Saturday, August 08, 2009

Fifteen Sticky Movies

(Dear Facebook friends: I appreciate the thought when you "tag" me in your "notes," but instead of wrestling with Facebook's user-hostile interface and hiding my content inside their walled garden, I choose to post my omphaloskepsistic lists on the public Internet, where anyone can find and ridicule them. Hugs and kisses, me.)

Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen movies you've seen that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.
  • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
    Khaaaaaan!
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey
    Confused me for a long time until I realized the entire film was all about food and eating. Watch it again, you'll see what I mean.
  • Star Wars
    The first movie I can remember seeing in a theatre.
  • Memento
    A simple story told in a complicated way.
  • Office Space
    D and I saw this movie because we ran into some friends of ours in line at the theatre, and it's what they were going to see. We were very pleasantly surprised.
  • The Sixth Sense
    Still M. Night Shyamalan's best film.
  • Casablanca
    Bogie was always at his best when playing antiheroes.
  • Strange Days
    Not an entirely successful modern film noir, but I love the atmosphere.
  • Zero Effect
    I still wish someone had bought the pilot and made a TV series out of this, but I guess House is an acceptable compromise.
  • Brick
    Old-school noir laid on so thick it's like butta. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Third Rock from the Sun) acts the hell out of this role (and his character in The Lookout—kid's got some chops).
  • It's a Wonderful Life
    How I met my wife.
  • Galaxy Quest
    Another pleasant surprise. D and I saw this on Christmas Day, not expecting much, and we got a grand adventure. Also the film debut of young Justin Long ("I'm a Mac").
  • Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
    Watched in half-hour increments during high school lunch periods. After the climactic battle, I made a comment about a "phallic victory," when I actually meant to say "Pyrrhic victory." Eh, I was a teenage boy. I blame the hormones.
  • Waitress
    RIP, Adriennne Shelly.
  • Planes, Trains and Automobiles
    RIP, John Hughes.

NB: Ask me this on a different day and I'd probably give you a different list.

~CKL

1 comment:

SOMA Farm Report said...

I learned a great, new word today - omphaloskepsistic!