Movies I Play On a Loop Hoping They Seep Into My Brain to Permeate My Being and Work

Not even necessarily my favorite or the best movies of all time… just movies I want floating around in my head and heart (in no particular order)…

• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

• Raising Arizona (1987)

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

• Adaptation. (2002)

• Brazil (1985) – director’s cut

• Rounders (1998)

• Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

• Amélie (2001)

• Being John Malkovich (1999)

• Delicatessen (1991)

• The Cell (2000)

• True Grit (2010)

• Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

• Ocean's Eleven (2001)

• Out of Sight (1998)

• The Usual Suspects (1995)

• The City of Lost Children (1995)

• CQ (2001)

• The Long Goodbye (1973)

• Blade Runner (1982) – director’s cut

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

• Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

• Pulp Fiction (1994)

…

My List of the Best Actors of My Lifetime

• Chris Cooper (easily one of my favorites)
• John Cusack
• Johnny Depp
• Matt Damon (and not his buddy Ben Affleck –though Casey is definitely in the running)
• Robert Downey, Jr. (I realize he’s having “fun” with his career now, but I think he deserves it after all the sh*t he’s been through --he’s also a stellar actor even though he’s made some bad ones)
• Harrison Ford
• Dustin Hoffman (I still love going back to early stuff like Straw Dogs and obscure things like American Buffalo –also, best Willy Loman ever)
• Phillip Seymour Hoffman
• Daniel Day Lewis
• John Malkovich
• Ian McKellen
• Viggo Mortensen
• Edward Norton (another super favorite)
• Gary Oldman (what happened with Air Force One and The Fifth Element though?!)
• Brad Pitt (he gets a Mulligan for Seven Years in Tibet)
• Pete Postlewaite (oh, how I miss him)
• Robert Redford
• Ken Rockwell (another super-fave)
• Kevin Spacey 
• Benicio Del Toro (but what happened to this guy?!)
• Denzel Washington (just barely made it for the plethora of bad movies amongst the good)

Then there are the “classics” that are so obvious it’s not really worth putting them on a list (Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Anthony Hopkins, Marlon Brando, etc.) I realize I included Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, who fall into this category, but it’s just ‘cause I like them so much more than those other guys!

I wish I could put Val Kilmer on this list for his portrayal of Doc Holiday in Tombstone, but he’s SO bad in everything else (except maybe Heat).

The Best Songs Ever Written

My life is filled with lists.  This one is not, like so many, to rule and dictate my actions, but instead to serve as a reminder.

Some day I might try and assign some sort of order to this list, but for now, these are just some of (what I feel are) the best songs ever written/recorded, in no particular order (I plan on continuing to add to the list over time):

• “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure
• “Ally” by Marie-Juliette Bird
• “How It Ends” by Devotchka
• “Hyper Ballad” by Bjork
• Albinoni's Adagio In G Minor
• "Days Go By" by Duncan Sheik
• "Losing My Edge" by LCD Soundsystem