Movies that are great but offten dismissed

I've compiled this list because I love these movies but they are often dismissed because they are "different".


The Seventh Seal: This movie is often dismissed because it is Swedish movie that is subtitled but actually very famous and scenes are often parodied in comedies such as the muppets and Bill and Ted's bogus journey. This movie filmed in 1957 stars one of my favorite actors Max Von Sydow as a soldier coming back from the medieval  crusades. He is approached by Death and through an ongoing game of chess yearns to find out if God is real. I really like it because the acting and cinematography is great and the story of not only this man's journey to find God but the other people it portrays are fantastic.



Metropolis: I avoided this movie for a long time but did not regret watching it. Metropolis is a silent movie from 1927 (hence the avoidance) which portrays a dystopian future society where the poor people work in shifts to keep all of the machinery for the rich people's luxurious life working. A man from a rich family decides he wants to find out the source of his luxury and goes to work. After doing so he helps with a revolt against the rich. I love this movie because both the plot and the special effects were ahead of it's time. It is long, but the fact that you do have to read it keeps you entertained.



Speak: This movie is often avoided 1. it has Kristen Stewart, 2. it involves rape. The fact is Kristen Stewart is a good actress, when she's not in Twilight. and I hate to say it, rape, especially teenage date rape, happens a lot more than people think and you don't know it until somebody comes out with it.


Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol: I can't tell you how many times people have told me oh yeah I saw that movie and then they will describe the plot of the 2nd or 3rd Mission Impossible movies (which in my opinion are garbage). This movie had a great plot with a ton of cool spy technology. and somehow I was able to look past Tom Cruise as being well, Tom Cruise.

PCU: It came out in the early 90's and I don't think it got enough reception. This movie is about a Pre-Freshman who visits a college in order to find out if it's the right fit for him. he ends up with a group of burnouts in a former frat house where he gets schooled in P.C.U. Politicaly Correct University. It's really funny. My favorite is when they dump the raw meat on the vegan protesters



Clerks: Often avoided because of it's modern B&W low budget film making, Clerks is full of hilarious but crude 1 liners, hi jinx, and elements that make a great comedy. I remember I had seen almost every Kevin Smith movie with Jay and Silent Bob before I finally decided to watch this movie. The sequal is still just as funny.

My favorite albums part 1

Here is a list of my favorite albums. This will be a very wide range and if you ever watched Sesame Street "One of these just doesn't belong here, one of these things just isn't the same." that's right. but, must of these albums bring back times in my life that I either wish I could go back to, or forget.

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's Deja Vu: The first time I remember encountering this album was when  I was 9. My oldest brother was finding his groove playing the guitar and at that time I listened to whatever he did. Deja Vu was one of the first album, not song, album that I had any real feelings about. with songs like Our House, Teach Your Children, Almost Cut My Hair, and Deja Vu it had a combination of 60's/70's pop, and psychedelic. others would say different I'm sure, but there are not many groups that have that kind of harmony.


Slayer's Reign In Blood: I know it sounds like an oxymoron for a Mormon to listen to Slayer but that's me. I once went into a cd store in the town of Lynden, WA and purchased a Godsmack album and a Robert Carlisle cd at the same visit. but that's another story. I still remember when I heard Tom Araya's shriek at the beginning of Angel Of Death. I have tried to emulate it since. I was 16 and borrowed the album from my buddy Vince. With songs like Angel Of Death, Raining Blood, and Piece by Piece, fast paced, and heavy. It was one of my first taste of thrash that I liked. I liked it cause I could understand what was being said. I had heard groups like Cannibal Corpses and just couldn't get into it once they started singing.


FM Motion Picture Soundrack: Technically this is a compilation but still a favorite. I have nev er seen this movie. Never been able to find it not sure I want to. It has songs from the 70's from groups like queen, James Taylor, Joe Walsh, etc. I listened to this soundrack countless time on an 8 track, which I got along with a lot of others from my mom's friend Donna. I listened to it a lot with my dad in his buick station wagon we called old blue.


Peter, Paul, and Mary's In The Wind: I have had many of copies of this album. largely due to the fact that it's one of their most popular albums so when finding older copies it's hard to find one in good shape. It's popular for a reason. It's amazing. The vocal harmony is cannot be duplicated. The songs are both inspirational and dark. you got gospel songs like "Very Last Day",  and"Tell It on the mountain" and then you have "Polly Von" which is about a hunter who mistakes his girlfriend for a swan and kills her. Classics such as their version of Bob Dylan's "In The Wind" and "Stewball" are epic. There isn't a Peter, Paul, and Mary album I haven't liked yet and I have most of them on Vinyl but this is my favorite.

Whitney Houston: This was the first cd I ever got. I was 8 years old and our family got our first cd player OOOOOOOOOO!!!! with the coming of our first cd player, each got a cd. I decided I really like Whitney Houston at the time and so that was the first cd I ever got. it's a good album with songs like "How Will I know" (interesting fact, the song was originally intended for Janet Jackson), and "You Give Good Love", it propelled Whitney Houston to stardom.


Neil Young's Harvest: I like Neil Young's work but I will be honest, there are songs of his I don't like. he's not my favorite album artist. Harvest is an exception. I love every song on the album. I had it on cassette when I first got my license. I still remember putting it into the cassette player of my 1988 suburban the first time I went on a drive (legally) on my own. the famous songs from this album are "Old Man", and "Heart Of Gold". My favorites are "A Man Needs A Maid", "The Needle And The Damage Done", and "Words (Between The Lines Of Age)". You have to listen to it front to back.


The Moody Blues' Days Of Future Passed: This was one of the first albums I ever heard that told a story from the beginning to the end. it starts with morning and goes through a whole day of work ( including lunchtime ) and ends  with night. Nights In White Satin is the big song from this album that really launched them into stardom.


Guns N' Roses' Appetite For Destruction: When I heard "Welcome To The Jungle" for the first time when I was 14, I flew out of my seat. At the time it was the heaviest thing I had heard. Also, there are very few albums that come out where every song goes  on the charts. my favorite was "Rocket queen". only thing I hate about this album, Axl Rose.


Led Zepplin IV: I don't think there is a musician that made music after 1971 that wasn't inspired by this album. everything between the songs and the album artwork has a story. "When The Levee Breaks" was recorded in an old house. the echo from the drumwork by John Bonham was achieved by him playing in a hallway to achieve the sound. The song Black Dog came from a stray black dog running around outside the studio.

In Memory of Robin Williams: Movies of his I absolutly love (some you may not even know exist)

When I heard the news about Robin Williams' death, I found myself in denial and honestly sad. I felt like I had lost a friend. A friend I always wanted to meet but that I had been there for as long as I could remember. I do not want to hear about how people are getting tired of how ridiculous it is that we are making a big deal about a celebrity death but we don't care about other things that "matter". It's upsetting. plain and simple. what I do want to bring out is this.

I tried to think of which Robin Williams movie was my favorite and to tell you the truth, I've drawn a blank. There are so many movies that he was in that are great. There are also a lot of movies he was in that although are great, didn't receive as much attention as I believe they should've. I'm going to list off the ones that I love and maybe it can help others see that the world really has lost a great man.

1. The Survivers: It's been too long since I watched this movie. the most I can really tell you is that him and Walter Matthau were hilarious.

2. Awakenings: This I believe was one of his earliest serious roles. It's an amazing story about a doctor who is only able to find a job as a doctor in a field out of his element but while doing it, finds a way to bring people out of catatonic shock. it has Robert DeNeiro, and Julie Kavner. you might know her as Marge from The Simpsons.

3. Mrs. Doubtfire: this isn't one of his lesser known movies but still, if you haven't watched it in awhile or you have but love it. Watch it again.

4. The Birdcage: I don't know who was better in this movie. Robin Williams, or Nathan Lane. This movie is about a gay couple who own a drag club and have raised a son together. The son plans on bring his very conservative future inlaws over to meet his parents. in a scramble to get together a wife Nathan Lane comes out in drag and gives an epic performance.

5. Patch Adams: I remember seeing this movie in the theatres. I didn't know what to expect and while watching it, the theatre was packed and I had to sit away from my parents. I was sure that I was going to come out of the theatre to very disappointed parents because I had stayed and watched the whole movie. to my surprise, they loved it. This one is about a man who spends time in a mental hospital where he realizes he wants to become a doctor. it's a mixture of comedy and drama.

6. What Dreams May Come: I remember seeing the poster for this movie and then watching it about a year later and not really understanding what I was watching. it's definatly a trip. when they filmed this one, My cousin saw Robin Williams outside of his trailer.

7. Bicentennial Man: although this one tends to have some dry spells, I really liked the overall story. This one is about a robot that unusually has the capacity of human emotion and his path and fight to become a human being. "what a piece of fecal matter!"

8. Jakob The Liar: I don't even know if this movie came to the theatre. It's about a jewish man in a concentration camp who boosts morale by telling the people in the ghetto news that isn't true but makes people happy.

9. Insomnia: Im not going to reveal the plot cause it's kind of a suspense/thriller but it was one of his first famous non comedic roles.

10. One Hour Photo: this movie is both disturbing and captivating. it's about a one hour photo operator that has become obsessed with a certain family.

11. House of D:  my favorite scene is when Robin Williams talks about how they keep changing the term for his condition from being retarded to mentally disabled.

12. The Final Cut: I remember seeing this movie and couldn't belive it wasn't famous. it takes place during a time when people are paying for the children to be inplanted with chips at birth that can record everything that they see so that instead of having a funeral, they can have a movie played truly depicting their life. Robin Williams is a editor of these videos called a Cutter. Watch It!

13. Man Of The Year: although I have always differed politically with him, I loved this movie's depiction of campaigning for president. I do however
agree with the flaw of a computerized voting system.