Top 5 movies

I love movies, but I usually don't have the opportunity to watch many. If I get recommendations, I'm more apt to view... so let me know.

This list involves mostly contemporary movies, as opposed to things I might've liked when I was 12 years old. Maybe that's another list.

In no particular order:

1. Almost Famous (2000)
Almost Famous follows the assignment of a 16-year-old about to graduate high school when Rolling Stone mistakes him for a freelance writer and hires him to tour and write the cover story of the (fictional) band Stillwater. The soundtrack to this movie is amazing. The storyline relate able. The acting fantastic. I wanted to be Penny Lane -- Kate Hudson is beautiful, articulate and captivating (Really, I like men.) And I wanted Will Miller. (Maybe I still do.) There's humor and heartbreak, with a unique storyline and great cast.


2. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Where the hell does Tarantino come up with this? I love that the movie itself is out of order, and every story intertwines with one another. The characters are unique, the concept outrageous... with another exceptional cast including Samuel L., Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, and cameos from Steve Bushemi and Christopher Walken (!). Every time I watch, I see something new. The movie also has a great soundtrack.


3. Taxi Driver (1976)
Oh, Robert Di Niro.
Taxi Driver focuses on the character of Travis Bickle, an insomniac and unstable war vet that takes up a third shift job driving a taxi. Scorcese has a way with helping the viewer get into his characters' heads, and I like how the movie climaxes at the end -- as if you've held your breath the entire time, waiting for Bickle to snap. The mental deterioration keeps me watching, and I love the ending.

Fun fact: This movie was criticized for portraying Jodie Foster in her first film ever, as a 12-year-old prostitute. (She was 14.)


4. Pan's Labryinth (2006)
Don't be turned off by the subtitles. Guillermo del Toro came up with the story's concept and translated them on his own. The movie's set in fascist Spain during WWII, when a girl moves to the countryside with her widowed mother, who has married a Spanish captain. The plot itself keeps you watching, with the ideas of reality and fantasy intertwined through the eyes of the little girl. But it's not for little kids. There's not much blood and guts, but the scenes that include it are more intense, graphic and poignant. So good.


5. No Country For Old Men (2007) and Full Metal Jacket (1987)
It's a tie. I grouped these together because they're more similar than the rest. I'll explain why I picked both.

The Coen brothers are exceptional writers and directors (e.g., Fargo and The Big Lebowski), and this movie follows suit. Some people were put off by the ending, but it's on a short list of mediocre gripes compared to the excellence that is suspense and action-packed violence and blood. I love the "cat and mouse" concept; it's dirty, heartless, manly and makes the world simple and complex at the same time. Plus, there's no score. And I didn't even notice until the end of the movie. Amazing.

Seven-six-two millimeter. Full. Metal. Jacket. If blood's involved, I'm a fan of movies about war. In particular, I like FMJ because it's not just about the action, but the underlying idea that war dehumanizes people. There's a unique approach with the direction of Stanley Kubrick, and the cinematography is phenomenal. Plus, every other line is quotable. (think, "What's your damage, Private Pyle?" or "Me love you long time.")

Runners up: Donnie Darko, Trainspotting, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Sideways

Top 5 Books

Because I went to school for English and writing, it's only fitting I start with books. I have a more traditional approach to reading, just because of the whole English Lit. thing. I'm getting into more contemporary books but the classics keep me coming back. I'm also partial to books that focus on characters more than plot. Don't get me wrong, moving the story along keeps me reading, but what happens to the people in the story keeps me engaged.

Here they are, in no particular order. Except for the first one... because it's my favorite book of all time.


1. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway is by far my favorite author. His succinct, non-fluff writing style keeps me engaged because it's simple, but packed with interpretation (Read his short story, "Hills Like White Elephants.")

I've read this book at least five times. And that's alot considering I usually never re-read a book. The story takes you through expatriate Jake Barnes life with a group of friends on a vacation to Spain for the running of the bulls. Most of the book involves the main group of characters going out every night to enjoy fine restaurants and to drink excessively. It's about Jake's self-discovery, or lack thereof, and his interactions and interpretations of other characters. Along with awesome character development and an engaging plotline, each time I read it, I discover more details I hadn't noticed before.

2. Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
My first experience with Vonnegut didn't disappoint. I had been vaguely familiar with his writing style and outrageous stories. A social commentator, Vonnegut also focuses on evolution and afterlife in Galapagos. I also love the quirky, cynical humor that Vonnegut incorporates in his books and short stories.

The narrator is a million year old spirit that watches and comments on the development of a group of the last humans on Earth. They've survived by evolving into seal-like creatures with tiny brains. (Sound like KV?) This narrator keeps the plot out of sequence and the reader doesn't really know what's going on until the end. And BTW, it's one of the best endings I've ever read.

3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Another one of my favorite authors, Steinbeck has a way with writing short, simple sentences, while keeping the story itself dynamic and exciting.

The Grapes of Wrath follows the Joad family's move from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression to look for work. It's a longer but faster read, and the chapters are also broken up with perspectives from different characters, along with reflective interludes or objective descriptions of the landscape, cities or other families.

I felt like I got to know the Joad family intimately, and was with them through the struggles and sacrifices they dealt with.

4. The Stranger by Albert Camus (pronounced Kea-moo)
Camus was an atheist. The main character, Meursault, is also an atheist. But neither preach about it. It just is. Meursault seems like a pompous, arrogant asshole... but he might just be more of a sociopath. Or just socially inept.

Meursault goes through the motions of everyday life without question. Really, it seems like there's little plot, until he takes vacation with some friends, and "accidently" shoots an Arab on the beach.

You learn the most about the main character once he's on trial for murder. The book itself helped me understand my own ideas about happens after you die, and to not necessarily worry about death but what you do while your'e still alive.

5. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The famous Holden Caufield comes right out of the pages with his cynical demeanor and negative attitude toward everyone around him. He might act like a tough guy, but he's really a depressed, naive kid that skips out on school to aimlessly walk the streets of NYC.

I've read this one at least three times.

There really is no plot, except that at the beginning of the novel, you know Caufield is telling his story from some kind of institution... the driving force may be to find out why he ended up there.
Another great book for discovering the depth of a character.

Runners up: One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Middlesex by Jeffrey Euginides