interior scene from memory of the long-extinct Video Store. Was there anything more empowering at 15 than walking out the shop to your bike with a Coke, a giant blue Gobstopper lolly and an 18+ VHS Overnight copy of Natural Born Killers in hand? I dont think so.
So, on tonight's Top Ten List........(drum roll)...
Number 1.....drum roll....Heat...Al Pacino. Robert DeNiro. Val Kilmer. Tom Sizemore. Cops versus bank robbers. A1 gunfight scene during getaway.
Number 2....Great Expectations... Featuring Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow. Absolute masterpiece of cinema.
Number 3...Dead Poets Society...because it's all about Carpe Diem...which isn't a type of fish in the Mekong Delta.
Number 4....Natural Born Killers.... well, because in every one of us there's a Mickey or Mallory trying to get out. It's true.
Number 5...American Psycho... technically being released in 2000 still qualifies this cinematic diamond as the 90's... AND Patrick did have to return some video tapes, after he watched them in his Sussudio, much to Paul Allen's detriment.
Number 6....Independance Day... because I crashed my car doing 80 on the way to watch the Premiere Midnight Viewing in Indooroopilly. Hard to forget that kind of thing, especially since i thought the engine was on fire. Yes, i got out and ran, leaving my scared shitless buddy inside. No, luckily it wasnt on fire. Still a great movie if you can blot out Will Smith gettin' jiggy at Chris Rock on Awards Night.
Number 7... Under Siege...because every birthday cake should have Miss July jumping out of it.
Number 8...The Last Boy Scout... because life is just one hard hit after another, and old Satan Claws is out there, and he's just getting bigger Jimmy.
Number 9...Goodfellas...because his whole life all Henry Hill eved wanted to be was a gangster.
Number 10...Devil's Advocate...because The Stones playing Paint It Black during the final cut was just icing on the cake. You know, that nice expensive stuff that leaves you wanting more.
Number 11... Mallrats... because hanging out at a mall truly was an instant fix for all life's problems. Now it's the opposite. I mean, finding a carpark alone gets a fella all worked up, then choosing if the driver parked next to or in front of you is a worthyparking-pal or is the sort of fella that'd reverse his tow-bar into and through your radiator, mangle your panels as he pulls out in his oversized Monster Truck, or open his door into your door then do a drive-off. These things are tricky.
Number 12... U-Turn... An Oliver Stone gem about a guy, Sean Penn, with a broken down car stuck in an Arizona desert town trying to get out with the Russian Mob after him. Oh yeah, and while he's there he falls in love with Jennifer Lopez.
Number 13... Falling Down... because a fella that finds himself 'not economically viable' won't negotiate Whammy Burger breakfast menus or be hurried at the phone booth.
Number 14... The Crow...A Gothic masterpiece that cost Brandon Lee his life. And crows are one of the most intelligent of all bird species.
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So much box office gold. So sad that not a month seems to go by without hearing of another acting great passing away.
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Sunken treasure in Atlantis.