The Conjuring – GringoPotpourri

Even More Great Horror Movies (#21-30)

I love top ten lists! I have, in fact, already published two top ten lists related to scary movies. “Psycho,” “Halloween,” “The Shining,” “Friday the 13^th,” and “The Sixth Sense” are just five of my favorites, and they each appeared somewhere in the (thus far) Top 20. My original lists are here and here.

It is a funny thing about horror movies, though. They seem rife not just for sequels but for remakes as well. Four of the five films mentioned above have been remade (with the original remaining superior in each instance). As I continued the list for this Halloween season with ten more scary movies, I noticed that four of those films have also been, or are currently being, remade. Additionally, one of them is the sequel to a film that was remade, while another one is a remake!

What else can be said, except to remark about the genre’s durability and profitability…and for me to share my list of ten more great scary movies:

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Top Ten Films of 2013

A week ago I posted my reactions to this year’s list of Academy Award nominees; the post included my initial predictions as well as my insights as to why some films or actors may have been snubbed over others. After all, there are always a few surprises.

You can read the post here. A couple of readers inquired about my “Top Ten Movies” list for the year. I recited a few favorite films off the top of my head, but never compiled an exact list. Top ten lists, however, are essentially a prerequisite for any film critic, even an amateur such as myself. So without further ado – and noting that I haven’t seen every 2013 film on my wish list – here’s my (pending) list.

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Sidebar: Summer Movies 2013

One of my friends told me recently that my whole life is about travel, referring to the fact that I willingly chose to move to Mexico City, a place so very different from my hometown of Chicago. I never thought of things that way, but I can certainly respect her view.

This exchange was one snippet of a larger conversation in which we lamented the lack of vacation time (in her case) or money (in mine). Most people would say that I have little grounds for complaining, considering that my post-college travels have taken me to 70 countries on six continents. And if I’m content in my new life, it is because I have finally accepted (well, mostly accepted) that I just don’t have the pecuniary wherewithal to travel anymore. My unforgettable spring trip to Colombia nearly broke the bank – and that’s considered to be a cheap country! These days, a day trip to Teotihuacán is about all I can manage.

What does this mean? It means I have to content myself with other hobbies and interests. The most obvious, it would seem, are movies. With two multiplexes no more than a 30 minute walk from my apartment, I have countless options for weekend entertainment lest I not feel like navigating the metro or absorbing the latest museum’s offerings. Ticket prices are in the $6 to $10 range, making them about 40% cheaper than in LA or Chicago. Concession prices are similarly scaled back, and you get much for your money on both counts.

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