Movies
When I was a freshman at UCLA, one of my good friends and I started holding movie nights together. One of the first movie nights was held not too long before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. We were drinking blue raspberry Svedka (nasty!) while watching Ip Man (2008) in our dorm’s shared lounge. We both kind of just got sucked into the movie for two and a half hours, mouths agape and bodies paralysed, right up until the movie ended.
We periodically held online watch parties during the pandemic itself, and when we both moved back to UCLA, we started holding regular movie nights! We’d pick out a movie or two, enjoy some beers, or just forgo the movie altogether and hang out.
It’s become a tradition of sorts now, and it’s a really special one to me. We owe a lot of it to all of the moviemakers: the directors and actors and writers for sure, but also the cameramen and sound guys and lighting dudes and editors and all the other people we don’t think about a lot while watching the movie.
We’ve watched some really, really good movies over the past few years; we’ve watched some incredibly awful movies; and we’ve enjoyed almost all of them. I wanted to collect and share the movies that I’ve enjoyed the most. You’ll find that there’s a mix of good and bad movies, of high and low budgets, and of all sorts of genres. It takes a lot of work to make a movie, and they don’t have to be perfect to add value to people’s lives. They all deserve some sort of recognition.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
I watched this movie because I had read Anthony Burgess’ novel of the same name and simply did not believe it was possible to adapt such a book. This is why I do math and why Stanley Kubrick does arcane wizardry.
District 9 (2009)
Recently (at time of writing) the movie Project Hail Mary (2026) made a small wave. Although Project Hail Mary and District 9 have very different tones, I think there is significant overlap in their themes, and in my opinion District 9 conveys its messaging ten times better. To me, it’s the pinnacle of sci-fi movies that ask, “What does it mean to be human?”
Good Will Hunting (1997)
One of my very first tutoring students recommended this to me as a Thanksgiving movie. No idea what she meant by “Thanksgiving movie”, but it’s a beautifully written story. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were only in their mid-20s when they wrote it.
Ip Man (2008)
Fond memories aside, Ip Man scratches the itchy English teacher inside me that screams “show don’t tell” at poorly written movies. On top of slick choreography, there’s some great visual symbolism that enhances the story that much more.
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
I vaguely remembered Mrs. Doubtfire as a cheesy comedy movie from my youth; it was played at my elementary school for some forgotten reason. But upon maturation of my prefrontal cortex and a rewatch, I found a trove of charm and heart. Plus, Robin Williams is in it.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
Do not judge a stupid animated horse movie by its cover. I was dismissive at first (my girlfriend’s inferior younger sibling had recommended it), but the movie breathes so much personality through its horse characters and won me over in no time.
The Green Mile (1999)
This movie does such an amazing job humanising some of its characters and villifying others. It makes me want to read the Stephen King novel of the same name.