Universal Pictures
Labor Day weekend may be arriving late this year (it’s still a week away) but for all intents and purposes the summer is now over, especially for the movies. How did you stack up with your blockbuster watching? Did you manage to contribute to the 10 highest grosses of the season? If so, we have some recommendations for you. Below is a list of the biggest US releases from May through August 2015, each one paired with an essential title that must be watched next.
You Saw: Jurassic World
Now See: The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
If you liked Jurassic World, you should go back and re-watch Jurassic Park to see how much better (and similar in story beats) the original is. And you should go watch Jaws 3D to appreciate how much worse (while similar in scenario) another sequel to a Steven Spielberg horror blockbuster sequel can be. But first, check out this early monster movie involving a giant dinosaur on the loose in modern times and at least a climax set at an amusement park. Even if no more believable, the special effects by Ray Harryhausen are a lot more enjoyable.
You Saw: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Now See: The Golden Key (1939)
I thought about making Disney’s Pinocchio the movie to see after Jurassic World, due to its early employment of an amusement park of doom. But Carlo Collodi‘s classic story of a puppet come to life is more appropriate to the Avengers sequel with its story of a robot come to life. As I noted in my list of movies to watch after Age of Ultron, the 1940 animated feature is necessary. But now I’d like to also recommend a loose adaptation of the story from one year earlier by “the Soviet Walt Disney,” Aleksandr Ptushko. It’s another masterpiece for its stop-motion effects alone. And like in Age of Ultron, The Golden Key has a flying ship show up just in the nick of time. You can watch it in full here:
You Saw: Inside Out
Now See: Osmosis Jones (2001)
If you want to stick with the workings of the brain and memories in particular, fans of Pixar’s latest should move on to movies written by Charlie Kaufman, especially Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And the Japanese feature Poison Berry in My Brain if it becomes available over here. However, for another (mostly) animated work cleverly turning human insides into various worlds and characters, then I recommend Osmosis Jones, primarily the imaginative cartoon stuff directed by credit-shafted geniuses Tom Sito and Piet Kroon. I’d say skip the live-action stuff helmed by the over-credited Farrelly brothers but Bill Murray is still a hoot even in gross-out moments.
You Saw: Minions
Now See: Troops (1997)
If you’ve seen Minions, you might want a break from movies for a while. Maybe all visual media. If you can find room for a short before you go on your cinema sabbatical, though, make it Troops. Credited as a pioneer of online Star Wars fan films, this parody of the TV show Cops also focuses on bad guys, specifically minions, and also features little creatures — Jawas — who sound just like the yellow blobs who got their start in the Despicable Me movies. Watch it in full below.
You Saw: Pitch Perfect 2
Now See: Sounds Good to Me (2009)
While not the most attractive documentary, this real-life Pitch Perfect may have just come about too soon. Now, with the success of the original college a-cappella comedy and its recent sequel, a film about actual groups like the Barden Bellas would probably have more support. Still, if you’re now hooked on music comprised only of vocals, particularly those based at university campuses and competing against each other, you’ll at least enjoy the doc’s content.
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