22 Oct
Let me put all my cards on the table. The Exorcist, the 1973 movie with all of that gushing pea soup, is my favorite movie of all time. But before you write me off as a demented lunatic or worse, I’d like the chance to tell you why that is. So please… sit down, try to relax. Grab a milkshake.
25 Sep
There’s something inherently and immediately enjoyable about lists. People are more inclined to spend the time to read a list with its easily digestible bites than they are an article with its in-depth eloquence and deliberate structure. While lists of the Top Ten Best This’s or Top Ten Worst That’s may have once been considered novelties or reserved for special occasions on websites in the past, internet lists are so often read that there are now entire websites dedicated to making lists. So, when Tyler asked the MTOL contributors if anyone wanted to tackle a Top Ten list inspired by his and Josh’s current stretch of minisodes, I jumped at the chance. But almost as soon as I agreed to write it, I began to wonder if I was capable of writing a worthwhile list.
3 Jul
Let me start with one of my favorite jokes from The Simpsons. Homer Simpson, suspended severely high above the ground, folds his hands and says, “I’m not normally a praying man, but if you’re up there, please save me Superman!”
25 Jun
I read Twilight. Once. I also saw the first movie. After this, I and the franchise parted ways for mutually exclusive reasons that don’t need to be detailed here.
When I saw the trailers for Warm Bodies, my first thought was: “Oh… now zombies have a Twilight movie.” However, loving zombie films as much as I do and bolstered by a striking number of positive reviews, I gave it a viewing. And—cutting to the chase—I absolutely adored it.
WARNING: SPOILERS
14 Jun
I usually put together my top hundred every three years or so, but upon the recent revelation (yes, I recognize that it’s weird to have a revelation about one’s own tastes) that I have a new favorite film of all time after fifteen years of making this list, I thought it fitting to go through and make a whole new top hundred. Lots of new inclusions on this list, which I have starred (some of the starred films have been on the list in the past, but were not included in the 2012 list). Enjoy!
1. NASHVILLE
2. CITIZEN KANE
3. JAWS
4. NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
5. 12 ANGRY MEN
6. BICYCLE THIEVES
7. NETWORK
8. THE LAST LAUGH
9. THE MALTESE FALCON
10. THE GENERAL
4 Jun
24 May
Fans of J. J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot of Star Trek, if not already familiar with the franchise, might find themselves interested to go back and watch the original series of movies to see what they have to offer. If that’s you and if you should decide to start from the beginning, you will most likely find the experience quite jarring.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture, in striking contrast to Abrams’ vision, is not an action-packed, humor-filled thrill machine. It is a deliberately paced, methodically executed science fiction story with precisely three—yes, three—moments of humor. It’s also a pretty excellent piece of cinema if you know what you’re facing and perhaps the most underrated of the Star Trek films.
SPOILERS
21 May
1. THE EXORCIST
Being a sincere, born-again Christian who cites a graphic portrayal of demonic possession as my favorite movie ever, I should expect some puzzled second glances and more than a few questions. The film’s subject matter definitely isn’t for everyone (I actually discourage people who are particularly sensitive to its such things from seeing it), but it is also often highly misjudged based on its reputation as “the scariest movie of all time” and the viewing of a few popular scene clips. At its core, The Exorcist is an examination of how we cope with evil in the world around us, particularly when that evil attacks the innocent among us. For those who don’t already know, the story revolves around a young girl and her actress mother whose imperfect but comfortable little world nearly comes undone when the girl begins to exhibit evidence of demonic possession. The mother’s only hope for her daughter lies in a young priest whose faith is wavering and an elder priest who health is failing. My affections for it almost entirely lay in the film’s quieter moments, but I also admire that the film presents the devil as horrific and malevolent rather than cool or charming. Its script is a powerful exploration of the persistent struggle we each have not only to overcome evil in the world around us, but to try to understand it and this theme is a constant source of fascination for me (the moment when the elder priest provides his theory for why this is all happening is profound). Despite its occasional theological awkwardness, The Exorcist presents us with the message that the only way to ultimately overcome evil is to lay down your life and even though this message might be obscured for some by the film’s more extreme moments, it’s a message that resonated with me so strongly that it placed this movie as my favorite. My favorite moment in the movie (one that I think best captures the movie’s heart) comes after the younger priest has lost a psychological battle with the demon and is forced to retreat from the conflict. As the young priest sits sulking in self-pity and confusion, the girl’s mother steps in and quietly asks, “Is my little girl going to die?” In that moment, the young priest casts aside his self-absorption and with a confidence he never had before, declares “No.” before rising back up the stairs to fight again for the soul of the little girl, and his own. There is genuine ugliness and horror in The Exorcist, but there are also moments of striking beauty and grace and perhaps such is true of life itself as well.
20 May
As an adult, if I see a movie more than once in the span of a year, it’s is an indicator that I really enjoy it. Maybe I’ll buy it on DVD or Blu Ray somewhere down the road when the price suits me and watch it again, but twice is usually my limit. There’s so much more to be seen that I haven’t yet discovered, why would I waste hours watching the same things over and over again? J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek is a movie I find myself revisiting several times a year.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
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