#10. Poltergeist - I don't really remember seeing this movie for the first time. It didn't haunt me for years like many of the others on this list. I mostly remember it for the imagery. Toy clowns scared me for years after this. The guy ripping his face off in the mirror freaked me out, every time I looked in the mirror, that came to mind. The maggots on the chicken grossed me out, I couldn't eat chicken without checking it first. A TV with static on it... yikes! Actually, that one still kind of gets me, almost nothing creepier than a dark room, lit up by nothing but TV static.


This movie holds up incredibly well, even the effects still look good. American ghost movies have never scared me, this is still easily my favorite one and the only one I ever remember having any effect on me.

As much as I like reviewing films, I'd like to branch out in my writing. Not beyond films, no, that'd be silly, just different aspects of movies. Recently I was nominated by Elgringo over at He Shot Cyrus, probably my #1 fan, to write about The 12 Movies Meme, originated by Lazy Eye Theatre - Which asks, what if YOU could pick 12 movies to run at the New Beverly Cinema? (Which is a popular revival theater in L.A.) I thought I'd take that challenge.

I wasn't sure where the hell to start. There are too many films log-jammed in my brain to even know where to begin. Taking a look at He Shot Cyrus' list, I saw that he featured two old Peter Jackson films. Out of that grew my idea, showcasing some of the lesser know films from my favorite directors, and trying to program them together by genre. So here we go:

Monday-Tuesday

Start with a pair of family films, that everyone can enjoy.

Pee-wee's Big Adventure - Tim Burton's first feature length film. I think most folks remember this film... but do the know how freaking good it is? This film is constantly surreal, utterly hilarious, undeniably quotable and just plain fun. Plus it features my all-time-favorite score; Danny Elfman's 2nd, who's gone on to become one of the biggest composers in Hollywood.

Time Bandits - Terry Gilliam is one of my favorite filmmakers, he has an absolutely unique vision. In the right circles, this is a fairly well known film, but your average Joe has never heard of it. A brave group of little-people take on God. It's appropriate for kiddies, and would just be a total blast to see on the big screen.

Wednesday-Thursday

Some adult fare, with a couple of forgotten epics.

Empire of the Sun - Absolutely everybody knows who Steven Spielberg is. If you ask a random person on the street to name a film director, I bet at least 5 out of 10 answers would be him. But even a lot of film buffs, don't remember his 1987 film Empire of the Sun, which introduced a very young, British accent and all, Christian Bale. The film follows this young lad through WWII, as he moves from a posh life as an aristocrat to living in a Japanese P.O.W. camp. Brilliant, moving film.

Le Grand bleu - Most people think Luc Besson's career started with La Femme Nikita, but he made three feature films before that one. And since Subway and Le Dernier combat aren't very good, I chose Le Grand bleu. It's the story of a deep-sea-diver going for the world's record for deepest dive sans respirator. But it's so much more than that, a beautiful film about friendship and finding your life's limits.

Friday-Saturday

A couple of great B-movies, for the weekend

In the Mouth of Madness - Everyone knows the classic John Carpenter: Halloween, The Fog, The Thing, Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China - But how about the last film he did, before his talent seemed to leave him? Madness is a seriously scary and messed up film.

Starship Troopers - This is an under-appreciated classic. Politically subversive, full of over-the-top violence, nudity and giant bugs getting the shit blasted out of them; an utterly brilliant, yet incredibly stupid film all at the same time.

Sunday-Monday

Crimewave - I'm getting really obscure, from one of Hollywood's biggest directors. After breaking out with the cult-classic Evil Dead, Sam Spider-man's Raimi, created a little know slapstick-action film about little nerd taking on a pair of psycho-exterminators. The film is highly influenced by Looney Toons and features a very young Bruce Campbell.

After Hours - After Spielberg, among today's directors, Martin Scorsese would probably qualify as the 2nd best known director working. His list of classic films is long, I don't need to name them. But how many of you have seen After Hours? Cult actress Rosanna Arquette takes Griffin Dunn on a wild ride through New York, destroying his life and opening his eyes.

Tuesday-Wednesday

The Man Who Wasn't There - Sure, everyone knows the Coen Brother's films No Country for Old Men, Fargo, The Big Lebowski & Raising Arizona - All classic films, all too easy. So my pick from my favorite filmmakers, is their 2001 dark-comedy. Billy Bob Thorton stars in this underrated, double, triple-cross mystery film, with some classic Coen brother touches.

Weird Science - In the 80's filmmaker John Hughes had an unprecedented run of films, creating seven classic, to near-classic films in five years, and then he lost it all. Between Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, he created the surreal and hilarious film Weird Science. Oh, we've all seen it a thousand times on cable, but I'd love to see this film on the big screen, with an eager audience. Kelly Lebrock, gorgeous, and larger-than-life. Anthony Michael Hall, one of the greatest teen actors ever, at his peak. Totally awesome.

Thursday-Friday

Dark City - Alex Proyas isn't necessarily a well known director, depending on who you talk to his biggest film is either The Crow or I, Robot. But far-and-away his best film is Dark City, an absolutely brilliant sci-fi/noir mystery. Coming out in 1998, it was instantly overshadowed a year later, by the somewhat similar and far flashier film The Matrix, so it never got the attention it deserved. In my opinion it's the most beautifully photographed film ever.

A Clockwork Orange - Okay, not an unknown film in the least. But how many have us have seen it on the big screen? I've seen 2001, it's beautiful, but boring! The Shining, yeah, scary as hell. But this, my favorite Kubrick film, no, I've never had the pleasure. The gorgeous photography, the brilliant mis-en-scene and editing, the incredible score, and Malcolm McDowell's gloriously over-the-top performance as cinema's all-time-greatest antihero Alex. I can't think of anything better to end this with.

(Seen on 5/22/08) Originally I was very against the idea of another Indiana Jones film. (I even thought it was a bad idea 10 years ago when the rumors first started popping up.) It was way too long since the last one; Spielberg is a different filmmaker and Harrison Ford is way too old. I saw no way of them pulling it off with the same style and panache that marked the first three films. Raiders of the Lost Ark is my all time favorite action film, it's so perfect in so many ways, those action scenes will live forever as some of the greatest ever made. Temple of Doom is a very fun follow-up, much darker in many ways, but again it has incredible action scenes and furthers Indy's legend. And I thought that The Last Crusade, while the least effective of the three, was a great send off; where we get to learn about where Indy came from and he has a great adventure with his father. I didn't see where another film could fit in. But as time went on, and the great teaser trailer came out for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I'll admit that the kid in me was yearning to see another Indiana Jones adventure. So it was with great excitement that I went to opening night. (The first big premiere I'd been to since the last Lord of the Rings.)

One of the things that worried me when I initially heard about the making of this film, was that I thought they'd try to ignore that Harrison Ford is nearly 20 years older. But they make it part of the film, with a couple of good jokes about Indy's age. I especially liked that they moved the action into the 50's, no longer is Indy fighting the Nazis, now he's got the Russian communists, which proves to be almost as great a set of villains. They were able to incorporate nuclear testing, the red scare, hot rods and make Indy's sidekick a motorcycle-riding greaser.

That was another thing I was skeptical about, Shia LaBeouf. I really like him, I think he's one of the most charismatic young actors around, but I thought he'd seem too anachronistic, that he wouldn't be able to play the era. But he did a great job fitting in, I think Lucas and his American Graffiti knowledge of the era, helped him find his character Mutt. It's fairly obvious who he is, and I'm glad they didn't drag out the surprise for too long.

I dug the other characters as well. It was cool to have Karen Allen back as Marion Ravenwood, always Indy's best girl. Ray Winstone was a lot of fun as Mac, the flip-flopping sidekick, who you're never quite sure which side he's on. John Hurt does the nutty- professor thing to perfection as Ox, who's spent too much time around the crystal skull, and has had his brain fried in the process. Best of all the new characters was Cate Blanchet, as Dr. Irina Spalko, equally evil and sexy, a completely memorable villain. She was so good, I'd consider the best of the series since Raiders' Colonel Dietrich. Having a great villain is paramount to these turn-your-brain off adventures, there has to be someone truly evil to root against.

There were a couple of really great action sequences; I particularly liked the truck chase through the jungle, while nowhere near as classic as the chase is in Raiders, it reminded me of it. Only one thing bothered me while watching it, the use of CGI. It was very apparent in a couple of instances and that took me out of the scene. But I won't completely denounce their use of it in the film, it's simply another tool; one that's pretty unavoidable these days; and the gruesomely-awesome scene with the giant-killer-ants,my favorite moment in the film, couldn't have been done without it.

I walked out of the theater totally satisfied with this new Indy adventure, and only one scene bugged me while watching the film. Which was Mutt swinging through the trees with a bunch of digital monkeys, too ridiculous, even for an Indiana Jones film. It wasn't till later, when I got a chance to reflect on the film, that more things started not to work for me. The entire end of the film, seems way too out there, and didn't seem the right fit for a series ground in earthly matters. Though I must admit, it fits nicely into Spielberg's filmography.

E.T. is the first movie I remember seeing in the theater. I remember it scaring me at the beginning when Eliot first discovers E.T. and then I remember crying near the end when E.T. seems to be dead. I was six years old, it left a huge impression on my life in movies. I hadn't even thought of showing it to my son yet, it seemed too far beyond him. But when my wife told me that he'd seen a part of it on TV and was really intrigued, I knew that I immediately had to show him this classic.

I decided to watch the new version, only because I hadn't seen it before and wanted to see how the changes had turned out. I thought that the computer generated E.T. was very distracting, it was quite obvious when it went from one to another. Movie geeks made a big deal out of Spielberg taking the guns out of the film, but I honestly didn't notice; it's not like Han shooting first. I only noticed one scene added in, where E.T. is playing in the bathtub, it's cute, but not necessary to the plot. I'll stick to the original from now on.

Watching E.T. made me feel like a kid again, it's one of those rare movies, that immediately puts me back in that mindset. Spielberg does an amazing job of putting you in the kid's shoes, the wonderment and excitement of it all. So that instead of questioning everything about E.T., you just want to be friends. There's somebody that wants to hurt your friend, so you must do everything you can to protect him. If that includes hiding him from your mother and contacting an alien species, so be it.

E.T. like almost no other family movie from the 80's stands the test of time. Because it's not about the special effects or that moment in history, it's about friendship. My son being only three immediately bought into this world; he fell in love with E.T. and felt concerned when the bad guys where trying to catch him. But he hasn't talked about it since, the true test is him asking to see it again. I think he's still a little too young to fully appreciate it, but give him time, and I bet it'll be one of his favorites. It'll be nice to sit down with him again and again, as he discovers this true masterpiece.

Gremlins is one of the seminal films of my youth. I still remember my mom talking to another mom about how horrible it was, and that the kids should definitely not see it. That was it, I had to see it. I don't remember exactly when I got to see it, it was probably on HBO. I saw everything on HBO those days, before video rentals were the norm.

I don't remember it scaring me. I think that even at a young age, I got that it was a comedy. Maybe a few of the scenes scared me, I briefly remember being tense during the final showdown between Zach and Stripe in the department store, but that's it. Since then, I've seen the film around 20 times. But it's been almost 10 since my last viewing. I decided since my cousin was probably old enough to view it, I'd bring it down to watch with him as one of our Christmas movies.

We've all seen the film, (If you haven't what are you doing here? Watch it now!) I don't need to recycle the plot of cute little Gizmo being bought as a pet, and him hatching a whole gaggle of horrible Gremlins that take over a small town during Christmas. I'm surprised by how well the film holds up. I think it has to do with the use of puppets for the Gremlins. They look very realistic, their movements are very well done, and acting with those creepy looking things probably helped the actors believe the situation. They're not winking at the camera, they play it very straight, so one minute it's a little creepy, the next you're laughing. A tough mix to pull off.

This was advertised as a Spielberg family film when it came out in 1984. But the violence, probably the kitchen scene where the mom dispatches of a few Gremlins in nasty ways in particular, this and another Spielberg creation, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, lead to the creation of the PG-13 rating. Spielberg produced a lot of these edgy kids flicks in the 80's, he's gone on to say that he wouldn't do so now that he has kids, I guess he didn't realize how scary some of them were. But I loved those films, I hate how white-washed most kids films are these days, most kids love being scared and they don't like being talked down to.

However, my 12-year-old cousin didn't seem to impressed with it; so maybe it doesn't hold up as well as I thought. But I still really enjoyed it. It's darkly hilarious, really well directed by Joe Dante, and full of great 80's actors, like Phoebe Cates, Zach Galligan, Corey Feldman, and Judge Reinhold. It'll remain a Christmas staple in my life and in a few years, I'll probably introduce it to my son.

On looking for information about this film, I learned that is a remake, the original doesn't look much better, see the trailer for it below.

I watched it because Tobe Hooper directed it. He hasn't made a good film since the 80's, at least that I've seen, I've skipped a lot of them, but I keep hoping something will pop up. His best film is my all-time favorite horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which freaks me out for it's grittiness. His 2nd best film is Poltergeist, which has been rumored to have been mostly directed by Spielberg, who produced it. Lifeforce and Invaders from Mars are both fun in a cheesy 80's kind-of-way. Since then it's been a lot of cable TV shows and straight-to-video shlock, nothing of note. With Toolbox Murders, the streak continues.

The film is about a couple moving into a "famous" old apartment building in Hollywood. The place is full of wanna-be actors; which leads to a ridiculous scene, while the lead girl is walking down the hall she hears what she thinks is somebody getting killed; there's a couple guys reading a script one of them starts screaming like he's getting killed, the girl runs away from the door and before anybody makes a move suddenly the cops bust in; and then call the girl an idiot for the false alarm. Yet there was no call made! I went back and watched the scene twice just to make sure I didn't miss something, but nobody touched a phone in any shot, and the cops literally show up about 10 seconds after the girl runs from the door. Sloppy filmmaking!

The whole movie is pretty worthless; the acting is poor, the script and editing are horrible; worst of all, the directing is lazy. There are a couple of decent kills and once the killer shows up, his make-up is fairly cool; so at least the make-up guys were on the ball. That seems to be a common theme with these low-budget horror films. Don't bother with it, even if you're a horror fan, it's a waste of time.