My blogger buddy Chuck Miller has created this series about movies called Royale with Cheese. It’s films that EVERYBODY has seen, but he had not until, finally, he did. It’s named after a line from Pulp Fiction, the 1994 movie he watched in 2011.
What reminded me of this was the passing of Wolfgang Petersen. On the CBS morning show, the announcer said that “Everybody is saying, ‘Get off my plane'” as they showed a clip from Air Force One. Well, I wasn’t because I’ve never seen that movie, directed by Petersen.
It’s odd. From 1979, when I was dating a cinephile, to 2003, the year before my daughter was born, I saw LOTS of films. Indeed, I watched every single movie nominated for a major Oscar award (movie, actor, actress, director, and the two screenplays) that came out in 1997 except Ulee’s Gold with Peter Fonda.
So I’m going to make a list of films that came out between 1970, right before I graduated from high school, and 2019, just before the pandemic, that I managed to miss. I won’t pick movies I didn’t/don’t want to see for whatever reason.
Some films
Here are the qualifiers from the Top Lifetime Adjusted Grosses from Box Office Mojo.
Avatar (2009)
Incredibles 2 (2018) – I really liked the first film
The Lion King (2018) – I was curious whether it’d be any good
The Dark Knight (2008) – I have the graphic novel
Wonder Woman (2017) – my wife and daughter saw it, but I was busy
Aquaman (2018) – for a guy who used to work in a comic book store, I’m not faring well with these DC adaptations
Independence Day (1996) – the biggest film of that year
Inception (2010)
The Hangover (2009) – or the sequels
Maleficent (2014)
Shrek Forever After (2010) – but I saw the first two movies
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Ocean’s Eleven (2001) or its sequels, although I did see Ocean’s Eight
Elf (2003) – in honor of James Caan’s passing, I may need to see it this Christmas season
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Lilo and Stitch (2002)
Ready Player One (2018)
Minority Report (2002)
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) – although I did see the sequel
On Golden Pond (1981) – Henry and Jane Fonda
So, opinionated people – this means you, Greg Burgas – suggest which ones of these ought I to check out first? And you are not limited to this roster of films or my cinematic timeframe.