Favorites are my most recent five star first-time watches
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Cool Hand Luke 1967
Watched for Chain Reaction Challenge (previous review: The Verdict)
45. Watch a film that features Paul Newman in a starring role.
The Christian themes and messianic imagery are pretty self-evident, but I think Cool Hand Luke operates best as an examination of authority and the use of community to protest against systems. Luke becomes a problem to solve in the "eyes" of Boss Godfrey long before escaping through the floorboards—his first true act of objective disobedience. He becomes a problem when…
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Soul 2020
Yet again, Pixar has absolutely outdone itself on the animation side of things. Truly breathtaking. While the story itself underachieved my wildly high expectations, it was still a very heartwarming journey. Soul left some loose ends untied (who's Lisa?) and the conclusion felt too rushed to reach the staggering heights of recent masterpieces like Inside Out and Coco, the floor is so astonishingly high for Pixar. I was moved. I was introspective. The purpose of life is just to live it. This studio really can do no wrong.
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Harold and Maude 1971
Harold and Maude is living proof that there’s no one formula to make a something memorable and beautiful. This Vantablack comedy had all the proper hallmarks—a genuinely laugh-out-loud funny script, masterful direction, and superb acting performances by the titular leads—but everything else about this nearly fifty-year-old film felt new and one-of-a-kind.
It would be easy for a comedy this dark and morbid to come off insincere, or even sneering, but Harold and Maude was heartfelt to the core. Is there anything that a soulful Cat Stevens soundtrack can’t accomplish?
