Cult classics

What is a cult classic? A cult classic is a film that has garnered a dedicated and energetic fan base. It's that film that you hear quoted often, but you might not have heard of it. Today, we're going to look at some cult classic films that have made their mark on pop culture.

Side note: for the sake of time and length, some directors have been limited to one film. There are some films listed that are just one out of many amazing cult classics from the same director.

Number 1: Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino

W'e kicking off the list with a heavy hitter. Two hit men, a gangster's wife, a boxer, and two thieves in love all come together in this Tarantino classic. Tarantino's gift for quick dialogue and storytelling is a marvel to behold.

Other greats: Death Proof, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill.

Number 2: Big Lebowski directed by the Cohen Brothers

"The Dude" Lebowski is mistaken for a millionaire with the same name, and goes on a wild journey to get restitution for his soiled rug. The witty dialogue and trippy storyline make this one of the Cohen brothers finest.

Other greats: Fargo, No Country For Old Men, Burn After Reading

Number 3: Clerks directed by Kevin Smith

Clerks follows two convenience store clerks as they deal with annoying customers, play hockey on the roof of the store, and talk about movies. This film captures the mundane yet interesting life of a retail employee. This film happens to also be Kevin Smith's directing debut, made in black and white to save money.

Films to mess with your mind.

Plots to films these days tend to be pretty easy to follow; This character goes on a quest, finds love, rinse, repeat. However, once in a while, you find a film that twists reality. You find a film that sends you on a crazy, psychedelic roller coaster ride. Today, we're going to talk about three of the trippiest, crazy films out there!

Number 1: Fight Club directed by David Fincher

Fight Club follows our insomniac, office working narrator (Edward Norton) as he befriends Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a soap salesman. The two decide to open and underground fight club where men can go to release their aggression in hand to hand combat. Soon fight clubs pop up across the country, but something more than just a fight club begins to evolve.

Number 2: Momento directed by Christopher Nolan

A man with short term memory loss (Guy Pearce) on a quest to find the person who murdered his wife (Carrie-Ann Moss), with her killing being the last full memory he has. While we see him on his quest, another story line plays at the same time, filling in the gaps and building on the suspense.

Number 3: 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick's 1968 masterpiece centers around a pair of astronauts sent to investigate a mysterious foreign object on the moon's surface. The pair is guided by a clever and ominous A.I, HAL 9000. While the film is very long, it's filled with mind blowing visuals and a killer score that make it one of the greatest films of all time.

Top 5 Netflix films

Hello! As a college student, Netflix is a cheap and easy way to watch movies and tv shows without having to pay for channels. To help some people who might be new to Netflix or are just looking for something new to watch, here are my top five films on Netflix that I would recommend. Let's get started!

Number 1: Good Will Hunting directed by Gus Van Sant

Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a gifted math prodigy working as a janitor at MIT. looking for clarity in his life, he seeks the help of a psychologist (Robin Williams) to get his life on track. This film is the most impactful on the list, in my opinion. It cuts you to the core with every viewing, which is only enhanced with Robin William's brilliant performance.

Number 2: American Beauty directed by Sam Mendes

A suburban father (Kevin Spacey) hits his lifetime crisis after becoming infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend. American Beauty is visually stunning to behold, and shows the audience the depths of the human condition.

Number 3: Fargo directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

A husband's perfectly planned crime falls apart thanks to his dimwitted hit men and the work of a tough as nails and pregnant police officer. The events that take place in the small town of Fargo, North Dakota are shockingly dark and hilarious at the same time.

Number 4: The Graduate directed by Mike Nichols

The Graduate focuses on recent college graduate, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman). In his confusion after graduating, he begins to have an affair with the wife of his father's business partner, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). Everything changes when he later falls in love with Mrs. Robinson's daughter, Elaine (Katharine Ross). Hilarious and heartfelt, The Graduate revolutionized film and made a star out of a young Dustin Hoffman.

Number 5: Big Fish directed by Tim Burton

While this film didn't pull nearly as many of the awards or award nominations as some of the others on this list, it's story and stunning visuals cannot be overlooked. Big Fish follows a son trying to find some truth in the stories his dying father has told him throughout his life.

These are only five of my favorite films available on Netflix. There are plenty of films, movies, and tv shows that I could watch for hours. I'm sure there will be some more Netflix related posts in the future.

Color Breakdown!

In my last post, I talked about how much I love good uses of color in film. Well today I want to show you some great examples of color and how it can truly change the mood of the film. I have three examples of color to show you. So without further ado, let's begin!

Example 1: The Grand Budapest Hotel directed by Wes Anderson

Photo Credit: http://wesandersonpalettes.tumblr.com/

So before I start talking about this picture, I can't tell you enough how fantastic this film is. This is just one of the many gorgeous stills from this film, as well as Anderson's career. I highly recommend you watch The Grand Budapest Hotel, as well as all of Anderson's films. Now, back to the color. 

Without going into detail, what can we infer from this photo? The first thing that might come to mind are that the characters are in love. We can come to this conclusion from all of the pink boxes in the background, and with the knowledge that pink is a romantic color. Now lets look at the character to our left, Zero. Zero is the protagonist of our film and there are several conclusions we can gather from his outfit. First, we can gather that he's timid and young because blue symbolizes innocence and youth. We can also reach this conclusion seeing that his name is Zero.

For those who are interested, the above Tumblr link is fantastic for any Wes Anderson fans out there as well as color fanatics like myself.

Example 2: Schindler's List directed by Steven Spielberg

Photo Credit: dailymotion.co.uk

Now we move from the use of multiple colors to the use of just one. The picture above is from Steven Spielberg's three hour long World War Two epic, Schindler's List. The red coat is one of the only four instances of color in this entire black and white film. There are several meanings we can take from this photo. The use of color on the little girls coat can represent the last bit of life and innocence in a world crumbling in death and corruption. The little girl is seen wandering abandoned and lost while Nazi soldiers clear out a jewish neighborhood. The little girl can also represent the loss and confusion that all victims of the Nazi regime felt.

Example 3: Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Photo Credit: thehorificallyhorrifyinghorrorblog.com

We've covered all color, one pop of color, and now we move on to no color at all. All of Psycho is in black and white, which makes the iconic shower scene exactly what it is - iconic. We don't fully see the character in the shower scene being stabbed, all we see is the dark blood circling the drain. We're so used to seeing bright red blood, but the muted dark color can have a chilling effect.

Thank you for sticking around for the color breakdown. I'd like to leave you with this fact about Psycho, one of my favorite movies of all times. 

***Alfred Hitchcock used chocolate syrup for the blood in the famous shower scene because it was dark enough to show up on black and white film.***