I haven't watched as many tv shows as I have movies, but I do have a few favorites fo both. I am going to list out some of them. They'll be organized by decade, and I'll list a few that I really liked by date order. The first category will be 'Classics', which will be anything before 1970. Then I'll go through the 70's to the present. I am skipping ones that are just for fun, unless they were special. I want to focus on the ones that made an impact on me.
Classics
Dracula(1931) The original Monster movie. I love this movie for all of it's silence. Without much music, there are so many scenes where you are locked in on Bela Lugosi and his intense acting. It's a good reminder that I don't always have to overexplain and fill in all the blanks, sometimes the silence is more compelling.
The Philadelphia Story(1940) I like the way old movies sometimes feel like stage plays to me. The dialogue in this is quick and smart. I like the escape I feel watching this, everything is rich and elegant. Except for one character who is just getting a taste of the good life. I like the thoughts about class in this, and when you watch it you assume that the down on his luck star will get the girl. The fact that the rich stay rich and keep to themselves may be meant to be a cute romantic ending, and it is, but it also just goes to show that not being upper class, you have to settle for glimpses of the good stuff most of the time.
It's A Wonderful Life(1946) I watch this movie every year at Xmas time, and it never gets old. I love this for the great acting and sweet romance, but it's the idea that is the draw for me. I feel that I got a pretty good political education when I was young, and this movie is a great depiction of the capitalist. The way it's just a game for him, just to see if he can break the little savings and loan, is spot on. Buy everything and run it into the ground. Swallow up the whole town. A dream so many people have, and it shows just how vile it really is in this movie.
Rope(1948) This movie is not among the better known Hitchcock movies, but it's my favorite. I love that it all takes place in one room, movies like that have to rely on good dialogue and acting. This movie is tense, but it's the close up conversations of people at a party that draws me in. It's a murder mystery, but it's also a fascinating look at people's philosophies and ideas about society. An interesting note, this is the third classic movie I have on my list with Jimmy Stewart. I guess I am more impressed with him than I realized, or maybe he knew how to recognize a good script.
The House On Haunted Hill(1958) This is one of my favorite horror movies. It's based on an absolutely wonderful story by Shirley Jackson, who I also love. And it has the amazing Vincent Price in the starring role. He was a wonderful human being in real life, and that honestly makes the acting more enjoyable for me. He is twisted in this movie, messing with everyone's heads and scaring everyone to death. Being black and white makes the shadows deep and the scares scarier. It's the same theme of the rich just playing with people, but instead of for money, this time it's just for the thrill of it.
1970's
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974) This movie is very classic. The remake they did is much less dated, and is actually really good. But this original, for all the parts it's hard to relate to, is untouchable. Serial killers in popular culture is old hat now, but not when this came out. I like it for the originality and simplicity. I also love Leatherface as a villain, both intensly scary and also strange and interesting. What I love about this movie more than the scare factor is the focus on the victems' points of view. This movie was before audiences were thinking, why is Leatherface like this? What must his past have been like? He is left a terrifying mystery, and instead the movie focuses on the fear of the others as they are faced with this completely unknown horror.
All The President's Men(1976) The acting is excellent. The directing is excellent. The story is fascinating, only made more so by being true. Sometimes with a true story, knowing the end makes it easy to not pay attention to the details. But in this one, especially because you know how it ends, you are hanging on every conversation and decision. I like this one so much because it's smart. Not a lot of enjoyable movies are about people so smart getting to save the day. And it's still inspring, the fight for accountability and justice. Know your histry so you don't repeat it, they say.
The Omen(1976) At the time I watched this in middle school sometime, it was the scariest thing I'd ever seen. An exceptionally well made and well acted movie. I include it here not just for being good though, it is because it influenced me. I grew up in the church, and the thought that something like this happening was even slightly possible upset me very much. It led to a long time of relgious study and learning, which ended up changing my life. Any movie that resonates so much you go out and learn new things because of it is a real win, no matter the topic.
The Man Who Fell To Earth(1976) I love David Bowie, but I wasn't very aware of him when I first watched this. I knew some hits and knew he was a singer, but I liked this movie because it was strange. I love the surprise and creativity of strange things, and this qualifies. It is also one of the first serious scifi movies I'd watched. It sent me thinking realistically about scifi and the future, and not just about monsters and space bugs. The ecology themes in it make me think too. As a bonus, the costumes and makeup are inspirational.
Alien(1979) This movie is so good, and it affected me in two big ways. One was the hard female protagonist who didn't have to give up her looks or femininity to be the toughest one in the movie. The other is just aesthetics. I grew up gothy and strange, and I think this movie probably kicked some of that off. Geiger was a genius, and made me raise my standares of what made art interesting.
1980's
The Last Unicorn(1982) This is a magical movie, hauntingly beautiful. Every sweeet moment is tinged with sadness, because even though the characters get what they want, they have changed and aren't sure that they want it anymore. I saw this movie when I was young and it already spoke to me. Sadness is okay. Regret is okay. Beauty is bittersweet. As a child, I had not been exposed to this idea before, and it validated a lot of how I felt about life. Even today, when I am very stressed I listen to the soundtrack and feel comforted, to know none of us are alone with our regret or mixed feelings.
The Care Bears Movie(1985) This sounds like a cute kids movie. And it is. But the care bears really have my adoration even at my current point in life. They are so positive. And they preach the absolute of kindness for everyone even if they don't deserve it. This movie is good, it's a little scary and a little nerve wracking. I still enjoy it for the positive direction I needed in my life as a child, and still need now. If people can ever change, it will be unrelenting kindness that does it.
Hellraiser(1987) I love this movie. It's creepy. It's creative. It explains the idea that the dark and awful sometimes have to be appreciated becuase they are the only feelings you are feeling. Being numb, shallow, selfish, these things are punished in a big way in this movie, while obsession and risk are made to bring you alive. I saw this in middle school, and by then I was already struggling with shutting down my feelings and numbness. This movie is not only aesthetically interesting and influential on me, but it also seemed to give me permission to feel dark.
1990's
Terminator 2(1991) This may be the most influential movie for me on this list. I had seen the first terminator and liked it a lot. But when I saw this one, I was blown away by what Sarah Connor had done to protect her son and ultimately humanity. It sparked in me the idea that I can persevere. I can outlast. I can get stronger, harder, and more prepared. She was absolutely everything I wanted to be at that time in my life. I was feeling lost, and this movie gave me a spark of an idea of what to work for. It kept me going.
Silence Of The Lambs(1991) This is such a good movie. I see this as a modern nod to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Where that movie somewhat introdued the serial killer to the imagination, this movie reminds you they are real. We're not sympathetic exactly, but we realize they are real people. I think it's important to remember that the best of us and the worst of us are all related and intertwined, and we are responsible as a society to handle everyone. I also love Jodie Foster in this. She is beautiful without being shallow, strong without being gruff. She is smart, brave, and curious. I saw some of myself in her, always trying to get to the truth and understand each other. Her character made me feel less weird about being so empathetic.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine(1993-1999) This is my most beloved TV show. I love the characters, I love the daily life episodes, I love the setting. It was one of the first things in life that inspired me to want to write. But then it gets into serious themes about war and forgiveness and standing up for yourself. Several of the characters struggle with right and wrong and fairness in war, and it is really explored. The role of religion in war is explored. This show ran right in the middle of me getting my political and religious education, and it was a perfect compliment and gave me a lot to think about. I was young and wanted to see everything in black and white, and this show helped me realize that usually, life is a gray area.
Evita(1996) I love the music in this movie. It is really good just on a musical level. But it is more than that. Che Guevara was born in Argentina, which has flirted with and embraced fascism. Che was in cuba for most of his revolutionary activity, where things seemed black and white and the enemy was clear. I have mixed feelings about him, but in Evita they ask, what if? What if Che had stayed in Argentina? They don't show what he would have done, but they show what he would have thought. Evita was a very polarizing personality herself. She seemed to have started her political life with solid democratic ideas, but it didn't end that way. It asks the question, was she always just looking for opportunity, or does all that money and decision making power end up corrupting almost all of us? It was a moving portrayal of the woman behind the scenes. It made me wonder, how do those who do stay true to the cause manage to hang on to their ideals?
Life Is Beautiful(1997) This is a devestating movie. It seems some people find it almost uplifing, but I can't see it. The reality of the holocaust is almost unthinkable. My empathetic self watches this movie and puts myself in that place, and the heartbreak is beyond words. We did that though, we as a human race are responsible for it. The children traumatized and murdered. The parents taken. We are responsible for it. However, we are responsible for stopping it too. Not long after seeing this movie, I had the opportunity to go to the Haulocaust Musem in Washington, D.C. Again, it was devestating, but important. To remember, to see the pictures of real people, to care for them even though they are gone. It was a sad but a tremendous privelege to go and learn the stories. I wish everyone could see it. This movie made all my political learning feel real.
Titanic(1997) This is a cheesy hollywood blockbuster. It's interesting that it's somewhat historical, as in the events and order of the sinking were as realistic as they could manage. But I have to confess I saw it 5 times in the thearer. I was going through a really rough time, and it helped me to grieve. I asked my mom to take me back over and over, so that I could cry and let some of my sadness go. I think it's very easy to try to be tough in a way that won't show emotion, but being tough can also be facing your emotion and going through it.
Fight Club(1999) This movie is really fun. The music and style are great too. But it is not subtle about the idea that American consumerism is a poison that stops us from really connecting and living our lives. When one character asks himself, "What kind of dining set defines me as a person?" I think that summed up the movie. Nothing you buy or own should define you, what you do and who you are should define you.
2000's
Dune Syfy Mini Series(2000) I had read the first Dune book when this came out. I was really excited for it. I think this is the best film adaptation. I love the way they show how small the difference between childhood and adulthood can be when you are good at things and have a lot on your shoulders. I like the way it showed the complication of family bonds, and how hard it is to turn your back on what is expected of you. I like how they show that the temptation to power, when you know you can win, is all but impossible to turn down. It's a very interesting question about how much control is really good for people and what is too much. And it's not really answered.
American Psycho(2000) This movie is along the lines of Fight Club. It covers the super slick, image conscious, over-produced 80'corporate world really well. It's hilarious. But where Fight Club covers the pressure of keeping up an image, this movie shows what that pressure can do to you. It can make you misogynistic and cruel. It can make you volitile and violent. It can make you confused and distracted and desperate. It's easy to laugh and hate the protagonist, but there's a serious point in there somewhere.
Hedwig And The Angry Inch(2001) This movie has the best music. It has the best clothes. It has the best characters. I like it because it's so angry. I didn't grow up being comfortable with being angry, but in this it's almost fun to lean into your anger. It shows the hurt that lays under the anger, but shows also that you can't get to that hurt without letting all of that anger out.
The Hours(2002) This is a very sad movie, but if I put it on when I'm sad I feel better. The first time I saw it I felt really understood, since a lot of the people in it have similar illnesses to me. I also sometimes feel more crazy, not less, for relating to these people. Some of them don't make it, and sometimes I wonder if I'll make it. But in the end, it has really helped validate me and a lot of my feelings as not being evil or shameful things.
The Dreamers(2003) This is an almost ridiculous movie. Everything is excessive and self-indulgent, especially the characters. It's like they are locked in this hazy, lazy little world of their own making, where doing nothing but having sex and eating and laying around is all there is. They talk about politics, they talk about being a radical, but there is no sacrifice or awareness of the outside world whatsoever. It holds a mirror up to a lot of people who think they care about justice, but only if it is at no cost to them. If justice is on the line, shouldn't we be willing to stay engaged and actually do something about it?
Lost In Translation(2003) This is a beautiful movie. The colors and shots and directing are all superb. It really draws me into a time and place different than what I'm used to. It has a lot to say about aging and lonliness. All ages can be lonely, and that is a real point of connection between generations. It makes me feel like it's worth it to keep trying to connect with people even though it feels hard. I don't have hardly any friends, and haven't for a long time. But I don't want to give up on finding people that can see me for me.
V For Vendetta(2005) This is a fun inspring movie. It is very obvious in it's commentary about authoritarianism and censorship. I like that it shows a difference between people who are willing to stand up when they can, and people that are fighting on the front lines to get organized. The main character starts out in the right place at the right time to make a difference by standing up. But by the end, she is a revolutionary. She loses a lot of peace and happiness doing that, she no longer can enjoy the simple escapism she used to. It is worth it to her, but if given a choice, you wonder if she would really do it again, and what would happen if she didn't.
2010's
Despicable Me(2010) When I saw this movie it made me want to have a baby. And when I got pregnant a few years later, I had one ❤
Crimson Peak(2015) This is another beautifully shot movie, with much of the horror coming from fantastically sculpted practical effects and sets. I like it because the hero is so fiercely independent. She cares for her family and isn't cold, but she is laser focused on her goals and her own ideas. As the story goes on, she loses that and is swept away in other people's ideas of what she should be doing. Only when she finds that strength again is she able to right the ship. It reminds me to never give up on my knowledge and ideas.
Hardcore Henry(2015) This is a silly movie. Just a novelty action movie meant to entertain you while you eat your popcorn. But I feel so inspired by it. It is filmed first person, with lots of long shots, and the soundtrack is wild and upbeat. It is such a haphazard crazy experience, and the music inspires me so much, I always come away wanting to write when it is over. I often write to the soundtrack. It reminds me that even if the things you make are weird and unpolished, the people who get you and love it are out there.
Black Panther(2018) This movie makes me cry just thinking about it sometimes. It has meant so much to so many people. It elevates and acknowledges Africa and black knowledge in a way that was so tangible and relevant. The hero was eloquent, the villain was clever, the scientists loved science and invented beautiful things. And all of this without losing the culture. The costumes and music transported me both across the ocean but also back to neighborhoods here at home. The diversity in the audience at the theater was remarkable, and I felt grateful to be a part of it. The whole movie was about nurturing the best in us, understanding the misdirected, and uniting in order to keep evolving. Beautiful film.
Chernobyl Mini Series(2019) This is one of the most fascinating things I've ever seen. The tension is just about unbearable, it could not be directed or acted any better. It explores the levels of bureaucracy that are involved in government, in an extreme case where it is communist and attempting a cover up. It shows the inability to adapt to emergencies and the many decisions and approvals that have to happen by people that aren't understanding what is being explained to them. This is another film that gives the focus and heroism to science and scientists. It reminds me how important it is to nurture science experts, and listen to them, at our own peril if we don't.
Joker(2019) This is a cuationary tale for me. What happens if you stop taking your medicine? What happens if you stop sleeping well? What happens to a good person who cannot correctly interprate the people around them? Violence and death. I have to be humble and follow directions and take my medicine.
2020's
The Menu(2022) I have watched this movie a lot. It is another movie about class. This one targets the worst of the upper class, the shallow, braggadocious, snobby rich that only care for more status and more elitism. It is a gruesome movie, not in a graphic way but in the deliberate way that violence happens. You find yourself not sure who to side with for a lot of this movie. But in the end, it turns out that these evil, shallow elite are not that hard to understand, and manipulate if need be.
The Bride(2026) I love this movie. Written, directed, and focused on women, it is a clever way to let out the rage that builds up against certain kinds of men in this society. Such intrusions and wrongs are perpetrated on the hero, and her constant refrain is, "I'd prefer not to." The polite refusal women are expected to maintain. Of course, when men cannot respect this lack of consent, all kinds of things can happen. It makes me see the ways people are stepping on me more clearly, and even though I am always polite, I should probably be ready to back it up with less politeness if necessary.