Five favorite movies

I posted my response to BlagHag's Five Movies, but didn't really go into detail on why my five were my favorites. So here goes:

Hard Core Logo: Everytime I watch this movie, I want to be in either A) a punk band or B) a Hugh Dillon/Callum Keith Rennie circa 1992 sammich. A mockumentary about a punk band who reunites after a long hiatus to go on tour in honor of the bands influence and mentor, Bucky Haight who has had his legs blown off by some crazy with a gun. I love the tension between the two front runners, Joe Dick (Dillon) and Billy Tallent (Rennie) - the juxtaposition of Joe Dicks punk-rock DIY ethic and Billy Tallent's goals to make an actual lucrative career of out his music, beyond the sketchy night clubs and ramshackle touring van. Not to mention the dynamic of these guys, who have been friends since grade school, that moves from affection to impatience and even some homoerotic undertones.

I've recommended this movie to a number of people and almost everyone I've recommended it to thought it was awesome. I've shamefully judged people on their reaction to it.

Juno - A lot of people have criticized this movie because of Juno's seemingly flippant attitude towards her pregnancy, deeming it unrealistic or innappropriate. I, personally, thought it was well done. You see, it's a front. You watch the scene in the van, and you realize this kid is scared SHITLESS, and is putting up this 'hey, it's cool, blah blah' as a defence mechanism. I also think Michael Cera conveys the confusion of a teen-boy who just doesn't quite know what to make of the situation, and is not really sure it's his to deal with, so is just kind of taking it as it comes.

I should probably mention I invariably cry for the last 20 minutes of the movie, without fail.

The Odd Couple: For some reason I love films that focus around a male-male friendship. They're interesting as they say a lot about expectations concerning masculinity. The night/day dynamic of two friends who are opposites in every way has become archetypal (along with the 'leader/sidekick' variation), but the Odd Couple does it exceptionally well. And the dialogue and comedic timing cracks me up.

Empire Records: I don't need a reason for loving this film, I just do. However, if I HAD to pick a reason it'd probably be Ethan Randall (or Ethan Embry as he's known now), or Rory Cochrane. "What's with today, today?"

Snatch: I don't know if this would be considered an 'action' film or not.. I'm inclined to think not, if only because I'm not generally a fan of action films, but I LOVE this one. I enjoy that this film manages to have a number of different storylines occuring at once, yet manages not to be headache-inducingly confusing. Jason Statham's deadpan, vaguely sarcastic performance and narration is fantastic. It's a well put together ensemble cast, well-written script, and not boring for a second.

Honoroble mention: Garden State Depending on my mood, sometimes my top five changes, and usually the one that gets on there is Garden State. I love this movie because I like the idea of two fundamentally flawed people finding each other by accident, immediately clicking and deciding to be together without either of them having to undergo any huge epiphany or metamorphosis. Okay, Zach Braff comes off his meds, but that's about it. It somehow manages to combine bleak existentialism with some kind of hope, that life can be bearable if you can at least find someone as messed up as yourself to enjoy the little things with.