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30 Day Blog Challenge--Topic #4: Your Favorite Movie
Because I can't pick anything as a favorite to save my life, I'll put this in a top five format--except they're in no particular order.
1.) Lord of the Rings: I don't think a lot needs to be said here. One of those movies that I find almost absolutely flawless, and one that gives the novel it's based on a run for its money (most movies based on books are shite). As a teenager, it introduced me to Tolkien's work, which I wasn't familiar with at the time for a variety of reasons, biggest among them being that I must of had a very sheltered childhood. It wasn't that I didn't read--on the contrary, I read loads. It just wasn't a book I had tried to read until I saw the movie, and now I think I have like 3 copies of it somehow.
2.) Kill Bill Vol. 1: I know it's really, at it's core, a senseless movie. The plot is a bit thin, but a part of me loves the mindless violence in it. I may not be Tarantino's biggest fan, but the movie is beautifully filmed, the actors are strong, and the music is top-notch. It's one of those movies that I can just watch and get lost in--a bit like reading Stephen King. It may not be 'thought provoking' or 'deep' but it's damn fun.
3.) Shogun: This was filmed a long time ago, but I remember watching it as a kid and being amazed at how epic it was. My mom is a big fan of James Clavell's work and taped the movie on VHS (omg, that was a long time ago) and even as a kid I really got into it. I didn't always understand what was happening, but it's a movie I could watch over and over and never get tired of it.
4.) Night of the Living Dead (original): Another movie from my teenage years. I first saw it when they played it on the Sci Fi channel, and it was the rare movie that genuinely creeped me out. It was low budget, in black and white, and a few of the scenes were a little gratutitous and cheesy, but George Romero pulled it off. The entire premise of having a group of people stuck out in the country, in a rickety old farmhouse with zombies trying to get in was bloody scary--especially since they had little defenses, bickering between the survivors, and the ending just made me facepalm (I won't spoil it, even though I think most people have seen it by now). It wasn't a pretty film, but the black and white is what made it even scarier IMO, and like the others on this list, I don't get tired of watching it.
5.) The Descent: A more modern horror film, of the British variety (the director also directed Dog Soldiers I believe). It plays on a lot of people's most primal fears--fear of the dark, being stuck underground, etc. While you're watching the film, you're thinking about how you'd get out of there (or if you're like me, you'd be saying 'bitch, I'd never go down there in the first place!'). It's gory, but not excessively--it's applied right where it's needed for the biggest effect. It's chaotic in places, slow in others, and if you don't jump at least once when you first see it, then you're a better person than I am.
Because I can't pick anything as a favorite to save my life, I'll put this in a top five format--except they're in no particular order.
1.) Lord of the Rings: I don't think a lot needs to be said here. One of those movies that I find almost absolutely flawless, and one that gives the novel it's based on a run for its money (most movies based on books are shite). As a teenager, it introduced me to Tolkien's work, which I wasn't familiar with at the time for a variety of reasons, biggest among them being that I must of had a very sheltered childhood. It wasn't that I didn't read--on the contrary, I read loads. It just wasn't a book I had tried to read until I saw the movie, and now I think I have like 3 copies of it somehow.
2.) Kill Bill Vol. 1: I know it's really, at it's core, a senseless movie. The plot is a bit thin, but a part of me loves the mindless violence in it. I may not be Tarantino's biggest fan, but the movie is beautifully filmed, the actors are strong, and the music is top-notch. It's one of those movies that I can just watch and get lost in--a bit like reading Stephen King. It may not be 'thought provoking' or 'deep' but it's damn fun.
3.) Shogun: This was filmed a long time ago, but I remember watching it as a kid and being amazed at how epic it was. My mom is a big fan of James Clavell's work and taped the movie on VHS (omg, that was a long time ago) and even as a kid I really got into it. I didn't always understand what was happening, but it's a movie I could watch over and over and never get tired of it.
4.) Night of the Living Dead (original): Another movie from my teenage years. I first saw it when they played it on the Sci Fi channel, and it was the rare movie that genuinely creeped me out. It was low budget, in black and white, and a few of the scenes were a little gratutitous and cheesy, but George Romero pulled it off. The entire premise of having a group of people stuck out in the country, in a rickety old farmhouse with zombies trying to get in was bloody scary--especially since they had little defenses, bickering between the survivors, and the ending just made me facepalm (I won't spoil it, even though I think most people have seen it by now). It wasn't a pretty film, but the black and white is what made it even scarier IMO, and like the others on this list, I don't get tired of watching it.
5.) The Descent: A more modern horror film, of the British variety (the director also directed Dog Soldiers I believe). It plays on a lot of people's most primal fears--fear of the dark, being stuck underground, etc. While you're watching the film, you're thinking about how you'd get out of there (or if you're like me, you'd be saying 'bitch, I'd never go down there in the first place!'). It's gory, but not excessively--it's applied right where it's needed for the biggest effect. It's chaotic in places, slow in others, and if you don't jump at least once when you first see it, then you're a better person than I am.
