)
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

Halloween (1978)

Musical Obsessions
Alene: “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Metallica
Anna: “Rose-Colored Boy” by Paramore

Obsessions
Alene: Broken Ice (June 2018) by Matt Goldman
Anna: My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame, The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag, Porgs

Episode 73: Horror Film Advisory

In this episode, Alene tries to find horror films that Anna will consent to watch with her. We discuss our history and preferences regarding horror movies, with a brief foray into horror in other media. See Episode Six for earlier thoughts related to this topic.

Links
Paste Magazine: The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time
Esquire: The 50 Scariest Movies of All Time
Time Out London: The 100 Best Horror Films (checklist)
The 5 Types of Horror Films

Halloween/A Nightmare on Elm Street/Friday the 13th
Stephen King: ‘Salem’s Lot/It/The Shining/Misery/Pet Sematary/Carrie/Christine/Cujo/Creepshow/Children of the Corn

Gore

The X-Files
The Human Centipede
The Fly
Horror Cinema: The Best Scary Movies of All Time
Horror Genres and Sub-genres
Humor/Meta: Shaun of the Dead/Zombieland/Tucker & Dale vs. Evil/District 9/The Cabin in the Woods

Alfred Hitchcock: The Birds/Psycho
Alien/Aliens (Spaceballs)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
The X-Files: Fight the Future
Get Out
The Evil Dead/Evil Dead II/Army of Darkness
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
The Lost Boys/Near Dark (The Goonies)
Crimson Peak
Scream/Scary Movie
Dead Ringers
Dead Alive/Braindead
Suspiria

Eraserhead
Lon Chaney: The Phantom of the Opera
The Man of a Thousand Faces
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Film Forum
James Whale
Gods and Monsters
Freaks

The Babadook
The Grudge/The Ring
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
American Horror Story
Penny Dreadful
Ash vs. The Evil Dead
Sleepy Hollow
Grimm

Eddie Izzard on B Movies
The Silence of the Lambs
M
The Vanishing
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Paranormal Activity
Highlander
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Funny Games
Rope
The Serpent and the Rainbow

The Exorcist/The Omen
We Need to Talk About Kevin
World War Z
Leprechaun/Child’s Play
Gremlins/Critters
The Others
Night of the Hunter
Roman Polanski: Rosemary’s Baby/Repulsion/The Tenant
Saw
Hellraiser/Phantasm
Jacob’s Ladder

Poltergeist
Let The Right One In
An American Werewolf in London
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
The Haunting of Hill House/The Haunting
The Golem
The Black Cat
The Wicker Man
Pan’s Labyrinth
Little Shop of Horrors
Se7en
Vampyros Lesbos
The Witches
Frankenstein/Bride of Frankenstein/Dracula

Nosferatu
The Wolf Man
Young Frankenstein
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Don’t Look Now
The Blair Witch Project
Carnival of Souls
Ginger Snaps
“Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti
The Thing/The Thing From Another World
The Fog/The Mist
Godzilla

Musical Obsessions

Alene: “The Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett, “The Night of the Hunter” by Flop
Anna: “The End of the Day” by One Direction

Obsessions
Alene: Checklists
Anna: Broken Earth series by N. K. Jemisin

Episode 50: Comfort with Carolyn

 

We made it to fifty episodes! In this very special post-election installment of Bellwether Friends, we talked to founding Friend Carolyn about comforting pop culture (and food) to consume when we’re trying to recharge our batteries.

Via Two Bossy Dames,  “A post specifically for white women from a white woman”

Code Switch, “A Muslim and a Mexican Walk into a Bar…”

Still Processing, “The Day After”

Music

Bustle, “52 Songs To Cheer You Up Every Time”

“One Way Road” by John Butler Trio
“My IQ” by Ani DiFranco
“Born Free” by MIA
“Sheep” and”Sitting on a Fence” by The Housemartins
Spotify playlists: 80s Ladies for Margaret
Hamilton Mixtape
Inc.com, “Neuroscience Says Listening to This Song Reduces Anxiety by Up to 65 Percent”
“Borderline (An Ode to Self Care)” by Solange
“I’ll Make a Man Out of You” from Mulan

“Stop” by Spice Girls
“Hasa Diga Eebowai” from The Book of Mormon
“Fight Song” by Rachel Platten

Television

30 Rock
The Muppet Show
Law and Order
Gilmore Girls
The West Wing
Sports Night
Quantico
Sleepy Hollow Season One
Arrow
The Shannara Chronicles

The Dresden Files
Person of Interest
The Flash
Dateline

Endeavor
Inspector Morse
Grantchester

Movies

Best in Show
Charade
D.E.B.S.
Fire
Saving Face
Pitch Perfect
Love Actually
Shaun of the Dead
The Sure Thing
Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies
Pretty in Pink
Sisters
Kate McKinnon

Books

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Vorkogisan series by Lois McMaster Bujold
Latin@ Rising: An Anthology of Latin@ Science Fiction and Fantasy
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova
The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough
The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
Phryne Fisher mysteries by Kerry Greenwood, read by Stephanie Daniel
#booksfighthate
@diversebooks

Food

27 Uplifting Foods to Get You Through Uncertain Times
Mushroom Marsala Pasta Bake
Dill pickle Halfpops

Other

Coloring
Candletime
Warm Beverages
Crafting

Obsessions

Anna: Lego sets
Alene: Supergirl recaps on Autostraddle

Carolyn: Cider with bourbon

Musical Obsessions

Anna: “They Don’t Know” by Ariana Grande from Trolls
Alene: “Get Back Up Again” by Anna Kendrick from Trolls
Carolyn: “U-Turn” by Tegan and Sara