So another Academy Awards evening is in the archives and there are two things we can all agree on: 1) They would have been a heckuva lot better if Ricky Gervais had hosted and 2) the Academy hates geeky movies. Yes, Inception was nominated for best picture and Iron Man 2 and Tron: Legacy had some very minor nominations, but when it comes to science fiction, fantasy and other geeky movies, the Academy routinely serves up null sets. With the exception of Return of the King, wins outside of the makeup and special effect categories are as rare as unicorn horns and these movies earn notable nominations only slightly more often.
Challenge:
It’s time to set things straight. Your challenge this week is twofold. First, identify the criminally overlooked geeky films below, then give us your slate of the top five geeky movies that’ve been bypassed over the years just because they weren’t “the right kind” of movie.
- Alex, reprogrammed
- Tornadoes to color
- Porkins
- Tyrell Corporation
- Speak & Spell communicator
- G-A-F-F-C
- Ruse: Oliver’s Army
- Wing Attack Plan R
- Heuristically programmed
- Multinational United
Solution:
- A Clockwork Orange
- The Wizard of Oz
- Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
- Blade Runner
- E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- The Dark Knight
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
- 2001: A Space Odyysey
- District 9
There were a lot of good suggestions for geeky movies that had been overlooked, including The Princess Bride, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Big Lebowski and Terminator 2. This week’s winner is Joe Danza, who scores a $50 gift certificate from ThinkGeek. Congratulations, Joe! And if you’d like to get a discount on some great geeky gear, just enter the code GEEKDAD37MD when checking out at ThinkGeek. You’ll get $10 off any order of $50 or more.
Be sure to check back on Monday for another GeekDad challengetacular!
