When I saw you had Before Midnight the lowest of the three I had an immediate "I wonder if this is because it's the roughest watch" reaction - which you answered in the very first sentence. I get it. I love these three movies because they're such a perfect encapsulation of what love is like at each of those stages of a relationship and life. Sunrise is all youthful fantasy - crushes and uncertainty and dreams. Sunset is the tension where both parties know they want the same thing and have to navigate starting. Midnight is the brutal (clear-eyed, as you put it) hammer of all the complications of life hitting at once. Just brilliant stuff.
And Linklater really deserved his Oscar for Boyhood.
I came here straight from reading the breaking news in MN... Trying not to scream with rage in the waiting room while my son gets his hair cut. The Linklater piece was exactly what my anxiety needed, something to get my emotions refocused. That top 6 (I don't know what order I'd rank them) is collectively some of my most beloved movie viewing, especially the Sunrise trilogy.
Boyhood is my favorite Linklater film. I have seen it a number of times, but not since becoming a parent eight years ago. I have been meaning to rewatched it again soon, and I expect it to hit me even harder now.
I agree that it, Dazed and Confused, and the Before trilogy are his top tier masterpieces. I got to see Dazed in a crowded theater last summer, and my gosh is that ever a great movie to experience in that kind of setting, if ever you get the chance.
We watched School of Rock as a family last night. My 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son both really liked it. My son spent this morning planning a rock band for himself and his three closest friends. He hasn't told them yet, but he'll deal with that detail later.
As a recent, former resident of Minneapolis I have been pretty sad today. Thank you for the heads up that Sugar is touring. I’m off to go blast ‘If I Can’t Change Your Mind.’
"Grandma, what were you doing while the US became a dictatorship?" "Ranking movies." Because I've done the protesting and the calling and the emailing and the donating. I'm at a loss.
Anyway, Bernie! I adore every bit of it and so does everyone i recommend it to. From the opening mortician lesson to his walk away at the end I think his performance is utter perfection. Not usually a JB fan either.
Dazed and Confused forever! I was the perfect age for this movie when it came out. Also, you've got me determined to finally see the Sunrise etc. movies. I never have and I've always meant to.
I found Boyhood to be one of those movies that stuck with you long after watching it too but I had one major issue with it (that I’m guessing few people agree with me about) and that’s that I didn’t like how he became an arty type
I just feel like if the aim is to show you a normal life/boyhood then he should have ended up at the end just on track to do a much more generic job, photographer just feels like the kind of outcome a guy who succeeded in life like Linklater would imagine a boyhood would end like when for most people, especially those from a broken working class home like that kid, a genuinely decent outcome would be a generic desk jockey and him having an arty looking future us to minuscule a chance of actually happening and takes away from the reality of the movie
About the only thing better than this list is ALL the James Bond movies are on Netflix. I really enjoyed your list. The end credits of 'School,' is worth it.
This shit's gotta stop. Another AMERICAN killed. And Bondi basically blackmailing the state (your voter rolls and we'll leave, which no one believes) into kowtowing a state (the only state) that has voted blue since 1972.
And that note is just a real gut punch.
Look after yourself, Will. I do hear Bishkek is nice this time of year.
I’m in my mid-50s, and I used to watch a lot of movies until my kids were born, yet somehow I have only ever seen one of these 23 movies, namely “School Of Rock”.
Of course, the current inescapable shitshow we're in is capable of demanding all our attention, but thank you, Will, for reminding us it shouldn't with "Let's do Linklater". Amongst my all-time faves, along with PTA and the Coens, Scorcese,... . My wife would put School of Rock near the top (it is a GREAT pop movie), but I, too, am a Boyhood guy. Remembering back to how I felt the first time I saw it in the theater, it is arguably the most I have ever liked a movie in its time.
That Sugar Copper Blue album is so solid--heavy-ish sound with hooks that also contains the pure-candy of "If I Can't Change Your Mind".
When I saw you had Before Midnight the lowest of the three I had an immediate "I wonder if this is because it's the roughest watch" reaction - which you answered in the very first sentence. I get it. I love these three movies because they're such a perfect encapsulation of what love is like at each of those stages of a relationship and life. Sunrise is all youthful fantasy - crushes and uncertainty and dreams. Sunset is the tension where both parties know they want the same thing and have to navigate starting. Midnight is the brutal (clear-eyed, as you put it) hammer of all the complications of life hitting at once. Just brilliant stuff.
And Linklater really deserved his Oscar for Boyhood.
I came here straight from reading the breaking news in MN... Trying not to scream with rage in the waiting room while my son gets his hair cut. The Linklater piece was exactly what my anxiety needed, something to get my emotions refocused. That top 6 (I don't know what order I'd rank them) is collectively some of my most beloved movie viewing, especially the Sunrise trilogy.
So, um, thank you for that.
Boyhood is my favorite Linklater film. I have seen it a number of times, but not since becoming a parent eight years ago. I have been meaning to rewatched it again soon, and I expect it to hit me even harder now.
I agree that it, Dazed and Confused, and the Before trilogy are his top tier masterpieces. I got to see Dazed in a crowded theater last summer, and my gosh is that ever a great movie to experience in that kind of setting, if ever you get the chance.
We watched School of Rock as a family last night. My 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son both really liked it. My son spent this morning planning a rock band for himself and his three closest friends. He hasn't told them yet, but he'll deal with that detail later.
As a recent, former resident of Minneapolis I have been pretty sad today. Thank you for the heads up that Sugar is touring. I’m off to go blast ‘If I Can’t Change Your Mind.’
"Grandma, what were you doing while the US became a dictatorship?" "Ranking movies." Because I've done the protesting and the calling and the emailing and the donating. I'm at a loss.
Anyway, Bernie! I adore every bit of it and so does everyone i recommend it to. From the opening mortician lesson to his walk away at the end I think his performance is utter perfection. Not usually a JB fan either.
You chose a bad time for this, in light of the ICE murder of Alex Pretti, if possible, more eggregious than the murder of Renee Love.
Well, it *was* sent an hour before that happened. (And I will still argue for its utility.)
No offense intended. Appreciate the effort.
Dazed and Confused forever! I was the perfect age for this movie when it came out. Also, you've got me determined to finally see the Sunrise etc. movies. I never have and I've always meant to.
I found Boyhood to be one of those movies that stuck with you long after watching it too but I had one major issue with it (that I’m guessing few people agree with me about) and that’s that I didn’t like how he became an arty type
I just feel like if the aim is to show you a normal life/boyhood then he should have ended up at the end just on track to do a much more generic job, photographer just feels like the kind of outcome a guy who succeeded in life like Linklater would imagine a boyhood would end like when for most people, especially those from a broken working class home like that kid, a genuinely decent outcome would be a generic desk jockey and him having an arty looking future us to minuscule a chance of actually happening and takes away from the reality of the movie
About the only thing better than this list is ALL the James Bond movies are on Netflix. I really enjoyed your list. The end credits of 'School,' is worth it.
This shit's gotta stop. Another AMERICAN killed. And Bondi basically blackmailing the state (your voter rolls and we'll leave, which no one believes) into kowtowing a state (the only state) that has voted blue since 1972.
And that note is just a real gut punch.
Look after yourself, Will. I do hear Bishkek is nice this time of year.
oh my god this Villanova-UConn game is so boring, can they just both lose
Hey Will. Loved your Linklater ranking. Two unrelated questions: 1. When’s your next novel coming? 2. Do you ever rank books? Thanks, Hoosier Mike
❤️
I was going to unsubscribe if Boyhood wasn’t your number one haha.
Will, totally agree about the closing credits of School of Rock!
I’m in my mid-50s, and I used to watch a lot of movies until my kids were born, yet somehow I have only ever seen one of these 23 movies, namely “School Of Rock”.
But I do like that Sugar track.
I thought I wanted the newsletter you were going to write but the newsletter you actually wrote is the right one this week. Thank you.
Boyhood is my favorite and Dazed & Confused is my second. Then the Before trilogy to round out the top five.
Of course, the current inescapable shitshow we're in is capable of demanding all our attention, but thank you, Will, for reminding us it shouldn't with "Let's do Linklater". Amongst my all-time faves, along with PTA and the Coens, Scorcese,... . My wife would put School of Rock near the top (it is a GREAT pop movie), but I, too, am a Boyhood guy. Remembering back to how I felt the first time I saw it in the theater, it is arguably the most I have ever liked a movie in its time.
That Sugar Copper Blue album is so solid--heavy-ish sound with hooks that also contains the pure-candy of "If I Can't Change Your Mind".
Thanks for the welcome diversion!