Cult classics

What is a cult classic? A cult classic is a film that has garnered a dedicated and energetic fan base. It's that film that you hear quoted often, but you might not have heard of it. Today, we're going to look at some cult classic films that have made their mark on pop culture.

Side note: for the sake of time and length, some directors have been limited to one film. There are some films listed that are just one out of many amazing cult classics from the same director.

Number 1: Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino

W'e kicking off the list with a heavy hitter. Two hit men, a gangster's wife, a boxer, and two thieves in love all come together in this Tarantino classic. Tarantino's gift for quick dialogue and storytelling is a marvel to behold.

Other greats: Death Proof, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill.

Number 2: Big Lebowski directed by the Cohen Brothers

"The Dude" Lebowski is mistaken for a millionaire with the same name, and goes on a wild journey to get restitution for his soiled rug. The witty dialogue and trippy storyline make this one of the Cohen brothers finest.

Other greats: Fargo, No Country For Old Men, Burn After Reading

Number 3: Clerks directed by Kevin Smith

Clerks follows two convenience store clerks as they deal with annoying customers, play hockey on the roof of the store, and talk about movies. This film captures the mundane yet interesting life of a retail employee. This film happens to also be Kevin Smith's directing debut, made in black and white to save money.

Visually Stunning Films.

There is a sweet spot in film. This sweet spot is best illustrated in a venn diagram. On one side, we have beautiful visuals, and on the other side have a fantastic story. Today, we're not going to talk about the sweet spot, we're going to talk about the visually stunning side.

Let me explain what I mean when I say "visually stunning". When i say visually stunning, I'm referring to those films that take your breath away. Those films that make you step back and really appreciate their beauty. Before we go on, I'd like to clarify that these movies are not just visually stunning. These films received recognition in a number of categories, but for the sake of this post, we will focus on them mainly for their visuals.

Pans Labyrinth directed by Guillermo del Toro 

I'm just going to start out by saying that any film directed by Guillermo del Toro is going to be stunning. If you are unfamiliar with his work, he is most famous for directing all installments of the Hellboy franchise as well as writing all installments of the Hobbit trilogy. Guillermo is well known for his makeup effects, creating some of the creepiest and imaginative creatures to be shown on film. Pan's Labyrinth focuses on Ofelia, a young girl living with her mother and sadistic army officer stepfather in World War II era Spain. Pan's Labyrinth brings a child's world to life with it's remarkable and eerie setting and it's menacing creatures.

Life of Pi directed by Ang Lee

Life of Pi, based on the best selling novel of the same name, focuses on a young boy who is cast away at sea after a shipwreck with his only companion being a ferocious bengal tiger. Life of Pi features gorgeous visuals that landed it with four oscar wins, two of which were for the visuals alone.

Her directed by Spike Jonze

Her is the story of a single, lonely writer who develops feelings for an astoundingly realistic operating system designed to meet his every need. Spike Jonze uses cinematography and a crisp color palette to draw the audience in and create a totally different world.

It's all about the details...

When I watch films, I tend to be very picky, I notice the smaller details and point them out. This has gotten to a point where my friends label me a "buzzkill". I say, long live the buzz killers. Part of the enjoyment of film is finding the little details- otherwise, we wouldn't have the Pixar theory, or the theory that all of Tarantino's films took place in the same universe. We wouldn't have Rifftrax or CinemaSins. So for all of you nitpickers and buzzkills out there, I'll list all of the above referenced pages for you to check out.

The Pixar Theory

http://www.pixartheory.com

This is a theory that I discovered a while ago from John Green, the author of The Fault in Our Stars. This theory suggests that all of the pixar movies exist in the same universe. All of the movies are put into chronological order, and put on a track for a massive war. If this sounds interesting to you at all, you should definitely check it out!

The Tarantino Universe Theory

http://fantheories.wikia.com/wiki/Quentin_Tarantino

For all of the Tarantino fans out there, this is for you! This theory states that all of Tarantino's films take place in the same universe AND that Tarantino even wrote in an alternate world history (if you've seen Inglorious Basterds, you know exactly what that entails). The link I've included shows the universe theory, a commentary of the meaning behind Inglorious Basterds, and the theory of what's in the famous briefcase from Pulp Fiction.

Rifftrax

http://www.rifftrax.com

Rifftrax is commentary at it's finest. The crew at rifftrax record hilarious commentary to popular movies as well as forgotten (mostly awful) B-movies from previous decades. If you are remotely familiar with Mystery Science Theatre 3000, then the cheesy, even campy humor is right up your alley.

CinemaSins

https://www.youtube.com/user/CinemaSins

Out of all of the items on this list, this might be the pickiest of them all. CinemaSins is a commentary that rips films apart. A film's amount of "sins" are tallied, and the film is given a score based on that count. But it's not just films being put to the test- music videos, video games, and even commercial brands. What's said at the top rings true for the whole channel: No movie is without sin.