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All posts in category movie

Movie List

Like I mentioned, BRM has a good list from NPR about the top ‘cult’ movies of all time.  Although what makes a movie ‘cult’ is open to interpretation, but who am I to argue?

So here we go.  The ones I’ve seen are underlined.

2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick, 1968 The book was better.
Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988
Angel of Vengeance, Abel Ferrara, 1981
Bad Taste, Peter Jackson, 1987
Baise-moi, Virginie Despentes, Coralie Trinh Thi, 2000
Begotten, E. Elias Merhige, 1991
Behind the Green Door, Artie Mitchell, Jim Mitchell, 1972
La belle et la bête, Jean Cocteau, 1946
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Russ Meyer, 1970
The Big Lebowski, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 1998 Honestly, a good movie, but I’ve never understood what all the fuss was about
Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, 1982 The first “sci-fi” movie I ever watched without a parent.
Blue Sunshine, Jeff Lieberman, 1978
Brazil, Terry Gilliam, 1985
Bride of Frankenstein, James Whale, 1935 Saw it on a real movie screen in a theater that probably showed it during its first run. Just can’t beat watching classics the way they were meant to be seen.
The Brood, David Cronenberg, 1979
Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, Robert Wiene, 1920
Café Flesh, Stephen Sayadian, 1982
Cannibal Holocaust, Ruggero Deodato, 1979
Casablanca, Michael Curtiz, 1942 Saw it on a real movie screen in a theater that probably showed it during its first run. Just can’t beat watching classics the way they were meant to be seen.
Un chien andalou, Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí,1928
Coffy, Jack Hill, 1973
Daughters of Darkness, Harry Kümel, 1971
Dawn of the Dead, George A. Romero, 1978
Deadly Weapons, Doris Wishman, 1974
Debbie Does Dallas, Jim Clark, 1978
Deep Red, Dario Argento, 1975
Dirty Dancing, Emile Ardolino, 1987 Yes, I went to high school in the late 1980’s. Yes, I had a girlfriend.  Yes, I got dragged to this gilded turd.  On the flip side, it made for a really good excuse to dance with said girlfriend in a way what would normally have gotten me slapped.
Django, Sergio Corbucci, 1966
Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly, 2001
Don’t Torture a Duckling, Lucio Fulci, 1972
Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton, 1990 Saw this one as a double feature with Rocky Horror one Saturday night.  Girlie Bear recently watched it for the first time, and pronounced it a wonderful love story.  I now have fear about my future son-in-law.
Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals, Aristide Massaccesi, 1977
Emmanuelle, Just Jaeckin, 1974
Enter the Dragon, Robert Clouse, 1973
Eraserhead, David Lynch, 1977
The Evil Dead, Sam Raimi, 1981
Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999  I tried, I really did, but it just bored me.
Flaming Creatures, Jack Smith, 1963
Freak Orlando, Ulrike Ottinger, 1981
Freaks, Tod Browning, 1932
Ginger Snaps, John Fawcett, 2000
The Gods Must Be Crazy, Jamie Uys, 1981
Godzilla, Ishirô Honda, 1954
The Harder They Come, Perry Henzell, 1972
Harold and Maude, Hal Ashby, 1971
Häxan, Benjamin Christensen, 1922
Hellraiser, Clive Barker, 1987 A great date movie, if the point of your date is to have the girl in your lap with her head buried in your shoulder.
The Holy Mountain, Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973
The House with the Laughing Windows, Pupi Avati, 1976
I Walked with a Zombie, Jacques Tourneur, 1943
Ichi the Killer, Takashi Miike, 2001
In Bruges, Martin McDonagh, 2008
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Don Siegel, 1956
Invocation of My Demon Brother, Kenneth Anger, 1969
It’s a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra, 1946
The Killer, John Woo, 1989
Lady Terminator, H. Tjut Djalil, 1988
The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson, 2001–3
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, George Miller, 1981
Man Bites Dog, Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde, 1992
Manos, the Hands of Fate, Harold P. Warren, 1966
The Masque of the Red Death, Roger Corman, 1964
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, 1975
Near Dark, Kathryn Bigelow, 1987
Nekromantik, Jörg Buttgereit, 1987
Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero, 1968
Pink Flamingos, John Waters, 1972
Piranha, Joe Dante, 1978
Plan 9 from Outer Space, Ed Wood, Jr, 1959
Re-Animator, Stuart Gordon, 1985
Reefer Madness, Louis Gasnier, 1936
Repo Man, Alex Cox, 1984
Ringu, Hideo Nakata, 1998
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jim Sharman, 1975  I admit nothing.  Absolutely Nothing!
Rome Armed to the Teeth, Umberto Lenzi, 1976
The Room, Tommy Wiseau, 2003
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975
She Killed in Ecstasy, Jesús Franco, 1971
Showgirls, Paul Verhoeven, 1995 The Good Feel movie of the year.  Otherwise, a waste of good celluloid and silicone.
Soul Vengeance, Jamaa Fanaka, 1975
The Sound of Music, Robert Wise, 1965 Every Bloody Year Since I Can Remember.  Made me not want to visit Salzburg.
Star Wars, George Lucas, 1977–2005
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Todd Haynes, 1988
Suspiria, Dario Argento, 1977
Tank Girl, Rachel Talalay, 1995 In a theater in Helsinki, drunk as a monkey, with Finnish subtitles.  Need to watch it again sometime because for the life of me, I don’t remember much.
Tetsuo, Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tobe Hooper, 1974
This Is Spınal Tap, Rob Reiner, 1984
Thriller: A Cruel Picture, Bo Arne Vibenius, 1974
Thundercrack!, Curt McDowell, 1975
El Topo, Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1970
The Toxic Avenger, Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman, 1984
Two-Lane Blacktop, Monte Hellman, 1971
Two Thousand Maniacs!, Herschell Gordon Lewis, 1964
The Vanishing, George Sluizer, 1988
Videodrome, David Cronenberg, 1983
The Warriors, Walter Hill, 1979
Witchfinder General, Michael Reeves, 1968
Withnail & I, Bruce Robinson, 1987
The Wizard of Oz, Victor Fleming, 1939 One of my favorites.  Used to count the days until it would come on TV, sponsored by Dunkin Donuts Munchkins.  Now have it on DVD and watch it as often as I want to.


So, what about all of y’all?

by daddybear71 on December 10, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in movie

Posted by daddybear71 on December 10, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/10/movie-list/

Movie Review: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Continuing my habit of watching movies a year after they’re released, the other night we watched The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.  This was a fun movie to watch, but not one that I plan on watching over and over.  Since it’s a modern Disney movie, it’s OK for Girlie Bear or Boo to watch with us without the adults being bored/irritated out of their skulls.  It has the normal story arc of “boy meets girl, girl thinks boy’s a cute dork, boy impresses girl, girl thinks he might be more than a cute dork, girl gets kidnapped by ancient evil, boy saves girl, boy and girl go on to face an even more ancient and more evil entity together, cut to black”.  How many times have we seen that one?

Basically, Nicolas Cage plays himself, which in this case happens to be a centuries old wizard who has made a hobby out of locking evil wizards into new layers of a matrioshka doll.  Jay Baruchel plays the same character he played so successfully in “How to Train Your Dragon”, but this time he’s a college nerd who also happens to be an unknown wizard who has all of the powers of Merlin.

Taking a cue from George Lucas and his fabled midiclorians explanation for why the Jedi Knights are so badass, Cage’s character explains that wizards are just normal people who can use 100% of their brains, unlike the rest of us who only use 10%. This ability gives wizards the power to see matter and energy for what they really are and take advantage of that knowledge to manipulate it for good and evil.  Look for an annoying CGI character to show up in the inevitable sequel.

Speaking of CGI, the effects in this were pretty good, actually.  The Disney crew was able to put in the effects pretty seamlessly without them becoming the story.

So, overall, this movie was worth the bandwidth to stream it and the two bags of popcorn we made to enjoy it with.  I’d give it 3 stars out of five.  It’s an enjoyable romp, but it’s not going to change your life by watching it.

by daddybear71 on November 17, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in movie, Review

Posted by daddybear71 on November 17, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/17/movie-review-the-sorcerers-apprentice/

Movie Review – WallE

OK, I know this is a few years late, since WallE came out in 2008, but I just watched it this weekend.  I’m a junkie for cartoons and kids movies, but this one came out in that pocket of time between when Girlie Bear was a little too old for Pixar movies and when Boo was old enough to watch them and be entertained.  I wanted to go see it, but I didn’t want to be the creepy middle-aged guy alone at the kids movie.

Anyway, we saw it in the $10 bin at SuperDooper Mega Mart the other day, and since it’s the only Pixar we don’t have and I haven’t seen, I picked it up.  The past couple of days have been good days to stay inside and watch movies due to either the weather either being OhLordIAmGoingToMelt hot or AuntieEmItsATwister stormy.

First impression – I like it.  It’s a Pixar, so the visuals and story development are exceptional.  The development of the two main characters, WallE and EVE, are done with no real dialogue, so there’s a lot of pantomime and “you better watch this, because it’s important” scenes.  The bad guy in the movie isn’t really bad, he’s just doing has he was directed to keep his charges safe, but his methods are evil, so we get the “The ends do not justify the means” argument at a kindergarten level.  We get a bit of the “Don’t pollute, because you’ll make the earth unlivable for humanity” plotline that you see in a lot of children’s movies these days, but it’s not laid on too thickly.  There’s also a sub-theme of not becoming too dependent on technology, which I like.

Something did occur to me while watching it, and this will show my age.  The character of WallE, who is a broken down old robot who spends his days picking through the trash heap that Earth has become, reminds me of the “Little Tramp” character that made Charlie Chaplin a household name.  In fact, all interactions between most of the robot characters is done in a manner that very much reminds me of the old silent films.  The film has lots of pantomime and large arm and head movements, with just a little rudimentary dialogue thrown in to make a point.  Not sure if that was a conscious design decision at Pixar, or just an influence that comes through almost a century of comedy films.

For watch-ability, I can only say that my 3 year old son was as engrossed in the movie as his 40-something year old mother and I.  The storyline doesn’t ask for too much suspension of disbelief, and the emotions in the plot aren’t as saccharine as those in some other Disney movies. It’s definitely going to go into rotation around here.

by daddybear71 on September 5, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in movie, Review

Posted by daddybear71 on September 5, 2011

https://daddybearsden.com/2011/09/05/movie-review-walle/

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