A Life In Movies.

A LIFE IN MOVIES

So it came to my attention that there's this awesome little blogathon created by Fandango Groovers going down called "A Life In Movies". We're supposed to post May 8th, but I got too excited (that's what he said). The premise is to start with the year you're born, and list your favorite movie of every year up to the present. It's a good way to find out everyone's age make a list of a handful of your favorite movies, but I kinda already did that. So I don't risk completely repeating myself, like the maverick I am, I decided to switch it up a bit. Instead of listing my all time favorites (i.e., movies I respect and admire for their badassitry and consider great works of art), I'm going to list my all time guilty pleasures (i.e., generally big budget fluff movies that are like crack to me and I couldn't stop watching if I tried). Without further ado...

1989. Weekend At Bernies. My go-to movie whenever I had to stay home from school sick. I couldn't tell you how many times I've seen Larry and Richard drag that corpse around. It may account for my sick sense of humor.

1990. Goodfellas. Just a genius movie, no bones about it.

1991. The Silence Of The Lambs. I want to make sweet, sweet love to Jodie Foster's husky voice. Well, Jodie Foster period, but I'll take her voice, too.

Pierce Brosnan, tool of the year.

1992. The Lawnmower Man. Alright. Disclaimer. I hate this movie. It is ridiculous in ways I can't wrap my head around, and I've seen some fucked up shit. However, it's just way too much fun to watch at 3 AM with a room full of friends and rip into.

1993. Jurassic Park. Never gets old. Ever. Ever. DINOSAURS.

1994. Pulp Fiction. My favorite movie of all time. Though I recently watched it high and got a whole different experience from it. Just goes to show you can always learn something new about those movies you know by heart.

1995. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls. Another childhood favorite. I basically grew up watching Jim Carrey talk out of his ass.

1996. From Dusk Till Dawn. This one taught me a great life lesson: kill the vampires first, cry over your fallen comrades later.

You will not remember this movie.

1997. Men In Black. This one put Will Smith on the map for me. It's just a classic.

1998. Rush Hour. I know, kill me. But it was my first Jackie Chan, and while it's hardly his best work (if anything, it's probably his worst), it made me fall for him so it has a special place in my heart.

1999. The Mummy. I bet you thought I was going to say The Matrix? Yeah, so did I. But the thing is, as dear as that movie is to me, The Mummy brings up some serious nostalgia I can't deny.

2000. Gladiator. I saw this back when I knew Joaquin Phoenix as "that dude with the weird lip". Still, it's just a solid movie.

2001. The Lord Of The Rings. C'mon. I know you can't listen to the theme song without feeling your heart swell with nerdy joy.

Say "homicide".

2002. Road To Perdition. So you know how I just said Pulp Fiction was my all time favorite? This is a close fucking second. It helped that I saw it during the period of my life when I refused to remember actors names, so I was totally blind to how many serious stars are in this movie and got to simply enjoy the pure cinematic badassness of the story and the characters.

2003. Kill Bill Vol. 1. What can I say? The Bride is the shit.

2004. Dawn Of The Dead. I'll probably get some slack for this one, what with remakes always being crap and all. But if you forget that it's a remake, it's just a fun fucking movie. Mainly thanks to this guy.

Who knew her pretty face could scream so well?

2005. The Skeleton Key. New Orleans, voodoo, Kate Hudson's ass, and old fashioned suspense. Yes, please.

2006. The Departed. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself.

2007. 300. Because THIS. IS. SPARTA.

2008. Rocknrolla. Gay gangsters, drug wastelands, and everything dirty shoved under the carpet of London. Is there anything better?

Nazi killing BAMF.

2009. Inglorious Basterds. Yeah, I know. Another Tarantino take over.

2010. Inception. Because it's hard to beat the hamster wheel fight.

2011. Hanna. I would list all the ways this movie rocks, but I'm too busy being addicted to The Chemical Brothers.

BAMF Of The Week: Mark Strong

MARK STRONG

"If a slap don't work, you cut 'em or you pay 'em."

Mark Strong is one of the unsung chameleons of the acting world. If you don't know who he is, it's probably because you just didn't recognize him. He's been everything from Mr. Knightley in Emma (1996) to the nerdy, calculating hitman Sorter from Revolver (2005) (who Guy Ritchie constantly got a kick out of, as he remarked in the commentary, simply because he was so pleased with seeing Mark Strong in socks that stuck out from under his trousers). He's charismatic, terrifying, and completely imbibes every role he's in. Which is why it took me so fucking long to realize he's actually an amazing actor. Because never once did I think "Wow, Mark Strong was really good in Rocknrolla". I just thought, "Huh, Archy's a really badass dude". He's not one of those actors who you automatically think of as being as awesome actor because he just does it so damn naturally, you instantly get caught in the flow of his characters. 

I'll admit here that my admiration for Mark Strong could very possibly simply be another branch of my admiration for the BAMF Guy Ritchie. Who I love with all my wanna-be-British heart. After all, if Mark Strong is enough of a badass for Guy Ritchie to shove the man in three of his movies, there has to be something essentially fucking awesome about him, right? Right. But the thing is, I've seen him in other things, and he's been epic in every role and genre he takes on. Like I said. Fucking chameleon. 

Best Films: Revolver (2005), Rocknrolla (2008), Sherlock Holmes (2009). Guy Ritchie aside, let's be real, he was even a bamf in Stardust (2007).

Best Moment: Sorter's shootout in Revolver. Really. The movie should've just been called Sorter & Co. Or Archy's slap, it's really a toss up.

Best Quote: [When asked if he's going to try to scramble for that golden ticket Hollywood lead role] "I tend to read scripts and just take what I like. I have no plan...I wouldn't want to sit at home planning a campaign of how I'm gonna get an Oscar, I mean I'm not that kind of actor. I'm genuinely not interested in that kinda stuff. What I love is being on a film set with intelligent people, making movies."

Upcoming Films: He's going to be in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011). I'm there.