A Punch in the Soul

I just saw Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World last night and it was, in short, amazing.

Photo from here.

Steve Carrell's and Kiera Knightley's characters are neighbors in an apartment building that never interacted until they find out that an asteroid is heading to destroy the planet in three weeks. Three weeks until the end of the world... what would you do? I thought it was done very well, I could see events unfolding much like they were depicted. It has that indie/quirky feel to it where subtle things matter a lot, so if you don't like that in your movies you might want to avoid this one. And it's much more serious than it seemed from the previews. The movie is quite like a punch in the soul. I'm talking weeping here, at least on my end. There are funny parts, for sure, but if you're having a vulnerable day it's going to affect you, and that's probably a good thing. It's one of those perspective-giving stories, motivating you to say and do the Important Things now and stop putting them off. And for goodness' sake, do not go and see this movie alone. I'm all for going to the movies solo, not a problem with that in general, but not for this one. You'll want someone there to talk about it with, just someone by your side. In my opinion, any movie that makes me feel so much earns the description of fantastic, and this one is. It's intense, but definitely fantastic. It also features a couple of nice crocheted and knitted blankets.

Crocheted blanket.

 I can't find a photo of the knitted one but it looked something like a log cabin blanket. It made me really want to make a knitted blanket myself, which is (of course) perfect for the middle of the summer! (Not so much.)

I'm a bit of a movie junkie, before I knitted my biggest hobby-related-expense was my collection of DVDs. Here's my list of top 15 could-watch-over-and-over-forever movies:

1. Finding Neverland: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Peter Pan, brilliant scenes, imagination, cute kids? Made for me.
2. Dead Poets Society: Robin Williams + poetry + touching story = awesome.
3. The Fall: Lee Pace is amazing, the story is inventive, and the cinematography is stunning.
4. Dogma: Kevin Smith and company totally rule.
5. A Knight's Tale: I have such a thing for Chaucer (Paul Bettany) in this movie.
6. Hook: Robin Williams (again) and Peter Pan (again) and Julia Roberts!
7. Little Miss Sunshine: Such a feel-good story.
8. Notting Hill: Julia Roberts (again) and Hugh Grant and quirky British-ness. Love.
9. I Love You, Man: I love Jason Segel and Paul Rudd too much not to include this one.
10. Beauty and the Beast: Representing Disney animated films in this line-up because it wouldn't be complete without one.
11. Pride & Prejudice: That moment at the end when Darcy strides across the field? Yeah.
12. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Serious Jim Carrey really works sometimes. I also love Kate Winslet.
13. Stranger Than Fiction: I'm down with Serious Will Ferrel, too. And Emma Thompson is great.
14. Benny & Joon: Sweet little movie featuring Johnny Depp at perhaps his most adorable.
15. Pirates of the Caribbean: Johnny Depp at his most swashbuckling (duh).

I really had to try hard to stop myself at 15. It was just going to be a list of 3, then 5, then 10... There are definitely some recurring themes, the same actors and actresses tend to pop up. They really make or break a movie for me. Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World might end up on this list someday, I'll have to watch it a couple more times first, to be sure. What are your favorite movies, the ones that make your desert island list?