Bedtime stories #books #film #movies
My 25 Favourite Movies That I Discovered in 2011
I thought it would be interesting to look back at all the new-to-me movies I saw last year and narrow it down to 25 favourites. I haven’t included any movies that were released in 2011 as this is more about the movies I went out of my way to find and discover for myself. Many I had heard about before or were big classics I had just never got around too, whereas others were great surprises. I saw lots of fantastic films in the last twelve months but these are the ones that really blew my mind or made me think for a long time. Enjoy!
1. Stop Making Sense (1984) Dir. Jonathan Demme
2. Shock Corridor (1963) Dir. Samuel Fuller
3. Apocalypto (2006) Dir. Mel Gibson
4. Sweet & Lowdown (1999) Dir. Woody Allen
5. Kiss Me Deadly (1955) Dir. Robert Aldrich
6. The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970) Dir. Dario Argento
7. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Dir. Elia Kazan
8. The House of the Devil (2009) Dir. Ti West
9. Contact (1997) Dir. Robert Zemeckis
10. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) Dir. Alexander Mackendrick
11. Le Doulos (1962) Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
12. Day For Night (1973) Dir. Francois Truffaut
13. His Girl Friday (1940) Dir. Howard Hawks
15. Shadows and Fog (1992) Dir. Woody Allen
16. Carnival of Souls (1962) Dir. Herk Harvey
17. 3 Women (1977) Dir. Robert Altman
18. The Fury (1978) Dir. Brian De Palma
19. All The President’s Men (1976) Dir. Alan J. Pakula
20. Being There (1979) Dir. Hal Ashby
21. Lone Star (1996) Dir. John Sayles
22. Body Heat (1981) Dir. Lawrence Kasdan
23. Valhalla Rising (2009) Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
24. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) Dir. Don Siegel
25. Little Children (2006) Dir. Todd Field
I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn’t a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time. For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp watching falling stars…and yellow leaves, from the maple trees, that lined our street…or my grandmother’s hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper…and the first time I saw my cousin Tony’s brand new Firebird…and Janie…and Janie…and…Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me…but it’s hard to stay mad, when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst. And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure. But don’t worry…you will someday.
