Cool Science

...part 2. Let's carry on our list here of great camp sci-fi/fantasy movies.

5. "Legend", a star-studded experimental Ridley Scott film in which he set out to make a fantasy flick in an Indie-European style. The result is an unbelievably deeply stylized film with gorgeous cinematography, but which never caught the interest of the American movie-going public. The DVD features the european cut which is a significantly better (interestingly mainly through subtle changes) version. Forget the critics, the acting is compelling, Mia Sara is awfully easy on the eyes, and Tim Curry steals the show.

OK - I admit : this is not a quotable movie - in fact it barely has any dialogue. True geeks should try to spot Robert Picardo (not easy).

6."Dude where's my car". One could argue it's a little too recent to be a true cult classic but it's close enough for me. Extremely quotable, with several choice cameos (should have skipped Andy Dick though), it somehow manages to pull off commando ostriches, multiple ridiculous aliens, and a bunch of situation sketches that are borderline ridiculous but completely rope you in.

Memorable Quote (chinese drive through): "And theeeeeeeeeeen...."
Memorable Quote (multiple characters) : "It's mystery is exceeded only by its power"
Memorable Quote (Jesse): "SWEET!!!! What about mine?"
Memorable Quote (Chester): "DUDE!!! What about mine?"

7. "Akira" - this is not a campy film in the sense that the others are. After all, this one takes itself seriously. And if it's your first exposure to anime, you're in for a wild ride. It's a violent, bloody, unapologetic rendition of an apocalyptic future of experimentation and technology gone haywire. And no computers were used in the production of it (hmmm, ironic?) - it's a hand drawn masterpiece with stunning graphics and accompanied by an unrelenting, addictive percussive soundtrack. Incredibly abstract, even for anime, it will leave you guessing, but also wondering if even director/writer Katsuhiro Otomo understands his own film.

Memorable Quote : Hmmm, I need to learn Japanese; whatever you do, don't watch it dubbed; watch with subtitles.

Geek comment: notice that Batman's motorcycle in 'The Dark Knight' appears to have been influenced by Kaneda's motorcycle, which is an extremely iconic image in anime.

OK, I'm all camped out. Watch this space.