My Top Five First-Time Watches of 2014

A bit ago over at the Badasses, Boobs, and Bodycounts podcast, the inestimable hosts Mike and Iris asked listeners to submit their top and bottom five first-time watches from 2014. I jumped on that action quickly, and got my email read on the podcast–mine was first up in fact. Here it is again, slightly edited:

These Are Tops

1. Ginger (1971)–classic sleaze. Whenever I post on this movie here, these posts are always among the most popular ones of the year. Notable for starring gay porn star Casey Donovan and for having an early full frontal male nude scene.

2. Films of Fury (2011)–great intro documentary to the world of Kung Fu cinema. This is not a genre I am very familiar with, but I’ve been Kung Fu-curious for a long time. This doc is the perfect intro–I counted clips from at least 107 different films shown at some point in this.

In this trailer you’ll see some footage from Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976), though I do not recall seeing discussion or footage of this popular film in the documentary itself.

3. Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013)–nothing to add to what’s already been said to this great film doc, except that it’s being snubbed for a Best Documentary Oscar was highway-fucking-robbery. A great intro to Jodorowsky’s filmography for folks unfamiliar with the master film surrealist.

4. Bong of the Dead (2011)–And now for something completely different: I actually discovered this film from Badasses, Boobs, and Bodycounts, and watching this earnest little film especially knowing something of its backstory from the interview just cemented my love for ultra-low budget horror. This film and the faire discussed over at the No-Budget Nightmares podcast have been my gateway drugs to other shlocky films like Antfarm Dickhole, Rock n’ Roll Space Patrol Action is Go!, Treevenge, and one of my all time faves from this end of the pool, Thankskilling.

Extra credit for a film subtitled into Arabic!

5. The Day After (1983)–I finally got around to watching this some 30 years after my parents wouldn’t let me watch it in prime time (I was in the 6th grade in ’83). Impressed that this imperfect but unflinching film, considering its vintage and medium, got on the air at all. Remembering the class discussion that followed the original broadcast–this was the most-watched made-for-TV movies in US history–all I can say is that we were freaked the fuck out.