So, I am talking to my friend Anthony currently. We are planning on going to Target later to buy a couple of Studio Ghibli movies. Yes, Studio Ghibli is anime, but it is the best that I have ever seen. I’m not a huge fan of Japanese animation, but films like Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Kiki’s Delivery Service have a special place in my heart.
Anyways, making these plans helped me decide what I would like to talk about today. I decided why not start with something simple. I’m not ready to discuss deep topics yet. So, today’s #MonthOfMe fact is…
I AM A MOVIE LOVER
Ever since I was a little boy, I have loved to lay back on a couch and watch a movie. Of course compared to today’s standards, my movies were a little mediocre. I would watch The Brave Little Toaster, Toy Story 2, and basically any Scooby-Doo movie for hours. Watching movies is perhaps one of my favorite hobbies. I mean, I obviously love movies… it takes up one of my 3 majors and one of my 2 minors.
If you would happen to ask me what my favorite movie is, I would probably hesitate in responding because most movies are amazing in my opinion. (Besides Being John Malkovich… I cannot stand that movie.) Anyways, for the sake of sharing, I will be more than happy to share a few.
- The Conjuring – Who doesn’t love a good scary movie, right? Anyways, if someone comes to me begging for me to introduce them to the horror genre, I typically show them this movie. If I have a friend who hates horror movies and I want to show them one, I show them this. I do consider the Scream Franchise at times because that is definitely another favorite, but this is my favorite modern film. Anyways, this film, released in 2013, doesn’t worry too much about graphics or gore. In my opinion, it is one of the modern-day classic horror films. James Wan, director of this, Saw, and Insidious leads audiences through a 112 minutes of creepiness and scares. It takes the haunted house movie to a new level and it definitely helped freshen up this sub-genre of horror film. The film also features Vera Farmiga, one of my favorite actresses. This movie is one of few to leave me creeped out upon the initial viewing, so it obviously stuck in my head. I am beyond excited for the sequel to be released.
- Spirited Away – I mentioned this earlier in my post, but this movie is definitely one of my favorites. Yes, it is a cartoon. Yes, it’s originally in Japanese. No, none of this changes the impact that this movie has left on me. The movie is basically a growing up film. Running in at 2 hours, this film deals with Chihiro. When her family moves into a new town, they get sidetracked and they end up at a bathhouse for spirits. After her parents get turned into pigs by a witch named Yubaba, Chihiro must work at the bathhouse while planning on how to save her parents. Featuring the voice talents of Daveigh Chase (Lilo in Lilo and Stitch) and Susan Egan (Meg in Hercules), there is definitely a stellar vocal performance. This film actually introduced me to the rest of the Studio Ghibli films which have all also become instant favorites.
- Psycho – Just for the record, I am speaking of the 1960 film… not the crappy 1998 remake. This film is a classic. If you do not like this movie, I am deeply judging you. Anyways, this movie basically helped shape what slasher films have been known to be. Being directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this movie features Janet Leigh, mother of Jamie Lee Curtis, as Marion Crane. Marion, trying to move away live with her boyfriend, steals money from her workplace and goes on the run. Along the way, Marion stops by the Bates Motel where she is in for a big surprise. Like my television favorite, I Love Lucy, Psycho helped inspire future directors into recreating certain aspects of the film. Although it’s not scary, I definitely rewatch this movie a good few times a year.
- Back to the Future Trilogy – I can’t really separate any certain movie from this series, so I’ll just state that I love them all. The main concept is that a car is coverted into a time machine by Doc Brown. The rest of the plot would take ages to explain, so just watched the movies! Between Michael J. Fox’s humor to the concept of a Delorean being a time machine, this film truly has it all. Not to mention, this film features Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson, two more of my favorites. This is perhaps one of the only sci-fi films that does not put me asleep and that’s because it’s actually truly entertaining. The third film is also the only western that I have willingly watched. Anyways, even though 2015 isn’t anything like what BTTF Part 2 projected, this film series truly remains on my list of favorites.
- The Wizard of Oz – This film is the one that I watch anytime I feel like going back to my childhood. It’s one of few movies that still entertain me to this day. Judy Garland leads as Dorothy, a girl who travels from Kansas to the strange land of Oz by tornado with her dog Toto. If you haven’t seen this movie, I am truly judging you. Anyways, this film is one of the few that I still like to watch remakes and revisions of. One of my favorite revisions would definitely have to be the 2007 mini-series Tin Man. It has Zooey Deschanel in it, so if you’re looking for good acting, search someone else. Ouch, that was harsh. Oh, and yes, the original Oz book was better than the movie.
Anyways, that’s just a short little explanation of some of my favorite movies. I love way more movies including Harry Potter, Scream, Grand Budapest Hotel, and even Katy Perry: Part of Me. That Katy Perry documentary is one of the few movies to this day to continuously make me cry.
So, if you’re one of my close friends or go to school with me, you’re probably saying “Jesse! You can’t claim to be a movie lover. You haven’t seen <insert some famous movie here>.” Yes, it’s true I’ve never seen Shawshank Redemption, The Lord of the Rings, or Godfather. I have only seen the Star Wars movies recently, and I only have seen The Lion King once. I haven’t even seen Disney staples such as Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. This is sad, I know, but I am planning on changing this. I grew up with people that didn’t necessarily watch a lot of movies, so I’m finally getting to the point of watching tons of movies. I have a constantly growing watch list and I am so excited to see what else is out there that I have yet to watch. If you have a good movie suggestion, send it to me because I am always up to suggestions.
Anyways, if you would like to doubt my movie loving skills, let me just tell you about my movie collection. I own about 300 movies physically, so I always have something to watch. On top of that, my digital film collection just hit 1,480 films. So yeah, I like movies. I have collected these mostly between graduation to now and I cannot wait to see what it will all look like in my man cave years from now.
So yeah, that’s my topic for today… I’m not quite sure what my topic will be tomorrow, so you’ll be just as surprised as I will. If anyone read this, I commend you and I cannot wait to see where this series goes.
Yours truly,
Jesse