49. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

49. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
This movie scared the bejesus out of me when I was a kid. There was something about Gene Wilder's manic performance and the fact that kids kept disappearing that made me uneasy. Top that with the scene in the tunnel with the creepy song and disturbing imagery and you have nightmare fodder for years. That may be one of the reasons I love this movie. Scary movies are wonderfully cathartic and this is a great one to start with. I especially love the ones that have absolutely no basis in fact or reality, movies that can scare you but you can comfort yourself with the sure knowledge that it could never happen to you. Watching this movie as an adult, I realize that it has not lost any of its creepyness. The songs, the bizarre family situation and Bavarian town full of Americans add layers of weirdness before you ever meet one Umpalumpa. Although I love Tim Burton, I wonder why he bothered to remake this film. Anything he did will be a pale shadow to the pulsating lump of delight and horror that is this wonderful movie. Let me also cite the wonderful quotability of the movie. From the songs to the made up words, Roald Dahl has become a pervasive voice in the American pop consciousness. Oh, and the snozzberries taste like snozzberry!

50. Legend

First things first. I want to post my personal top 50 movies of all time. Please note that the order is mostly arbitrary until I get close to number one.



50. Legend
Let's start this off with a blast from the distant past! 1985 baby! Do you remember 1985? Well, all I remember is that unicorns were awesome and Tom Cruise was nobody. Legend is a delightful little gem by the great director Ridley Scott. I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan but he wasn't too annoying as the forest dwelling boy Jack and Mia Sara played the lovely Lily. The real stand out here, though, was Tim Curry as Darkness. The makeup for his character was stunning and frightening but his real power was in his voice. His delivery of the one word, innocence.... mmmmm. To hell with Tom Cruise, give me some Tim Curry! The original version released in the US features a rather bizarre soundtrack by Tangerine Dream. Intended to be more modern, it now seems dated. I have recently seen the version containing the Jerry Goldsmith score and it seem much more timeless. Some of the acting was a tad uneven and I get the feeling everything was filmed on a set. Although Scott never delivers a complete feeling world, it was the most beautifully realized fantasy movie until Lord of the Rings. Also, UNICORNS!

First Post

Hello Amy!
The purpose of this blog is to entertain Amilito with humorous ruminations on pop culture specifically relating to movies and (to a smaller extent) TV.

Enjoy