Stanley Kubrick Movies
He deserves his own category. He’s a true genius that decided early on that film was the greatest and most accessible form of expression and dedicated his life to it. He made his movies with such precision that even his movie posters, the real life story of the actors he chose, and the angle of something as innocuous as baking soda cans in the background of a scene can have meaning. His films span all genres and are some of the most dissected in the history of the medium. Still, they are very enjoyable, sometimes genre defining and in every case stand up to the tests of time (2001 came out almost 50 years ago). Most people know of these movies, but I wanted to include them and put them in order of how much I enjoyed each one.
The Shining
I wrote my Writing 1 final essay on the Shinning. It’s so painful to read now, but my love for this movie remains relatively untainted. Is it an apology for faking the moonlanding, an apology for the genocide of native americans, or is it a tale of the effects of childhood sexual abuse… Who knows, but it stays as unsettling today as the first time I saw it.
Rotten Tomatoes (86%) | Netflix
Pairs well with Jack Daniels on the Rocks
Full Metal Jacket
“Colonel: You write "Born to Kill" on your helmet and you wear a peace button. What's that supposed to be, some kind of sick joke?
Private: I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man, sir.”
Rotten Tomatoes (92%) | Netflix
Pairs well with Saigon Special
Bonus: Apocalypse Now - One of the greatest war movies of all time. Up the river. Rotten Tomatoes (96%)
2001: A Space Odyssey
“One of the most influential of all sci-fi films -- and one of the most controversial -- Stanley Kubrick's 2001 is a delicate, poetic meditation on the ingenuity -- and folly -- of mankind.” - RT
Rotten Tomatoes (93%) | Pirate Bay
Pairs well with Golden Monkey Beer
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Very relevant in the era of The Donald, Kimbo Slice, and rootin’ tootin’ Putin.
Rotten Tomatoes (99%) | Pirate Bay
Pairs well with Moscow Mule and/or Saki Bombs
A Clockwork Orange
Who’s ready for some Ultra-Violence! This movie is referenced all the time so its a good one to watch for your life.
Rotten Tomatoes (89%) | Netflix
Pairs well with Bailey’s and espresso
Eyes Wide Shut
Unfortunately no one has seen the final edit of this movie. The released film was re-edited by Warner bros after his untimely heart attack so is probably not entirely representative of his true vision. The plot thickens when you realize this is a film about a sex cult and two of the actors in the film are connected to real life cults. Tom Cruise with Scientology and Nicole Kidman whose dad was accused of running an international child trafficking, pedophile ring, and ritualistic murder cult. He died of a ‘fall’ in his hotel room in 2014.
Rotten Tomatoes (75%) | Netflix
Pairs well with Champagne blueberries/raspberries
Bonus: Room 237 - a film about some of the most interesting conspiracy theories related to Kubrick and his films. Did he fake the moon landing? Rotten Tomatoes (94%)