Thursday, April 8, 2010

My Five Desert Island Movies and Books

The Dark of the Matinee recently did a post on five (later changed to eight) movies he would have if trapped on a desert island. I thought I'd do a similar list. But along with movies, I thought I should throw in some books. And believe me, this is not going to be easy.

Movies
1) Some Like It Hot ~ Hey, you're stuck on an island. You need something to cheer you up.
2) The Aviator ~ I am a fan of Raging Bull and Goodfellas, but I rather have The Aviator as my Scorsese movie for a desert island movie. DiCaprio's performance is outstanding.
3) Mystic River ~ Although I've only seen three of his movies as a director, Mystic River is the movie I'll remember Clint Eastwood for.
4) Brokeback Mountain ~ Tragic love story. What more do you need?
5) The Empire Strikes Back ~ I do appreciate the first one, but the second one (the fifth to you Star Wars junkies) has a place in my heart.
ADDITIONAL THREE
6) The Shawshank Redemption ~ As I stated in my review, this managed to leave a bigger impact on me than any other classic I've seen.
7) Ed Wood ~ Being the Tim Burton fan that I am, it would be kinda stupid to not bring along one of his movies if trapped on a desert island. This one is my favorite of the ones I've seen. You gotta love the optimism Johnny Depp has throughout the movie.
8) Once Upon a Time in the West ~ You gotta love it. Great movie, hell of a performance from Henry Fonda, and essentially one of the most effing awesome movies I've seen.

Books
1) The Godfather by Mario Puzo ~ Why this instead of the movie? Although I love the movie, you can handle so much of it.
2) In Cold Blood by Truman Capote ~ The fact that it's about a true crime makes it more chilling.
3) The Shining by Stephen King ~ Again, why this instead of the movie? One reason and one reason only: I liked the book more.
4) A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess ~ Although I have admitted this book scared the hell out of me, I'd be willing to read again.
5) Misery by Stephen King ~ This the only Stephen King novel that truly scared me.

Hmm, the movie choices are diverse but the books all have a theme of violence. Weird...

4 comments:

  1. You got a lot of scary novels there for your desert island. You might want to be careful there :). All alone, lots of dark nights, high winds, you're prob in a cave/hut. No need adding gasoline to fire :D

    Nice movie choices though.

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  2. Not sure if I've mentioned it already, but I quite like the re-design of your blog. Much sleeker looking!

    So you already read my movie picks: my book choices were an awful lot harder...

    "Fight Club" by Chuck Palahniuk - Not to brag, but I own a signed first edition hardcover of it. I'd never want to leave it behind

    "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby... Try to contain your shock. I love a lot of the man's books, but you never forget your first time.

    "The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" by Michael Chabon... Hey, a book without a movie based on it! It was tricky to put together a list and not include a graphic novel. The narrative of this book would at least let me get a bit of a comic fix.

    "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac... One that seems like it'd be at home in your five actually. Granted it might make me homesick for being able to wander a vaster landscape.

    "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury... Just cuz

    (PS - Did you start following my blog on facebook?)

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  3. Great list. Mad Hatters list was part of a blog event I hosted last week. If you want to take part extend your list to eight movies and send me the link. I will put you on the list of blogs.

    As for your selections:

    Some Like It Hot: the first movie on my list need I say more!
    The Aviator: I went for my favourite Scorsese, Goodfellas.
    Mystic River: Great movie not sure I want to watch it over and over again.
    Brokeback Mountain: over-sentimentalised and overrated worth seeing once for the great acting.
    The Empire Strikes Back: My favourite star wars movie but the first one is the only one that works as a stand alone movie so if I had to take it to an desert Island I would probably go for A New Hope.

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  4. Ow why didn't I think about choosing books too!! I bring book everywhere I go, never sit on a bus without reading a book.

    I'm still searching for misery...I've seen the movie.

    Don't you think Brokeback mountain is a bit depressing to watch in s deserted Island?? good story but depressing.

    Great list... I like some of those movies

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