Xander's Film Registry Admittance

Good news, everyone! You'll be making a suicide run to the Popcorn Planet!

Sorry, I got in a Futurama mode for a second. Ahem. Moving on....

The real "good news" is that Xander's Film Registry, consisting right now of sixty films you must see before you die, is becoming a permanent thing. New films will be admitted on a regular basis (well... not new new, necessarily), under the qualification that they are either movie essentials, wonderful things to show your children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews, or utter and complete garbage that you should never see without being prepared to throw yourself off an unduly high balcony. Today, a few members of the first two categories.

Exodus (1960)
(See review in earlier post)

Flower Drum Song (1961)
The first movie to cast people of Asian ancestry as serious, legitimate, three-dimensional characters, this long-lost Rodgers/Hammerstein musical features some hilarious songs, including the outrageous early-60s household fantasy "Sunday," the irony-riddled "The Other Generation," and the preposterously funny "Gliding Through My Memoree." It also includes very little of the songwriting duo's famous maudlin-ness: with the exception of the operatic "Love, Look Away," it's pure comedy.

Pete's Dragon (1977)
Despite the presence of the obnoxious Helen Reddy, this heavy-on-the-charm Disney musical pits a witty orphan and his selectively-invisible dragon pal, Elliot, against the confusing moral issues of acceptance, friendship, and child slavery. And it's rated G!

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
It has only been hours since I saw this movie, but I can't let it pass without comment. It is without a doubt one of the funniest, most offbeat and most enjoyable animated comedies ever to emerge from the human imagination. In terms of serious credibility/urgency, it's no Exodus. In terms of sustained comedy, it's no Flower Drum Song. But it is probably one of the best films of the year, and I love it, love it, love it. Go see it at once!