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Friday, October 07, 2016

Five Favorite Couples Tag

So like two months ago, Olivia tagged me with this and I am only now catching up on reading blogs, which I abandoned due to chronic busyness about two months ago.  Ahem.  So here, at last, are my answers!

Psych!  I'm not choosing any of these couples for this tag.
But I do like all of them.

Rules
1.) Pick one couple from each category
2.) Tagging is optional
3.) Link back to my site

Categories
1.) Period Drama Couple
2.) Sci-Fi/Fantasy Couple
3.) Superhero Couple
4.) Preferred Couple (from a love triangle)
5.) Couple Ended Too Soon

Please note:  There Will Be Spoilage!

Period Drama Couple

I'm going with Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) and Esther (Haya Harareet) from Ben-Hur (1959) because their romance actually grows and changes through the story, as they change and grow themselves.  She's his servant, daughter of his steward, and at first, Judah just sees her as someone attractive and available.  But then later, she helps him heal emotionally, leads him to Christ, and in the process, he comes to see her as a person and not just a cute chick.  I love these two so much, both in book and this film version, that if we had another kid, I would name it either Esther or Judah.



Sci-Fi/Fantasy Couple

Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn (Rachel Weiscz) from The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001).  Definitely.  They're one of my favorite married movie couples, ranking right up there with Nick and Nora Charles from the Thin Man franchise.  In fact, I think Rick and Evie have one of the most positive marriages portrayed in modern movies -- by the time of The Mummy Returns, they are married and have a kid... and they still like each other, love each other, enjoy each others' company, make a great parenting team, and yeah... I'm a fan.



Superhero Couple

I'm going with Rogue/Marie (Anna Paquin) and Iceman/Bobby (Shawn Ashmore) from the X-Men franchise for this one.  Rogue has been one of my favorite X-men characters since before I saw the movies, and over the course of four films, her relationship with Iceman has matured very naturally.  They have a very caring, sweet relationship, and when Rogue popped up at the end of Days of Future Past (2014) holding Iceman's hand, well, there was only one thing that was going to make me (and Wolverine) happier than that sight.



Preferred Couple (from a love triangle)

Cal Wayne (Bobby Darin) and Amy Martin (Emily Banks) from Gunfight in Abilene (1967).  When Cal returns from the Civil War, he discovers that he'd been reported dead a couple of years earlier.  His girl, Amy, is now engaged to his best friend's older brother, Grant Evers (Leslie Nielson).  And that just won't do, because Cal and Amy belong together, people.



Couple Ended Too Soon

Who but Gabriel (Heath Ledger) and Anne (Lisa Brenner) in The Patriot (2000) for this?  I must admit I haven't managed to watch this movie since Heath died, but I do still love it dearly, and I hope I'll be able to watch it again one day.  Be that as it may, the tragic shortness of Gabriel and Anne's marriage is one of the most difficult parts of the film.


27 comments:

  1. OhMyGosh! Rachel, this tag is WAY fun. If I remember it, I might have to put it together for a fun just-because blog post. :)

    Love Marie and Bobby - and like you, I was smiling big when they both appeared together at the end of "Days of Future Past." (This reminds me, I simply MUST re-watch that one.)

    Also, awww... The Patriot. There's a romance that ended far too soon - and so tragically.

    (Loving seeing Pepper and Tony too!)

    Fun post - and thanks, as always, for visiting Finding Wonderland.

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    1. Rissi, definitely do it! It's a fun one, for sure.

      Yeah, I haven't watched Days of Future Past for months either! About due for another viewing.

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  2. I'm stealing this tag. :)

    The only couple you mentioned that I know is Judah & Esther. You'll probably be shocked, but whenever my siblings and I watch Ben-Hur, we fast-forward through the scenes where Judah and Esther talk on the roof 'cause we used to find them boring and now we're just in the habit of doing it. Which sounds like the dumbest thing ever now that I see it written out. :P

    Anyway. The only hard thing about this tag is narrowing down all the couples. ;)

    ~Eva

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    1. Eva, steal away! I look forward to your answers. But I am shocked -- shocked! -- that you fast-forward through parts of Ben-Hur ;-)

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  3. Haha! Thanks so much for doing it :D

    (Psshhh, I've been neglecting the blogosphere for at least a month now…life happens. I'm glad I'm not the only one!)

    (And besides, I don't think I ever told you I'd tagged you--so it's really on me! ;D)

    Awesome choices! I haven't seen any of these movies, but I want to see several of them, so :P

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    1. Olivia, thanks again for the tag! And I hope you can see some of them soon :-)

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  4. I've never seen any of these either! I'm glad I'm not the only one in the comments who hasn't, for once ;-)

    Huh . . . Esther from "Ben-Hur" looks just like Audrey Hepburn! Funny :-)

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    1. Jessica, really??? You haven't seen Ben-Hur, even? Wow. My mind is a bit boggled.

      I suppose Haya Harareet does have a bit of an Audrey Hepburn look, now that you mention it. I saw Ben-Hur long before I saw my first Audrey movie (which was My Fair Lady, if you're curious), so I'd never noticed that.

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    2. I know, I know. I need to see it at some point :-) In general, I don't tend to dig old movies all that much; so that's probably part of the reason why . . . but I did see a clip from it once and it looked very, very good. So I'll try and remember to check it out.

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    3. Oh, Jessica, how many wonderful stories you're missing by avoiding older movies! Just take the plunge, watch them until you're used to them, and then revel in the wonders of classic films.

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    4. Okay, I'll remember that :-)

      Any suggestions for older movies that I might like?

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    5. Well, you like history, and you like period dramas, right? So try starting with some period dramas made pre-1980, or whatever you consider the cut-off to be for "old movies" vs. "new movies." You have Scout Finch as your user icon, so may I assume you liked the movie version of "To Kill a Mockingbird" pretty well? You might want to try starting with Gregory Peck in other roles, since you're familiar with him already. Ssome you might want to try would be "Captain Horatio Hornblower" (set during the Napoleonic Wars), "The Scarlet and the Black" (true story about a heroic Cardinal set during WWII, which was made in the '80s but feels more like a classic film than a modern one), "The Guns of Navarone" (action/adventure set during WWII), "Captain Newman, MD" (dramedy set stateside during WWII), and "The Yearling" (set on the American frontier). All of those are set in the past, so although the acting and cinematography and general look might be a little different than you're used to, you'll still have the familiarity of them being costume dramas to help you kind of ease into them. (And they're not stagey, affected costume dramas like '70s BBC things, either. Even I have trouble with those.)

      I grew up watching movies made from the late '30s onward, so I'm pretty used to movies looking feeling all different. However, I didn't start watching silent films until I was in college, and it took me 5 or 6 of them before I stopped going, "This is just weird!" and really felt comfortable with the style. So I do know a little of the adjustment required. Really, it just takes a willingness to try something different. The key is to find stories you want to experience.

      This gives me a glimmer of an idea for a blog series: If You Like This, Try That. Pairing up modern films with classic ones. Would that be fun/helpful?

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    6. Thanks! Yeah, I love history and I love period drama, so those would be good places to start.

      Ah, I've heard of "The Scarlet and the Black" before--it's supposed to be a really good Catholic movie, so I'd love to check it out! And Gregory Peck is awesome--I do know that much. (Although I don't really love him as Atticus Finch. Don't tell anybody I said that. I'm weirdly picky about movie adaptations of books I really, truly love.)

      Do you know any movies with Ingrid Bergman that I might like? She's the only old actress I'm actually familiar with, and I pretty much adored her in "The Bells of St. Mary's," but I don't know what her other good films are. (I mean, besides "Casablanca." Everybody knows "Casablanca" but . . . I have a feeling I wouldn't really go for the story all that much.)

      Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, that would be an awesome series!! I know I, for one, would get a ton out of it--and I bet other people would too!

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    7. Hamlette, I hope you don't mind if I pop in here real quick. :)

      Jessica, I too have seen "The Bells of the St. Mary's", and if you like movies similar to that one, "Going My Way" and "Come to the Stable" are two really cute older movies, although neither of them have Ingrid Bergman in them.

      I don't know if you like Alfred Hitchcock or not, but "Notorious" is a good one with Ingrid Bergman. "Gaslight" is another mystery-suspense kind of movie she's in that I like, too.

      Sorry if I used any of the movies you would have suggested, Hamlette. I didn't mean to jump into your conversation, but I couldn't resist throwing out some of my favorite suggestions! Hope you don't mind. :)

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    8. Jessica, "The Scarlet and the Black" is an amazing movie, and not too spendy to get on DVD either. I find it very uplifting. Plus, Sir John Gielgud makes an awesome Pope.

      I also love "The Bells of St. Mary's," and it's probably my favorite Ingrid Bergman film. The "Going My Way" that Natalie mentioned has Bing Crosby playing the same character, Father O'Malley! In fact, "Bells" is a sequel to "Going."

      I really like "Gaslight" a lot, and it has bonus points for one of my favorite Joseph Cotten performances. "Notorious" is famous and well-loved, but I'm not a big fan.

      I get a HUGE kick out of the movie "Indiscreet," which pairs her with Cary Grant again (her "Notorious" co-star). It's a little risque, but not as risque as it wants you to think -- the ending makes everything pretty cool, IIRC. Been a few years since I saw it.

      This doesn't have Ingrid, but you might really like "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison," about a nun and a Marine shipwrecked on a deserted island. It's got Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum and is very sweet.

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    9. Natalie, I don't mind at all! I've never seen "Come to the Stable," but it's been on my radar a while.

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    10. PS I'm totally starting that blog series. Stay tuned!

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    11. Guys, thanks so much for all the suggestions! I have seen "Going My Way" and I did like it, although I liked the second movie a lot more . . . Ah, "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" sounds super cute too! I'll remember that :-)

      Hitchcock? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I've always been leery of trying those because I have a REALLY bad track record with suspenseful movies (read: basically I hate them and end up skipping all the scary parts); but maybe it'll be different now that I'm an adult? Not sure. I do want to see more of Ingrid Bergman, so I might just read the plot summaries first (so I'll know what's coming) and then watch them :-)

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    12. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison does have touches of humor here and there, but it's more heartwarming than cute, IIRC. Been a while since I saw it (read: like 15 years).

      Not all of Hitchcock is suspenseful and scary. Some of his movies are like modern action flicks -- the suspense is just of the "boy, this is exciting, is he gonna get shot by that airplane or what?" variety, and not the "holy moly, there's a mad stabber on the loose!" type. If you want to try some non-nail-biting Hitchcock, To Catch a Thief is tons of fun. North By Northwest too, though it's more tense, but not nearly as tense as many of his others.

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    13. Gotcha! I'll keep those in mind :-)

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    14. Hamlette,
      So glad you don't mind. :D You should try Come to the Stable! It's super cute and pretty funny, too. :)

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  5. I love Judah and Esther and very nearly picked them myself! I only saw the Mummy once, but really liked them both in it. Cal and Amy absolutely do belong together. And awwww, Heath. So sad that movie.

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    1. DKoren, really? How cool they were almost your choice!

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  6. Let's do this thing. Hope no-one minds.

    1.) Period Drama Couple -- Colonel Brandon and Marianne, Sense and Sensibility (2008).
    2.) Sci-Fi/Fantasy Couple -- Aragorn and Arwen, Lord of the Rings.
    3.) Superhero Couple -- Peter and Gwen, Amazing Spider-Man.
    4.) Preferred Couple (from a love triangle) -- Eliot Spencer and Parker, from Leverage.
    5.) Couple Ended Too Soon -- Shawn and Angela, from Boy Meets World.

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    1. Rosie, of course I don't mind!

      I haven't seen the 2009 S&S yet, even though I got a copy for my birthday. I'll get to it!

      And I haven't seen Amazing Spider-Man yet either, though I'd like to.

      Eliot and Parker, huh? I haven't watched enough yet to have a favorite pairing.

      But Aragorn and Arwen are faves of mine too!

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  7. Esther and Judah are so wonderful! :) I forget how much I like them until I re-watch the movie, and then I totally fall in love with them again. <3

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