This is a variation on the
My Movie Alphabet Blogathon hosted by Mettel Ray -- I'm the kind of person who has to mix up the rules a little bit. :-)
:
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| My Neighbor Totoro |
A ~ Anime -- Something my eight-year-old daughter and I love equally -- what a gift!
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| clockwise from top left -- In Bruges, The Shining, Sling Blade, The Living & the Dead, American Psycho, Blue Velvet, Buddy Boy |
B ~ Bat-Crap Crazy Characters -- Delightful in books and film. In real life ... not so much.
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| clockwise from top left - All or Nothing, Secrets & Lies, Kez, Sweet Sixteen, Fish Tank |
C ~ Cinematic Realism -- worlds that seem so real I feel like a voyeur
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| Little Miss Sunshine |
D ~ Dysfunctional Families -- who struggle yet have moments of connection, love, and joy.
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| Pulp Fiction |
E ~ Excellent Dialogue -- and sometimes a film deserves bonus points for particularly eloquent use of profanity.
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| The Fall |
F ~ Flights of Fancy -- vivid, imaginative storytelling that celebrates the imagination.
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| clockwise from top left -- Persepolis, The Kite, Bear Cub, The Namesake |
G ~ Glimpses Into Other Cultures
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| Atonement |
H ~ Historical Books & Films
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| Lord of the Rings |
I ~ Imaginary Worlds
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| The Matrix & The Truman Show |
J ~ Jumping Down the Rabbit Hole -- stories that challenge your perception of reality
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| It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World |
K -- Kooky Comedies
L ~ Love Stories --
... whether they be classic ...
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| Pride & Prejudice |
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Doctor Who
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... modern & a bit timey-wimey ...
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| The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind |
... or wildly off-beat
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| Severus Snape (Harry Potter) & Nate (Red, White & Blue) |
M ~ Morally Ambiguous Characters -- a character you're inclined to loathe, but you can't entirely dismiss. Or a bully or sociopath who is capable of enduring love.
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| clockwise from top left - 21 Grams, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Memento, 500 Days of Summer & Pulp Fiction |
N ~ Non-Linear Storylines
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| Fargo |
O ~ Ordinary People Who Are Really Extraordinary
P ~ Philosophical Perspectives -- including spirituality & religion, explored from myriad angles ...
religious imagery and symbolism from various cultures ...
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| Shinto Shrine in Spirited Away |
dark and contemplative perspectives ...
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| The Seventh Seal |
people inspired, by their spiritual beliefs, to change the world ...
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| Amazing Grace |
or a quirky, offbeat look at man's search for meaning ...
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| A Serious Man |
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| clockwise from top left -- The Big Bang Theory, Happy Go Lucky, Juno, Burn After Reading ("I thought you'd be concerned ... about the security ... of your shit."), The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Amelie, Treacle, Jr. |
Q -- Quirky Characters
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| clockwise from top left -- Shame, A Single Man, The Constant Gardener, Magnolia |
R ~ Raw Emotion -- grief, regret, and deep -- often unspoken -- anguish is part of what binds us together as humans, and literature and films remind us that we are not alone.
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| clockwise from top left -- Jacob's Ladder, Eyes Wide Shut, The Living & the Dead |
S ~ Surrealism -- because everyone needs a good mind-fuck now and then
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| The Disappearance of Alice Creed |
T ~ Thrillers -- especially unpredictable thrillers where the dynamics among the characters keep changing
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| Manic |
U ~ Underrated Gems
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| Game of Thrones |
V ~ Villains -- Rich moral ambiguity can be a great strength in a story or character, but sometimes we just want a "bad guy" toward whom we feel pure, unadulterated, utterly gratifying hatred.
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| Doctor Who |
W ~ Wibbledy Wobbledy Timey-Wimey -- I do love me some good sci-fi and fantasy, especially if it involves parallel universes or time travel. And I have a deep and abiding love for the tenth doctor.
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| The X-Men |
X ~ Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters -- because many of us need to be reminded that being "different" or "weird" can be a tremendous source of strength
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| The Wizard of Oz |
Y ~ Youthful Favorites -- to share with my kids
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| The Walking Dead |
Z ~ Zombie Killers -- For their sheer bad-assery.
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Hi, I know I co-write this blog but I thought I'd add a comment. I noticed that all of you 'movies so real I feel like a voyeur' are British- big surprise there. I'll say as an American that American films are often a little reality-challenged. I'm glad to see two Aidan Gillen characters here, I think he's a very talented actor. And of the crazies, Francis (Buddy Boy) and James (TLATD) are my favorites!
ReplyDeleteThe British do realism so well. :-)
DeleteWow! Other than Doctor Who, I love every pick on here. B, C, E, L. M, P, Q, and R are especially true to my taste. Great post! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Josh! Doctor Who is definitely not to everyone's taste. :)
DeleteWow, that's a very original way of doing it. Loved reading it!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nostra. :)
DeleteGREAT choices! Loved the examples you included too, especially The Big Bang Theory and Pitt's funniest moment in Burn After Reading :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I never get tired of Burn After Reading, especially that particular Brad Pitt scene.
DeleteI love the 'twist' on your post, Stephanie. Instead of actors/films you focus on the various aspects of why you love films, what a splendid idea! We share the same one for X, I just love that franchise and Prof. X :D
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ruth! I wanted to do something a little bit different. And I really do like the X-Men. I'm not usually a huge fan of comic book movies, but I can definitely get into the "mutants." ;-)
DeleteLove this list Stephanie.
ReplyDeleteI should an alphabetical list of my favourite things about 2012 films!
Thanks, Amir. I hope you will do that -- it would be a terrific variation on the theme.
DeleteA different and interesting list. I really enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWhat a wonderful twist on the blogathon! Loved seeing In Bruges under Bat-Crap Crazy and Pride & Prejudice on the list. Also liked your comment on Villains because, frankly, you're right. Sometimes I just love someone to hate.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love both In Bruges and Pride & Prejudice (both Jane Austen's novel and the various film adaptations).
DeleteGreast list! I love that you included Snape and Nate. I always loved Snape in the HP books for some reason, because I always thought there was good in him. Nate - I probably should've dismissed him after that scene with the family in Red, White, and Blue. But I didn't.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way about Snape, in a way, although I loathed the fact that he bullied children. I never really believed Snape was a villain. And yes, I wanted to dismiss Nate right from the get-go, when he admitted to having set his sister's pet bird on fire. But I never did. He was a fascinating character.
DeleteBeen reading a few of these blogathon posts, and so far this is the most unique. Love it!
ReplyDeleteLove that through movies we get to see both quirky characters and ordinary people who are really extraordinary. Or imaginary worlds and cinematic realism.
Thanks!
DeleteI love the way you took with this!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWhoa, nice and different approach for Movie Alphabet. I too love Little Miss Sunshine. And yes, philosophical perspective is the one thing I love the most from movies. Well done!
ReplyDeleteLittle Miss Sunshine is terrific, isn't it? :-) Thanks for your kind words.
DeleteVery cool list. Big fan of X!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWhat a list!! I like your chosen words! I think it's brilliant. I can never pull a list like this.
ReplyDeleteI love the fact you put 2 image from Doctor Who ;)
I will soon continue my Doctor Who marathon again. I promise myself to wait till 2013 as I have seen too many Doctor Who in two months
it's always great to talk to a fellow Whovian. ;-) I've been re-watching all the Nu-Who episodes, gradually -- I'm almost finished with the David Tennant era. *Sigh* Thanks for your kind words!
DeleteGreat list! LOVE B!
ReplyDeleteC: Yes, yes, yes.
E: “What ain’t no country I ever heard of.”
R: One of my favorite things in movies.
Great inclusion to a great blogathon!
Thanks! :-)
Delete