Alphabet Movie Meme (For Everyone)

My sister relentlessly calls me a hipster for falling in love with this book that supposedly gained enough traction for her to think it was a hipster book. I'm talking about the very popular, quite heart-wrenching YA novel by John Green: The Fault of Our Stars. Shailene Woodley will star as Hazel Grace, a young teenager diagnosed with thyroid cancer who meets Augustus Waters, a former basketball player who lost his right leg to osteosarcoma. Together, their literary passion takes them across the world in search of an author who ended her favorite dramatic novel mid-sentence. I really have high hopes for this flick and is crossing my fingers that it's as humorous yet heartbreaking as the novel.

Dick Van Dyke. To me, there is probably no other male movie star that compares. He's charming, light on his feet, does an amazingly-horribly Cockney accent which he'll own up to any day of the week, and his whole career happened by one happy accident after another. He wasn't a dancer, he wasn't a singer; just a young guy who tried out for a few things here and there, eventually landing on The Dick Van Dyke Show - which helped me survive public school more times that I could count. He's a heart full of gold that I'm 1000% would absolutely die just standing in his presence.

There are probably dozens of other classic films that will soon come to mind for this category, but my brain couldn't shake Miracle in the Rain as my answer. This is an essential classic film. Shortly after the U.S. enters World War II, a shy hermetic secretary Ruth (Jane Wyman) runs into an optimistic, extroverted G.I. Arthur (Van Johnson). Slowly, a romance grows as Ruth opens up about her fears about the war before he's shipped out for duty. Thus, ensues sobbing, sobbing, and more snot-escalating tears.

As a typical Classic Hollywood war film set around romance, it achieves a fine balance between the two; hardly ever reaching melodramatic. Rarely seen or recognized, it's a film that if you don't end up crying your eyes out - you're wrong and/or a robot. Most likely, wrong.

Not being a big fan of Star Wars (sorry), and only just discovering Star Trek, and only liking one-half of the Indiana Jones series, and not seeing any Lord of the Rings installments (yet), it's not very obvious that Harry Potter is my final answer. I think just being a fan of the series through and through, I am obsessed with this series endlessly and ceaselessly. A thesis-length explanation could be written for how each film glares with imperfections, and at the same time, blindingly perfect.

Looking at the variety of genres that I frequent, I thought for a long while that there was a tie between drama and comedy. Dvds on my bookshelf reveal that half of them are dig deep into the dark wells of the human spirit, and others that are just plain goofy and cheesy. Then I realized staring at the titles that most of them are misfits; Revolutionary Road, Black Swan, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Horton Hears A Who - to name a few. All of them movies that aren't booming with recognition by audiences or critics; that drill up emotions that you either love hate them. The genre I seem to watch the most are indie-blockbusters; movies with the power behind them to make a lot of dough but end up falling to the wayside of audience perception; either straight-up rejection or pockets of loving reception.

I never would have given The Kings of Summer a second chance if it wasn't for my aunt instructing me to watch it or else (I don't know "what else" would've meant to my well being but I don't threats too kindly). Three young teenagers build a house of their dreams in the forest to live off the land, and discover what it means to really be an adult. Not "in the mood" for another sarcastic weak teen indie, I shut this out of my life. Then, I gave it a shot and was happily rewarded with a movie experience of heartfelt performances and a nostalgic trip to another teen classic, Stand by Me. 

I'm unsure if there are many important moments in my film life that I can rank against each other. But upon making this theme, my heart swelled with emotions about that one time I saw all 8 Harry Potter movies over a 3-day period. Personally at the time I needed something to turn on the light in my moment of darkness, and this experience did it. An epic movie marathon, where it was just me and countless of other dress-up Potterheads coming together to web our years of nostalgia, happiness, and sadness. It was glorious, stupendous, and I'm pretty sure it was real and didn't just happen all inside my head.

This letter was honestly just another perfect opportunity to list and bring attention to You've Got Mail; one of my all-time favorites. Going a different route, I couldn't help but think about One Fine Day. An often forgotten romantic dramedy of two divorced parents forced to take care of each other's kids during an extraordinarily busy workday.  Set New York City, it's George Clooney and Michelle Pfieffer falling in love; what could be better?

Move over, Disney and all your princess movies - It's Cats Don't Dance time. What's that? Never heard of this. Well, be amazed by the whimsical upbeat that is animals trying to break into Hollywood as talented swinging and dancing actors. Not only are all the animals so freaking charming, you have a pint sized Shirley Temple inspired dame - Darla Dimple - who wields as much as rage as her giant butler Max and tries to end the spotlight from dimming her fame. It's just fun, big, and loud.

Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter series might be the most tangible location to visit. I might try to actually run through the wall and proudly land in the hospital with a concussion and broken dreams. (My back-up choices included Oz and the Star Trek Enterprise. I'll travel there in my dreams).

There is only so many theme parks you can go to again and again before you very slowly lose your mind in the Sunshine State (Florida). In 2010, during one humdrum college semester my sister and I stumbled upon the AMC Best Picture Showcase. Over a two week period, all of the Best Picture nominees were screened. Giving it a chance, we attended the first day where we hadn't seen any of the movies nominated for an Oscar. Having so much, we went the next week. And in 2014, it'll be (very excitedly) our fourth annual year to attend.

A longtime avid watcher of Joel and Ethan Cohen movies, I'm surprised how long it took me to get around to The Big Lebowski. The movie is centered around a guy called the Dude who gets wrapped up in a strange hostage crisis and identity theft.Perhaps overcome by anticipation that the cult flick would actually live up to its hype, one night I finally succumbed to playing it on Netflix. And it certainly lives up to its confusing hilarious drug-induced reputation. Jeff Bridges is The Dude. And the Cohens are the Cohens; creating another classic that entertains the smaller movie masses for years to come. 

I remember the experiences of seeing Chicago again and again. First it was with my Mom, then on my own, then with my mom and my sister, then on and on with many more other relatives. Though the musical about two murderesses in the 1920s vying for fame from within prison gets a lot of flack these days, I think it's one of the better musicals to come out in the last decade or more. It may not have deserved all of it's Academy Award wins it earned, but not much can be said about a musical that actually did an okay job with its on-screen adaptation; it's bound for Oscar glory...and multiple viewings even at home. 

The Dead Poets Society may hold a record (for me) of most inspirational quotes held by a main character. John Keating (Robin Williams) teaches poetry at an all male college, but his lessons are about merely learning the words or rhythm on the page; it's about living beyond and instilling that sort of passion everywhere in your life. In one of the most powerful lessons he lets the boys know there's a difference between living life daringly and biting off more than you can chew. Inspired by his rousing classes, they form their own Dead Poets Society and make substantial choices to live beyond the "routine protocol" of getting through each day. And, it always emboldens me to do the same.

I'm a stout believer that similar to movie reviews, the production of every movie take on a different perspective for everyone. Once every so often, it's acceptable to see someone else's interpretation of that story - after all, stories are recycled 99.9% of the time anyways. However, when movies are remade every single year just so the technology is updated, nor if it's a shot for shot recreation of a classic - those ghastly remakes bring nothing new to the table.  Remakes can be a friend (i.e. You've Got Mail), but most of the time they are sadly a foe with weaker direction and acting than its original - Psycho.

Popcorn used to be a friend of mine until strangely my digestive sensibilities destroyed that buttery fresh relationship. Popped up a new snack: trailmix. Deliciously sweet combination of peanuts, raisins, M&Ms and all kinds of chippy goodness, I can eat a bag of these every movie - if I let myself...which I usually do.

Am I the only one who didn't see the twist coming with Atonement? Set during World War II, this novel is told by the perspective of an imaginative and precocious girl Briony, who was once in love with a young man Robbie who worked on her family's estate. Through her eyewitness account, she pins him to take the fall of a brutal kidnapping / rape of a young relative that takes place on the mansion grounds. In love with a young woman Cecilia (Keira Knightley,) a member of the upper class family, their relationship is ripped apart by prison and war. Driven by mystery, we venture through time and Briony's revelations about what happens to Robbie, Cecilia and their relationship; does anyone survive this tragedy? I won't ruin it for you - it blew my mind and broke my wee little heart.

I'm pretty sure he had me at Jack Dawson in Titanic, but to be honest I was so young when the disaster flick was released, I don't know the exact moment my fangirl heart was captured. It could've been in Romeo and Juliet, or The Departed, or Shutter Island. And everything in-between. I am pretty sure though that I torture my family with my general scary obsession for all things Leonardo DiCaprio. (Win an Oscar for heaven's sakes, man!!)

Award show season is always tricky to look foward to. One part of me is uber excited just to see Hollywood gather together for some shameless (and shameful) slapping each others' backs. I enjoy rallying behind my top movie and acting picks of the year. On the other hand, it's also very angering; Hollywood has their favorites, studios buy wins, and sometimes, (maybe more often than not) more emotionally transformative films and performances are overlooked. The class president usually wins based more on popularity and the hot trends of the moment rather than a more competent participate getting overlooked. For the most part I try to chill out and look forward to a wide range of artistic and valuable films.

My tastes compared to my familys are usually right on point; we enjoy all the same comedies, dramas, and every genre in between. Then, there's always those fateful days when I pick something that just turns out to be an atrocious lackluster. The Forgotten, starring Julianne Moore, searching for her son that has something to do with aliens taking him, is one of those movies. It's not that it's so boring I could cry just thinking about it, but just that my sister never lets me forget the day I forced her to see this over something else she really wanted to see.

My grandma was absolutely insane. She had a love of horror films and never really any concept of whether or not my sister and I at young ages should see. Visiting her on every other weekend, it was pretty much guaranteed we would watch horror movies like the Childs Play series. I don't remember in particular having any sort of nightmares, thank heavens. But I just recall this really weird doll being alive, murderous, and something I shouldn't be watching.

OMG, Batman. Having grown up more with the Christopher Nolan series starring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader, I was never really familiar with the previous Batman installments. I had seen them when I was younger but was never head over heels. And then, oh television - one day recently there was a marthon of George Clooney, Michael Keaton, and Val Kilmer, and I began to understand all of their versions pros and cons. I took my viewing a bit further by reading a tremendous amount of fascinating essays that really dig into the core of those movies, and I've just been absolutely obsessed ever since.

Watchmen, based off of Alan Moore's graphic novel, trails a group of ex-super heros coming together again to put an end to one of their owns' tyranny. As much people contend over J.J. Abrams overuse of lens flare (which I don't mind so much), I really loathe Zak Snyder's love affair with slow-motion. From 300 to Watchmen and Sucker Punch, (which I believe only worked for the former) every frame moves slower than a snail's minuscule pace. He absolutely deadens the pace of his stories and scripts, which forces me to pass out from boredom. Especially Watchmen.