August 23, 2008

Book List for 2008-2009

  1. ULYSSES by James Joyce
  2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
  4. CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller
  5. THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner
  6. 1984 by George Orwell
  7. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger
  8. WAR AND PEACE by Leo Tolstoy

Elaine's Movie Picks

Top 10 Saturday Night Movies

  • The Matrix
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day*
  • Jerry Maguire
  • Field of Dreams
  • My Best Friend's Wedding
  • Ocean's Eleven
  • The Negotiator
  • Batman Begins
  • Ransom
  • Deja Vu

Top 10 Movies That Yell "Quality" (Artistically)

  • Atonement (I could watch this movie over and over again. And if there ever was an actress who made me feel like smoking was cool, it's Keira Knightley as Cecilia)
  • Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Airbus*
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • The Remains of the Day
  • The Godfather (One of the best films ever made that I actually understood why it was so good)
  • A Beautiful Mind
  • Citizen Kane
  • The Wind that Shakes the Barley
  • Dancer in the Dark
  • American Beauty

Top 10 Best Comedy Movies, Dark or Normal

  • The Royal Tenenbaums* (One of the best dramatic dark comedies I've seen)
  • Spaceballs
  • As Good As It Gets
  • Stranger Than Fiction
  • My Best Friend's Wedding
  • Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (There couldn't be a worse movie if you didn't find it funny)
  • Hot Shots
  • Mrs. Doubtfire
  • Over the Hedge ("Rosebud!")
  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Top 12 Best Pop Culture Movies

  • Ghostbusters
  • E.T.
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  • Die Hard
  • Jurassic Park
  • The Matrix*
  • Star Wars
  • Edward Scissorhands
  • 2001: Space Odyssey
  • Citizen Kane
  • Titanic

Top 12 Movies That Make You Think (About the World or Its People)

  • Chance or Coincidence
  • Dancer in the Dark
  • The Wind that Shakes the Barley*
  • The Pianist
  • Hillary and Jackie
  • Who's Eating Gilbert Grape?
  • Mystic River
  • The Bridges of Madison County
  • Dead Poets Society
  • In the Name of the Father
  • To Kill a Mocking Bird
  • The Pursuit of Happyness (It actually made me happy, more than it made me think)

Top 6 Best Disaster Movies

  • Outbreak
  • Titanic
  • Apollo 13* (The mission was a disaster...)
  • Armageddon
  • Twister
  • The Day After Tomorrow (The direction is so terrible this movie would never have made it on my list if not for the fact that it covered some of the most original, realistic, and relevant disaster topics known to my generation)

Top 8 Most Creative/Original Movies

  • Kiss Kiss Bang Bang*
  • The Royal Tenenbaums
  • The Matrix
  • Indiana Jones franchise
  • Stranger Than Fiction
  • Deja Vu
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  • Moulin Rouge!

Top 8 Movies with Most Memorable Characters

  • Indiana Jones franchise
  • The Godfather (Al Pacino--an actor has never looked so good)
  • Dog Day Afternoon (oh, is that Al again? I didn't realize that before)
  • The Matrix (Neo--enough said)
  • Fight Club(A great way to get acquainted with Edward Norton)
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Just by the way Arnold flip-cocks his gun)
  • Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Robert Downey Jr. at his funniest)
  • Disturbia (A great way to get acquainted with the young Shia LaBeouf)

August 19, 2008

Back in Life - a video worth watching

Watching this video reminds me of my many friends who have helped me through different periods of my life. I thank them from the bottom of my heart, and I pray that I will come to know many more, because life is a lonely walk without companions. We need each other. We need to be loved.

For those of us who "cannot live without the help of others"... it's still important that we develop friendships that are not based on our neediness or the other person's pity for us. We like hanging out together because we love each other, and because it enriches our lives to understand and share each other's burdens. I hope Zach's life inspires you. As much as Zach does, however, I think Silas, the guy who directed this video, should inspire you too. Because it's not just about Zach. It's about Zach and his friends.