We Are Movie Geeks would like to welcome the newest member of our little family and allow him the opportunity to introduce himself. Adam, aka The Chicago Guy, will be adding his own Chicago-style point-of-view on all things cinematic, movies that is.

All-Time Top Five

Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love All Forms of Cinema

Hello all! This is Adam, the newest writer for WeAreMovieGeeks.com. I will be your Chicago correspondent, covering all things cinematic related to the Windy City: premieres, screenings, Chi-town trivia, etc. This Midwest metropolis has been my home since 2003, and will be for a long time to come.

I blame my movie addiction on my dear big brother–and WAMG managing editor–Travis. As kids, we shared many a late night watching whatever we could get our hands on–from the latest blockbuster to the oldest, shlockiest horror movie Travis could find at the video store. His enthusiasm could turn even the worst movie into an experience, and that enthusiasm was contagious.

My love of cinema eventually led me to earn a college degree in theatre, which in turn led me here to the Windy City to pursue fame and fortune as an actor. You can see how well that turned out… But movies remain for me a passion and a favorite pastime; an escape and an art form; things to be appreciated and enjoyed, analyzed and understood.

As a writer and reviewer, I think it’s important you understand my biases. So, to give you a little taste of my… well, “tastes”, here is my All-Time Top Five Movies. Agree or disagree, these are the ones that resound with me. You know how some annoying people endlessly quote their favorite movies? Yeah, that’s me with these five. So, without further ado:

5. High Fidelity – This movie, about a music geek’s self-absorbed quest for understanding and romantic redemption, is cleverly written and incredibly funny. But I love it mostly because it breaks the mold for romantic comedies. It’s more concerned with what it really feels like to be dumped–to have loved and lost, so to speak–than it is with the story of getting the girl back. It makes for a more compelling and truthful love story than most others I’ve seen… (More on this later.)

4. Pi – A mathematical thriller? Qua?! Even if the math doesn’t scare you, the grainy, dizzying, tension-building, black-and-white filming will certainly unnerve you. And the story may just make you think.

3. Superbad – The most recent addition to my list. The Judd Apatow camp’s contribution to comedy in the past five years has been substantial, but this one stands out for me as being truly outstanding. Besides the standard dick and fart jokes, this raunchy coming-of-age bromance truly caught how teenage boys think, talk, and act. If someone had videotaped my best friend and I senior year of high school, it would have looked eerily similar to this movie…

2. American Beauty – Dysfunctional families are all over Hollywood, but the Burnhams are the ones that I relate to the most. One of those morally ambiguous movies with no clear-cut good guys or bad guys, just a bunch of f$%ed up people trying to get what they think they want. Gotta love it.

1. All the Real Girls – Ok, I admit: I am a romantic. I love a good love story. (See #5) Unfortunately, Hollywood kind of sucks at making good love stories. Their schmaltzy, contrived romances may leave everyone happy at the end of the film, but they sacrifice any sort reality in the process. This movie from director David Gordon Green, however, is not so much concerned with making people feel good. In fact, I think it deliberately sets out to make you feel awkward. The mostly-improvised dialogue is often absurd, the scenes are disjointed and illogical, and the story is hardly a clear arc. The result is painful, unsettling, and ultimately, heart-wrenching. And THAT is what a love story should be.

Now you know where I’m coming from. I could have included countless other movies, but these five represent the things I appreciate the most about cinema and the process of making it. With that, I look forward to contributing and to being the newest Movie Geek!