Movies have been around most of, but not all of, my life. I don’t remember movies from my first era, the New York Era, but I do remember them from all eras after that one! (I may just not remember seeing movies in my earliest days.)
I didn’t become an active consumer, let alone a gourmet, until well into the Los Angeles Era.
It really wasn’t until college when I studied film and television making that I really got into films. They’ve been a special source of interest ever since.
As a fan of movies and science fiction, naturally I love the combination. (Like, a lot!) I’ve started a list of Science Fiction Movies.
I also love baseball, so I also started a list of Baseball Movies.
I used to have a thing for movies about assassins. Others apparently do, too; it’s surprising how many there are. (I’ve also noticed my list getting a fair number of, pardon the expression, hits.) I made a list of Assassin Movies a while back (for my website). It’s gotten a bit out of date now.
My Rating System
For the record, here’s my current movie rating system:
Wow! — A must-see film. A film that gets it as right as possible. Few or no complaints.
Ah! — A pretty good film, definitely worth seeing. Has some aspects that are especially noteworthy.
Eh! — Still a thumbs-up, but didn’t have much that was particularly interesting or noteworthy.
Meh! — A film that doesn’t impress, but doesn’t completely stink. Has some aspects that might make it worth seeing.
Nah! — Not a good film, not really worth seeing unless there is some special reason that compels.
Ugh! — A terrible film. A waste of time and celluloid. Avoid!
Favorite Five
I’ve mentioned before that I had trouble picking out a top favorite of all time. There’s just too many good choices! But sometimes I can manage to narrow it down to five (or so). This list may change, but for the moment, here’s my favorite five. I’m not saying they’re the best films; they’re my favorite films, movies I can re-watch repeatedly:
- LA Story; 1991; Steve Martin; Mick Jackson
- Grand Canyon; 1991; Kevin Klein, Danny Glover; Lawrence Kasdan [post: Grand Canyon]
- His Girl Friday; 1940; Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell; Howard Hawks
- Galaxy Quest; 1999; Tim Allen, many others; Dean Parisot
- Zardoz; 1974; Sean Connery; John Boorman
Heavy on the comedy, perhaps, but I value laughter above just about everything. The last two, especially the last, might seem odd, but (a) I’m a big science fiction fan, and (b) both of those movies speak to me in special ways.
Runners up are:
- Airplane!; 1980; large cast; Abrams & Zucker, Zucker
- Groundhog Day; 1993; Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell; Harold Ramis
- Get Shorty; 1995; John Travolta, Gene Hackman; Barry Sonnenfeld
- The Sixth Sense; 1999; Bruce Willis; M. Night Shyamalan
- The Man Who Knew Too Little; 1997; Bill Murray; Jon Amiel
And breathing down their neck:
- Maltese Falcon; 1941; Humphrey Bogart; John Huston
- Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid; 1982; Steve Martin; Carl Reiner
- Wild Things; 1998; Bacon, Dillon, Campbell, Richards; John McNaughton
- Gosford Park; 2001; large British cast; Robert Altman
- The Usual Suspects; 1995; large cast; Bryan Singer
- Hamlet; 1996; Kenneth Branagh
…
Here’s a look at my favorites shelf…