1001 Movies, Part I

COVID19 certainly has done a number on my ability to concentrate on reading a book, let alone write a blog about it. I read Michelle Obama’s Becoming (fantastic!) and then a trashy mystery as a kick start. I liked the trashy mystery enough that I bought the second book in the series, but it is still sitting unread on the coffee table.

TV has proven to be a more useful mindless activity, and in solidarity, my husband has been knocking off movies from Steven Jay Schneider’s 1001 Movies to See Before You Die. Prior to COVID lockdown, Jeff had list of 5 rules that dictated his movie choices:

1. No movies over 2 hours
2. No sequels
3. No Oscar winners
4. No movies starring Kevin Costner
5. No movies where the title character is an animal

It’s worth stating that I’m pretty sure 4 of the 5 rules were devised after I took him to see Dances With Wolves. It’s startling that he even kept dating me after that, TBH. More on the Rules in a later post.

Then, on March 16, COVID lockdown went into place in BC. Fast forward 12 weeks and we have checked off over 35 movies (well, Jeff is up to 35. I skipped about 5 of those for assorted reasons such as “oh my god we’re not watching ANOTHER movie are we? can’t we just take ONE night off?”) Meanwhile, the Rules, which guided 30 years of movie-watching, are gone, or at least on pause. On one memorable occasion we spent 3 hours and 49 minutes watching the horrible Once Upon a Time in America. 3 hours and 49 minutes!!!

We also watched three more movies of a somewhat similar nature, albeit much, much shorter:

King Of New York – Lots and lots of people die, but Christopher Walken insists he “never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it” which makes it okay.

French Connection – Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider realize the car weighs 120 pounds too much, giving away the hidden drugs.

Five Easy Pieces – Jack Nicholson gives up the piano, treats his pregnant girlfriend like shit, and bores the crap out of me, all at once.