Visually Stunning Movies that aren’t for Nerds

Dec 15

Welcome to Sad the Journal. It's a little newsletter from Sad the Shop where I whisper sweet nothing's straight into your inbox. This week's topic:

Visually Stunning Movies that aren’t for Nerds

I’ll admit, I’m a Letterboxd addict. (If you need another way to list out things in your life, Letterboxd is like Goodreads for movies). I spent a solid 7 hours one day trying to catalog every move I think I’ve ever seen on my account, and since then, I’ve tried to keep running track.

While a 5-star movie is rare, sometimes I watch a movie and just go “wow that was 2 hours of pure cinematic beauty.” When that’s the case, I add it to my Letterboxd list of visually-inspiring movies.

My Visuals List has a mix of movies across all genres, and most of them aren’t for stuffy Cinephiles. I like action. I love a good storyline, and I love a weird twist. You could watch these purely for pleasure, but the visuals are just the cherry on top.

If you’ve found yourself stuck on Netflix Originals, or you’ve never taken the time to appreciate the visual appeal of a movie, here’s 13 movies I think you should start with:

My Top 13 Visually Stunning (and approachable) Movies:

Bonus: 2 Limited Series and 1 Special You Need to Watch:

You might be surprised that some of these ended up on a “Visual” list, so if you end up watching any of these, I’d love to know what you think! And, if you want to see my full list of visually-cool movies – including the ones for nerds – you can see that here.

Until Next Time,

Sadie

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If you sit long enough somewhere, you’ll find the most interesting people. This couple, bracing each other on a rock as the waves battered them back and forth, are one of my favorites I’ve observed to date. I revisited them in oils after having painted them years ago in gouache, and I am so happy I decided to give them the light-speckled sea they deserved. I’ve Got Your Back is part of The People We Meet collection, a series on people, watched.

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If you sit long enough somewhere, you’ll find the most interesting people. I believe that this man has the most excellent stories to be told, but you’ll only get them out of him over a long dinner and bottle of wine. And that’s only after you wait all day for his important schedule of newspaper reading and espressos. Based on a memory from Cortona, Italy. I’ve Got Your Back is part of The People We Meet collection, a series on people, watched.

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I love limes. My family sold mint limeade for a summer at the farmer’s market in my small town. Our mint limeade sign was my first “real” attempt at hand lettering, done on foam board from the local King’s. There was always a big antique bowl of limes on the dining room table in the summer. We’d pull up the mint that grew through the fence from the neighbor’s house. I once spent a late night sipping whisky while my friend gave me a silly little stick and poke tattoo of a bowl of limes on my ankle. I had to go back and do the same thing again so she could color in the limes so no one would mistake them for lemons. I painted this specifically with the desire to have a pop of red in my home, and love the way the green of limes (my true love) plays against the red. Originally painted in gouache.

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