Bill Hader Collider Movie Rec Review Blog

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Mission

In a 2019 interview, Bill Hader recommended 225 movies that inspired him to become a filmmaker. This is my attempt to watch them all, and will be making posts as I go though them. I am not an aspiring filmmaker so I definitely won’t be looking at them through that lens, but I’m hoping to broaden my movie watching horizons and learn some things along the way. If this sounds like a thing you want to do you are welcome to watch along. I started a Twitter group for this as well: Bill Hader Collider Rec Watch Party or @HaderRec. The link to the article that started it all is posted below.

https://collider.com/bill-hader-favorite-movies-list/

And now a letterboxd list: Bill Hader Collider Recommendations https://boxd.it/aGj1M

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Close Encounters of the Third Kind

I love all kinds of different movies, but in my heart of hearts there is really nothing like a Spielberg movie. What I Liked: The score. Man, they just don't make 'em like John Williams anymore. This movie benefits from being made before the rise of CGI. The use of lightning in this movie was brilliant and CGI would have killed the magic of the story. Richard Dreyfus. Be still my heart. What I Disliked: Some parts were a little long. The scene at the end could have easily been 5-10 minutes shorter. The thing with Roy and Jillian felt like it came out of no where. Their journey was interesting enough without the weird kiss at the end. Thoughts and Ponderings: If I was the wife I would have left too. Dude was acting nuts. Jillian had a rough time holding on to her kid. This movie proves if you stick to your guns, and believe in yourself enough despite what anyone else thinks, you too can one day fly away with aliens.

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The Brood

I'm never having kids. What I Liked: Samantha Eggar was fantastic at playing super crazy. The scene with the two brood kids holding Candy's hands and walking her down the side of a snowy highway was creepy AF. What I Disliked: Every poor kid in this film is gonna be traumatized for life. Thoughts and Ponderings: I'm never going to get the scene with Nola revealing her fetus creature and then her tearing into the membrane and licking the thing clean out of my head. Never. Do we think Frank went home and called the police or just left the murder scene for someone else to find? I wonder what the manifestation of my anger looks like. I do not usually do horror but this was really great.

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Hoop Dreams

This did not feel like a 3 hour movie. This documentary is so much more than a film about two kids with dreams of playing basketball. What I Liked: The flow of the story is fantastic. You're right along with these two guys through the ups and downs of their young lives. What I Disliked: I thought the sax music was a little much but that's probably due to the time period it was filmed. Thoughts and Ponderings: I wasn't prepared for how invested I was going to get in the lives of these two young men. They seem like good kids. I hope they're happy with where their lives go after we leave them.

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Dazed and Confused

Another rewatch and one of my all time favorite movies. I quote is quite frequently. To this day, when I smell weed, my first thought is always "someone's tokin some reefer." It is funny how the way I view the film changes the older I get. Like the further away from high school I am the more I'm appalled at these kids behavior and wondering where their parents are!

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The Fabulous Baron Munchausen

Man this was a wild ride and I loved it! What I Liked: I really can not overstate how much I loved the live action mixed with the animation in this film. It was incredible. Not every shot was perfect and seamless, but it was beautiful and perfect and I couldn't take my eyes off it. Also the sound mixing was just perfect. What I Disliked: As much as I loved the filming, the story was just ok to me. I spent most of the movie just looking at it and completely forgetting there was plot.  Thoughts and Ponderings: In the end it was two stars for story, and five stars for the rest. I settled on three and a half.

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The Asphalt Jungle

Eh. Found myself a little bored watching this.

What I Liked:

"I see you running over any cats I'll kick your teeth in."

I like the guy who played the Doc and the lady who played Doll.

What I Disliked:

Uncle Lon. Gross.

The guy who played Dix was a terrible actor.

Thoughts and Ponderings:

The whole thing between Marilyn Monroe and Emmrich was gross.

The Lieutenant slapped ole Coppy into singing.

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Invasion of the Body Snatchers

I liked this one a lot. These poor people were doomed from the start but it was still a fun ride.

What I Liked:

The people they grew out of the pods was wild and disgusting and I couldn't look away.

All the acting was great but who doesn't love Jeff Goldblum being Jeff Goldblum?

The ending.

What I Disliked:

Leonard Nimoy's character maybe?

Thoughts and Ponderings:

Those women ran and ran in those heels. At the end times I'm wearing tennis shoes.

I love that 70s fashion.

I really liked the camera angles and the way the film was shot.

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Bottle Rocket

I am a massive Wes Anderson fan, but had never gotten around to seeing this one. It was fun to see him figuring out his style with his first film and how it evolved into where he's at now.

What I Liked:

Owen and Luke were really great. I thought they both brought their individual charm to each of their rolls.

The absurdity. Big fan of the absurdity.

Anthony's conversation with his sister.

What I Disliked:

Bob's brother was very annoying.

Thoughts and Ponderings:

That last heist was such a cluster. "How'd you end up in the freezer?"

Anthony: I love you. I want you to run away with me.

Inez: And leave my stable job? Are you kidding? I barely know you.

I thought it was crazy they robbed that book store, no masks, and they were never found out.

I want that get away VW van so bad.

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Ashes and Diamonds

Most people seem to be very fond of the opening sequence of this movie, but I found it was the rest of the movie that made it really shine.

What I Liked:

I quite enjoyed the Secretary and the old man getting drunk together. And pretty much all of the old man's shenanigans afterwards.

I liked the scene in the toomb where Maciek and Krystyna had a heart to heart next to Jesus swinging upside-down.

The cinematography in this film was so beautiful.

What I Disliked:

Maciek's flirting with Krystyna at the beginning. He thought he was being cute, but it was actually super annoying and I'm mad she went up to his room after.

The drunk people dancing at the end was weird.

Thoughts and Ponderings:

The kiss goodbye was so aggressive... and then a random horse showed up.

I'm so cynical of stories where people fall in love immediately.

What a sad ending.

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Mona Lisa

I mostly really enjoyed this film. The story was intriguing and the acting was good. I found some of the action scenes kind of clunky and I'm not sure some of the more aggressive scenes between Simone and George would play too well in 2020, but his aggravation with her played honest and real.

What I Liked:

It seems Bob Hoskins (who I love) gets most of the praise for this movie, but I thought Cathy Tyson as Simone was brilliant and utterly heartbreaking.

Also Cathy Tyson's voice. I've never been so enamored with the way someone sounds before.

I liked the Mona Lisa song that plays over much of the movie.

Robbie Coltrane (Haggrid!) was the perfect comedic injection. The plastic spaghetti sculptures killed me. Like what does this dude do for a living?

I really liked the shots of us watching Simone through the rear view mirror.

What I Disliked:

The Genesis song that played over the montage of George looking for Cathy in seedy joints I thought was a weird choice.

George's violence toward Simone made me uncomfortable. Him dragging her around the pier at the end was super cringe worthy.

Thoughts and Ponderings:

So George just left the scene of a double homicide and got on with his life? Did they arrest Simone? I have so many questions.

Whatever happend with the other 15 yr old prostitute.

It definitely has some Taxi Driver vibes (which I just watched). I can definitely see how people make that comparison.

Michael Caine is a brilliant actor, but his talents were wasted in this role. He felt very generic bad guy to me.

All in all some bad, mostly good, not a waste of 90 minutes.

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Taxi Driver

Travis is one fucked up dude. People say this movie is about loneliness, but my dude had a lot more going on with him then just loneliness.

What I Liked:

The opening credits really set the tone for the movie.

The sound mix and editing in this movie was fantastic.

Jodi Foster

I think my favorite part of this whole movie is the card he writes his parents. Dear Mom and Dad it's July which is your anniversary and Father's day and mom's birthday and I hope this one card takes care of all that.

What I Disliked:

All the dudes in this movie were super creepy and gross.

Thoughts and Ponderings:

I love that Travis' idea of taking a girl to a movie being a dirty movie. And then him being suprised when that didn't end well.

Travis: I'll take anyone anywhere but I'll be super judgy and racist while I do it.

This is the first movie where I've been super aware of camera angles and the way certain scenes are shot.

You talking to me?

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Dr. Strangelove

I don't think I liked this movie. I don't think I got the humor.

What I Liked:

Mandrake. I enjoyed his character. I liked that he tried to call the President collect.

I also enjoyed the conversations between the American and Russian Presidents.

Young James Earl Jones! That voice!

What I Disliked:

The country sounding pilot was annoying. RIP buddy.

I'm so glad the top government is no longer that white and that male.

I didn't understand the point of the Dr. Strangelove character at all.

Thoughts and Ponderings:

"There's no fighting in here it's a war room."

I understand why they had to add that disclaimer at the beginning.

Those 1960's special effects were hilarious.

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Toy Story

My first rewatch in the list. I'll probably not add as much detail to these.

Toy Story is a classic. What's not to love honestly? It's funny and smart and heartwarming. It's always funny coming back to movies you watched when you younger and now seeing them through a more grown up perspective. It holds up so well as a movie I imagine parents will be showing it to their kids for many years to come.

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My Neighbor Totoro

This is a deeply beautiful, easy to watch Studio Ghibli film, filled with Miyazaki's usual flair of charm and wonder. As someone who considers themselves a fan of his work I'm deeply shamed it took me this long to watch it.

What I Liked:

The sister bond is sweet and I enjoyed their dynamic.

Totoro is adorable and I not longer have to feel like a fraud for all the different merch I've bought featuring him over the years.

What I Disliked:

I need more info on mom's medical condition. It was kept very vague and I needed details!

Why were there three totoros? What was the family dynamic? Was the big one named Totoro or was that the name of the species?

Thoughts and Ponderings:

I realize the movie was made in 1988 but man these kids were just allowed to free roam wherever they wanted to go. No wonder Mei thought she could just walk to the hospital solo.

That catbus probably sheds like crazy.

If I was in the hospital, and all the sudden an ear of corn with "to mom" written on the side of it showed up outside my window, I'd want to immediately know where my kids were.

An easy watch with a sweet story good for a family night in.

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Cléo from 5 to 7

I was bored, then I was curious, then I was engrossed, then I was confused, then I was... I'm not sure, melancholy maybe? It was a confusing 90 minute rollercoaster of emotions.

What I Liked:

I am in love with the way this movie was shot. Moving along with Cléo from place to place in real time seeing what she sees experiencing what she experiences. I appreciated that pov.

Got to love a woman who goes to a cafe and puts on her own music to see how people will react to it.

The song she sings in the middle of the movie. I had literal heart eyes.

I'm kinda jealous of her apartment. And also the two random kittens that just played and did whatever during that scene.

What I Disliked:

I found the whole thing with the solider baffling. She meets him in a park and I guess there was an instant connection, but I never really felt that. And then spending less than an hour with him made her not afraid of cancer anymore? Of course I also find it baffling that Prince Charming spends the last 30 mins of Cinderella trying shoes on random women in the hopes of finding someone he shared one dance with. But I digress.

Why was the tarot card reading in color but the rest of the film in b&w? I found that weird.

Thoughts and Ponderings:

I can't decide if the man swallowing the frogs is completely disgusting or super impressive.

So Cléo was sitting on a bench and the doctor in his car comes out of nowhere to do a drive by cancer diagnosis. Where did he even come from?

Walking and driving in Paris in the 60's looks so dangerous.

I don't know if it's this movie, HBO, or new wave French cinema but the movie just ended. No roll credits. It was very jarring.

This movie is called Cléo from 5 to 7 but it ends at 6:30. What's that about?

10 minutes in I was worried I was going to hate it. An hour in I was convinced I was going to love it. In the end it's neither, and I'm not altogether sure what I feel.

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Paris, Texas

What a really great movie. I've been putting off watching this one because it's kinda long, but I did myself a disservice because it's a fascinating character study with brilliant cinematography.

What I Liked:

The acting in this movie is phenomenal. All the way aroud fantastic.

I love the confession scene at the end and how it felt like a confession booth and both characters had to face away from the other to confess their truths.

The wide shots of the (mostly) Texas landscape were really beautiful.

What I Disliked:

Maybe the scene where they are watching the home movie could have been shorter? I feel like I'm reaching here.

Thoughts and Ponderings:

Remember when gas was $1.07 and you could smoke on airplanes and then they'd just stop in the middle of the tarmac and let you out? Me either. I was born in 1984.

I'm so torn on how I feel about what should happen with Hunter. The brother and his wife really love him and have been raising him for 4 years. But also she's his mom and she clearly missed him. But also she's got a crap job and probably a life not conducive for children.

Do you think when he left he went to Paris, Texas?

Just a movie about beautiful flawed people who made bad choices and are doing the best they can.