No Blogging: Part I

I do love movies. I do not like writing about them. So this forum will change to suit another thing I love: lists.
The next list will be a two parter, a before and after. I am having my gallbladder removed on Tuesday, and I plan on being in a drug fueled haze for a few days while I recover. Obviously I had to ask myself : what films could be enhanced while in this fog? Here's my list so far:
        The Alien franchise (Alien-Alien Resurrection)
        Fantasia
        Persona
        Solaris
        Barry Lyndon
        Any Pedro Almodovar I have lying around

Feel free to comment and leave any movies I should add to my list.

k.

Valentines Day A-Z: List #4: the weird and obscure

There's a chance you've seen some of these, or maybe you haven't even heard of them. These picks will be filled with either violence, overt sexuality, heart-wrenching social issues, or just a good old fashioned torrid love affair. I would not use the word "happy" to describe any of these. There were a lot of ties. Enjoy, and Happy Valentine's Day. Side note: I will go back through the lists and properly mark all the foreign picks for those who hate (or love) to read your movies.


Ali: Fear Eats the Soul- Ger
tie: Broken Circle Breakdown- Danish & Blue Velvet
Carnal Knowledge
Dreamers
End of the Affair
Fish Tank
Graduate
Hannah and Her Sisters
tie: In the Realm of the Senses- Jap & In the Cut
tie: Jackie Brown & Jude
tie: Love Streams & Leaving Las Vegas
Mona Lisa
Never Let Me Go
Only Lovers Left Alive
tie: Piano Teacher- Fre & Paris, Texas
Quills
Reader
tie: Skin I Live In- Spa & Secretary
Talk to Her- Spa
Unbearable Lightness of Being
Valmont
tie: W.E. & Woman Under the Influence
Young Adult

Valentines A to Z #3: Foreign

I could do four lists of just foreign. Keep the comments and your picks coming!
Here is list number 3: foreign (including British) romantic dramas. I used the title that the film is most known by followed by the country abbreviation it is from.

Amalie- Fre
Black Orpheus- Brazil
Casque d'or- Fre
Day for Night- Fre
Elena and Her Men- Fre
Fat Girl- Fre
Gertrude- Danish
Hiroshima mon amour- Fre
In the Mood for Love- Hong Kong
Love Me if you Dare- Fre
Miss Julie- Swe
La Notte- Ita
Pygmalion- Bri
Royal Affair- Danish
Summer Interlude- Swe
Tell No One- Fre
Umbrellas of Cherbourg- Fre
Very Long Engagement- Fre
Wings of Desire- Ger
Zorba the Greek- Greek

Valentines A-Z #2: Modern

The second list is modern romantic dramas (modern meaning movies released after 1970). I'm sure I will be getting more guff for this list. It's only going to get weirder and more obscure from here. Again, no repeats from the A.V. list.

About a Boy

Before Series (Sunrise, Sunset, Midnight)

Carol

Dirty Dancing

English Patient

500 Days of Summer

Groundhogs Day

Her

Jane Eyre (2011)

Klute

Last Of the Mohicans 

Manhattan

Notebook

Officer and a Gentleman

Princess Bride

Royal Affair

Sense and Sensibility

True Romance

Up in the Air

Vicky, Christina, Barcelona

Valentines List One: the Classics

The A.V. Club recently put out a list of best romantic comedies A to Z, and I have decided to make one of my own. I couldn't choose just one film per letter, so I ended up with four lists. I wanted to do romantic dramas instead, only listing films I've seen, no animation, and no repeats from the A.V. list.
The four lists are Classics, Modern, Foreign, and Misc.
Here are the Classics (films before 1970). Should you want me to expand on, or explain any of these picks, send me a message at op70no1@gmail.com.

An Affair to Remember
Brief Encounter
Charade
La Dolce Vita
Earrings of Madame de...
Faces
Gone With the Wind
His Girl Friday
It's a Wonderful Life
Jules and Jim
Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
My Man Godfrey
Notorious
On the Waterfront
Philadelphia Story
Red Shoes
Splendor in the Grass
That Hamilton Woman
Under the Roofs of Paris
Vertigo
Written on the Wind

Change in direction.

Blogs are, or can be hard. They are for me. I was always amused and surprised when people assumed I was or had talent in being a writer. Now, while my love of all things cinema hasn't waned, my wanting to write about it has. I love talking about movies and turning people on to new films, and I think I found a better way to do that.

As someone who has avidly used Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon for movie and t.v. watching, I was always annoyed by what they recommended for me to watch based on what I've seen. It was maybe 20% accurate, and most of that 20% consisted of films I had already seen.

What I'm proposing is to provide an accurate and personalized list of movies for people based on their interests and favorites filtered through however they watch movies (Netflix etc). I'd also love for this to be a sounding board for discussions on movies.

Here's how this'll start: send me 5-10 films (through facebook, email, or this blog) of any genre or era that you love, and I will give you recommendations based on that. My hope here is to maybe introduce you to something new and expand your world through cinema. Once I get a feel for your taste and interest, I can continue to send you weekly or monthly suggestions.

Will I still blog on the occasional film? Maybe. Until then, list away.

k.

Criterion Top "10"

            I am an avid buyer, watcher, follower, and supporter of the Criterion Collection. What is the Criterion Collection? In short it is a continuing series (now 786 titles) of important classic and contemporary films. Click here for more info. There is an ongoing slew of famous people that stop by the offices to look at the collection and give their top 10 or so favorite Criterion films. The Criterion website is also a great place to just explore the world of cinema.
            I have often wondered how anyone can choose only 10. So using some parameters and upping it to 25, I have finally come up with a list. The parameters: I can only pick the titles I've seen the Criterion version of, so seeing any Wes Anderson film just in the theatre doesn't count. Here is my List in no particular order.
1. Long Good Friday
2. Diabolique
3. Red Shoes
4. Passion of Joan of Ark
5. Brief Encounter
6. L'avventura
7. Throne of Blood
8. Faces
9. Fat Girl
10. Jules and Jim
11. Au hasard Balthazar
12. Battle of Algiers
13. Le Samourai
14. Elevator to the Gallows
15. My Night at Maud's
16. Earrings of Madame de...
17. Repulsion
18. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
19. Last Days of Disco
20. Z
21. Paris, Texas
22. Summer Hours
23. Fish Tank
24. Blue
25. Persona

I will probably want to change half of these when I look at this tomorrow. Now please feel free to leave your comments or questions, and let the listing begin!
Thanks for reading,
k.