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Top of My Head Top 10: Films That Make Me Love Film

(in no particular order)

photo: thefilmfatale

Dead Poets Society
director: Peter Weir
screenwriter: Tom Schulman
cast: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke Josh Charles

fave quote: “Carpe diem..”

— With its compelling storyline, great cast, and a goddamn tear-inducing musical score, one cannot deny the beauty of this film. One of the first films i could remember that made an impression on me. My closest cousin introduced me to this film when i was around 9-10, when VHS tape rentals were all the rage. Sadly, she passed away 10 yrs ago. this film is one of my connections to her. she was, is and always will be an inspiration to me the way Mr. Keating was to his students.  

photo: astroid-pondis
The Sound of Music 
director: Robert Wise
screenwriter: Ernest Lehman
cast: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer

fave quote: “when i’m feeling sad i simply remember my favorite things and then i don’t feel so bad”

— This movie is too optimistic, too encouraging, too delightful for me to resist putting in the list. The first movie musical i ever loved. I appreciate movie musicals for the mere fact that what can’t be done on a stage can be done on location. It brings a whole new depth to the story. I remember my mom used to sing me My Favorite Things as a lullaby. She had a slight Julie Andrews phase - she sang, dressed & even fashioned the same haircut as her. just a phase, i think. nonetheless, one of my favorite things about my mom.

gifs: emizombie

The Birdcage
director: Mike Nichols
cast: Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Hank Azaria, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest 

fave quote: “You do an eclectic celebration of the dance! You do Fosse, Fosse, Fosse! You do Martha Graham, Martha Graham, Martha Graham! Or Twyla, Twyla, Twyla! Or Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd! Or Madonna, Madonna, Madonna!… but you keep it all inside.”

— This film is a laugh-trip through and through. A mix of screwball, slapstick, witty and gay humor molded into a form that is The Birdcage. The thing about this movie is that it doesn’t demean homosexuality, in my opinion anyway. it pokes fun at topics like theater production, politics, religion and family dynamics. The story is about a couple coping with the stress of handling their own show business, dealing with the shock that their son announces his engagement to a senator’s daughter, whilst trying to impress their future in-laws…this couple just happens to be gay. i recently discovered that this is a remake of the 1978 film La Cage aux Folles. Nathan Lane, Robin Williams and Hank Azaria are the highlights of this feather-glazed film. I promise you, honey, these divas don’t disappoint. 

photo: nami64
Memento 
director: Christopher Nolan
screenwriter: Jonathan Nolan
cast: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

fave quote: “Awake. Where am i?” 

— i stumbled upon this movie while flicking through cable channels at home. i was in high school at that time and i remember when the film was done, i just sat there gobsmacked and open-jawed. i was like “whaddafuck?..what the fuuuuck…WHAT.THE.FUCK??!” it was totally brilliant experience! i then realized how important screenwriting was. i was already heavy in my fandom of films at that time (though there was nobody i could talk to about it cos people were too mainstream) and this film just inspired me to start writing and developing my own scripts. and the cinematography and film editing.. oh god, the editing. i was thoroughly analyzing how editing was key in storytelling. and i learned that in making a movie, one must always balance the creative and technical processes for effective cinematic storytelling. this movie still gives me chills every time i watch it… Chris Nolan’s unique vision and style started in Following. But in Memento, he certainly raised the bar. It definitely paved the way for his future mindfuckeries like The Prestige and Inception. 

photo/gifs: babytakeabow
Jeux d’Enfants (Love Me If You Dare)
director: Yann Samuell
screenwriter: Yann Samuell, Jacky Cukier
cast: Guillaume Canet, Marion Cotillard

fave quote: “cap ou pas cap? (game or not?)”

— i stumbled upon the trailer of this film as i was skimming through Marion Cotillard’s filmography back when she won for La Vie En Rose. Jeux d’ Enfants is bedazzling in its visual style and endearingly quirky storyline. how many of us have ever fallen for a friend? oh the eternal cliches of “just friends” and “friends with benefits” stretch their limits in this film. story focuses on a guy and a girl who are childhood friends and, in a span of years, fall for each other at the right time, or wrong time, until there is no time at all. Marion & Guillaume’s chemistry is so palpable you would want to root for them till the end. i just fell in love with Guillaume here. i mean jesus, the man is French-fucking-gorgeous. if you haven’t seen this yet, i recommend you do.

photo: thefilmfatale
Trainspotting
director: Danny Boyle
screenwriter: John Hodge
cast: Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller, Kelly McDonald 

fave quote: “Choose life.”

— i’ve been a Trainspotting fan (10 yrs now) before i even watched it. what is that all about? i dunno really. blame it on my fascination with Ewan McGregor, or Scots in general, or the fact that Born Slippy was (and still is) the trippiest fucking song i’ve ever heard and it was in this movie’s soundtrack. i love this movie for reasons unknown and reasons i don’t even wanna know. Thanks to a great of mine who gave me his dvd, i got to finally watch it 2 years ago. Danny Boyle delivers his 2nd feature like punk spit - viscous and gritty. yet somehow at the end of it, you feel optimistic. even making Rent somewhat.. virtuous? almost Christ-like actually. yeah you feel that after you’ve been spat on (or shat on, in accordance to the film) and even be grateful it happened. Danny Boyle’s films do take you on a journey, and he does it in such a way that they make you feel like you are going through the motions.

gifs: lawyerupasshole elijah-would

The Hurt Locker
director: Kathryn Bigelow
screenwriter: Mark Boal
cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty 

fave quote: “there’s enough bang in there to blow us all to Jesus. if i’m gonna die, i want to die comfortable.”

— before watching this film, i was skeptical because was expecting the same old storyline that was pretty much used & overused by its predecessors, just with different characters & different locations. was sick and tired of the same old war movie. but this film was a breath of fresh air creatively & techincally - from the story, the actors, the dialogue to the cinematography, editing and directing. THL was directed by a woman - Kathryn Bigelow (she became the 1st female to win an Oscar for Best Director). what i like most about this movie is that it is about war, and it is a drama, but it’s in its rawest form. it tapped into the mind of a soldier with such depth and quality. it got rid of all the cliche brotherhood-hoo-ha-bring-on-the-troops-we’re-all-in-this drama with matching cinematic orchestral scoring. THL proves that women can direct war movies.

gifs: panickat123 heguidesmyfeet

Never Been Kissed
director: Raja Gosnell
screenwriter: Marc Silverstein, Abby Kohn
cast: Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, Molly Shannon, Michael Vartan

fave quote: “Josie, do you remember what they called you in high school? Josie Grosie.”

— a twenty-something copy editor is given her first undercover feature about school kids. this assignment forces her revisit, relive and confront her past demons that is the brutality of high school. now, this film gives me all too familiar feeling. i was dubbed a ‘loser’ in elementary, humiliated and isolated by the class, and thrown into the depths of self-loathing for years. i shit you not. but much like Josie’s character, i’d like to think i have graduated from loserdom to become a successful career woman in her mid-twenties (sans the success and the love life). this film focuses on school bullying, cliques, true friendship and love using a lighthearted and funny approach. at the time this film was released i could’ve sworn this movie was made for and about me. it was only fitting that i put this on the list.

photo: buckthorn
Hotaru No Haka (Grave of the Fireflies)
director: Isao Takahata
screenwriter: Isao Takahata
cast: (English dub) Rhoda Chrosite, Amy Jones, J. Robert Spencer, Veronica Taylor

fave quote: “why must fireflies die so young?”

— of all the animated films that have made me cry, this one wins hands down. it is a complete sobfest. story of a brother & sister struggling to cope with their lives after a massive bombing in Japan during World War II. the best parts of the film were also the most heartbreaking. this could be due to the fact that the film was effective in building up the relationship between siblings Seita and Setsuko. i’d like to thank another great friend of mine who introduced me to this movie. i recommend you watch it as well. if you don’t cry while watching, you don’t have a heart. 

photo: potion-notion 
The Ten Commandments (1956)
director: Cecil B. DeMille
screenwriter: Aeneas MacKenzie, Jesse L. Lasky Jr., Jack Gariss, Fredric M. Frank
cast: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter

fave quote: “So let it be written, so it shall be done.”

— the first time i remember watching this was when i was 8 yrs old. my mom has a VHS copy of it and i remember we would watch it every Holy Week - around Black Saturday or Easter Sunday. for years it became a sort of tradition, until i got older and didn’t take part anymore. this movie made me appreciate and be in awe of the grandeur of cinema. this was the 1st movie i saw that had an “intermission”, at the time i didn’t know exactly what that was or what it was for. i think people would agree that the most amazing part of the film was the parting of the Red Sea. i mean damn, this was made in the 50’s and untill now it still baffles me how they did that. a true classic, this is. 

(Source: aliciadizzy)