Wednesday, July 24, 2019

10 Movies that Affected Me (3/3)

Did you think I was going to leave you hanging for ever? Never fear, the third and final installment of "Movies that Affected Me" is here!

I decided to list them in alphabetical order this time so I wouldn't have to worry about what the ranking might look like...they're all so different, I couldn't do it!

1) Argo (2012)

Argo of course had a stellar cast, starting with a Ben Affleck long past his Armageddon and Good Will Hunting days (which I thought were both great but let's be honest, he was kind of a punk back then). This is one of those movies that stuck with me even though I don't remember a lot of the details; it was just really well made, and I found the storyline really unique and engaging. Affleck also directed this one, and he pretty much knocked it out of the park in that dual role (rather than coming off as an egotistical asshole). I almost picked The Accountant because it's an equally awesome film (though reminiscent of the Bourne trilogy for sure), but he wasn't doing double duty in that one.

2) Captain Ron (1992)

Captain Ron is one of the first funny, adult movies I remember seeing as a kid. It's still basically a family movie, but dips its toes into the ocean of "adultness" with the armed conflict in Cuba, the "gorillas" in the island jungle ("GO — GUER — HUGE difference!") and some sexual scenes, which were new to me when I watched it. This was the movie that introduced me to Kurt Russell, too, one of my dad's favorite actors. Really, I'd watch any movie this guy was in, but Captain Ron is probably the most hilarious to me. So glad my parents had me watch it.

Also, just discovered it came out the year I was born!


3) The Imitation Game (2014)


This movie was kind of a surprise, but reminded me very much of A Beautiful Mind. It also contributes to the idea that all geniuses have issues, which is both tragic and almost comforting? Not sure that makes sense. In any case, this movie did a great job telling a "math" story by being both informative and dramatic, which made it altogether very engaging. It also improved my previous impression of Benedict Cumberbatch of being totally overrated (although Keira Knightley still doesn't know how to close her mouth...like ever).


4) Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)


Joe Versus the Volcano is one of my all-time favorites, for reasons that I don't fully understand, but that start with my first viewing of it. I was young and inexperienced and invested in the story enough that I didn't notice that Meg Ryan played multiple characters throughout the movie, so when someone (probably my dad) told me later, I was over-the-moon-impressed by how clever that was, and what it added to the story. After a while the glow started to fade a bit, until I wrote a paper about it in my college film class. My professor loved it, so that certainly helped, but I was able to make comparisons between Joe and Metropolis that still blow my mind. Plus, I love Tom Hanks as an actor and the soundtrack was perfect.


5) Phenomenon (1996)


I think my dad introduced me to this movie, again, when I was in middle school, and I had just been going ga-ga over John Travolta after seeing Grease for the first time. I probably hadn't seen many truly tragic movies up to this point, so I definitely cried at the end of this movie (don't judge me). I don't really know why this movie was so fascinating to me, I guess I just hadn't seen that many quiet fantasy movies up to that point in my life. I'm sure I also fantasized about being able to learn languages as fast as the character did (and only from a book, no less!).

Anyway, I would certainly recommend this movie.


6) Silver Linings Playbook (2012)


"This is a terrible movie!" Those words — spoken by my grandmother while watching this movie at Christmas after I had bought it for my sister as a present — and my family's laughter that followed it, will forever be ingrained in my memory.

This movie was the first, I think, that showed how well Bradley Cooper and J-Law work together onscreen, and it did a bang-up job (I thought) of presenting their characters as almost anti-heroes who portray mental illness and personal tragedy very effectively. It's crazy and beautiful and hilarious.


7) Sixth Sense (1999)

I'm not sure it gets any more iconic than "I see dead people," but this was also the first "scary" movie I think I ever saw. I still remember that scene with the girl under the bed throwing up as the freakiest of all time. But the biggest reason this movie affected me so dramatically (and why I love it so much) is, as with many movies I enjoy, how surprising it was. I had no idea Bruce Willis' character was dead when Haley Joel Osmet was talking to him (until the end, obviously), and I was so impressed by that. It's one of the movies that makes me not-so-secretly want to make movies.


8) Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was one of my favorite shows as a kid, so it should come as no surprise that I was interested in watching this movie. The very end sucked, but it was the first big foreign movie I'd really seen, and boy did it deliver. It really demonstrated for me what life in a truly poor country might be like — even in Hollywood fashion, I think there are some important truths of perspective in the movie.

And of course my dad's love for saying "chaiwalla" after we watched it keeps me from forgetting it.

The final dance number was stupid though and I just ignore that.


9) Throw Mama from the Train (1987)

I think I have my brother-in-law to thank for this one, since he was the first who told me about it. So hilarious and relatable as a writer, even though it's over the top. I didn't know it then, but I think this was the movie that made me really appreciate Danny DeVito. I can still hear his "mom" yelling "Oweeen!"

And I mean really, what else needs to be said??


10) V for Vendetta (2005)


This is a movie that I think most people knew about before I did, and which I was surprised I hadn't known anything about until I watched it (and yes, I did watch it for the first time on the fifth of November). Very Phantom of the Opera-esque and I loved it. Why? I guess every "little m" man likes the idea of sticking it to the "big m" Man, and when you add in a little mystery and a lot of gray areas, it works.

Who doesn't love a good political, dystopian thriller that plays off the legend of Guy Fawkes?


And that's it! I hope someone enjoyed this unnecessarily long, drawn-out series ;)

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