My Movies Page
Where you will find a list of categorized recommended movies, mixed with rants, rave reviews, and gibberish.
The following recommended movies are divided into the categories "fantasy/sci-fi," "drama," "comedy," "action/adventure," and "documentary." If you disagree with or disapprove of my recommendations, you are free to do so, but please refrain from complaining to me about it (as that will do you no good whatsoever). This page was originally going to be just a summation of my favorite movies, but I figured that such a page would be of little use or interest to anyone (including myself), so here it is--- a page featuring my recommendations, likes, dislikes, rants and trivial babble. Enjoy...
FANTASY/SCI-FI
-All three of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies (2001-03)
-All of the Harry Potter movies so far. The third one (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) is especially excellent, and the fourth one (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) looks quite promising.
-Most of the Star Trek movies, with the exception of "The Motion Picture", "The Final Frontier", "Insurrection" and "Nemesis". If you're a real trekkie, you should see them all for posterity, but if you just want some rental entertainment, rent "The Voyage Home", "The Wrath of Khan", "Generations" or "First Contact". In my opinion, those are the best Star Trek movies ever made. I didn't include "The Search for Spock" because it's just a continuation of "The Wrath of Khan" (but you might as well see it--it is rather entertaining, if a bit grotesque). Below are the reasons why I DO NOT recommend some of the Star Trek movies which I listed above:
The first movie, "The Motion Picture", is quite frankly a BORE. Much of the film was wasted on time-consuming, pointless special effects, and William Shatner's acting showed little change from the variation between stiff coldness and over-the-top ham-acting he exhibited in the 1960's TV series. Thank goodness they made "The Wrath of Khan" afterwards, so that William Shatner could redeem himself with a truly stellar performance.
The fifth movie, "The Final Frontier", is one of the worst ST movies because it's too much a rip-off of Star Wars (esp. the first parts of it), and it's very corny and rather ill-conceived. That said, however, I kind of like it. It would actually make a good rental movie, because it's quite funny, both intentionally in some places and unintentionally in others.
The next-to--last movie, "Insurrection" was not the worst ST movie, but it was certainly disappointing after the success of "First Contact". It's too much like an episode of the Next Gen. TV series, and like "Final Frontier", was too corny and cheesy, and not well thought-out. On the other hand, I still kind of like it, since it features my fave character, Data, prominently. It's also a funny movie, and entertaining, despite its faults.
The tenth and last installment, "Nemesis", is in my opinion the stinkiest stinker of the whole ST movie series! AVOID this movie unless you're a real trekkie, and must see it. The actors made fine performances on their part, but the script was bad, the plot was terrible, and the whole idea of Picard having a clone raised by Remans---wtf??? I also have a personal grudge against this movie because Data gets offed. Sure, he rescues his comrades in the process of being blown up, but the whole thing was done so casually, as if his death didn't REALLY matter. And the whole thing with "B4" (what an awful name!) preserving Data's memories in his memory core---yeah right! But we'll probably never see the likes of B4 or Data again. The death of Data was a stark signal that Brent Spiner (the actor who plays Data) is not coming back for a repeat performance, like Leonard Nimoy did to bring Spock back to life in "The Search for Spock".
Alright, now back to the rest of the list...
-"Hook" (1991), directed by Steven Spielberg. Starring Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Smith (just to name the big stars), and Phil Collins in a cameo role as a detective. If you haven't seen this film before, DO SO! This film seems to have become a classic of my generation (or at least among people my age, who were still very small children when "Hook" came out). It's basically about what would happen if Peter Pan grew up, had kids, and forgot about Neverland, only to have Captain Hook kidnap his kids, forcing him to return to Neverland and rescue them. I like to watch it every now and then, whenever I'm feeling nostalgic (or just plain bored). Unfortunately, my "Hook" videocassette has become old and worn out, with a soundtrack that is muffled by the loud, hissing background noise of the tape. I shall have to find a DVD copy pretty soon, because I'm not sure how much longer I can stand that old video!
DRAMA
-"Shine" (1996), directed by Scott Hicks. Starring Geoffrey Rush. Based on the life of composer David Helfgott. The soundtrack is excellent, too!
-"Ghosts of Mississippi" (1996), directed by Rob Reiner. Starring Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, James Woods, William H. Macy and others. Based on the true story of how the murderer of civil rights activist Medgar Evers was brought to justice.
-"Million Dollar Baby" (2004), directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring (you guessed it) Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank. This film stole the Oscars, and although it may not be THAT great a movie, it sure was a fine film.
-"Mr. Holland's Opus" (1995), directed by ____. Starring Richard Dreyfus, ?.
COMEDY
-"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1974), directed by Terry Gilliam. Starring the whole cast of the British "Monty Python's Flying Circus" TV show from the '60s (Terry Gilliam, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin). This is the first and (in my opinion) best of the Monty Python movies. Filmed on a shoestring budget during a cold and rainy English summer (with a mostly drunk or hungover cast), it became a hilarious cult-classic anyway. SEE IT (unless you hate Monty Python with a passion, in which case I shall have to say "NIH" to you until you like Monty Python and get me a...SHRUBBERY!!!...and cut down a tree WITH....A HERRING!!!). Anyway, yeah, do see it!
-"The Life of Brian" (1979), not directed by [you didn't guess it] Terry Gilliam. Not starring the same lummoxes that were in "The Holy Grail". The worst movie ever made. DON'T SEE IT at all costs!!! And DO bring the kids, too! [You DON'T understand, I don't hope? I don't think this should be quite clear. I'm not sorry. You don't see, I have a lovely habit of not contradicting myself, which means I'm always clear, wrong? You understand? Why, that's wonderful! Now don't bugger off!]
-"The Meaning of Life" (1983), directed by a dancing llama. Starring an assortment of simpering idiots. The second worst film ever made. One should speak in an outrageous accent and fart in its general direction for its nose-wiping English acting cnnnnnnmiggits!
-"Home Alone" (1990), directed by Chris Columbus. Starring Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Hurt and Catherine O'Hara. Another classic from my childhood that doesn't remain unplayed for more than a year at a time. :) This is the best and funniest of the Home Alone movies, and I highly recommend it for any kid between 4 and 104.
-"Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986), directed by John Hughes. Starring a very young Matthew Broderick, plus Alan Ruck [Cameron], Jeffrey Jones [Rooney], and featuring a cameo of Charlie Sheen, in one of his first (if not THE first) film role of his long, rather successful career. If you haven't seen this film before, DO, because I'm sure you will enjoy it (even if you don't like Matthew Broderick all that much). It follows a day in the life of Ferris Bueller, a [surreally] highly popular high school kid, as he takes a day off from being the hottest genius-kid in school to go out on the town with two of his closest friends. Oh yeah, and there's his sister, who is jealous of Ferris' popularity, and tries to track him down for revenge. And the school's principal is also out to get Ferris because he's jealous too and, I dunno, he has an inferiority complex? Anyway, just get the video and see this movie, alright? And if it turns not to be your cup of tea, well, life's rough isn't it? ;)
-"The Blues Brothers" (1980), directed by John Landis. Starring Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Carrie Fisher, and a whole slough of other famous people from the world of rhythm and blues, soul, and jazz. This movie does get a little overplayed on TV (at least, it does where I live), but I swear this is a GREAT film! It's funny AND it's got some awesome music in it AND one hilarious, over-the-top car chase near the end!
-"Animal House" (1978), directed by John Landis. Starring John Belushi, Tom Hulce, Tim Matheson, Mark Metcalf and Donald Sutherland. The first time I saw this movie was only about a year ago, but I swear, it's one of the funniest I've ever seen! I'll never forget the way John Belushi squished those beer cans on his forehead before tossing them over his shoulder, or the way Mark Metcalf's character yelled.