Favorite First Time Watches of March 2024
It’s back! After a down month in February, and writing all those Oscar write-ups, My March viewing was a bit more prosperous. So, here are some movies I watched for the first time in March that I would recommend to anyone.
The Hunt for Red October (1990) – John McTiernan
As a Blankie, a fan of the Blank Check Podcast, I end up watching directors’ entire filmographies. They cover directors who eventually get a blank check in their career to make whatever passion project they want. Currently, they’re covering John McTiernan.
I had never seen The Hunt for Red October before this series. Sean Connery plays the captain of an advanced Soviet nuclear sub who is inexplicably close to the U.S. Coast. Jack Ryan is brought in to help handle the situation.
The real story behind the publishing of Tom Clancy’s first novel this film is an adaptation of is crazy. A Naval Institute Press published their first non-fiction book with this one. Tom was also investigated because there was so much Sub detail in the first draft of the novel they thought it was written by a spy.
Say what you will about McTiernan and the later part of his career, this film showcases all of his strengths.
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) – Woody Allen
I’ve never been a big fan of Woody Allen movies. Even before he became problematic. Which, let’s be honest, he always was problematic, he’s dating a 17-year-old in Manhattan. So I was surprised when I watched this film to like it as much as I did.
In the depression, Cecilia (Mia Farrow) earns all the money while her deadbeat husband claims to look for work, but instead blows their meager income on getting drunk and gambling.
Cecilia escapes her life with the movies and becomes transfixed with "The Purple Rose of Cairo," and especially with its lead character, archeologist Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels). When Tom steps off of the screen and into her life, both realities are thrown into chaos.
I’ve never seen a better film about the magic of the movies. What movies can do for us, good and bad. The power of film can be almost too influential. Movies can be there for us as emotional support. Yet, what happens when we begin to lose sight of reality?
It’s the best magic of the movies film maybe ever, and weirdly not the last one on this list.
Breaking the Waves (1996) – Lars von Trier
In 1970s Scotland in a small religious community, a woman named Bess (Emily Watson) marries an outsider from Norway, Jan (Stellan Skarsgard) much to the disapproval of the community. When Jan breaks his neck in an oil rig accident their relationship becomes strained.
Jan wants Bess to have intercourse with other men and come tell him in detail. Through her prayer, in which she voices God talking back to her, she convinces herself that she is doing this in the name of God and it is making him better.
It’s one of the best films about the complexity of religion and spirituality. I’m not sure if the film is a condemnation of religion, or maybe just organized religion but not of spirituality. Either way, the ending is something that will stick in my mind forever.
Last Action Hero (1993) – John McTiernan
Another film from the Blank Check podcast’s McTiernan series. I’m shocked I never saw this when I was younger, I loved Arnold as a kid. However, if I did watch this as a kid I would not have gotten all of its nuances and I would not have liked the movie.
Much like The Purple Rose of Cairo, this film is about the magic of the movies and how we use them to escape reality. This time it is from the view of a child rather than a grown woman. But, the message is still the same.
This isn’t as successful as Woody Allen’s film. The rules of McTiernan’s film are murky. Nevertheless, that doesn’t take away from the sharp quick jokes that you could miss with the blink.
This film didn’t completely tank McTiernan, but after Medicine Man and this, he needed that third Die Hard film. This will never be his low point because he does end up going to prison. For more on that read here.
24 Hour Party People (2002) – Michael Winterbottom
In Manchester, 1976 a local TV news reporter Tony Wilson witnesses a performance by the band The Sex Pistols, and his whole life changes. The film chronicles Tony Wilson’s influence over the punk, new wave, and rave scene that was all birthed in Manchester England.
Tony and his friends started Factory Records and The Hacienda Club. Of course, the film takes its liberties with the story. With its fourth wall breaks by Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson, he even points out when things weren’t 100% accurate.
I love this scene, more so the new wave and rave scene of the 80s and 90s and less the punk scene of the 70s. It’s a fun film that laid the groundwork for films like The Big Short and all the other fourth-wall-breaking biopics.
