The B+ Movie Guide: Part XLVII

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:

Toy Story (1995)

Mike:

(1)

Colin:

This holds up amazingly well, considering that it was made 20 years ago in a relatively new medium. They really knocked this out of the park, didn’t they? Pixar still kills it today, and this is its first feature film. I remember seeing this in theaters and being totally enthralled, and also terrified by the scary parts.

Twelve Monkeys (1995)

Mike:

People never think of Brad Pitt as doing weird, offbeat, interesting movies throughout his entire career, but he did. It’s also Terry Gilliam, and one of his famous ones. You know you need to see this. (3)

Colin:

Brad Pitt totally did a bunch of movies that I never knew about, this being one of them. I also enjoyed Spy Game, but that’s more for Robert Redford. This movie struck me as like, the early blueprint for the sort of stuff that Pitt would do later on in Fight Club. What a weirdo. But in other news, it’s a sci fi movie with Bruce Willis, which could totally be watched back to back with The Fifth Element.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Mike:

(2)

Colin:

If you’ve seen, you know. If you haven’t, I can’t tell you.

Breaking the Waves (1996)

Mike:

Lars Von Trier is one of those people — you need to see at least one of his movies. This one happens to fit in perfectly and happens to be great. Emily Watson gives a tour de force performance. If anything, watch it for her performance. But all around, this should be seen. (3)

Colin:

What a whacked out movie this was. It was long as hell and really difficult to watch. Emily Watson is a Scottish Calvinist who’s a little messed up in the head. She marries Stellan Skarsgard, who has an accident and gets paralyzed, so she starts doing twisted stuff in the name of God to cure him. Her performance is great, but I would still get bored with the glacial pace. That is, until she’d do something totally unexpected, at which point my mouth would open for several minutes. I’ll probably never watch it again, but it left an impression.

Fargo (1996)

Mike:

(2)

Colin:

Saw this right after Pulp Fiction. I feel like this is one of those gateway films that everyone sees at an early stage of their movie watching career. 

Now I just want to see Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter. Check it out.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Mike:

I don’t even want to put up a gif for this movie. I honestly hope you don’t even know what this is and haven’t seen it before. Before you’re in for a treat. If you haven’t seen this, or don’t know anything about it, just put it on. Trust me. Just put it on. (2)

Colin:

He told me the same thing, so I just put it on. I texted him about halfway through. Something to the effect of, “WTF?”

Independence Day (1996)

Mike:

Good morning, in less than an hour… (2)

Colin:

Nobody hasn’t seen this movie. This is the movie about Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum and Randy Quaid saving the world. 

Jerry Maguire (1996)

Mike:

You had me at money!

Wait, that’s not right… (2)

Colin:

Tom Cruise took another break from action movies, briefly. People liked it. He should think about doing that more often.

The Rock (1996)

Mike:

(2)

Colin:

This movie brings me joy. All of you Michael Bay haters out there, you’re clearly not going home to fuck the prom queen. 

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Mike:

Because it’s Mission fucking Impossible. (2)

Colin:

Just watched this again recently because it’s so much fun. 90s action can be very entertaining because it isn’t too over the top. Except for the helicopter in the tunnel. No, most of it is good, old fashioned fun. The sort that you can have with exploding gum and poison pens and camera glasses. Literally all of those things are in this, cliches though they are.

Space Jam (1996)

Mike:

(1)

Colin:

This is pretty clearly a (1). And in 20 years, when we’re updating this list, the LeBron reboot will be a (1) too. Probably.

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Final Thoughts:

Mike:

Colin:

Did you guys know the original Space Jam site is still live?

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More movies tomorrow.

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