Three Great Films to Watch Before You Die

What makes a movie great? Easy, it has the ability to pull you into the storyline. Your attention never falters because you are afraid to miss a single moment. Every has a different opinion, of course. Everyone has a different genre that they prefer more than the others. My favorites are drama, thrillers, and horrors. I also prefer indie films over big budget blockbusters. But, in some cases even I have found those entertaining. These are some of favorite films.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2. Tarantino's best film. And I love everything about it. I have noticed that some people like to consider it two separate films. But, it's not. He cut one film in half because of issues with time. Most people wouldn't want to spend five hours or so sitting in one spot. I wouldn't mind though. So, the first film takes place mostly in Japan. It is the kung fu part of the volumes. The lighting, I noticed, plays a very important role in this film. Especially, the scene when the Bride is at The House of Blue Leaves. The color scheme switches several times throughout the last half hour or so. And as the movie continues, we are rooting for the Bride, of course. However, the case here is that she is not exactly the 'good guy'. Because in this movie, everyone has flaws and on top of that, everyone is guilty. The Bride increasingly gets her revenge on those who have betrayed her. In the second volume, we have our spaghetti western. The atmosphere in this half is amazing too. As you are watching all hell breaking loose, you have a connection with the Bride. You are rooting for her. And what makes it hard is the fact that she too is a killer. So basically you are cheering for a murderer who has been betrayed by other killers. And at the end, she finally gets the peace that she needed. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone, Tarantino fan or not.

Magnolia. P.T. Anderson's best film. I have never in my life had such a connection with so many characters all at once. One would assume that trying to follow all of these stories at once would be difficult. Not at all. Simply because the script is put together so well that it all blends together in one fluid motion. This movie teaches us about redemption and yearning and sadness. In life, all we want to do is belong to something. Whatever that something is, we need to hold onto it before we lose ourselves. Hopelessness is what leads us to unwanted paths of destruction. Everyone is fighting for what they believe and most are not being heard by their loved ones. It's an incredibly depressing film and because of it's context, it makes you want to reexamine your life.

Mulholland Drive. David Lynch must live in a strange world in his head. However, this movies brilliance is not to be underrated. We are seeing two different storylines and only one is the real one. But, which is the false life we are witnessing? The lighter side of the story unfolds when the main character Betty moves to Hollywood. In no time, she is hired for a job. On the way, she befriends a woman named Rita with amnesia. In the second story, the roles are somewhat swapped. Rita is now Camilla and she is the movie star. Smiling, perky Betty is now a down and out woman named Diane. Who wants a woman who looks like Camilla to be murdered. What we see in that story quickly contradicts next one. To this day, I still believe that Diane is her true identity and her sunshine alter ego is false. David Lynch stated that he himself doesn't know which story is really happening. Or maybe he just doesn't want to tell us.