liadanslyre

maureen's movie list
this is a running list of movies that meet two criteria. they are movies i think you should see b/c i like them and think you might too. or they are movies that i didn't 'like' in the traditional sense of the word but b/c they are thought provoking. i will try to update this as i think of movies and give a brief explanation about the movie or why it made the list.

please make suggestions of things that i have omitted or re-arrange my categories.

CLASSICS
here defined as movies that you should really see. in my opinion.

shindler's list :
everyone should see this movie.

glory:
everyone should see this movie. the first black platoon to fight in the civil war.

GodFather series:
b/c it's about the mob.

shawshank redemption:
really really good. dismantling institutionalization.

les miserable:
if you can't see the show- rent the movie. the book i hear is best.

the mission:
robert deniro was incredible... really.

***

FUNNY
(AKA COMEDY)

the anderson trilogy:
i know- i left bottlerocket off- but if you watch these three movies and if you watch these three movies and like them- then watch bottle rocket.

rushmore:
definitely my favorite wes anderson. and definitely in my top five favorite movies. i think of it as the film version of catcher in the rye.

the royal tennanbaums:
putting the fun- back in dysfunctional.

life aquatic:
william defoe is the secret weapon of this movie. loved it!

ala director christopher guest...
a mighty wind:
mockumentary of folk music era.

best in show:
mockumentary of dog show culture.

spinal tap:
mocumentary of 80?s glam rock band.

waiting for guffman:
start here for a christopher guest addiction. my favorite one of his...

ferris bueller's day off:
had this memorized at one point. my first of many 'favorite' movies.

steel magnolias:
b/c there's nothing like girl friends.

breakfast club:
b/c it's a cult classic of anyone that graduated highschool in the early nighties.

sixteen candles:
see above.

pretty in pink:
see above.

wayne's world:
obviously... i had this entire movie memorized at one point.

city slickers:
billy crystal's midlife crisis.

when harry met sally:
a legendary nyc movie. saw it when i was trying unsuccessfully to convince myself i could have jeff abbott as my best friend and not try to jump his bones all the time.

fried green tomatoes:
girl power!

parenthood:
very funny and sentimental look at family life with steve martin.

tootsie:
again... dustin hoffman kicks ass.

patch adams:
b/c laughter is good for the soul. and you can come back from a nervous breakdown and make a contribution.

my big fat greek wedding:
a primer in cross cultural marriage in the make-believe world.

high fidelity:
jack black before he got to be unbearably crude.

about a boy:
thought his movie would be a fun mindless whatever. it was one of the most pleasant surprise of a movie in a long time! loved it!

elf:
will farrel in tights is always a good thing.

the joy luck club:
thought it should be on here... the power of the relationship between mom?s and daughters is universal.

napolean dynamite:
fun to see another round of highschool cult classics emerge. it's about time breakfast club was replaced.

***

MAKES YOU PEE YOUR PANTS A LITTLE
(AKA SUSPENSE)

good fellows:
b/c it's about the mob.

the siege:
every american should watch this and think of the patriot act.

platoon:
really intense.

gladiator:
honor.

apocalypse now:
b/c it makes every other list- but it's pretty creepy. and i'm sure it would be better on acid.

witness:
before kelly migillis was all that and a bag of chips in top gun; she was in this movie. it's about a guy (harrison ford) that hides out with the amish.

LA confidential:
great suspense mystery movie.

all the president's men:
robert redford= hottie.

the insider:
no one talks about the amount of weight russel crow put on to do this film.

arlinton road:
b/c a guilty pleasure of mine is conspiracy theory.

7 :
my first introduction to kevin spacy. i've not been able to stop since.

the usual suspects:
see the part about not being able to stop...

12 days in september:
about the bay of pigs. kevin costner is bearable.

the matrix:
just the first one b/c it blew my mind. the others lost their novelty.

the lord of the rings trilogy:
b/c i would get yelled at if it wasn't on here.

a midnight clear:
ethan hawk on the fears of normal boys fighting wars and wetting their pants.

***

MADE ME CRY OR SOMETHING
(AKA DRAMA)

eternal sunshine of a spotless mind:
the most creative movie of 2004 in my opinion.

rainman:
for no other reason than see dustin hoffman act like nobody's business.

good will hunting :
could make you respect ben affleck again.

crossing delancy:
a great nyc movie about the lower east side.

michael collins:
my people! very well done epic and accurate irish history. with liam neason.

you've got mail:
one of my favorite new york movies- loved it- but no- i didn?t live on the upper west side.

moulin rouge:
wow. i can't think of anything descriptive to help you know about this movie but i remember it being wonderful and beautiful. very creative- romantic. i think it had a lot of skin. be warned.

amelie:
love love loved it.

macbeth (w/ ethan hawke) :
contextualized shakespere. set in modern day new york city at a corporation named denmark.

fiddler on the roof:
b/c it's one of the first movies i remember seeing.

dead poets society:
i mean- come on! 'oh captain my captain!'

in america:
irish immigration in america isn't just turn of the century. loved it. kinda bleak.

chariots of fire:
i like this movie for many reasons- but the soundtrack alone makes it worth it.

american history x:
edward norton rocks.

higher learning:
john singleton.

boyz in the hood:
lawrence fishboune was really good. Cuba was a cute teen.

moonstruck:
sentimental b/c my mother and i acted out a scene right before charles and i got engaged. it included me saying, 'ma- i love him awful'.

stand by me:
i miss river. great movie.

born on the 4th of july:
vietnam vet's who is disabled in the war and his experience with re-entry to our grateful nation.

malcom x:
b/c i think he was a great leader.

philadephia:
a philly attorney has AIDS and his struggle with bigotry around the disease- very prophetic. this nearly made it to the classic list.

remember the titans:
racial reconciliation.

road to perdition:
my people!

castaway:
30 minutes of no talking just acting. really impressive. loved the relationship with wilson.

saving private ryan:
truly the greatest generation.

white man's burden:
good idea- bad movie. but it's a good enough idea for you to rent it from the libary. race relations reversed. white people get treated like black people.

JFK:
b/c i think he was a great president.

it's a wonderful life:
obviously.

reality bites:
i heart ethan hawke. cult classic of college friends.

flawless:
when i decided phillip seymour hoffman totally ruled. bigoted cop (deniro) meets drag queen- really about the humanity in all of us. prophetic.

magnolia:
wow- good movie. really crude language. be warned.

say anything:
"i gave her my heart, she gave me a pen". love lyod dobler.

garden state:
love scrubs, love zach braff, love the music.

gattaca:
a caste system based on genetics. very interesting.

***

HOMELESS
(AKA OTHER- DOESN'T FIT IN ANY PARTICULAR CATEGORY)

donnie brasco:
b/c it's about the mob.

purple rain:
not really- but this movie saved my life. it's a long story but it involves diarrhea, and one weekend of using my limited albanian in a remote city near the border of kosovo.

taxi driver:
b/c i have to put scorcesse on here.

pulp fiction:
b/c i should put it on here... but it was really bloody.

fight club:
not for the faint of heart- very rough. nihilism just got cool.

the incredibles:
this was such a pleasant surprise. i'm not a cartoon sort- but wow- was this good! made me very happy.

st. elmo's fire:
angsty but funny. identity crisis of your twenties.