My Fifteen Movies

Due to a severe lack of talent and imagination and general indolence, I am going to write my own 15 movies kind of post. As I am writing it, more like dragging my feet on it, I really am not sure if there are 15 of them. You know it takes much effort to come up with a list, let alone a list of 15 items. Here they are, not in any particular order.

Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (1986)

I managed to sit through this master piece of random violence. It was a 90-minute relentless assault on humanity. After the movie, I wasn't the same sweet innocent person I was before. At the end of the movie, nothing redeems itself. People just die and the killer moves on. Shocking. Just like in the real world. I haven't watched it again ever since I met the movie in one rainy evening in September 1990. To me, actor Michael Rooker is forever Henry.

Ai no corrida (In the realm of the senses, 感官世界 1976)

Disturbing. If you want to be disturbed, check it out and watch it back to back with Henry: The Portrait of a Serial Killer. Your life will be destroyed.

The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

When compared to Henry, The Silence Of The Lambs seems like a walk in the park. It is a good thriller, both the book and the movie adaptiation, they should have stopped making yet another sequel or prequel after that.

The Unbearable Lightless Of Being (1988)

I have a weakness for arty farty movies. The book is pretty good, I think I read it a few times. It has certain appeals especially when you are a arty farty college student. All men want to be Tomas, to a certain extent, smart, righteous, and above all, a chick magnet. Daniel Day-Lewis is a lean mean sex machine.

La Femme Nikita (1990)

Another silly film by Luc Bresson. The gun is big and sexy. And She is holding it in her hand. I saw it in Angelica on Houston. Another pretentious move trying to be arty farty.

無能情聖戲嬌娃
I never saw this fascinating sounding movie. But the movie title intrigues me. The one who came up with the title was pure evil genius.

望鄉 (Sandakan No. 8, 1974)

I don't remember the story, but watching Japanese movies, to a large extent, is about experiencing the sensibility. The title is by itself enthralling already. You don't even have to see the movie.

Basic Instinct (1992)

I thought there would be nude scenes every other minute. Alas, there weren't and I was hugely disappointed.

Caligola (1979)

I never really saw the whole movie. I shamelessly fast forward, pause, and rewind through the entire DVD. The movie is pretty disturbing and hard to watch.

E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982)

What can I say? I was young and innocent and I fell prey to Steven Spielberg's tear jerking exploit and Hollywood's propaganda machine. But I think the movie was pretty good. A friend of mine says ET means the extra testicle. It actually rolls off the tongue easier. Try it.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)

Same as above. I was at awe and thoroughly entertained. I don't think I could ever get that feeling back.

Citizen Kane (1941)

Orson Welles' seminal work. I saw the movie just so I can say I've seen this fine movie about rosebud.

春光乍洩 Chun Gwong Cha Sit (1997)

Does Wong Kar Wai ever wake up in the middle of the night, drowned in his own sweat, and say, "'I am such a fraud.'"? I think this is one of his better works. He tried so hard to tell a story of two persons trying to live together without killing each other.

The 400 Blows (1959)

If French cinema was ever the New Wave, then The 400 Blows was the crest of that wave. It finally hit me in 2008 when I saw it on DVD. It doesn't blow at all. The movie is mesmerizing.

獨臂刀 (1967)
Even you lose your arm, you can still fight like a man and kill them all. That's the message. I found Mandarin enormously entertaining and fun. The word "know" or "知道" sounded like "pig trough" to my young and playvil ear.