Movies That Define Me.
(I don’t know, exams messed up my plans for the “10 Top Horror Films” written in blog form, so one day I WILL complete them, but until then…)
Movies to me, define me, unlike most people who let music control and promote feelings I instead enjoy all of the same effects through sight, and, incredible acting. The list below is comprised of basically not my favourite films, but ones that inspired me to think differently, and in some cases, sort my life out.
1.Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
This will always be my ultimate film; it has the power to inspire my artistic side and really gets my juices going. On top of all that it’s set in my favourite place in the whole wide world, Las Vegas, Nevada.
What surprises me is that most people don’t know that this film is based on true events that happen to the author of the book Hunter S. Thompson, or should I put it, his counter part one Raoul Duke. The story basically follows himself and his attorney as they speed their way through the blistering desert, completely twisted on drugs whilst trying to cover a major sporting event. All of this in the midst of trying to find the real American dream. Sounds a mouthful, but tastefully done, or at least I feel.
Whilst not a film that I would normally chose for myself, I found it in my arms after being recommended it by a once close friend. My first unfortunate viewing of the feature came after a day spent in hospital. Upset I put the movie on to cheer me up and was instead, faced with a full-on explosion of everything ultimately wrong with society today. Disgusted I turned it off and buried it in my cupboard. It was only after a week of contemplating what I saw that I decided to try it again with an open mind, and I’ve never looked back.
What didn’t shock me, enlightened me, what failed to amuse me made me contradict my own lifestyle, it is because of this singular film that I am as twisted as I seem today, in the best possible way. It opened my mind and caused me to speak more freely about politics and the ‘American Dream’. It caused me to more read extensively into Thompson’s life in the effort to understand him and his ways in order to understand myself more.
2.The Singing Detective
I found out about this film late one night at around 3:00AM, I bought it the next day in a bargain bucket.
Before I go on, it must be stated that the great hinge as to why I bought this film was Robert Downey Jr. First and foremost, what I felt after the movie came as a huge shock.
I don’t want to give away the whole plot of this film too much because to be honest, I really can’t. What happens in it is a mixture of raw emotion coupled with the angst of a bed-ridden man and his vibrant fantasies.
What clinched this film for me was Downey’s portrayal of a man with a skin condition that leaves him in a state that others can’t seem to grasp. Whilst I myself don’t suffer from Psoriasis (“Google” that one, I’m not explaining it here) I have in the past had outbreaks of swollen welts all over my body and other small ‘defects’ that come with my allergies, whilst much like Downey’s character it doesn’t seem to bother me, the fact that I’m treated as a child and ultimately my thoughts ignored because I’m ill makes me so angry.
“In short, and in the vernacular, I'm a kid again.
The last time I had to endure anything this demeaning was in my baby-buggy.”
Whilst trying to control his temper Dan Dark (Downey) seems to escape his ‘nightmare’ through his work as a crime thriller writer. This comes back upon him eventually.
Everything above set to one side this film made me understand my own emotions about obvious medical conditions, and made me re-think my temper that I display to those with less knowledge about these sensitive matters than I.
3.Evil Dead
Best horror film ever made, hands down. It’s low budget, unpredictable, jumpy, and darn right creepy, what more do you want in a movie?
Bruce Campbell that’s what….
Oh wait…..
It’s attached to the typically American slasher horror notion that a group of teens trek into the woods unknowing that they are about to unleash a once dormant evil upon themselves.
The surprises come with the camera work and plot twists, all is not what it seems as within the first 30 minutes we are confronted with our hero and what little power he has.
After this film (that was, like most of my DVD collection I might add, found at the bottom of a bargain bucket) I was so blown away that I watched it another three times, I felt although I had to find a fault with it, it was too good to be true. Everything was and still is perfect, the acting(-ish), the dialog and, as stated above, the camera work.
Whilst this film didn’t provide me with much insight into my own life it open me up to the idea that not every film HAS to be from Hollywood, that not all good actors make a ridiculous amount of money. I still love it, and feel that I always will, Bruce Campbell has influenced me to not be afraid of starting at the bottom, and not getting anyway, but still having a whale of a time in the process.
So that’s it, my Mum hates the films above but I don’t care. They’ve made me feel differently about myself, helped my ideas to grow and in the end, made me a better daughter.
Thank-you for reading
Movies to me, define me, unlike most people who let music control and promote feelings I instead enjoy all of the same effects through sight, and, incredible acting. The list below is comprised of basically not my favourite films, but ones that inspired me to think differently, and in some cases, sort my life out.
1.Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
This will always be my ultimate film; it has the power to inspire my artistic side and really gets my juices going. On top of all that it’s set in my favourite place in the whole wide world, Las Vegas, Nevada.
What surprises me is that most people don’t know that this film is based on true events that happen to the author of the book Hunter S. Thompson, or should I put it, his counter part one Raoul Duke. The story basically follows himself and his attorney as they speed their way through the blistering desert, completely twisted on drugs whilst trying to cover a major sporting event. All of this in the midst of trying to find the real American dream. Sounds a mouthful, but tastefully done, or at least I feel.
Whilst not a film that I would normally chose for myself, I found it in my arms after being recommended it by a once close friend. My first unfortunate viewing of the feature came after a day spent in hospital. Upset I put the movie on to cheer me up and was instead, faced with a full-on explosion of everything ultimately wrong with society today. Disgusted I turned it off and buried it in my cupboard. It was only after a week of contemplating what I saw that I decided to try it again with an open mind, and I’ve never looked back.
What didn’t shock me, enlightened me, what failed to amuse me made me contradict my own lifestyle, it is because of this singular film that I am as twisted as I seem today, in the best possible way. It opened my mind and caused me to speak more freely about politics and the ‘American Dream’. It caused me to more read extensively into Thompson’s life in the effort to understand him and his ways in order to understand myself more.
2.The Singing Detective
I found out about this film late one night at around 3:00AM, I bought it the next day in a bargain bucket.
Before I go on, it must be stated that the great hinge as to why I bought this film was Robert Downey Jr. First and foremost, what I felt after the movie came as a huge shock.
I don’t want to give away the whole plot of this film too much because to be honest, I really can’t. What happens in it is a mixture of raw emotion coupled with the angst of a bed-ridden man and his vibrant fantasies.
What clinched this film for me was Downey’s portrayal of a man with a skin condition that leaves him in a state that others can’t seem to grasp. Whilst I myself don’t suffer from Psoriasis (“Google” that one, I’m not explaining it here) I have in the past had outbreaks of swollen welts all over my body and other small ‘defects’ that come with my allergies, whilst much like Downey’s character it doesn’t seem to bother me, the fact that I’m treated as a child and ultimately my thoughts ignored because I’m ill makes me so angry.
“In short, and in the vernacular, I'm a kid again.
The last time I had to endure anything this demeaning was in my baby-buggy.”
Whilst trying to control his temper Dan Dark (Downey) seems to escape his ‘nightmare’ through his work as a crime thriller writer. This comes back upon him eventually.
Everything above set to one side this film made me understand my own emotions about obvious medical conditions, and made me re-think my temper that I display to those with less knowledge about these sensitive matters than I.
3.Evil Dead
Best horror film ever made, hands down. It’s low budget, unpredictable, jumpy, and darn right creepy, what more do you want in a movie?
Bruce Campbell that’s what….
Oh wait…..
It’s attached to the typically American slasher horror notion that a group of teens trek into the woods unknowing that they are about to unleash a once dormant evil upon themselves.
The surprises come with the camera work and plot twists, all is not what it seems as within the first 30 minutes we are confronted with our hero and what little power he has.
After this film (that was, like most of my DVD collection I might add, found at the bottom of a bargain bucket) I was so blown away that I watched it another three times, I felt although I had to find a fault with it, it was too good to be true. Everything was and still is perfect, the acting(-ish), the dialog and, as stated above, the camera work.
Whilst this film didn’t provide me with much insight into my own life it open me up to the idea that not every film HAS to be from Hollywood, that not all good actors make a ridiculous amount of money. I still love it, and feel that I always will, Bruce Campbell has influenced me to not be afraid of starting at the bottom, and not getting anyway, but still having a whale of a time in the process.
So that’s it, my Mum hates the films above but I don’t care. They’ve made me feel differently about myself, helped my ideas to grow and in the end, made me a better daughter.
Thank-you for reading
