Top 5: The First Edition!!!!!!!

First off, I would like to apologize for the unexpected 2 week hiatus I was forced to take, preventing me from consistently posting on this blog thing. Food poisoning, bronchitis, and Mizzou homecoming were the events that left me preoccupied and unable to gather enough time or energy to write anything on here. Hopefully I will get back to NFL power rankings and making my lousy picks every week after this little stumble.

Today, however, I’ve decided to start a new segment that I will be implementing into this blog regularly. I’m calling this the Top 5 in honor of one of my all-time favorite films (which will be revealed in the first edition of this series). What I’ll do, and I haven’t decided if this is going to be monthly or bi-weekly, is I’ll start naming lists of 5 films that I absolutely love. These lists will not be rankings of films, because I hate ranking films (I find it an impossible exercise because there are so many films that are great in their own way). It will simply be 5 movies that I feel are definitely worth watching in one’s life if they have not yet seen them. Plenty of these films will be familiar (I’m going to try not to be a pretentious know-it-all film student who pretends to have superior taste in films to anybody else) but I will try to throw a few curveballs in and try to name some movies that, in all likelihood, have not been seen by a great audience.

That’s enough introduction. Let’s get started. (For a quick reminder, this is NOT a ranking, so when I leave The Godfather out of this list try not to get all riled up). Oh yeah, and I am going to number them, but in no way do those numbers reflect my opinion of one of these films being better than the other. So, here… we … go.

1. High Fidelity – The first film I’m mentioning is the film that

happens to be the inspiration for this whole “Top 5″ series. High Fidelity is one of my top movies not only for the great job done by John Cusack, but also for the comforting feeling the film provides for me every time I watch it. The film is funny, smart, and all of the other cliché compliments you’d say to a girl in a feeble attempt not to offend her.

In case you are unfamiliar with the basis for this film it is about a record store owner Rob (Cusack) who has just been broken up with by his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle). The break-up launches Rob into a sort of soul-searching journey as he ranks his most important break-ups, his top 5 if you will, chronologically.

The structure of the film is wonderful as it provides some great moments through flashbacks and some laughs through metacinematic moments as Cusack talks to the audience at the camera. The characters are believable and likable and no one is overused (and yes, that includes Jack Black and even (gasp) Joan Cusack).

There isn’t anything in this film that I can think of that I dislike. It’s one of those films that I can watch any time. Even though I own it, if I see it on TV I won’t change the channel. It also happens to be part of my favorite genre, the romantic comedy (I know. I’m a softy).

2. Chungking Express – Next up we have Chungking Express, which is one of those films that Quentin Tarantino finds and brings over to the U.S.. This film is flat-out awesome. I was introduced to this film in, believe it or not, a film class in college. It instantly turned into one of my favorites because it’s a sort of a stalker love story mixed with a film-noir type of feel.

The film is split into two different parts, both involving the relationships of two different police officers. Once of the policemen has just gone through a break-up and buys a bunch of cans of pineapple with the expiration date of May 1st and waits for his love to expire. It’s sweet isn’t it?

The other story involves a police officer who meets a girl at a food stand who ends up sneaking into his apartment. The girl does things to make the officer think that the woman who has left him is still coming around.

If I didn’t make this sound very interesting to you, I don’t care. You should watch it anyways. I promise this movie is fantastic and if you don’t like it, well, there’s pretty much nothing I can do for you. Seriously though, watch it. Love it. Learn it.

3. Inception – I know this is new but I did say this isn’t a ranking of films so get over it already. I saw this film 3 times in 3 days the weekend it opened. Yes that was a little crazy, but, holy crap this is a good movie. Having said that, this film is not for everyone. It’s as if Christopher Nolan knew the exact movie to make for me personally. He made this film so tailored to my own personal tastes that I feel like him and I could be best friends.

Everything about this film, the performance, the original story, the ability the film has to make a person think “what the hell is going on here”, is brilliant. It’s a film that is so carefully constructed that even with 3 viewings, so many knew questions came up for me that I couldn’t spot the holes in the film that are more than likely present.

I would also like to give credit where credit is due. I believe that Leonardo DiCaprio is America’s best actor that isn’t over the hill (age wise). I think it has been this way for awhile, at least since The Departed and maybe since Gangs of New York.

I have an immense appreciation for what Christopher Nolan has brought his audience with this film. In an age where there is an abundance of remakes and other unoriginal material, this director brought us a truly thoughtful, truly original piece of work.

4. Junebug – Okay. So for this film I’m going to write one paragraph that will sum up why this film is so good, at least I think it will. So here we go.

Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams.

Have I said the name enough? Okay. In case the hint wasn’t picked up, Amy Adams is really, really great in this film. The first time I saw this movie was really when I realized that she was going to be a huge success and when I realized how good she is. Then she started showing up in a bunch of stuff with her appearance in the U.S. version of The Office and the wonderful Disney musical Enchanted. She’s also great in Doubt and Charlie Wilson’s War. This film, however, is the film that I really noticed this actress.

Oh and by the way, the film itself is good as well. It’s about a city woman traveling to a middle class town to meet her new in-laws and get a “southern” experience. It’s a charming little film and needs to be seen. Seriously. If you don’t fall in love with Amy Adams’ character in this film, I deem you as heartless.

5. The Graduate – Come on now. I had to get a film that was at least a little old compared to all of these films from the 2000s.

I’m trying to think of something to say that hasn’t been said about this film. Dustin Hoffman? Yes please. Simon and Garfunkel? Yes indeed.

I mean, what do I say? This film is a classic. There’s no doubt. From the opening shot in the airport to the end when Brad and Elaine are on the bus, it’s just a brilliant film.

So there’s the first five. Post comments if you’d like. Hopefully I can keep coming up with five new selections frequently enough to keep going with these posts. Also, if there are any suggestions (like categories for the top 5 i.e. horror films, chick flicks etc.) let me know and I can do special categories for this Top 5 series.

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Top 5: The First Edition!!!!!!!

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