I think it goes without saying that I am a huge movie fan. I love everything from Golden Age Cinema, Silent Films, Modern Day Classics, Horror, Sci-fi… practically any genre. My only requirement is that the film is A) Good, B) Unique, & C) Unforgettable.
Over my 35 years of life I've seen thousands upon thousands of films. I totally should be a movie critic like Roger Ebert and get paid the big bucks… I only wish!
After seeing so many movies there are quite a few that stand out in my mind, and this is not a list of my favorites, although most of them do in fact fall into that category.
This list is of films that many of this generation were too young to experience, or ones that just fell below the radar and are worth a look-see.
1) Inherit the Wind 1960 – Spencer Tracy, Dick York, Gene Kelly and Fredric March.
The story of school teacher Bert Cates who is put on trial for teaching Darwin’s theories on the evolution of man from primates. The film is based on the play of the same name and is a parable of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial.
The film takes place in small town America, where “Creationism” is the believed origin of mankind.
Cates’ reluctance to teach this way of thinking to his highschool students is what causes all the trouble, and a court trial which pits science versus religion is the end result. Needless to say, the religious right come off looking foolish.
If you like courtroom dramas, especially ones that are funny as hell… then you’ll love this movie.
2) To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 – Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton & Robert Duvall.
The film spans three years and follows young Scout and her brother Jem in 1930′s rural Alabama. As the children grow, they learn a lot of harsh lessons about the world around them including the rampant racism in their small town.
Their father, Atticus Finch is a notable lawyer who defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge. Atticus, and his children must then live a life being persecuted by the town for their belief in the accused’s innocence. To Kill a Mockingbird was up for an Oscar for Best Motion Picture that year and lost out to Lawrence of Arabia (which was garbage!).
This film always breaks my heart every time I watch it. Racism is a horrible evil and this film shows it in a realistic way which makes you really think. The book that it’s based on was the subject of banning and book burnings for it’s controversial outlook.
3) Singing in the Rain – 1952 – Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor & Debbie Reynolds.
A silent film production company struggles to make the transition to sound with a lot of difficulty. Their first foray into sound is to try to produce a musical, but their leading lady, Lina Lamont has the voice of a crow.
Since Lina is under contract to the studio, she must appear. So they decide upon a voice over done by unknown actress/singer Kathy Selden.
The film The Dancing Cavalier is a huge success, and when Lina is asked to sing live at the premier, they put Kathy behind the curtain with a mic which Lina lipsyncs out front.
Her co-star Don Lockwood, then gets the idea to pull open the curtain to reveal the charade to the audience and get Kathy the recognition she deserves.
If you love musicals like Burlesque or Moulin Rouge, then you’ll love this one. Check it out!
4) Rebel Without a Cause – 1955 – James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo.
Jim Stark moves to a new town and struggles to fit in. The film opens with him detained at the police station for being drunk in public. The cops call his dad, who comes down to the station, and this is where we get our first glimpse at the dynamic between father and son.
Being the new kid is hard, and fitting in is even harder. He gets his tires slashed by the cool kids, he gets into a knife fight, and when the leader of the cool kids challenges Jim to a drag race, he gets blamed for the kid’s death.
This is the original rebel movie, disturbed teens, parental problems and all the other horrible stuff you go through as a teenager is depicted.
And in case you’re wondering where Robert Pattinson got the inspiration for that Edward Cullen hairdo of his… it was from James Dean folks!
5) Evil Dead 2 – 1987 – Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, & Ted Raimi (Sam’s baby brother).
Back before director Sam Raimi was hitting up the big screen with hits like his Spider-Man trilogy, he was a little known writer/director that would get together with his brothers and his best buds and make classic B-style films.
This is one of my absolute favorite films of ALL TIME. It’s funny as hell, and it’s goofy. It is not meant to be taken seriously in the slightest.
It was always listed as a horror film, but really, by today’s standards it doesn’t even come close to horror. Let’s call it ‘Horror/Comedy’.
Campbell plays Ash who takes his girlfriend Linda up to this empty cabin in the woods for a romantic weekend. HA! I know, NEVER a good idea!
While there, he stumbles on a journal written by the owner of the cabin and begins to read it… ALOUD!
The journal contains spells and incantations taken from ‘Necronomicon’, so of course his recitation opens a portal which releases demons and the like who kill Linda, and try to take Ash out as well.
This is where the film shoots a hole in your gut, or at least it feels that way from all the laughter you’re sure to endure.
I won’t give away anymore, you’ll just have to go out and watch it! iTunes, netflicks, the old fashioned video store… take your pick!
6) The Lost Boys – 1987 – Keifer Sutherland, Corey Haim (RIP) & Jason Patric.
A divorcee moves herself and her two teen-aged sons to Santa Carla California from Arizona so they can save money after the divorce. Shortly after arriving the boys notice that a lot of people go missing in Santa Carla and that it’s been dubbed ‘The Murder Capital of the World’.
Her oldest son Michael, meets a pretty girl at the beach and tries to hook up with her only to be denied by her ‘boys’ who won’t let Michael near her till he undergoes a few trials.
As it turns out, the gang is a group of teen-aged vampires, and no, not the Edward/Bella/Sparkly kind. We’re talking murdering, blood, guts, and gore. You know, the way vampires are SUPPOSED to be.
The film has an awesome soundtrack, although you do need to realize the film is from 1987 so you’re not likely to catch Lady Gaga or Britney on the soundtrack.
Another of my all time faves. But whatever you do… don’t watch the sequels, THEY SUCK – HARD!
7) Shadow of the Vampire – 2000 – John Malkovich, Willem Defoe & Udo Kier.
Shadow is a fictionalized account of the making of real life classic horror film Nosferatu from 1922. This film tells of how the director, F.W. Murnau would go to any lengths to complete his masterpiece, even hiring method actor/vampire Max Schreck.
Murnau explains to his cast and crew that Schreck is a ‘very serious method actor’ and that he will only appear in character as Count Orlok. The crew are fightened of Schreck and soon start suspecting him of sinister doings when some of the crew find themselves dead or missing.
The sequences that are shot in black in white are to indicate portions of the film Nosferatu, with the colored parts signifying the making of…
This film is one of the most visually stunning films ever committed to celluloid, and Dafoe’s portrayal of Schreck/Orlok is beyond amusing. If ever there was a role taylor made for this creepy dude, it was this one.
And as always John Malkovich is absolutely brilliant, sadistic, slightly insane, and funny as hell.
If you’re a fan of GOOD movies, very few top this one. Horror or not.
8) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – 2004 – Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood & Mark Ruffalo.
If your heart was broken by the person you thought was ‘the one’, how far would you go to get over it?
Well this film tells the story of Joel Barish, who is heartbroken that his girlfriend Clementine underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, so he decides to do the same.
However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realizes that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.
This movie will confuse you, but in a really good way.
It’s beautifully touching, and if you love films like The Notebook or other films of that nature, then you need to check out Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
It’s definitely a movie you won’t soon forget.
9) Dorian Gray – 2009 – Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, & Jeff Lipman
Based of the classic novel by Oscar Wilde it tells the story of Dorian Gray, an orphaned young man of privilege who goes from being uber naive and innocent to a corrupt and cold blooded killer.
Dorian falls under the influence of Lord Henry, played by Colin Firth, who teaches him that the only good life is one of hedonism.
While at first Dorian fights this, it doesn’t take long for him to fall under Lord Henry’s influence.
Lord Kelso, an aspiring artist paints a portrait of Dorian to try and capture his astounding beauty, but as Dorian’s soul gets darker and darker, the painting starts to show his true nature.
Not sold yet? Ok, then picture super hot Ben Barnes nakkid! Yeah, I figured that would get ya…
10) City of God – 2002 – Alexandre Rodrigues, Matheus Nachtergaele, & Leandro Firmino.
I do not like movies with subtitles.
Ok, I need to revise that statement… I like ONE movie with subtitles. THIS ONE. Sure, I hated reading my way through the film, but believe me it was totally worth it on this one.
The film centers around two boys growing up in a violent neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro and who take different paths in life. One becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer.
It spans from the late 1960′s to the early 1980′s and how two boys who had the same start in life could turn out so completely different from one another.
Such a beautifully shot movie, and what a great story. It’s semi-biographical, so it’s a almost true story of Paulo Lins and his life in the slums near Rio De Janiero.
Trust me, it’s well worth reading the subs in this movie. Everyone who I know that has seen this film LOVES it.
