Monday Movies – My Top 500 – 16-20
(in no particular order)

1. Comet (2014)
Written and Directed by Sam Esmail

There is something beyond words, something hard to define, about this film that touched me in a very deep, emotional way. At times, I found myself in tears that were a mix of both melancholy and joy, because this movie struck a chord seems to strike a chord in me that feels relevant and real, and beautiful. It reminded me a lot of a relationship I’ve had in my life, its starts and stops, and the way that I have never been the same since.

“I never thought love was real, now I think life isn’t real without it.” ~ Dell

17. My Life Without Me (2003)
Written by Nanci Kincaid (book) and Isabel Coixet (screenplay)
Directed by Isabel Coixet

A movie about dying that is incredibly life affirming, and never once plays melodramatically, or vies for sympathy. It is a story about taking your life, no matter how much of it you have, into your own hands and doing the things you want with it. There are heartbreaking moments, of course, especially in regards to her daughters and the knowledge that she will not see them grow up, but the movie itself felt inspiring to me, and moves me completely.

“Without dreams you can’t fucking live.” ~ Ann

18. Beginners (2010)
Written and Directed by Mike Mills

Unconventional love stories with flawed and very real characters are my favorite love stories. I am also quite fond of honest takes on love, friendship and family (family in a broad spectrum sense, be it genetic families or families of choice). One of the key themes in this movie, for me, was not wasting your life doing what society deems “the right thing“, or by trying to please everyone else but yourself – to live beyond the confines of the perpetual “what if“.

“Why do you leave everyone? Why did you let me go?” ~ Anna

“Maybe because I… I don’t really believe that it’s gonna work, and then I make sure that it doesn’t work.” ~ Oliver

19. About Last Night… (1986)
Written by David Mamet (play), Tim Kazurinsky and Denise DeClue (screenplay)
Directed by Edward Zwick

Every time I re-watch this film I half expect to feel differently about it, but I never do. To me, this has all the elements of what it felt like, for me, in my twenties, to move in with my boyfriend – the good, the bad, the friends, the pressures, the naive expectations, and the end. Also, my adolescent cruses on both of the leads – Demi an Rob – always stays strong.

“Oh, you’re not leavin’ are ya?” ~ Danny

“No, we’re walking in backwards.” ~ Joan

20. Catch And Release (2006)
Written and Directed by Susannah Grant

This is not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, it is full of flaws and at times derivative plot twists, but I love the characters and their stories, regardless. Maybe its the cast, filled with so many favorites of mine (Jennifer Garner, Kevin Smith, Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis), or maybe it just hits a soft spot of mine – families made of choice and circumstance that are not your “family”, and the idea that there can be love after loss. No matter what the reasons, though, it is one of my forever go-to “comfort” movies – and I’m always rooting for Gray and Fritz.