Warning: this post may cause you lose track of the next 30 minutes or so, however it is relatively spoiler free. I am not a road warrior. I don’t like to travel for business, and when I do, there are certain things I try to make sure of to minimise the discomfort and to give me something to distract me from being away from home. I pack a small collection of goodies such as I usually have after dinner at home. I bring sandalwood incense (don’t tell the hotel.) But the most important thing is to make sure I have enough movies to hold me through the flights, any layovers, and each night in the hotel. I know, you’re probably throwing things at me virtually now, wondering why I don’t go out and see the sights, but alone and without my family…that just doesn’t appeal.
Many folks would take the opportunity to catch up on series, or watch ones they’ve never seen, but I am trying to forget that I am on the road, so I turn to old standbys. Our 400 disc DVD jukebox is asking us for a baby brother/clone already, so I have plenty to choose from, but I keep grabbing the same ones again and again. One came on this evening, and my wife asked me rather directly why I wanted to watch it again, considering I’ve seen it so many times I know most of the dialog by heart. I could only answer that it always reminds me of home when I am on the road, and I wanted to charge up that memory. Yeah, that is a little sappy, but she didn’t change the channel.
So for this post I decided to put together a top eleven list of my favourite movies…the ones I watch again and again because they are my guilty little pleasures. I am not trying to list the eleven best movies of all time, or of a particular genre, nor can I say that any of them are great American classics. All I can do is hope to share a little bit of myself with you (you know, in case you are shopping for the perfect Blu-Ray to give me for Christmas,) to bring a smile to your face as part of a shared joy, or perhaps, just maybe, prompt you to put something in your Netflix queue that you haven’t seen before. But all such lists must have rules, and here are mine, arbitrarily made up for this post to help my cull the list of twenty or so down to eleven.
- Nothing released during the Bush administration. We just need to put that behind us.
- Nothing holiday themed. Too easy.
- Nothing I agree to watch because someone else in the family wants to…these are all mine.
- Nothing epic, or thought provoking, or inspiring. To qualify, the movies must rate based purely on their entertainment value.
- No Oscar winners allowed. Noms are okay, but I don’t watch these to be pretentious.
- To qualify, there must be a quotable line, that I actually have used in front of witnesses…the more (lines) the better.
- No trying to rate them…this list is strictly chronological. You’d have an easier time getting me to pick my favourite beer… <cough> Red Oak </cough>
- There had to be an embeddable YouTube clip…either a scene or a trailer.
Conan the Barbarian
The first film on my list came out in 1982. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acting career was just getting started, and he was perfect for the role of a mighty barbarian warrior. This swords and sorcery tale was loosely based on the characters and books by Robert E. Howard, and I had read most of them years before the movie came out. They may never be on the AP English reading list, but they’re still a good read today.
I am absolutely giddy with excitement to hear that Jason Momoa looks to be Conan in a reboot of the franchise.
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Ghostbusters
It’s hard to believe this came out in 1984. That means the 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition is long over due! With some of the best writing and humour to come out of a trio of very funny guys, Ghostbusters is full of win every time I watch it. Even though we own it, I like this movie so much I’ll watch it on TV, commercials and all. Hey, admitting a problem is the first step towards solving it.
And yes, I am absolutely giddy with excitement at the news that Ghostbusters 3 is coming.
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Big Trouble In Little China
This cult classic came out in 1986, and it never fails to shock me when a fellow geek give me that "wait…whut?" look when I mention the Pork Chop Express, Jack Burton, or say "it’s all in the reflexes." If you haven’t seen this yet, you owe it to yourself to add it to your Netflix queue. Or hey, just drop by one evening…bring pizza and we’ll have the beer.
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The Princess Bride
You haven’t seen The Princess Bride? Inconceivable! One of the most quoted movies of all time (at least, by me) this 1987 gem is one flick even my teen-aged son won’t complain about when it comes on. This movie has it all, and stands the test of time better than most.
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The Lost Boys
A friend of mine owned a couple of the local movie theatres in my home town, and we used to debut new releases at midnight for employees and friends. We’d get Burger King, beverage, and ten to twenty of us would stay up until 2:00 in the morning watching whatever movie happened to be new that weekend. Gary Green, the owner of the theatre. bought a panaflex lens (huge money back in 1987) just so that we could watch this movie in all its glory. It’s also the most expensive DVD I have ever bought…$39.95 at Circuit City the day it came out. It’s a shame Lost Boys 2: The Tribe is so bad. It’s true what they say…you can’t bottle lightning twice. Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire.
Rest in peace, Corey.
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Hudson Hawk
You want to give me shit for this one, leave me a comment. Released in 1991, this Bruce Willis vehicle is comic gold. Listening to him and Danny Aiello belt out the tunes, the Candy Bar code-named CIA operatives (arguably David Caruso’s finest work ever,) and Richard Grant and Sandra Bernhard as insane siblings all come together to make for 100 minutes of silly delight. Alcohol not required.
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PCU
disclaimer: this movie is why I am such a Jeremy Piven fanboy. Released in 1994, it was almost ten years later before I came across this on cable one night. It became an instant favourite, and I probably watch it more than any of the others on this list. Jeremy Piven, Jon Favreau, Alex Desert, Jake Busey, and David Spade all before they were ‘big names,’ a great underdog story, and every conceivable college stereotype you can imagine combine to make a guilty pleasure. Oh, and George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic feature prominently. This movie is full of win, and so is the soundtrack. See the end of this post for the kicking sound track.
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Twister
This movie came out in 1996, and was the first movie ever released on DVD, which is why probably everyone reading this post has a copy. Another family favourite, we probably watch this in the Fisher household four times a year. If you haven’t seen it, the trailer below shows a lot of the intense action, but fails to include any of the humour. It’s not a comedy, but there are some great moments in the film for laughs, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is fantastic.
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Grosse Pointe Blank
This 1997 movie has the all time best soundtrack from a film, EVER. Of course, being both a John Cusack fan-boy and a Jeremy Piven fan-boy, seeing them together on screen is delightful. In addition to the awesome soundtrack, there are some interesting parallels to my own life in the character of Martin Blank that make this a go-to flick every time I hit the road.
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The Mummy
In 1999, a group of us went to the theatre to see Star Wars Episode 1-The Phantom Menace. The show we went to see was sold out, but The Mummy was playing at the same time. I’d never heard of it, but the theatre manager said it was worth seeing, and he’d let us into the next showing of Star Wars for free, so I figured nothing to lose. It was excellent and in the finest tradition of swashbuckling adventurism, much like Allan Quatermain and Indiana Jones, with great special effects and wonderful scenery. The Mummy Returns, and the spin-off The Scorpion King, are equally enjoyable, but the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor was a weak effort at best.
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Office Space
This should be required viewing for anyone working in IT. Released in 1999, it’s actually based on a short that Mike Judge made in 1991 about Milton. Watch this movie every time you change jobs, and see how many characters you can map to co-workers. Go on, I dare you. And how many times have you wanted to do to some piece of hardware what they do in this video, which includes the cleaned-up version of the song, so no NSFW label required. PC LOAD LETTER INDEED.
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Grosse Pointe Blank has such an awesome soundtrack, that as a special bonus for you, here it is embedded for your listening pleasure. Enjoy.
And what about you? What movies do you turn to again and again? Leave a comment and share your favourites, or give me shit for loving Hudson Hawk…either is cool.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
“This swords and sorcery tale was loosely based on the characters and books by Robert E. Howard, and I had read most of them years before the movie came out. They may never be on the AP English reading list, but they’re still a good read today.”
It might interest you to know that Penguin Modern Classics has a Howard collection out, called “Heroes in the Wind.” His work is also in the Library of America. More than a few teachers have dropped by the Official REH Forums, talking about introducing their students to REH, and there are a good few scholars with PHDs gained from Howard studies.
Howard on the AP English reading list isn’t as remote as you might think.
Hi Al,
It does indeed interest me, thank you! I’ve never seen it, my local bookstore doesn’t have it, and Amazon in the US doesn’t seem to even list it, but I found it on amazon.co.uk. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heroes-Wind-Robert-Penguin-Classics/dp/0141189436. Incidentally, The Lost World was also my first introduction to fantasy, after reading all the Sherlock Holmes stories. Thanks again for commenting and opening my eyes.
Cheers!
Ed