Thursday, February 08, 2007

Movie Lists for Geeks

The Houston Star Chronicle has a list of 15 "geek movies to see before you die." I can't really disagree with any of his choices. I'm a geek, I've seen all the movies listed, and some multiple times. It has some of the true geek classics, and even has two Shatner films (both Star Trek), so kudos for that.

He also links to another list called "81 movies for geeks that do not suck," which has the added bonus of being cataloged by the particular geekdom to which the film would most appeal. I've seen all of those as well, but I wouldn't agree that they all don't suck. Swordfish is pretty bad. It features both "fast typing" as a substitute for activating algorithms when hacking and has an over the top John Travolta. Top Secret and Real Genius are also stinkers. I might like them, but there is no way I think that Real Genius doesn't suck. It just sucks in a lovable 80s comedy kind of way.

I thought I'd add to the mix by including some films that every "Gamer Geek" should watch. Beware, some of these are really bad.

  • Beastmaster: This movie used to be on the TV so much at my house that we started calling HBO "Hey Beastmaster's On."

  • Cloak and Dagger: You knew this would be on the list, it has to be. Come on. A kid stops an evil spy ring with the help of his Super Spy roleplaying game character? How much more gamer geek can you get?

  • Hawk the Slayer: The Lord of the Rings books might have inspired the creators of roleplaying games, but this film is an accurate portrayal of what the "shared experience" of any gaming session would look like if it were a movie.

  • E.T. the Extra Terrestrial: They are playing D&D in the opening sequence, no more reason needed

  • TAG: The Assassination Game: Linda Hamilton stars in this film where a first generation live action rpg game based on Steve Jackson Games' Killer goes wrong. One of the players goes crazy and stars really killing all the other players. Good stuff.

  • Gotcha: It's TAG: The Assassination Game meets Cloak and Dagger. It's fun, funny, and Anthony Edwards has a big yellow pencil.

  • The 300 Spartans: Classic sword and sandals film, with ample quotes from Herodotus.

  • Jason and the Argonauts: Remember when your high level PCs almost suffered a TPK fighting a small group of skeletons? Me either, but this movie makes me believe it could happen. One of the best parts of the film is the gathering of the Argonauts. A Harryhausen classic.

  • The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad: Kerwin Matthews proves that Sinbad doesn't need to be "beefy" to be a compelling hero. The movie features both "Dungeons" and "Dragons."

  • The Golden Voyage of Sinbad: A great "quest" movie starring Tom Baker of Dr. Who and Dungeons and Dragons fame.

  • Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger: It's all about Minoton.


  • The Valley of Gwangi: This film has almost everything. Gypsies? Check. Dinosaurs? Check. Cowboys? Check. What more could you want? An rpg based on this movie, that's what. Well, you could just buy Deadlands, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, or Broncosaurus Rex


Have any more gamer geek movies? Other than The Gamers that is.

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