C.C.C. Issue #37: Ten Movies I should have seen by now (but haven't)

 Top Ten Movies I should have seen by now but haven’t (as of April 2015)

Welcome back to CCC! I’ve been away watching movies (big surprise, I know) but now I’m back, and hopefully will have a new update every 7-10 days.

Everyone who knows me knows I watch a lot of movies. What they might not know is that I usually try to watch movies that have subject matter I know I’ll be interested in. This is why I’ve seen so many garbage films like King of the Lost World or Boa vs. Python or A Sound of Thunder. More recently I’ve started focusing on watching critically acclaimed movies or ones deemed “classics” and those “must-see” movies for anyone who is a fan of film.

I have failed to watch many movies other people consider some of their favourites. It’s not that I don’t care; it’s just that there have been so many other movies I found more interesting, that these ten have not yet found their way onto my TV screen.

10. The Patriot (2000)

This one, despite only being number ten on the list, is particularly embarrassing. I have owned the blu ray for over four years, and I have yet to pop the disc in and watch. On several occasions I intended to, but failed. Although it didn’t get widespread critical praise, The Patriot is often considered director Roland Emmerich’s best film, and more historically accurate than the next entry on this list.

9. Braveheart (1995)

Mel Gibson’s epic film which won the Oscar for Best Picture has eluded me for a long time. For some reason, whenever I thought about needing to watch Braveheart, I also thought about needing to watch Gladiator. So when I encountered both on sale at Best Buy, I should have bought both, but instead went cheap and arbitrarily picked Gladiator only. Since then, I haven’t found the blu ray of Braveheart on sale anywhere. It may take number eight on this list, but it will never take, my money! Ok, that was a bad parallel of the famous quote, I admit it. Let’s move on.

8. Scanners (1981)

I’m a big fan of David Cronenberg’s—The Fly is one of my favourite horror films ever—but Scanners, one of his most well-respected pieces of work, is something I have still yet to see. I’m aware of the premise, that people with telekinetic powers cause other people’s heads to explode and this leads to mayhem. I’m also aware it’s considered one of the best horror films of the early eighties, but the main reason it’s a travesty that I’ve never seen it, is the fact that my mom’s cousin has a small part in it! Forget the fact that I’m a huge horror fan and Cronenberg fan (who’s also a Canadian by the way); it has a family member of mine in it! If the Criterion Collection blu ray for Scanners wasn’t 40 bucks, I would have seen it by now, but maybe I’ll shell out the cash for it if my budget will allow once October comes around. 

7. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

 

This cult classic comedy stars Jon Heder as the title character, and was pretty popular when I was in elementary and middle school. For some reason, I never thought it looked that funny and so never got around to watching it. I feel like I should have seen it by now, though. The opportunity hasn’t come yet; it’s never on TV and never on sale at any stores. I’m familiar with some of the quotes (Vote for Pedro still means nothing to me) and the scene where he says he hunted Wolverines with his uncle. Aside from that, Napoleon Dynamite is mostly an enigma to me.

6. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Ben-Hur and this film are the two great epics which I feel I should have seen by now. First off, I’m a fan of epic films. Spartacus, Lord of the Rings, 2001: A Space Odyssey? Bring em’ on. I attempted to watch Ben-Hur once and got through the first hour. It was deleted from my PVR by accident, so I haven’t had a chance to watch it again since. Lawrence of Arabia has been on my list for a long time, and I attempted to see it not long ago but couldn’t get past the first hour, then when I went back to finish it, I found Netflix had removed it. I’ve read about the film, and am a fan of Alec Guinness (who played Obi Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy). Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found a suitable spare 228 minutes to finish viewing this epic masterpiece in its entirety.

5. Gone with the Wind (1939)

 

I saw my mom watching this on TV the other day, for like the twentieth time (she claims). I promised I would sit down and watch it with her one day, as I can’t see myself putting it on and sitting through this nearly four hour historical epic romance alone. Romance isn’t my favourite genre, really long movies test my ability to sit and pay attention for a lengthy period of time, and history was never my favourite subject in school. Despite having never seen it, I’m still familiar with famous quotes and scenes from the film. To those of you who think I definitely should have seen this by now, I say: I don’t give a damn (quite frankly, that is).

4. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

I’m a big fan of horror films, and the zombie sub-genre is one that’s exploded in recent years. I always enjoy a good undead rampage, and no one has done the zombie more justice than George Romero, the legendary director who put the flesh-eating creatures on the map and kicked off the zombie craze with his directing debut, Night of the Living Dead. This black and white, low budget horror film remains a staple of the genre and is the inspiration for virtually every zombie flick to follow. I’ve seen other entries in Romero’s ongoing ...Of the Dead series, which includes Land of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead (the original) and Day of the Dead. Night of the Living Dead has been released on home video multiple times, but I’ve never come across a DVD or blu ray of it in stores. I’ve seen clips of it, know lots about it, but have never seen the whole thing. I want to one day marathon all of the Romero zombie films, and plan on starting with this one—the one that started it all. 

3. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

This fantasy comedy, which combines live-action actors with animated cartoon characters, is something I was aware of as a kid, but for whatever reason, had no interest in watching. I had no idea until I was much older that Who Framed Roger Rabbit takes place in the fictional locale of Toon Town, and I’m still not entirely sure if it features actual Looney Tunes characters, or just references them. Either way, I should have seen this classic family adventure by now. Director Robert Zemeckis has had varying success over the course of his career, but Who Framed Roger Rabbit is often considered his best film next to Back to the Future, which many (including myself) would say is his best work. I’ve heard many film buffs reference the craft behind Roger Rabbit, the quality which still holds up to this day, and just the originality behind it. As a huge Looney Tunes fan, it’s weird and disappointing I haven’t seen it yet.

2. Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (2014)

If you aren’t familiar with The Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN) web series, then chances are you don’t know anything about this independently-produced feature film. If you do know about AVGN and are a fan, then you might understand why it’s unacceptable that I haven’t seen this. AVGN creator James Rolfe created this film with his long-time friend Kevin Finn using fan donations, and made the film specifically for his dedicated fan base. I’ve heard mixed to positive things about AVGN: The Movie, but as a huge fan not only of the web series, but of everything Rolfe does, I feel bad that I haven’t yet bought the blu ray, which has been available since November of last year. I’ve been planning to buy it ever since the release, but even so, as a fan, I feel like I’ve let Mr. Rolfe down. I will rectify this as soon as humanly possible, for The F**kin'  Nerd! 

1. Blade Runner (1982)

This is by far the one movie I’m most embarrassed about having not seen. It isn’t from a genre I’m unfamiliar with: it’s from my favourite genre. It isn’t from a director I don’t like: Ridley Scott is legendary. It stars Harrison Ford in his prime, which is a major plus. Really, there is no good reason why I haven’t seen Blade Runner. I felt like I had to go big or go home when it came to buying this movie on blu ray, so instead of settling for the one disc version, I waited and planned on buying the five disc complete collector’s edition. When I was finally ready to purchase it, I discovered that version was discontinued. Discouraged, I didn’t bother getting the single disc and have decided to wait until I come across the five disc version online or in store. The fact that I haven’t seen what is widely considered one of the greatest sci-fi films ever saddens me as much as I’m sure it saddens you.