Tarantino's Top 20 Movies

Battle Royale, Anything Else, Audition, The Blade, Boogie Nights, Dazed & Confused, Dogville, Fight Club, Friday, The Host, The Insider, Joint Security Area, Lost In Translation, The Matrix, Memories of Murder, Police Story 3, Shaun of the Dead, Speed, Team America, and Unbreakable

My Top 20 Since 1992

Battle Royale

For those who still haven't seen Kinji Fukasaku's violent masterpiece--you really ought to. You're lucky, now it's on Netflix.  When I first wanted to see it, I had to head into Chinatown and seek out a Region 9 disc.  It's the Clockwork Orange of our generation.  You owe it to yourself to watch this.  Side note: skip the sequel.   

The Boondock Saints

Clueless

Alicia Silverstone was my childhood love.  Somehow, a very young Gringocito saw a couple Aerosmith music videos and his life was changed forever.  Then Clueless came out and any chance for my homosexuality was eradicated.   The hair, the clothes, the slang--the early 90s still hold a special place in my heart.  Anyone remember that "He-he-helloooo" line from Party Girl?  The point is that I do.  A recent home screening of Clueless proved that even though Silverstone's career didn't hold much staying power, her best film still does.  

Dazed and Confused

The Descent

I had no idea what The Descent was about when I stepped into the theater.  Didn't know I was walking into the the best horror film of the past decade.  From the claustrophobic sets to the frightening plot twists, there just aren't many movies that can touch its overall horror.  

El Crimen Del Padre Amaro

Just after high school, I worked at a one-screen art house theater in a mostly Latino part of town.  After the Catholic Church banned this film we had sold-out shows every night.  For those who've seen it, you know that there's an especially offensive scene about an hour in. Well, every night, about sixty minutes after the lighted dimmed, an angry mob would storm out of the theater--looking for whoever was responsible for the offensive content they had just been subjected to.  Apparently, that was me.  After a couple nights of being yelled at by angry Catholics, I decided that I'd actually watch the movie.  When I did, I was immediately blown away.  The narrative is entrancing, the acting is phenomenal, and the controversy is in full-effect.  It's definitely earned a spot in my Top 20 list.

The Fugitive

Hackers

I know...I know...I know.  There's just something about Hackers that won't let me go.  The music, the outdated technology, the ultra-cool underground nerd society.  Would you believe that this movie pushed Barton Fink off the list?  I debated about whether or not it deserved to be on the Top 20 but, if I'm being honest, it does, and not at the bottom either.

He Got Game

High Fidelity

Any He Shot Cyrus reader knows how much I adore High Fidelity.  I want to be Rob but I'm so afraid that I'll become Dick that I live my life as Barry.  Something like that.  It's my #2 film of all-time (right after The Warriors) mostly because it accurately describes my post-high school life.

Jurassic Park

Kill Bill Vol. 1

Matinee

I recently attended a screening of Matinee and got to meet Joe Dante, the man to thank for  Gremlins, Explorers, and The Howling.  We both agreed that Matinee hasn't received a fair shake since it's release.  This is a special film which honors a different age of filmgoing set against a tense time in American history.      

Old Boy

Reservoir Dogs

It's fitting that while filling out my own Top 20 list that two of QT's films have found slots on the order. Reservoir Dogs appeals to me for all the same reasons it appeals to everyone else.  The cast, the performances, the story (just as contained as I desire), the violence, and the music.  He's the only director to show up twice and as happy as that makes me, the fact that the Coen Bros. leaves me wishing for a 21st choice. 

The Sandlot

Superbad

If High Fidelity represents my post-high school life, then Superbad represents the four years before.  There won't ever be a character on-screen that more accurately portrays who I was during my teens than Seth (Jonah Hill).  We told the same jokes, wore the same awful clothes, and sported the same hairdo.  This kid was me, I was this kid.  It's a very cool experience to connect with a character like that.

The Truman Show

Unfaithful

Waiting for Guffman

Choosing my favorite Christopher Guest film proved to be much more difficult than I imagined. Eventually, Parker Posey giving praise to the DQ pushed Guffman to the top.

What are your Top 20 Films since 1992?

Jacked from Film Experience

This is the coolest thing I've seen in a minute.

Top 11 Female Death Scenes

Entertainment Weekly put out a list of the Top 25 Death Scenes. A quick glance can see that most of the classics are there. The Fargo woodchipper. T-1000 melting. Darth Vader with his mask off. They're all there. But what I noticed was the 4/5 of the list were dying men. Women can die just as good as men, have been since the beginning of time.

Death scenes can be depressing, powerful, exciting, gory, etc. Sometimes they have speeches preceding them. Other times the surprise is what makes them memorable. This list has it all. Here's the Top 11 Female Death Scenes.

11. Terms of Endearment

The most memorable scene of ToE is when the dying mother says goodbye to her sons. It isn't until a little later that she actually dies. But combine the two, and you've got a death scene worthy of being called "number 11."

10. Battle Royale

If you haven't seen this yet, then you're missing out. Forty-two teenage students are put onto an island. They're told that they have three days to kill each other. The last one alive gets to go home. If there's more than one left at the end of the three days, the collars they're all wearing explode creating space between their shoulders and their bowl cuts.

09. Kill Bill

Tarantino knows how to shoot a death scene. Actually, Norifumi Suzuki really knows how. The snow battle scene was an homage to his Sex and Fury (1973). A really bad "little off the top joke" would be in order if this wasn't such a classy establishment.

08. Tenebre

This one's not for the kiddies. It's the second bloodiest scene on the list. Dario Argento loves blood like I love Jack-in-the-Box Jalepeno Peppers dipped in tartar sauce. Don't knock'em 'til you try'em.

07. Bambi

Not as sad as the Artax/Swamp of Sadness scene. Turns out, Artax was a dude. Guess a dead mommy deer will have to do.

06. Texas Chainsaw Massacre

This clip from How to Execute a Prisoner...Texas Style has inspired many of the state's greatest executions. Right after this clip, Leatherface shows us how the right spices can make or break your 4th of July BBQ.

05. Suspiria

Argento with another kick-ass death scene. The action comes about two minutes in. Be patient. It's worth it. I hadn't seen anything like this before.

The colors, children, the colors.

04. The Omen

Not quite the Pow-Pow-Power Wheels Damien had been hoping for for his birthday. But I guess this will have to do.

03. Assault on Precinct 13

Powerless without her twin brother Tony, Tia should have tried moving out of the way rather than stopping the bullet with her mind. Maybe she could have blocked it with her Star Case.

02. Thelma & Louise

Say what you will, this is a great death scene. Driving off a cliff instead of going to jail? Damn the Man! Women's lib all the way. Too bad Geena Davis' career is still lying at the bottom of that cliff.

01. Psycho

Speaking of women's lib, here's a scene of a sexy, wet, naked woman getting stabbed to death with a phallic object by a madman dressed up in women's clothing. Never really thought about like that until right now.

What are your favorite death scenes? Leave some comments and become eligible to be like Keith and win next month's HCSTCA!