15 Movies in 15 Minutes

This was a Facebook post that I wrote last year. Felt it was worthy of lifting and placing here, since it has to do with movies.

Here were the rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen movies you've seen that will always stick with you. First 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

These are by no means in any specific order. And you know me; I can’t just name the movie. I usually have to give a reason as to why, which I feel is especially appropriate, considering the origin of the list in the first place. And you'd never guess, but I took longer than 15 minutes.

1. Fight Club – I looked at consumerism and individuality in a completely different light after seeing this movie for the first time. It’s also probably one of the most faithful adaptations from novel to screen I’ve ever seen, in my honest opinion.

2. Requiem for a Dream – The perfect "Don't Do Drugs" PSA Film. I still feel, to this day, that this film should be required watching for all teenagers before they enter high school. Is it shocking? Absolutely, but what better anti-drug/anti-addiction message to give to your children before they enter the real world.

3. The Exorcist – I’ll never forget the movie that shook me to the core. It shook so hard, it rattled my soul and made me appreciate where I stand in my faith. “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.” James 2:19

4. Saving Private Ryan – Only after viewing this film did I truly understand some of what my grandfather’s did to help fight and secure our freedom. Maybe they weren’t directly involved with D-Day, but that doesn’t mean anything less to me. I garnered a new found respect for them after watching this film and still hold strong to that conviction today.

5. JAWS – Sometime between the young and tender ages of 10 and 12, I somehow became infatuated with this movie. I had yet to see it (being too young and my parents wanting to shield me from images that may disturb my innocent mind at that time) and I distinctively remember my dad telling me the narrative of the film, from beginning to end, one day on a drive down to visit my grandpa in Huntington Beach, California. He had also expressed how vividly unsettling the novel was to him and to this day, he will neither watch the film nor read the book again. I, on the other hand, still have a issue with swimming in the ocean (my honeymoon presently excluded). This is one of those movies I can watch at any time.

6. Blade Runner – Don’t always judge a movie by its first viewing. I couldn’t stand this picture the first time I rented it. I thought it was horribly slow and boring as hell. Little did I know that I had not completely matured as a true cinema nerd just yet. Only after a second, then third, and a final fourth viewing did I finally come to discover the true brilliance of this now science fiction classic.

7. The Blair Witch Project – Guerilla internet marketing can really work. They even got me (for a while) to believe that the events that take place in this film were actually real. When in fact it was all just a great big hoax. Thankfully I discovered this before going to the theater. It made me realize that you don’t have to have a huge budget to make a good movie. This movie cost $60,000 to produce and market (although when watching the film, you wonder where the money went--that would be the marking, not the production). It grossed over $140 million over the course of 14 weeks and set the filmmakers, cast and crew up for life (or at least a moderate life) as millionaires with earning percentage points. 1% of the gross earnings yielded the cast a $1.4 million check. Talk about brilliant!

8. Batman – Was I seduced by marketing or did I just talk myself into it? Probably a little bit of both. Batman was an incredible theatrical experience for me; it was dark, moody, funny, action-packed and just plain ol’ weird – everything a growing young teenage boy needs. Yeah, it’s a little dated now, but it still encompasses fond memories, like looking for every piece of merchandise that was Batman-related, and wondering how I could talk my parents into buying it for me (which usually failed about 97% of the time).

9. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – I would eat my weight in chocolate if it could get me into Wonka’s factory. I love Gene Wilder’s brilliance, the Oompa Loompas morality lesson-filled songs, but most importantly, candy at every turn. I still fantasize every once in a while what it would be like to have snozzberry-flavored wall paper, fizzy lifting drinks, three-course dinner chewing gum or most importantly, an ever-lasting gobstopper.

10. The Big Lebowski – It’s a modern day Raymond Chandler detective story film noir. Its subtle brilliance is hardly detected upon first viewing. It’s rather laced with profanity, and some of the subject matter can be rather questionable, but the Coen Brothers broke the mold when they produced this film.

11. Superman: The Movie – Honestly, what little boy in the late 1970s or early 1980s didn’t have Superman pajamas, Underoos, t-shirts and anything else that their parents could afford? I loved Superman. That movie embodied what it meant to be a superhero. The John Williams theme, to this day, still gives me chills.

12. The Muppet Movie – Nothing quite brings a smile to my face more than watching the Muppets. The film externalized the brilliance of Jim Henson, being able to break free from the limitations on “The Muppet Show” set and produce a grand adventure for all of his fans (from child to adult) to enjoy. I can’t even tell you how often I listened to the soundtrack as a child and I’m sure at one point ended up breaking the cassette tape. "I seem to have lost my sense of direction!" "Have you tried Hare Krishna?" - Best running joke ever in a movie.

13. Back to the Future – I specifically remember my parents going to see this movie first, making sure that the subject matter and its content was suitable for their two children. And thank goodness it was! This was the first movie that caused me to daydream constantly about the endless possibilities if time travel was at all feasible, of course.

14. The Shawshank Redemption – I truly understood the complexities and the triumph of the human spirit the first time I watched this movie. This also had one of the most satisfying movie endings I’ve ever watched. “Forget that... there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone. That there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours.”

15. The Matrix – I wish I could walk into a theater and see this movie for the first time again. I wonder if I would have the same reaction I did ten years ago. It was an amazing concept, with breakthrough visuals that no one had ever seen before, and probably never will again.