Top Tens & Lists

Top 11 Films of 2006

Forget all those other pansy “Top Ten Lists” you’ve seen.  Mine goes to 11!  My list for last year included films which struggled to break even and those which were financial disasters.  This year, believe it or not, there are at least two films on my list that actually made a modest profit!

This year’s list includes two directors finding their way back to greatness, three comedies including one of the best satires in many a long year, a G-Rated animated film, three documentaries, a film about 9/11, a dysfunctional family in a yellow VW bus, a man whose life may be controlled by an unseen narrator, and a rat on the Boston State Police.  So who’s #1?  Let’s just say the answer may surprise you (and possibly piss you off to no end), but my choice was, in the end, the only one I could make.

Top 11 Films of 2006 Read More »

The Pirate’s Gold

The early 80’s gave loose to many pirate films, from the funny and classic Princess Bride to the campy and silly The Pirate Movie. Many of the films created for high sea adventures in the 80’s aren’t all that bad, even if they were a bit cheesy and over the top. It was the 80’s after all; the era of big hair, leg warmers, mini-skirts with lace, “The Brat Pack” and some really crappy one hit wonders. What else would you expect from a bundle of pirate films from way back when?

But why stop there, now we have the new and improved pirate films, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest and whatever they are calling part 3.

The Pirate’s Gold Read More »

Philip K Dick: The Movies

From the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic comes alien technology, metaphysics, simulacra (artificial life forms designed to mimic humans), soothsaying, philosophy, alternative universes and futures, and death.  Not the happiest of universes I’ll grant you, but one that bursts with a distinct vision resulting in original and uncompromising tales.

Several of Philip K Dick’s works have been translated into film.  We’ll have the review for the latest, A Scanner Darkly, tomorrow.  Today though we take a look back at how Hollywood has translated Dick’s different worlds onto screen over the years.  Enjoy…

Philip K Dick: The Movies Read More »

Top 10 Films of 2005 (That You Probably Missed)

As I made up my list of my top ten films of the year I noticed something – not one was a box office hit in terms of Hollywood executive standards.  None of my ten grossed $100 million at the box office, in fact only one grossed more than $50 million.  Though most pulled in an excess of what it took to make, or at least enough to break even, very few people saw the films that I would consider to be the class of 2005.

Top 10 Films of 2005 (That You Probably Missed) Read More »