Today we're starting a new feature on the blog called 1000 Movies. If you follow me on Instagram, then you know it's not entirely new.
I know the title of my feature is a little close to the book 1001 Movies You Need to See Before You Die, but I'm sticking with it. Here's why. Rather than create a ranking or a "must-see" guide to film (there are already so many of those), I thought I would document my own journey, follow my own interests and discoveries, see the hows and whys of one film leading to the next. And how I write about it all. I'm no professional film critic, of course, but I have enjoyed writing little tidbits for the movies I watch on Instagram. I think it will be fun to see how it all develops--and I hope you do, too.
Since I've already watched 57 films, I thought I would encapsulate those here, play a little catch-up, calling out the 13 I truly loved and then get right on track. So without any further adieu, here are the first 57 of 1000 movies.
1. Gilda
Like everyone else on Planet Earth, I knew the hair. I knew the stills of the impossibly beautiful woman. I knew it was a film noir, one of my favorite genres. But I still had never sat down and watched Gilda from beginning to end. Two wonderful things I discovered about this classic: one was how nasty and sordid the characters all were, and not in a fake-y, Hollywood kind of way. In the 1940's--who knew! It always shocks me when I watch a film from way back that goes up against the rules of bland, mainstream entertainment.
The other surprise: Gilda had one producer, a woman. Virginia Van Upp was the screenwriter on 24 films and produced six. In 1945, Harry Cohn named her Executive Producer of Columbia Pictures. Another woman would not hold this position again for 31 years.
2. Sicario
This movie hooked me from the first frame, which is rare. I always love Emily Blunt--she seems wise beyond her years, her performances always understated yet gripping. I love this series of lotería-style posters representing the characters of the film. But what I loved most was how director Denis Villeneuve portrayed the worst violence in the world with quiet images and minimal violence.
3. Ex Machina
I loved everything about this film--the gorgeous sets, the intellectual sci-fi premise, the unsettling ending, the questioning of gender roles and my archetype--Oscar Isaac.
4. The Girlfriend Experience
5. The Martian
6. Barbarella
7. Entourage: The Movie
8. The Woman in the Window
9. Bridge of Spies
10. The Witch
Primal, period horror with a story. More than cheap scares and gore, a comment on sexual paranoia and religious hysteria. Live deliciously!
11. Magic Mike XXL
12. It Follows
13. Spotlight
14. The Big Short
15. The Bank Job
16. Green Room
17. Eye in the Sky
18. Tangerine
I loved this film because I felt like it was shot in my backyard--on an iphone no less! Sweet, touching, real and incredibly funny. Oh, Donut Time, we miss you!
19. Diary of a Teenage Girl
20. A Prairie Home Companion
21. Mojave
22. Maps to the Stars
Because I love anything that gets to how depraved Hollywood really is. And I love Julianne Moore, even more so (ha ha!), when she's playing against type. Type being the sobbing, saintly mother figure. Here she is completely deranged.
23. Take Shelter
24. Hush
25. A Clockwork Orange
This film came out when I was one year old. It's taken me 46 years to get over my fear of seeing it. You do the math. The set designs were off the chain.
26. Ghostbusters
27. In the Loop
28. Zoolander 2
29. Jason Bourne
30. Hell or High Water
31. Don't Breathe
32. Spooks
33. Dark Skies
34. What We Do in the Shadows
35. Pop Star
36. The Invitation
Loving the sleeper thrillers on Netflix. This one had slow-burn suspense, Hitchcock-like direction and a humdinger of an ending.
37. La Dolce Vita
38. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
39. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
40. Creep
41. Point Blank
42. Die Another Day
43. Our Kind of Traitor
All I can say is: I love espionage thrillers. And I especially love Le Carré adaptations. In that light, this one might have just been middle-of-the-road, but they always work for me. I'm generally not a Damian Lewis fan, but he was excellent here. So was the beautiful Naomie Harris.
44. A Man for All Seasons
45. Le Samourai
46. Bartleby
47. Sing Street
Of all the movies on the list, this is the one I watched twice (not my #1, however.) It was just so sweet and captured my heart. It had "the magic." A MUST for anyone who came of age in the 80s.
48. Nocturnal Animals
49. Paterson
THIS is my #1 movie on the list so far. It's hard to describe how this film moved me so, especially since the purpose of this whole exercise is to write about film. But aside from being a deceptively simple, crafted movie, this one hit me right in the gut. Paterson follows the routine life of a bus driver named Paterson in Paterson, NJ, a like-clockwork routine that ultimately breaks down as the days of the week pass by.
He drives a bus, writes some poetry, has dinner with his wife who tells him all about her big dreams for them both, walks the dog, has one beer at the local bar and goes to bed. That's pretty much the movie. I think the reason it hit me is because--that's my life, only with different details. When you live with cancer, you're existence is simply the 24 hours in front of you. It's all you can manage, all you can think about. The rest is too much. The idea of tomorrow, of next year--it's all too much. Yet this beautiful, fully expressed film made me feel I could live my life the same way, too.
50. Fences
51. Jackie
52. The Nice Guys
I remember when this first released, I pretty much dismissed it as a run-of-the-mill buddy cop movie with bloated, over-the-hill Russell Crowe and cutie Ryan Gosling. Then at the end of 2016, I was surprised to see how many Best-of-the-Year lists it topped, so I decided to give it a chance.
I was not disappointed. I LOVED this movie. It was just straight-up entertaining and so much fun. And you know, no matter how much down-and-dirty gossip I hear about Russell Crowe, he really just commands the screen. Gosling proves himself to be quite the physical comedian here.
It's a complex mystery set in the 70s Boogie Nights era, but feels totally like an 80s movie--written and directed by Shane Black, King of the 80s Buddy Action Flick. The action was ridiculous and over the top--and I would totally watch it again.
53. Manchester by the Sea
54. A Most Violent Year
55. Oldboy
56. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
57. Moonlight
I really believe there are two kind of movies. There are ones that as you watch them, you're like "this is ok, this is fine," and afterwards, the movie slips under the skin and you can't forget it. Then there are movies where, as you're watching them, you're like, "whoa, this is incredible," and when they've have a chance to sink in, you're like "wait a minute. Not so incredible."
Unfortunately, Moonlight falls into the latter category, even though it makes the list of my favorites. It's also one of those movies where the anticipation of seeing it is so much worse than the actual viewing. I thought it was going to be like 12 Years a Slave--I knew I needed to see it, but couldn't bear the idea of how harrowing it was going to be. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how poetic and riveting Moonlight was--I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. But ultimately, the third act, with the main character Chiron as an adult, fell flat and felt somewhat unbelievable. Still, I loved it.
That's all for now. I hoped you enjoyed this list and look forward to more movies to come. And as always, I'll be back with more to love. xoL
No comments
Post a Comment