THE SOUND BARGE

Blog #1 - My Top Ten Movies

I've decided to make a list of my top ten movies. Although i'm not really sure about this order. But anyway, here it is:

This movie is by The Coen Brothers (O Brother Where Art Thou, Fargo, The Hudsucker Proxy) and stars Jeff Bridges as Jeff Lebowski AKA The Dude, a lazy stoner who likes to bowl. He and his two best friends Walt (John Goodman) and Donnie (Steve Buscemi) are dragged into a series of strange adventures when The Dude is mistaken for another Lebowski and has his rug pissed on by thugs. It is a very very funny movie.

Quotable Quote: "Donnie, You are out of your fucking element!"

If you like this then why not try: O Brother Where Art Thou

When I first heard that they were making this movie I got really excited, I mean really. It's from the team behind Spaced and it's got Zombies. Thankfully it also includes the kind of movie reference humour that made Spaced so brilliant. Even the God of Zombie movies, George Romero, loved it. It manages to be funny yet realistic, dark yet lighthearted, and just the greatest Zombie movie ever. Well...in my opinion anyway as I know alot of people would either go for Night Of The Living Dead or the original Dawn Of The Dead.

Quotable Quote: "We're not using the Z word!"

If you like this then why not try: Night Of The Living Dead

I've never been a huge fan of Quentin Tarrantino but as soon as I started seeing clips to this film I had to see it. I don't really know what to say about it, it really needs to be seen to be believed but bear in mind that, since it contains a massive sword fight, there is a fair amount of gore. Limbs fly, eyes are gouged out, and yet it places it is very funny. Uma Thurman gives the performance of her life.

Quotable Quote: "Go home to your mother!"

If you like this then why not try: Kill Bill: Volume 2

Dead By Dawn is most definitly the best of the 3 Evil Dead movies and, thanks to a recap at the beginning, you don't even need to have seen the original to enjoy this. When I first saw Evil Dead 2 I thought I was going to be sickened by the gore but was instead too busy laughing to really care. It's amazing to think that director Sam Raimi went from low budget horror movies to big budget blockbusters like Spiderman. It's also interesting to note the paralells between his career and Peter Jacksons. I just hope that (as is rumoured) Sam Raimi will return to this type of movie.

Quotable Quote: "Groovy"

If you like this then why not try: Evil Dead 3: The Army Of Darkness

The original and still the best Slasher movie of all time. It starts up like a crime drama but ends as a seriously screwed up horror movie. It features probably the most famous death scene in the movies, the notorious "Shower Scene", which was even more shocking at the time because the victim was played by Janet Leigh. Janet Leigh was the movies biggest star and so no-one expected her to die halfway through the movie. The shower scene is brilliant in that it makes you imagine you've seen things you really haven't. For instance when I first saw it I was sure I actually saw the knife slashing into her skin. Alfred Hitchcock famously arranged for cardboard cutouts of himself to be placed at cinemas showing the movie. It warned people not to tell anyone how it ended as to avoid ruining it.

Quotable Quote: "Everyone goes a little mad sometimes"

If you like this then why not try: The Birds

The greatest Werewolf movie ever. An American Werewolf In London is another movie that manages to get completely opposing reactions from the viewer during their time watching it. At times it is frightening and bloody, at other times it is really funny. It also some of the best special effects ever. The Werewolf looks like it should, it looks like a really big wolf, and the Zombie make-up is at times distractingly realistic. Watch that bit of flesh dangle. Why can't there be more Werewolf movies this good?

Quotable Quote: (To tell you the truth I'm struggling to remember any)

If you like this then why not try: Dog Soldiers

"...and there shall come Joss, and the people will know him, and he will lead them to Serenity" - or something. Okay, so I am a well-known worshipper at the church of the mighty Joss Whedon and everybody knows that. The fact is that Joss Whedon, writer and director of Serenity, although worshipped by his fans, or Whedonites, is not that well-known to the general public. Joss comes from a long line of television writers. He created a popular genre-busting TV Show "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" after his film version was ruined due to studio interference. He then created a spin-off series which, contrary to cliche, was just as good, some say better, than it's original source series. The spin-off was called "Angel". But Joss likes to stay busy, and whilst he was quite happy to produce 22 episodes of Buffy, 22 episodes of Angel, and some fantastic although brief forays into the world of comics, he wanted to do more. He had been reading a book called "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara, about the american civil war and he got to thinking. What if he created a new Sci-Fi series set in the future based on the american civil war in which the rich have got richer and the poor are left living in squalor in colonies. Firefly was born. It was one of the best TV Shows ever. Although it was set on a spaceship there were no aliens. Although there were space battles there was no sound in space. [Space is a vacuum which is why "In Space No-One Can Hear You Scream"] As with many great shows it soon got axed. It didn't even make it to a full season. Luckily though the response to the DVDs was quite shockingly high as word spread of just how good it was. It's the kind of show which 90% of the people you lend it to will buy their own copy. A film was announced, Serenity. Joss was writing and directing and it turned out to be an amazing film which is also, like much of Joss' work moving and funny and at times shocking. By the last half-hour you are not even sure that the main character will survive. When people in this movie get injured, it's for real. They will not be feeling absolutly fine in five minutes. Watch, Enjoy, Get Firefly, Watch, Enjoy, and then give Buffy and Angel the chance they deserve.

Quotable Quote: "I'm a leaf on the wind"

If you like this then why not try: Firefly (TV Series Box Set)

Everyone always votes The Shawshank Redemption as the greatest movie of all time. It's a shame that Stand By Me never gets a look in. Stand By Me was based on Stephen King's short story The Body, which is from the same book as The Shawshank Redemption. It's about a group of kid's in the 50's going off in search of a dead boy. It's a brilliantly nostalgic movie with a great soundtrack and great performances from Will Wheaton, River Pheonix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell (yes, it really is the guy from Sliders) and Kiefer Sutherland. It is in many ways like Stephen Kings other story It. It is sad and makes you wish to be that age again but that's part of the beauty of it.

Quotable Quote: "Chopper, Sick Balls"

If you like this then why not try: The Shawshank Redemption

This Time, It's War. Who says that a sequel can't be better than the original. Look at Evil Dead 2, Terminator 2 and this Aliens. WOW! James Cameron's take on the world of Alien was to re-imagine it as some kind of Vietnam war movie. The movie expanded on the ideas of the original, and thus created one of the greatest bad guys in the movies. The Alien Queen. It also featured one of the best fight scenes ever, one of the best quotes ever (See Quotable Quotes), it set the template for the women of James Camerons movies, and surpassed every concievable expectation of a sequel. Again, viewing the original is not mandatory for enjoyment. PS - I wish I had my own Power Loader.

Quotable Quote: "Get away from her you bitch!"

If you like this then why not try: Alien

Donnie Darko? Donnie Darko is one of the most thought provoking sci-fi movies of recent times. Part of it's genius is the fact that it is very layered. You can see it as a movie about Time Travel that is meant to be watched over and over to be fully understood. You can see it as a movie about a kid with mental problems. You can see it as a coming of age drama. You can see it as whatever you like really. What is really cool about it is that there are so many little extra details to spot, like the red car at the begining of the film which is seen near the end. Oh and it features a giant rabbit called Frank. No, he is nothing like Harvey. The worst thing i've heard said about it was that it thinks it's more clever than it is. I'm pretty sure the person who said that didn't get it. I thought I totally understood it until I learnt of writer/director Richard Kellys solution which is actually based on fictional notions mixed with the theory's of Stephen Hawking. Can't wait to see Kelly's next film, Southland Tales.

Quotable Quote: "Why are you wearing that stupid man suit."

If you like this then why not try: Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind