The history of dorkalicious movies is as long as the history of the usage of “dorkalicious’ (i.e., deliciously dorky — the word seems to belong, of all things, to “The OC”) is short. And there have been so many such flicks, especially over the past two decades or so, that even the most ardent nerd would be unable to see them all. From the vast selection, a few stand out, not necessarily for their acting, special-effects or writing, but for their special place in the history of dorks and nerds worldwide.

“The Lost World”

Essentially “Jurassic Park II.” A staple of late-night, 12-year-old boy sleepovers everywhere. There’s a lot to love in this movie, especially the Tyrannosaurus rex romping around San Diego. Jeff Goldblum spouts off chaos theory at random intervals and declares that he’s “a genius.” “Jurassic Park” might be for everyone, but only true connoisseurs of Michael Crichton novels-turned-movies prefer the sequel.

“The Matrix Revolutions”

A film for only the truly devoted. While everyone proclaimed himself a fan of the first “Matrix” flick, and some people tolerated the second, the third was almost a caricature of itself, with the gratuitous Christ imagery at the end and the endless battle scene. Only true diehards could bear to watch this one more than once.

there are plenty of those out there — the ones with the scrolling green symbols as their screensavers. The ones who wear flowing dark trench coats. Here’s to you.

“The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension”

Yours truly may or may not have seen this movie in his junior high Science Fiction Club, depending on what your definition of “have” is. It’s hard to boil this movie down to any sort of summary, but you should know that Buckaroo Banzai is a neurosurgeon, rock star and samurai, and he’s fighting Red Lectoids with the help of otherworldly allies with thick Jamaican accents. Jeff Goldblum is in it, by the way, and if that isn’t enough, well, I don’t know what is. Chaos theory, damnit!

“The Fifth Element”

This movie is so bad it’s good, or it’s so good it’s bad. I’m not really sure which. It’s a classic of the genre, though I’m not really sure what the “genre” actually is. At times, this fine film seems like a more cheesy “Blade Runner.” No Jeff Goldblum in this one, unfortunately, but the cast does include Bruce Willis and Chris Tucker, the latter in a predictably annoying and high-pitched role. The part with the blue opera singer is particularly memorable, especially when her stomach explodes. I’ve probably seen this movie four or five times, but I’m not sure why.

“Lord of the Rings” Trilogy

Watching these movies does not make one a dork or a nerd, considering how many people have seen them and how many Academy Awards they each won. The series merits inclusion, however, with one specific caveat: You are only a dork if you watch all three in a row with the extended cuts found on the DVDs. That entails about 11 hours of Orlando Bloom looking prissy and Elijah Wood staring slightly off-camera, deep in thought, and that’s pretty impressive. If you don’t watch all three in a row, then you’re just normal, and we wouldn’t want that.

“The Life Aquatic”

Another fine piece of cinema starring Jeff Goldblum (with support from Bill Murray and others). There’s something in this movie for every kind of dork, including witty one-liners, red caps, Speedos, various out-of-the-spotlight actors and Jeff Goldblum. This is the kind of film that’s easy to reference, especially when no one else has any idea what you’re talking about, which makes referencing it all the more awesome.