Segment one: Top titles

I know, I know, folks, I got sick, then took a class and I've just been wiped out. But I've been slowing creating this list for those interested--here's the first segment. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it until I can finish it.


18. James Bond flicks (action/adventure)--Yes, I lumped them all into one. Because, if you think about the Bond formula, it’s merely repeated. But I discovered Bond two ways. One, my babysitter was a total sixties child. Not only did she teach me all the words to the Beatles; she made me watch Bond flicks on afternoon television. I didn’t think anything of it until I got to high school and took a Brit Lit class. Falling in love with poetry (should have known I was gay then!), Shakespeare and then Brit works, I did an indie study of Ian Fleming’s texts. I figured I had seen the movies, why not see if they correlate. They do and don’t, btw, but I don’t need to go into detail here. But I did, however, fall for Britain, and most of all, for Mr. Bond, James Bond, and his movies.

17. Night of the Living Dead (horror) --As I review this list of my faves, I’m realizing there isn’t a lot of horror movies. I some how thought there would be more. I guess I enjoy the feeling of being scared more then the movies themselves. But here is one movie, first encountered after work during the summer at my video store job, that made me NOT sleep. Bringing home old black and white movies was the norm, having seen all the new releases, and my mom and I would indulge in a late night flicka watch. But this night, she had gone to bed and I was all alone. And I was really, really scared. The symbolism of the picture, a microcosm of life attacked from a mystery force, gave the picture a huge weight, even if it was made with a seemingly shoestring budget. The zombie movie, a subgenre for years, started right here.

16. Westside Story (musical)-Every Sunday, for four hours in high school, I worked at a video store, just like Quentin Tarintino. Only our rentals, due to the large farm community, had a special deal--you rent on Saturday, you don’t have to return them until Monday. The public ate that deal up. And we would have to clean the whole store on Sundays. So I’d pick out movies that had a huge rewatch-ability, so I could do my chores and not keep stopping to catch up on the movies. I usually did a StarWars title of some sort and a musical, something I could sing along with. But after a few weeks, I realized, this was the one I played the most. I had hated the play we did at my local high school, which I did lights for (and did have a cast of really cute dudes), but I think I really hated it because I kept comparing it to this tasty morsel of a movie.

15. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (mystery/animation)--is there any movie that captures the weirdness in my head better then this title? I mean, I like to think I have a severe dark quality (I tend towards Halloween, reading mysteries and true crime and love horror movies) and a lite, contradictory style (does the word Disney mean anything? Heck, they even have their own list!). Such yin/yang sensibilities show up right here in this movie. On one hand, you have a zany cartoon character, and on the other hand, he’s wanted for homicide! How more screwed up is that!

14. North By Northwest (thriller)--Undergraduate college was some of the best experiences of my life. I remember my mom’s best friend saying, “it’s so much more than just the books.” I learned who I was and what I wanted in four short years. But I also spent the entire time smiling through it all. I wish I could go back. But, alas, reality is the here and now. I mean, I have to pay for everything myself these days. Back then, I paid for everything by being a staff projectionist. And yes, one of the things I learned about myself was that I loved art films and cinema. One of the things I got to show movies for was film appreciation class. The teacher did a retrospective for a month on good old Alfred Hitchcock and I was glued to the lecture, even if I wasn’t taking the class. I learned volumes (and realized I knew more then the average joe-movie-goer!). So I knew I had to name a movie from this era that I am more than willing to watch again and again and really shows what I love about Hitch’s movies. Pay this one a visit and make sure you take no breaks--this one is a long-ass chase scene and is best experienced in one take.

13. Beetle juice (comedy) Ha! I may not have a lot of horror here on my list, but I do notice something else I do have. Dark comedies galore. I guess it’s something inside, the ability to laugh at the inappropriate--again playing on my yin/yang brain. I saw this with someone I had a huge crush on, and promptly forgot he was there, I was giggling so much. Then I realized, I was the only one laughing. And I didn’t care. I have always believed that the absurdity of horror movies is, in and of itself, humorous. I mean, scary dudes running around in a mask killing sex starved teens? Not something you see in the news, so it shouldn’t be something we’re afraid of. So we should be laughing. Like we do here. I also like the concept of heaven/hell being something of a business and a bad one at that.

12. Kill Bill vols 1 & 2 (martial arts)--Ha! Speaking of dark comedies. If you’ve been reading this list, you’ll see my mention of watching old black and white movies from the video store I worked at as a teen. Well, I also found the wonderful world of Hong Kong action cinema. I watched them all. Twice, I think. And how nice of Quentin to go ahead and combine all their best aspects in one watchable title. I’m surprised these two movies (really one) did so well, because their clichés of old martial arts movies were so profound, that I doubt that anyone could have picked them up. And the comedy was severe, but again, no one was laughing. But this stuff kicks butt--the only real reason to watch the first half and then, after starting to like “the Bride” you really want to see her succeed, so you watch the second half. Total cool, man, total.