Alright so here's the deal. It's Saturday and I'm up to my ears in studying so that I can be ready for the exams I have every day next week. So this is going to be the last post for some time (save for a review of Death at a Funeral). However, this person made a meme where you list 10 movie facts about yourself and then call other people out to do it too. Simon did it and called me out so fine, I'll do it.
9) I used to be scared of blood so I could never watch anything but family movies and PG-13 comedies. Goldeneye changed all that. Now I have an extreme bias for action movies.
8) I've never not finished a movie that I've started. However Cannibal Holocaust is the only movie I have ever hated so strongly that it was a chore not to shut off.
7) I thought the movie version of The Honeymooners with Cedric the Entertainer was really funny.
6) The first movie that brought tears to my eyes was American History X. That ending just came out of nowhere for me.
5) I own every Fellini and Rohmer movie that is available on DVD in North America. I'm working on achieving the same with Bergman.
4) A combination of watching Adaptation and reading the Orchid Thief changed my life.
3) Nicholas Cage is one of my favourite actors. I don't understand all the haters.
2) I own a copy of Disney's least known animated feature Make Mine Music.
1) Every time I watch a great movie it's like falling in love for the first time all over again.
Alright, I've been seeing people doing this for a couple of weeks on their own blogs and I've read them all with joy but never quite wanted to do it for myself. I mean, 8 movies to watch for the rest of my life? How would I ever pick? But I'm going to do it anyway because, well I guess it's kind of fun and Wild Celtic told me I should and if she says it's a good idea, it simply must be. The idea original concept comes from Fandango Groovers and is basically what I just described it to be: a list of the 8 movies that I would take with me if I had to live for the rest of my life on a deserted island. I must say that picking just eight movies is going to be a near impossibility. What I do know however is that this list will in no way represent my list of eight favourite films, but the ones that I could picture myself watching over and over again. Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game is one of my favourite films but I'm not so sure I'd want to be stuck with it until my death, ya know? So anyway, without further ado:
8. Adaptation- My pick for the best film of the decade, Adaptation is a film of unending complexity, maturity, hilarity, tenderness and passion. It's a film that is at once a middle finger to Hollywood conventions, a meditation on screenwriting, a biopic about a man obsessed with flowers and the author who writes about him and a deep, profound meditation on the nature and necessity of passion and how it often veers dangerously close to obsession, not to mention a brilliant performance by Nicholas Cage who plays clearly identifiable identical twins without any make-up tricks. Hollywood rarely takes chances on films like this anymore, which maybe explains why it rarely produces meaningful works these days.
7. Con Air- I'd need an action movie because I have a weakness for chases, shoot-outs and things blowing up, so why not take the one with Nic Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich? This one was one of my favourites from around grade 7 or 8 and still remains amazing. That last scene when Cage meets his daughter for the first time gets me every time.
6. La Dolce Vita- Fellini at his best. How could I live without this?
5. Fanny and Alexander- Haunting and magical. This is one of the few films that I have ever walked away from feeling as though the inner fabric of my being had been penetrated. This film plays upon every emotion known to the soul. It's also the culmination of Bergman's entire career.
4. Fubar- No matter the time nor the place this movie makes me laugh and laugh and laugh, and it's at different things every time. Maybe it's a Canadian thing?
3. Magnolia- Paul Thomas Anderson said that his approach to this film was to sit down and write everything he'd ever wanted to say, which is funny because this movie features just about everyone I've ever wanted to hear.
2. Rent Live on Broadway- I'd need a musical and since the Rent movie isn't very good and is missing important songs I'd take the live Broadway performance instead.
1. Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip- I would also need some stand-up comedy, so why not take the best? Not only do I love Richard Pryor because he was the greatest man to ever take the stage but with this performance he also gives you something to take home with you. As funny as this is, I always remember the discussion of going back to Africa where Pryor discovered just how equal everyone is. It's rare to be able to say that you're life is a little better from having seen a stand-up comedy performance. This is one of those.
If I could I'd also try to sneak Say Anything, but don't tell anyone.
Okay, so I'm not going to be posting anything today or tomorrow other than this post to tell you that I won't be posting anything today or tomorrow. With me so far?
I'm off to see Crazy Heart tonight and will hopefully get a review up of that sooner than later. I've also got some good stuff planned for the upcoming weeks. I've got a big analysis of black comedy to correlate with my glee over the news that Todd Solondz's Love During Wartime has been picked up by IFC, a friend from school wanted to know just what in the heck is so darn special about Adaptation that I would name it my favourite movie of the decade so I feel I have to humour him, and I have a plan for a new regular feature called: Movies That Are Just Like Other Movies. I can hear your love for it already.
Anyway, on a final note, I wrote a guest blog over at Kid In the Front Row and I think it might be worth your time, even if just to give Kid more props than he already gets. Click here for that.
