My Letterboxd Top 4

I am an avid Letterboxd user. For the uninitiated, Letterboxd is a social media site specifically for logging and reviewing movies. When I was looking for a better way to catalog my movies than a Google Sheets page, I decided it was time to really get into Letterboxd. I started one years ago, but I wanted a username that better reflected my website, so I made an entirely new account (keepsrambling) and deactivated the old one. One of the things that you do when you make an account is pick your “Top 4.” I don’t see these as picking your four favorite movies; it is very common for people to change theirs when the mood strikes. When I picked mine, I chose movies that meant something to me. If you have been reading the other iterations of this site, you already know two of them, but I figured this would be a good primer for why I am the way I am. The four movies I selected were: “Jurassic Park,” “The Lion King,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” and “Short Term 12.”

Jurassic Park

When I was much younger, McDonald's ran a promotion where you could get cheap VHS tapes. I do not remember what the deal was or any of the other movies involved except for “Jurassic Park.” After a fairly extensive Google search, it might not be one of the ones they offered, but as they say, “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”  I was 8 or 9 when that VHS entered our house. I really wanted to watch it-I mean, it had dinosaurs; what 8-year-old kid wouldn’t want to watch it? The problem was the movie’s PG-13 rating. My parents told me I could watch it when I was 13, so I had to wait a few years. So I waited and waited. I would look at the VHS-its black cover with the classic Jurassic Park logo on the front and synopsis and stills from the movie on the back-and imagine what the movie would be like.

Then I turned 13 and finally got to watch this masterpiece. When I am asked what my favorite movie is, this is the one I say. As a “movie guy,” I feel like my response needs to be…I don’t know… something more arty and not a blockbuster. The thing is, I don't like any other movie more than this one. This past summer I watched it twice: on June 23, just because I wanted to, and then a few weeks later on July 13th, when Sam Neil passed. I will admit I had a moment when I put the Blu-ray in for a second time in under a month and thought, “Am I really going to watch this again so soon?” Well, I did, as my tribute to Sam Neil (as well as watching one of his movies every day that week), and the movie was as awesome as it was when I watched it when I was 13 years old. I have honestly lost count of how many times I have seen it (probably close to 20), but it remains one of my favorite movies. A few summers ago The North Park theater was showing it, and I, being off in the summer, went to a matinee. This ranks among my favorite theater-going experiences. Not because of the movie, but because of who was there. Parents and grandparents (mostly the latter) brought kids to see this movie. Kids younger than I was when I first saw this movie, for the record, Mom and Dad. I loved being there and seeing a new generation get to experience this movie for the first time.

I can't overstate how much I still love this movie. If someone posts a clip of it online, I will stop to watch it. I still get goosebumps when Dr. Grant sees the brontosaurus for the first time. The look on his face, how he turns Dr. Sadler’s (Laura Dern) head, the theme swelling, and Hammond (Richard Attenborough) saying, “Dr. Grant, my dear Dr. Sadler, Welcome to Jurassic Park,” all make this one of the greatest scenes in cinema history. I still pick up on new things every time I watch it. On a rewatch a few years ago, I noticed Lex’s (Ariana Richard) crush on Dr. Grant, and on my most recent, I noticed that when the raptors are being fed, everyone has a look of pure disgust on their faces except Grant; he is fascinated by it.

I could change my favorite movie answer to something more highbrow or obscure, but the truth is that is not me. What really speaks to me about “Jurassic Park” is the wonder and awe it inspires. Those special effects, moments, lines, characters, set pieces, and story still hold up all these years later. It captured a magic that even Spielberg couldn’t recapture with the sequel, “The Lost World.” It will always be my favorite movie, and I will stand by this choice.

The Lion King

Technically, the first movie I saw in the theater was “Ghostbusters.” I was born in June of '84, and that movie came out in July, so if you ever want to understand what makes me tick, it's that my parents took me to one of the greatest comedies of all time when I was barely a month old. The first movie I remember seeing in the theater was “Aladdin,” but the first movie I remember feeling in the theater was “The Lion King.” I remember being sad when Mufasa died (sorry if I just spoiled that for you). I remember the feeling of triumph when Simba climbs Pride Rock and roars as the rain finally comes back to the Pride Lands. I have said this in a previous post, but I have essentially been chasing those feelings every time I walk into a theater.

That is why the movie makes my Top 4. It was the first time I realized the power of movies. They can make you feel and think things: they aren’t just mindless entertainment. To this day, the wildebeest scene is still incredible and exciting. The worry and fear you feel for Simba as the stampede bears down upon him is real because you are invested in Simba’s story. The grief and sadness you feel when Mufasa dies, and we see Simba snuggled up under his father’s paw, resonates because of everything you have seen them go through so far. We feel joy and relief when Simba returns to the Pride Lands and defeats his uncle, Scar is the culmination of everything you felt over the course of the last 88 minutes. “The Lion King” taught me what to look for in a movie.

In 2011, Disney re-released “The Lion King” in 3D and, shocking no one, I went to see it. I went by myself to a matinee on Sept.17. I can confidently say I was the youngest person in that theater without children. It felt a little weird (and it didn’t help that I was sitting by myself in the back row). For the most part, the 3D was fine. I remember some close-up shots of the lion faces looked weird: it was something with their noses. Other than that, I was transported back to the first time I saw this on the big screen. It's been a few years since I saw the movie (April 24, 2022, according to Letterboxd), but it is one of those I think about a lot. It was one of the formative movie-going experiences in my life and a movie I will always be in the mood to revisit.

Singin’ in the Rain

Early on, as my movie obsession was developing, I was quick to write off movies that didn’t immediately appeal to me. These included rom-coms, period dramas, and musicals. I mean, how good could a movie be if characters kept breaking into song? The first musical I tried was the 2005 “Rent.” Overall, I enjoyed it, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s only so-so as a movie musical. When I was getting my undergraduate degree, I took an American Musicals class where I saw a bunch of movie musicals that showed me what this genre could be.

Until I saw “Singin’ in the Rain,” most of my exposure to musicals came through actors like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The grace with which those two glided across the floor and their perfectly choreographed movements are still something to behold. Seeing Gene Kelly in “Singin’ in the Rain” showed me that dance could be athletic as well as graceful. Kelly is just built differently than Astaire, and he moves differently too. While he can be as fluid in his movements as Astaire, he also shows more power behind them. Look at “Moses Supposes,” where Kelly and co-star Donald O’ Connor jump on and off a chair. That is not exactly a move Astaire tended to do, but it fits right into Kelly’s repertoire (no shade to Astaire). “Make ‘em Laugh” is one of the best comedic dances in the history of cinema. Donald O’Connor is magnificent in this sequence and showcases both athletic dance and slapstick comedy. He runs up walls, ducks couches, gets hit in the face by boards, puts the moves on a doll, and then fights with that doll. Honestly, if you have never seen the movie, at least watch this number-but really, watch the movie; it is incredible.

The movie was the first for Debbie Reynolds, and she is fantastic; it's easy to see why she became a star after this one. She is on screen singin’ and dancin’ with GENE KELLY and holding her own. And she is 19 years old! It is one of those debut performances that just blows you away.

Movies like “Singin’ in the Rain” show you how great musicals can be. Between this and the box set of Fred and Ginger movies, I developed a deep adoration for musicals, especially the old-style Hollywood ones. The phrase “they don’t make 'em like that anymore” tends to get overused, but in this case it is true. IF we get a musical released in theaters, it is either a proshot or a movie based on a musical. We don’t get original musicals written for the screen. I wish we did. Maybe the world would be a better place if we did.

Short Term 12

The story behind this one is more personal than the other ones in my Top 4. I had heard great things about “Short Term 12,” and as a fan of Brie Larson, I wanted to see it. It was playing at a small theater near me, so my friend and I went to see it, and I am glad I did, because the next weekend it was gone. I was absolutely blown away by the power of this story and the incredible performances (this is the movie that gave us LaKeith Stanfield and Kaitlyn Dever). If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you do. With the others on this list, I have assumed some familiarity with the plot since they are all cultural juggernauts; with “Short Term 12,” though, I feel the need to explain it. This will come into play when I explain why it made the list. “Short Term 12” follows Grace (Larson), a supervisor at a group home for troubled teens. One day, Jayden (Dever) arrives and spends a lot of her time away from the rest of the residents. Grace takes an interest in her and is determined to help her.

I am a teacher, and this movie reminds me why I do what I do. In one of my previous positions, I taught at a program for students with behavioral challenges. These were kids who may have been kicked out of other programs and had nowhere else to go. One kid in this situation came with a parent-teacher communication notebook from his previous program in his backpack. During naptime, my TA and I read what the other teacher had written in the notebook. We were shocked. This teacher had exactly zero positive things to say about this kid. In this position, I had a few kids who got daily reports, and one of the rules for this type of communication is that you start with a positive, explain any incident in careful, unbiased terms using only facts and not YOUR opinion, then you close with how we are going to work to do better tomorrow. This notebook had none of that; it was full of angry language, skewed details of events, and no mention of what we (teacher, student, family) can do to make things better. Yeah, the kid wasn’t great (he had a habit of calling me a bitch-ass n-word, which I always heard as bitch-ass ninja), but I didn’t let that show in how I treated him or what I wrote in his notes home.

“Short Term 12” shows me why the relationships with my students matter. This past year, there was a family with three girls whom I absolutely adore. I knew their home life had become difficult, and they had moments where they lashed out. I had one of them in a group, and a few times it was rough. Knowing what an awesome kid she is and what she was going through, I spent time with her after the group to talk and let her know my expectations. I got a very sincere apology note from her (yes, her teacher made her write it, but the words were all her own). So many kids need to know someone cares, and someone to give them the space they need to deal with whatever is going on in their lives. It could be home life or the fact that others have given up on them (even their classroom teachers). I’m not saying I’m perfect; there are some kids for whom I can’t find that patience (I had a kid this past year whose mom used ADHD as an excuse for everything. As someone with that flavor of neurodiversity, I can tell you the kid was just a jerk, and the ADHD just amplified it).

I love what I do. If I have had a particularly hard day and I am questioning why I keep doing a sometimes thankless job, I will put this on. Jayden is a tough kid who has been through a lot, but Grace takes the time to break through those barriers and shows her love and kindness that she’s not getting anywhere else. The thing about the group home is that kids come and go, and the counselors need to make the most of the time they have. They do the best they can while they can, and hope they are okay when they leave. It is the same thing for the teachers I work with and me. We make sure they are safe and cared for when they are in our building, but we have no control over what happens when they leave. We know some won't eat again until they get breakfast from us in the morning, or they may go home to take care of their siblings. One of my favorite comedians, Patton Oswalt, did a special after his first wife, Michelle McNamara, passed. He talks about something she would say: “It’s chaos, be kind.” Every day when I go to work, I keep that in mind because nine times out of 10, if a kid is giving you a hard time, odds are it's not really about you. “Short Term 12” embodies that and makes me want to be a better teacher and a better person.

So there you have it. These are the four movies that mean the most to me. They may not be my favorite (except “Jurassic Park” and “The Lion King”), there might be better movies, but these are the ones that came to me at a crucial stage in my life. They showed me what movies can be, how they can transport us, how they can make us feel things and remind us of things we can forget. While other users might change their four favorite (and no disrespect if they do), mine aren’t. These four movies will be four I will never hesitate to watch.