The movies that made me a film major

Let me give a little background on this. Some of you are probably like um we have a film major at NC State? Yes we do! And a film minor, and all 13 of us in my year that are majoring in film would love to see more of your faces in our classes. That being said, I get asked a lot, what made you want to major in film? I have always been a creative soul, even when I was little the professions I wanted to go into weren’t the standard teacher, doctor, vet. But it wasn’t until I had a random open section for one class in my high school plan, and I said screw it, let me take a film class! Truly it was meant to be, because the year after that they stopped offering it. 

But besides just wanting to go into a creative field, obviously I loved movies. And I’ve watched a lot of them and have loved some and hated others. So here is my personal holy grail of films that I’ve watched that made me want to get into (and stay) in film. They may not all be critically acclaimed (and a lot of them may be dark), but I would always recommend them. 

Secret in their eyes 

This film is incredibly intellectually disturbing. I watched it in my first ever film class in high school, and I still remember it well. It’s got fantastic acting, a great storyline, and an even better ending. I dare you to guess what it is before you see it. If you’re up for some thinking, this one is for you. 

Scream 

I am SUCH a sucker for a slasher film. Is it bad? Kinda. Do I know what happens even though I’ve already seen it? Yes. Do I still watch it? Absolutely. No spoilers, I haven’t seen the newest one. It’s bloody, gross, a little sexy, and even comedic. I feel like theres a little something for everyone in Scream. This might be my one guilty pleasure, although I will say I do think it’s influenced the horror genre (slightly)

The game

Ok, it was SO HARD to only pick one David Fincher film. But I feel like everyone has seen or heard of his big ones, Fight Club, Gone Girl, The Social Network (yea same guy!). So I really wanted to pick one of his older films that maybe you hadn’t seen. That being said, I really can’t say too much about the game, or it will give the whole thing away. Not to brag, but I’m pretty damn good at guessing what the end of a film is gonna be. You probably would be too if you watched 5-6 a week just for school and work. The game is one that kept me guessing to the end. Honestly, just go watch it. 

Arrival 

Let me preface this by saying, as a rule I am so far from a fan of Sci-Fi films. Especially films with aliens in them. While I am a lover of all thing’s horror, aliens are just somehow too much for me to handle. So, that being said, Arrival is probably my favorite film on my list. There aren’t any scary alien scenes, so if you don’t like that you don’t really need to worry about it. Delving into some really interesting, deep issues in life, this film gets me every time I watch it. 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

If you haven’t gotten the memo from this list so far, I’m a big fan of the horror, thriller, mystery genre. Not one to usually go for dramas or romantic films. Which I can’t really say that I did for this film either, it was assigned for a class. But boy am I glad it was. The reason I don’t really watch a lot of romance films is because I feel like they’re all the same and in turn, they all make me cry. This one though, is just a little different. What if you could erase the memory of someone from your mind? Would you do it? That’s the real question this film grapples with, just through the lense of a romance.

Do the Right Thing 

Spike Lee has honestly never disappointed me in a film. This was the first one of his that I had seen. It was actually one of the very first films that we watched in my intro to film class here at NCSU. Taking place over a single (HOT. I cannot emphasize enough how hot this film is) summer day in New York, you might be surprised where it goes. If you haven’t seen it, not only are you missing out on a cinematic masterpiece, but a film that does a really good job at portraying racial injustices. Sad to say that nearly 40 years after the film was released, the things characters go through are still relevant. 

Interstellar 

Alright, so I said I’m not a big fan of Sci-Fi films but I have two movies that have to do with space on here. Am I an unreliable narrator? Possibly. The reason I like Interstellar really doesn’t have anything to do with space, but rather the relationships. If you don’t like “trippy” stuff, this one definitely isn’t for you. It can be a little slow at times, and honestly even hard to follow (I’m really convincing you to watch this, right?). But it’s one of the best father-daughter relationship exploration in a film so you’ve gotta at least give it credit for that. 

O Brother Where art Thou?

This is a weird one, I’m not gonna lie. Certainly unlike a lot of the other things on this list, it’s actually a comedy. It’s very loosely based on the Odessy, so it might be cool if you’ve read it to compare the similarities. A lot like the relationships in Interstellar, I think that the characters in this are so well thought through, and funny. If you’re looking for a quest film set in the south, this one is for you. Fun fact about this film, it was the first one to use some type of CGI in every shot! That’s why the sky is always so blue. 

So that’s my end all be all list. And again, these are just my personal films that have stuck with me for different reasons. You could hate every film and it wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all. But, if this is the type of stuff that you like to watch, or you’re oddly invested in what I’m currently watching I’ll have my letterboxed linked below. In other news, if you’re a film person and you don’t have a letterboxed, what are you doing? 

https://letterboxd.com/sjhorner/

Happy watching my people!