Camiele: A Life in Movies

Warning: Some images on this page are NSFW!

1996: William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet

I don’t care what anyone says, this was Baz Luhrmann’s greatest cinematic feat and the only film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that matters. The first time I saw it, I was instantly in love with Leonardo di Caprio and forever thought of him as one of the best actors of our generation. So, yeah… this film was rather important to me.

1997: Selena/Good Will Hunting

Okay, so I lied. But you have to understand, both of these movies pretty much defined 1997 for me. Firstly, Selena. I remember exactly where I was the first time I heard Selena sing: as with many things, I was in my mom’s car. Dreaming of You came on the radio, and that was pretty much it for me. When I heard of her death, I was absolutely devastated. She had such a light and a spark in her, and her voice was pure magic. The biopic of her life was simple and gorgeous.

The ending credits, as cheesy as many may have found them, definitely tugged at my 11-year-old heart strings. and I had to actually go in the bathroom and cry.

Now, Good Will Hunting is just a piece of brilliant cinema from the mind of leading actor Matt Damon himself. The script was clever, the acting was amazing, and the overall quality of the film definitely puts it as one of my favorite of all time. Plus Elliot Smith’s contributions to the soundtrack are just magnificent!

1998: Blade

This was a tough call for me. It was either choose the story of Cinderella, the closest I’ll ever come to absolutely being in love with a chick flick (for the record, ladies, no, this isn’t a movie where the princess kicks ass just to run to the arms of her Prince Charming. She didn’t need the prince. She wanted the prince… and got him on her own terms), or choose this film… possibly one of the most important films of all time, just sayin’.

In the end, I had to choose Blade. The tale of the half-breed vampire hunter who’s dark and brooding and kicks ALL of the asses, this movie was actually one of the coolest things I’d ever seen. Still is to this day. Its soundtrack also provided the backdrop to one of the most important aspects of my childhood… LaserQuest!

1999: Audition

As the 90s came to a close, as with my music tastes, my film tastes began to shift to much darker fare. I discovered anime, via Cowboy Bebop. But to be quite honest I knew very little about Japanese film… until Audition. I was browsing through the movie channels, looking for something interesting. It’s no surprise I ended up on the independent movie channel (they were more prone to showing films from Asia). I don’t know what possessed me to actually sit through this entire film, but I’ve never been more happy I was bored in my life!

2000: The Cell

I’m not quite sure what possessed my father to let me see this, but when I saw all the brilliant colors in the trailer, I pretty much knew this movie was going to stay with me for the rest of my life. Tarsem Singh is my superhero for this film alone! I mean, some of the scenery, the lush landscapes… I was absolutely in heaven! Let’s not forget, it’s just a truly twisted film that defined the dramatic shift for me from child to teenager!