P.S. I'm also curious as to why your film teacher would show "Better Off Dead"? Is it because of the stop-motion hamburgers?
Here's the Eddie Van Halen one:
I lived on the street where the two Asian Howard Cosell guys race. Every time I watch it I see my old house. It's in Sierra Madre, CA on Baldwin Ave. They filmed another classic, "Dude, Where's My Car?" there too!
Also, the "I want my two dollars" kid (Damien Slade) was the older brother of a friend of mine (Max Slade)! My friend Max was in Apollo 13 (as Tom Hanks son) and the 3 Ninjas movies.
You can see the resemblance:
Last edited by sandiegojones : 12-02-2008 at 03:16 PM.
Slightly off-topic Stoo, but if your a fan of the works of Mike Jittlov, as well as an old-school Disney fan, be sure to check out on the 2nd disc of Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse In Living Color Vol. 2 the short "Mouse Mania". A stop-motion tribute to Mickey Mouse during his 50th birthday. Only a little over a minute long, but total genius none-the-less. Truly phenomenal considering Jittlov did all the effects himself. Its also worth seeing to see the first(as far as I know, only) stop-motion Mickey Mouse.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stoo
P.S. I'm also curious as to why your film teacher would show "Better Off Dead"? Is it because of the stop-motion hamburgers?
Here's the Eddie Van Halen one:
Haha. I've actually wondered that too. Coincedentally, the hamburgers were my first guess as well!
Seriously though, I'm sure it was a childhood favorite of his and lent it just for fun. We're both film fanatics, so nothin' better then sharing underrated gems as Better Off Dead.
Location: "What was it again? The penitent man will what? Oh No."
Posts: 1,117
One of those movies, where it seems to be better the 2nd time around. After Super Troopers, the bar was set so high, but after re-watching this, it was a lot funnier, and it really is a funny take on slasher films, without the lameness of the Scary Movies, although Scary Movie 1 was decent.
Location: Neuchâtel, Switzerland (Canadian from Montreal)
Posts: 6,950
Quote:
Originally Posted by sandiegojones
I lived on the street where the two Asian Howard Cosell guys race. Every time I watch it I see my old house. It's in Sierra Madre, CA on Baldwin Ave. They filmed another classic, "Dude, Where's My Car?" there too!
Also, the "I want my two dollars" kid (Damien Slade) was the older brother of a friend of mine (Max Slade)! My friend Max was in Apollo 13 (as Tom Hanks son) and the 3 Ninjas movies.
You can see the resemblance:
COOL! I won't forget that. Got a screencap of your house?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forbidden Eye
Haha. I've actually wondered that too. Coincedentally, the hamburgers were my first guess as well!
Ha. I was wrong about Eddie Van Halen writing music for this. This has a Van Halen song but the movie I was thinking of is "The Wild Life".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forbidden Eye
Slightly off-topic Stoo, but if your a fan of the works of Mike Jittlov, as well as an old-school Disney fan, be sure to check out on the 2nd disc of Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse In Living Color Vol. 2 the short "Mouse Mania". A stop-motion tribute to Mickey Mouse during his 50th birthday. Only a little over a minute long, but total genius none-the-less. Truly phenomenal considering Jittlov did all the effects himself. Its also worth seeing to see the first(as far as I know, only) stop-motion Mickey Mouse.
Now I know why your user name is Forbidden Eye. I saw the 50th back in the day so I've probably seen that stop-motion bit but don't remember it at all.
Will check it out. Thanks! Back on topic:
Underrated? How about unknown? "Dad, Can I Borrow The Car?
There are 2 versions. The 1970 featurette was shown in theatres before a movie ("Aristocats"?) but a longer, BETTER version was aired in '72
and again a few years later. My brother & I caught it on TV both times and I was lucky enough to find a legit VHS a few years ago. I say lucky
because this is most creatively insane, psychedelic experience that Disney has ever done. Ward Kimball was a master and it's a shame this
reamins virtually unknown to many people. (It's narrated by Kurt Russell, has live-action, animation, effects, photo montages, you name it!)
The short version is on YouTube but it's missing some great parts...
what about the plane scene? i could watch that part a lot. all the cheering. my love for it pretty much comes from the look of it, brandon routh and the superman/daily planet moments. plus the john williams score. Singer's decision to copy so much from Donner's original is annoying.
Unbreakable - this has gotten alot more recognition since Shymalan began his downward spiral (its easily his best film)
Joe Versus The Volcano - I don't know what it is about this film, it really is kinda ridiculous, but something about it has it now as one of my favs (though I can't give it a 5/5... maybe after another viewing! )
The Prestige/Insomnia/Batman Begins - Memento and The Dark Knight get all the acclaim, Inception just came, that leaves these three minor (and in some cases, superior) films unmentioned among Nolan's others.
A Serious Man - no big stars, opened small, some Oscar attention... but its one of their best, and its a pity no one has really seen it.
Grindhouse - its alot of fun, perhaps the complete Blu-Ray edition will get people to think about this again
The Iron Giant - the 'other' Brad Bird movie is probably his best
A Serious Man - no big stars, opened small, some Oscar attention... but its one of their best, and its a pity no one has really seen it.
Ditto. I can understand why its underrated. This is a the type of film that will never get a mainstream following. Still it was one of the most fascinating things I saw all year, and love it the more I think of it.
Quote:
Grindhouse - its alot of fun, perhaps the complete Blu-Ray edition will get people to think about this again
Woah, Grindhouse is FINALLY being released?!?
*finds it on Amazon*
That tiny piece of info was worth the bump of the thread.
One of those movies, where it seems to be better the 2nd time around. After Super Troopers, the bar was set so high, but after re-watching this, it was a lot funnier, and it really is a funny take on slasher films, without the lameness of the Scary Movies, although Scary Movie 1 was decent.
Great movie, I actually enjoyed it even more than Super Troopers. I also thought Beerfest was better than Super Troopers.
Location: In the Map Room playing with a laser pointer
Posts: 2,919
I've gotten a lot of mileage out of this more metaphysical approach to the "zombedy". It's also got a neat metaphor for relationships going on that I can't quite decipher. Maybe it's just a nihilism thing and I'm over-thinking it.
Here is a list (by no means complete) of underrated films that I've enjoyed, along with a brief review of each (no Spoilers, though). Some of these have already been mentioned here:
- Havana (1990): Excellent Sydney Pollack-directed film set in late 1958 Cuba. Robert Redford plays Jack Weil, an American poker player/gamber who is looking for one big score, but who unintentionally gets caught up in a revolution. Great story, cinematography, and scenery.
(I had never heard of this film when it first came out, so either I wasn't paying attention at the time or it didn't get a lot of press - or both).
- Dirty Work (1998): Hilarious & tasteless comedy about two slackers who need to get $50,000 in a hurry, so they start a “revenge for hire” business. Very, very funny. With cameos by Chevy Chase, Don Rickles, and Chris Farley; also featuring a great soundtrack with groups like Third Eye Blind, Chambawamba, and AC/DC.
- The Game (1997): Extremely well-done thriller about businessman Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas), who is given a mysterious “gift” on his birthday. Though the gift is seemingly harmless at first, things become stranger and Van Orton is soon on the run for his life. Well worth seeing.
- Layer Cake (2004): Superb UK gangster film, starring a pre-James Bond D. Craig. Great story, cinematography, etc.
- A Serious Man (2009): Amazing film by the great Coen brothers set in 1967 focuses on a conservative man living in the Midwest with his family. Because of events beyond his control, his life is thrown into upheaval. Very interesting depiction of the changing social values in the late ‘60’s.
- Croupier (2000): Very good thriller starring C. Owen as a card dealer working in a private, upscale gambling casino in England. Extremely well-done & subtle.
- Ping Pong Playa (2007) - Hilarious film about trash-talking slacker Chris “C-Dub” Wang, who is drawn into the world of professional ping-pong. Extremely funny.
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994): Almost universally panned on it's release, this is nonetheless a superb film adapting MS's 19th century novel about Victor Frankenstein. Kenneth Br. does a great job as Victor Frankenstein, and DeNiro is amazing as the tortured monster. This film is definitely the most faithful adaptation of MS's novel, and IMHO is far superior to any other movie version of this story.
- Godfather Part III (1990): One of the most underrated films on this list, IMHO this was a great film and was not trying to be like the previous two. Taking place in the 1970's, this was an interesting look at an aging Michael Corleone and his family.
- Blair Witch Project 2: Book of Secrets (2000): It was hard to follow up the huge success of the first BWP, but this sequel definitely delivered. It wasn't anything like the first movie, but was more of a mainstream horror film with some great twists and turns. Very creepy and disturbing.
- Bringing out the Dead (1999): Little-known Martin Scorsese-directed film about an ambulance driver in NYC (Nic Cage). Truly incredible film that I never heard about when it was first released.
- Planet of the Apes (2001): Also panned on it's release, I still found this to be an incredible film and even liked it much better than the original.
- City of Ghosts (2003): Great thriller set in Cambodia. Starring M. Dillon and J. Caan.
- V for Vendetta (2006): Incredible dystopian film based on A. Moore's excellent comic book mini-series. Though I was a huge fan of the comic, IMHO this film was superior to the source material.
- Dog Soldiers (2001): Incredible UK werewolf/horror movie with some of the best werewolf transformation effects I've ever seen.
- Cloverfield (2008): Excellent monster film shot documentary style. Brings to mind the old Godzilla movies, but done much better.
- Leatherheads (2008): Very funny historical?! comedy about the early days of professional football in the U.S.
- The Last Days of Disco (1998): Enjoyable film set in early '80's NYC; this focuses on a group of friends who work by day, and by night party at the local disco clubs. Features a great period Disco soundtrack.
- The Getaway (1994): Amazing heist film/action film/thriller. Starrring Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. Far superior in every way to the original early '70's version.
- Until the End of the World (1991): Amazing sci-fi/road trip film by the great German director Wim Wenders. Still not on Region 1 (U.S.) DVD yet, for some reason.
- Surrogates (2009): Great sci-fi film set in the near future where most people on Earth have surrogates (i.e., robots) to do everything for them while they safely stay hooked up to machines and telepathically control the robots. Great story, action sequences, and special effects. Starring Bruce Willis.
- Lenny (1974) - Excellent b&w bio-picture starring Dustin Hoffman as the very controversial 1950‘s/1960’s comedian Lenny Bruce. Very well-done period drama filmed in a documentary-style format.
I thought I had posted this -- anyway, I've pumped this film around here before. I think the totally wrong tag (Murder Never Skips a Beat) and Courtney Love backlash killed this film.
With a slew of other Beat films on their way, it will be interesting to see if any of them measure up.
- V for Vendetta (2006): Incredible dystopian film based on A. Moore's excellent comic book mini-series. Though I was a huge fan of the comic, IMHO this film was superior to the source material.
Same could be said for Watchmen. The only problem with that film would be the over-the-top (albeit craftily choreographed) fighting scenes that, in my opinion, detracted somewhat from the otherwise "realistic" depiction of superheroes.
I won't forget that. Got a screencap of your house?
I saw the 50th back in the day so I've probably seen that stop-motion bit but don't remember it at all.
Back on topic:
