So, will I be an Ultra Snob if I picked My Dinner with Andre?...now that's a movie that in the film Waiting for Guffman does have action figures.
I do love My Dinner with Andre, it is hypnotic to watch, has layers of meaning...the restaurant could be seen as a metaphor for HELL...and you can stay in the hotel that has that restaurant that they shot in, which is in Richmond, VA...but if I watched that film as a 7 or 8 year old, I would have slit my wrists...the winner is clearly Raiders of the Lost Ark..which I am happy to say is also one of my own children's favorite films...so now that that's out of the way...what about the other films that I looked at for this year...Frank did a good job with his so hear is mine.
Winner: Raiders of the Lost Ark
For Your Eyes Only: for some reason this was on TV all the time when I was a kid...I watched it over and over for those Bond action and love scenes
Bustin' Loose: Richard Pryor at his best..those kids were bad bad bad...one was a pyro, one a thief, one was a hooker...it was crazy
Clash of the Titans: taught me all the Greek Mythology I need to know...like how the value of their money is just a story they tell children (economics joke)
Escape from NY: probably #2 on my list...Snake Plisken was my original bad ass...literally, I have him tattooed on my ass that has cramps
Neighbors: I think I once counted 5 people in this whole film...I mean after Animal House, what the heck...as a kid I watched this for some reason...it is weird and funky, and icky...and for some reason the crazy Belushi plays the straight man..if you are even remotely interested, you must see this as film history.
Heartbeeps: this is a terrible film...but its a must for Andy Kaufman fans, which I am...the crazy Kaufman must have done this for the money...but he plays it so real and so well...not to mention another great performance by Bernadette Peters
Showing posts with label Raiders of the Lost Ark. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Raiders of the Lost Ark. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Lifetime Movies: 1981
Nominees: The Evil Dead, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Time Bandits
The Evil Dead deserves recognition here for no other reason than it brought the world Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi. It's a no-budget, DIY masterpiece and grade-A certified cult classic. Overshadowed by its sequel/remake, Evil Dead II, it holds up remarkably well as a stand alone horror film. Of course, I didn't see it until well after the fact, unlike Time Bandits, which by mom took me to see for some reason. First and foremost, it's very funny and I actually found it hysterical as a kid despite probably missing a good many jokes. I won't argue this is Terry Gilliam's best film (at least I won't argue here), but it may be the one that best captures his comedic sensibility and fantastical vision in one package. Ok, I have to admit, there really isn't much of a competition here. Raiders is one of my favorite movies of all time, the first film I owned on VHS, and maybe the purest example of "movie magic" we have. Easy pick.
Winner: Raiders of the Lost Ark
Notes: There are a lot of very good movies here across the board: comedies (Bill Murray in Ivan Reitman's Stripes & Mel Brooks' History of the World: Part I), family action (still the best Man of Steel movie ever made, Superman II & the stop motion epic of which I had the metal lunchbox and all the action figures including the Kraken, Clash of the Titans), adult action (John Carpenter's Escape from New York & George Miller's high octane Mad Max sequel, The Road Warrior, which has one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed) and a sci-fi horror classic from the man who defines the genre, David Cronenberg (Scanners). Not to mention a Disney favorite of mine (The Fox and the Hound) and yes, The Great Muppet Caper (shut-up, Vin).
One more that I have to mention is a personal favorite, The Cannonball Run. It's just pure fun, one of those zany all-star cast extravaganzas Hollywood used to do so well, with Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise, who at their comedic best rival Wilder/Pryor in this time period; Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.; Farrah Fawcett; Roger Moore, Jackie Chan; Adrienne Barbeau; Terry Bradshaw, and Jamie Farr. Now that's a movie that should have had action figures.
The Evil Dead deserves recognition here for no other reason than it brought the world Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi. It's a no-budget, DIY masterpiece and grade-A certified cult classic. Overshadowed by its sequel/remake, Evil Dead II, it holds up remarkably well as a stand alone horror film. Of course, I didn't see it until well after the fact, unlike Time Bandits, which by mom took me to see for some reason. First and foremost, it's very funny and I actually found it hysterical as a kid despite probably missing a good many jokes. I won't argue this is Terry Gilliam's best film (at least I won't argue here), but it may be the one that best captures his comedic sensibility and fantastical vision in one package. Ok, I have to admit, there really isn't much of a competition here. Raiders is one of my favorite movies of all time, the first film I owned on VHS, and maybe the purest example of "movie magic" we have. Easy pick.
Winner: Raiders of the Lost Ark
One more that I have to mention is a personal favorite, The Cannonball Run. It's just pure fun, one of those zany all-star cast extravaganzas Hollywood used to do so well, with Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise, who at their comedic best rival Wilder/Pryor in this time period; Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.; Farrah Fawcett; Roger Moore, Jackie Chan; Adrienne Barbeau; Terry Bradshaw, and Jamie Farr. Now that's a movie that should have had action figures.
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