From the staff and student body’s fierce appreciation of him, Vincent Cook has become a micro-celebrity-like English 10 and Literary Film Studies (Film Studies) teacher here at Grand Ledge High School. Amongst students and teachers alike, Cook is known for his passion for watching movies, which is what compelled him to begin his Film Studies class. With the class, he’s able to introduce dozens of movies to students from various graduating classes each year. As a two-time taker of the class, I’d say that it’s the highlight of my day; there’s nothing better than nearly vomiting from watching The Exorcist before my stomach has settled from eating lunch 10 minutes prior!
Considering the staggering buildup of movies to his watched list (I mean, seriously, the man is a Letterboxd legend), most may wonder which movies he favors over all of them. To put all of the pondering to rest, here are Cook’s top five movies of all time (and be grateful, trying to choose only five almost killed him).
- Inglourious Basterds (2009) Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Inglourious Basterds centers on a team of Jewish soldiers who commit violent acts against the Nazis during World War II.
“I have been watching Quentin Tarantino’s movies since I was probably 15… My aunt encouraged me to watch Pulp Fiction, and it blew me away. This movie came out a few years after I first saw Pulp Fiction, and my dad took my brother and I to see this in theaters. It was one of those memorable movie theater experiences where I remember seeing it, and me, my dad, and my brother all walked out and knew we saw something special; we were blown away,” Cook said.
- The Shining (1980) Directed by Stanley Kubrick
During his stay, a family man gradually turns to aggressive and homicidal behaviors due to his isolative environment and the supernatural presences that occupy it.
“[Stanley Kubrick is] my favorite director. I actually have that tattooed on my arm,” Cook said, gesturing toward the cover of his DVD of The Shining, which depicted a homicidal maniac carrying an axe. An interesting tattoo you got there, Cook…
“A Clockwork Orange was the first Stanley Kubrick movie I ever saw. I wrote a paper on it in my freshman English class because it was an option for a book to read; I wrote about the differences between the book and the movie, and that led me down a rabbit hole of Stanley Kubrick. I go back and forth between [The Shining] and A Clockwork Orange for being my favorites of his,” Cook said.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Directed by Peter Jackson
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring begins the trilogy-long quest of a small and unpowerful hobbit, Frodo Baggins, who seeks to destroy the One Ring in Mount Doom, where it was forged.
“My cousin, who was a few years older than me, went to see it, and all he could talk about at Christmas was how amazing it was. I wanted to see it, but my mom wouldn’t let me because I was nine, and it was PG-13… My mom was gone one night, so my dad rented it, and me, my brother, and my dad all watched it. We were all obsessed. We played all of the video games, we even had toys, and years later, I read the books… It’s a story and movie from my childhood that I now get to share with my son,” Cook said.
- The Revenant (2015) Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Fur trapper Hugh Glass is betrayed twice by his hunting team and chooses to get revenge on them.
“[It’s from] one of my favorite living directors, Alejandro González Iñárritu, who has only made about six movies, maybe seven,” Cook said, grimacing at the meme he accidentally referenced.
“The Revenant is one of the rare movies where I saw it in theaters, and I immediately went and saw it again. I have a weird obsession with this movie; it’s really dark, and kind of sad and depressing, and super violent, but it’s kind of a comfort food for me because it makes me feel better about my life,” Cook stated.
- It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) Directed by Frank Capra
A man considers committing suicide when thinking about all of his life problems, and we see the story of his life through flashbacks. To show him all of the good he’s contributed to the world, an angel shows his hometown the way it would be if he were never born.
“If people ask me if I have to pick one movie to be my favorite movie, it’s this one. As I get older, this movie makes me cry more and more. I don’t think I cried when I watched it as a kid, but as an adult married with kids, I feel like I can connect much more with George Bailey, and the idea that maybe life, your goals, and the things that you want don’t always turn out the way you want them to, but you can still learn to appreciate everything and have a positive impact on the world around you, even if it didn’t go the way you wanted. Growing up we’d always watch it at Christmas, and we still do,” Cook said.
