FFA Movie Poll - 1978 Lists due 8/26 (3 Viewers)

[KarmaPolice]

#9  121pts

11votes

You will believe a movie can be BORING.

CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE SUPERMAN MOVIE!

For the past 6 years, I have constantly been asking myself one question: Why am I never able to finish watching the original Superman movie? It seems as if every time I try to have an entire viewing of this film, I usually just fall asleep or turn of the TV after about an hour and a half of this film. Why? Because the movie is BORING AS HELL. We have to wait that long for Superman to actually make an appearance in the flick. All the previous time is wasted on making him become Superman. Some scenes that should have been shortened include when Clark journeys to the Fortress, Kal-El's arrival on Earth, and Krypton's Explosion. I could rant on other scenes that need to be shortened, but I still have the rest of a summary to go on.

Like I said, by the time Superman finally shows up, I'm too bored to care about the rest of the film because everything else has been wasted. But, one time I actually managed to watch the entire movie, did the lack of Superman get made up for in the end? Did we have a good plot? Hell no. Lex Luthor isn't some insane criminal who wants to take over the world, whether it be by force or, as the Luthor post-1986 did, manipulation, but a common crook who wants to take over some.... real estate in California. REAL ESTATE?! The only thing that's making him a threat is because he hijacks two nuclear missiles(pretty pathetically, I might add).

Also, the ending is horrible. I mean poorly-thought out horrible, similar to what helped kill the Matrix. You see, Superman solves all these disasters, but as a result can't save Lois. She gets killed, and Superman decides to do the one thing he promised not to do... alter history. He turns the world around, and sets time back by, I don't know, five minutes. Then he goes down to see the now-living Lois. BUT WAIT!!!! SINCE IT'S FIVE MINUTES AGO, SHOULDN'T ALL THOSE DISASTERS THAT WERE HAPPENING BE OCCURING AGAIN!? Also, Lois was killed in the flick by being buried in a landslide. For some unknown reason, when he turns back time the landslide itself is not occuring again. With plotholes like this, one can wonder what the writers were doing all this time. It's also hard to believe that this film was scripted by the same person who wrote the Godfather.

Okay, I've been ranting about the bad all this time, so what's good? Well, Christopher Reeve is actually able to give off a believable performance as Superman. His emotions can actually feel real, and make us be actually care for him. When Lois does kick the bucket in the movie, we can actually feel his grief, and how he must make the difficult choice of either obeying his father's wishes or bringing back the woman he loves. And of course, there's John Williams's brilliant musical score, with some of the best soundtracks on the face of the earth.

Of course, good music can't be the only factors in making a good production(I said the same thing about Final Fantasy VII.) All in all, a disapointing film. However, it is better than the even worse second film.

BOTTOM LINE: If you want a real comic-based movie, see X-men, or Batman, or Daredevil

SUPERMAN:  THE MOVIE

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Paxton made any movie into an A+ movie.  

(ok, not Tombstone).  

Meaning it was an A+ movie irrespective of Paxton. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

Gotta love the inclusion of the Daredevil movie when telling people the good superhero movies to watch. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

Meaning it was an A+ movie irrespective of Paxton. 

Damn, I hated that movie.  

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Damn, I hated that movie.  

 There's something wrong with you. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

#8  123pts

8 votes

One of the worst films that I've ever endured

I really enjoyed the 1956 version, Rated 7.8. Every moment of it. Every aspect of it.

I find it very hard to understand why this 1978 version has a Rating of 7.4, with many, or most, reviewers saying that it's almost as good as the original, but not quite.

Every aspect that the 1956 did well, this 1978 version did badly.

Some of the things that I found objectionable were:

Everyone speaking at once.

Often it seemed to be longer, and more drawn out, than need be, whereas the original got my attention from the beginning, and maintained it throughout.

I didn't like the sound effects.

The screams that came out of their mouths, at times.

I could go on, but I prefer to forget that I've ever seen it.

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

 

[KarmaPolice]

 There's something wrong with you. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

#7  135pts

6 votes

Days of Puke My Guts Out

Days of Heaven is one of the most painfully boring and pointless films I have ever seen. In no way, shape, or form would I recommend it to anyone...unless you're trying to put your kids to sleep or, God forbid, give someone an aneurysm. If I could go back in time and do one thing, I would set fire to the reels before they were sent to theaters. Why? Days of Heaven's plot is simple, but extremely vague. Long sequences devoid of dialogue compose much of the film. The characters are too shallow and ridiculously stupid to relate with. The climax of the story does not touch you: by this time your brain has worked so hard to figure out the plot and the array of hidden metaphors that your ability to think is gone. The only things working are your eyes, and unfortunately, your ears, who must listen to the sound of Linda, the little girl in the story, who talks like a man. I am now dumber for seeing this movie. Don't let it happen to you.

DAYS OF HEAVEN

 

[KarmaPolice]

#6  142pts

9 votes

Completely biased, dishonest and one-sided movie

First of all, the movie has inaccurate portrayal of the events and it is dishonest, more violent as a national hate-film. Many hearts were broken in Turkey" due to this film. Although the film is set largely in Turkey, most of the location work was done in Malta, using local actors along with some Greeks and Armenians playing Turks. At some occasions in movie, people supposedly speaking Turkish are, in fact, speaking Maltese. Moreover most of the supposedly Turkish dialogs are so inarticulate that they cannot be understood even by natives. Throughout the whole film, Turks figure as brutes, militarists, bloodthirsty, stupid and evil torturers and sadistic, in brief as true "bastards". Their image is a real caricature: ugly, with a mustache, badly shaved, suntanned, with eyes and hair very dark. They are stereotypical persons, who, even when they are killed in the film, they always have the lot they deserve! In an interview in 1984 producer David Puttnam admitted that the film is based on a "dishonest book".

Billy Hayes reveals himself 20 years after his release, that what is presented in the movie is a very exaggerated and fictional version of what happened to him in the prison in Istanbul, Turkey.

Finally, after 25 years, Oliver Stone has apologized to Turkey for this film in 2004 when he visited Turkey. He admitted that he did not do any research about the so called "true story" of Billy Hayes before he wrote the script. This hate-film has been definitely affected the relations between Turkish and American people as well as Turkish tourism.

MIDNIGHT EXPRESS

 

[Ilov80s]

#7  135pts

6 votes

Days of Puke My Guts Out

Days of Heaven is one of the most painfully boring and pointless films I have ever seen. In no way, shape, or form would I recommend it to anyone...unless you're trying to put your kids to sleep or, God forbid, give someone an aneurysm. If I could go back in time and do one thing, I would set fire to the reels before they were sent to theaters. Why? Days of Heaven's plot is simple, but extremely vague. Long sequences devoid of dialogue compose much of the film. The characters are too shallow and ridiculously stupid to relate with. The climax of the story does not touch you: by this time your brain has worked so hard to figure out the plot and the array of hidden metaphors that your ability to think is gone. The only things working are your eyes, and unfortunately, your ears, who must listen to the sound of Linda, the little girl in the story, who talks like a man. I am now dumber for seeing this movie. Don't let it happen to you.

DAYS OF HEAVEN

I assume this is the movie you were happy it's performance?

 

[KarmaPolice]

I assume this is the movie you were happy it's performance?

It was the one that I said I was a bit disappointed in, but I said that before adding Floppo's 30pts into the mix.  

 

[Ilov80s]

It was the one that I said I was a bit disappointed in, but I said that before adding Floppo's 30pts into the mix.  

I mean we didn't get many lists and it wasn't a strong year but Days of Heaven isn't the type of movie that has done well in these polls for the most part. It's a quiet, slow drama. It doesn't have much of a reputation outside of the dedicated film community. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

#9  121pts

11votes

You will believe a movie can be BORING.

CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE SUPERMAN MOVIE!

For the past 6 years, I have constantly been asking myself one question: Why am I never able to finish watching the original Superman movie? It seems as if every time I try to have an entire viewing of this film, I usually just fall asleep or turn of the TV after about an hour and a half of this film. Why? Because the movie is BORING AS HELL. We have to wait that long for Superman to actually make an appearance in the flick. All the previous time is wasted on making him become Superman. Some scenes that should have been shortened include when Clark journeys to the Fortress, Kal-El's arrival on Earth, and Krypton's Explosion. I could rant on other scenes that need to be shortened, but I still have the rest of a summary to go on.

Like I said, by the time Superman finally shows up, I'm too bored to care about the rest of the film because everything else has been wasted. But, one time I actually managed to watch the entire movie, did the lack of Superman get made up for in the end? Did we have a good plot? Hell no. Lex Luthor isn't some insane criminal who wants to take over the world, whether it be by force or, as the Luthor post-1986 did, manipulation, but a common crook who wants to take over some.... real estate in California. REAL ESTATE?! The only thing that's making him a threat is because he hijacks two nuclear missiles(pretty pathetically, I might add).

Also, the ending is horrible. I mean poorly-thought out horrible, similar to what helped kill the Matrix. You see, Superman solves all these disasters, but as a result can't save Lois. She gets killed, and Superman decides to do the one thing he promised not to do... alter history. He turns the world around, and sets time back by, I don't know, five minutes. Then he goes down to see the now-living Lois. BUT WAIT!!!! SINCE IT'S FIVE MINUTES AGO, SHOULDN'T ALL THOSE DISASTERS THAT WERE HAPPENING BE OCCURING AGAIN!? Also, Lois was killed in the flick by being buried in a landslide. For some unknown reason, when he turns back time the landslide itself is not occuring again. With plotholes like this, one can wonder what the writers were doing all this time. It's also hard to believe that this film was scripted by the same person who wrote the Godfather.

Okay, I've been ranting about the bad all this time, so what's good? Well, Christopher Reeve is actually able to give off a believable performance as Superman. His emotions can actually feel real, and make us be actually care for him. When Lois does kick the bucket in the movie, we can actually feel his grief, and how he must make the difficult choice of either obeying his father's wishes or bringing back the woman he loves. And of course, there's John Williams's brilliant musical score, with some of the best soundtracks on the face of the earth.

Of course, good music can't be the only factors in making a good production(I said the same thing about Final Fantasy VII.) All in all, a disapointing film. However, it is better than the even worse second film.

BOTTOM LINE: If you want a real comic-based movie, see X-men, or Batman, or Daredevil

SUPERMAN:  THE MOVIE

STILL kicking myself for not going thru with my impulse back then. My 1st yr in NM, my gf wrangled an invite to be on-set in Quemado NM for what was then the most expensive movie scene ever shot - the earthquake scene in Superman. ONE MILLION DOLLARS (we need a Dr Evil emoji) was spent digging tunnels, planting explosives, burying hydraulics etc etc for the earth opening up and swallowing Lois Lane's car. They had a dozen camera set-ups and hours of rehearsals and fussing for this one-take-only scene. Boom, literally, went off without a hitch. People are popping champagne bottles & nostril vials all over the place celebrating their achievement. I'm off to one side of this, of course, and see a Toyota pickup truck drive up to a production trailer with the reels and cartridges of all the pickups of the scene. I watch as the PA drops em off and notice that, when he leaves, there's a lone crew member and no security minding the footage of the Most Expensive Movie Scene Ever Shot.

Me, i'm a guy always looks at the angles, see?, and i'm groaning here like Yossarian @ General Dreedle's secretary over the fact that one conk on the head of a guy in a trailer and i drive away w ONE MILLION DOLLARS worth of cinematic triumph while everybody's celebrating. I tell my gf about it, hoping she'll chill me off the idea, but she's immediately all "D'ya think?!". We're both vibrating at the prospect of a six fig (more than a mil today) ransom for kidnapping naught but celluloid. If i hadnt been flush in my new retirement from showbiz and already living the dream (a commune in paradise w 6 men & 30+ hippie chicks) i dont think my scruples would have gotten the better of me but, alas, they did. And there's my contribution to Countdown Monday, which i truly love and hope forgives me for my lapse in sense.

 

[Eephus]

#8  123pts

8 votes

One of the worst films that I've ever endured

I really enjoyed the 1956 version, Rated 7.8. Every moment of it. Every aspect of it.

I find it very hard to understand why this 1978 version has a Rating of 7.4, with many, or most, reviewers saying that it's almost as good as the original, but not quite.

Every aspect that the 1956 did well, this 1978 version did badly.

Some of the things that I found objectionable were:

Everyone speaking at once.

Often it seemed to be longer, and more drawn out, than need be, whereas the original got my attention from the beginning, and maintained it throughout.

I didn't like the sound effects.

The screams that came out of their mouths, at times.

I could go on, but I prefer to forget that I've ever seen it.

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

PowerPoint movie reviews dot com

 

[El Floppo]

STILL kicking myself for not going thru with my impulse back then. My 1st yr in NM, my gf wrangled an invite to be on-set in Quemado NM for what was then the most expensive movie scene ever shot - the earthquake scene in Superman. ONE MILLION DOLLARS (we need a Dr Evil emoji) was spent digging tunnels, planting explosives, burying hydraulics etc etc for the earth opening up and swallowing Lois Lane's car. They had a dozen camera set-ups and hours of rehearsals and fussing for this one-take-only scene. Boom, literally, went off without a hitch. People are popping champagne bottles & nostril vials all over the place celebrating their achievement. I'm off to one side of this, of course, and see a Toyota pickup truck drive up to a production trailer with the reels and cartridges of all the pickups of the scene. I watch as the PA drops em off and notice that, when he leaves, there's a lone crew member and no security minding the footage of the Most Expensive Movie Scene Ever Shot.

Me, i'm a guy always looks at the angles, see?, and i'm groaning here like Yossarian @ General Dreedle's secretary over the fact that one conk on the head of a guy in a trailer and i drive away w ONE MILLION DOLLARS worth of cinematic triumph while everybody's celebrating. I tell my gf about it, hoping she'll chill me off the idea, but she's immediately all "D'ya think?!". We're both vibrating at the prospect of a six fig (more than a mil today) ransom for kidnapping naught but celluloid. If i hadnt been flush in my new retirement from showbiz and already living the dream (a commune in paradise w 6 men & 30+ hippie chicks) i dont think my scruples would have gotten the better of me but, alas, they did. And there's my contribution to Countdown Monday, which i truly love and hope forgives me for my lapse in sense.

And years later, I designed the director's house in HI. The butterfly effect in action.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I mean we didn't get many lists and it wasn't a strong year but Days of Heaven isn't the type of movie that has done well in these polls for the most part. It's a quiet, slow drama. It doesn't have much of a reputation outside of the dedicated film community. 

I get all that, I think there was enough pre-list chatter about it and this being a weak year that I got my hopes up more.  No problem with where it ended up after Flops points, I was just a tad disappointed before that when it was near the bottom. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

#5  175pts

11 votes

Am I missing something?

A whole lot of people like Dawn of the Dead, and that's fine. If it's your favorite movie, then good for you-- your opinion is every bit as valid as mine or anyone else's. But just to break the monotony of the almost universally positive user comments for this film, I now contribute my opinion. Dawn of the Dead is one of the most awful movies I have ever seen. It left me stunned and speechless and thoroughly convinced it was the worst film of all time; I've since seen worse movies (like George Romero's Knightriders and the Night of the Living Dead remake), but my distaste for Dawn remains unchanged. It is pointless, sloppy, unrealistic garbage that drags on and on despite numerous moments when they could easily have ended the film and shown everyone mercy. But no, they have to tack on more plot developments (like the biker gang that randomly shows up) just so we can suffer for another half hour. And the main characters are too stupid for us to relate with them-- one of them doesn't even know what a mall is, and then they steal money from the bank even though civilization has fallen apart and they can just take whatever they want from the mall anyway. The acting is equally awful, particularly the helicopter pilot and the bikers. Mix in some painfully obvious continuity mistakes (the disappearing zombies next to the exploding car, the scene where Roger gets drenched in zombie blood that vanishes in the next shot) and you've got one of the few genuinely awful movies. Films like this achieve a kind of dark grandeur-- it's not easy to make movies this bad, but somehow Romero pulls it off again and again (something must have happened to him right after he made the great original Night of the Living Dead). Odds are you'll probably like this film for whatever reason everybody else has for liking it. But if you watch it and hate every stupid, repulsive moment, take comfort-- you're not alone.

DAWN OF THE DEAD

 

[KarmaPolice]

#4  181pts

11 votes

A Deeply Immoral Movie

I hated this movie when I saw it in the theatres when I was ten. I didn't know why until I saw it done on stage years later at a local high school. The movie (and play) tell you that you're not good enough as you are; that to have people like you, you have to change. The final scene makes it clear that being yourself isn't good enough. You have to conform to the will of others in order to be happy. And making the woman the one who has to change is sexist. Then, misogny backhands you like an abusive husband by sexually objectifying the change. Look, now she has to be a hussy to have a happy ending.

Simply disgusting. Easily one of the worst movies ever made.

GREASE

 

[Eephus]

The Verdict: Only for Cheech and Chong fans and dope-heads.

UP IN SMOKE

Know your audience

 

[KarmaPolice]

#3  290 pts

14 votes

31 years have not treated this well.

For the 4 people who read my twitter feed (and the 62 people who think that I might buy their porn/dating/entertainment services if they follow me too) I put a few of my thoughts down for them as I watched. My first tweet was "12 minutes in. Not laughed once yet. Should I have?" I mention laughing – I mean internal laughter too. I hadn't identified a joke, or a comedy situation by that point. Of course, I then identified that certain other things had been referencing this film – most notably an episode of Futurama called "robot house" when Bender enrolls in Mars University. One of the robots spends the whole time in a little beanie hat, which now becomes funnier, as I have now seen the reference material (I laughed a lot after first seeing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as it made the Simpsons so much funnier.) Next tweet, after the Futurama reference, was "36 minutes, I sort of smirked". I have no idea what I smirked at. Following this – "This film is so bad, I've stopped forward winding the adverts"

I suspect this was the first film to dare to show pretty girls with their tops off. However – the accessibility of boobs is now so easy, my standards are considerably higher. My tweet that the "topless pillow fight would have been better if they weren't all wearing MASSIVE granny pants" made me realize that this is something that would have been cutting edge in 1978.

I went a little controversial on my next one. "Belushi. Only remembered as good because he died early? With him on the guitar smashing at parties though". Everyone who has ever been jealous of the smarmy bloke who plays the guitar and has the girls cooing on his every note has wanted to do that. Otherwise, he is playing quite the most charmless and one dimensional character I've ever seen in cinema. Deeply unpleasant and unlikable. Anyone whose party trick is crushing a can on his own forehead gets no sympathy from me.

I found myself entirely sympathizing with the group of new kids – who have somehow made it to college (later I discover this is the only reason they aren't being drafted to fight in the Vietnam war, which I can sympathize with, but if going to college is the only way you are going to avoid getting killed in a ludicrous conflict, then surely you'd do all you can to stay there), they are searching for acceptance, friendship and like minded people. Unfortunately for them, they apparently only have two choices – the posh, rich and intelligent kids, or the complete brain dead losers. There was apparently no third choice. The posh kids wouldn't have them, and the losers couldn't care less, so the join Delta House, who are already on "double secret probation" (what the hell is that – how are you supposed to know you are in trouble if you aren't told about it?) After various illegal activities, underage drinking, underage sex, hints at date rape (we believe his conscience got the better of him) horse murder, in addition to academic issues, such as NOT GOING TO ANY CLASSES or having grade point averages of less than zero, they seem somewhat surprised and shocked when they are expelled.

I did identify a few attempts at humor in the process: The inability to open a bra strap has now become such a cliché – and I know it wasn't a new joke when this film used it – that it is purely not funny. The moment when Belushi's character puts pencils up his nose while in the Dean's office might have been funny, if he'd removed them on replacement of the Dean's glasses – although maybe the fact that I was expecting that to happen makes it funnier, although not that much funnier. Sex with 13 year old girls isn't funny either. Blatant racism in having a bunch of white kids walk into a bar full of black people, and immediately get threatened with flick-knives, - is that funny because my preconceptions are that this really isn't realistic behavior? The closest thing for me to an actual comedy moment, was when the house was being emptied and a cow was led down the front steps.

In protest at their expulsion, our (anti?)heroes decide to get their revenge, ruining the homecoming parade, an event that the good people of the town were very much enjoying, they assault, molest and pretty much attempted murder their way to notoriety, finishing off with driving their "death wagon" or some such into the platform holding the Dean and his wife. How am I supposed to have any sympathy for people who have no idea that they are in control of their own destinies, that they are guilty of all the charges against them, and completely deserved everything that happened to them? If there was any sense of injustice against Delta House, it might have been a different matter, but these idiots did themselves no favors at all.

31 years have not been kind to Animal House. I grew up with Alison Hannigan doing things with her flute in American pie. With Terrence and Philip singing about inappropriate relationships with their uncles in South Park the Movie. Having your trousers urinated on by a drunken lout (and accepting it) is gross, but not funny. Humour has moved on, and maybe going back in time to where it all started was never going to work for me.

ANIMAL HOUSE

 

[KarmaPolice]

#2  312pts

15 votes

Halloween: an old truth in a new reality

John carpenter is the director I admire the most... This film is awful. It is without a story and it is mind numbingly boring. The character of Michael Myers is evil.. thats it. No dimensions to him. Its a boring character. There is virtually no story in this film. For the better part of the duration people walk around very slowly i long scenes. They think they see something, then its gone again. they think its their friends messing around. They back up into something harmless that spooks them. All the clichés..its completely bereft of intellectual stimulation...It sucks, plain and simple. "well nowadays every horror movie does that stuff but Halloween did all that first"....I don't care. Im not watching this film 30 years ago, I'm watching it today. When I sit down to watch a movie I want to be told a story, I do not want a lesson in film history. People cling to old truths. somehow Halloween became a holy cow. Everybody and their little brother will tell you that Halloween is a classic, because everybody been telling each other that for 30 years..don't believe them for a second. Its like cave-art in the renaissance. It sucks, plain and simple

HALLOWEEN

 

[Eephus]

Superman is an excellent example of how movies have changed in 40 years.  There's lots of character development with little action for much of the first half of the film. 

I haven't seen the Zack Snyder reboot so I could be could be totally wrong but if the 1978 film was remade today, I suspect it would be structured differently to get to Superman (and things blowing up) faster and the backstory elements thrown in as flashbacks.

 

[KarmaPolice]

#1  409pts

17 votes

Disjointed, Dismal, and Gut-Wrenching God-Awful

Once in a while a Film comes along that seems to Mesmerize Viewers and Critics with its "New" Approach to Film-Making.

After the "Future Shock" wears off the Truth Emerges and the Director is Naked, and the Movie Sinks under its own weight of Transparent Self-Indulgence, Posing as a Clever Artistic Turn, Void of Sustenance.

"The Deer Hunter" is, as many Now Know, Overrated and with each passing Year Slips surely Downward as it Plummets to almost... "what the?".

This is a Stilted, Silly, Incoherent, Disjointed, Dismal, Depressing Film. A full One Hour Opening that Drags on with Repetition and Replays of the Same Scene at a Wedding Party that Demonstrates Only that these Guys are "Tight" and are about to Enter the Service.

The constant Over the Top Camaraderie with Sing-A-Longs and Bonding are Embarrassing. They like Throwing Food at one another and Shaking beer Cans a lot. Scenes are Driven to their Breaking Point of Audience Tolerance.

The Plot is Ridiculous and Demands so much Suspension of Disbelief from Viewers that many will find it Insulting and Irritating, especially the Jarring Editing from one Set Piece to Another without any Transposition or a minimum of Explanation.

Things just Happen, and We're Transported to some more Ugly, Useless, Unnerving Scenes that as a combined Cinema Experience leaves one with a Bad Taste or a Hasty Exit and a Hope for it all to End. Analogous to being a POW, one guesses, but Only Guesses.

The Movie is Overlong, Horribly Edited, makes Little Sense, Historically rings Untrue, Boring, Laughably Written, Embarrassing, and just plain Gut-Wrenching Awful.

There is Nothing to Recommend except to See this as an Example of how Hoodwinked Critics can Occasionally Misfire this Badly.

THE DEER HUNTER

 

[KarmaPolice]

Superman is an excellent example of how movies have changed in 40 years.  There's lots of character development with little action for much of the first half of the film. 

I haven't seen the Zack Snyder reboot so I could be could be totally wrong but if the 1978 film was remade today, I suspect it would be structured differently to get to Superman (and things blowing up) faster and the backstory elements thrown in as flashbacks.

It's basically just two dudes punching each other through buildings for the last 1/2 hour or so.  Also, Superman is kind of a #### that doesn't seem to care about people in the new DC movies.  

 

[Ilov80s]

I figured it wouldn't rate well but The Killer of Sheep was a great movie. 

 

[Eephus]

It's basically just two dudes punching each other through buildings for the last 1/2 hour or so.  Also, Superman is kind of a #### that doesn't seem to care about people in the new DC movies.  

I recently saw Justice League without seeing any of the other DC movies except Wonder Women.  Even after watching it, I had no idea what was going on and wouldn't have recognized Superman unless he was wearing the costume.

 

[wikkidpissah]

I figured it wouldn't rate well but The Killer of Sheep was a great movie. 

That looks really good. Was gonna say "that's what's wrong that this guy's still around and aint nobody even now giving him money to make pictures" but then i realized he'd probably be making "folks doin' #### with dignity" flicks that are presently making me wanna puke as much as the superhero crap does.

 

[Ilov80s]

That looks really good. Was gonna say "that's what's wrong that this guy's still around and aint nobody even now giving him money to make pictures" but then i realized he'd probably be making "folks doin' #### with dignity" flicks that are presently making me wanna puke as much as the superhero crap does.

Well now that I look at it, maybe it should have been counted as a 2007 film since that is when it was technically first released. It was made a final thesis for film school but couldn't get released at the time as Burnett did not have the rights to the music. It wasn't until 2007 that someone else bought it, got the rights and released it. Looks like he has done a lot of documentaries and made for TV films. 

 

[El Floppo]

I figured it wouldn't rate well but The Killer of Sheep was a great movie. 

I'd like to see it some day

 

[Keith R]

#2  312pts

15 votes

Halloween: an old truth in a new reality

John carpenter is the director I admire the most... This film is awful. It is without a story and it is mind numbingly boring. The character of Michael Myers is evil.. thats it. No dimensions to him. Its a boring character. There is virtually no story in this film. For the better part of the duration people walk around very slowly i long scenes. They think they see something, then its gone again. they think its their friends messing around. They back up into something harmless that spooks them. All the clichés..its completely bereft of intellectual stimulation...It sucks, plain and simple. "well nowadays every horror movie does that stuff but Halloween did all that first"....I don't care. Im not watching this film 30 years ago, I'm watching it today. When I sit down to watch a movie I want to be told a story, I do not want a lesson in film history. People cling to old truths. somehow Halloween became a holy cow. Everybody and their little brother will tell you that Halloween is a classic, because everybody been telling each other that for 30 years..don't believe them for a second. Its like cave-art in the renaissance. It sucks, plain and simple

HALLOWEEN

I strongly disagree with the review but the bolded is a great line.

 

[Keith R]

#1  409pts

17 votes

Disjointed, Dismal, and Gut-Wrenching God-Awful

Once in a while a Film comes along that seems to Mesmerize Viewers and Critics with its "New" Approach to Film-Making.

After the "Future Shock" wears off the Truth Emerges and the Director is Naked, and the Movie Sinks under its own weight of Transparent Self-Indulgence, Posing as a Clever Artistic Turn, Void of Sustenance.

"The Deer Hunter" is, as many Now Know, Overrated and with each passing Year Slips surely Downward as it Plummets to almost... "what the?".

This is a Stilted, Silly, Incoherent, Disjointed, Dismal, Depressing Film. A full One Hour Opening that Drags on with Repetition and Replays of the Same Scene at a Wedding Party that Demonstrates Only that these Guys are "Tight" and are about to Enter the Service.

The constant Over the Top Camaraderie with Sing-A-Longs and Bonding are Embarrassing. They like Throwing Food at one another and Shaking beer Cans a lot. Scenes are Driven to their Breaking Point of Audience Tolerance.

The Plot is Ridiculous and Demands so much Suspension of Disbelief from Viewers that many will find it Insulting and Irritating, especially the Jarring Editing from one Set Piece to Another without any Transposition or a minimum of Explanation.

Things just Happen, and We're Transported to some more Ugly, Useless, Unnerving Scenes that as a combined Cinema Experience leaves one with a Bad Taste or a Hasty Exit and a Hope for it all to End. Analogous to being a POW, one guesses, but Only Guesses.

The Movie is Overlong, Horribly Edited, makes Little Sense, Historically rings Untrue, Boring, Laughably Written, Embarrassing, and just plain Gut-Wrenching Awful.

There is Nothing to Recommend except to See this as an Example of how Hoodwinked Critics can Occasionally Misfire this Badly.

THE DEER HUNTER

Somehow, capitalizing every word is more annoying than capitalizing every letter.  Took 3 tries to read it

 

[Eephus]

1978 was the year Hollywood began to examine the Vietnam War.  There were earlier films like The Green Berets which was more like a WWII movie and the documentary Hearts and Minds.  The best known 1978 Vietnam War film at the time was Coming Home but poll winner The Deer Hunter won the awards and along with a handful of other later films helped to define attitudes about the war, especially among people who were too young to experience it.

I gave 5 points to The Boys in Company C which is a better war movie and soccer movie than Victory.  It's a pretty solid film that works in spite of its small budget.  It's sadly forgotten today but its closing line "I guess we'll just keep on walking into one bloody mess after another, until somebody figures out that living has got to be more important than winning." has stayed with me over the many, many years it's been since I watched it. 

I gave top scores (25 points) to Who'll Stop the Rain which only spends minutes in country but is dominated by the war's effects on its characters and the nation.   It's a terrific movie that combines an action flick with a drama about old hippies and drug addition.  Nick Nolte is excellent as a Neal Cassady character.  I can't recommend the movie and Robert Stone's  novel Dog Soldiers highly enough.

I've never seen Go Tell the Spartans.

 

[shuke]

Some of the things that I found objectionable were:

Everyone speaking at once.

Often it seemed to be longer, and more drawn out, than need be, whereas the original got my attention from the beginning, and maintained it throughout.

I didn't like the sound effects.

The screams that came out of their mouths, at times.

I could go on, but I prefer to forget that I've ever seen it.

INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

These were some of the greatest things about this movie.  One of the first movies that made me feel real paranoia. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

1978 was the year Hollywood began to examine the Vietnam War.  There were earlier films like The Green Berets which was more like a WWII movie and the documentary Hearts and Minds.  The best known 1978 Vietnam War film at the time was Coming Home but poll winner The Deer Hunter won the awards and along with a handful of other later films helped to define attitudes about the war, especially among people who were too young to experience it.

I gave 5 points to The Boys in Company C which is a better war movie and soccer movie than Victory.  It's a pretty solid film that works in spite of its small budget.  It's sadly forgotten today but its closing line "I guess we'll just keep on walking into one bloody mess after another, until somebody figures out that living has got to be more important than winning." has stayed with me over the many, many years it's been since I watched it. 

I gave top scores (25 points) to Who'll Stop the Rain which only spends minutes in country but is dominated by the war's effects on its characters and the nation.   It's a terrific movie that combines an action flick with a drama about old hippies and drug addition.  Nick Nolte is excellent as a Neal Cassady character.  I can't recommend the movie and Robert Stone's  novel Dog Soldiers highly enough.

I've never seen Go Tell the Spartans.

Robert Stone is behind only Thomas Berger as the greatest author nobody reads & Dog Soldiers is one of his best (Outerbridge Reach is my favorite)

ETA: Who'll Stop the Rain was #8 on my list

 

[Eephus]

Robert Stone is behind only Thomas Berger as the greatest author nobody reads & Dog Soldiers is one of his best (Outerbridge Reach is my favorite)

ETA: Who'll Stop the Rain was #8 on my list

Any Berger recommendations?

I've only read Little Big Man.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Any Berger recommendations?

I've only read Little Big Man.

All of em go down like ice cream.

Arthur Rex, his vision of Camelot, is not my favorite but the one i most often recommend. The Reinhart books (Crazy in Berlin, Reinhart's Women, Vital Parts), Sneaky People, Neighbors (which Aykroyd & Belushi made into a terrible film), Regiment of Women, my favorite Who is Teddy Villanova?, Meeting Evil....oh, all of em. No matter the subject, the most facile writer i've ever read and the novelist i would like to have been.

 

[Don Quixote]

Am I allowed to request others receiving votes, before we let this thread whither into the abyss?

 

[El Floppo]

1978 was the year Hollywood began to examine the Vietnam War.  There were earlier films like The Green Berets which was more like a WWII movie and the documentary Hearts and Minds.  The best known 1978 Vietnam War film at the time was Coming Home but poll winner The Deer Hunter won the awards and along with a handful of other later films helped to define attitudes about the war, especially among people who were too young to experience it.

I gave 5 points to The Boys in Company C which is a better war movie and soccer movie than Victory.  It's a pretty solid film that works in spite of its small budget.  It's sadly forgotten today but its closing line "I guess we'll just keep on walking into one bloody mess after another, until somebody figures out that living has got to be more important than winning." has stayed with me over the many, many years it's been since I watched it. 

I gave top scores (25 points) to Who'll Stop the Rain which only spends minutes in country but is dominated by the war's effects on its characters and the nation.   It's a terrific movie that combines an action flick with a drama about old hippies and drug addition.  Nick Nolte is excellent as a Neal Cassady character.  I can't recommend the movie and Robert Stone's  novel Dog Soldiers highly enough.

I've never seen Go Tell the Spartans.

like zis, like zis, like BOOLSHEET

 

[Eephus]

I gave 5 points to The Boys in Company C which is a better war movie and soccer movie than Victory. 

like zis, like zis, like BOOLSHEET

would you believe a better war movie than Operation Dumbo Drop and a better soccer movie than Air Bud: World Pup.

 

[El Floppo]

would you believe a better war movie than Operation Dumbo Drop and a better soccer movie than Air Bud: World Pup.

Nein, nein, ninety nine

 

[KarmaPolice]

Am I allowed to request others receiving votes, before we let this thread whither into the abyss?

Doh! Forgot about that.  I will do that and look to see what is after 1996 later tonight and post in that thread.  Might be after AGT with the son though.  

 

[KarmaPolice]

@Don Quixote - didn't get to it last night due to all the storms/rain.  Knocks my damn internet out every time.  Here we go...

40-49:

Magic

Coming Home

The Lord of the Rings

30-39:

Big Wednesday

Killer of Sheep

Who'll Stop the Rain

The Big Sleep

Jaws 2

36th Chamber of Shaolin

20-29:

Same Time Next Year

Buddy Holly Story

The Wiz

Goin' South

Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith

The Marriage of Maria Braun

Drunken Master

Five Deadly Venoms

10-19:

Battlestar Galactica

The Tree of Wooden Clogs

Death on the Nile

Every Which Way But Loose

Piranha

Pretty Baby

The Driver

Convoy

Single Digits:

Force 10 From Navarone

Ice Castles

Hooper

Eyes of Laura Mars

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Movie Movie

The Brinks Job

FM

Autumn Sonata

Cheap Detective

Despair

American Hot Wax

Damien:  Omen II

I Spit on Your Grave

Capricorn One

American Boy: Profile of Steven Prince

The Punk Rock Movie

Corvette Summer

The Boys in Company C

 

[Keith R]

I Spit on Your Grave

Usually that one is very polarizing.  I guess not here if it only got single digits.  (I didn't give it any points btw)

 

[Binky The Doormat]

I cannot believe Goin' South only got one vote of 1 pt ...in addition to my vote of 25 pts.  

If you haven't seen it, check it out. 

It's no academy award winner, but it's a great comedy-western with Jack Nicholson, Christoper Lloyd, Mary Steenbergen, and Belushi in a smaller role.   

 

[wikkidpissah]

I cannot believe Goin' South only got one vote of 1 pt ...in addition to my vote of 25 pts.  

If you haven't seen it, check it out. 

It's no academy award winner, but it's a great comedy-western with Jack Nicholson, Christoper Lloyd, Mary Steenbergen, and Belushi in a smaller role.   

Another waste of an excellent Belushi-featured cast, only out-awfuled by 1941 in that regard & but briefly charming due to the screen debut of the delightfully feisty Miss Steenburgen

 

[Eephus]

I cannot believe Goin' South only got one vote of 1 pt ...in addition to my vote of 25 pts.  

If you haven't seen it, check it out. 

It's no academy award winner, but it's a great comedy-western with Jack Nicholson, Christoper Lloyd, Mary Steenbergen, and Belushi in a smaller role.   

Another waste of an excellent Belushi-featured cast, only out-awfuled by 1941 in that regard & but briefly charming due to the screen debut of the delightfully feisty Miss Steenburgen

A lot of cocaine was consumed during the making of Goin' South.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

A lot of cocaine was consumed during the making of Goin' South.

I doubt the 1941 shoot was a shining example of temperance either

 

[Eephus]

I doubt the 1941 shoot was a shining example of temperance either

That's pretty much a given for anything involving Belushi but Goin' South also featured a director in Jack Nicholson who was getting high.

In retrospect, it's amazing that Scorsese was as productive as he was during the late 70s early 80s.

 

[wikkidpissah]

That's pretty much a given for anything involving Belushi but Goin' South also featured a director in Jack Nicholson who was getting high.

In retrospect, it's amazing that Scorsese was as productive as he was during the late 70s early 80s.

From tales i've heard, there's a tremendous difference between personal cocaine use of creative personnel in the movie biz and film sets where cocaine was actually written into the budget, most famously Fletch & 1941