The Alphabet Movie Meme

I discovered a brand new movie meme while browsing the web. It may not be new but I haven’t seen it before – so I am going to have a go. It’s an Alphabet Meme so let’s dive in:

Anctipated Movie in 2014

If I can persuade Mrs PM to go to the cinema then it will be the sequel to one of my favourite films:

I will start working on her now.

Book Adaptation I Would Love to See

A couple immediately leap to mind. Bryan Lumley’s Necroscope would shatter all illusions about the pathetic vampires we see in movies today. A really good adaptation would terrify anybody who thinks that the dreadful Twilight Saga contains quintessential vampires.

Having just read Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons, I think that too would make a fantastic film or series of films, particularly the fearsome Shrike:

Celebrity I’d Most Love To Meet

I think that would have to be Clint Eastwood, as long as he promised not to pretend to talk to Barack Obama. If I could resurrect a dead celebrity, I would choose two: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, circa 1940, and chat to them about their hilarious movies.

Dream Director/Actor Pairing

I would probably put somebody like Quentin Tarantino with Robert de Niro. That would be interesting.

Essential Classic Movie

Now here’s a question. What exactly is a classic movie these days? Movies made in the 1970’s are 40 years old and when I was a kid, old black and white movies from the 1930’s also fell into that category. I am going to cheat and name a proper “classic” movie – and a “modern” classic.

First, The Public Enemy, from 1931, which is a marvellous film about a ruthless gangster, perfectly portrayed by the brilliant Jimmy Cagney.

Second, and moving into a more modern era, The Godfather Part 2, which sees two of the greatest actors, Al Pacino and Robert de Niro, sharing the limelight in this magnificent sequel to another great film, the original Godfather.

I see that I have picked two gangster films – that is just a coincidence.

Favourite Film Franchise

I am a sad geek so there is only one choice; Star Trek. I love most of the films but my particular favourites are:

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Kahn

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek (The JJ Abrams Remake)

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Genre I Watch Most

You can probably tell from my answers already that I am a massive fan of science fiction. However, I would go further and add super hero films as a kind of “subset” because they are, strictly speaking, science fiction films – don’t you agree?

Hidden Gem

Long before Jurassic Park hit our screens with its fantastic marauding dinosaurs and superb special effects, there was another movie about a theme park gone wrong. That movie was, of course, Westworld, the story of a couple of guys who go on holiday to a theme park where they can immerse themselves into a wild west experience with robots playing the part of the of cowboys and gunslingers. Of course, it’s perfectly safe – that is until the robots break their programming and start killing the guests. Yul Brynner is superb as the gunslinging robot pursuing our hapless hero through the theme park with one intention only – to kill him. 

Important Moment in my Film Life

I would probably say that it was the day my dad succumbed after weeks of me pleading with him to watch a horror movie. He let me stay up to watch the 1958 Hammer horror film, Dracula, starring Christopher Lee. It scared me half to death but kindled within me a deep fascination with horror and vampires in particular.

Just Right for a Rainy Day

Marvel’s Avengers Assemble (or if you are in America, just Avengers). Just switch you brain off, forget the weather outside and immerse yourself in two hours of total mayhem. It’s got everything – incredible (and flawed) super heroes, endless action sequences and an incredible villain – as well as some fantastic moments of humour.

Who can forget the moment when The Hulk takes on Loki? I laughed so much at that scene.

I truly love this film and can’t wait for the next one.

Kiddie Movie I Still Shamelessly Enjoy

Toy Story 2. My lads wanted to see the sequel and I hadn’t seen the first one. I promised to take them on a Sunday afternoon and took the opportunity to rent Toy Story on the Saturday – just so that I knew what was going on of course. I loved Toy Story but the sequel was so much better.

It’s funny and heart-warming – and I have watched it probably about six times now (as a guilty pleasure).

Location I’d Most Like To Visit

Predictably – the bridge of the Enterprise. Just give me a part as an extra on the next Star Trek – that’s all I ask.

Movie That I Know By Heart

Monty Python sketches are legendary, so much so that I can recite a lot of them. It’s sad I know. So it stands to reason that I can also recite a huge part of The Life of Brian – my favourite comedy film of all time.

“He’s not the Messiah! He’s a very naughty boy!”

“And what about you? Do you find it risible when I say the name … Biggus … Dickus?”

Netflix Movie I Actually Watched

I don’t have Netflix.

One Movie I Watched More Than Once

Again it was The Life of Brian. The entire movie had me crying with laughter so much that I had to pay to see it again just to see some of the other jokes I missed the first time.

Preferred Place to Watch a New Movie

There is no better place to watch a huge action movie than the big screen itself. My answer is definitely the cinema.

Quote That Inspires Me

There are lots – but I particularly like this from The Matrix:

“There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”

Remakes – Friend or Foe

I don’t mind remakes if the film is an improvement on the original. There are cases where they truly do work, for example the two recent Star Trek movies are pretty good. Some remakes are pointless, like rebooting Spiderman just a few years after the original trilogy was produced.

A remake needs to add something new and exciting and sadly a lot of them do not.

Snack I Enjoy Most

Don’t get me started on cinemas and snacks. There is so much wrong. In the UK, the queues for popcorn and fizzy drink are usually so huge that you simply don’t bother. Also, cinemas don’t allow you to take in your own snacks, which means that you have to buy overpriced huge buckets of fizzy drinks and colossal bags of sweets and popcorn. I once missed the start of a movie because of queuing just to keep my kids happy.

When I become World President, there will be changes! I promise!

Twist That Blows My Mind

It has to be The Usual Suspects. If you haven’t seen the movie, then I won’t spoil it for you – but it still sends a shiver down my spine when I think about it.

Unapologetic Fan Person For 

I actually like almost all of the movies I have seen Tom Cruise in, to be honest. I know that as a top Hollywood movie star, he has the first choice of the best movie scripts but before he really became a huge star he appeared in some great movies, such as Born On The Fourth Of July and Rain Man. Mind you, I’m not really a fan of Top Gun, bizarrely.


Also, he is the same age as I am – although I am much better looking.

Judge for yourself:

Plastic Mancunian

Tom Cruise

OK - maybe he is better looking than me.

Very Excited For Award Season?

Not at all. Some of the movies that win awards are worthy of them but there have been lots of examples of Oscar winners that in my humble opinion simply do not deserve it. Take Lincoln for example. I watched the movie on a flight to Oman last year and it bored me to tears. Daniel Day Lewis may have done a half decent impersonation of what people think Abraham Lincoln looked like and spoke like – but nothing bloody happened. It had too much boring political dialogue and is only truly of interest to an elite group of people who know and love that particular period of American history. So no – I don’t get excited by the award season at all.

Wish I Had Never Watched

I' m sorry to mention it again but having just moaned about it, I cannot let it go. I wish I had never watched Lincoln. I had such high expectations based on the awards it won – but it was boring and tedious. I am sorry to go on about it but it was.

XXX Movie You Watched At A Young Age

The Exorcist – and it scared me to death. I had sleepless nights for weeks and weeks and I have never watched it since, such was the impact it had. At the time I was 16 years old and still half believed the preaching of the Catholic church. The Exorcist exposed a deep-seated terror within that I had no idea existed, and then attacked it with maximum prejudice. Vampires are one thing, but Satan is another prospect altogether, particularly scenes involving demonic possession of a poor innocent child.

I still shudder when I think about it.

Your Latest Movie Related Obsession

The Marvel Super Hero movies without a doubt. I love every one of them: Iron Man, The Hulk, Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Captain America, Thor, X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. And the great news is that there are many more of them due.

Keep them coming I say.

ZZZ – Catcher

Dare I say The Twilight Saga again? I got a bit of stick for my negative views on the Twilight movies (read them here). They are so mind-numbingly boring that they are a great cure for insomnia and I apologise to readers who actually like them (on second thoughts, thinking about it, I don't apologise at all!).

And Finally …

As usual, please feel free to steal this – and let me know your A to Z – I will genuinely be interested.