FFA Movie Poll - 1984 Lists Due 7/29 (1 Viewer)

[Eephus]

Cannonball Run II 

 

[Ilov80s]

i'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on Amadeus

Anyone that doesn’t have it in their top 5 is getting blocked 

 

[Ilov80s]

did you see Tim Curry as Mozart? i did and that completely ruined Hulce for me and kept it from being a 'perfect' movie

I get the dislike for Hulce and it’s the only version I’ve seen so I’m a bit limited in my view but I find Tim Curry to typically be annoying. 

 

[Mr. Mojo]

I get the dislike for Hulce and it’s the only version I’ve seen so I’m a bit limited in my view but I find Tim Curry to typically be kind of annoying. 

Tim Curry's accent is Congo is the worst in film history. Yes, worse than Costner in Robin Hood and Streisand in Yentl.

Rocky Horror is his one crowning moment.

 

[Eephus]

I get the dislike for Hulce and it’s the only version I’ve seen so I’m a bit limited in my view but I find Tim Curry to typically be kind of annoying. 

I think Curry's style is better suited for the stage and supporting film roles.  His exuberance blown up on a 20 foot tall screen for two hours would be hard to take.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Cannonball Run II 

stupid fun.  

 

[Ilov80s]

I had hoped to re-watch Amadeus during this cycle but I fell down the Once Upon a Time in America rabbit hole. 

I'm going to rate it based on an overall positive impression from when I watched it on VHS in the late 80s but I'm curious how time would have changed my perceptions.  My interest in classical music is much greater now but my tolerance for immature geniuses has diminished equally. 

ETA:  I thought Hulce was fine in the role

Yeah you really should see it again. I know we’ve had some good convos on classical music and I would be very surprised if you didn’t love it. I lean with Wikkid in thinking it’s damn near perfect. I don’t have an actual top 10 but I’m pretty sure Amadeus would be in it. 

 

[El Floppo]

Anyone that doesn’t have it in their top 5 is getting blocked 

 

[El Floppo]

Tim Curry's accent is Congo is the worst in film history. Yes, worse than Costner in Robin Hood and Streisand in Yentl.

Rocky Horror is his one crowning moment.

nick cage had a run of bizarrely accented movies that would go head to head with anything Costner coughed up. one of my favorites is Vampire's Kiss- terrible accent, fantastic (bad, but fun) movie.

 

[Ilov80s]

I am going to miss Floppo. Seemed like a good guy- had excellent  taste in music too. Keep me updated on his kid please. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

Yeah you really should see it again. I know we’ve had some good convos on classical music and I would be very surprised if you didn’t love it. I lean with Wikkid in thinking it’s damn near perfect. I don’t have an actual top 10 but I’m pretty sure Amadeus would be in it. 

it's like a futbol match of all setpieces - every scene is dramatic, important, memorable.

Curry has always been either perfect or awful. With McKellen onstage - much more student/teacher like Schaffer's other masterpiece, Equus - he was as much the fool, but one could see as much the curse of unrequested genius, which is the McGuffin of the whole thing and which i didnt get from Hulce at all.

 

[Eephus]

nick cage had a run of bizarrely accented movies that would go head to head with anything Costner coughed up. one of my favorites is Vampire's Kiss- terrible accent, fantastic (bad, but fun) movie.

Cage had starred in Valley Girl and was part of the Rumblefish ensemble the previous year but 1984 was Nic's big breakout year.  He turned in strong lead performances in Birdy and Racing with the Moon and also was in his uncle's film The Cotton Club.  I'd like to watch the latter again because it's another one of those movies that left a positive but faint impression. 

If a fortune teller had laid out all possible career outcomes for Cage in 1984, his actual trajectory wouldn't have been one of them.  His IMDB page has got to be one of the strangest entries on the entire site.

 

[Ilov80s]

it's like a futbol match of all setpieces - every scene is dramatic, important, memorable.

Curry has always been either perfect or awful. With McKellen onstage - much more student/teacher like Schaffer's other masterpiece, Equus - he was as much the fool, but one could see as much the curse of unrequested genius, which is the McGuffin of the whole thing and which i didnt get from Hulce at all.

What I loved about Hulce’s portrayal of is there’s no curse of genius in his performance. It’s so innocent. He enjoys his talents. He know how to use them to his benefit and he has passion for it. However, he knows shame because he knows what people think he should be. He’s only really unhappy when he’s trying to be what others want him to be. If left to playing music, being drunk and chasing women, he is happy even if it will lead to his own demise. He will go down smiling.

 

[wikkidpissah]

What I loved about Hulce’s portrayal of is there’s no curse of genius in his performance. It’s so innocent. He enjoys his talents. He know how to use them to his benefit and he has passion for it. However, he knows shame because he knows what people think he should be. He’s only really unhappy when he’s trying to be what others want him to be. If left to playing music, being drunk and chasing women, he is happy even if it will lead to his own demise. He will go down smiling.

But that is impossible. Genius is rarely written about by those who've experienced it. If one can see math, chess, music, blueprints, time, it never leaves one alone. As much curse as blessing. My brain has always been bigger than my life, so i have some sensitivity to it, and i grew up with a kid who saw science. Jack was tortured, nerded to nebbishness, turned out, and eventually murdered @ 19yo by the noise in his head. Being witness decided me to point my lesser blessings to the science of actually enjoying what goes on in my head and turned out to be a much better, though less profitable, calling than being an eternally conflicted artist/jackhole. It also gained me some insight into how human react to their inner engines that i hope to complete a catalogue of before i am thru. But i can assure you Hulce's innocence was as impracticable as The Rock's skyscraper and ruined the piece for me.

 

[Ilov80s]

But that is impossible. Genius is rarely written about by those who've experienced it. If one can see math, chess, music, blueprints, time, it never leaves one alone. As much curse as blessing. My brain has always been bigger than my life, so i have some sensitivity to it, and i grew up with a kid who saw science. Jack was tortured, nerded to nebbishness, turned out, and eventually murdered @ 19yo by the noise in his head. Being witness decided me to point my lesser blessings to the science of actually enjoying what goes on in my head and turned out to be a much better, though less profitable, calling than being an eternally conflicted artist/jackhole. It also gained me some insight into how human react to their inner engines that i hope to complete a catalogue of before i am thru. But i can assure you Hulce's innocence was as impracticable as The Rock's skyscraper and ruined the piece for me.

I am not so sure about that. Barry Sanders for example is a simple man. He enjoys going to the strip clubs- has a particluar preference for very skiny flat chested women. But for the most part he is just a clam, quiet, humble man. He doesn't want to be exceptional. He never wanted all the attention. He knew that attention would bring him the success and comfort he needed in life and I am sure he also enjoyed being so good at something when young. However, his ability as this artistic savant on the football field- a man who could almsot teleport before your eyes, was totally unrelated to Barry as a man. He, like the Mozart characeter in the story, was pushed by his dad from a very young age and molded into something that never really aligned with his own personality. In the end, despite Barry being the most gifted man to ever tuck a football away and run or Mozart being heralded 220 years later, their fathers saw them as disappointments. Not because they weren't great but because they didn't want to be great. 

 

[Todem]

Tim Curry's accent is Congo is the worst in film history. Yes, worse than Costner in Robin Hood and Streisand in Yentl.

Rocky Horror is his one crowning moment.

Keanu Reeves accent in Dracula can rival that. He drops it halfway through the film. I was waiting for him to say Bogus Dracula at any moment.

Tim Curry was great as Pennywise The Clown in 1990's "It".

 

[wikkidpissah]

I am not so sure about that. Barry Sanders for example is a simple man. He enjoys going to the strip clubs- has a particluar preference for very skiny flat chested women. But for the most part he is just a clam, quiet, humble man. He doesn't want to be exceptional. He never wanted all the attention. He knew that attention would bring him the success and comfort he needed in life and I am sure he also enjoyed being so good at something when young. However, his ability as this artistic savant on the football field- a man who could almsot teleport before your eyes, was totally unrelated to Barry as a man. He, like the Mozart characeter in the story, was pushed by his dad from a very young age and molded into something that never really aligned with his own personality. In the end, despite Barry being the most gifted man to ever tuck a football away and run or Mozart being heralded 220 years later, their fathers saw them as disappointments. Not because they weren't great but because they didn't want to be great. 

big dif between talent and genius, my friend

 

[Eephus]

I am not so sure about that. Barry Sanders for example is a simple man. He enjoys going to the strip clubs- has a particluar preference for very skiny flat chested women. But for the most part he is just a clam, quiet, humble man. He doesn't want to be exceptional. He never wanted all the attention. He knew that attention would bring him the success and comfort he needed in life and I am sure he also enjoyed being so good at something when young. However, his ability as this artistic savant on the football field- a man who could almsot teleport before your eyes, was totally unrelated to Barry as a man. He, like the Mozart characeter in the story, was pushed by his dad from a very young age and molded into something that never really aligned with his own personality. In the end, despite Barry being the most gifted man to ever tuck a football away and run or Mozart being heralded 220 years later, their fathers saw them as disappointments. Not because they weren't great but because they didn't want to be great. 

Starring F. Murray Abraham as Wayne Fontes

 

[Ilov80s]

big dif between talent and genius, my friend

Agreed. In his field of work, Barry was a genius. There isn't and never has been another player that could copy his style of play. It was something that didn't come from just being bigger or faster or quicker. It was an innate understanding of the time, movement and space. An ability to act and react wihtout thought. He did not do things "the right way" but in a way that never would have even occured to almost anyone else. And then to pull it off with grace and ease. Barry and Mozart never looked like they were trying hard. Emmitt Smith- he was out there dying on the field. He gave it his all. Barry, liked the Mozart of the movie, got it all right the firt time. No revisions needed. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

Starring F. Murray Abraham as Wayne Fontes

you must have had a good breakfast today

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Tim Curry was great as Pennywise The Clown in 1990's "It".

I used to think that, too, until I watched that hot mess a few years ago. There is nothing "great" at all in that version. Curry played it like he was on stage at a local high school. 

Of course, he was still better than anyone else in the show. What a damned trainwreck.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Spoiler

1. Amadeus 29 pts

2. Spinal Tap 30 pts (20 wikkid pts)

3. Purple Rain 30 pts (14 wikkid pts)

4. The Natural 14 pts

5. Starman 12 pts

6. Ghostbusters 12 pts

7. Broadway Danny Rose 11 pts

8. Stop Making Sense 10 pts.

9. Killing Fields 8 pts

10. 16 Candles 7 pts

11. Once Upon a Time in America 6 pts

12. Pope of Greenwich Village 5 Pts

13. Passage to India 5 pts

14. Blood Simple 5 pts

15. 28 Up 4 pts

16. Beverly Hills Cop 3pts

17. The Bounty 2 pts

18. Under the Volcano 2 pts

19. Hotel New Hampshire 2 pts

20 1984 1 pt

 

[Ilov80s]

He doesn't make copies.

 

[wikkidpissah]

He doesn't make copies.

Precisely the kind of genius i was talking about, not to be confused with talent. My friend Jack could read 2000 words a minute when i met him @ 7yo and could "see" engineering diagrams in his head before he'd ever seen one in a book. He sold a water filtration process to the City of Worcester MA when he was 14, right about the time he switched from pills to shooting up to get some quiet in that balloon-sized noggin of his. He had 20 patents by the time he died 5 yrs later. He loved me because i'd rescue him from bullies by going to him when he was being picked on and either speaking pure nonsense to him and his tormentors or engaging him in a game even more childish than he was being accused of acting until they walked away shaking their heads (i never let him know that i, also a pipsqueak at the time, was already employing a bodyguard - the same one who was my assistant til i left Boston @ 25yo - and had had several kids who displeased me beat up) and taught him how to hypnotize himself so i could walk across him (something yours truly 'knew' before he'd been told).

 

[KarmaPolice]

Last day reminder bump.  Looks like I have 15 lists so far, so maybe there will be a few more for this year than in the last couple polls.  

Very little love for Stop Making Sense, which surprised me a little. 

 

[Ilov80s]

Last day reminder bump.  Looks like I have 15 lists so far, so maybe there will be a few more for this year than in the last couple polls.  

Very little love for Stop Making Sense, which surprised me a little. 

Finishing up today. I just put in Paris, Texas and the first thing that took me by surprise is that it's a foreign produced film with a German director. Did not see that coming for a movie presumambly about smalltown rural Texas. The DVD I rented needs restoration- it isn't the Criterion version- but the color and and scenery jumps off the screen- about as oversaturated as I can remeber ever seeing. It is striking. 

 

[krista4]

Finishing up today. I just put in Paris, Texas and the first thing that took me by surprise is that it's a foreign produced film with a German director. Did not see that coming for a movie presumambly about smalltown rural Texas. The DVD I rented needs restoration- it isn't the Criterion version- but the color and and scenery jumps off the screen- about as oversaturated as I can remeber ever seeing. It is strikong. 

The director of my favorite movie (Wings of Desire), one of my favorite documentaries (Buena Vista Social Club), and other good stuff.

KP, I’m not going to have time to get a list in today.  Sorry!

 

[wikkidpissah]

KP, I’m not going to have time to get a list in today.  Sorry!

I LOVE Countdown Wednesday!!

 

[Ilov80s]

The director of my favorite movie (Wings of Desire), one of my favorite documentaries (Buena Vista Social Club), and other good stuff.

KP, I’m not going to have time to get a list in today.  Sorry!

When those years come up, I will definitely check them out. I wanted to like this post for the recomendations but can't like it for the lack of a list. Although, given the movies released this year, I am not sure your votes would much of an impact. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

When those years come up, I will definitely check them out. I wanted to like this post for the recomendations but can't like it for the lack of a list. Although, given the movies released this year, I am not sure your votes would much of an impact. 

Wings is more than a check-it-out flick - it's an outlook changer. doctor wikkid prescribes a full & immediate dose as a short-course antidickotic

 

[krista4]

When those years come up, I will definitely check them out. I wanted to like this post for the recomendations but can't like it for the lack of a list. Although, given the movies released this year, I am not sure your votes would much of an impact. 

We already did the Buena Vista Social Club year (1999), so you can feel free to check it out now.  

And I agree on 1984; I don't think my list would make an impact, other than throwing a lot of votes in the direction of Amadeus.

 

[Ilov80s]

We already did the Buena Vista Social Club year (1999), so you can feel free to check it out now.  

And I agree on 1984; I don't think my list would make an impact, other than throwing a lot of votes in the direction of Amadeus.

Well that’s a good thing!

 

[Ilov80s]

Mixed feelings on Paris, Texas. It is beautifully shot- it can hold it's own with about anything. I especially loved the scenes in Texas- looked like the best of the technicolor Westerms. The 2nd half of the movie was mostly indoors and it really got bogged down and kind of boring. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

And I agree on 1984; I don't think my list would make an impact, other than throwing a lot of votes in the direction of Amadeus.

It might need those votes... 

 

[KarmaPolice]

Mixed feelings on Paris, Texas. It is beautifully shot- it can hold it's own with about anything. I especially loved the scenes in Texas- looked like the best of the technicolor Westerms. The 2nd half of the movie was mostly indoors and it really got bogged down and kind of boring. 

Basically what I thought too.  Beautifully shot, but it didn't grab me too much beyond that.  

 

[Ilov80s]

Basically what I thought too.  Beautifully shot, but it didn't grab me too much beyond that.  

The stuff with the kid was good but once he went to Houston and mostly dealt with his baby momma, it fell apart for me. I will likely give it a few points just got the how well it’s filmed.

 

[Eephus]

Spoiler

30    ---    This Is Spinal Tap

20    ---    Broadway Danny Rose

15    ---    The Hit
15    ---    The Terminator
15    ---    Amadeus
15    ---    Stop Making Sense

10    ---    Choose Me
10    ---    Blood Simple
10    ---    Repo Man
10    ---    Paris, Texas

5    ---    Once Upon a Time in America
5    ---    Gremlins
5    ---    Sixteen Candles
5    ---    Beverly Hills Cop
5    ---    Streets of Fire
5    ---    Purple Rain
5    ---    Razorback
5    ---    The Pope of Greenwich Village
5    ---    A Private Function
5    ---    The Cotton Club

 

[TripItUp]

Just sent my PM to Karma...

For ,my money this is one of the most entertaining and iconic years in cinematic history.   However, not too many "masterpieces" if you will.  As a matter of fact I would only put 2 of the films on an all time greats list(Ameadeus and The Natural).  

There are just so many films that are the soundtrack to my childhood.  I couldn't leave movies like "the Last Starfighter" and "Police Academy" off my list even though they are admittedly low brow.  Or movies like Purple Rain, Footloose and Sixteen Candles which helped define an entire decade, but really aren't what the movie snobs would consider great movies.

 

[Ilov80s]

Once Upon a Time In America was very long and honestly would have been better off as a little mini HBO series like True Detective. It is very good though but it also fails to live up to some of the absolute best of the gangster genre. Also, the characters are mostly pretty awful and why so much rape? JFC

 

[Ilov80s]

Also best scene of the year?

For me it's either the crane kick or "this one goes to 11"

 

[KarmaPolice]

Also best scene of the year?

For me it's either the crane kick or "this one goes to 11"

For me, the KK scene that is better is when Daniel blocks all of Miyagi's attacks and realizes his weird training style is legit. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

Also best scene of the year?

For me it's either the crane kick or "this one goes to 11"

1. Darling Nikki

2. Spackler Cinderella Story

3. Too Many to mention from Amadeus (penalty, Salieri first meeting, giving up God)

4. Big Suit

i also like Long Duc Dong on the lawn a LOT more than i should

 

[KarmaPolice]

Got through a bunch of lists and thought we might have another movie that appeared on all the lists, and then I hit wikkid's list. 

 

[KarmaPolice]

i also like Long Duc Dong on the lawn a LOT more than i should

No more yanky my wanky!

 

[Eephus]

Once Upon a Time In America was very long and honestly would have been better off as a little mini HBO series like True Detective. It is very good though but it also fails to live up to some of the absolute best of the gangster genre. Also, the characters are mostly pretty awful and why so much rape? JFC

Well, I finished it.  I realized somewhere in the middle that I must not have watched the whole movie when we rented it on VHS eons ago.

The movie works in parts but overall left me cold.  Gangster epics aren't usually particularly plot driven.  Even when they're almost four hours long, mob story lines are required to take short cuts to show the rise and fall of a criminal enterprise.  But OUATIA had a thinner and more disjointed episodic plot than the landmark films of the genre.  The three era structure couldn't disguise that there wasn't all that much going on.  I found the modern scenes to be sluggish and unnecessary.

Leone's Westerns were populated by symbolic archetypes that provided a pre-built skeleton for character development.  I didn't get that here; DeNiro's character wasn't well fleshed out in spite of dominating screen time.  Nobody goes to gangster films expecting well-defined female characters but the ones in OUATIA were props who behaved inconsistently in whichever way they needed to progress the story.

I gave it 5 points.  It aspired to be great and sometimes succeeded but often failed to be very good.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Got through a bunch of lists and thought we might have another movie that appeared on all the lists, and then I hit wikkid's list. 

KK?

 

[KarmaPolice]

KK?

No, some other weirdo left that off their list earlier.  

 

[wikkidpissah]

I didn't mind Terminator but i honestly liked all my 20 more

ETA: except maybe 1984, but i thought that had to be mentioned

 

[KarmaPolice]

Not 100% sure, we will see how I feel after doing the math, but I am considering at least starting the countdown during the wee hours of the night.  Our dog messed up his eye, so I have to put in drops every hour, and since I am going to be busy tomorrow I thought I might start soon.  

 

[wikkidpissah]

add krista's 30 pts to Amadeus so the pissants wont keep it out of the Top 10