Whether it feels that way or not, it's been autumn now for several days. You would never know it, however, from the 90-degree temperatures we are sweating through. How can you think about hot apple cider and doughnuts when you are still wearing cut-offs?
I was in the east coast of the country this past weekend and was privy to something Houstonians aren't often exposed to: a real fall. The leaves were changing, there was a crispness in the air and it didn't seem silly to buy a Pumpkin Latte from Starbucks. I am not trying to rub it in, but I wore a sweater!
While we suffer for another month or two, most of the country is frolicking in the reds and browns of the season, donning tweed jackets and smoking pipes. Maybe they are not all smoking pipes, but it sounds nice.
Rather than wallowing in seasonal-self pity, we've compiled a list of movies that will bring you the best of fall, without having to leave your air conditioned house.
9. Autumn in New York Autumn in New York falls very low on the "good movie" list. It's is about a terminally ill Winona Ryder and her aging playboy suitor Richard Gere. Don't bother taking in the melodrama, take in the gorgeous scenery of Manhattan at its best.
8. Good Will Hunting There are foliage-filled scenes in Good Will Hunting that make wish you were a secret Harvard student by day and a tough south Bostonite by night. In this scene, you can almost hear the fall wind flowing through Matt Damon's floppy '90s hair and it is saying, "Are you sure you wrote this script by yourself? It seems odd that you never wrote another script." That's what I heard the wind saying, anyway.
7. Rushmore Hell yeah Houston has a fall. If our beloved local film was actually shot in September is suspect, (more like November) but the feel of it is totally autumn. The campus of the St. John's School has the perfect burnt sienna setting to depict the charming Rushmore Academy.
6. Sleepy Hollow I wanted to stay away from Halloween films because that's a different kind of fall, but Sleepy Hollow's rich tones and dark flavor just makes you want to curl up with a blanket and sip on a Hot Toddy. This movie also makes you glad you have a head. 5. Godfather You can almost forgive Michael for convincing Kay to join him in the dark side because it's just so damn gorgeous out when he does it.
4. Dead Poet's Society Let's forget how incredibly depressing this film is (if that's possible) and focus solely on how beautiful it is. The scenery of Dead Poet's Society is wrapped in deep fall hues, everyone's wearing tweed and horn rimmed eyewear and the dead poets meet in a tree lined, secluded forest to discuss Wadsworth. It is the fall that nostalgia is made of... until someone commits suicide.
3. We Don't Live Here AnymoreNot only is We Don't Live Here Anymore one of the most underrated movies ever made, its locale is stunning. The two couples that the film revolves around live in a New England college town. As the couples' lives unravel, the seasons move from summer to fall, ending with a cold winter. It is a scenic reinforcement of how easily a marriage can fall apart.
2. Lord of the Rings Who knows what season this story takes place. It is perpetually fall in Middle Earth.
1. Anything Woody Allen Filmed in New YorkWoody Allen just knows how to make autumn in New York City look like the greatest place in the entire world.