Okay, Jenna, you asked for it, my top 20 movies: Wizard of Oz – Because, because, because, because, because Rear Window, The Birds, etc – Thank you, Alfred Hitchcock, for creeping through my childhood with your scalpel-sharp wit. Mary Poppins –The art director was Carroll Clark. As an impressionable child, right after watching the most magical movie ever, I saw my name float by in the credits. I didn’t even care that they spelled it wrong. To Kill a Mockingbird – Gregory Peck as Atticus: Perfection. Born Free – I sat silently, alone, in the darkened Gateway Theatre, processing Elsa’s bittersweet return to the wild. Harold and Maude – Way before Goth made it marginally acceptable, I was fascinated by graveyards. Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon unearthed the beauty and meaning of them for me. So I didn’t have to actually do any digging myself. Star Wars (the first one) – The Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine foreshadowed experiences I had in Bangkok. Monty Python and the Holy Grail – Clip-clopping coconut shells in lieu of a knight’s horse. If you are not laughing you are dead. Local Hero – American visitor (after learning the main ingredient in the casserole he’s eating): “Is this MY rabbit?” Scottish innkeeper: “We don’t allow animals in the bedrooms. We should have told you sooner.” The Lover (L’amant) – An intoxicating twist on forbidden love. You can practically smell the spices and feel the steam wafting from bowls of noodles in the dusty side streets of French Indochina in the 1920s. Blade Runner – I like my sci-fi dystopian and noir. (Although The Jetsons are also great.) Japanese Story – Toni Collette as geologist Sandy, careening through the Australian Outback. The Outlaw Josie Wales – Clint Eastwood + Horses = My Heaven Cross Creek – Would you like some crackers with your ecology? Yes, please! Y Tu Mama Tambien – Great story, great soundtrack. And Gael Garcia Bernal naked. Roman Holiday – Dashing but desperate journalist (Gregory Peck) saves daring but desperate princess (Aubrey Hepburn) from becoming ink-stained. Time Bandits – Terry Gilliam, you had me at the horse and rider crashing through the bedroom wall. Skeleton Key – This movie probably only works if you’ve spent time in New Orleans. And then you believe, and start losing your voice. The Ghost Writer – “You can’t drown two ghost writers, for God’s sake – they’re not kittens.” Damn, I so wanted adorable Ewan McGregor to live. I challenge anyone who has read to the end of this to dump a five-gallon bucket of hot, buttered popcorn over your head and post the video.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 15:00:10 +0000
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