 Here we are with another Edgar Wright title, and as my hero of a director, I have to say that this was difficult to narrow down. This is a part of the now quite famous Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, which also included 'Shaun of the Dead' three years prior, and 'The World's End' a whole six years later. I was very close to making this a sort of "cheat" and including all three of those films, as that trilogy is sort of what seals the deal for Edgar Wright being my all-time favourite director. Although the comedy is similar all the way through, the themes and ideas are very different. So with all due respect, don't be too surprised if I lean into the other two movies a little bit during this write-up. 'Hot Fuzz', however, does win out as the best of the three as most opinions seem to go, and it's not hard to understand why. Something like 'Shaun of the Dead' is still a zombie movie and, nowadays, lends itself to the oversaturation of the genre. Although being released not only the same year but just one month after the remake of 'Dawn of the Dead' was perfect planning or an astonishing coincidence that made 'Shaun' just that much better for its time. As for 'The World's End', it's an incredibly strange and imaginative sci-fi comedy that I really think will require a certain taste. 'Hot Fuzz' is, to put it simply, a buddy cop comedy that pays homage to the genre in a big way. If I were to introduce anyone to Edgar Wright through his films, this is where I'd begin. A buddy cop movie is something everyone is very familiar with, and you don't need to flex your imagination too much to go with it. In fact, the film makes a point of showing us an A-side and B-side in which the A-side is much more realistic and the B-side is where we get a full tribute to the high-octane cop action flicks we all love. It helps that some of the best action movie titles out there are about cops or law enforcement in some way shape or form. 'Beverly Hills Cop', 'Die Hard', 'Bad Boys', 'Lethal Weapon', '48 Hours', 'Point Break' there has been something for everyone, and this is a film that sort of bows to the genre with a great amount of respect. Going back to Wright as a director, and using this as a "first-timer" for anyone curious to see his material, I'd further say that this is a great example of seeing his style. He's quick. He sets things up, gets to the point with little to no effort, and makes damn sure that the audience is having a good laugh every step of the way. At the head of the film is Nicolas Angel (Simon Pegg), which begins to show another bit of Wright's style - naming things, shall we say, appropriately. Beginning with Angel, he's the picture-perfect cop here, abiding by the law perfectly, and being the best of the best of the London Police Force - that is until he starts making everyone look bad by being too good, and getting shipped off to the small town of Sandford, Gloucestershire. In Sanford, he meets his partner, Danny Butterman (Nick Frost); an action-movie-obsessed, somewhat bumbling cop who loves to hit up the pub after hours. Together, the pair try to unravel a mystery involving several murders throughout the town. But while Angel is so sure of so much, the rest of the crew has a tendency to shrug these matters off as simple accidents, insisting pretty much that sometimes "shit happens". In some regards, something like this hits very close to home when you take into consideration where I live, my proximity to where the Paul Bernardo/Karla Homolka murders took place, and the evident ignorance of a LOT of the cops involved in the case (learned through a True Crime podcast). Although this is definitely a three-way combo between comedy, action and mystery, it's interesting that it doesn't hold back on several other elements as well. For example, with a good and surprising share of blood and gore, along with several dark scenes, there's definitely a horror element to this as well. It's a great example of a movie that has something for everyone - especially if you're already a fan of buddy cop films going into it. For as much as I love 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'The World's End', they are much more stand-alone titles that require a certain mind-set, but with 'Hot Fuzz', I feel like anyone can give it a chance and at least enjoy it for its good time - especially the final act, which is mind-blowing the first time you ever see it. I wouldn't mind covering a lot of the British actors that pop up in this all over the place, but I'll be running on far too long, so I'll just link this page. Chances are, there will be a few recognizable names for you. This movie has so much talent behind it, and it's THE one of the three 'Cornetto' titles I don't mind throwing on any old time. But that's not to knock 'Shaun' or 'World's End' down either. If you watch this and love it, I'd say check out the other two as well. It really doesn't matter what order, as they're all separate stories. But I'm going to recommend this as a first-timer for anyone curious about Edgar Wright's overall style (this or 'Baby Driver', which is also quite awesome). If you're at all into the fun of action movie cliches and can appreciate a hell of a lot of homages (apparently over 100 films inspired this!), then definitely check this title out! 
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 Let this title serve as proof that a movie doesn't necessarily have to be some Oscar-worthy masterpiece in order to be considered a "favourite". This is another one that ties into the nostalgic factor quite a bit but has since become a go-to if I'm ever in need of a good laugh. It's kind of remarkable how many boxes this one ticks off as far as my taste in comedy is concerned. It's extremely random, it's extremely quotable, and it's often even a little dark just so it can get an unexpected laugh. For the record, I do find that between this and 'Happy Gilmore', it's the latter that seems to get more attention. That's perfectly understandable, and I still like that one almost just as much, but 'Billy Madison', so help me, is something I just tend to laugh through more. Now, I think it's safe to say that there are probably a bunch of people reading this who are raising their eyebrows in confusion at this as, after all, it's really just a goofy Adam Sandler comedy - something I'm actually not all that fond of, for the most part, as it's worn thin over the years. After you see Sandler do drama and do it well, it's hard not to route for him to be flexing his acting muscles beyond these silly antics. But for yours truly, this just kind of marks a certain point in time in my life. I was 12 years old when this came out, and between SNL and his album, 'They're All Gonna Laugh at You', Sandler (along with other SNL mainstays at the time) was all the rage for us kids. It was rude, goofy, edgy humour and it was almost like something we were getting away with listening to/watching. Then along comes Sandler's first starring role in 'Billy Madison' which was rated PG-13, which meant it was going to be far easier to get into than a lot of us expected. His albums probably could have been R-rated if they were skits on video, so there would have been no chance, otherwise (they used to be far more strict about that sort of thing). I can still remember going with a friend and I'm fairly sure that, right up to now, that was the most I've ever laughed through a movie. I'm sure others have come close, but the humour contained within this movie is so off-the-wall ridiculous, random and stupid that, even though I might not say it's a "good movie", it is definitely a good time, especially when you check it out with the right friends. I think that if this was a new thing today, it probably wouldn't fly quite as well as it did in 1995. The plot, itself, involves a grown man being given the opportunity to go from first grade through twelfth grade all over again in order to prove himself to his father and take over his father's company. All you really need to take away from that is the concept of a grown man going through grade school with other grade school kids and there could potentially be a creepy factor to this. Hell, at one point Billy starts whipping dodgeballs at kids, and this has since caused controversy considering those hits were all very real. So it's another movie I really enjoy that has something negative attached to it, and there's honestly no shortage of those if you just do a quick Google search. One interesting thing to think about with this movie is just wondering what ever happened to any of these kids. I don't think a single one, even anyone with a good amount of dialogue, went on to do anything else (of course, I could be wrong). It would be interesting now to see if any of them went on to continue acting in some perhaps lesser-known movies or perhaps continued on to become successful doctors, lawyers, teachers, or whatever else. Either way, you've got to give a bunch of these kids credit for adding to the comedy here, and now probably have a single quote from the film following them around for life, like "you've got a misshaped head", or, in the case of a handful of them, the same "O'Doyle rules!" line. Going back to what I mentioned before about this being released in my generation's peak SNL era, the film is certainly not complete without its share of SNL cameos. The two featured here mainly happen to be the late Chris Farley as the field trip bus driver, and the late Norm MacDonald as one of Billy's drinking buddy friends who just kind of hangs out at Billy's mansion. Both of those guys were once lords of comedy, and this was a good place to see when either of them was sort of at their peak - especially Farley, as he passed much sooner than MacDonald, who went on until only just last year. Their respective passings have really only really made me appreciate the movie more through their respective characters. Another thing this movie has going for it on a personal level is that it's one of the only movies I could probably get a passing grade on if given any sort of test about its quotes. In fact, I'd likely ace it, as this is something I can almost quote from beginning to end without much effort, and even adding emphasis on the delivery of the lines, complete with tone etc. So yeah, you could say that this has been a mainstay comedy I've held close to my heart since its release. Not everyone is going to like it, and in fact, I think a hell of a lot of people would think it's just plain stupid. But this is a case where the stupidity of it all is basically what you're meant to be laughing at. It's a film that doesn't take itself seriously at all, and in order to truly enjoy it, no one else should either. Just have fun and enjoy the whacky good time of classic Sandler.   I've mentioned it many times before, but this is yet another title that I first saw for the first time on a Blockbuster rental spree. If I remember correctly, I was walking through the store with my mother, trying to find a few older movies to rent, and we came across 'The Breakfast Club', which she recommended I watch so highly that she practically insisted that it was one of the six titles I rent for the deal they had at the time. Just based on the cover alone, I really didn't know if it was gonna be for me. This was high school, so I was very particular about renting what friends would recommend for me as opposed to my own mother. Two things about that last bit - whether I liked to admit it at the time or not, no one really knew me better than my Mother. So whether she just recommended it or practically force-fed it to me, it was easy to trust her judgment on the probability of me enjoying it. For that, I gave it a fair chance. Secondly, and more important, it was my, shall we say, "high school-ness" that would ultimately become the key to this landing on my all-time favourites list. My mother knew something about the timing of me watching this for the first time. She understood the level on which this would click based on not only my age, but probably my attitude at the time - an attitude largely consisting of feeling like an outcast of sorts. Not necessarily bullied but rather unimportant and/or often ignored if not just the "weakest link" amongst my friends. Now, to put it straight for any friends I've made from high school, I have no regrets about any of that, as all of that has helped me grow as a person since. But putting personal stuff aside and getting back to the point, this was a movie that showed me exactly what it needed to show me, in that, to keep it very basic, our differences are only skin deep. We all have something in our lives that we struggle with, and it's not until the movie delivers so much of that understanding that such a message really clicked. Before this, it was very easy to just point the finger at some jack-hole I decided I hated without understanding that maybe they were going through something too; something I couldn't possibly understand unless I saw it for myself. The heart and soul of this movie are in the five main characters who have been called into detention on a Saturday for punishment. We can all relate to at least one of these characters' personalities whether you're Andrew Clark the "Jock" (Emilio Estevez), Claire Standish the "Princess" (Molly Ringwald), Brian Johnson the "Geek" (Anthony Michael Hall), John Bender the "Punk" (Judd Nelson), or Allison Reynolds the "Basketcase" (Ally Sheedy). Often, it's a combination of two or three. Personally speaking, I'd see myself as some sort of a Brian/Allison hybrid, but it's always a fun thing to think about - where do you fit in this group? But there's more than just relatability to character personalities and "stereotypes" here once the movie really starts to pick up. The best scenes in this movie, at least for me, are the scenes of them sitting around exchanging dialogue and getting to know each other. It sounds boring, right? But this is how we get to know these characters, ourselves, and this is where we learn that we're not as different from one another as we think we are. Truth be told, it does get really quite emotional at times, and so much of that emotion comes from the empathy we have for first, certain characters we choose as our "favourites", and then all five of them by the end. Once again, this is a great example of a movie that plays the "human" element very well, and as far as I'm concerned it's probably the John Hughes movie I'd recommend highest to anyone, based on character relatability. There are, however, two characters I haven't mentioned yet - Principal Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason) and high school custodian, Carl (John Kapelos). While Vernon is the villainized authority figure here, Carl is the friendly guy who can relate to the kids. What I've always found fascinating here is the scene when Carl is talking with Vernon in the principal's office, almost as though Carl is the spokesman for the very youth that Vernon is holding in the library for detention. It's a neat way to get the kids' thoughts across without actually needing the kids to say something. So it's interesting that we get those particular perspectives as well. It all makes for a very well-done bottle movie full of character. This is a movie about finding similarities in all of our differences, and you can take that as basically or as heavily as you wish. For me, this movie's exchange of dialogue provided some pretty heavy and I'd even say important material that I'd really start to take into consideration, the primary thing probably being empathy and understanding. I will admit that there are plenty of scenes that do involve a fair amount of that 80's cheesiness, but at this point, I find that all part of the charm of things here. As far as I'm concerned this is one of the best 80s movies out there for just anyone to check out. You might not be into it as much if you're on the younger side of things these days, but for my generation, this one's a gem that at least I would recommend anyone sees at least once.   A lot of people who know me well will be able to tell you that, without a doubt, Halloween is my favourite time of year. It's not just going to parties, eating a bunch of candy or dressing up either. A lot of it also has to do with the atmosphere of the night itself. There's something extra special in the air on Halloween. It's the same idea as the magic in the air that's present every Christmas Eve, but instead of being whimsical and joyous, Halloween has this eerieness to it that we lovers of the strange and unusual just eat up. There's also the idea of the veil between the dead and the living becoming its thinnest, and whether that's to be believed or not, it certainly adds to the occasion. So, it's probably a surprise to no one at all that a movie entitled 'Halloween', which contains all the right elements for a movie with its name made the list. While creating this list, I'm a little hard-pressed to land on what my favourite horror movies that also make the "all-time" list actually are. For example, as much as I love the 'Friday the 13th' movies, I'm not sure that for me there's an ultimate stand-out that I have some kind of personal attachment to. 'Jason Lives' is probably the closest it gets, but I'm not sure it's quite enough. With that said, the 'Friday the 13th' franchise probably wouldn't exist without 'Halloween', as even director Sean S. Cunningham fully admits that it is generally a direct rip-off of 'Halloween'. The funny thing is, I prefer the 'Friday' franchise to this, but this first movie is very hard to top. Much like the classic Box Office pioneer 'Jaws', this is another movie that finds itself under the horror/thriller category (if you wanna call 'Jaws' horror) that proves less is generally more when it comes to a good scare. This much is shown with its low-budget use of all sorts of simple camera tricks. It basically brought the single-shot idea into existence with its creepy opening scene, using a "Panaglide" camera rig. There are also scenes like in the screencap below, where Michael Myers' face is revealed with a simple dimmer on the camera, as if to give the effect of your eyes adjusting to the darkness. It's one of the best "creepy guy in the shadows" scenes in existence - even if it is a little bit laughable that Michael Myers' mask is, in actuality, a modified William Shatner mask. Much like with 'Elm Street', this one has ended up becoming a sort of "go-to" for taking an interest in everything going on behind the scenes with it. Not only do you learn about things like camera tricks to keep it all nice and atmospheric, but you can gather knowledge like why they chose Jamie Lee Curtis (daughter of Tony Curtis and 'Psycho' star, Janet Leigh), and the incredibly short time it took to actually film this (over the course of just 20 days). But the real kicker for me has always been looking back on this movie to see that there's basically no, or at least little-to-no blood all throughout. There are plenty of brutal kill scenes, but it's generally kept in the shadows so that your imagination can do the work for you - that is some effective slasher horror! While Michael Myers has since become one of the big-timers when it comes to Hollywood slashers, it's not really him that makes this movie. He's a good, creepy villain, and actor Nick Castle (among a few others that had to portray him here) delivers a solid performance as "The Shape", but I tend to really lean on both Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasance) and Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) for their awesome performances here. I love how deadly serious Loomis can get, and sometimes it even makes for a good laugh because it feels so over-the-top. As for Laurie, she's just a fantastic heroine for the time, being a babysitter who has to take care of a couple of little kids through this night's events. She paves the way for all the Scream Queens to come. While I appreciate the rest of this franchise, as far as I'm concerned, there hasn't really been a chapter of it that quite reaches the same spirit that this one has. This one acts as a horror thriller, but there are also so many elements of the Halloween season throughout this that it sort of stands out as the ultimate chapter of the franchise. Nowadays, it has gotten so convoluted that you can sort of choose your own adventure with the watch-order of the rest of these films. The original franchise goes one way, then Rob Zombie comes in with two of his own movies, and NOW we have it where you basically watch this first one, then carry on with the "40 Years Later" franchise, starting in 2018, and "Ends" later this year... but of course, knowing horror icons, when does anything really "end"? 'Halloween', specifically this one from 1978, has become the ultimate staple of the holiday. In other words, no Halloween season is complete without watching it, and it's been this way since 2007 when one Halloween night on my own, I decided to be the one house on the block to lock the door, turn the lights off and enjoy a movie. It's kind of a jerk move to ignore trick-or-treaters on Halloween night, I know, but I was just in a "tune out" mood that night. I also tend to treat this as a Halloween movie in the same way I treat 'It's a Wonderful Life' as a Christmas movie - I only really watch it during the right time of year. It's a title that may not necessarily be for everyone, but for a fan of old school slashers, this is pretty much where they got their true beginning as a mainstream idea. And amazingly, this one holds up still today more than most of them!   With Edgar Wright being my all-time favourite director, we all knew it was only a matter of time before just one of his titles popped up on this list of mine. We're gonna start with 'Scott Pilgrim', however, because despite its all-encompassing Americanness (with its British director) it's incredibly close to home. Taking place in the mysterious land of Toronto, Canada, I can say with some pride that I'm just a few cities away in Hamilton, and can confirm that this wasn't filmed in a city pretending to be Toronto. I have now reviewed this movie twice, so some of my readers will be all too familiar with my reasoning for putting this one on my list. However, in case some are still a little bit in the dark, I should probably break it all down one last time. As usual, let's go back in time just a wee bit to the year 2010 when the film was about to be released. I can still admit to this day that when the first teaser trailer dropped, teasing the first fight of the film, I quite honestly thought it looked dumb. The only glimmer of hope in this trailer for me was Edgar Wright's name because even by then I considered him one of my favourite directors, based on 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz' alone. One day I was wandering around the graphic novel section of my local Chapters (now Indigo) store. With not a whole hell of a lot jumping out at me, I texted a friend who knows his way around all of his comic book titles, asking for recommendations. Without hesitation, he texted back with "Scott Pilgrim!" I picked up the first book and was pretty entertained by it, despite an incredibly strange ending. Luckily for yours truly, I am able to say "there's more to this I haven't read yet", so bought the next book, then the next, and indeed collected all 6 of them. I read them all and actually really liked them. They are all very easy to get through, and it helped me develop an understanding of what this movie was gonna be all about. Eventually, the movie was finally released alongside 'The Expendables' (where all the dudes were heading instead) and 'Eat, Pray, Love' (where all the ladies were heading instead). The niche audience for 'Scott Pilgrim' had seemingly already downloaded it, but a few of us were still turning up to the theater to check it out. I was so impressed by the overall execution of its adaptation that I saw it twice more and may have gone a fourth time if it didn't fade away so quickly. Needless to say, when it was released on blu-ray, it was a quick grab for me. This one has officially reached the list of movies I've seen the most times over in my life, up there with even 'Ghostbusters'! It's perfectly understandable that this isn't entirely everyone's cup of tea. I would absolutely claim this to be a sort of acquired taste, and it's not something I can just recommend to anyone because not everyone is quite gonna get what makes it so good. In fact, I can say quite honestly that I know of quite a few people who hate this movie. I've even heard it referred to as the "start" of the present hipster movement (if that's even a thing anymore) and as a result, it was of course, "terrible". However, I personally never completely grasped not only what made a hipster a hipster, but why being a hipster was so incredibly bad. I feel like eventually, that term managed to get away from itself completely, and I'm willing to bet we all have some aspect of that persona in our own persona. But what this movie kills in executing is its incredible cast matching the comic book characters so well that I never once questioned who someone was supposed to be. The soundtrack is a great blend of unique sounds, largely featuring Canada's own Beck (who actually shares a Birthday with me). The visual effects were something I thought deserved to get all of the awards because it actually succeeded in making this a perfect combination of comic book, anime and video game. But what really stood out was that instead of the story taking place over the year or so it does in the comics, it's pretty much during the later parts of winter (because it's always snowy in Toronto - at one point it's mentioned that it's April). The film does a great job of telling everything it needs to tell in the short timeframe it has. The way this was presented was just about as good as it could get in my opinion. Once again, I understand a lot of people either not getting or not liking this, as it seems to be aimed at a particular audience. But speaking for myself, I find it truly original, Wright is absolutely spot on with everything here (with the original author, Bryan Lee O'Malley's guidance, which earns mad respect from me), and it's something I can throw on any damn time I feel like going on some sort of whacky escape from my own reality. Yeah, it's a bloody weird movie, but that's the kind of thing that goes right up my alley!   I think most people in my age group remember this interesting time through the mid-late 90s in which the styles and music of the 70s made a huge comeback. A lot of it was from 'That 70's Show' making a good impression, but before that, there was 'Dazed and Confused' - a film that would almost become a right of passage for us in our teenage years. I can't speak for everyone, but I do recall this movie being a huge deal in high school. By the time I eventually got around to seeing it, I was just about the perfect age. I can't recall exactly how old, but I was absolutely in high school, and that's pretty much what mattered. This is quite often seen as a stoner movie (and it totally is), but it's also a coming-of-age high school film that covers some deep moments in teenage youth - even if it is a conversation about President Washington and his love for weed. Details like that aside, in one way or another, this seemed to be a film that was able to speak to everyone in some way shape or form. I've always considered this one to have two main characters to focus on, each for very different reasons. The front-runner is Randall "Pink" Floyd, who finds himself caught between responsibility to his high school football team and being himself, embracing his youth instead of being some kind of high school robot everyone expects something from. In the meantime, the character I tend to follow through the film is freshman geek Mitch Kramer, whose night starts out rough but by the end of things becomes what could be the best night of his life. It's an interesting mix of what it means to be the popular head of the high school and what it means to be a vulnerable and frightened freshman - and how to handle both. These leads aside, there's also a great cast of mostly likable characters here and, as I mentioned before, it feels like the kind of movie in which anyone can find themselves relating to at least one of these characters. However, I think we'd all be agreed that without the great stoner Slater, this would not quite be what it is. Now, full admission, I am a pot smoker - it's 100% legal where I am, and it is lovely. With that said, I can probably add that when I have someone visit for a good "puff, puff, pass" and I suggest we watch a movie, 'Dazed and Confused' will come up just about every time. And oh yes, I'm always more than happy to watch it! More than just likable characters, this is an intriguing portrait of 70s youth and how it was. On the surface, really, this movie is just about a bunch of kids hanging out one night, driving around, partying, drinking, getting high, and all this stuff that you really shouldn't be doing. The thing is, this painted that culture in a nice, bright light as if to say "teens will be teens", and I think there's definitely something to that. To a degree, this trouble-making is all a part of being a teenager (at least for, I would argue, most). I mean, how many kids at your high school smoked pot, drank, drove dangerously, etc.? That's what's so connective about this movie - there's certain realism to it. Nothing that happens here is far-fetched or played for some big production - it's just a chill flick. To top everything off with this one, it has an incredible soundtrack, loaded with 70s rock anthems - enough that there are actually two separate albums for it, both of which I can highly recommend. Upon seeing this, it didn't take me long to grab the first part of the soundtrack and keep it in my Discman (these existed before MP3 players) to bring to school. You had songs on this like "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith, "Slow Ride" by Foghat, "Stranglehold" by Ted Nugent, "School's Out" by Alice Cooper, "Tush" by ZZ Top and so much more. Eventually, I grabbed the second one as well just for something new, but similar. Really, the soundtrack is the star of this film, and it's quite possibly my all-time favourite movie soundtrack. Why? Well, there are two of them, and I never actually skip any songs on either. It's always interesting to me to think of the time comparison thing at my current age of 40. Released in '94, this takes place in '76, so 18 years prior to its release. This would be like releasing a movie now that takes place in 2004. I can't speak for everyone in my age group who adores this movie, but for yours truly, that feels incredibly recent. Mathematics aside, however, I think it's safe to say that while this is a "stoner movie" (possibly the best one in existence) you don't have to be baked to watch and enjoy it. If I was to compare it to anything, it would probably be 'American Graffiti', but even with that, there's nothing quite like this look at the youth culture of the 70s that we can somehow all seem to relate to on some level.   So, just fair warning, this one is gonna get a little bit deep, as so much of my connection to this involves my Dad, who passed away ten years ago, this very day (July 5th, 2012). To keep it simple, and not make things too heavy, he once told me that this was probably his favourite comedy of all time. It wasn't entirely surprising, but what stuck with me was that this was a movie we could share. This was something we could call "ours". Truth be told, while he was still around, we didn't exactly match as far as various tastes were concerned. None of it stood out more than with film. I liked a lot of imagination and creativity in my movies and always saw their entertainment value. Dad was a little more on the classic side of things and enjoyed history, westerns, and war movies. This is not to say that we couldn't both be entertained by the same film, but we did reach a lot of conclusions of me being bored by his choices, and him thinking my choices were ridiculous (which, to be fair, a lot of them were). The TV show 'Community' was a massive example of this difference. I thought it had a lot of brilliance to its concept, and loved the episodes that would parody something familiar. Meanwhile, he honestly just thought it was terrible. The underlying point I'm trying to make here is that with 'Young Frankenstein', I've claimed it as one of my all-time favourite comedies as well. So when I heard Dad mention this connection we had, it was a very warm and fuzzy feeling indeed. Truth be told, I often claim 'Men in Tights' to be my favourite among the Mel Brooks titles, but it was always a flip of the coin between this and that. Pushing this ahead, however, are both the connection with my father as well as some gags that 'Men in Tights' actually repeats - namely, the "walk this way" gag, and the "didn't you have that on the other side?" gag. Most would be familiar with the former, which this film actually came up with and inspired Aerosmith to write a song! Yes, that song! When I first checked this out, I was still a kid. And despite generally having a solid memory of my past, I couldn't honestly tell you how old I was when I first saw this. Being a 1974 film, it was around eight years before I was even born, so we could have rented it at any time - especially with my Dad's feelings towards it, and the fact that it's actually quite family-friendly. Anyway, I had a good laugh right from the get-go, and just about 90% of that came from Marty Feldman's performance as Igor (pronounced "eye-gore"). This man was brand new to me, and I can still recall thinking to myself that he was a lot like a living Muppet. Marty Feldman is still a man whose library I'm meaning to check out, and it all comes back to seeing this as a kid. The way he spoke so casually struck me because, at the time, I was familiar with 'Frankenstein's Igor (at least from cartoons) and how seemingly primitive and boring he was. But here was this guy with a British accent, and instead of saying things like "yes master", he was saying things like "you're puttin' me on". To this day, I consider him the best thing about this movie, but that's NOT at all to say that everyone else here wasn't any good. On the contrary, this whole cast is bloody hilarious, and the delivery of some of this dialogue while keeping straight faces is something to be admired. Gene Wilder (who we have to thank for this movie's concept) is as likable as ever, going between casual and just plain mad. But then we have characters like Frau Blücher (*cue lightning crash and horses whinnying*) played by Cloris Leachman; one of the funniest women in the business' history, the Monster played by Peter Boyle (that's Frank from 'Everybody Loves Raymond' for anyone unfamiliar), the great Kenneth Mars as Inspector Kemp - a guy with a fake arm that just won't cooperate, the hilarious Madeline Kahn as Elizabeth; the Doctor's wife, and Teri Garr as Inga - the doctor's "roll-in-the-hay" assistant. Of course, I can't leave out Gene Hackman as a blind man trying to interact with the Monster - possibly the funniest part of the movie. I think that to today's youth, a lot of the humour might be a bit lost on them. This is a lot of old-school humour that, while not necessarily offensive, might be a bit dated. For example, the "walk this way" gag has since been used time and time again so often that I think everyone knows exactly what the gag entails. But for me, this is still something I sort of treasure in a way. It was always one of my favourite comedies, but the connection I had between this and my father means a hell of a lot to me, and I'll think of him fondly every single time I give this a watch. I know this was a bit of a "share", and it might call for a pretty specific audience, but don't worry. The next film on the list is a little less Abbie Normal.   You know, it's funny how insanely clueless I was to the existence of Jay and Silent Bob as I was coming of age. They were actually around for quite a long time before anything actually clicked for me. To put it another way, if you can believe it, my general introduction to the two stoners was going with some friends to check out 'Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back'. I had a great time with it, but there was just one thing I didn't understand - who were these guys and why did everyone love them so much? Well, evidently, this was a case of me living under the proverbial rock. My curiosity did eventually get the best of me, so afterwards, I revealed to a friend that I essentially had no knowledge of these guys before seeing 'Strike Back'. Understandably, his jaw dropped a little, but he was good enough to take me through the Wonderful World of Jersey by showing me everything leading up to what I just saw - and of course, helping me to understand who a bunch of the side characters were in that whole grand opening of the film. The funny thing was, I was familiar with each and every title - I just hadn't given them any attention, and that's where I fell short. Somehow or another, these two characters just went right over my head over the years. 'Dogma' was something I had rented beforehand, and I was actually unknowingly introduced to Jay & Silent Bob through that, without understanding that they meant anything or had any sort of following. 'Chasing Amy' was something I knew about, but it sort of went over my head, and it was actually the same with 'Mallrats'. But then there was 'Clerks'. When my friend was introducing these to me, he went in order, so 'Clerks' came first, and to this day, I can remember it just sticking out more than the others on some personal level - including, in a roundabout way, a sort of odd nostalgia. I had actually remembered bits and pieces of this from a time I was sick and had a tendency to nap with Viewer's Choice's preview channel on a loop, and 'Clerks' was one of the trailers. For you youngins, Viewer's Choice Pay Per View was basically just a cable service with which you could rent movies. Anyway, upon watching this independent, low-budget masterpiece, I fell in love with it immediately - a lot more than anything that followed. The timing of this first viewing could not have been more perfect. At the time, I had been working retail (specifically as a cashier) for about a year, year and a half. So here was this movie, portraying these two guys in a very similar environment, and it was just so incredibly relatable. For as much as I was there to connect the dots of Jay & Silent Bob appearances, it was Dante and Randal that made this movie so great. If one has ever worked in retail, one can see these two as respective extremes of the clerk's personality. You had the clerk that we all were on the inside, Dante, and the clerk we really wish we could get away with being, Randal. At my job, I was trying very hard to be more like a Dante at the time. This basically meant that despite any complaints I may have had about my job, I still continued to do it because that's what I was there for. However, I have this film as well as Randal to thank for loosening me up at work a little bit. To be clear, I was never abusive to the customers or anything like that... but I do admit to often giving attitude back to people who were giving it to me (which is actually still a no-no, guys), and things along those lines. I was about 20 by the time I finally watched this, so I was at this awesome point of being out of school, working part-time and just having a ton of fun on all of my newfound off-time with my friends. So one could say I was just about the perfect age for a movie like this to sink in. The guys were 22 in the movie, so not exactly far off. For as much as my number one reason to love this movie so much is the clerks themselves, there's actually a lot more to take away from it. One thing this title definitely cleared up for me once and for all (and Kevin Smith will say this in a lot of his shows) is that, with the right material, basically anyone can make a movie. The only other title that comes close to that for me is 'The Blair Witch Project', but the difference is that I thought that was completely overrated and lame, whereas this is something completely relatable and hilarious. They say to write what you know, and this actually did, for a very short time, give me ideas to write something similar just for fun. 'Clerks' let me know that it certainly doesn't hurt to try things. Even if your film doesn't see the light of day, you can put your best foot forward. Perhaps one day that will be something I attempt. It's fascinating to me that (and correct me if I have any of these details wrong) Kevin Smith made this from the money he made by selling his comic book collection as well as getting tuition back after dropping out of film school! I think it's safe to say that Smith got pretty damn lucky with this one. It has since become a cult classic, and perhaps the big favourite among Smith fans. One has to give it some credit for portraying something so incredibly "every day" for the first time I can really think of. Before this (although there probably is) I can't really think of any film that portrays the lifestyle of a retail clerk, in-store for the whole film. It has certainly happened since, but to me, this is the right one to watch. I will always highly recommend this to anyone who has ever had the "pleasure" of working in retail.   I think everyone who knows me knows that this was a title that was going to make the list. 'Nightmare' and I have a long and colourful history, going way, way back to my childhood in the 80s. I was one of many children who knew about Freddy Krueger despite him being R-Rated material. But Freddy didn't stand alone, either. Back then, exposure to horror was almost like some sort of right of passage. This was something I never fell into, however, as my nerves were less than worthy. When I was a kid, I had a whole bunch of fear wandering around my brain, and perhaps the number one source of my fears was, ironically enough, viewing material. But when I was around 9, one day, even I decided to give horror a proper chance. It all started with 'Freddy's Dead', rented at a family friend's house. It's ridiculous to think about now, but that movie really got under my skin. I barely slept a wink that night, largely due to a scene involving a giant Q-Tip and a hearing aid. As the years passed, I pretty much just avoided horror altogether until around the age of 16. Once I was well into my teens, I eventually tested my horror bravery with 'The Exorcist' while I had the house to myself for the weekend. Thankfully, it didn't really bother me, and I figured I managed to shake horror movies off. And I have to say, I wouldn't take back the whole experience for the world. It was really cool to have the gates of horror open for me when I was as old as 16, and only just seeing characters like Freddy, Jason, Chucky and Michael for the very first time. Of course, because he successfully scared the crap out of me as a kid, 'Elm Street' was my first stop on this adventure. I went to Blockbuster, rented all seven Freddy Flicks (at the time), and just binge-watched them over a week or so. While I had fun with all of them (some less than others), there was something about the original that just had me coming back time and time again. I was utterly fascinated by this movie and everything surrounding it. Sure, you had things like Johnny Depp's first role, before he got famous, but things just went beyond that and into whatever was going on behind the scenes. I actually ended up getting a book about the making of 'Elm Street', and a lot of the low-budget special effects and how they did them really stood out for me. I never would have thought about the innovation behind a low-budget flick until this movie. One could say that 'Elm Street' is single-handedly responsible for turning me into a retro horror geek (although I've still got some big titles yet to go through). A lot about this first chapter still stands out today for me. Some of it has to do with Freddy actually being a bit more scary than usual. Some of it has to do with Nancy's heroism. A lot of it is the cool practical effects and the stories behind them. And I'll admit, a lot of it is how cheesy it all looks as well. Despite that, it still features things like its perfectly haunting score all the way through it, atmospheric lighting that suits the idea of a nightmarish world, and as far as I'm concerned it's still probably the best bet for a good scare - although 'New Nightmare' is a solid contender. For as fun as a lot of the others are (especially 'Dream Warriors'), I do see this one as the big "classic" of the series (perhaps for obvious reasons), and still love showing it off to my friends for their first time (even if they end up thinking it's corny). Eventually, my love for this would lead me to get Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon's autographs at Fan Expo in Toronto in 2014. Remarkably, considering a lot of the celebrity faces there at the time, those three were the only faces I wanted to meet that day (along with a photo op with Bruce Campbell). It was actually fairly quick. Englund had the longest line, and he helped a star-struck me have a conversation with him. Langenkamp had absolutely no one at her table (which is criminal - she's just as important to this movie as Englund), but she was sweet, and I complimented her documentary DVD 'Never Sleep Again'. As for Saxon... well, he just kinda sat there, signed his name, and sent me on my merry way. I think, all things considered, I can probably say without question that this is my all-time favourite horror movie. Freddy has certainly been the horror icon that has stuck with me the longest, and the first I was exposed to as a kid. I gained an interest in practical effects (the accompanying pic might be my favourite low-budget effect ever) as well as what went on behind the scenes. What some don't know is that this is often a go-to as well, when I've got nothing better to do at about 2am. Atmospherically, it scratches that supernatural itch we sometimes get - a strange desire for fear. Just make sure if you do check it out for the first time, do it with all the lights out, your PJs on, and immediately before bed. Sweet dreams!   It's sort of hard to imagine at this point that there was a time when the superhero genre was still struggling. You had your good ones, but they were few, and even looking back on some of them now, they were more "good for the time" (like 'X-Men') But things were kind of hit-or-miss, and for whatever reason, despite the box office success of many, they weren't taken very seriously. Something about a lot of them was, in a word, "off". Thankfully, in 2008, 'Iron Man' would come along and pave the way for today's oversaturation of superhero material. Now, let me be clear on this - I'm all for this oversaturation because for someone like me, it's like taking vanilla ice cream and putting chocolate sauce, sprinkles, chocolate chips and peanut butter cups all over the top of it. I fit into the geeky category that these films cater to, and I'm afraid it's gonna be a while until I'm ultimately sick of it all. I can discuss Marvel fan theory until I'm blue in the face. But back on topic, 'Iron Man's post-credit scene featuring Sam Jackson as Nick Fury provided the spark to something much bigger that has now lasted about 14 years! It's ridiculous to think about nowadays, but during the time between 2008's 'Iron Man' and somewhere between 2011's 'Thor' and 'Cap', the very idea of them being able to pull off an Avengers team-up movie was kind of beyond comprehension. In fact, many critics would insist that it could not happen. I don't pretend to understand why, but I'm sure it had a lot to do with the budget it would take, and attempting to balance an ensemble cast. History has shown a solid flop or two when it came to ensemble superhero movies, like 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' or, perhaps better recognized, 'X3: X-Men United'. But one thing I've said during this time that still holds true today - "never say never". Eventually, after a few years of build-up, 'The Avengers' was released with damn near perfect timing for yours truly. I won't get too deep into this, but my Dad had just been diagnosed with Cancer at the time and, in a way, this provided an interesting sort of metaphorical escape where I could watch a team of heroes take on what was plaguing New York City - in the form of an alien race, lead by Loki, the God of Mischief. It was something I very much needed at the time. As cliché as it probably sounds, 'The Avengers' provided something of a ray of hope for me. And even though we all knew how things would go, and it was a hard struggle for us all, this helped me stay strong during my Dad's illness. Now, just to get away from the sad and deep part of why this made the list, let's get into something a little more positive. Besides it being an unprecedented team-up movie, a few years in the making, one of the biggest deals about it was that it did it right! One thing the 'Avengers' did that a lot of previous comic-based movies didn't do was (at least in my mind) basically open a comic book, point out a bunch of fantastic, impossible illustrations and say "we need to make it look like that". Even if you hate this stuff, you can't really deny that the first 'Avengers' movie has been a complete game-changer in the superhero genre... of course, if you DO hate all of it, that's probably also why. This one also counts as one of the most fun theatrical experiences I've ever had. It was a lot of fun to watch with an audience of fellow geeks on opening night, all cheering, laughing, and having the best time. This event was sort of like a next-generation 'Star Wars' opening night as far as its popularity went, and it might be one of the last movies I remember actually standing in a lineup for (although I'm probably wrong about that). But I'll never forget being so captivated by the scene involving a single shot, panning through Manhattan, and seeing all of the heroes do their thing in the fight. That was the scene where everything clicked for me and I fully realized that superhero movies would never be the same again. To narrow everything in the MCU down to one stand-out movie is almost as impossible a task as making this "30 Favourite Films" list to begin with. I have mentioned 'Civil War' and 'Infinity War' as the all-out coin-flip between my personal favourites in the MCU. But the original 'Avengers' just means so much more than anything that follows when you really think about it. This team-up of individual heroes opened the door wide for geekdom to come spilling through, and, at least for the time being, we geeks pretty much rule, and I couldn't be happier about it. It has been a long time coming, but I do think our time is coming to an end sooner than later. In the meantime, I think it's safe to say that I now see 'The Avengers' as the overall classic title of the MCU, and I will hold it close to my heart forever - even after the superhero era fades away one day.  |
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