Oh-tay
1) Lone Star - John Sayles best film is set in Frontera, a Texas/Mexico border town with a long past that continues to tear apart its distinct but closely connected communities. I love this film because it reminds viewers how little separates us from neighbors, and encourages us all to Forget the Alamo...at last, someone had the guts to say it.
2) Being There - Peter Sellers parodies American politics, and encourages voters to consider the cyclical nature of gardens and the economy. This style-beats-substance satire was Sellers' last film before his death. I love this film because it's relevant today, and will be until the American public isn't so easily manipulated. (i.e. it will always be relevant) This is a uniquely
non-Goonie performance for Sellers, and perhaps his most potent.
3) Talk to Her - Almodovar fans will argue with me, but I think this is Pedro's best film, ever. (Yes, it even beats Women on the Verge, High Heels, and All About My Mother) I love this film because it speaks about love and connection with others in an unique, beautiful, and fearless way, through a troubled man's relationship with his comatose love interest.
4) Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control - The sole documentary on my list. I never knew what secrets Lion Taming, Topiary Gardening, Robot Making, and Blind Mole Rat Cultivating held...if nothing else, I love the nobility with which the lives of four men in odd professions were portrayed. I love this film because it encourages viewers to follow their dreams, regardless how unconventional they are.
5) Shawshank Redemption - All it took to get Andy DuFresne back to the business of living was patience, time and a small hammer. I love this film because it shows that Steven King's work is more ironic than horrific, and that there is a way out of even the most desperate situation for those with the will to make it happen. Through Morgan Freeman's Red, King takes us to the edge of Andy's balanced world, with hope. It's a start, indeed.
6-10 to come...
After many amendments to the list, at last, my Top 10 is complete:
1) Lone Star
2) Being There
3) Talk to Her
4) Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control
5) Shawshank Redemption
6) The King of Comedy
7) Life is Beautiful
8) Until the End of the World
9) Pulp Fiction
10) Fargo
It was a tough decision...The Party, Wonder Boys, Dr. Strangelove, Gahndi, This is Spinal Tap, Lawrence of Arabia and The Royal Tennenbaums just missed the list. Punch Drunk Love and Donny Darko are a little too noir-otic to be among the top 10, but aren't far behind. Two influential films that I'd like to discuss, but come in below the rest, are Saturday Night Fever and Enter the Dragon.
I'll talk about my first 5 today.
Hello! This blog is written by two undergrads at an Ivy League college...well, we're saying that so that CNN or a producer of made-for-tv movies will take interest. All are welcome to participate and comment.
