Randy, Jillian, Chester and I have seen a lot of movies.
Some have been forgettable, some have been stinkers, some have been beautiful stinkers, but so many have been stunning, transcendent… unforgettable. We’re working hard to insure that All My Sins walks purposefully in to that last group and finds a place for itself, but in the mean time you’ll have to find something else to watch.
Which isn’t always easy. So we’re going to start a little series here, call them Public Service Suggestions, of films each of us thinks you should see. One of the powerful things about our partnership is that, while there are many films we agree on and would happily place in the Pantheon of undisputed masterpieces, we each have our own areas of interest.
I tend to like edgy, gritty and engaging on the one hand and writerly, thought provoking and challenging on the other. Sometimes, if I’ve been extra good, someone will introduce me to a movie that has all of that (thanks, Frank!).
Randy has a special place in his heart, and in his hard drive, for epic fantasy and costume drama. You’re familiar with the news maxim: If it bleeds, it leads? Well, I’m going to lend this one to Randy: If there be swords, it boards.
Jillian? She loves a good mystery. Even a bad mystery. Basically, if there’s something to figure out, she’s in. And she’ll figure it out long before anyone else, although she has the grace to keep it to herself, thank god. She’s also fascinated by stories that focus on the way people relate to each other, and how they deal with conflict, trauma and loss. Oh, and princesses.
Chester, not so much with the princesses. But let me state for the record that he has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Asian cinema, especially of the martial arts and crime variety. He wants to see characters in conflict, whether that conflict is physical, mental or spiritual. And if he’s been extra good, all three.
So each week, one of us will give you a brief list of must-sees. We’ll come up with a category (could be anything: Road Trip, Movies That Are Impossible To Understand) and provide you with some shining examples to enjoy. We’re not going to try to go all obscure on you, so there’s a good chance that you’ll have already seen a lot of these. But hopefully, especially if it’s in a genre you haven’t ventured far into, there will be some you haven’t. Maybe some you were wondering about. And if you’ve been extra good, some you’ve never even heard of.
You may not like what we like. That’s ok. In fact, please post some of your favourites in the genre du jour so that we can share them with others, and watch them ourselves.
One final point. I, for one, do not want to hear any complaining about how you don’t have time to watch all these movies. Of course you do. Quit your job. Stop answering your phone. Try being single for a while. That’s how I did it.
As Gauge the Enforcer might say: If you’ve got time to die, you’ve got time to live.
I’ll save you a seat.
Mark