30 Days, 30 Movies In One Day

I know I swore I wasn't going to post memes on my blog, but I've succumbed to the "30 Days, 30 Whatevers" challenges on Facebook. I'm sure a lot of people are tired of having their walls spammed with links to trailers and stuff, so I'm putting the entire thirty days in one blog. Just one post and it's done!

1. Favorite Film

Trainspotting. What luck that my dissertation is on Scottish cinema!

2. Least Favorite Film
Over the years spent as a film student, I've seen some pretty horrible films. But the one I hate the most is... Meet Me in St. Louis. It's a generic mess, boring, and "The Trolley Song" is pure torture. However, if there was a sequel about how the clearly disturbed little sister grows up to be a serial killer, I would totally watch that.

3. Favorite Comedy
I am unashamedly a nerd, so Monty Python and the Holy Grail, of course. Nee!

4. Favorite Drama
As a genre term "drama" is a little broad, so I'll re-dub this category as "family melodrama" and say The Godfather.

5. Favorite Action [Film]
The Adventures of Robin Hood. As in, the Errol Flynn one. But... but... there are no explosions! How is this an action film??

6. Favorite Horror [Film]
Murnau's Nosferatu. Yes, it's a silent movie--and that makes it even scarier.

7. Favorite Animated Feature
I'd told myself I wasn't going to pick a Disney movie. That I would look for the independents, the cutting edge, the really out there. With that, I now reveal that my absolute favorite animated film is... 101 Dalmatians. *Facepalm*

8. Favorite Thriller
Vertigo. It's even better the second time around, when you can pick up all the Freudian stuff.

9. Favorite Musical
A Hard Day's Night. I know every song, and most of the dialogue. In fact, I even know what's up with the "clean old man" jokes.

10. Favorite Foreign Film
Wings of Desire. I've seen this movie five times--four in the last year alone. In fact, I've seen it twice in one week just to see the difference between the DVD and 35mm print. It was worth it.

11. Favorite Kid's Movie
Labyrinth. And not just because of certain, ahem, "features." It's got a lot of deep psychological stuff going on that's made it one of my favorites for teaching close reading. Plus... BOWIE!!!

12. Favorite Love Story
Casablanca, which is not just a love story--it's got action, humor, music, and a little tiny bit of noir. In fact, I think romance would probably be more applicable that a mere "love story."

13. Favorite Chick Flick
I do not like chick flicks. Practical Magic is not a chick flick. There are witches in it, so it's a paranormal thriller. About sisterhood. *sigh* It is so a chick flick.

14. Favorite Documentary
The film that got me into film studies: The Last Waltz.

15. Favorite Play Adaptation
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I used to look at Taylor and Burton in this film and think, "I want to be that drunk when I grow up."

16. Favorite Book Adaptation
*Ahem* See #1. But, for a runner-up, I'll go with Sense and Sensibility. No offense meant to Jane Austen, but the movie really is better than the book in this case.

17. Least Favorite Book Adaption
Bram Stoker's Dracula. It technically may be the closest to the book, but I don't care what Elsaesser says about it being "the last film" or whatever, it's an awful movie. And every time I see it, it just gets worse.

18. Film That Is Your Guilty Pleasure
Dracula A.D. 1972. Is it bad? Yes. So bad it's good? Almost. Imagine if Hammer Studio did a Cheech and Chong movie. And that is why this is my favorite guilty pleasure film.

19. Film That Made You Cry the Hardest
This makes me feel like such a loser, but Gone with the Wind. In my defense, I saw a restored print in the theater.

20. Movie with Your Favorite Actress
Howard's End. I'll leave it to you to guess if I mean Emma Thompson or Helena Bonham Carter.

21. Movie with Your Favorite Actor
To Have and Have Not, which not only has Humphrey Bogart in it, but also was written my one of my favorite novelist-turned-screenwriters.

22. Movie You Wish You Could Live In
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I'd like to have gone to wizard school, and I think Curaon's vision of Harry's world was the best.

23. Movie That Inspires You
Chariots of Fire--HAHA! Just kidding! I'd say Star Wars because that movies is just amazing and probably inspired me to become a writer.

24. Movie with Your Favorite Soundtrack
I'm Not There. The soundtrack is 98% Dylan and great Dylan covers.

25. Movie with the Most Beautiful Scenery
Velvet Goldmine. Am I right, ladies?? Oh, wait, they meant that as in "locations"? Oops.

26. Movie You're Most Embarrassed to Say You Like
Difficult. It really depends on who I'd be admitting I liked it to. Maybe I'd say Les Valseuses, which is a wholly inappropriate French comedy. How bad is it, you ask? The English title is Going Places, but a more accurate translation is Balls. As in, well, you know.

27. Movie with Your Favorite Villain
Well, since Darth Vader's already been mentioned (sort-of) and turned into a total wuss in the prequels, I'll go with The Wizard of Oz. "And your little dog, too!" Oh, snap! That witch is a badass!

28. Movie with Your Favorite Hero
From Russia with Love. Yes, my favorite movie hero is a womanizing alcoholic. Let's not read too much into this.

29. First Movie You Ever Remember Watching
The Aristocats. Not to be confused with The Aristocrats. Seriously.

30. Last Movie You Watched
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It made Dead Man's Chest and At World's End seem great.