Wow, what a weird year. I haven't been posting any movie reviews because, well, I haven't really been going to the movie theater for the past six months, along with the rest of the country. Partially too because what I've been writing has just been for mediaversity.
But these days, the world being as it is, I find myself turning to what I want to be comforting movies. While my husband Sam and I usually devour films and tv with gusto, these days I keep wanting to watch something...nice.
I do miss writing about movies though, so here's a list of some feel good movies, in case you too are also looking for a little escapism through your screens.
Before we start though, what determines the "feel good" factor of a film?
1). The movie has to be engaging enough to get your head out of whatever else is going on. You can go into the movie in the middle of a raging fight with someone, completely wiped out from the world, and come out of it completely transformed. I still remember to this day when my cousin Peter and I sat down to watch Black Knight (where Martin Lawrence plays a theme park employee who gets transported back to medieval England, and yes the movie is exactly what you would expect out of it) and he said he was sure this movie was funny but the last time he had tried it he had been in such a bad mood, he hadn't been able to judge. So. All that to say, no Black Knights in this list.
2). It can't just be engaging. It should also be...happy. I've probably watched The Godfather and Godfather II over a dozen times and it's still engaging as hell, but...well, it's not really a feel good movie is it? Michael Corleone grabbing a character by the neck and proclaiming "I know it was you" is good cinema, but it's more likely to give you chills rather than the warm fuzzies.
3). I forewent (for this list at least) any bittersweet movies. To this day, I still laugh at almost every joke in Toy Story 3 like I'm seeing the movie for the first time, but I always weep bitter tears at the end of the film. I can't even say I weep like a child, because they're the kind of ugly tears that you can only shed when you've experienced the invevitability of time changing. On that note, remember when Pixar was good? And when it didn't feel like Disney was trying to emotionally manipulate you with every movie?
Anyway. No movies with beginnings like Up, no movies with endings like Toy Story 3. I also nixed any movies that rely on a large catharsis factor, or what I like to call the kdrama effect: where the main character goes through the wringer and it's supposed to be okay because in the end the good guys prevail and the bad guys usually bite the dust in an extremely ignominious manner and there's a big release of feelings. Sure it feels good at the end, but it's a little stressful on the way.
4). For the sake of variety, I tried to get a good spread of genres. So, even though I love heist films, there's only one heist film here. And even though I love adventure movies (National Treasure is Nicolas Cage's best role, I said it), there's only one on here. And so on.
In no particular order:
Good Morning (1959) Yasujiro Ozu
But these days, the world being as it is, I find myself turning to what I want to be comforting movies. While my husband Sam and I usually devour films and tv with gusto, these days I keep wanting to watch something...nice.
I do miss writing about movies though, so here's a list of some feel good movies, in case you too are also looking for a little escapism through your screens.
Before we start though, what determines the "feel good" factor of a film?
1). The movie has to be engaging enough to get your head out of whatever else is going on. You can go into the movie in the middle of a raging fight with someone, completely wiped out from the world, and come out of it completely transformed. I still remember to this day when my cousin Peter and I sat down to watch Black Knight (where Martin Lawrence plays a theme park employee who gets transported back to medieval England, and yes the movie is exactly what you would expect out of it) and he said he was sure this movie was funny but the last time he had tried it he had been in such a bad mood, he hadn't been able to judge. So. All that to say, no Black Knights in this list.
2). It can't just be engaging. It should also be...happy. I've probably watched The Godfather and Godfather II over a dozen times and it's still engaging as hell, but...well, it's not really a feel good movie is it? Michael Corleone grabbing a character by the neck and proclaiming "I know it was you" is good cinema, but it's more likely to give you chills rather than the warm fuzzies.
3). I forewent (for this list at least) any bittersweet movies. To this day, I still laugh at almost every joke in Toy Story 3 like I'm seeing the movie for the first time, but I always weep bitter tears at the end of the film. I can't even say I weep like a child, because they're the kind of ugly tears that you can only shed when you've experienced the invevitability of time changing. On that note, remember when Pixar was good? And when it didn't feel like Disney was trying to emotionally manipulate you with every movie?
Anyway. No movies with beginnings like Up, no movies with endings like Toy Story 3. I also nixed any movies that rely on a large catharsis factor, or what I like to call the kdrama effect: where the main character goes through the wringer and it's supposed to be okay because in the end the good guys prevail and the bad guys usually bite the dust in an extremely ignominious manner and there's a big release of feelings. Sure it feels good at the end, but it's a little stressful on the way.
4). For the sake of variety, I tried to get a good spread of genres. So, even though I love heist films, there's only one heist film here. And even though I love adventure movies (National Treasure is Nicolas Cage's best role, I said it), there's only one on here. And so on.
In no particular order:
Good Morning (1959) Yasujiro Ozu
Considered by many to be "Ozu-lite", Good Morning was my introduction into the gentle rhythms and meticulously framed world of Yasujiro Ozu. Good Morning centers around two brothers who go on a silent strike to get their parents to buy them a television set. But it's much more about the encroaching modernization of Japan post-WWII, and what it means to communicate with each other. The people in Good Morning often "talk" with their actions and even when they use their words, they can allude to more like when a tender conversation about the weather means "I love you" and when "I love you" is said as a throwaway for something else. Good Morning is funny, its humor going from "lowbrow" fart jokes to those of a subtler variety, all the while capturing this specific window in time for Japan. Plus it's got one of the cutest kid actors of all time.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse (2018) Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Bob Persichetti
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse (2018) Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Bob Persichetti
What is there not to love about Spider-verse? I've always loved Peter Parker's web-slinging adventures, but after watching this, I wanted to live in Miles Morales' vibrantly-drawn universe. The animation alone is a joy - I could go into all the care that went into making this film, but it's better outlined here and here. But more than that is it's story, full of humor and hijinks and a message about embracing who you are conveyed through Afro-Latino Miles. If you haven't heard me wax poetic about this movie yet, I'd be more than happy to talk your ear off.
Project A (1983) Jackie Chan
Project A (1983) Jackie Chan
It's a Jackie Chan film! With pirates! A lot of Jackie Chan films would fit the list, and while Project A might not have the best stunts (Ebert claimed that Drunken Master II had the best fight sequence of all time, while Tarantino cites Supercop as one of his favorite films of all time, with the greatest stuntwork), it has all the trademarks of a no frills, no fuss Jackie Chan adventure. The stunts have incredible rhythm, wit, and jaw-dropping skill. The plot is thin, basically just propping up the fight scenes much like the storyline in Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies only exist to create excuses for them to dance together. And yet, Chan does action comedy so well, you don't really care that much. For a sample, check out the bar fight scene, which has acrobatic skill, comedy to emphasize the futility of their fighting, and...for some inexplicable reason, someone who seems intent on holding plates of spaghetti. Project A probably has the most direct homages to the silent film greats, including references to scenes from Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd. Jackie Chan is, at the end, a consummate entertainer.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Steven Spielberg
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Steven Spielberg
An argument could be made over what is the best Indiana Jones movie, although the one-shot of Marion drinking her opponent under the table should definitely factor into that conversation, but the most feel good out of the three? Definitely Last Crusade. It's the puzzle-solving, holy grail chasing, Ford/Connery of it. Tom Stoppard was brought in to write the banter between the father/son duo, River Phoenix makes a stop as the younger Indy, and they're fighting Nazis. It's never a poor choice when you choose Last Crusade.
Babe (1995) Chris Noonan
Babe (1995) Chris Noonan
Ah, Babe. The Citizen Kane of animal movies. Also the passion project of George Miller, who worked for almost a decade to get the film rights and whom you may know as the director of a film series called Mad Max. What is it that still makes this film magical after 25 years? Is it the verisimilitude of the animal actors? Is it the use of Camile Saint-Saen's Symphony no. 3 in c minor? Is it James Cromwell dancing around the living room, singing at the top of his lungs? Or is it simply, because it's a timeless tale of an "unprejudiced heart" and how kindness moves the hearts of animals and humans alike?
It doesn't hurt that Hugo Weaving does such a killer job as the voice of gruff sheepdog Rex.
More to come tomorrow. If you have any movies that you've been enjoying as of late, feel good or not, feel free to drop a comment.
It doesn't hurt that Hugo Weaving does such a killer job as the voice of gruff sheepdog Rex.
More to come tomorrow. If you have any movies that you've been enjoying as of late, feel good or not, feel free to drop a comment.