Stevenson's Top Thirty Favorite Films

1- Casablanca [Michael Curtiz, 1942]
2- Sunset Blvd. [Billy Wilder, 1950]
3- Almost Famous [Cameron Crowe, 2000]
4- The Hours [Stephen Daldry, 2002]
5- American Beauty [Sam Mendes, 1999]
6- Y Tu Mama Tambien [Alfonso Cuaron, 2002]
7- One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest [Milos Foreman, 1975]
8- Before Sunrise [Richard Linklater, 1995]
9- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [Micheal Gondry, 2004]
10- Titanic [James Cameron, 1997]
11- Goodfellas [Martin Scorsese, 1990]
12- A Streetcar Named Desire [Elia Kazan, 1951]
13- Annie Hall [Woody Allen, 1977]
14- Taxi Driver [Martin Scorsese, 1976]
15- Dog Day Afternoon [Sidney Lumet, 1975]
16- Before Sunset [Richard Linklater, 2004]
17- Good Will Hunting [Gus Van Saint, 1997]
18- Closer [Mike Nichols, 2004]
19- The Godfather [Francis Ford Coppola, 1972]
20- The Shawshank Redemption [Frank Darabont, 1994]
21- Jerry Maguire [Cameron Crowe, 1996]
22- Habla Con Ella [Pedro Almodovar, 2002]
23- Garden State [Zach Braff, 2004]
24- Requiem for a Dream [Darren Aronofsky, 2000]
25- Petit home [Laurent Jaoui, 2002]
26- 25th Hour [Spike Lee, 2002]
27- American History X [Tony Kaye, 1998]
28- Mystic River [Clint Eastwood, 2003]
29- The Virgin Sucides [Sofia Coppola, 1999]
29- Amores perros [Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2000]
30- Dead Poet’s Society [Peter Weir, 1989]

A deeper look into 'Y Tu Mama Tambien'

"Mamacita" Tenoch Iturbide screams while having an orgasm after sex with the beautiful Luisa Cortés, in a hotel room in Mexico. A dream of many teenage boys has just been turned into a reality by one half of the Charolastra's. What follows this is a series of events that end a life and subsequently a friendship. What started as an innocent trip down to a make-believe beach turns into a morbid look inside ourselves.

After viewing this film I felt like a gaping whole in my heart had just been filled. The impeccable screenplay from Alfonso Cuaron speaks louder then just what's on the screen. A glimpse into the lives of two sexually active boys, from two different financial backgrounds raises powerful questions as to what life is all about.

In the last 20 minutes of Y Tu Mama Tambien, we witness a friendship ruined by potential sexual relations after one drunken night.

As I sit in my room, I wonder: "what really happened in that hotel room?" Sure, one might conclude that both Tenoch and Julio engaged in sexual relations with not only Luisa, but with each other but I think that was but a mere formality amongst the two boys. Director Cuaron leaves it open to the viewer to know what happened in that hotel room. But from the narration and the awkard meeting in the Coffee shop, we are left to believe they did have sexual relations.



I personally think the film was made to be percieved on a larger scale then what we see on screen. The death of Luisa symbolises how death can come to us at anytime. Lusia chose to take life head-on and not sit around and mope about her cheating husband or her cancer. She went on a journey with two boys and taught them the meaning of life, love and friendship. Maybe Julio and Tenoch weren't meant to be friends. Maybe this trip was a way to help clarify it for them. Maybe they weren't friends at all. Maybe the films purpose was to show us how FUCKED up this world is. How your husband can cheat on you, you can be diagnosed with cancer, and your best friend can sleep with your girlfriend.

All my thought were changed with the final shot. Julio standing in the coffee shop, asking for the check. His eyes gazing at the door that just opened for the departure of his former best friends. Did Julio love Tenoch more than just friends? Was this trip with Luisa but a mere catalyst in Julio revealing his true feelings for Tenoch?

All these questions are impossible to answer. But, one thing has to be said about this film.

Life is like the surf, so give yourself away like the sea.

When In Doubt....

Turn the music UP!

Top 10 Scenes ever

1: Almost Famous

Directed by Cameron Crowe

A distraught and hungover Russle Hammond board the bus already filled with the rest of Stillwater and the band-aids. Willam Miller sits along side Penny Lane. The song Tiny Dancer by Elton John begins to play on the radio. The piano chords drift upon the bus. One by one everyone begins to sing. Music brings them together, and it prevents them from being torn apart.

2: Y Tu Mama Tambien
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron

Two boys dance with a beautiful women while intoxicated.

3: The Hours Directed by Stephen Daldry

"It is my voice. It is mine and mines only. I'm dying in this town. If I were thinking clearly.....I would tell you that I wrestle alone in the dark, in the deep dark, and that only I can know, only I can understand my own condition. You live with the threat-- you tell me-- you live with the threat of my extinction. Leonard, I live with it, too. This is my right. It is the right of every human being. I choose not the suffocating anesthetic of the suburbs, but the violent jolt of the capital. That is my choice."

4: American Beauty

Directed by Sam Mendes

Lester Burnham stands in his garage while Frank Fitts enters. Rain dripping from his hair down to his toes. Mr.Fitts is vulnerable, as he approaches Lester, he plants a kiss right on his lips. Lester backs away, and while Fitts cries, Lester holds him.

5: A Streetcar Named Desire

Directed by Elia Kazan

After hitting Stella numerous time, a drunk Stanley stands at the bottom of the steps, screaming for his love. "Stellaaaaaaaaaaa"


6: Before Sunrise

Directed by Richard Linklater

Celine and Jesse stand in a music booth listening to Kathy Bloom's: Come Here

7: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Directed by Micheal Gondry

Clementine and Joel running through the house in Montauk. Clementine is upstairs while Joel is wandering downstairs. Clementine proceeds to ask Joel why did he leave. We are now aware that this is their second meeting. Joel confesses he thought she was weird. And as a plan to change the past, Clementine ask Joel, what if he stays this time. A crumbling roof falls upon them. Joel wakes up. The beginning is the end, the end, the beginning.

8: Taxi Driver

Directed by Martin Scorsese

An excited Travis Bickle takes Betsy played by Cybil Shepherd to a peep show as a first date. Being completely oblivious to his wrong doings, Travis looks at Betsy like a scared and confused boy.

9: Goodfellas

Directed by Martin Scorsese

A young Henry Hill stares out of his window as the 'gangsters' go about their business. Ray Liotta's voice-over comes on and says; "As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster"

10: Sunset Blvd.

Directed by Billy Wilder

A delusional Norma Desmond walks down the stairs awaiting her "close-up"