Introducing…The SAMMIES

Five years ago, I started this here blog with the idea that it would help me see, process, and remember all the films that were out there to be discovered. Since then, this blog has turned into all sorts of other things including tv reviews, book reviews, random thoughts, and coming soon…A bigger project to be announced (rhymes with v-look!).

Meanwhile, Letterboxd came along and made this blog look frankly archaic. More importantly though, it also made it way easier for me to connect with more people about movies (hooray!). At least for today, the blog lives on. And so, to commemorate, I am presenting the first (and probably last) ever SAMMIE Awards, meant to honor my favorite first-time viewings in the five years of this blog: a period encompassing countless movie theaters, living rooms, friendships, memories, and 827 (and counting!) film entries. 

To reiterate, these are not necessarily the best movies I’ve seen (although many are), but the ones that stand out five years later as the most impactful to me. Really, my hope is that they will serve as an opportunity to talk more about movies, generate new suggestions, and maybe even nudge something slightly up on your own watch-list. 

And so, without further adieu… The SAMMIES!

Zodiac – David Fincher (2007)

Screening #: 1
Date Watched: 1/1/2018
Where: At home, alone.
Original Review: Slow burn. Pretty terrifying. Gruesome deaths. Very freaky toward the end in that dude’s basement. “Not a lot of people have basements in San Francisco.”

Additional Musings: My first movie review was not my most eloquent. That being said, it does capture pretty much everything that’s stuck with me about Zodiac through my now many viewings. To keep it short, Zodiac remains one of the most thrilling, compelling, scariest, and best films I have ever seen. 

Life is Sweet – Mike Leigh (1990)

Screening #: 106
Date Watched: 4/21/2018
Where: At home, alone.
Original Review (excerpt): Mike Leigh has such a unique and interesting tone in this movie. It’s a sentiment that I love. The performances are all really strange and cool. It’s a world of characters I’m not used to seeing in film. And even though I’ve never seen anybody like them, they feel incredibly real to me. 

Additional Musings: This was just my second foray into the world of Mike Leigh. It would have been impossible to anticipate what he would come to mean to me. Five years later, he is perhaps my all-time favorite director and while Life is Sweet may not be his best film, it’s the one that speaks most to me, precisely because of how odd, beguiling, and yet familiar the film feels. 

Tampopo – Juzo Itami (1987)

Screening #: 140
Date Watched: 11/9/2018
Where: At home with Bryce and Gioia.
Original Review: Incredible. Truly one of the most delightful surprises of a movie I’ve ever seen. It’s so much fun. Maybe one of my favorite movies full stop.

Additional Musings: Out of many, many wonderful film viewings, this might be my favorite. I have never been so rocked or delighted by what a film could be and I still have never seen anything quite like it. 

Burning – Lee Chang-dong (2018)

Screening #: 148
Date Watched: 12/2/2018
Where: At Music Box with Gioia and Max
Original Review: This film is so intricately written and paced out. Each line of dialogue is engaging and revealing, but not fully understood until the end of the film. It’s among the best-written films I’ve ever seen. 

Additional Musings: Strangely enough, I have not revisited Burning since this initial viewing. Perhaps I’ll do so tonight! Still, I’m not sure I can think of a better-written film I’ve seen since. The film is a masterclass in tone, information, and balance. It was also a strangely fortuitous viewing. We were running way late getting to the film to the point where I thought about calling it off. Instead, my brother, Gioia, and I sprinted through the snow to the Music Box and arrived just in time. Thank god!

Us – Jordan Peele (2019)

Screening #: 170
Date Watched: 3/29/2019
Where: At Logan Theater with Gioia
Original Review (excerpt): A really fun movie to see. The theater was packed and the reactions were loud. It’s not perfect, but I loved watching this movie, and I’ve enjoyed reading and thinking about it more ever since.

Additional Musings: It seems like most people, and I would be inclined to agree, now regard Us as Peele’s least successful film. Number one, even if that is the case, that is a remarkably high bar to have for your worst film. Number two, I still think this is the film of his that I’ve enjoyed the most. It’s not often that the best director in the world is also the most popular. At least for one sold-out screening at the Logan, that’s what it felt like to me. 

Parasite – Bong Joon-ho (2019)

Screening #: 253
Date Watched: 10/20/2019
Where: At Arclight with Gioia, Adam, and Alice. 
Original Review (excerpt): Yeah, I think this is a masterpiece.

Additional Musings: My original review for Parasite is my longest to date. Sadly, I’m not sure there’s much of it that’s worth sharing. I obviously love thinking and writing about movies, but a film like Parasite leaves me feeling words couldn’t possibly capture the brilliance of what was put on screen. Still, I’ll do my best: A few years later, I think Parasite is pretty clearly the best film in recent memory.

Minding The Gap – Bing Liu (2018)

Screening #: 297
Date Watched: 12/20/2019
Where: At home, alone. 
Original Review (excerpt): This movie destroyed me. It’s just one of those special ones. I don’t know if I can put into words what it meant to me. It’s the most human film I can remember watching. 

Additional Musings: Perhaps a slight inversion of my Parasite thoughts. This movie hits me on such a deeply personal and emotional level, that it feels almost impossible to express my admiration for how it is crafted, which is foolish because it is one of the most intelligently and pristinely made first films I’ve ever seen. I’ve watched it many times since and it still knocks me out every viewing. 

8 1/2  – Federico Fellini (1963)

Screening #: 336
Date Watched: 2/8/2020
Where: At home, alone.
Original Review (excerpt): I feel foolish trying to say much of anything about this. It’s that good. 

Additional Musings: What was going on with me in this period? I’ll try to say here what I couldn’t articulate then, Fellini is the best and 8 1/2 is probably his finest movie. As someone who loves crusty old movies, I can admit that at times, they feel more academic than enjoyable. That’s not the case with 8 1/2. Almost 60 years since it’s come out and I still haven’t seen anything else to rival the film’s spectacle and humor. 

A Brighter Summer Day – Edward Yang (1991)
Screening #: 350
Date Watched: 2/18/2020
Where: At home, alone. 
Original Review (excerpt): Edward Yang is a master. I don’t know if I’ve seen a film this ambitious, or frankly, this successful. 

Additional Musings: I believe A Brighter Summer Day is the finest film I have ever seen. In place of my own thoughts about why that is, I’ll include a quote from Yang himself that I find deeply meaningful:

There has never been a doubt in my mind that the present desperate shortage of resources, both human and material, in the film industry can be overcome by bringing in fresh blood on a large scale. During preproduction and production, I never hesitated to take on people who were inexperienced…Over 60 percent of my staff and 75 percent of the cast made their debuts in front of or behind the camera. Their untainted attitude and fearless enthusiasm make up for their lack of experience, providing the vital spirit of a fresh new cinema.”

Toni Erdmann – Maren Ade (2016)

Screening #: 363
Date Watched: 3/7/2020
Where: At Home with Gioia. 
Original Review (excerpt): Holy shit. I can’t believe how good this movie is. This absurdity obviously includes the big birthday party scene which, I can say definitively, is the funniest scene of all time. 

Additional Musings: This film is as good and smart as it is funny which is saying quite a bit considering this is probably the hardest Gioia and I have ever laughed at a movie. 

Beau Travail – Claire Denis (1999)

Screening#: 474
Date Watched: 11/14/202
Where: At home with Gioia. 
Original Review (excerpt): I can’t think of many endings that are more surprising and yet still suit the film perfectly. What an achievement.

Additional Musings: Ugh, that ending! Still perfect, which is not to say that the rest of the film is unworthy of it. On the contrary, the film might still be on the list even without its last scene. 

California Split – Robert Altman (1974)

Screening #: 571
Date Watched: 4/19/2021
Where: At home with Gioia. 
Original Review (excerpt): Each time I watch an Altman film I think he has to be the greatest director ever.

Additional Musings: The thing about Robert Altman is that he has at least 5 or 6 perfect movies which I love and which, any other day, might have made this list. And yet, California Split, which is probably not a perfect film, is the one I think about most often. And to be honest, that’s really what I’m trying to get at with this silly list. I moved to Chicago with no friends and no idea of who Robert Altman was. Then pretty quickly, I made a friend who insisted that I had to see Mash and The Long Goodbye, which I did. Then I made another friend who took me to a late-night screening of Short Cuts. Then, eventually, I met Gioia and we dove together into films like Nashville, The Player, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and California Split. Meanwhile, it was my turn to share with her Mash, The Long Goodbye, and Short Cuts. And now, I’m here, writing to say that movies are amazing, but what’s even better is the people and connections you can make from loving them.