Saturday 19 July 2008

The Movie Meme!

Well, following on from Rol, Tone and Kelvin, here is my life in movies---I used Wikipedia as the IMDB list would be too long to trawl through and picked the movie I'd soonest watch again, not the one that I think is actually the best:

1971: The Omega Man. I'm not a huge fan of it but I love the book, don't mind this adaptation and well, everything Wikipedia lists for 1971 was a bit pants.

1972: God this was a crappy year! I prefer Godfather II over the original, so Deliverance probably ranks as my favourite film of the year, which ain't saying much...

1973: High Plains Drifter, hands down. More overtly supernatural than Eastwood's later Pale Rider, this Western is quite chilling at times and I love the imagery. Lodge in the back of my mind is a story inspired by this.

1974: Young Frankenstein: another terrible film spotted with a few classics I'm not overly interested in so this wins by process of elimination.

1975: Jaws: again there's no competition but it's till a classic, even with Bruce...

1976: Another dull year so I'd probably only rewatch Silent Movie, so this IS a duff year...and Rocky's dull too, I only like the one where he fights He-Man...

1977: I don't even have to search, it's Star Wars, greatest film of a generation and a guiding force in my childhood.

1978: It was nearly Dawn of the Dead (as Halloween is a slasher film and they are endlessly dull) but of course it's Superman, which is flawless until that first shot of Otis walking down the Metropolis sidewalk, leading to a likable but misportrayed Lex Luthor (for my money, only Michael Rosenbaum on Smallville has nailed Luthor spot on).

1979: Alien, closely followed by Apocalypse Now and Zombie Flesh Eaters (only because I still can't believe they got a man to dress as a zombie and fight a real shark!)

1980: Probably Flash Gordon, followed by the Blues Brothers. There is so much spot on with the Flash movie, I can forgive some of the shoddiness...

1981: Another one that needs no searching for, Raiders of the Lost Ark stands as a true classic. Great great great film.

1982: Blade Runner, with Star Trek 2 and Poltergeist trailing behind...

1983: Some good films but none outstanding so I'll fall back on Return of the Jedi, only because I'd sooner review it than any other from this year..

1984: Quite a few decent films but I'd probably go with Starman, which is a stunning film.

1985: Back To The Future, followed by Breakfast Club and Fright Night.

1986 It was nearly Ferris Beuller's Day Off with Big Trouble In Little China, Aliens and Star trek IV trailing but it has to be Stand By Me, one of my favourite all time movies.

1987 Some classics this year but my favourite of the year remain Lost Boys: I still love this film, full of character with some great moments. Lowbrow to be sure but fun.

1988 Die Hard, although it was very nearly the complete opposite choice of My Neighbour Totoro...

1989 This will always be the year of Batman to me but that's aged poorly so if I had to watch something from this year, I'd choose Indian a Jones and the Last Crusade.

1990 Another ropey year but Tremors is another all time favourite film. Fun, great characters and highly enjoyable throughout---but don't go near the sequels or TV show!

1991 Another dodgy year with a few classics I'm not overly fond of so my pick would be Star Trek 6, the last outing for the original and best crew, with a decent allegorical plot line too.

1992 Reservoir Dogs: not my favourite Tarantino film but this was another poor year with a few films I like, but not as much as this.

1993 Despite the Fugitive and Groundhog Day (and even Kalifornia), this year belongs to Jurassic Park, still a great adventure romp.

1994 Pulp Fiction, probably my favourite film of all time, and piss and shit all over Forrest Gump!! Clerks is a very very close second and Shawshank Redemption is another all time fave...

1995 Toy Story, with Twelve Monkeys close behind.

1996 From Dusk Till Dawn, another great favourite of mine---and that sequence with Salma Hayek is certainly memorable!

1997 Despite enjoying Con Air and Austin powers, I have to go with Chasing Amy.

1998 Another poor selection, so my pick of the bunch is The Faculty.

1999 The Matrix: forget the sequels and the original is still ace.

2000 X-Men!

2001 Lord of the Rings:FOTR It has it's detractors but it's the most accessible of the trilogy and is superbly crafted.

2002 Spider-Man: If not for (shudder) Macy Gray and the fixed fave of the Goblin looking more like the witch out of Chorlton and the Wheelies, this would be a perfect film, as it is though, Spidey 2 kicks its bum.

2003 Very nearly Kill Bill Volume 1 but another top comic adap wins out with X2.

2004 Mentioned above, Spidey 2 wins this year.

2005 Batman! Batman Begins, alright?! Jeez, I missed it while trying to pay attention to a bunch a lists...

2006 Probably Clerks II but I'm also one of the few people who like X-Men 3.

2007 Hmmm...I want to say No Country For Old Men, which is the better film by far but if I had to pick one to watch again, Spidey 3 is more to my tastes, even though it's overlong and wastes Venom but still has Aunt May as the voice of gibberish...actually, sod it, it's no Country...

2008 So far it's Iron Man all the way...

7 comments:

dave said...

Revenge of the Sith?

REVENGE OF THE SITH?

IT WAS BATMAN BEGINS, YOU FOOL!

ROTS is so wrong, it is just one fucked up piece of crap, as all the prequels are. I'm going to have to have words with you next week Meester Lowrey

Nige Lowrey said...

Hmmm, that may have been an oversight on my part as I think I missed that (had to do the meme in two gos as it was so mindnumbing!). As you can see from my list, it's pretty comic movie heavy so have to agree that it should be Batman Begins...

..although I still like the ROTS!

dave said...

you. me. outside, now

Rol said...

Another vote for Flash Gordon above TESB. I think I must have seen a different FG to you and Kelvin... ;-)

thekelvingreen said...

Good list, Nige. I love High Plains Drifter, and I too had a hard time picking between Stand By Me and Ferris Bueller. I think Ferris just wins out because it's more fun.

All in all, your list and mine are not too different, which means something, I'm sure.

Rol, have you seen Flash Gordon since 1980? It's ace!

Rol said...

Well, I'll admit it has Brian Blessed in, so that alone is bound to make it ace...

But better than the best Star Wars? Better than Hoth and the Walkers and the Wampa and Yoda and Boba Fett and the asteroid belt kiss and C3P0 blown to pieces and carried around on Chewie's back and Han Solo in carbonite? I just don't see it.

Nige Lowrey said...

Empire is the best Star Wars film...but it is part of a series while Flash is unique, so that slightly gives it the edge in my rating system. Flash is in no way as good as Empire...but...

I've loved Flash Gordon since a kid watching Buster Crabbe before SW and while yes, Flash is campy (but also quite erotically charged, lots of S&M and a weirdly orgasmic execution scene), the effects can be ropey and Flash and Dale are both pretty bland---you'll never get better casting than Max Von Sydow, Brian Blessed, Timothy Dalton and Topol in their respective roles. Plus there's Princess Aura, THAT theme, the high adventure of the hawkmen divebombing the ship and Peter Duncan getting mercy killed.

No---I am your father? Pfff! Gordon's alive!!