I'm Jeremy, aka Wonderful Noise, and I have a confession to make. For 19 years I have lived on this earth and in all that time I have failed to absorb almost any modern contributions to culture. Movies, TV, literature, video games - you name it, I was somewhere else that day. I'm an athlete and tabletop gamer and those hobbies took up a lot of time; I wouldn't have passed them up for anything. For the first time in my life, however, I've got a real Internet connection for personal use, a media library at my disposal courtesy of my roommate ("Roomie"), and a lot of free time to kill. And when I say that, I mean it - I won't be going anywhere for a long while, so I need whatever I can get to entertain myself in the meantime.
The friendly chaps and... lady chaps... at RPGnet's forums have been rattling off a big list of media that I should look at, and this is the place where I will be putting my thoughts. I would post them right on the forums, but for fear of leaks (justified, according to Roomie) we figured that a setup with a sort of Chinese wall going on would work best. I'll still respond to whatever comments come to me pre-filtered by our media-savvy friend (hi Lacy! Thanks for helping!) who will pass along anything that doesn't contain plot details I shouldn't be privy to yet.
So yeah; welcome to my blog! I hope you enjoy reading my reactions to things that you probably saw ages ago and which I am just now (finally!) catching up on!
Reading your Princess Bride watching was almost like seeing it the first time except I'm twice your age and I knew Andre the Giant (Fezzik) was that big. :) I'm sure what you don't need is MORE RECOMMENDATIONS from total strangers but let me suggest The Usual Suspects and Dead Again for your list anyway. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Katie! The Usual Suspects is on the big list right now, but I don't see Dead Again there yet. What I do need is in fact more recommendations from total strangers! :D
DeleteLoved your Star Wars recap. I actually feel so grateful that you are sharing with the Internet, that I wish I could give you something in return.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are just starting your life, so I suggest you monetize your blog as soon as you can. Yours is a unique perspective not found anywhere else, and you should cash in on it if you can.
I have no idea how I'd do that, but it's cool to dream! My roommate might know how that works. Anyway, I'm having fun and I'm glad other people are too. :D
DeleteI just realized that these posts are happening right now. I agree with Gilles. Monetize this if you can. I am loving your comments. It really is like experience seeing the movies again for the first time.
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite line so far has been "So the bear flies the ship". Heh.
Is there a thread for suggestions? I'm sure your friends already have a list compiled. But it's hard to remember everything. You've hit movies with funny parts, but there are also pure comedies. Blazing Saddles, Caddyshack.
There's one going on RPGnet, here's the link: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?727772-Tell-me-what-to-watch!
DeleteI don't know how to monetize a blog. I don't actually know how to set up the blog, really, but if anyone has suggestions I'll pass them along!
Oh also Lacy says she checks the comments on the blog for new suggestions, so if you aren't a member at RPGnet you can just put them here and she'll pick them up.
I am recommending this blog to everyone I know, as I feels like seeing these very, very beloved films for the first time. And it's good for a few hearty chuckles, I'll tell ya.
ReplyDeleteIf you're in the mood for more suggestions (I know, I know), I'd be happy to be your Sherpa. Especially if you're interested in comics.
Everybody keeps being so down on suggestions! I love suggestions! You might annoy Lacy with them, but I love them! :D
DeleteI will try and be as diplomatic and charming as possible. For Lacy's sake. ;)
DeleteWN: I just binged on your reviews, and it is exhilarating to see the raw enthusiasm not just in you, but the enthusiasm that is uncovered in all of us that remembers seeing these movies for the first time, and realizing how groundbreaking they were in forming our own collective cultural memory.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you've received most of these recommendations that shaped my own '70s-80's teenage developmental benchmarks, but these all do have a necessary sense of the iconic.
Alien
Aliens
Blade Runner
Die Hard
Evil Dead/Evil Dead 2/Army of Darkness
Ghostbusters
Highlander
Jaws
Predator
The Terminator
(I see you loved John Williams' score for the Star Wars trilogy, so you may particularly appreciate his work on "Jaws.")
And throw "Tremors" in there somewhere. It ain't iconic, but it just doesn't seem to get enough love as it should.
I'm pretty sure that every one of those movies is on the list. I actually just finished Ghostbusters! You're going to get a lot more of what you like, it seems. :D
DeleteAw, I'm so relieved everyone's already on this! By the way, I'm totally ashamed I forgot to include the "Back to the Future" and "Indiana Jones" trilogies on that list above. Like forehead-slappingly ashamed. Anyway, glad to hear steps are already underway.
DeleteWhen I see in other comments elsewhere that John Carpenter's 1982 version of "The Thing" is rightfully on the recommendation roster (the ultimate in practical creature FX), I cringe again because that makes me realize I forgot John Carpenter's other seminal action film "Escape from New York." (You must round out a Carpenter troika with the original "Halloween.")
If'n when you do see "Highlander," I'd advise that you track down a copy of the original theatrical cut, rather that any anniversary additions. Yes, there is some more minutes of footage in the latter, but the flow and subtle revelations are better in the stripped-down version. I would LOVE to hear what your pre-viewing guesses are as to what you think this film would be. I hope the extent of any spoilers you may have on this is to simply note that nothing, NOTHING makes one more pumped to see a movie than hearing a song by Queen kick in before a single image of the film appears onscreen.
Also: "Beetlejuice"? It may act as a flipside to your recently reviewed "Ghostbusters."
Oh man, its sad that I can "rewatch" every scene in my head as I read through your reviews. Its a blast. Its fun to see you get bounce between the humor and the drama and the predictions. So many movies are just rom-coms, or dumb parody comedies, or action flicks. There's a careful balance in most of the ones on your list between comedy and storylines and action and tension...like in Princess Bride. And you really need to watch some movies more than once to get it all....and you need to watch some bad movies to really appreciate the good ones.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for you, you are watching many decades worth of good movies all at once, so your standards may end up a bit high. Its hard to appreciate the clever humor of Ghostbusters unless you sit through the agony of Scary Movie 5.
Glad you're enjoying it. I really do need to watch some of these movies again down the line.
DeleteRocky Horror Picture Show! It's such a bizarre musical, but it's so worth it.
ReplyDeleteLabyrinth, if you haven't seen it, you can definately tap into a wave of our 80's nostalgia right there!
ReplyDeleteWillow! Just for pure 80s fantasy fun. The music is gorgeous by James Horner, filmed in Britain and New Zealand (before everybody was doing it) and the story was written by George Lucas. Some haters try to compare it to Star Wars or Lord of the Rings which is just kind of silly. You either like it for what it is or you don't.
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