Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Long. Movies. Miscellaneous pictures for added entertainment.

This entry, like most of them, has a disclaimer:
I briefly started to write this, then took Nyquil. Sooo if it gets a little ambiguous....my bad.

I’ve been in a movie mood lately, so I thought I’d make lists of my favorite movies, ones I want to see, ones I want to reanalyze, etc, cuz who doesn’t love movies?? Not really to critique or give my expert opinion about, rather just my general opinion/experience with the movie(s). At first I figured I’d do a top 5 for each category, but the idea of constraints and limitations make me itchy. So....voilá!

I also realize that this is essentially a long blog of me rambling about movies. So, as presents, I have included random pictures once you finish a leg of the entry. Merry Belated Generic and Culturally-Diverse Holiday Season.

Let me set one thing straight; these are not my five top movies that I think are the best filmed, best acted, best plotline, blah blah blah. Literally the only element that these movies have in common is that I can (and do) watch them over and over again.

A Clockwork Orange
If you haven’t seen this movie, you suck you need to. Well, unless you’d be upset by an all-too-possible dystopia and a frighteningly disturbed main character. I not only love this movie because it’s, well, fucked up, but because of the symbolism and the overall theme of the freedom of choice/good and evil/being human. So of course, this twisted psychological movie is like a dream come true for me—Ludovico’s technique reminds me of something straight-out of Walden’s deranged wet dream.
It’s based on the book by Anthony Burgess (which I still need to read, and the British version at that—it has an extra chapter at the end that was left out of the American version and Kubrick’s film) and the title/meaning behind it should be enough to capture anyone’s interest:
It’s meant to describe something that is living (human) but is formed and manipulated to operate in a specific way (by society, conditioning, etc). I realize this kind of title doesn’t always make everyone super-excited, but if I hadn’t already seen the movie multiple times, that simple description right there would probably make me run out the door to rent it.
Also, if you’re the kind of person that likes to watch movies to simply watch them, and nothing more, you won’t like this. And—you’re boring.

Superstar
I will never, ever stop laughing at this movie. A lot of people probably find Molly Shannon obnoxious, but I just think she’s hilarious. Only she can pull off what she does. I think if anyone else had come up with this movie/played Mary Katherine Gallagher, it definitely would not have worked out.

Cruel Intentions
I can’t even describe this movie in less than a couple paragraphs or without giving the whole plotline away. If you haven’t seen it already, just watch it. It kind of reminds me of a soap opera, but not. That didn’t even make sense. Just watch the damn movie. It’s one that if someone tells me they haven’t seen it, I force them to watch it. No one’s complained yet.

Titanic
James Cameron and James Horner. Ballin film, ballin score. Amazing movie. I actually can’t name one negative thing about this movie. Except maybe that we got to see Kate Winslet naked, but not Leonardo DiCaprio. Who, by the way, was probably the first man I had sexual feelings for…creepy, right? At the time Titanic came out, I was around 9 or 10 and I don’t think I had a full grasp on what exactly sex was or what it entailed, but I knew I wanted to do that with Leo. I’d say that I still stand by that...especially if he was the Leo of Titanic.

Totally Awesome
This has a kind of Superstar-esque humor. Well, go figure; it’s a bunch of SNL former cast members + some no-names (like Superstar). They combine a slew of 80’s movies—Footloose, Karate Kid, The Breakfast Club, Teen Wolf, Dirty Dancing, Soul Man—and make fun of them. It’s actually pretty damn creative. And, of course, hilarious.

..okay, make it top 6.

Girl, Interrupted
If you know me, you know that one thing that fascinates me to no end is mental illness, specifically, personality and mood disorders. This movie is phenomenal—spectacularly-acted and not to mention very realistic. Of course, that could be because it’s based on a true story….

Congratulations! You have complete Phase 1.

awwww, how cute!!

Movies I have only seen once but I NEED to see again
Fish Tank
 I. Love. This. Movie. A British film about, well, a fucked-up teenager named Mia. She’s essentially the English version of white trash, but you end up liking her anyway, despite all the weird shit she does. The thing I loved the most about this movie was how real it was...there were times when I expected a clichéd plot point to come into play, but to my delight, it didn’t. This seriously could have been some girl’s life, had an invisible and highly-trained cameraman followed her around for a few weeks. It’s kind of hard to find in the US, so I ended up downloading a version that came with Spanish subtitles…but to be honest, English subtitles would probably have been preferable. A couple of the characters, Mia especially, have a very thick “ghetto” English accent (I think the particular dialect is Cockney? I could be wrong. Someone correct me) and while I usually have no problem deciphering accents, when she got mad and/or talked fast, there were a few phrases that were totally lost on me. And I just want to stress again that I LOVED this movie because of how realistic it was.

Winter’s Bone
 I have a serious girl-boner for well-directed, low-budget movies with lesser-known actors and awesome plotlines. This one is totally at the top of that list--I was even more pleased when I heard there was a buzz about it being nominated for Best Picture.
Black Swan
I will be buying this immediately when it comes out on DVD and Blu-ray. It has art, great music, expressive cinematography, psychotic breaks, sexuality, great acting and Natalie Portman all in one movie. WHAT ELSE COULD YOU WANT???

Inception
 I had a bunch of people tell me that this movie was hard to follow. I thought the writer/director did a great job of explaining everything.
And I love that the movie’s open-ended; you don't know whether or not Cobb's totem keeps spinning or if it stops (this is going to make absolutely no sense if you haven't seen the movie yet, so if you haven't skip to the next section). Originally, I interpreted that the ending is reality, not a dream because Cobb’s totem wobbled. In a dream, that wouldn’t happen...or so we think. I've heard that other people have different theories because blah and blah and blah. I don't want to look them up or investigate them further simply because I want to rewatch it and analyze the shit out of it myself. Now I just need to find someone who wants to do the same thing and will argue over theories with me. Any takers? Anyone? Fine.


om nom nom


Movies I NEED to see
Requiem for a Dream
The Soloist
Milk
Memento
The Machinist
I don't feel like explaining any of these. Mostly because (SPOILER) I haven't seen them yet.


Movies I could forget ever happened and be fine with my life
I usually don’t bother with movies that I know I’ll hate, but every once in awhile one sneaks in there….
The Ring
This movie makes me shit my pants. I have no idea why. I can usually watch scary movies without jumping out of my seat like an epileptic frog. This one made me want to die. I actually liked it (minus the wanting-to-die part) and I have to admit I’ve seen it about 5 times….but I would have been better off never seeing it.

From Justin to Kelly
I distinctly remember going to see this on my birthday with my then-boyfriend. He turned out gay. SHOCKER. I liked the movie at the time. WTF. I still love cheesy musical movies, and this one is just plain horrible. HORRIBLE.

Death Tunnel
I got roped into watching this one on the Syfy channel with my brother…while at the beginning it looked like it had potential and the plot still kind of does, after the first 15 minutes you realize it’s probably the worst film you will ever see. There are cast members named “Death in Sanatorium” and “Lizzie the Ghost Girl”….REALLY?! It also starts off with a bunch of slutty, helpless college girls who end up getting killed off and are apparently filled with an exotic kind of blood that looks suspiciously like something you'd put on a hamburger. And I still watched the whole thing. For shame.

END.



...why are my pictures always of animals?!?