Ryan at The Matinee checks out films once a month that he should have seen a long time ago, but never did. Somewhere along the line, this became a yearly challenge that so many people participated in. I joined the Blind Spot Series in 2015 and watched a ton of movies, both very good and very bad, but all that I can finally tick off on my watch list. The sense of accomplishment that I felt when it was all said and done was immense, and hence has prompted me to do this once again this year! Here are my twelve picks for the upcoming year:
Insomnia (2002)
SYNOPSIS: Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn’t set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen. – via IMDB
I am a Nolan junkie, as I am sure you guys know by now. I think the man is an utter genius when it comes to film, and yet I have never actually gotten around to seeing Insomnia, despite it being helmed by Nolan and sporting a cast led by Al Pacino and Robin Williams. This is something that I need to remedy effective immediately.
Let The Right One In (2008)
SYNOPSIS: Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl. – via IMDB
A movie that piqued my interest ages ago and then just ended up on my huge, dreaded to-watch list, and no matter how many times it was recommended again and again, and how many people tried to persuade me of its awesomeness, I just never got around to it, and every time I see someone write about it or something I cringe. I am over cringing!
The Breakfast Club (1985)
SYNOPSIS: Five high school students, all different stereotypes, meet in detention, where they pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have a lot more in common than they though – via IMDB
This one is here partly because of Table Nine Mutant’s love for it, and after I participated in her John Hughes blogathon an age ago, I figured I would really, really like to understand the cult status this movie possesses, even if I don’t like it. I want to at least be able to say “oh yeah, that movie” and know what I am talking about, not duck my head in shame and run with the defense of “at least I have seen Ferris” (which sucks, by the way).
Oldboy (2003)
SYNOPSIS: After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in 5 days. – via IMDB
Film Club once did the 2013 remake for Oldboy, and while I enjoyed it more than anyone else did, I vowed that I would have to see the original to understand why it got so much flak, and because I was interested in seeing how it compared to the original for me, and see if I would still like the remake. The best laid plans, you know? Well, this is the year that I am going to compare them!
On The Waterfront (1954)
SYNOPSIS: An ex-prize fighter turned longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses. – via IMDB
A film that has a lot of love and praise heaped on it all the time and by everyone, and I haven’t seen that. I guess that is sort of the point of these Blind Spot picks, right? I have always wanted to watch it. So now I will.
Into The Wild (2007)
SYNOPSIS: After graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters that shape his life. – via IMDB
I have always meant to and it just never happened (recurring theme, I know). That’s all I have to say about that.
Swingers (1996)
SYNOPSIS: Wannabe actors become regulars in the stylish neo-lounge scene; Trent teaches his friend Mike the unwritten rules of the scene.- via IMDB
I like Vince Vaughn. There, I said it. Granted, he hasn’t actually done anything really good recently aside from True Detective season two (and the show itself wasn’t the greatest), but whatever. I also enjoy Jon Favreau’s work a lot. People always ask if I have seen Swingers. I always wince and say I haven’t.
Billy Elliot (2000)
SYNOPSIS: A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family. – via IMDB
This movie was huge when I was in primary school and it came out. It was on every magazine and newspaper in the damned country, and there were interviews up the wazoo on television and people raged and it went right over my head because I was way more interested in Potter and my books and my magical little worlds. But now I am older and I wonder what all the hype was about concerning a young boy in a tutu. Guess I am going to find out.
Moon (2009)
SYNOPSIS: Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet’s power problems. – via IMDB
A highly praised film that most claim touts of Sam Rockwell’s greatest performances, definitely bumping it up the old watch list this year so that I can agree or disagree with the aforementioned statement.
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
SYNOPSIS: An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed. – via IMDB
I keep hearing about this movie, reading about it, seeing it everywhere, and yet I have never seen this widely regarded holiday classic, which is actually just inexcusable.
True Romance (1993)
SYNOPSIS: Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it. – via IMDB
True Romance has so many talented people attached to it, which begs the question of why, if it has so many things that win points for me to make me want to see it, have I not yet seen it? Examples: Brad Pitt? Gary Oldman? Christopher Walken? Samuel L Jackson? Val Kilmer? A score by Hans Zimmer? Written by the sharp and witty Tarantino? You get the picture, so I will stop right there.
Chinatown (1974)
SYNOPSIS: A private detective hired to expose an adulterer finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption and murder. – via IMDB
Neo-noir mystery? Old school Jack Nicholson? Private eyes and murder, spans of mystery? Never had time to get to it (this theme)? The one I saw floating around on Netflix the other day and guiltily remembered that it was high time I got to it? The one that haunts me? Yep, this is the one!
The Sporadic Chronicles 