As we can only assume a third of you, our readers, were struck by the recent Hurricane Sandy that hit the east coast earlier this week, you should know that it’s no fun with nothing to do. It’s fairly horrid, but we’ve given you clear and logical tips for making it through. Yes, the power is out, but we live in the era of the smart-phone! Thanks to that nifty little device, no matter whether you’re of the Apple or Android family, you’ve got the power of movie-watching at your fingertips, especially if you have a Netflix or Hulu Plus account.
But sometimes you get hit by the storm, and while it’s terrifying as can be outside, it does a ton of damage, just not to you.
That happened to me in July. My area, southwest Virginia, was crushed by a tornado the night before the heatwave that hit the east coast this summer. Surprisingly enough, I managed to retain power, making me the lucky one and able to survive the heat. BUT! My cable was out for almost a week. No internet! No television! What would I do?!
And then, I looked at my movie collection, and it hit me.
Everyone talks about their “desert island” list. Albums, books, celebrities to be stranded with, movies, comics, what have you. But say you just need to while away the time. That’s all.
I present to you my “Not So Destroyed By the Storm” movie list.
The stipulations:
- Titles are limited to movies only. No television, no sets of movies or series of movies (such as naming all of 30 for 30).
- A specific type of DVD or Blu-Ray disc is irrelevant. In this scenario, the picture is amazing, sound is wonderful, but there’s no such thing as special features.
It’s no secret to anyone that’ll listen that my three favorites movies, in this order of top to bottom, are The Seven Samurai, The Godfather Part 2 and The Godfather. But do I want to see my automatic favorite movies? Not necessarily. Sometimes I want to treasure them, rather than watch them all the time. I’ll explain why.
- The Dirty Dozen. A super loaded all-star cast. It’s a wonderful movie that has it all: intrigue, compassion, action and testosterone in large amounts. If I come across it while flipping through channels, I will drop everything to watch it. No lie.
- The Sting. Paul Newman and Robert Redford are at their finest conning a supremely arrogant Robert Shaw. It’s fun, it makes you feel happy when the bad guys beat out the even badder guys and I have no problem admitting that I really like the score.
- Club Dread. And here would be the pallet cleanser. Not all movies are guaranteed to be good movies, and while Club Dread isn’t a horrible movie, it’s certainly not great either. Sometimes we need a film to show us that they won’t all be perfect 10’s, or even mediocre 5’s. This is that film. It will aid in you appreciating what came before it and what will come after it.
- Kung Fu Hustle. Action is a wonderful genre, but too much of grim and gritty, “this is the most serious situation EVER” type of action can grate on me. Enter Stephen Chow’s delightful romp involving absolutely amazing fight choreography and hilarious slapstick humor. Plus, the subtitles will help keep those brain juices flowing!
- Blazing Saddles. Finally, the last movie on our list. I’ve seen this movie numerous times. I own it on both DVD and Blu-Ray. Regardless of those, every time I watch the flick, it’s as if it’s for the first time. I’ll sing along, crack up at every joke (of which there are legion) and always enjoy every moment. What’s not to like about the movie? Nothing, you hear me? NOTHING.
So, those are my picks. The list is fool-proof and unable to be corrected by anyone else. Why? Because I’m right and you’re wrong.