Thursday Thirteen

13 Movies I Would Love To Watch Again For The First Time

This just came to me out of the blue yesterday; I was thinking about conversations I had had with noisms in the past about not being able to see films with fresh eyes once you've seen them once. Sure, you can not see a film or read a book for a long time, and you can always get something new when you re-watch a film or re-read a book, but you can never see it for the first time.

So, in no particular order, thirteen films that I would really, really like to see again for the first time.

1. Annie Hall
I've seen a handful of Woody Allen's films, but this is by far my favourite; I love both the humour and the relationship between him and Annie and how they lose the something special that they have between them. I'd like to see it for the first time because then there would be so many amazing lines that I would hear and see being played out, and they wouldn't be familiar to me.

2. The Matrix
"Unfortunately no-one can be told what the Matrix is..." Is it a twist that the world is not the world as Neo knows it? It was clear from the trailer that something was different in this world, but still it would be good to see it and not know it back to front.

3. On The Waterfront
The only film on this list that I have actually only ever seen once, and I'm just so thankful that I have seen it because Brando's performance is up there as one of the best ever in a film. Had I not seen it already, I would have that to look forward to.

4. Chasing Amy
Because then I would have hope that everything might just work out alright...

5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
For similar reasons to Chasing Amy; and for seeing those beautiful landscapes to that haunting music for the first time.

6. Amélie
The magic, pure and simple.

7. Se7en
Bilbo got me thinking about this a lot a few days ago, and if I hadn't been so busy with my thesis in the evenings I would have watched it again. Still, can you imagine that sucker punch to the gut from the finale for the first time? Or seeing everything unfold before your very eyes and not knowing where it was leading?

8. Four Weddings And A Funeral
Because I've seen it so many times... I really love this film a lot, but it would be great to see it again and not be anticipating the dialogue so much.

9. Dawn Of The Dead
The original, not the fast zombie remake from a few years ago. I think because it would be good to watch it and not know who was going to survive and who wasn't.

10. Terminator 2
I watched this recently actually, for the first time in a long time, and was thinking, "If you knew nothing about it, the opening is hugely suspenseful - simply because there are these two guys and you don't know which one is good and which one is bad."

11. The Empire Strikes Back
"I am your father."

12. E.T.
"I'll be right here."

13. The Phantom Menace
There have been films since that I have really looked forward to, really been excited about, but I was just so excited about The Phantom Menace that I couldn't think straight. And it would be nice to have that and not have the knowledge that it didn't live up to the hype.

And that's my Thursday Thirteen for this week. Hopefully a blog post tomorrow afternoon: I just finished my sixth chapter (of seven) today, and I'm feeling pretty good.

More soon.

Thursday Thirteen

Amanda has been doing "Thursday Thirteens" for a couple of weeks now. I don't normally partake of memes, but today's "13 Wants I Can't Classify As Needs (Yet)" was just too good a meme not to spread! (especially since some of those wants spookily mirrored some of my own)

13 Wants I Can't Classify As Needs (Yet)

1). A new mp3 player. I keep chugging along with the old one, even though the battery life is getting shorter and shorter and it cuts out always when I need some music to help me get through the afternoon.

2). A laptop. Work would be a bit easier, and a laptop would be much more conducive to me actually getting work done at home... But do I really need one? Probably not at the moment.

3). A Nintendo Wii. Several friends at uni have them and rave about them, and having had a quick go of my sister's friend's son's Wii I really, really want one... This is almost a need, but I'm dampening down my need until after my thesis is done.

4). My thesis to be written. I could keep writing for months and months to come, the final deadline is not until the autumn, but I just want it to be over now.

5). To go back to Edinburgh for a holiday. It's such a beautiful city!

6). To go back to Japan. So much still to see and do.

7). To visit the US. New horizons...

8). To read "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket. All thirteen books. It's in my books section of my 101 things in 1001 days list... Here's a need: I need to finish that damn list...

9). To see The Police in concert again. Because once just wasn't enough.

10). To act again. I used to do a lot of amateur dramatics type stuff when I was younger, and then in my mid-teens I just seemed to stop. I wrote little skits and scripts for a while, but then that stopped too. I'd love to do some Shakespeare actually...

11). To take a day off. But I can't.

12). To start a webcomic. And I will.

13). To go out for cake with my friend Helena this afternoon. Oh wait, I am!

More soon. Thanks again to Amanda for inspiration!