2023 New Members’ Favorite Movies

Sep 29

To celebrate our new class of members, we have compiled a list of their favorite movies and why they love them. Get to know our new writers and check out these films!

Luke Weidemoyer: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

My favorite film is David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. It’s admittedly not the most well-made, best acted, or smartly written movie out there. But its incredible blend of terror (both surreal and terrifyingly real), unforgettable imagery, and unrelenting authenticity make Fire Walk with Me the most moving and personal film I’ve ever seen.

Allie Frydrych: Chasing Amy

Under the veil of a promising romance, Chasing Amy explores toxic masculinity and sexual insecurity in a whip-smart battle of the sexes, while providing a surprisingly progressive glimpse at queer subcultures. Director Kevin Smith’s own background as a comic book aficionado manifests through his detailed backdrops and animated sequences that present a dazzling counterpart to the sharp-witted dialogue.

Henry Franklin: Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai is my favorite film. I can still remember the rainy Sunday afternoon when I saw it for the first time. I was twelve. My whole family watched it together, since my dad—himself a recovering cinephile—thought we all ought to be exposed to masterpieces of world film. And from the first frame of Kurosawa’s opus, my love of cinema was forever ignited.

Cole Hanover: The Fugitive

My favorite film is Davis' The Fugitive. Apart from putting two powerhouses, Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, on the opposite side of the law in a suspense-chase-thriller with a spunky score, it's also a beautiful exploration of the city of Chicago, with many locations very close to my home. Every single scene keeps me on the edge of my seat no matter how many times I watch, and I just love an action film where the hero doesn't need to be an expert marksman/tactician, just a smart, resourceful guy.

Aden Berger: Boogie Nights

My favorite film is Boogie Nights. Paul Thomas Anderson’s best film is a perfect synthesis of Scorsese and Altman. Never has a movie been so funny and so tragic at the same time. Anderson’s live wire direction and pitch perfect script allow a cast full of some of the best actors of the last 30 years to soar. Boogie Nights began my obsession with movies. After seeing some of the things Anderson pulled off in this film, such as the Alfred Molina scene near the end(the scariest, funniest, weirdest scene ever put to film), I knew this was an all time classic.

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