All week long I've nerded out. I've been watching a whole lot of "Dr. Who" and playing a whole lot of Pokemon. I'm currently watching a Sci-Fi show that was described to me as "Sci-Fi soft-core porn" earlier this week by someone who doesn't really like Sci-Fi (the text I just sent said exactly this: ' I'm watching that soft-core porn show you recommended'). I've been on a major Sci-Fi kick all week. I was ready to write tonight's Top Ten Thursday about something involving Sci-Fi but something my Dad said changed my mind. I was sitting on the couch with my Dad, enjoying our turkey burgers with avocado and flipping through the channels when I stumbled upon the movie Se7en. It was only the last 20 minutes of the movie, but when I settled on it my Dad turned to me and asked "Do you think it's weird that this has been one of your favorite movies since you were a kid?" and that got me thinking. My childhood was by no means painful or anything close to that, but the one thing I remember is watching movies with my Dad that kids my age wouldn't have been allowed to watch until they were in their teens and in all honesty, it explains a lot about me now. So that brings me to today's TTT: My favorite childhood movies. Keep in mind that these do not include movie series. Those are in an entirely different category.
#10: Desperado
Whenever I think of this movie, I think of being really small and being told to hide behind the couch during the Antonio Banderas-Salma Hayek sex scene. We watched this so many times when I was a kid, that nowadays if you get my Dad and I drunk enough at the same time, we will sing Antonio Banderas' opening song in Spanish. And we don't even properly speak Spanish. Few people know this, but this was one of Tarentino's first productions. He's even in the first ten minutes of the movie. Most people will remember the movie Once Upon A Time In Mexico from a few years back. When people think of that movie, they think of Johnny Depp. When I think of that movie, I think of it as "the not so successful sequel to Desperado. Most people don't even realize it's a sequel until they see the first movie.
#9: The Jerk and My Blue Heaven
"I was born a poor black man" and "Arugula. It's a vegetable" are two of the funniest movie lines I can think of. Why? Because they were both said by Steve Martin. I don't want to spoil either movie for anyone, but know this: they're hilarious. The Jerk and My Blue Heaven are classic Steve Martin movies. When people our age think of him, they think of The Pink Panther and the Cheaper by the Dozen movie. No one really recognizes how funny he is. These two movies are on the same number because in my eyes, they are equals. He plays two completely different characters in these movies and they are both equally as hilarious.
#8: L.A. Confidential
This was one of Russell Crowe's first roles and it's damn good. Kevin Spacey is in it so clearly it's going to be a good movie. As I'm looking at the list of movies I've compiled, I realize that he might be my favorite actor. I won't tell you exactly what this movie's about, but know that it involves guns and cops. There's a whole lot of violence and we all know I am a fan of violent movies.
#7: The Lion King
Do I even have to explain this one? This is one of my favorite Disney movies. When it came out on VHS, I would watch it over and over and over because it was awesome. Also, who didn't have a crush on Jonathon Taylor Thomas?
#6: Animal House
This National Lampoon Classic is hilarious. If you liked Van Wilder (let's be real, who doesn't love Ryan Reynolds?) then you should definitely watch Animal House. It's about a fraternity battle and there's sex and booze and so many comedic situations. This movie is probably one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.
#5: Aladdin
This is my all time favorite Disney movie. When it was re-released in theaters in the early '90s, my Dad would take me to see it at least 3 times a week after school. I loved it and still do. As many times as I saw it in theaters, that last scene with Jafar as the cobra would always freak me out. We could've seen it for the third or forth time that week and every single time he turned into the snake, I would freak out and sit on the floor because I thought he was looking at me. I wouldn't say that i get freaked out about it now, but it still gives me goosebumps for some reason.
#4: Se7en
No matter what I'm doing, if this movie is on TV then I'm watching it. Kevin Spacey really freaked me out as a kid because of his role as John Doe, which as my friends know, is difficult to do. This film is probably one of my all-time favorites. It's got Morgan Freeman, young Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow and the dude who played the original Shaft ("shutchomouf"). It's an excellent detective movie and now that he's gotten older, my Dad said it freaks him out. If you're into serial killer movies, this is one you should see if you haven't already. "WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!?"
#3: The Usual Suspects
Another Kevin Spacey classic. In this film he plays a cripple who is trying to help the FBI catch a criminal mastermind by the name of Keyser Soze. The question of the whole film is "who is Keyser Soze?" so I suggest watching the movie to find out because I'm not going to spoil the ending.
#2: Jurassic Park
I know I said that I wouldn't talk about series but to be fair, this was the only one I really liked. The third movie is my second favorite but this movie was my childhood. I have always wanted Jurassic Park to be a real place. I want to go there and hang out with the dinosaurs. I actually had to get a second VHS tape of this movie because I wore the first one out in a year. "SHOOT 'AH!" will always make me chuckle. Even now when I watch this movie, I yearn for a dinosaur adventure. This movie never freaked me out or scared me. It just made me want a pet T-Rex.
#1: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Whenever someone asks me what my favorite Batman movie is, I always say Mask of the Phantasm. If you're reading this and consider yourself a Batman fan and you haven't seen this movie, then you are a Bat-failure. This movie goes back and forth into Bruce's past and present as well as The Joker's former profession before he became the clown prince of crime. Even now I will say that this is the best animated film I've ever seen. If you like Batman at all, you need to find this movie and watch it.
Damn, now I want to watch Batman.
But yes reader(s) (welcome back from Florida, Sarah), these are my favorite childhood movies. Yes, they are really unconventional in terms of a childhood but I'm going to tell you the same thing I responded to my father when he asked me if it's weird. "Does it really surprise you?"
No comments:
Post a Comment