Tuesday, August 01, 2006

D's Top Ten Movies #5 - Raiders of the Lost Ark

I was born in 1980, and Raiders came out in 1981. I can't honestly remember when the first time I became aware of Indiana Jones was, although it was probably by watching the movies with my brother. In my mind, this movie is an all time classic and the best of the series.

I won't spend any time on the plot (I guess I usually don't do that anyway), but I'll just throw a few of my thoughts out on the table. I really think that every movie presents a different version of Indy. Of all of them, I really like the one that is presented in Raiders. Though there are serious moments, the movie is pretty lighthearted overall and flows nicely. It would have been nice to see a bit (not much) more romance between Indy and Marion, but it worked out well. The last thing that I want to say has to do with the ending. As much as I love Indiana Jones, and I know that most everything he does falls within that region of "suspended disbelief," I have the hardest time believing that in order to escape the wrath of God, all you need to do is close your eyes. If you don't know what I am talking about, watch it again. Let me know how you feel.

D's Top Ten Movies #6 - So I Married An Axe Murderer

When this movie first came out, I was 12 and my best friend wanted to go see this for his birthday. My Mom wasn't so excited about that idea, thinking this was some kind of slasher movie or something. Well, it took me about 10 years before I actually saw this movie and it was worth it. This is one of the few movies that I can sit down and watch at any time (another one is coming up later on in the list). I don't know why that is, but I just never get tired of this one.

Not having seen this movie until I was in college, it ended up being one that I quoted before ever even seeing. Lines like "oohh, you're gonna buy my chicken, aren't ye," and "Head! Pants! Now!" were flying around my college dorm room and apartments to the point that I felt that if I ever saw the movie, I would be sorely disappointed because I already knew all the funny parts. Well, I'm glad that it turned out I was wrong.

I don't claim that this movie is one of the greats. In fact, the rottentomatoes.com cream of the crop rating puts it at 20% fresh, which is easily the lowest rating on this list (stay tuned for a listing of all the ratings on this list). I can live with that. This isn't anything more than another Mike Meyers movie, yet it always seems funny to me. Perhaps it is because he plays a rather normal guy as opposed to his usual outrageous characters. Perhaps I can identify with having a quirky family (we all have relatives that are just a little off...). Or perhaps it just has to do with it taking place in San Francisco. Who knows. Either way, I would recommend this movie to anyone. It's funny, it's kinda got heart, and the lines are so gosh-darn quoteable.

D's Top Ten Movies #7 - The Pink Panther Strikes Again

I don't know that I am going to say much about this movie in this post. I'll probably just leave it to you out there to go out and see it. I have to say that I love all of the Pink Panther movies. I got it from my Mom, who introduced them to me as a child. I probably could have replaced Strikes Again with Return of the Pink Panther or A Shot in the Dark, which are both great movies, but Strikes Again is the one that I remember most from my childhood, so it gets to represent the series in the number seven slot.

There isn't much to the plot of this movie (or indeed to the plots of any of the movies), but the execution of them is so funny. From the bad french accent ("the minkey") to the endless attempts by Cato to attack Clousseau, to the incessant cries from Dreyfuss for Clousseau's life, any of these movies will have you laughing until your sides hurt. I highly reccommend that if you haven't seen any of these movies, go out and rent one today. Don't worry about Trail of the Pink Panther as it is a horrible mishmash of clips from other movies put together after Peter Sellers' death. But any of the other Sellers Panther movies will be a real treat. But you don't have to take my word for it...