Film Recommendations From The Head of MSC Film Club

Kyle Hogan

Oct 18, 20233 min read

Since January of 2023, The MSC Film Club has been consistently holding meetings every month. Since its birth, it’s grown a pretty sizable following. As the cofounder and current president of Film Club, I hold the club very dear to my heart. I still harken back to those nostalgic and jovial memories of myself, Brady Hall, and Mr. Guev running the Club. It truly gives a good tug to my heartstrings and brings a tear to my eye. Gee, what a time to be alive. Anyways, nowadays, Film Club is managed by myself, Mr. Kimble, Lucas Byrne, and Gavin Beil.

Since the conception of the iconic Film Club, it has remained my duty to assign the films that we watch. I take on this responsibility with an extreme level of seriousness and dedication to the club, as well as a respect for the art of cinema. Personally, I watch quite a lot of movies. Ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you. Since the first Film Club meeting back in January, I’ve watched 134 new movies that I had never seen before. Here are two of some of the finest films I’ve watched since the conception of Film Club:

Cinema Paradiso

This beautiful 1988 Italian film directed by Giuseppe Tornatore tells a story about friendship, innocence, and the wonder of movies. The film takes place primarily in the 1940s, and follows the life story of Alfredo;

a young Italian boy who wanders into the Cinema and slowly becomes friends with the projectionist in the back. The young boy’s father had passed away during WWII, and the projectionist had never had any children of his own. Together they grow an unbreakable bond with each other, and Alfredo discovers the magic of movies. This beautiful masterpiece is filled with magic, emotion, nostalgia, and wonder. I’ve gotten a little teary or emotional during a couple movies, but I have never actually cried during a film. However, the ending of this movie managed to make tears stream down my face. A stunning achievement that makes every movie you have watched prior to Cinema Paradiso seem shallow and void of true emotion.

Annie Hall

A romantic-comedy like no other. This 1977 film directed by and starring Woody Allen features a runtime of only 1 hour and 33 minutes. Yet within this short length, it packs in a sophisticated story with complex and layered characters. It is just as much realistic and true to life as it is

stylized and quirky. It manages to show the complete ups, downs, and everything in between of Alvy Singer and Annie Hall’s romantic relationship. All of this is contained inside of a near perfect script, filled with interesting commentary, observational comedy, and genuinely witty and funny dialogue. It represents believably flawed characters living out a believably flawed romantic relationship, that tells you straight from the start of the movie that it won’t be working out for them. The film features numerous instances of beautiful cinematography representing the fascinating culture of New York City. Overall, a highly entertaining and memorable film worth watching by everybody.

(It should be noted that this review is written strictly about the film and only the film. This review does not condone any actions committed by Woody Allen.)

Now, both of these films are a little too difficult to market to our Film Club, and each would likely lose the vote. but we have still watched some pretty fantastic movies. Here are the movies we’ve been able to watch in Film Club, and what our club wanted to rate it.

The Sixth Sense Catch Me If You Can Whiplash

4 Stars 4 Stars 4.5 Stars