Segment 2: Top Titles

11. Civil War (documentary)-I learned the second segment of film with this series of films. As I arrived to college, I still believed strongly in the spectcle of movies--loud, brash and with lots of pyrotechnics. But as this was aired on PBS (but I heard about it from the Telluride Film Festival), I realized that power to educate and enlighten is also one of the principles of film. It doesn't have to be made solely for entertainment. The depth of these movies captured me and I was hooked on documentaries.

10. Adventures of Baron Munchausen (comedy)--I experienced this title in our then, one art house in Denver, furthering my love of art movies. I had been following the tale in the newspapers and rags and expected to see crap on the screen. Instead, I found a story that believed in some of my own core values-that the power to dream is by far more important than the power to do. Yeah, it was a crappy title in the end, but because of this singular focused theme, I had to watch it again and again. And yes, the power to dream is the most important.

9. Addams Family Values (comedy)--Remember what I said about dark comedy? Well, here's the darkest of the them, disguised as popular culture. And that's what I loved about it. Pulp Fiction and other dark comedies alienate, it's inherent in their nature. Dark comedy is making fun of the most inappropiate titles. But this movie picked items from the nation's concerns and mocked them (art reflecting life?), openly. I mean, the right wing soars about the importance of moral values--this movie showed them in a new different light. Let's look at this way. The right thinks that the straight family unit is the only important thing in America today. The Addams family is just that, only with axes and nooses and bad flooring. They have straight sex at the drop of a hat, they are so in love with one another. Is that what the right meant? No--hence, delicious sarcasm. And to wit, they had an ace cast of individuals to pull it off.

8. Children of a Lesser God (drama)--If ever there was a movie that inspired me to do something, this would be it. I don't know why, but I was learning ASL when this movie came out and when I saw it, I could not only understand the signing in the picture, I could understand the complications of the characters better then my hearing friends. I knew I could do what James Leeds was doing on screen--as a profession. And now I teach.
7. Clerks (comedy)--More dark comedy. I mean a comedy made in a convience store? Where every single line is quotable? It emphasized the beauty of writing in it's own way (because it wasn't the acting, that's for sure!) and I can't help thinking this was the kind of movie I would most likely end up making.

6. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (adventure)--this film tagged my Disney streak, if it wasn't a Disney movie. Again, the dream of the director was right up there on the screen and you know me and dreams. Plus, remember my love for the old movies? Well, this was retelling of those serials...you could practically see where the commericals would break in.

5. Birdcage (comedy)--The era between the years of the summer of 93 to the spring of 95 are something of a blur. I was, you see, in some kind of a marriage. I say some kind, due to the fact that I believed I was in deeply in love and the person I was with felt that they were deeply connected to my pocket. So we lived, hand to mouth, a deliciously abusive relationship where he stole and I let him. We didn’t go see a whole lot of movies. Why? I wasn’t allowed. Oh, sure, I could go, but I either had to go by myself (while he sat on the couch and did drugs) or I could pay for him and all of his friends (where he sat in the bathroom or the car and did drugs). This is the only movie that I saw that during that time period to make it to this list. It was the only time I had a smidgen of happiness during that dark time. And, what’s more, now that I’m married in a real relationship, the couple here has a new meaning on partnership. It’s dang funny too-quotable to the extreme.

4. Silence of the Lambs (horror/thriller)--I watched this again last night and I'm still picking up details. This film was a first for me in many ways. I used to joke that I wanted to make the first horror movie to win Best Picture. This movie did. Secondly, I had read the book long before the movie and still liked it. Thirdly, this was my second movie review--and I had to watch it at 2 am to get it to the presses by morning. Let's just say that I didn't have a problem with staying up all night--I was frightened out of my wits. It did what it was supposed to do--scared me. And I've been respectful ever since.

3. Cinema Paradiso (drama)--a metamovie for movielovers. I think there is a more of a plot, for people who don't love movies, but I didn't pay attention to it. But here was a movie, not unlike this list, that shows how, for many people, movies are the soundtrack to our lives. I can tell you where I saw this one and at what age (the summer between my junior and senior years of college; the Mayan theatre in downtown Denver; with Linda and Dauria) and that's just the point. Movies are part of our culture to the point where they cannot be separated. Knowing that, we all can name movies that hit us at specific times. THis movie is about a young boy's journey through life and the movies that coincided with him to the end. It's amazing.

2. Cyrano De Beregac (drama)--Ahh, romance. I can't deny I'm a romantic. I may have a bevy of horror and dark comedy, but they are much higher on this list. But the top two, you see, aren't what you'd expect. It's the issue of love that really gets me going, I guess. Here is a tale I watched after just coming out of the closet. I felt hideous and small, not unlike Cyrano. I felt, just like him, that I would never find the love of my dreams, so I should stick to doing the other things that make me feel better. But alas, Cyrano truly is loved and just never could open his eyes to it. I'm writing this with the assumation you know this oft-repeated story. I watched it again with a class and I was surprised at the power of this lush production, with a portrayal of the leads by some of the best leads ever.

1.Casablanca (drama)--Must I say more? I watch it whenever I feel really good or really bad. What does that mean? But this story really hits me a place that I cannot explain. Is it the romance? The well written banter? No matter, quality is quality and you can't help but notice. It's long and boring, if you've never experienced romance, but the theme of true love will go on is undenable. Enjoy.