13 Films To Get To Know Kevin Alexander

Substacker Kevin Alexander of 'On Repeat' stops by to share his non-movie guy thirteen films list with us.

When Kevin Alexander messaged me about assembling his own 13 Films list, I was excited. During the Spielberg Bracket Challenge, Kevin was one of the most vocal and ardent participants. We chatted about his love for the early Spielberg classic Duel, and marveled at the impact Spielberg had made on our collective culture, and on Gen X, in particular.

Kevin writes incredibly well about music, and had much to say on the Spielberg discussion, so it was a surprise to see him confess at the top of his piece that he is “not a movie guy”.

Despite that claim, this list of 13 Films is a fascinating window in to the cultural mind of Kevin Alexander. It’s an eclectic list of old standards and hidden favorites that proves that even if Kevin isn’t a movie guy, he can still write like one.

Without further hubbub, here is Kevin’s list. Enjoy.

Cheers,
Matty C

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Full disclosure: I’m not a movie guy. 

I have always preferred music and reading to film. Growing up, we weren’t a big movie family. I can rattle off my mom’s favorite song (“In The Mood,” by Glenn Miller), but her favorite movie? No idea. We literally never went to the movies as a family. Not once. I went with my dad twice while he was still alive (a bit more on that below), and my grandmother took me to a couple as well. She sat through Breakin’ 2 Electric Boogaloo, and I did the same with Give My Regards to Broad Street.

We got a VCR when they were first on the market (a top loader with a corded remote!), and renting a movie was an event. We rented Top Gun, The Jerk, and then not much else. 

As a teenager, dates rarely involved the movies- we were either at shows or just hanging out as a group somewhere. My first roommate was the stereotypical cinephile; he lived and breathed film- even working in a video store while refusing to give better paying jobs the time of day. He would bring stacks of films to our apartment, hoping I’d come around to his way of thinking. I took him almost a year to give up. 

I’m now a parent and can count the times I’ve been to the movies with my sons on one hand, and have four fingers to spare. It was for Star Wars, not even one of the good ones. Going for years without setting foot in a theater is not unusual for me. I went to two in 2023, and that was unusual (more on one of those down below as well). 

Don’t get me wrong:  I can get as swept away by a movie as anyone. And I have a strange affinity for the glitz and glamor LA is known for (even if reality rarely reflects it). There is something both endearing and enduring about it being the place where dreams are made. A good film is magical and life-changing–even for someone like me. 

Below are 13 films I either loved profusely, that changed my life for the better, or both. Presented in alphabetical order, they’re also a window into what makes me tick and all the pieces of my personality. 

Usually, I’d make a playlist to do that, but well…

Airport (1970)

I have now spent the majority of my life working at an airport. They don’t look anything like they do in this film anymore. Still, everywhere I’ve ever clocked in had a cast of memorable characters, and every place had some version of Joe Patroni (played by George Kennedy, who also had a great run on the TV series Dallas). I’m pretty sure every A.V. Geek is legally required to watch this movie at least once. I don’t make the rules. 

Clerks (1994)

To date, the only movie I’ve paid to see more than once in a theater. The film revolves around Dante, a world-weary convenience store clerk who agrees to cover an open shift early one morning. Arriving at the store, he finds the gate won’t rise, and things go downhill from there. The film’s bawdy humor and gritty cinematography are right up my alley. More than anything, Clerks is relatable; we’ve all had a job where everything went sideways on a day you weren't even supposed to be working. And we’ve all had a friend like fellow character Randall, who on the surface is obnoxious and exhausting but also makes those sorts of days bearable. The Randalls of the world give our gray careers color. 

Do The Right Thing (1989)

We were absolutely not ready for Do The Right Thing. Not anyone I knew, anyway. Most of us knew Spike Lee as Mars Blackmon (from his 1986 film, She’s Gotta Have It) selling Air Jordans. But this? This was something altogether different. And in the build-up to the film’s inflection point, you can almost taste it. The film takes place during a heatwave, which serves as a metaphor. Racial tension is sitting on a powder keg, ready to go off anytime. And it does so in spectacular fashion, tearing down not only societal norms but also long-standing interpersonal relationships. The film also gave us arguably the best film song of the era with Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power”.

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

As a Cold War kid, mutually assured destruction was always looming in the background; War games…Doomsday Clocks…The Day After… This was the language we all knew. Seeing a movie send all of that up was surreal, hilarious, and revelatory. Peter Sellers, in particular, puts on a masterclass here.

Duel (1971)

Horror films bore me. Blood and gore? Meh. Gratuitous violence.? Yawn. But suspense? Now, that’s something else. For me, what we can’t see is far more menacing than anything else. Duel is that kind of film. It’s quiet, allowing your mind to fill in the blanks with whatever it may. It is an incredibly claustrophobic film- you feel as pinned to the screen as Dennis Weaver does in his car trying to outrun his anonymous predator. Proof that even in film, sometimes less is more.

High Fidelity (2000)

As an avowed music nerd, how could this not be on the list? In high school, I worked in a music store. We all saw ourselves as real-life Rob Gordons or even Barry. In reality, we were working at a Camelot at the quiet end of a suburban shopping mall. Still, for better or worse, I see a lot of myself in this movie. 

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

I recently started watching/rewatching every Bond film in order. I’m not treading any new ground when I note that a lot of stuff in these films hasn't aged well. A lot of women get slapped–and I could go my entire life without ever hearing/seeing Sheriff JW Pepper again–but some of it is fantastic. This edition checks a lot of boxes for me. It’s one of the more straightforward plots, and it’s got Telly Savalas (as Blofeld), and Diana Rigg in it. 

Platoon (1986)

In 1991, My step dad landed the worst job in the world–trying to win 16-year-old me over. It took a while, but eventually, I came around. I knew he’d been in Vietnam and had heard whispers about his having been wounded. One morning, I came downstairs and heard a “plink plink” sound. It was him working bits of shrapnel out of his arm and into a dish. Occasionally, they’d work their way to the surface, and the only thing that hurt worse than getting them out was leaving them in. There were also little tells; you had to flip on the light and yell from the door to wake him up. This was calmly and emphatically explained to me very early on. This was the man I knew.  In many ways, Platoon helped me learn more about who he’d been before. 

Raiders of The Lost Ark (1981)

This had it all: droll wit, adventure, and expansive cinematography. And while it pressure tests your capacity for suspension of disbelief, it is a film easy to enjoy and hard to find fault in. This was also one of the only times I ever went to a movie with my dad. And (I think) the only time I was ever pulled out of school to do anything. 

Singles (1992)

Nothing captures the zeitgeist of early 90s GenXers in the Pacific Northwest better. We all either knew a Cliff Poncier, wanted to be in our own band, or were writing about them. 10/10. No notes. 

Stop Making Sense (1984)

Cocaine Bear was the first movie that finally got me back into the theater post-COVID. The other? The remaster of Jonathan Demme’s classic concert film Stop Making Sense. If any film was sure to be a lock on this list, it’s this one. After all, the album from the film is one of my all-time favorites. I’ve seen this before, but it’s always been on a TV or, more recently, on a PC screen. Seeing it in a theater with the volume turned up to 11 was life-affirming. 

The Big Lebowksi (1998)

My coworker Glenn and I snuck into this movie…as adults in our early 20s. There was no real reason to do it (well, we might've been high, but still). This movie is a gift. And one that keeps on giving. The Coen brothers are auteurs, and this, in my opinion, is their finest hour. A tightly written movie from the first frame to the last and an infinite supply of quotable lines. 

To Live and Die In LA (1985)

My aforementioned roommate was a die hard Willem Defoe fan, so we watched pretty much everything he was in. This one stuck with me. It is an 80s movie in every sense of the term, right down to the Wang Chung-fueled soundtrack. Within that context, it is a fun film, and I’m a sucker for mindless entertainment, doubly so when it purports to be self-important. Cousin Ira from Mad About You (John Pankow) and William Petersen co-starring are icing on the cake. 

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