My Top 300 Movies :: 121-125

121. The Family Stone

Dysfunctional family holiday stories are definitely something I can relate to, and have a soft spot for. I am also a huge fan of the ensemble cast film when it is done right, which here, with The Family Stone, it is done right. My heart always goes out to Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) who comes into the family as an outsider, notably different than the rest of the family, and who is basically abandoned by her fiance, whose family this is, in the first place. I’ve been there, in her shoes, though I never did have a Ben (Luke Wilson) to rescue me and take me away to the local dive bar.

Trailer

Fooled Around & Fell In Love :: Elvin Bishop

Count On Me :: Jefferson Starship

Coffee or Something :: Michael Giacchino

122. Garden State

My first reaction after I watched Garden State for the first time (post theater release) was “where have you been all my life?”. The movie touches me in a very deep and personal way that is visceral, emotional, and near impossible to explain; the way I feel, and relate, to Andrew is a beyond words kind of thing. This is one of those unconventional, not perfect love stories that get to me, this one a movie I never grow tired of watching, and could play and then hit replay, over and over again.

The “Infinite Abyss” scene

“A Completely Original Moment“

The Ending

New Slang :: The Shins

In the Waiting Line :: Zero 7

123. In the Land of Women

Such an underrated movie filled with a wonderful performances from a great cast – Adam Brody (a favorite of mine, who is also underrated, and underused), Meg Ryan, Kristen Stewart, Olympia Dukakis, Clark Gregg, and Ginnifer Goodwin. A writer who is lost and who comes to live among a variety of women: an aging Grandmother who is stuck in a hazy sense of nowhere, an Mother and Wife who feels invisible and under-appreciated, and a teenage daughter who feels all of the above. This is not a love story as much as it is a story of real friendship and connection, something that is so rarely shown on film.

Lost and Running

Walking and Talking

Kisses

Beautiful Girl :: Inxs

124. Chasing Amy

Alyssa Jones, from Chasing Amy, is on my list of fictional characters I relate to the most. Not that I share all her experiences (some, but not all), but her way of living and loving, her take on things, and her reactions, I feel completely. This is, and always will be, my favorite Kevin Smith film, one that makes me laugh, cry and feel (a lot).

Alive

The car speech in the rain

The kiss in the rain

“An Experimental Girl“

“Chasing Amy” speech

Lucky One :: Soul Asylum

125. Daydream Nation

A movie I stumbled upon one insomnia-ridden night on Netflix that I had never heard of, but immediately fell hard for. Kat Dennings is brilliant in this (please cast her in more films), as a girl trying to find herself first by reinvention, and then by coming clean and allowing herself to be herself. There is a love story here, a family story, a friendship story, but most of all it is a coming-of-self story, and a breathtaking one at that.