8 Year Old Me: This movie is silent. Therefore, it is a bad movie. 22 Year Old Me: How can someone write off a film based solely off the fact that there's no audible dialogue? How can they overlook the brilliance with which many silent movies were told, and the revolutionary ideas committed to film? Ever since I overcame my bigotry towards silent films, I've discovered a whole new realm of beauty I never knew existed. Few movies better exemplify this beauty than Charlie Chaplin's crowning achievement, City Lights. Released a full four years after talkies became the norm, City Lights tells a simple, moving story: a homeless man, The Tramp, meets a blind flower girl who mistakes him for being a rich aristocrat. Moved with pity for her, this former drifter sets about earning money to pay for an eye operation so she can see again. He goes from job to job, scheme to scheme, sacrificing everything for a girl who doesn't even know the truth about him. Along with way, the film strikes a stunning balance between hilarity and pathos, sometimes making you laugh and be depressed in the same scene. Again, I would feel remiss to give away everything that happens, but it is worth noting that even today many regard the closing scene of City Lights to be among the finest acting ever put to celluloid.
Armed with a laptop, a Pepsi, and a swivel chair, J.D. sets out to uncover the deepest secrets of the film world.
Or, ya know, just write random movie-related lists. Either way....
