My Movie Musts: 5 Personal Picks For Your Viewing Pleasure

My Movie Musts: 5 Personal Picks For Your Viewing Pleasure

"Movies touch our hearts and awaken our vision, and change the way we see things. They take us to other places, they open doors and minds. Movies are memories of our lifetime, we need to keep them alive" -Martin Scrosese

Movies, also known films, is a visual storytelling transferred as moving images. It is a work of art created by recording images on a medium such as video camera or through film stocks. In order to make a movie you need key elements like visuals, audio, narrative, acting and editing. Movies are a diverse art form with genres ranging like drama, comedy, horror, action and documentary. From the collaborations of professionals, from directors and writers to cinematographers, editors and production designers, all collaborating to bring us stories with life on the big screen or other viewing platforms. Films hold a dear place in our heart, as it gives our imaginations a form. Nowadays movies tells many great stories, but this wasn't the case back in 1895, when the birth of cinema happened with the film called "Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat". This movie showed exactly what it's said in the tittle, and back then this was a big deal and people were shocked seeing a train moving towards them in big screen. It was a big step for cinema, for all the years to come. After that time has passed and many great movies were made from the 20th century to 21st century and still happening. Filmmaking is considered an art and it is being practiced all over the world. Movies contributes in education, entertainment and overall well-being. Through movies we can learn about cultures, see things we can only imagine.

Though the tittle of my blog is based about my movie choices and I know i should've gone straight to the point, I thought it will be useful for new  readers to learn something about the  movies past, even in a small amount. I wanted to honor this form of art by informing it's beginning and how it's going and it's positive sides. Now I will talk about movies that everyone should watch once in their lifetime. This picks are my own chosen, they are not based on how successful they were at making money or how popular. I liked the story, the lessons, the visuals. These movies made me think, made me ask questions. There was a spark with the characters that made them real. Readers, now i will introduce you to the 5  Hollywood movies i enjoyed dearly. So, let us begin:

Sunshine(2007): This is one of the underrated science fiction thriller directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. The movie has some great CGI, visuals and atmospheric tension, with it's full packed cast. The story takes place in near distant future, where a team of scientists is on a mission to save the dying sun, because without the sun all life on earth faces extinction. The crew boards the Icarus II, which has a nuclear payload which will revive the sun. On their way they face many psychological challenges, also takes heartbreaking decisions. The film didn't do so well in box office and the story is a bit simple but trust me if you watch till the end you will feel the thrill. In this movie i have learned what the human spirit can do and how it can also be broken, if we surrender to our demons.

The movie will get you to the edge of your seat if you can bear till the halfway. So please give it a try.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994): 1994 was a good year for films. Many great films came out that year, like Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, The Mask. One of them is written by the famous Stephen King, which is the adaptation of the book called "Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption"(1982), which is this one. The movie is a drama film. The story is about a banker called Andy who was to sent to life imprisonment for murdering his beloved wife. The movie take place in Shawshank State Penitentiary where Andy befriends a inmate named Red and his friends. Red and his friends sees Andy do some dangerous and weird things, things that can get an inmate killed. But every time they become surprised and gets curious about Andy as he does those daring things. The film is classic and was a hit in the box office. I promise you this film will not let you without watching it fully. The movie has a great story and great performance with actors like Morgan Freeman ,Tim Robbins and many others. In this movie i learned a life lesson, which is hope. With hope and resilience we can achieve our freedom. A great quote from this movie is:" Remember Red, hope is a good thing ,maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Give it a try and enjoy.

The Green Mile (1999): This is one the films that ends with a last impression. The Green Mile is a very emotional fantasy film, that will leave a scar and make you think about life. The movie was directed by Frank Darabont and it was written by none other than Stephen King, who wrote it as a book, so this film is also a book adaptation. The movie has cast like Tom Hanks, who was in his prime time at that moment, also has Michael Clark Duncan, Jeffery DeMunn and many more. The film take place in a prison where inmates are there for there death sentence. In the prison officer Paul (Tom Hanks) was incharge of giving death sentence to the prisoners when there time comes. The film start with the arrival of the inmate John Coffey( Michael Clark Duncan). His appearance shocks the officers as he was big as a bear but his behavior is so innocent and pure. Paul and his fellow officers goes for a journey with the inmate as he does things with his supernatural powers. The reason Coffey(the inmate) was in prison because he was accused of killing two little girls, but the only way you readers will know the truth if you watch it. One of the great quotes from this movie is: " He killed them with their love". So go on readers, watch this film at leisure time and get ready for a emotional rollercoaster.

Fight Club (1999): This is the type of movie that plays with your brain and makes you think you got it all figured our until you didn't. Fight Club is a psychological drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Chuck Palahniuk's novel of the same name. The movie holds cast like Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Jared Leto and many others. The story of the film or the journey is narrated by a nameless narrator, who works for a car company and lives a normal life. His life becomes a hell and he becomes insomniac. Then one day he meets Tyler Durden and everything changes. They starts a underground fight club to confront their frustrations against society and becomes something much more. They start a movement of their own, with Tyler as their leader. The narrator describes as his own point of view and finds more secrets and mysteries between him and Tyler. The film plays with your mind and shows great impact about in your life. It shows the flaws of the society, how politicians, celebrities lies. It also shows that the fall of economy can be the destruction of the society. From this film i can find two great lessons and they are 1) Take your mental health seriously 2) Don't always say YES to everything. The film is very powerful and has great twists in the end. Even I rewatch it once in a month. So take your popcorn and enjoy this mind boggling movie.

Inception (2010): This is directed by one of the finest movie maker of the 21st century, who made films like Interstellar, Memento, Insomniac, and he is none other than Christopher Nolan. He is a visionary, the way he makes his movies and the end result of the product drops the jaw of the audiences. Christopher Nolan leaves twists in his movie for his viewers to find out and  confuses them with theory, story, visuals and many more. Inception is one his finest works with a full packed cast. Method actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe and many great actor and actress worked in this films. Inception is a science fiction thriller written and directed by Christopher Nolan. The film follows a thief name Dom Cobb, who enters peoples dreams and steals vital information's. He was given a impossible job by a very powerful businessman, planting an idea to a individuals mind. Cob assembles a team and starts his journey through peoples dreams. The film has great music, orchestra, visuals and powerful performance. It's mind-bending twists puts the audiences at edge. This movie has original storytelling and shows the boundless possibilities of human imagination. A lesson i learned from this movie is that our ideas shape our reality, and everything we see around us influences our deepest and darkest part of our mind. This movie is really great so please if you haven't watched it make sure to see it as soon as possible.

So in the end, this movies played an important role on my imagination, and i think it will be affective to you all. Movies are like magic, they spark something in us and broadens our imagination. It helps us to learn new things, even if it's fiction. Movie is like a canvas where the pictures comes alive and the audience becomes a part of it through the performance of the actor and actresses. So i hope you will enjoy this movies in your leisure time and learn things your own way and help others to learn about them too.

Written by,

S A Tanveer Hossain

ID: 23336006

Email: sa.tanveer.hossain@g.bracu.ac.bd