Getting to know The Citizen

To form a lasting relationship with the readers, I think it's important to disclose a bit of information about oneself. What better way to divulge personal information on a movie site than to list a collection of my favorite movies. Because my taste changes and every new movie is my favorite movie ever on the way out of the theater, I'm going to choose not to order these movies by number. I'll just list off a few of my favorites.

Jurassic Park
This movie, I almost can say, is my all-time favorite. Apart from all the others, this movie has graced my favorites list since the summer of 1993. As a young boy of 8, primed to enjoy the mysticism of dinosaurs, this movie graced my eyes with a visual representation of what my imagination had been running wild with every evening after school. Incredible visuals and computer graphics for it's time made it capture my eye as a child, and an interesting story and intriguing characters keeps it at the top of my list to this day.





Casino Royale
The introduction of Casino Royale to this blog begins an annoying trait I have. I love the James Bond series. It's not annoying to me, but once I start referencing it enough, it probably will to you. We'll see. Casino Royale is a movie that I didn't completely enjoy in the theaters. I was too stuck on old Bond movies in which this film didn't fit. Now, every time I watch it, it gets better and better. The much needed revamp of the series is without a doubt one of the best of the 21. I'll take a blond Bond over the rarely tolerable Halle Berry any day.





Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption was introduced to me way too late in life. Tim Robbins plays a pretty incredible character in this film. The actors all around make this story amazing and believable. And Morgan Freeman, geez, he's amazing. I could even listen to him talk about penguins for 3 hours.






Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

As a child, if I wasn't romping through my granddad's pasture pretending his cows were gallimimuses, I was in the woods pretending my jump rope was a whip and asking for a fedora for my birthday. The Last Crusade is the perfect ending to an amazing series. (That sentence still stands today.) Adding Sean Connery into the mix with Harrison Ford and John Rhys-Davies created a perfect cast that was incredibly fun to watch.






Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

My first introduction to Star Wars was when they were re-released in theaters. Empire Strikes Back was the one I saw. Of course I set myself up then for a huge spoiler that would've been made better if I'd seen A New Hope, but nevertheless, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back introduced me to the wonderful world of science fiction. Without which I would've never been graced with movies such as Spider-man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and God-forbid, The Dark Knight. The Star Wars saga is an incredibly complex-if-you-want-it-to-be-or-simple-if-you-want-it-to-be series of movies that have encapsulated several generations of people. Fathers that enjoyed the original series can now take their children to see the prequels or the new Clone Wars film that gives them something in common despite their 40 year difference.






GoldenEye
GoldenEye is the movie you can blame for my incessant James Bond references. This movie introduced me to the series in 1995. This is one of the few movie-going experiences that I remember from my childhood. I remember walking into the Twin Cinemas in my hometown with my buddy Charlie. Being dropped off by my mom with a few dollars for a ticket and a snack, and getting balls-deep into some espionage. Though admittedly, I probably didn't phrase it the same when I was 10. The director, Martin Campbell, was the only one who could make a good James Bond with Pierce Brosnan. Not that I mind Brosnan, but none of his other Bond films were worth a shit. Let's hope the same doesn't come true with Daniel Craig.





Die Hard with a Vengeance

My second 3rd-of-the-series film. Die Hard was really good. I, personally, am more inclined to Vengeance. It comes down to math really. Yes, Alan Rickman is greater than Jeremy Irons, but only slightly, while Samuel L. Jackon saying cuss words is intensely better than Carl Winslow being anyone but Carl Winslow. Every other Die Hard movie has an awesome villain and plot line. Jeremy Irons made a fantastic villain. I loved all the riddles and "Simon Sez" games. I am still, to this day, trying to figure out how to get 4 gallons of water using only a 3-gallon and a 5 gallon bucket.





Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

A lot of Harry Potter fans that I've talked to have said that they're least favorite of the series was Prisoner of Azkaban. I believe that the reason I like it so much is probably because it reminds me of Halloween. I think that I saw the first Harry Potter on Halloween, and since then, the series has signified that holiday to me. And I think out of the series we've seen, Prisoner is more Halloweeny (ha) than any of the others. This film also signifies the series' turn to a more dark and complex view. Add all that to the introduction of Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, David Thewlis as Remus Lupin and Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, and you have an amazing cast of interesting characters.




Walk The Line

Walk The Line marks another first in movie history. It was the first time I've ever gotten my grandad to see a movie since he saw My Left Foot in 1989. Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Johnny Cash was really intense and awesome. I'm a huge fan of old country music, so the soundtrack was incredible. I loved the cameos from all the other performers from that time. The movie was well-cast and done really well. It was, in my opinion, a bit too long and didn't, unfortunately, focus on any of Cash's later deeds of justice and liberty.





Old School
I thought I should include a comedy movie so you can get a gist of what my comedic preferences are. Being in frat that wished we could do all of these things is why this movie is so high on my list. I can't tell you why it barely squeaked out Animal House, just know that it did. Actually, it was probably Will Ferrel's ass. Or just Vince Vaughn in general. Vince has an incredible demeanor that makes it seem like he'd be a guy that you'd hate, but would want to like you. Once again, the characters in this movie are what make it great. Throwing in Terry O'Quinn, Ellen Pompeo, Juliette Lewis, and Jeremy Piven really add to the feel of the movie. The diverse members of the frat are also incredibly hilarious in their endeavors.





So this should give you a brief insight into my taste of movies. Obviously, this barely scratched the surface of my views on movies. I mean, I didn't even get to tell you why I own The Good Shepherd but have never seen it, or why I think Out Cold and Grandma's Boy are both severely underrated comedies, or why I have Hairspray in Blu-Ray, or why I have two copies of Daredevil. These great revelations must be saved for another post I'm afraid. As always, comments are encouraged and welcomed. See you next time.