Movies

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 I made a list of Assassin Movies a while back (for my website), but it has gotten a bit out of date now.

My Rating System

For the record, here’s my current rating system:

Wow! — A must-see! Gets everything as right as possible. Few or no complaints. Reserved for the very special and jaw-dropping.

Ah! — Glad I saw it! Pretty good, definitely worth seeing. Has some aspects that are especially noteworthy.

Eh! — I’m not sorry I saw it. Still a thumbs-up but didn’t have much that was particularly interesting or noteworthy.

Meh! — I didn’t need to see this. Now we’re into thumbs-down territory. Didn’t impress but didn’t completely stink. Has some aspects that might make it worth seeing, at least for some.

Nah! — I’m sorry I saw this! Not good, not really worth seeing unless there is some special reason that compels one to make the effort.

Ugh! — Avoid! Avoid! Terrible, awful, horrible, very bad. A waste of time. Should not exist.

Favorite Five

I’ve never been able to pick out a top favorite (in much of anything). There are 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 are my Favorite Five. I’m not saying they’re the best films; they’re my favorite films (see Quality vs Taste).

These are movies I’ve seen many times and could easily watch again:

  1. LA Story; 1991; Steve Martin; Mick Jackson
  2. Grand Canyon; 1991; Kevin Klein, Danny Glover; Lawrence Kasdan [post: Grand Canyon]
  3. His Girl Friday; 1940; Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell; Howard Hawks
  4. Airplane!; 1980; large cast; Abrams & Zucker, Zucker
  5. Galaxy Quest; 1999; Tim Allen, many others; Dean Parisot

Heavy on the comedy because I value laughter above just about everything, but science fiction has some representation, too. (There is much more SF in the runners up.)

I’ve mentioned LA Story several times as one of my all-time enduring favorites. I’ve mentioned Galaxy Quest a few times, too. It’s a film I love on three different levels (comedy, good SF, and loving Star Trek parody).

Runners up are:

  1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail; 1975; Monty Python
  2. Zardoz; 1974; Sean Connery; John Boorman
  3. The Fifth Element; 1997; Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich; Luc Besson
  4. Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid; 1982; Steve Martin; Carl Reiner
  5. The Man Who Knew Too Little; 1997; Bill Murray; Jon Amiel

Breathing down their neck in a very close race:

All favorite films and ones I’ve retained DVDs of (after having given away four-fifths of my formerly sizeable collection). Sadly, not many modern movies find their way into my heart. Storytelling in movies has gone way downhill.

Here are some other favorites:

Those are just the ones on my favorites shelf. There are a lot of other movies I’ve loved over the years. Far too many to list.

Lastly, some favorite must-see classics (all highly recommended):

To name but a few.

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