100 Film Facts About Me

Oh, what better way to commemorate your 1000th post than by blatantly stealing a post idea from another blogger? In this case, yet another post originated by Stevee and with at least a dozen other bloggers following suit with their own posts. (I'm counting down the days before she becomes the most prolific film blogger online.) Anyway, without further ado, the 100 film facts about yours truly.

1. The first movie I remember watching on a continuous loop was The Fox and the Hound. (I was on vacation with my family, and it was the only video in the place we were renting.)
2. The next movie I did that with was 50 First Dates.
3. The first movie I just hated with a burning passion was The Benchwarmers. God, that's 85 minutes of my life I'm never getting back.
4. The first R-rated movie I saw was MASH. Wow, to think my parents allowed a fourteen-year-old to watch that by herself. (Parenting, you're doing it wrong.)
5. I got more interested in films by 2008 when I was fourteen. (Hence my username of "MovieNut14".)
6. When I got more into movies, I basically restricted the movies I watched to being from the mid-70s to present day.
7. Safe to say that changed when 2009 rolled around, the year I got introduced to such films as On the Waterfront, The Godfather, Rear Window and many, many, many others. (Well, more specifically, like a large chunk of AFI's Top 100 Films list.)
8. 2009 was actually a very interesting year for the budding cinephile that I was. In June of that year, I saw a double bill of The Seventh Seal and The 400 Blows. (Yeah, Tyler. I know you're jealous.)
9. The following month, I saw Sidney Lumet speak at Lincoln Center with his screenwriter daughter Jenny.
10. And the month after that, I started this blog.
11. The film that got me very much more interested in classic film (and eventually making me the classic film lover that I am today) was The Apartment.
12. I don't exactly remember which actor I had a crush on first, but I now know I'm bound to fall for almost any actor with piercing blue eyes.
13. And actors with accents, mainly British and New York. Those are my weaknesses.
14. At times, my family (my mother mainly) uses me as a walking movie encyclopedia.
15. I have been working on a script for roughly a year now.
16. Some of its influences include A Star is Born and Singin' in the Rain.
17. I always love discovering actors and directors to watch. Such a great feeling.
18. I love Pedro Almodovar's vibrant use of red.
19. And the quickfire dialogue in Howard Hawks' films.
20. And the cinematography in Terrence Malick's films.
21. I'm not too crazy about actors doing the flashy "look at me, I deserve an Oscar" kind of roles (read: biopics). I always prefer when they do quiet yet very compelling roles.

22. Michael Fassbender in Shame is a prime example.
23. Though, let's be honest. He should have gotten an Oscar for that performance.

24. Same can be said for Russell Crowe in The Insider.
25. I have miniature posters for Rocky, Casablanca, Vertigo, Jaws, Back to the Future, Psycho, The Godfather and Manhattan, and a regular-sized poster for Ghostbusters currently hanging on my walls.
26. I own a lot of film books.
27. I own even more DVDs.
28. I'm one of those weirdos that will often read the book before seeing the movie.
29. Recently, I try to avoid seeing any trailers for movies I really want to see, just to build up anticipation.
30. I always love finding those great underrated performances in classic films. There are just so many.

31. Like James Mason in Bigger Than Life....

32. ...Jean Simmons in Elmer Gantry...

33. ...and Rock Hudson in Seconds.
34. There are also those underrated modern performances that I love.

35. Like Sam Riley in Control...

36. ...Clive Owen in Children of Men...

37. ...and Nicole Kidman in Birth.
38. My definition of a great actor is anyone who can do comedy and drama with equal ease, more so if they can do it in the same film.
39. I listen to "Stillness of the Mind" from the A Single Man soundtrack at times when I sketch out reviews.
40. If you made me make a list of ten actors who should have won an Oscar at some point in their careers, you'd probably be getting a lot more than just ten, depending on my mood
41. Same can be applied to performances actors should have been nominated for.

42. At the moment, Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence is the best performance from an actress I've seen. (Her work in Opening Night is a very close second.)
43. I always find something amusing about seeing a now-famous actor in a small part they did way before they got famous.
44. Say what you will, but I still stand by that Brokeback Mountain has one of the greatest romances ever captured on film.
45. Sometimes I just see a film to see why an actor won an Oscar for it or why it got so much acclaim/controversy.
46. I always like seeing movie stars break free of their previous image and proving themselves as legit actors.

47. Like Ewan McGregor in Beginners...

48. ...Paul Newman in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof...

49. ...and, naturally, Tony Curtis in Sweet Smell of Success.
50. I have to smile when respected directors show they still have faith in actors from Hollywood's Golden Age, and cast them in their films.
51. I think the one role that can best showcase an actor's talent is that of a murderer/sociopath. Displaying a complete lack of any feelings is honestly a greater challenge than you might think.
52. I like it when actors who had previously only done supporting roles finally get their shot in the leading role.

53. Like Sam Rockwell in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind...

54. ...Viggo Mortensen in A History of Violence...

55. ...and Michael Shannon in Take Shelter.
56. I don't have a favorite genre, but I do have preferences in regards to different film eras. For Hollywood's Golden Age, I prefer comedies; present day, crime films.

57. Best casting decision of the last ten years in my opinion? Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark.
58. Whenever I watch a modern actor I'm starting to like, I try to think of a classic actor that they remind me of.

59. I still think Colin Firth should have won the Oscar for A Single Man.
60. If I had to choose one movie to watch over and over, it would probably be Rio Bravo.
61. Foreign films and silent films are often blind spots among my watching.
62. The one highly regarded classic I'm mostly "meh" about is Gone with the Wind. (Haters gonna hate.)
63. I've seen a lot of underappreciated films from Hollywood's yesteryear but to name one that everyone should check out, I'd go with On the Beach.
64. As for a recent underappreciated title, that would be Roger Dodger. (Thanks to Alex for making me aware of it.)
65. I prefer watching movies by myself. There's nothing more annoying than having people talk as you're trying to watch the movie.
66. On a slightly similar note, I rarely watch movies on TV unless they're unedited, uncensored and commercial-free. (Thank God for Turner Classic Movies.)

67. I love the scenes between Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment...

68. ...and Robert Redford and Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid...

69. ...and Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
70. I rarely get overwhelmed from a film, though Requiem for a Dream was the closest to me being in tears.
71. As much as I like films relying on only a few actors, I just really love ensemble casts.
72. On a similar note, I like watching the opening credits and seeing the names of actors I originally didn't know were in the movie among the cast.

73. My favorite classic director is, of course, Billy Wilder.
74. Second place goes to Alfred Hitchcock.

75. My favorite contemporary director is Martin Scorsese.
76. Second place goes to Wes Anderson.
77. Several months back, the way I view film changed drastically from viewing either Last Tango in Paris or Shame. (Can't remember which.)
78. It's from my almost three years of blogging that my perspective of film has deepened.
79. I got choked up from this shot:

80. I got really choked up from this shot:

81. I got creeped out from the shot following this one:

82. Cinematography is my film weakness.
83. As shown here:

84. And here:

85. And here:

86. I honestly wonder where I would be without Netflix.
87. Currently, films are my escape from the hellish life I lead.
88. Thanks to watching so many classic films, my standards towards men have been slightly ruined.
89. I'm willing to give an actor or a director a chance to see if I like them or to realize they're not my type.
90. Last year, my parents gave me a $100 gift card for Barnes and Noble as a graduation present. I spent it all on Criterion Collection DVDs. (Oh, and a copy of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita.)
91. I think what drove me to watch more classic films was because so many of its stars were dying, and I wanted to appreciate their work when they were still alive.
92. At times, I develop a desire to see a certain film because of another blogger's review.
93. Other times, I want to see a film because of its actors and/or director.

94. In my opinion, no actor will be as charming as Cary Grant...

95. ...and no actress will be as elegant as Audrey Hepburn.
96. Come to think of it, that adage "They don't make 'em like they used to" is definitely applied to the stars of Hollywood's Golden Age.

97. One of my favorite dramatic scenes captured on film is when the other jurors ignore Juror No. 10's rant in 12 Angry Men.

98. One of my favorite comedic scenes captured on film is the scene on the beach in Some Like It Hot.
99. I honestly think Midnight in Paris is as if Manhattan and The Purple Rose of Cairo were meshed into one film. (That's a good thing, of course.)
100. I just really love movies.

Jesus Christ, that was harder than I thought it would be. Anyway, here's to 1000 posts, and to 1000 more.