Dean's Thoughts on Entertainment

Top Ten Audio Commentaries that I have seen so far.

1. Lord of the Rings – Fellowship of the Ring (The actors commentary, which has almost everyone from the film except Viggo Mortensen)
2. Pleasantville – Gary Ross (director) was good at explaining the deeper elements of the movie and made the whole experience much better.
3. The Evil Dead Trilogy – Bruce Campbell is the best in Audio Commentary and would take up three slots in my list if I didn’t combine them into one. When Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert contribute they are also both funny and insightful.
4. Glory – Picture in Picture Commentary is awesome, and it makes this commentary legendary.
5. Family Guy TV Series – The whole crew laughing their way through their own show, Seth McFarland and Seth Green are both excellent.
6. The Rock – Nicholas Cage is mad eccentric which makes this one memorable.
7. This is Spinal Tap – The Spinal Tap crew stay in character as they watch the movie, a commentary worth repeat viewings.
8. X-Men – Bryan Singer and I think it’s the Cinematographer provide great insight into the movie and into their inspirations which explains quite about how they approached the movie.
9. Chasing Amy – Kevin Smith is really good, and his commentary makes it happen.
10. Kiss of the Dragon – Luc Besson, Jet Li, and Bridget Fonda – More of a lesson in culture from the French director, Chinese actor, and Blond actress.

Top Ten DVD Commentaries that I own and need to watch

1. Batman the Movie – Commentary by Adam West and Burt Ward, holy crap its gonna be funny.
2. Total Recall – Arnold and Paul Verhoeven, it couldn’t be bad
3. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure – Paul Reubens and Tim Burton exploring one of the strangest movies ever, I can’t believe that I haven’t seen it yet.
4. Young Frankenstein – Mel Brooks is one the greatest comedic minds that we have, and I can’t wait to listen to him for an hour and a half.
5. Death to Smootchy – I love Danny DeVito and I really want to see his take on his comedies, I also desire to hear his commentary on War of the Roses.
6. Pulp Fiction – Commentary by Quentin Tarantino should be excellent as he stutters his way through some of the best movies of our time.
7. Monty Python and the Holy Grail – There is two commentaries on here, the cast split in half and made two instead of one.
8. The Matrix – I love this movie and I have no excuse for not watching it.
9. The Stand – The only reason I haven’t watched this one is because I would need to go on vacation to finish it.
10. Fight Club – I just haven’t been in the mood to watch this movie lately, but I will enjoy it when the time is right.

Top Twenty Audio Commentaries I wish existed

1. Jaws – Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfus…nuff said.
2. Leon – The Professional – Commentary from Luc Besson and Jean Reno
3. Ghostbusters 1+2 – Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson
4. A Chris Farley Commentary on any of his movies
5. Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor on any of their movies
6. Batman – Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, and Tim Burton
7. Crocodile Dundee – Paul Hogan recounting the real stories that inspired the movie, it would be mind-blowing
8. Full Metal Jacket – R. Lee Ermey balanced by the arrogant Matthew Modine
9. G.I.Joe – Sgt. Slaughter and Burgess Meredith
10. Half Baked – Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams, and the latino guy. Maybe they should be in character, but it would be funny regardless
11. Kindergarten Cop – Arnold and two of the child actors recounting how it ruined their childhood to be in the movie.
12. Labyrinth – David Bowie and Brian Henson
13. Office Space – Mike Judge, Ron Livingston, and Stephen Root
14. PCU – Jeremy Piven and Jon Favreau
15. Raising Arizona – Nicolas Cage and John Goodman
16. Star Wars – Mark Hamill and George Lucas
17. Stand By Me – Corey Feldman, Wil Wheaton, and Jerry O’Connell
18. Throw Mama from the Train – Danny DeVito and Billy Crystal
19. The Shining – Jack Nicholson and Stanley Kubrick
20. Willow – Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer