Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

15. Wild At Heart (1990)  It's definitely not my favorite David Lynch film, but Wild at Heart has grown on me. Although the film includes a fairly straightforward plot because Lynch is adapting Barry Gifford's novel, the casting and over-the-top performances add those Lynchian elements that keep the viewer guessing. His addition of  audacious characters like Mr. Reindeer (W. Morgan Sheppard) and focus on the darker aspects of  popular culture as exemplified by Elvis and Marilyn Monroe fixations filtered through a near Joe Coleman level of morbidity make this a unique study on American obsession. However, the film still finds space to be funny, particularly in how Laura Dern and Nicolas Cage portray those obsessions. Think Lynch with a side of John Waters, a dash of the Coens, and a dessert that recalls the fantastical elements of  The Wizard of Oz (1939) updated for the consumer-obsessed 1990s.  14. Winter Kills ( 1979) I weighed including The Parallax View ...

A journey through the history of film, narrative, and genre through connections between Lynch's filmography and Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz (1939) . Sometimes academic and historical (Amy Nicholson, Karyn Kusama, and many of the six chapters) and other times humorous and self-referential (John Waters), the documentary has something for film fans, Lynch obsessives, and everyone in between.

Film Two: Baraboo (2009). Mary Sweeney, best known as David Lynch's editor, directed this offbeat, yet surprisingly straightforward, character study set in a fictionalized and unrecognizable Baraboo, Wisconsin. The film's beautiful cinematography accurately reflects the beauty and heartbreak of rural America, but there is not enough plot to make this one more than a slow-moving curiosity.

269. Fish Tank (2009), Andrea Arnold, Curzon Artificial Eye 270. The Hurt Locker (2008), Kathryn Bigelow, Summit 271. Dune (1984), David Lynch, Universal 272. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), Joel Zwick, IFC 273. Rope (1948), Alfred Hitchcock, Warner Bros. 274. The Birds (1963), Alfred Hitchcock, Universal 275. Feet First (1930), Clyde Bruckman, Paramount 276. Documenteur: An Emotion Picture (1981), Agnes Varda, DPI 277. The Baron of Arizona (1950), Samuel Fuller, Lippert 278. Mr. Freedom (1968), William Klein, Grove Press

259. Bulldog Drummond's Revenge (1937), Louis King, Paramount 260. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992), David Lynch, New Line Cinema 261. Crash (2004), Paul Haggis, Lionsgate 262. Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2005), Randall Miller, Samuel Goldwyn 263. A Walk in the Woods (2015), Ken Kwapis, Broad Green 264. Paris, Texas (1984), Wim Wenders, Argos 265. Eraserhead (1977), David Lynch, Libra 266. Powwow Highway (1989), Jonathan Wacks, Anchor Bay 267. The Man Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945), Akira Kurosawa, Toho 268. Mikey and Nicky (1976), Elaine May, Paramount