movie challenge, march 27~31

A Movie That You Wish You Had Seen in Theaters

Office Space (1999). I'm old enough that I could have seen this one in theaters, but the premise probably didn't appeal to my 12-year-old self. However, I did see the movie shortly thereafter thanks to my mom and older brother and thus because it is so awesome, I now wish I had seen it in theaters. Ironically, I feel like Ron Livingston (who plays the main character) somewhat reprises his role in Office Space during his stint on 'Sex and The City' which, if you know how that ends, makes you kind of hate him. Just a quirky observation I had for anyone who appreciates it.









Favorite Movie from Your favorite Director
Truthfully, I like The Prestige (2006) from Christopher Nolan more than Inception (2010) but, I already used that movie for another challenge and thought I ought to credit this amazing movie as well. I was disappointed that it didn't win any of the big awards it was nominated for (instead it one some technical ones) including that of 'Best Director.' A movie by Christopher Nolan guarantees a great story, great actors, something unexpected and kind of a dark atmosphere. There are plenty of great directors out there, but originality is something I really value in a movie experience. That being the case, both of these movies and others he's directed exhibit that quality. [Update: The Batman Trilogy was quite amazing as well. Not as unique a storyline but definitely in the way he interprets it.]




 
Favorite Movie from Your Childhood

Since my childhood is not just a year long and because I couldn't pick just one, Homeward Bound (1993), Now and Then (1995), and The Fifth Element (1997) are some highlights I proudly owned on VHS back in the day. Homeward Bound always made me cry at the end, Now and Then always made me think of good times with friends from elementary school, and The Fifth Element was always the coolest movie ever. As a side note, I love how the posters for these films are just so 90s. I didn't include any animations from my childhood since I did that in last week's part of this challenge, but of course there are many memorable ones there too.

An Inspiring Movie
Dead Poets Society (1989)  is inspiring for the use and application of two words: Carpe Diem (Seize the Day). Teachers can be one of the most inspiring figures in your life. As a teacher, I'll admit that I'm not making any grand efforts to inspire my students. However, I do hope that by merely being here completely of out of my element for the sake of experiencing a different way of life, inspires one of them to do the same (especially in a culture like Japan where they can be extremely hesitant to be put so far out of their comfort zone). In the movie, Robin Williams challenges his students to think differently from the way they've always been told. He wants them to look to the past, to poets in particular, and not see boring stiffs, but realize that some of the most brilliant minds in history were trying to communicate something more about life. Such 'radical thinking' is frowned upon at the boarding school they're at and so trials ensue for both the teacher who is trying to teach something more and the students who listen. This is one I highly recommend.

Your Favorite Movie of All Time
Just like with my Nolan pick, I have already used my first choice for another part of this challenge so I'll give you second place: The Last Samurai (2003). Being a hopeless romantic at heart, What Dreams May Come (1998) is my favorite. However, The Last Samurai speaks to a different yet another core part of myself; my love of Japanese culture. Early on, my love of Japan was inextricably linked to my love of anime. As I grew older, that love expanded to the rest of the culture as well. Perhaps unusual for a youngen to be obsessed with such a foreign land, I would often get the question, "what do you like about Japanese culture?" It wasn't easy to put into words (sometimes it still isn't) but after watching this movie I felt like at least someone shares what I love about it. Tom Cruise's character is forced to live among his captors and finds that he greatly admires their way of life. So much so in fact that he willing joins their cause and adopts Japan as his new home. Since coming to Japan, I was able to visit one of the film's sets: Engyoji temple in Himeji. This is a very beautiful temple in the mountains where, in the movie, Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe have their "good conversations." I was in heaven being there. Definitely one of the surreal moments in life.

My Favorite Scary Movie *Bonus Round*
I don't like scary movies. I used to allow myself to be dragged to them, but that always ended badly for me, so I don't allow that anymore (although, I can be bribed). But long ago, there were a couple of films that scared/creeped me out while still having a good plot and a kind of 'redemption quality' which made me actually appreciate the move instead of trying to forget every scene. The Haunting (1999) not to be confused with House on Haunted Hill (1999) is another, 'the house is trying to kill you' scary movie. Turns out though there was more to it than that. The house was trying to communicate to one of the guests that the ghosts of tortured children were stuck in limbo there and she could set them free because she was the great, great granddaughter of the perp who did the torturing. Thrilling, entertaining, and redeeming all in one nice little package. What Lies Beneath (2000) was more of a thriller, but plenty of scenes in this one creeped me out too. A husband and wife move back to a house he used to live in and weird stuff starts happening to the wife. She thinks she's going crazy until she starts to see signs that this is not coincidence but a message for her to run. Harrison Ford officially became a bad guy forever for me after this movie when you find out he killed a girl in that house and covered it up. He wasn't going to kill his new wife until she started asking questions, but if I were her, I'd want to know my husband was a murderer sooner rather than later anyway, so yeah.