Some Life Changing Movie Recommendations

Some movies you watch because you're a miserable sucker who likes to torture themselves and then you hope to never have to watch them again - ever - as long as you live. That's most of the movies I review.

Some movies you watch because they are "classics" and bring something amazing to the table: great acting or writing or cinematography or some combination thereof and you feel like a better, more well-rounded connoisseur of the arts for having seen them.

Some movies you watch over and over again because they speak so loudly to you that they have literally changed your life in some way.

Since I rarely take the time to write about movies I truly love, today I'll share with you some movies that I consider life changing and should be on your "must watch" list, even if you've seen them before. Enjoy.

Fight Club

The story: An every day guy's life is turned upside down by a crazy man and a seductress.
The lesson: What other people think about you is irrelevant. Stop trying so hard to be what society tells you to be. The status quo is stupid. Challenge expectations. Challenge yourself.
Your movie mantra: "Just let go."

Whenever I find myself obsessing over trivial details, things that you might see hashtagged as #firstworldproblems, I hear Ed Norton and Brad Pitt discussing duvet covers over beers. Then I think to myself, "What kind of dining set defines me as a person?"

This is my personal reality check - my self-imposed blast of perspective - that we all need sometimes. Try it. It works.

Auntie Mame

The story: A conservative young man is raised by his eclectic aunt. Her wild ways teach him what's truly important in life.
The lesson: Do what you love. Family is of the utmost importance. Always be yourself. Enjoy life to it's fullest. Never be afraid to try new things. Never stop learning.
Your movie mantra: "Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving."

Any time I have a second of self-doubt or a moment of melancholy in which I think, "what the hell am I doing with my life?" I think of the glamorous, beautiful, snarky Rosalind Russell and her joyous insistence, "You've gotta live!"

Who cares what I'm doing? Am I enjoying myself? Am I learning new things? Then that's a win and I need to not worry about anything else.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

The story: A young girl and a band of misfits come together to end a war. Many glorious adventures ensue.
The lesson: Some stories are so fantastic, they can become reality. Everyone can do something great if they believe in themselves and try their best. Something doesn't have to be true to be right.
Your movie mantra: "Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever."

I watch this movie any time I'm feeling artistically blocked; it helps remind me of the power of imagination. It also reminds me that doing nothing will get me nothing and that I need to try, if I want to get somewhere.

Harold And Maude

The story: A misanthropic young man defies his mother's wishes and falls in love with an artistic older woman. She teaches him to love life and himself.
The lesson: Be yourself and love who you love. Have fun, no matter what you're doing. Treat others with respect but, don't compromise yourself.
Your movie mantra: "Everyone has the right to make an ass out of themselves."

Any time I feel like I'm getting depressed, I think about all of Bud Cort's faux suicides and their hilarious effect on his mother and I just laugh. Harold and Maude also reminds me to appreciate my friends for their eccentricities and the subtle ways they shape my life for the better.

The Witch (2015)

You know the drill - there's ALWAYS spoilers. Don't want the movie ruined for you, come back after you've seen it. Also - I'm still without an editor - typos and bad grammar await you! I keep hoping that the cultural obsession with zombies will end; literally every other damn movie that comes 'round seems to feature some sort of shambling, undead being bent on devouring the weak flesh of regular humans. Once upon a time, zombies have have been used as a metaphor for the blind consumerism created by our capitalist society, or the perceived depletion of resources by immigrants, or even the ravages of time and disease on our frail bodies. Now it seems that the deeper social commentary has been lost as audiences mindlessly consume "zombie fiction" in an attempt to keep up with trends. ( How very meta - a film buddy of mine commented on this assessment! ) All of this is just a sideways rant, leading up to my actual point: it seems that zombie may actually...

Mother!

Alright friends and readers–this one is probably doubly filled with typos and grammar errors because I wrote it while angry. Good luck and happy reading. There are unpopular opinions in every realm. As a film student, you can truly strike a nerve when you say things like, "I fucking hate the self-indulgence of independent films and the way people idolize them." Or, you know, "Low lighting and slow pacing does not a good movie make." Or whatever. You can of course, objectively, understand how this happens. When you are creating art–when you are outside the system so to speak–you are free to explore things (subjects, techniques, etc.) that may need to be addressed and that freedom can become intoxicating and go to one's head. While it may seem only right or only fair to respect and accept each creative endeavor that every artist undertakes, it is unreasonable to believe that the world will remain forever patient with the self-obsession artists have. Th...

The Babadook

Spoilers and typos! Enjoy. We often look back nostalgically on childhood, envious of the joy we felt and the boundless imaginations we possessed. How conveniently we forget the other side of that coin: as children, we experience a depth of terror our adult selves continually try to recreate for cathartic entertainment. When we try to bring those childhood fears to life on the screen, we often end up with movies about "things that go bump in the night," which is a somewhat superficial approach. While it does provide an opportunity for a supernatural experience, it ignores the root of our fear: the unknown . As children, we lack life experience. We lack nuance. We lack understanding. Not knowing creates in us fear. Yes, we fear what lurks in the darkness but we also fear the adult world because we do not understand how it works. The Babadook works to exploit both those fears. The short story: a widowed mother of a young boy experiences a mental breakdown and tries to...

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