Saturday, April 21, 2007

5 Truly Absurd Movies (but in a good way)

Okay...I know I've not written for a few days. I've been busy. But, here we are, with another entry in another //engtech contest!

This list inspired by a post by azahar, that got me thinking about movies in translation, which got me searching IMDB...which lead me to:

The First
Os Canibais (1988) Ah! This Portuguese film is, as one IMDB reviewer puts it so succinctly, one of the best unseen films around. I saw it alone, at the Vancouver Film Festival, and spent an hour on the phone outside the theatre afterwards, talking to friends to bring me back down to earth. A sinister, romantic Gothic tale of love and cannibalism, all sung in aria.

The Second
Tapeheads (1988) Hmm. What is it about 1988? This John Cusack & Tim Robbins piece is a movie I can watch again and again. It's silly. Over-the-top. Hysterical. Watch for the magically-appearing beers and the ex-Monkee-son-of-Liquid-Paper producer showing up for a cameo. Plus, don't forget to catch them in the movie High Fidelity, which is, in some ways, a reprise of their working-together wackiness.

The Third
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) Why don't I own this film? I blogged about the star, Bruce Campbell in my 5th blog entry, oh-so-long ago. Premise? An aging Elvis in an old-folks' home, which is haunted by a mummy. Go and rent this one today!

The Fourth
Harold & Kuma Go to White Castle (2004) Sitting here now, I don't really remember much about this movie, but I do remember laughing a hell of a lot. Maybe it was the premise? Maybe the actors? I should watch it again. I mean, how can you go wrong with a quest film?

The Fifth
The Fifth Element (1997) I'm cheating here a bit, putting one of my favourite movies here, not reaching for something more esoteric. (But then, I know my faithful readers will understand...) It's just such a lovely, absurd mess of a SF film. It's got everything...a delightfully dirty but groovy vision of the future, an epic storyline, wonderful comedic moments, a lot of actors you want to watch (Okay, I admit, I'm a fan of Bruce Willis comedies. Like Hudson Hawk. Don't worry, I'm in a support group.), and a fabulous score. You can tell that Luc Besson wrote this film when he was a kid...

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cool! Tenho que ver "Os Canabais." That sounds truly bizarre. In aria, you say? (I've also been meaning to put together a cannibalism list...)

And why have I never seen "Tapeheads"? I love John Cusack and Tim Robbins.

And why am I not getting my reading for school done?

Lori said...

Unfortunately, Tapeheads was not popular in its time...but it has great cameos, by some really big music artists of the time. You can tell that those two guys are just really good friends. And they look so young in this one!

A cannibalism list? Ew...

:-)

Anonymous said...

The Fifth Element? I thought the costumes and the cars did most of the acting in that one. Directors should not make movies with their wives.

Bubba Hotep, though: that I want to see.

Lori said...

Bubba Ho-tep is worth the wait...

Anonymous said...

hoorays for bruce campbell and the 5th element! :)

Anonymous said...

The Valley of Gwanji is the BESTEST absurd movie though. Trust me on this one.

Lori said...

@Mr. Panda
I'm glad we agree!

@RC
I'm a little concerned about your definition of 'absurd' -- Any tentacles in Valley of Gwanji? :p

Anonymous said...

No tentacles. It's a spaghetti western with dinosaurs.

Metro said...

Spaghetti is tentacular enough, I think.

Props to my man Weird Al, the one-man military-weirdness complex, and his movie UHF.

For those who like Emo.

I always think of this when I visit any big box store.