movies

I hardly make it to the cinema anymore. Tops seven times a year. I rent or buy movies to watch at home, but also that's infrequent. Last week we watched The Sea Inside, and this weekend I watched The Mask (Jim Carrey) with the kids. I had expected more from The Sea Inside. The Mask was entertaining, period.

Here is a survey from Speechless The Magazine of some poets' favorite films. The list also proves I also don't read enough since I don't know half the poets there.

What consistently surprises me about movies is how many people's lists are dominated by films that are decades old. Not 2-3 decades, but six or seven. I also love Double Indemnity (1944 - Robert Mezey's list), and recently bought a copy of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954 - Rob Koertege's list). But wouldn't you think that the storytellers of our own time would interest us more than they do? And wouldn't you think that ever-improving technology, animation, make-up and special effects would amaze us more than they seem to?

But I also have trouble picking young American movies (say no older than 25 years) that I can say I absolutely love. American Beauty (1999) would be one. The Hours (2002 -book was better) and Sophie's Choice (1983 - ditto), both with Meryl Streep, would also be on my list. I completely surrendered to Erin Brockovich (2000) despite kind of disliking Julia Roberts, and Brokeback Mountain (2005) was stunning. I do think movies are becoming increasingly violent. And that just makes me want to shoot somebody in the face.