Pulp Fiction And The Theory Of Autonomy

Have you ever been asked what your favorite movie is? Have you ever asked someone what their favorite movie is and they couldn't give you a response? It's a hard question to answer. With all the great movies out there it's hard to narrow it down to just one. And there's always the fear of rejection when they didn't like the movie you chose.

I find this a hard question to answer when it comes to music. I listen to so many different types of music and I love music so much that I'm not able to give a justifiable answer. Giving an answer to your favorite band question is even more typecasting than movies. If I said Nine Inch Nails then you would automatically assume I'm goth. Or if I said Bon Jovi, you would assume I'm an over-the-hill pot smoker stuck in the 80's. And If I told you what I really like to listen to right now is Bluegrass, you would assume I'm a down-on-the-farm country hick with straw sticking out of my mouth. But really, I'm a college town suburbanite from the Midwest.

But when it comes to movies, it's more ambiguous. For instance, what does it really mean to like Will Ferrell movies? Well, for me, it's on par to liking Britney Spears or the Backstreet Boys. Yeah, they have that one good song, but overall they suck!

But not having an answer to your favorite movie is just as bad. It either means you are incapable of forming your own opinion or you just haven't thought it through yet. Or it means, your afraid I'm going to judge you harshly for liking Will Ferrell movies .

I decided long ago that the answer to my question was going to be Pulp Fiction. And here are the reasons:

A) It's a safe option, being one of the most critically acclaimed movies. And it's constantly being listed on every one's best movies of all time lists. Besides, if you say you didn't like it, I can say you're a moron and more people agree with me than you.

B) No move has ever given me a better movie-going experience than Pulp Fiction. Here's the story: Me and my girlfriend at the time went to go see it at the theater when it first came out in 1994 (So I'm not jumping on the bandwagon, here). To me, I was just going to see the latest Bruce Willis movie. I'm one of those people who will go see a movie just because it has Bruce Willis in it. And I remember sitting there listening to Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer just talk about nothing important and it through me for a loop. Where's the story at? What's the point? Then the cool surf music came, then there was that guy from Grease and some black guy with an Afro. I thought, "How cool is that?"

Then they killed a guy for something in a brief case and then John Travolta was dancing. And then Uma Thurman O.D.'s and John stabs an adrenaline shot into her chest to make her wake up. At this time it's game over. This has been the coolest movie with the sickest shit I've ever seen! My best friend at the time, rented this movie and got to this part and had to shut it off. He couldn't watch any more. I don't think to this day, he ever did finish watching it.

And Bruce Willis hadn't even done anything at this point. When he comes out and does his "Die Hard" thing, It's like you've watched two cool movies at once. And it ain't over. There's the Bonnie Situation, and Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer again. None of the stories put together made any sense, but you still walked out of the movie theater thinking you watched a complete movie.

Not only can you quote from it, you can watch it over and over again and still surprised.

So that's my favorite movie of all-time. When I tell people that, they're either surprised that I've thought it through so much or they didn't see the movie to begin with and couldn't say much either way.

And it pretty much defines who I am. I love crime movies. I love Tarantino. I love Film-Noir or Neo-Noir. And I live my life in a post-modern society where pop-culture is recycled and spoon fed to the masses. This movie is the turning point. It's the Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit" of Cinema. You can take it or leave it. But that's just me.

Another Top 5...

Top 5 movies as this years Waterfront Film Festival:

1) Chapter 27 - The darkest movie I saw this year. A fictional tale about Mark David Chapman's three day stay in New York City before he shot John Lennon. His adventures mirror that of Holden Caulfield's in Catcher In The Rye. And Jared Leto gained 67 lbs. to play the lead role. He won't get an Oscar nod but he sure does deserve one.

2) Eagle Vs. Shark - New Zealand's answer to Napoleon Dynamite and in many ways, surpasses it. A quirky romantic comedy for the rest of us.

3) When A Man Falls In The Forest - This movie contained the single most exciting moment of the film festival. When Timothy Hutton calls his wife Sharon Stone on the phone and gets her answering machine, he pours out his heart and soul in rapid fire. Afterwards, the audience clapped at his heartfelt honesty. Then the audience let out a loud gasp at what happened next. Go see this movie to find out.

4) The Go-Getter - They ought to name a genre after Holden Caulfield in which the premise is always the same. A teenage boy comes of age while going on a road trip to find a family member or discover an unknown truth. Throw in a little Oedipus Complex and you got yourself a good movie.

5) Tie - Blue State/ Divergence - Both these movies took on Bush and the war in Iraq. In Blue State, a defeated democrat attempts to move to Canada. in Divergence, a wounded soldier falls in love while contemplating the fact he may have to go back to war. I'm not anti-war or anti-Bush so the filmmakers' attempts to draw sympathy to their plight went over my head. But put together, these two movies did have enough of a storyline outside their political agenda to warrant a place on my top 5.

Screenwriting And The Art Of Being Lazy

I realize I haven't been posting that much on here. My excuse is that I'm busy working my day job trying to make money to eventually make the move out west. But really my intention was to only write quality stuff on here to represent my writing style. I suppose I could turn this into an online diary and tell you guys what I had for breakfast, but I think I should keep it somewhat professional.

Instead, I'll give a sort of state-of-the-union address on this summer so far. First, what's with all these two-and-a-half/three hour Blockbuster movies? Pirates, Spiderman, etc. I thought we were told to keep our scripts under 110 pages? I personally subscribe to the hour-and-a-half movie theory myself. If it clocks in at one-fifteen, bonus!

Next week, I'll be attending the Waterfront Film Festival and I'm excited. I was a bit disappointed at this year's selection at first. But after reading all the movies, I've found a couple I'm looking forward to seeing. Like Chapter 27, the Mark David Chapman movie starring Jared Leto. Lindsey Lohen is in it, and since she's Maxim's hottest babe right now, that can't be bad thing. Although, there's no horror movies this year. Where's all the genre films at? But I'll get my weekend pass and watch every movie I can. I plan on taking in over 19 movies/documentaries/seminars/short film programs in a three day span. I'm devoted like that. Or crazy.

I've got my next script down in treatment form. I let my screenwriter friend read it and he liked the storyline and loved the title. But he often likes my ideas then trashes my screenplays. But that lets me know what I need to work on then.

Top 5 movies of the first half of 2007:
1) Smokin' Aces
2) Grindhouse
3) 300
4) Alpha Dog
5) The Number 23