Introducing the Movie Jar Series

I’ve had this little problem over the past fews years, where whenever I peruse through movies, I find myself saying “seen it, seen it, seen it”. Don’t get me wrong, I love rewatching movies. But I also know that there are so many good movies out there that I just haven’t seen yet, for one reason or another. I thought up a fun new way to get myself outside of my movie comfort zone. I decided to create a “movie jar”. Essentially, I filled a mason jar with tons of movie titles that I haven’t yet seen. Whenever I feel I am in a movie rut, I will select a movie from my jar. I consulted some of my books on great classic movies I haven’t yet seen, and also included titles of some movies I’ve had in my collection for years that just haven’t gotten around to watching yet! I’ll be writing weekly accounts of my viewings! Please enjoy my commentary on the first weeks' lineup:

Die Hard:

“Die Hard” is one of those films I’ve heard about over and over and over for as long as I can remember. Yet, I’d never seen it up until this point and had no interest in doing so. I didn’t know much about the movie going into it. I knew it was an action movie starring Bruce Willis, but that’s about it. I expected to watch it, not like it, and move on. But let me tell ya- “Die Hard” has become a modern classic for a reason! I had so much fun watching this movie. It’s action-packed, has smart dialogue, and is genuinely funny.

Essentially this film revolves around our main character, John McClane (Willis), a New York cop visiting his estranged wife in Los Angeles for Christmas. He heads to her work headquarters to join her at a holiday party, only to find out the CEO of the company is being held hostage by terrorists. McClane tasks himself with saving the day, attempting to single-handedly take down these criminals.  “Die Hard” feels like a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, pitting a New York cop against a European super villain. Throughout the entirety of the film, the banter between these two characters is so entertaining. I am generally not one for action movies, but the constant motion of “Die Hard” captured my attention throughout its entirety. I felt I truly got a sense of the characters beyond their immediate motivations. This allowed me as a viewer to become more invested in what happens to the characters, which I find can be hard to come by in an action flick. 

Considering this film was made in the eighties, it held up surprisingly well. While some of the dialogue is certainly dated, the action sequences are pretty top-notch. It is the perfect blend of humor and high-intensity. “Die Hard” craftily flips between violent action sequences in elevator shafts and characters attempting to out-wit one another. Despite being decades-old, this movie still felt like a fresh take on an action movie. Even if you’re not an action movie junkie, “Die Hard” is definitely worth a watch. As McClane would say, yippee-kay-yay. 

Top Hat: 

“Top Hat” is the type of movie that I was so excited to select from my movie jar. It is a musical from the 1930s starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Believe it or not, I’d never watched a movie starring these two highly popular dancing movie stars before. Rogers and Astaire dominated the silver screen in the days of Old Hollywood. I think a lot of people assume that old movies don’t hold up, that they would feel incredibly old-fashioned and practically unwatchable. In fact, I can’t think of many people my age who would watch a movie made before the year 1980. I am guilty of having seen very few films dated quite this far back, but I’ve certainly been looking to expand my viewings. I was so excited to immerse myself in an old black-and-white musical film full of dance sequences and elaborate costumes. 

The plot of “Top Hat” essentially revolves around countless mix-ups and misunderstandings. It is reminiscent of a Shakespeare play, revolving around the consequences of misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and foiled plans. “Top Hat” pioneers many romantic comedy tropes used in films to this day. The plot centers around Jerry Travers (Astaire), a musical star who falls head-over-heels for Dale Tremont (Rogers). He tirelessly tries to win her over, and many mix-ups occur along the way. Dance numbers are sprinkled throughout the entirety of the film, enhancing its charm. It is a very sweet movie. The storyline may be deemed a little predictable by modern standards, but it is clear to me that “Top Hat” holds its own as a remarkable screwball comedy. This movie lives on as a classic more so for its stunning dance numbers than clever storyline, but the plot is nevertheless amusing. This is the type of film that initially drew me to the movie jar project, pushing me to watch older classic films that have withstood the test of time. Hats off to you, Fred and Ginger.

Clouds of Sils Maria: 

My next pick was the film “Clouds of Sils Maria”. I’d heard positive things about this film since it came out in 2014, and finally it was my turn to form an opinion. This is a classic arthouse-indie type movie, starring Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart. The plot centers around an aging actress, Maria Enders (Binoche), who agrees to reprise the role that launched her career decades earlier. In the original film, Maria plays Sigrid, a woman who seduces her older boss, Helena. Seeing as many years have passed, she is now preparing to play Helena, the older woman. Maria has difficulties accepting herself as the elder character, longing to remain young and uninhibited like Sigrid. It explores the “art-imitating-life” trope as Enders experiences an eerily similar situation with her assistant, Valentine (Stewart). The two run lines together, and the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur. 

My overall consensus of this movie, off the bat, was that it was a well-done movie that I simply wasn’t a big fan of. I personally simply found “Clouds of Sils Maria” too pretentious. “Clouds of Sils Maria” is largely dialogue-based, and relies heavily on its script. In my opinion, this only revved up the already pretentious undertones of this film.  I thought Binoche and Stewart excelled in their roles (though I do think Stewart should branch out from her ever-brooding characters). The most striking part of the film was the cinematography. The setting greatly helped, as it was filmed in the Swiss Alps, which made for an absolute gorgeous backdrop. The script was clever and fairly original. However, about midway through the film, the parallels between the leads and the characters they run lines for are too obviously spelled out for viewers. It was fascinating enough to watch the events unfold, but I doubt this will be a movie I long to rewatch. If you’re a huge Kristen Stewart fan who loves a plot-within-a-plot type storyline, I’m sure you’d love this film. Just go into it prepared to roll your eyes if you aren’t one for actors dramatically talking about acting. I’m glad I crossed it off my list, but will not be revisiting “Clouds of Sils Maria”. 

Never Let Me Go:

“Never Let Me Go” is a sci-fi romance film based on the book by Kazuo Ishiguro. Now, I am not generally one to watch movies based on books without having read the book first. However, I tried to read this book and just could not get into it. That should have been a red flag towards how I’d feel about the movie! I desperately wanted to like this movie. It has a stellar cast, starring Carey Mulligan (who is in my opinion the most underrated actress), Kiera Knightley (who can do no wrong), and Andrew Garfield (adorable, and talented). The three play Cathy (Mulligan), Ruth (Knightley), and Tommy (Garfield), three adults reflecting back on their time together in Hailsham, their boarding school. It quickly becomes evident that this is no ordinary boarding school. Some sinister secrets lurk among the three, and we slowly figure out what was really going on at this school. Now, knowing how immensely beloved this film and book are, I do not want to spoil the mysteries of “Never Let Me Go”. Just prepare yourself for some truly out-of-this-world twists. 

Even as I’m writing this review, I am thinking to myself, “Now this sounds like a great movie! Sign me up!”. For some reason, I just did not connect to this movie. I think ultimately it tried to be too many things at once. It was spooky, it was dystopian, it was a romance, it was tragic. To me, this made it hard to fully like the film. It’s like the kid who plays on every sports team in high school- it’s hard to be the football captain when you have 12 other practices to attend. I think the film ultimately tried to serve as a commentary on the foolishness of societal hierarchy, but the message becomes muddled in the ever-twisty plotline. If you’re a fan of dystopian storylines, I think you’d get on with “Never Let Me Go” just fine. It’s certainly a movie like no other, making it highly favorable or disfavorable depending on your own personal preference. It is another film I’m glad I selected from the jar, as it brought me out of my comfort zone, but it simply wasn’t for me. If Keira, Carey, and Andrew ever want to collaborate again, however, count me in.