I know it’s kind of an odd grouping but I want to save the top 5 for tomorrow. Something else that’s going on over here, I’ve gotten top 20 lists from some friends and family and may be getting a trio of lists from the Totally Rad Show guys  www.totallyradshow.com) and I will be putting those up with my list on Friday. If you want to submit a list, just e-mail it to me at  pdonohue at link.freedom.com and I will get those up on Friday.

9. Knocked Up - Yes, I read Katherine Heigl’s comments about this film in the recent issue of Vanity Fair and I find the timing of her criticism of the picture (one that has has surely upped her asking price for future roles) to be particularly interesting. Not that her description of the film as “sexist” and that the women in the film were portrayed as “shrews” is without total merit, it’d be impossible for her to argue that Knocked Up and it’s success had nothing to do with her being on the cover of the magazine in the first place. Sorry, had to get that off my chest. I genuinely enjoyed this movie from beginning to end. I didn’t always agree with all the choices Apatow made in the film (the decision to shoot the famous birth scene in graphic detail was something that I thought was foolish) but what I love most about this picture, and about Apatow’s work as a whole, is it’s honesty. The dynamic between Rogen and his friends and the dynamic between Rogen and Heigl is something that you buy from the word “go.” A movie that I have seen 15 times and will likely see another 15. Nothing is better than when Paul Rudd calls Seth Rogen Babe Ruth’s gay brother, Gaybe Ruth..

8. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation - Not just a seasonal favorite, this is one of my favorite movies ever made by humans. I can’t bear to watch the movie when it’s not Christmas time because it makes me yearn for the the day after Thanksgiving when my soul says it’s ok to put up the Christmas tree and lights. This film has joined the pantheon of Christmas classics (It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story) and for good reason. I’ve seen this movie 30 times and yet I find new, subtle jokes everytime that make me laugh. I was watching the movie last night and I cracked up when Clark’s christmas lights don’t turn on and his dad tells him to check each bulb and then tells him,”if you need any help, call me, I’ll be upstairs.. asleep.” Unfortunately, Chevy Chase hasn’t been in anything nearly as good since.

7. Three Kings - One could argue that it was David O’Russell’s 1999 film about four U.S. soldiers who set out to steal a huge cache of gold stolen from Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War that saved George Clooney’s career in film. The only David O’Russell film that I can tolerate, Three Kings uses some of the most innovative cinematography I’ve ever seen in an action film and was the first time a director had actually went inside the body to show the audience the path of a bullet. For me, it was the first time that it really dawned on me that Mark Whalberg could really act. The casting of Ice Cube and Spike Jonze turned out to be brilliant moves and I really feel as if kids 20 years from now will still be watching and enjoying Three Kings.

6. Mallrats - Back when Jason Lee was making good career choices (before he took roles in the Underdog movie and this atrocious, borderline offensive live action/CGI Alvin and the Chipmunks debaccle), he was a pro skateboarder with little to no experience other than a bit role in Alison Anders’ Mi Vida Loca. All of that changed after Mallrats. For me, watching this film for the first time in 8th grade with my friend Lars Johanson and brother really signified an epiphany that has shaped my movie-watching life thereafter. Watching and loving Mallrats, a movie that I have probably seen more than any other, it dawned on me that there was a world of movies out there that weren’t Independence Day and Titantic, that didn’t have big holiday openings. There was a world of movies that I’d never heard of, a world I was all too anxious to explore. If you’re wondering why Cameron Crowe cast Lee in Almost Famous (a movie I despise) or why NBC picked him as Earl, watch Mallrats. Lee is magnetic, charismatic and downright hilarious as Brodie Bruce opposite the wooden Jeremy London. The film made me a fan of Kevin Smith’s, a fan of Jason Lee and a fan of movies I’ve never heard of.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 6th, 2007 at 8:46 am and is filed under Movie News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.