Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Fantasy Film Festival!!!!

My friend RC over at Strange Culture posted about how Diablo Cody has chosen 12 of her favorite films to be shown in a film series at the New Beverly Cinema, and he invited us to comment and asked us If you were making your own repertory cinema list what would you have to include?

So, I've given it some thought, and instead of 12 films, I've picked 14 for a week-long fantasy film festival. Here are my picks:

Subtle Romance:
Say Anything
Once

"Thrillers":
Unbreakable
Memento

London Love:
About a Boy
Love Actually

Family Dramas:
The Squid and the Whale
Ordinary People

Dramedies:
Murderball
Little Miss Sunshine

Coming of Age Dramas:
Motorcycle Diaries
The Graduate

Bring the Kids:
Sandlot
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971 version starring Gene Wilder)

I considered combining Sandlot and Murderball under the same night as Sports Films, and placing Young Frankenstein (another Gene Wilder gem to replace Willy Wonka) alongside Little Miss Sunshine, but thinking of the audience, I wouldn't want kids watching the rated R Murderball. I also considered including Moulin Rouge, the Sound of Music, the Princess Bride, and Army of Darkness. I guess I could have extended my film festival another couple of nights with "Horror Satire Comedies: Army of Darkness, Young Frankenstein" and "Musicals: Moulin Rouge, The Sound of Music." On the subject of satires, why didn't I include any Christopher Guest films? I also considered A Christmas Story as a favorite kids film. I also could have included another drama category with films like The 25th Hour, The Usual Suspects, and Mystic River. Oh well, there are just too many movies out there that I love and want everyone I know to watch!

This film festival idea reminds me of a couple of childhood memories. First, my cousin used to come visit most summers and when we were young we would place movie theatre with rented movies. We could make tickets for each of the films we were watching, and sell them to our stuffed animals, who became the audience. Secondly, in middle school and high school, my friends and I would have sleepovers and often picked themes for the films we would watch. For example, we once had a "Mentally Challenged Sleepover" and watched Forrest Gump and Rainman. Fun times all around.

So, what are your thoughts on my picks, and what would be your choices if you were given an opportunity like Diablo Cody?

3 comments:

The Pensive Poet said...

Subtle Romance:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Brokeback Mountain

Thrillers:
Memento
Hostage

Foreign:
The Orphanage (el Orfanato)
Pan's Labyrinth

Fantasy:
Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy
LOTR 1
Star Wars (whichever episode Anakin and the princess hook up)

London Love:
The Holiday
Love Actually

Romantic Comedies:
P.S. I Love You
The Breakup

Family Dramas:
Dan in Real Life
The Family Stone

Dramedies:
The Devil Wears Prada
Little Miss Sunshine

Coming of Age Dramas:
Driving Lessons
Juno

Bring the Kids:
My Cousin Totaro (Japanese)
Fern Gully

Christmas in July:
Elf
How the Grinch Stole Christmas

I loved this post!

Laura said...

I believe Evita should be added to this list :P

And yes, those were some excellent times...remember the groovy room? Oh man, we were the funnest kids ever.

Cara said...

Wow, that's such a hard question. I could probably think about it for the rest of work and not accomplish anything in the office, so let me just list some of my all-time favorites:

1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. American Beauty
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4. No Country for Old Men
5. Vanilla Sky

Other thoughts:
a. I just saw Squid and the Whale the other night. Wow. It might be a new favorite.
b. I've never seen Sandlot. I want to change this!!!
c. You and Laura are awesome.
d. Menally Challenged movie night - hilarious! Were there costumes involved?
e. I'm glad Cody included Wet Hot American Summer.