By Matthew Sotlar / The Jambar
Based on the title, I’m sure you all know what this column will be about. Over the weekend, my girlfriend and I went to see “A Minecraft Movie.” If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you go out as soon as possible and see it. Stop reading this right now and watch it.
Now that you’ve seen “A Minecraft Movie,” you know that it is undoubtedly one of the best movies of all time. You obviously can’t read my sarcastic tone, but believe it or not, I really did enjoy it. So, for this week, I’m going to share some other great movies I like.
My all-time favorite movie is “No Country For Old Men.” This is the best movie I have ever seen. Adapted from an equally amazing novel by Cormac McCarthy, the Coen Brothers take cinema in a direction I have never seen — and never will see — again.
It’s gritty, it’s bloody and it’s gorgeous. Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem’s acting, the lack of soundtrack, the storyline — I could go on about this movie. I must have seen it 20 times by now, and each time, it never ceases to draw me in.
Another favorite of mine is “The Shining.” That’s right, I’m basic like that. I love all of Stanley Kubrick’s movies, especially “The Shining” and “A Clockwork Orange,” the latter of which is not for the faint of heart.
Jack Nicholson’s acting in the movie is what sells it to me. His role as an alcoholic caretaker who slowly succumbs to cabin fever is up there with some of the best acting I’ve ever seen, and with the late, great Shelley Duvall playing his hysterical wife Wendy, it sets a precedent in acting for me that is hard to top.
Another favorite needs no introduction — “Dog Day Afternoon.” It was one of Al Pacino’s finest roles, and alongside the legendary John Cazale, their retelling of a real-life bank robbery gone wrong has left an indelible mark on my writing ever since I saw it at six-years-old. It also features an Elton John song, which is pretty cool.
Another Pacino movie that went above and beyond my expectations was “The Devil’s Advocate.” I seriously thought this was going to be a boring legal drama like “Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” but I was sorely mistaken.
Playing Satan himself, Pacino lures in Keanu Reeves, who plays a lawyer with a penchant for winning — and vanity. The story itself comes from Andrew Neiderman, who ghostwrote for V. C. Andrews before writing “The Devil’s Advocate,” which explains the overabundance of Andrews novels in Barnes & Noble.
I know I haven’t named classics like “The Godfather” or “Star Wars,” namely because I haven’t seen the latter, and the former doesn’t thrill me like “Goodfellas” does. I’m very picky about the media I consume, especially films and music.
Movies are a great way for creative minds to express that creativity through a visual medium. It allows them to take an idea and make it a reality. You get the picture. I’m always looking forward to finding a new movie to watch, and if the upcoming ones are half as good as “A Minecraft Movie,” I know I’ll have more movies to list in another column.