Not a lot of people know this about me, but I’m a massive film nerd. I was supposed to go to Film School, but things didn’t work out, and I decided to pursue other dreams, but alas, my love of movies will never leave me. I’ve compiled my favorite films from IMDB and my Letterboxd account, and wow, I didn’t know I had it in me.

First, I’ll start on why I love movies so much; my attention span has never been good at committing to tv series, so no, I’ve not seen breaking bad, don’t come for me! I will say, I love Euphoria, but what 20 something doesn’t.

Movies are a perfect way for me to put my full attention into something; I love to get immersed in a storyline, from the cinematography to the colour schemes and costume choices, it’s just amazing. Different films remind me of parts of my life, so watching something can send me back in time to that moment and how I felt at the time. The first movie I feel nostalgic watching is Fantastic Mr. Fox; that movie just reminds me of going to the theatres with my family on a Sunday afternoon in the fall. I know many people worldwide love that movie; it feels like the token nostalgic movie for any movie buff.

So, let us get into my top 8 all-time favourite movies! (that no one asked for, but I’m still going to tell you.) Starting at 8 and I’ll make my way down to one, this was painfully hard, but if someone ever corners me and asks me specifically what my 8 favourite films are, I can answer with confidence!

Number eight: Gone Girl – David Fincher. This is the story of a seemingly perfect couple, Amy and Nick Dunne; they have everything, a beautiful house, high paying jobs, and a great family. But what people on the outside aren’t aware of is how hollow Amy feels with Nick, so on their fifth anniversary, she fakes her own murder, and from that point on, everyone blames her husband for her disappearance. A scene in this film stands out to me, her monologue of being the perfect Cool Girl.” “Hot and understanding. Cool Girls never get angry; they only smile in a chagrined, loving manner and let their men do whatever they want. Go ahead, shit on me, I don’t mind, I’m the Cool Girl. Men actually think this girl exists.” It really made me look at how I try to change myself around men; I think we have all tried to be the “cool girl” to some guy who could really care less. Overall, this film is a great look at the lifelong misogyny women have to face, with a little sprinkle of a sociopathic housewife.

photo credits – Indiewire

Number seven: Mulholland Drive – David Lynch. Explaining this film will most likely take everything out of me, but I love it. It’s a surrealist mystery film; beginning with the arrival of beautiful Naomi Watts coming to Los Angeles to start her acting career; she happens to have a famous aunt that lets her stay at her expensive apartment; once getting into her apartment, she is shocked to find an amnesiac woman who stumbled in before her aunt left. The two team up to track down her true identity. I explained the stripped-down version of the film, but all I have to say is go watch it and then read a few video essays, and it will make a lot more sense. Lynch’s direction style is confusing as hell, eerie, and familiar. My favorite scene that shows so much sadness, yet beauty is called “I’ve told every little star.” The director, played by Justin Theroux, is doing screen tests with a few actresses. He had to switch out the actresses to one pre-chosen by his producers. The main boss, known as the “cowboy,” threatened to blackball him from the film industry if he doesn’t comply. At first, Theroux refused to pick the girl the cowboy had chosen, then he soon realizes he had no choice but to pick her. And the signifier of his compliance is him stating, “this is the girl” to his producers.

photo credits Carlos Andrés M.

Number six: Do The Right Thing – Spike Lee this is an amazing film that also stars Lee as Mookie, a 20-something pizza delivery man trying to go through his day on one of the hottest days in the year; the racial tension is the main theme in this film, probably one of the first movies to really show the Black man’s experience in a comedy-drama way. Mookie’s work is the heart of his neighborhood, owned by Italian Americans Sal, Pino, and Vito. Pino, the eldest son to Sal, is extremely racist; he and Mookie constantly get into arguments. On the other hand, Pino, (the younger brother) is very kind to Mookie, and the two get along. The film goes through the day introducing distinctive residents in their neighborhood, a friendly drunk, who everyone calls “Da Mayor” because he is always in his suit and tie, “Radio Raheem” who constantly plays public enemy on his boombox, and Smiley, a mentally disabled young man who sells his own drawings of MLK and Malcolm X on the street. The neighborhood’s racial tension is brought to an all-time high when Mookie’s’ friend, “Buggin Out” asks Sal why there are no black people on his “wall of fame” (a wall of celebrities’ photos in his store.) Sal and Buggin get into an argument, ending with Buggin, Radio Raheem, and Smiley deciding to protest over the zero representation of black celebrities on their wall. Later on, the protest starts, the crowd gets larger as the heat is still unbearable, almost representing the rage felt within the Black and Latino community. With the horrific death of George Floyd and the BLM movement just a few months ago, I needed to rewatch this film, really to further educate myself on the Black Man’s experience in America. It was heartbreaking to witness the police brutality that ended up murdering Radio Raheem in the middle of the streets. I recommend everyone watches this; it is vital to educate ourselves on police brutality, racism, and discrimination.

photo credit- Roger Ebert

Number five: Mustang- Deniz Gamze Ergüven This is one of the first foreign films I discovered a few years ago, and it just stuck with me ever since. It is based on the director’s real-life experience of being a young orphan with her 6 other sisters in an extremely conservative Turkish village. At the start of the film, the director depicts the girls living a normal life, going to the beach, playing dress-up, running around outside with friends, all things I even did as a young girl. But when a shocking event occurs with one of the older daughters, this jolts the girls back into a controlling and traditional household ran by their Grandmother and Uncle. The film is presented through the middle’s sisters’ eyes, as she watches each of her sisters slowly get married off; some sisters are happy with their engagements, where others are visually unhappy. The more their grandmother tries to keep them as prisoners in their own homes, the more they start to rebel. Later, it’s brought to our attention that the Uncle’s been sexually abusing one of the sisters. When the grandmother finds out, she is married off, but on the day of her wedding, she is found dead by suicide. The film ends with the girls finally escaping to Istanbul to live with their kind female school teacher, who immediately takes them in. This film put me into each sister’s shoes, every moment I was hoping for their freedom; it was also a great example of female liberation opposite to the oppression they were facing throughout the film.

photo credit – The Atlantic

Number four: 20th Century Women – Mike Mills The story sets in 1970’s California with a single Mother and her teenage son, the Mother owns a rundown boarding house with two other tenants, each with a unique story. The first tenant is played by Greta Gerwig, a 24-year-old photographer with cervical cancer, and a single 40-year-old handyman. The two have a major impact on this boy’s upbringing, stating in the film that they are helping to raise him. Because he and his Mother have a hard time bonding, she feels him straying farther and farther away from her. The Mother goes to the tenants for advice on how to bond with him again. This film counteracts the typical parenting you would imagine happened in the seventies. Focusing on how to raise a feminist, being open about mental health and sexuality. The chemistry of the actors in this film is on point.

photo credit – Vox

Number three: Little Miss Sunshine – Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. This film is such a dynamic look at an extremely dysfunctional family, literally on the verge of explosion, trying to keep it together all for the youngest daughter Olive, to live her dream of competing in a beauty pageant. The film’s best part is the relationships between family members—Olive and her drug-addicted, yet lovable, Grandfather. Olive’s mother is trying to keep it together for everyone, and her brother, who has recently attempted to commit suicide. The themes in this film talk about beauty standards, depression, addiction and love. I can’t say anything bad about this movie; it’s so interesting watching everyone be on their own schedules while still trying to work together to support Olive.

photo credit – New York Times

Number two: Rear Window – Alfred Hitchcock I recently watched this film amid the lockdown, and I related to the photographer Jeff Jefferies. Stuck in his apartment. Jeff is recovering a broken leg from a photography accident; he decides to set up in front of his large window because of a major heatwave. His apartment looks onto an apartment building just across the courtyard. Since being naturally suspicious, he watches what each character is doing while keeping their windows open. Some are newlyweds, a nosey Cat lady, a dancer and who he finds the most interesting, a husband and wife who are constantly fighting. Overall this film creates so much suspense and anxiety for being shot in the same room. I flip-flopped my prediction for what happens at the end of the entire film; Hitchcock is a master at creating suspense and mystery, and this film really showed me that.

photo credit – Mental Floss

Number one: Before Sunrise – Richard Linklater Here we go yall! I don’t know if you guys actually stuck around to read all of this, but. This. Movie. The difference about this vs your typical romance film is all about the chemistry Celine and Jessie create together. It’s unbeatable; Linklater creates such an amazing connection that you can sense through the screen, you almost feel like you’re not supposed to be watching because of how intimate it is. The film starts with an old German couple fighting on a train cart; they are loud and obviously annoying the people around them; while Celine is sitting right across from them, she decides to move, catching Jessie’s attention. Jessie sparks the conversation to Celine, asking if she knew what they were saying. The two continued talking all along the train ride into Vienna. When they had arrived, Jessie got the courage to ask Celine if she would come to visit Vienna with him for just one night; although she was travelling to Paris, on a whim, she says yes. They spend the whole movie talking about everything from life and mortality, their relationships with their parents, and their embracement of life. You watch them naturally fall in love. I can’t recommend this movie enough; if I don’t find the love of my life on a train to Vienna, I don’t want it.

photo credit – Mental Floss