catapult magazine

I have a plethora of movies that I love, but since we are doing this whole Top 5 of the literary and musical aspects of our lives, I thought I would open this one up for your consideration.

What are the top 5 films that when you don’t know what to watch you always end up reaching for.

I’ll start:

5. Monty Python And The Holy Grail – What is your quest? What is your favorite color? What is the average air speed velocity of an unlaiden swallow?

4. Evil Dead 3 – Army Of Darkness – Can’t wait to see if a 4th installment will ever come to pass of the Evil Dead line.

3. Pi – Faith In Chaos – Incredible film delving into the numeroloical aspects of life and God while the search is on for the final digit of pi.

2. Ringu (1998 original of the 2002 remake The Ring) – creepy creepy creepy. I will never look at an unmarked video tape in the same way.

1. Magnolia – probably one of the most misunderstood movies ever made. When you bring it up, people immediately say they hated it because of the frogs…my response is never forget to leave room for the miraculous when searching for grace and mercy…

It makes me feel better to know that even people in the biz like dorky movies like Holy Grail and Army of Darkness.
In no particular order:

Dangerous Liaisons not even Keanu can screw this movie up.
True West I’m not sure it classifies as a movie though. I’m proud of how many high schoolers I’ve turned on to this though.
Holy Grail nnnnnNEEE!
Pulp Fiction I just love the way it was put together.
African Queen I had to put a classic in there. I think it could have just as easily been Maltese Falcon or Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

I thought this was going to be easier than it was. There are too many not in here. I mean, I didn’t even put a Woody Allen movie in. We’ll throw in The Wall, Bananas, Mice and Men (another Malkovitch/Sinese title), Apocolypse Now, The Muppet Movie and Heavy as honorable mentions.

In no particular order (am I just lazy in not ranking these things or do I love them all too much?):

Truly, Madly, Deeply
Boys Don’t Cry
Anything with Colin Firth … ANYTHING (pant, pant)
The Others (hey, I was fooled until the end)
Any Alfred Hitchcock flick
The Matrix
Any Muppet movie
Annie (of course)

If I do a Top Five, I know I’m going to kick myself the next day and want to change all of them. So I’m doing a different list.

Favorite Movie: Fight Club. Can’t really shake me on this . . yet. Maybe it’s all that young-person angst.

If I Really Have to Watch One With The Folks: Door to Door with William H. Macy. I actually did watch this one with my folks, and enjoyed it as much as they did. Which is rare.

To Watch With My Nephew: Toy Story. “I watching Buzz!”

It Wouldn’t Be Growing Up Without: Top Gun. “You screw up, just this much, and you’ll be flying a cargo plane fulla rubber dogshit out of Hong Kong.”

Best Depressing Movie: Monster’s Ball or Requeim for a Dream. Both are absolutely fantastic in every way I can think of.

Most Influential To Me As A Person: Magnolia. Showed me many things I hadn’t thought about, and an aesthetic I hadn’t really encountered before.

Best In Recent Memory: The Royal Tannenbaums or Punch-Drunk Love.

I don’t think I can do a top-five of all time, because I don’t remember all the movies I’ve ever seen. But I’ll list the ones that have stuck with me (in no particular order):

[ul]
[li]Last Picture Show-Anyone who grew up in a small town will know what I mean.

[li] Magnolia-I actually haven’t met anyone who doesn’t love the frogs. I could watch this over and over and over…it’s so cathartic.

[li] Solaris-the one from Tarkovsky…haven’t seen the recent version. I just saw this in the theater two weeks ago, and I still can’t shake the feeling it left me with. It’s so simple, beautiful, and mysterious. Even though I didn’t completely understand the plot, I understood perfectly the feeling that the director was trying to create.

[li] Ghostworld-IT’S SO COOL.

[li] Crimes and Misdemeanors

[li] The Gleaners and I-a documentary by a French artist that explores the history of gleaning in France. Shot, simply, on her digital camera, this piece playfully asks questions about why people glean (i.e. put other peoples’ garbage to use) and about the nature of art (i.e. a gathering of images?) without being self-serving.
[/ul]

Can I also mention the movie that I hate with an all-consuming passion? I know lots and lots of people love it, but it is the only movie I’ve ever walked out on in my life:

Requiem For a Dream

Ugh.

I forgot one of my most favorite movies – 84 Charing Cross Road from 1987 with Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins. Wonderful little book and wonderful movie. How could I have left it out?

I would also like to add Matrix as one of my very close runners up. Very deep conceptually as well as spiritually, and lots of guns and action to boot. I can’t wait to work on the sequels.

And yes, Norbert, even a guy in the industry can dig the stupidity of the holy grail and Army Of Darkness…come on…they are classics in their own right!

In the spirit of the season, I’m adding my list of movies shot through with Cupid’s arrows.

Best Wedding Movie: The Philadephia Story. Kathrine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant are hilarious. This also qualifies as one of the best movies to drink to.
Best Nonsexual Love Story between Two Men: Midnight Cowboy. Horrifically sad.
Best Disillusioned Love Story: The Graduate. I’m not saying this movie destroyed the love story, but after its release in 67, romances were no longer the biggest money makers for Hollywood.
Best Romantic Comedy: Punch Drunk Love. And you won’t be able to convince me otherwise.
Sexiest Movie Ever: The Big Sleep. Sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy sexy. Some of the best lines too. “Yeah, I met her in the hall. She tried to sit on my lap while I was standing up.”
Best Love Story of All Time: Casablanca

Merry Valentine’s Day.