The Star Wars Dilemma

I was looking at Wikipedia and on their homepage is the beginning of the Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace. Naturally, in the article is states that it is the first film in the story’s chronological order. That got me to think about the movies a little. To be more exact, what am I going to do when I have kids?

Should I show them in the order they were released? This way the kid will be hooked in by the greatness of the original trilogy. Also, it would make the line, “Luke, I am your father” hold more water (because if you watch the prequelogy first, you already know that). In addition, this was the way we all saw it and loved it.

Should I show the movies in the story’s chronological order? This is the way Lucas intended them to be shown, right? Episode 1 is pretty much for kids and the series matures from there. So, the kid would mature along with the movies.

Should I show the movies in Pulp Fiction order? Just see if they stand up each on their own or do they need to be viewed chronologically. Also, this would show me how good the kid is at figuring things out.

This situation is going to haunt me until it actually happens; and most likely the kid will just catch part of one on TV and we’ll watch the whole series from there. But then again, that is kind of like having the TV do the parenting. Fuck that, I’m going to be a good parent and decide how my kid takes in the trilogies.

By the way, I’m most likely going to go with the original trilogy first and then the prequels. It makes the most sense to me.

2006 Movies

Over on SilentBobSpeaks.com, Kevin Smith has made a list of his top 10 movies of 2006. The list is okay, but the real reason I bring this up is that he made a list of movies that came out in 2006. While not all inclusive, it is still a lengthy list and I wanted to repost it here and go through and see how many of the flicks I saw and my thoughts on them.

Here’s the list:

BLOODRAYNE
GRANDMA’S BOY - Pretty funny movie, got less play than it should have.
HOSTEL
GLORY ROAD
LAST HOLIDAY
TRISTAN & ISOLDE
UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION
ANNAPOLIS
BIG MOMMA’S HOUSE 2
IMAGINE YOU & ME
NANNY MCPHEE
TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY
A GOOD WOMAN
MANDERLAY
SOMETHING NEW
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS
CURIOUS GEORGE
FINAL DESTINATION 3
FIREWALL
LONDON
THE PINK PANTHER
DATE MOVIE
EIGHT BELOW
FREEDOMLAND
DOOGAL
RUNNING SCARED
MADEA’S FAMILY REUNION
16 BLOCKS – A pretty decent action movie. Mos Def and Bruce Willis rock.
AQUAMARINE
ULTRAVIOLET
ASK THE DUST
DUCK SEASON
FAILURE TO LAUNCH
THE HILLS HAVE EYES
THE LIBERTINE
THE SHAGGY DOG
DON’T COME KNOCKING
FIND ME GUILTY
SHE’S THE MAN - I saw part of this. Nothing special.
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
V FOR VENDETTA – Way overrated.
INSIDE MAN
LONESOME JIM
STAY ALIVE
ADAM & STEVE
ATL
BASIC INSTINCT 2
BRICK – A decent noir flick. Left me a little confused.
ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN
SLITHER – Best horror movie of 2006
THE BENCHWARMERS – A decent comedy, not purchase worthy though.
FRIENDS WITH MONEY
LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN – A really good movie (I gave it 5/5 stars on Netflix)
TAKE THE LEAD
HARD CANDY
MOZART AND THE WHALE
THE NOTORIOUS BETTY PAGE
SCARY MOVIE 4
THE SISTERS
THE WILD
AMERICAN DREAMZ – You’ve been Omarized! Pretty funny, little replay.
THE SENTINEL
SILENT HILL
AKEELAH AND THE BEE
RV
STICK IT
UNITED 93
AN AMERICAN HAUNTING
ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL
DOWN IN THE VALLEY – Really good movie with the biggest WTF moment of 2006.
HOOT
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 – Way better than MI 2, not as good as MI 1.
GOAL! THE DREAM BEGINS
JUST MY LUCK
KEEPING UP WITH THE STEINS
POSEIDON
THE DA VINCI CODE – Lame.
THE KING
OVER THE HEDGE – By far the best animated film of 2006 (where’s the oscar nom???)
SEE NO EVIL
X-MEN: THE LAST STAND – Not as good as the first two, but I still enjoyed it.
THE BREAK-UP
DISTRICT B13
PEACEFUL WARRIOR
THE OMEN
CARS – Pixar’s biggest blunder to date. Quite dull.
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT
GARFIELD’S A TALE OF TWO KITTIES
THE LAKE HOUSE
NACHO LIBRE – I don’t know if I like it or hate it. I should probably watch it again.
CLICK – Pretty funny movie with a lot of heart. Good stuff.
WAIST DEEP
STRANGERS WITH CANDY
SUPERMAN RETURNS
WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? - Entertaining but biased documentary.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
BEOWULF AND GRENDEL
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST – Pretty weak sequel
A SCANNER DARKLY
LITTLE MAN
YOU, ME AND DUPREE
LADY IN THE WATER
CLERKS II – Best comedy of 2006
MONSTER HOUSE – A pretty good computer animation flick. It has its moments.
MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Funny, but not quite as good as everyone says (best pic? NO)
ANT BULLY
JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE
MIAMI VICE
SCOOP
BARNYARD
THE DESCENT
THE NIGHT LISTENER
QUINCEANERA
TALLADEGA NIGHTS – For the most part devoid of laughs. Not too good.
WORLD TRADE CENTER
HALF NELSON
THE HOUSE OF SAND
PULSE
STEP UP
ZOOM
ACCEPTED – really good college comedy.
THE ILLUSIONIST – best magician movie of 2006.
MATERIAL GIRLS
SNAKES ON A PLANE
TRUST THE MAN
BEERFEST – Better than Club Dred, not as good as Super Troopers.
HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS
IDLEWILD
INVINCIBLE
THE QUIET
CRANK
CROSSOVER
IDIOCRACY – Most realistic future ever put on film.
RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES
THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED – Maybe the doc. of the year. Entertaining and good.
WICKER MAN
THE COVENANT
HOLLYWOODLAND
THE PROTECTOR
THE BLACK DAHLIA
CONFETTI
EVERYONE’S HERO
GRIDIRON GANG
HAVEN
THE LAST KISS
ALL THE KING’S MEN
AMERICAN HARDCORE
FEARLESS
FEAST – It’s an okay movie. I wanted to like it more than I did.
FLYBOYS
JACKASS NUMBER 2
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
THE GUARDIAN
A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS
OPEN SEASON
SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS
THE DEPARTED
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
LITTLE CHILDREN
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING
THE GRUDGE 2
INFAMOUS
MAN OF THE YEAR
THE MARINE
THE QUEEN
OPERATION STORMBREAKER
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
FLICKA
MARIE ANTOINETTE
THE PRESTIGE – Decent magician flick, second best of the year…
RUNNING WITH SCISSORS
BABEL
CATCH A FIRE
SAW 3
BORAT
FLUSHED AWAY
THE SANTA CLAUSE 3
VOLVER
FUR
A GOOD YEAR
HARSH TIMES
THE RETURN
STRANGER THAN FICTION – Pretty weak. The ads were better than the film.
BOBBY
CANDY
CASINO ROYALE – The best action movie of 2006.
FAST FOOD NATION
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
HAPPY FEET
THE HISTORY BOYS
DECK THE HALLS
DEJA VU
THE FOUNTAIN
LET’S GO TO PRISON
APOCALYPTO
BREAKING AND ENTERING
DOA: DEAD OR ALIVE
THE GOOD GERMAN
THE HOLIDAY
UNACCOMPANIED MINORS
BLOOD DIAMOND
DREAMGIRLS
ERAGON
THE PAINTED VEIL
THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
CHARLOTTE’S WEB
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM – Funny, but under utilized Carla Gugino.
ROCKY BALBOA – One of my favs. Had the most goosebumbs moments.
NOTES ON A SCANDAL
MS. POTTER
WE ARE MARSAHLL
BLACK CHRISTMAS
CHILDREN OF MEN – There were too many flaws with it and it was too graphic.
PERFUME
PAN’S LABYRINTH – Good, but could have been great with less graphic violence.

So, I saw 36 flicks on that list. Here’s my top 5.

1) Casino Royale

2) Clerks 2

3) Rocky Balboa

4) Lucky Number Slevin

5) Over the Hedge

How many did you see? What was left off the list? What are your tops?