Have you been X-Filed yet?

Why would anybody in 2012 would write about a TV series that started to be broadcasted in 1993 and finished 10 years ago? Maybe because in the last episode the most awesome villain in a TV series, The Smoking Man, speaks about 22nd December 2012 as being the start of alien colonization? Or maybe because all the other TV shows and even movies made after that year got their inspiration from this pool of magnificent topics episode after episode?

I have re-watched lately in a slow rhythm all 9 seasons and though in the market there are other productions with super technology involved, I must say, X-Files has no similar counterpart. Its unique atmosphere and the background red thread story (the mother of the mothers of conspiracies) still resists the test of time. I am writing this post for Fringe fans for example, for Eureka fans, for Matrix fans, for the young generations who have no clue who Scully and Mulder are.

I don't believe that there is an untouched weird, bizarre or paranormal subject out there not being depicted by this series. You can find everything in it: alien abductions, brainwashing, shape-shifters, man-beasts, lake monsters,  ghosts, spirits, artificial intelligence, clones, wicked kids, pyrokinetics, lycantrophy, serial killers, reincarnation, subliminal messages, killer bugs, spontaneous combustion, fetishists (oh boy, Donnie Pfaster is one of the creepiest psychos ever. :D :D), voodoo, horse men, alligator men, Navajo codes, hackers (the Lone Gunmen are the first true geeks in the history of TV, amazing and delightful guys), religious killings, the butterfly effect, men without mouths and eyes (no, this was not a Matrix invention, sorry), genetic mutants...you name it!

And though it is quite difficult to choose from so much epicness in one place, here are my all time favorite episodes.
-Irresistible (season 2) - starring the above mentioned fetishist (painted nails and cut fingers came from X-Files dearest Dexter fans).  
-Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man (season 4) - wanna know who killed JFK? :)
-Never Again (season 4) - where you meet the sexiest speaking tattoo. Voice-Jodie Foster. Enough said.
-Small Potatoes (season 4) - the dream of any man. :D
-Unusual Suspects (season 5) - when we finally find out how Mulder met the Lone Gunmen in 1989; priceless tech fairy, with pre-historical computers and stuff. :D
-The Post Modern Prometheus (season 5) - the most sensible episode of all; when we see who the real monsters are and where Cher plays an important part of the story. :)
-Chinga (season 5) - with a creepy doll. "I want to play" will haunt you many days after watching it. No wonder. Stephen King wrote the script. :D
-Bad Blood (season 5) - about vampires. 50 minutes of non-stop laughing.
-Triangle (season 6) - shot in Hitchcock style, it is a jewel. I would add time travel, second world war, and Bermuda Triangle.
-How The Ghosts Stole Christmas (season 6) - a haunted house on Christmas night, only 4 characters. Stairs that disappear, opening doors and getting into the same room, over and over again. You got the idea. :)
-Arcadia (season 6) - for the fun of seeing Mulder and Scully impersonating a married couple.
-Orison (season 7) - because the nail fetishist is back. :D

If you are a fan of the X-Files, please drop me a line and tell me what is your favorite episode. I would really love to find out what actually ticked for other people. Thanks a lot for reading. :)

Movies that made me the way I am

This is going to be a very long post...so beware. I will not make a top of my favorite movies and I will not review them either. I will simply write down the titles of flicks that meant something to me, that touched me, that changed me, that influenced me or simply movies that must be seen by anybody. There is no particular order and I will list them exactly the way they come into my mind. The post will be periodically updated so be free to come back and check the new jeweleries. :)

1. The Great Dictator (1940) - the ultimate masterpiece of all times. If there is one movie that should survive Earth destruction then this is the one. Chaplin remains even after so many years the number 1 genius of this art.
2. Amadeus (1984) - Forman's best movie unlocked mind-blowing depths in me. Mozart as never seen before. This is when I started to fear mediocrity. I was 16.
3. Jesus of Nazareth (1977) - The only religious movie that really managed to make me totally believe even if for a fraction of a second that God is somewhere watching over me. It was then that I experienced epiphany.
4. Gone with the wind (1939) - The charm of old times has never been better depicted. I loved and hated Scarlett. My first encounter with love at its best.
5. Stalker (1979) - Thanks to Tarkovsky, I knew there was nothing wrong with me. The abnormal and haunting images from my daily dreams found their sisters in the decayed buildings and the mysterious, weird waters.
6. 8½ (Otto e mezzo)(1963) - the real world and the inner world combine themselves to give birth to a movie dedicated to the painful confusion that torments any artist's life. Fellini touched the insane strings of creativity process.
7. Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie (1972) - 100 minutes that will tower you with its absurd humor and ominous dream sequences. 100 minutes that will reveal the horrible hypocrite that exists in each of us.
8. A Clockwork Orange (1971) - the perfect match between a writer and a director (Burgess and Kubrick). The double quantity of madness smashes every piece of your body and soul. It squeezes the humanity in you, but it also purifies you.
9. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) - It hits you with the power of a hammer. Fragility, pain and the mute wailing of "I've Always Depended On The Kindness Of Strangers."
10. The Matrix (1999) - "Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself." A new era started. An era where mind and spirit got an extra-dimension.
11. Star Wars (1977) - The beginning of an epic saga that mesmerizes the kid in us. The movie that showed the power of imagination.
12. Rain Man (1988) - It's ok to cry when watching it, even if you are a man. There is nothing wrong with this. Dustin Hoffman's performance (backed up by a surprisingly brilliant Tom Cruise) is the lesson we all must learn and remember forever.
13. The Hours (2002) - You thought you were depressed? You thought your life was small and pathetic? You thought you knew anguish? Well, take this and let's talk about it afterwards.
14. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) - When humanity embraces the magic, this is the outcome. And I don't know about you, but sweet dear God I wish I was an elf.
15. Some Like it Hot (1958) - The perfect comedy that stands the test of time. Sparkling, alluring, sexy, intelligent, fuzzy, hilarious, it is indeed perfect, in spite of its most famous end line: "Nobody is perfect."
16. E.T. (1982) - Spellbound, hypnotized, in love. An extra-terrestrial being whom I adored more than anything. If there was a religious parable behind the movie, only Spielberg can tell. All I know is that E.T wanna go home...
17. Scent of a woman (1992) - When the outstanding performance of a "monster" meets the flavor of tango and the slashing randomness of life. Breathtaking.
18. Fight Club (1999) - The first rule of Fight Club? "Never talk about Fight Club!" Initially, I was so shocked that I hated it. But then, the movie grew on me and grew...and grew...Suffocating, brilliant, insane, disturbing. Puts on the table with lucidity all my fears and all my doubts.
19. Meet Joe Black (1998) - Because even death itself needs love. "Love is passion, obsession, someone you can't live without. If you don't start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who'll love you the same way back. And how do you find him? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I'm not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you'll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love - well, you haven't lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven't tried, you haven't lived."
20. Don Juan DeMarco (1994) - The last movie in which a male was plausible when making love declarations. Sad, but true.

To be continued...