The Perfect Gift For The Holidays 2024: The Cinephile Bucket List
Back on sale for the third year in a row...my 100 best movie recommendations!
The basic premise of this newsletter has become increasingly clear in the six-plus years since I started it. The sheer volume of content has only increased during that time, in both senses of the word — we are exposed to just so much stuff all day every day, and that stuff can be deafening.
So the goal around here has always been to cut through the noise and give you all actionable recommendations. Yes, yes, I’d like to think I can sneak some cultural commentary in there as well…but I get it, the value is more as an investment advisor for your precious time.
In that spirit…I wonder, sending out a newsletter now three times a week (most weeks…), whether I am in fact simply adding to the digital glut.
So here’s my very offline solution: the No Content For Old Men Cinephile Bucket List. Two years ago I had the crazy idea to make a scratch-off poster with my 100 best movie recommendations. If you watched all of them (before you DIED), you could officially call yourself a cinephile.
I made 100 posters, by hand, designed and printed and assembled sticker by individual sticker. Over the past few holiday seasons I’ve sold over half of them, but there’s still a couple dozens left, so I’m opening sales back up!
And listen, I get it, $30 is a not-insignificant amount of money. I still think it would be an awesome thing to have hanging in your room or give to someone for Christmas, and I hope the details below will convince you it’s worth the cost. But I’m not above guilt-tripping you either — the vast majority of you all read (or at least open) all of my newsletters twice a week for years and you ain’t paid a dime! Help a brother out!
AND HERE’S ONE MORE INCENTIVE!!!
The first 10 people to buy a Cinephile Bucket List this year will get one year free of my premium tier of newsletters — access to my streaming guides, moviegoing commandments and more. Normally $60/year on its own! Now half price plus a poster.
Order at the form at the bottom of this email and I will mail it to you in plenty of time for Christmas.
What is it?
It’s a scratch-off poster containing my 100 best movie recommendations, divided into 10 categories and spanning every genre, style and decade.
Never again will you be caught in the black hole of scrolling through the library of your favorite streaming service, paralyzed by the millions of choices with no clue what is worth your time. Now it’s as easy as glancing at the poster and picking anything on there with the confidence that it’s going to be really good, regardless if you’re in the mood for “heart-warmers” or “mind-blowing” or “essential directors.”
How’d you pick which movies to include?
My goal was to pick movies that weren’t “obvious,” which is a very subjective sliding scale that ultimately came down to my own personal judgement, but with the goal of recommending as many movies you’ve never seen (or even heard of) as possible. So on this poster you won’t find, for instance, The Godfather, or The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, and other iconic films (if you haven’t seen those and want a good list to start from, I’d recommend the AFI Top 100).
As is the mission of my newsletter, I hope my selections will expose you to movies as an art form and experiences that are both provocative and accessible. If you haven’t watched a lot of movies (or only ever watch Marvel movies), my goal is to offer a crash course in the power of cinema without making you feel like it’s homework. If you read my newsletter consistently and understand what I mean when I say my favorite movies are “upper-middle brow,” I think you’ll find a lot of movies on here you’ll like.
In fact, I’m making a bold claim:
If you watch all 100 movies on this poster, I’m confident one of them will be your new favorite movie of all time.
That promise applies no matter what kinds of movies you like going into the exercise. I worked very hard to ensure the diversity of entries in terms of tone, genre, race, gender and appeal. To be fair, the list skews white and male and hetero not only because I am all of those things but because those are the projects which have gotten funded and produced across the past decades of Hollywood history. Still, you’d be hard pressed to find any subgroup not represented here.
How does it work?
Each time you watch a movie, you can scratch-off the corresponding sticker to reveal a photo from the movie underneath it. That way you can quickly see which movies you still haven’t seen yet, and when it’s all revealed you’ll have a multi-colored testament to your own certified cinephile status!
How’d you make them?
Making these posters is a labor of love. I designed the poster personally on Photoshop, got the posters printed, bought the shipping tubes, and bought the scratch-off stickers. Using tweezers, I am placing all 10,000 stickers individually (100 stickers x 100 posters). Because of this, you may notice that a couple of the pictures are off-center or the stickers askew. Sorry about that. I am but one man!
How can I get one?
I’m selling the bucket list posters for $30 each. Fill out the Google Form linked below with your basic information and preferred payment method. I’ll work with you all individually to ensure payment and mailing is done in the quickest and easiest way possible.