The B+ Movie Guide: Part XLIII
In May of 2012, Colin said I should make a list of movies that need to be seen, because he felt there were huge gaps in what he’d seen, and wanted something to do. The idea was that I’d make up a list, as “homework” for him, and he’d use that as things to watch.
So we came up with a giant list of 500 movies that worked, and Colin went about finishing it. And now that it’s finished, we’re gonna write it up. Because you don’t watch a giant list of movies without documenting that you did it.
We’re going through the entire list, little by little, for posterity’s sake. And here’s the next set:
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Mike:
(2)
Colin:
This shit is still everywhere in Japan. It came out in 1988 and it’s still everywhere. You cannot escape Ghibli. Because it’s awesome.
The Naked Gun (1988)
Mike:
(2)
Colin:
Leslie Nielson perfected the art of acting very serious while saying crazily stupid things. If you loved this — and I’m just assuming you’ve all seen in — watch the TV show Police Squad! Mike showed it to me. You’ll like it.
Rain Man (1988)
Mike:
I tried to find a good gif for this movie, but all I could find was this:
(2)
Colin:
My dad sang the Iko Iko song to me when I was a baby and I think it unconsciously convinced me that I’m mentally disabled.
In other news, I’m an excellent driver.
Batman (1989)
Mike:
(3)
Colin:
Is this the one with the guy from Brokeback Mountain? That was this one, right? I always mix up these movies.
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Mike:
(2)
Colin:
I hadn’t watched a whole lot of Spike Lee and didn’t know what to expect going into this. It was seriously impressive. The style, the imagery, the way that it’s told in a way that involves African storytelling elements. And then there’s the cast of incredible actors, from which I have to single out Ruby Dee and John Turturro. America has been trying to deal with race ever since we realized that we might have a slight problem with it. This is our essay on race in America for this point in time, and it’s awesome. Don’t watch Crash. Watch this.
Coincidentally, jazz luminary Christian McBride does some DJing on the side under the name DJ Brother Mister, which I love.
Field of Dreams (1989)
Mike:
(2)
Colin:
I don’t love baseball and I don’t love Kevin Costner, but it’s pretty hard to argue that this is an essential movie. And come on, James Earl Jones.
Everyone remembers that one scene.
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Mike:
We’re pretty much gonna be doing gifs for movies from here on out, since when I presented Colin with the original list, everything from the 80s onward is pretty much self-explanatory, so I didn’t really say anything. But really, do I need to explain why you need to see these movies?
(2)
Colin:
Yeah, the rest of this list is going to be PRETTY boring for the most part because you don’t need explainers on any of this stuff anymore. You know this stuff. We’re in the 90s now, so you’ve either seen it or know you should because it’s in recent memory.
Oh, wow, this is the first movie on the list that I was alive for. Nothing we had was late enough in 1989 for me to be ahead of. But it’s Edward Scissorhands. You guys were alive at some point between 1990 and now, right? If so, you’ll have seen this.
Ghost (1990)
Mike:
(2)
Colin:
Oh, Patrick Swayze. You were dead for this whole movie, and Whoopi Goldberg was a textbook example of the magical Negro trope. Not exactly my type of movie, but it needs to be seen, I guess.
The Godfather Part III (1990)
Mike:
Yes, it’s the lesser of the three, but it’s still a really good movie, and should be seen by everybody. Put it this way, you can’t complain about it unless you’ve seen it. That’s reason enough to see anything. (Though I don’t know why you’d complain. It’s really good. Not being perfect is not a fault.) (3)
Colin:
It’s not the first two, but I liked it. This movie only suffers from haters who want to compare it to the others. It’s still a pretty great movie. That’s really all I have to say about this. You should not hate it and just be glad that it was made and go watch it. It’s rare that Best Picture nominees get as much hate as this movie.
Goodfellas (1990)
Mike:
Haven’t seen this. Heard good things. I hear the director’s got a bright future. (1)
Colin:
Oh yeah, that Michael Mann guy, right? I loved Collateral.
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Final Thoughts:
Mike:
It’s actually weird to think that people wouldn’t have seen these movies. Ghost… okay, maybe you haven’t gotten around to it. But the person who hasn’t seen Goodfellas… what are you doing with your life?
Colin:
What was I doing with my life for like 20 years?
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More movies tomorrow.
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