Movies!

My english teacher asked me to talk about one hobby I have. He told me to write on my blog about it. Go in to as much detail as I can.


I love movies. I still remember the first movie I watched when I could put together thoughts, The Lion King. A classic that every kid must have watched when they were little. I re-watched it recently and still love it. I never got the whole symbolism and deeper meaning to the movie then, I just loved it because of that epic scene at the end where Scar and Simba fight in the fire. That was so awesome.

In fact, I didn't start caring about deeper meaning or messages until around 9th grade. That was the first time I saw my first truly "fucked up" movie. American History X. Nothing like some good ol' rape and curb stomping scenes to get the body pumping. I was truly stunned that people made movies like this. But it wasn't the vulgarity of the movie(of course that was something different),  it was the acting, the story, the cinematography, and the overall message. I was so use to watching movies like the Fast and the Furious and Spider man, that I had such a narrow vision on how to watch movies. American History X turned a meaningless waste of time to a full blown out addiction.

I started watching more and more movies as time passed. I don't want to put an exact number, but I can safely say that I have watched over 100-200 movies in the past year or two.  I don't know if that's good or bad, but that it's too much. I watched all types of movies. 1920s-Present, foreign, sci-fi, horror, dramas, etc. I watched anything. I started out with the imdb 250 list, which was a great starting point. If i was going to get into movies, I wouldn't want to start out with shitty ones. I saw the classics like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Chinatown, 2001:A Space Oddysey, The Godfather 1 and 2, Apocalypse Now, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Rear Window, Psycho, and so many more. All I can say is that these people who directed these movies were freaking geniuses. I have so much respect for people like Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, and Frank Coppola. The magic  these people created is amazing.

Also with this insane movie run, I realized why Robert DeNiro, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, the Sheen family(before charlie went crazy), and Quentin Tarantino were recongized with such praise. I always thought it was people just hyping these people up. It's not. Marlon Brando may have been the greatest actor of all time. I've only seen Godfather I, A streetcar named desire, and on the waterfront. All three great movies.

I'm not living in the DeNiro era either, because despite him still acting, I wasn't alive during his golden years. But I freaking love DeNiro. To me, DeNiro is the greatest actor of all time, bar none. Raging Bull and Taxi Driver are two INCREDIBLE films. I don't know why but for some reason, everytime I watch Taxi Driver, Travis seems creepier and creepier. I think the viewer sees how fucked up he truly is. The ending is so great, when he makes the gun with his fingers, and then "poosh". Gives me chills just thinking about it.
Raging Bull just showed the commitment the guy had. He put on 60lbs for a movie. His acting wasn't too bad either. Got an Oscar. He was great in nearly everything he did. He did Heat, Godfather part II, Goodfellas(great fucking movie), and The Deer Hunter. Jesus christ. I didn't even talk about Deer Hunter? Deer Hunter is an epic of all epic movies. 3hrs and 20 mins, with one of the most chilling scenes ever. Great movie.

I'm dragging on. I'll post my top 10 list of movies and my top 5 favorite actors.