Yvette's Inner Geek Blog

I’m thinking Shaun of the Dead, because zombie movies are the new geek chic.

I think you should remove Space Balls; it is nothing but a very long and a very lame joke, which anybody can think of in fifteen minutes. And the new Star Wars Trilogy shall meet the same destiny because they suck. I mean there are boring romantic comedy moments, even more boring Hong Kong Action moments, the Binks thing… You should definitely add Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead to your list, not because zombies are the new geek chic, but because they contains dozens of references from the movies which we grew up with, besides being truly funny. Also don’t forget the Mad Max Trilogy!

The new Star Wars Trilogy, because for the most part, they were horrible and people (not just geeks) went because they were riding on their reputation.

Hayden Christensen…eeeek!

But seriously, I am no expert here. I am not cool enough to be totally geeky.

Bladerunner–pretty good, most people not old enough to remember
Clerks–very good, lots of geeky references
The Dark Crystal–very good, obscure and geeky
The Fly–eh, it’s old and obscure, but there are better ones
Highlander: the movie–kind of old now, but certainly geeky
The Last Starfighter–never heard of it
Lord of the Rings Trilogy–most def
The Matrix–definitely, even, though they had a lot of mainstream appeal
Any Monty Python movie–good, a staple of geek culture
The Neverending Story–not sure, lots of people watched as kids that aren’t geeks as adults
Princess Bride–very good, another geek staple
Rocky Horror Picture Show–pretty good, but also enjoyed by non-geeks
Spaceballs–I disagree with the other comment; parodies of geeky movies are extra geeky
TRON–geek hall of fame (even if it is old)
War Games–never heard of it
Any Star Trek movie–most def
All Star Trek movies–definitely
The Original Star Wars Trilogy–must have
The New Star Wars Trilogy–despite mainstream appeal, still sci-fi and thus geeky
Transformers: the movie–the new one(s) was/were really mainstream, may need to omit
Weird Science–very geeky
Any Kung Fu movie made before 1980–this would cut out a lot of younger folks, and has a really narrow following, even by geek standards; maybe leave off

I disagree with putting zombie movies, since they are rather mainstream. There are plenty of geeky movies that have come out recently that could be added.

Some suggestions:

2001: A Space Odyssey — a classic! HAL is the scarriest computer ever.
Soylent Green — another great classic… It’s people!
V for Vendetta — one of the best movies dealing with 1984 issues
Donnie Darko — brilliant, dark, strange, geeky! A truely must-have-seen-movie for geeks.
Sneakers — great hacker movie.
Willow — I guess most roleplaying geeks like that one
Short Circuit — sweet robot movie!
Army of Darkness — horror comedy at its best. Undead skeletons and a chainsaw…

Concerning your list:
I would take out Transformers which is just another mainstream action/scifi movie imo.

@Marie: brilliant movie!

There’s a good topic for a blog post, Yvette. Is zombie geek or not? I honestly don’t know, because I tend to fall into the “nerd” category. And also the “dork” category, according to my husband.

And I agree with Soylent, Willow, and Donnie Darko.

Anything directed by Michael Bay is an immediate geek FAIL. And I agree with Marie about including Shaun of the Dead. Basically anything by Simon Pegg, since he is hardcore geek (see: geeky series, “Spaced).

Shaun of the Dead is definitely geeky. It’s a love letter to the whole genre full of easter eggs.

I love Army of Darkness, but I’m not sure what makes it geeky. I think there’s a difference between geeky and cult, though the two do share a lot of overlap. Rocky Horror is a cult movie, but the scale of the things people do at the viewings make it geeky. Army of Darkness is more culty than geeky.

The original Transformers movie should stay

Definitely agree on Short Circuit

Possible additions:
Alien
Any Miyazaki movie
Primer
Serenity
Watchmen Director’s Cut
War Games
Children Of Men
Ghost In The Shell
Pi

These are all traditionally geeky sci-fi geeky, but what about other types? Is Watership Down lit-geeky?

I must insist that Spaceballs stays, since I have extra attachments to it from watching it as I went to sleep every night for over a year. I’m not sure if this is really geek but I think that The Life Aqutic with Steve Zissou should have a chance at the list. And although this is a case of the book being better than movie…..

Dolphins: So long, and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this
We tried to warn you all, but, oh, dear
You may not share out intellect
Which might explain your disrespect
For all the natural wonders that grow around you

So long, so long, and thanks for all the fish! The world’s about to be destroyed
There’s no point getting all annoyed
Lie back and let the planet dissolve around you
Despite those nets of tuna fleets
We thought that most of you were sweet
Especially tiny tots and your pregnant women

So long, so long, so long, so long, so long! So long, so long, so long, so long, so long! So long, so long, and thanks for all the fish!

If I had just one last wish
I would like a tasty fish!
If we could just change one thing
We would all have learnt to sing!
Come one and all
Man and mammal
Side by side
In life’s great gene pool
So long, so long, so long, so long, so long
So long, so long, so long, so long
So long, so long and thanks for all the fish!

…..maybe it could be included

So, I’m totally incapable of following the rules. I am fully aware that this post is about geek movies. I gotta say, though, any geek reading list that doesn’t contain Stephen king’s Dark Tower series is incomplete. Jus’ sayin’.

I strongly plead for Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog!