Movies you can't not watch

Every so often while flipping through channels, I will stop on a movie I have seen so many times before.  The rythemic clicking of the remote pauses and eventually the remote goes down and I watch the movie again.  The wife will always ask why I am watching the movie again.  I guess I should come up with some answers. 


Starship Troopers-  Yes, the acting is horrible, and yes, Denise Richards went off the deep end and even looking back wasn't really that great.  Yes, the action sequences are unbelievable and amazingly cheesy (flip six three hole, come on!).  No, the movie is not like the book, but that might have to do with a generic alien bug movie being proposed to the studio and them saying to add some dialogue and change the name to Starship Troopers.  Despite all of that, it is an amazingly fun movie.  When the in movie commercial about joining up comes on and asks if I would like to learn more, I always think that I would and wish that I could push the button on my TV.  Regardless of everything going against it, the movie works and just feels right.  Would you like to learn more?


300- This is just an awesome guy movie.  The sound track is guitars, it is narrated by a guy with an eyepatch, it has amazing fight scenes and cool monsters.  I don't really think I need to defend myself on this move that much, but one final thing.  Before the movie is over, you will see a god bleed. 


Flash Gordon-  Maybe it is the Queen soundtrack, but this movie is a non stop joy ride.  Nostalgia may play a part in this one as I remember watching it all the time when I was a kid as well.  Flash was awesome, from playing football in Ming's hall to making friends with the hawkmen and flying in on the flying motorcycle, this movie is non stop.  The Chick that plays Ming's daughter is amazing as well.  They don't show this on TV enough.  Plus, Flash is going save everyone of us. 

What are your favorite, can't help but stop and watch movies?

Flash Gordon (1980)- Movie with the Girls

I watched this movie on Saturday morning with my 6 year old.  We were the only ones up and I noticed it was on.  I asked her if she had seen it and she said that shed didn't remember it if she had.  So I turned it on, because she just had to see this movie.

A little back ground.  I remember watching the movie as a kid.  I have nothing but fond memories of the movie and the theme song by Queen.  I remember wanting to be a hawkman so bad.  I wanted my daughter to experience these things.

MEOW!

I don't hold any illusions that this is, technically, a  good movie.  The acting, for the most part, is horrible and the dialog that was written is straight out of the pulps from the 30's.  Bad acting mixed with bad dialogue equals bad movie in most cases.  For some reason, it works in this film.  The film is just so much fun, especially if you are a kid or first experienced the film as a child.  This movie knows exactly what it is what it is trying to be and it works because of that.

So, how does a six year old little girl respond to a movie that is about thirty years older than her.  She was skeptical at first.  It took her a half an hour to get into it, but once Ming the Merciless shows up, she was sold.  By the end she was laughing and cheering.  She also loved Voultan.

As an adult with several years since my last viewing, I think the movie is as much fun as ever.  The script isn't horrible and it is hidden under a lot of camp.  Although Aura is now 56 years old, I have a complete crush on her.  I still enjoy the movie to this day and would likely sit through it again if my six year old wanted to watch it again and/or her sister wants to refresh her memory of it.

It was a bonding moment and anytime she sees that movie in the future, she will remember waking up early one morning and watching it with me while everyone else is asleep.  The movie goes up in my esteem for this reason alone. 

Al Williamson-RIP

Comic Book Resources is reporting that Al Williamson has died at the age of 79.  Williamson had been working in comics since the late 40's.  He is probably best known for his work on Flash Gordon and Star Wars, but I knew him from Spiderman 2099 and Spidergirl of which he did inking. 

Spiderman 2099 was one of the first comic books that I started reading from issue #1.  Williamson was generous enough to leave us with a lifetime of work.  He will be missed.

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• Al Williamson obituary (guardian.co.uk)