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

I should point out-  the outsiders view wasn't really showing the faults of America or Americans as much as painting the picture in a way not seen so much from natives. their perspective as outsiders allowed them distinct viewpoints...or at least, that was the point of the class.

Ntnw i think was picked because it covered so much ground showing the country.

Strozcek is the one that really got under my skin, but I haven't seen it since and only remember a scene or two.
Lots of early film directors were European expats driven to Hollywood by the the carrot of wealth and the stick of Nazi repression.  Lang, Curtiz, von Stroheim, Wilder, Wyler and many others brought an immigrant's perspective to their work and created movies that became enduring pieces of Americana

 
Lots of early film directors were European expats driven to Hollywood by the the carrot of wealth and the stick of Nazi repression.  Lang, Curtiz, von Stroheim, Wilder, Wyler and many others brought an immigrant's perspective to their work and created movies that became enduring pieces of Americana
Most of the studio heads in early days of film were foreign born Jewish immigrants as well. The Warner Brothers came from Poland, Zukor (founded Paramount) came from Austria-Hungary, Sarnoff (RKO founder) was from Russia, Mayer and Goldwyn (MGM) was born in what is today Belarus and Poland, 2 of the founders of 20th Century Fox came from Russia and Hungary. 

 
I used a similar philosophy to throw some points to "The Woman in Red"
my last cut - i loved that movie. as well as Grodin again w Steve Martin in Lonely Guy. didn't have room for either though.........

and, oh - I LOVE COUNTDOWN MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
PM'd this to KP last night, but didn't post here. I was able to get in Amadeus, and it was great as many say.  I wish I was able to squeeze in time for Killing Fields and Once Upon a Time in America, but wasn't able to. I'll have to watch some other time.

Amadeus - 30

This is Spinal Tap - 28

Blood Simple - 20

Ghostbusters - 17

The Terminator - 17

The Natural - 16

Beverly Hills Cop - 15

Temple of Doom - 12

Red Dawn - 9

Police Academy - 9

Karate Kid - 8

Stop Making Sense - 5

Gremlins - 5

Splash - 5

Muppets Take Manhattan - 5
 
sorry, it's cryptic and I should have explained - it was a comment related to the person who wrote the movie review.

heckmann mentioned that the commenter didn't know the difference between Jean and Maureen Stapleton - reddit is filled with clueless, opinionated fodder.  
Got it. I didn't realize @KarmaPolice was pulling Reddit posts.

 
#14  107pts

7 votes

Stick with Hitchcock

If you've read any reviews of this movie, you know it contains limitless amounts of nudity and excessive gore. While this movie may be entertaining on a basic level, it is simply a bomb on the technical side.

Why? `Body Double' steals way too much from Hitchcock. Paying homage to a director means borrowing certain scenes or techniques. This movie borrows two entire stories. Luckily, De Palma didn't destroy "Vertigo" by copying it exactly.

Is this a B-movie, a spoof, a comedy, or a rip-off? I'm not sure, but it's probably 'all of the above'. I would like to applaud De Palma's efforts to keep the Hitchcockian style alive, but this movie is ultimately just plain bizarre. I would like to take it seriously, but it's not intended to be serious. De Palma is capable of making serious films like "Scarface" and "The Untouchables", but this is not one of them.

It's not easy to create suspense in a cheesy movie like this, and once again the self-heralded "Modern-day Master of Suspense" has failed to do so. Score: 3/10.

If you want to see an erotic thriller, rent `Sea of Love' with Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin.

BODY DOUBLE

 
#13  110pts

11 votes

Not Underrated, Just Underdeveloped

It's strange how some films become not just successful, but hugely successful. Revisiting this movie recently, it's apparent that not only is it obviously dated two decades later, but it's very much a film which is remembered as being better than it is.

It requires an obvious suspension of disbelief to accept the very arbitrary rules of keeping a Mogwai (WHY does feeding it after midnight turn it into a Gremlin?) That's par for the course for a blockbuster, and not a problem in itself. The Mogwai's mechanical movement can't help but make it look fake, but we can overlook that too. The real disappointment here is that the script, having crawled somewhat in the first half, falls away in the second, almost as if the Gremlins themselves had gotten to it in their chaotic manner. Sure, we see scenes of havoc, but to what ultimate purpose? The movie got a PG rating, but the Gremlins display the kind of behavior you wouldn't want kids to associate with, especially in the rowdy bar scene, during which Phobe Cates is behind the bar, inexplicably serving them drinks when most people would have high-tailed it out of there as soon as the little devils showed up.

The film also struggles to maintain a consistent tone. Yes, it's a comedy foremost, but with some horror thrown in. The comedy doesn't entirely work, even and especially in the scenes where the monsters run amok, and the film's lack of real tension undermines any attempt at a darker quality. It is not aided in the least by the totally nondescript Zach Galligan in the leading role. He is so bland that if he didn't keep moving you would lose him in the wallpaper. Hoyt Axton is also ineffective in a stiff, monotone performance as the hapless inventor father, whereas Francis Lee McCain gets to add some beef to her role as typical American Housewife with one of the movie's best scenes as she defends her house, most notably the kitchen, from the Gremlins. Cates and Reinhold are pedestrian in their supporting roles. The writing is such that the characters pretty much sidle up to an underwhelming resolution, putting the cap on a movie that, like one of Peltzer's inventions, promises much but soon goes haywire.

GREMLINS

 
#12  136pts

10 votes

So boring I wanted to cry- a character study with no sympathetic characters

When I found this tape in my collection, I was astounded that I had missed it when it came out. The cast list reads like a who's who of awesome actors, suited perfectly for a gangster movie. And Sergio Leone directing! Wow! I read several reviews comparing this movie to the Godfather and Goodfellas, and was over the moon to see it. I set my machine up, got ready and sat down. An hour and a half later (I fast forwarded through so much of it) I was dulled to the point of near madness. The cinematography was great, and brilliantly imaged, but literally nothing of importance happened in this entire movie. The characters were unsympathetic with back stories of little to no relevance or interest. The plot dragged on ad nauseum, padded by long close ups of "dramatic" faces staring contemplatively as if they knew something we didn't. Oh they did, and that was that you should go to bed early and skip this one entirely. The few action scenes were few and far between, and the interminable dialog and love interest offal seemed to drag forever. Maybe I missed something, because I had to fast forward through a lot of this movie, something I rarely do, but I just couldn't stand it after the overwhelming pretentiousness of each character's chatter. Worst of all, nothing happened of interest. Nothing. It was as if the movie were made for the sole purpose of getting Oscar attention, without any nod to entertainment value. If you make a period gangster film, make it better than a History Channel documentary. the only redeeming quality of this film was the cinematography and the old cars. Instead, just watch Godfather and then go to a car show.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA

 
#11  138pts

12 votes

preaching to the converted

The worst kind of preaching to the converted: a film that gives us vivid atrocities in the name of opposing the secret bombing of Cambodia when, of course, everyone who sees the film opposed the bombing as soon as it was made known anyway. The director presents us with dying children and we can feel high-minded and morally superior for agreeing with him that what we're seeing is wrong. This log-rolling is worse than offensive; it's pornographic.

THE KILLING FIELDS

 
#10  146pts

15 votes

I used to like this film... not anymore

Reading all the comments about how funny and amazing and "true" this film is, I hope that the world has progressed a LOT since it was made or that the people who commented didn't actually see the vast majority of this film. When I first saw it as a child, I thought it was great too.

I recently had the chance to see it again, and I cannot believe how awful it actually is. This film is racist, sexist, classist and homophobic and not in a satirical way. It casually condones and glorifies rape (yes, having sex with someone who is too drunk to even know who you are is actually rape).

The only good thing about this film is the soundtrack.

SIXTEEN CANDLES

 
#10  146pts

15 votes

I used to like this film... not anymore

Reading all the comments about how funny and amazing and "true" this film is, I hope that the world has progressed a LOT since it was made or that the people who commented didn't actually see the vast majority of this film. When I first saw it as a child, I thought it was great too.

I recently had the chance to see it again, and I cannot believe how awful it actually is. This film is racist, sexist, classist and homophobic and not in a satirical way. It casually condones and glorifies rape (yes, having sex with someone who is too drunk to even know who you are is actually rape).

The only good thing about this film is the soundtrack.

SIXTEEN CANDLES
So happy I grew up in the 80's. That's all I can say. 

 
#9  175pts

13 votes

Now I feel better

Guess what? After seeing "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", I don't feel sorry when I did some really stupid bad thing--because I realized that even great director or producer or actor did bad job too. That makes me feel better.

This movie is silly: 1. The geographical mistakes. One example is when the airplane fly from Shanghai to Chongqin I saw Great Wall on the ground--but there is no way you will see Great Wall on that course. And then suddenly they crashed on some snow mountain and Jones said its India. I felt no adventure but ridiculous. There is a lot these kind of mistakes that only show one thing--the makers had no respect of their job.

2. The lady. Why Jones had to take that silly girl with him? Isn't that easier that he run away by himself (and the boy--oh that's another question) ? Maybe there was a reason but I didn't see it and I won't see this movie again I swear so I will never find out. Maybe he just needed a woman--I mean the director needed a woman but he couldn't be bothered to find a better way bringing her in the story.

3. The overdone action. Maybe I am just spoiled by latest action movies like Speed or Crouching Tiger or The Matrix, but wait a minute, why I never tired of Star Wars? Because the action scenes in this one are meaningless, unoriginal and unemotional. I won't describe them here because they were all over the movie I am going to over 1000 words.

I like Lucas, Spielberg and Ford, I am a Sci-Fi and Star Wars fan. I just couldn't stand these great people did such a bad movie.

The only good thing of this movie I've already mentioned in the first paragraph, that's the reason I give it 1 of 10.

INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM

 
#8  179pts

15 votes

couldn't finish it

I was too young to watch this movie when it came out in the 80s and so recently I tried to watch it for the first time on Netflix. Couldn't finish it. It was too annoying. The guffawing, the filthy language that would make a sailor blush, and the constant wind-up of the movie left me cringing at scene after scene.

Amazing soundtrack though. Love those 80s synthesizers. And the idea of the movie is great! It starts off in poor, dirty Detroit and moves to posh, upscale LA. Great idea for a movie - you've got the socio-economic conflict, the race conflict, the geographical conflict. Sounds good on paper, but most of the movie was just unwatchable.

It was just too annoying. I didn't like it. I'm no moralist or anything, far from it, but every other word was f$#@ this, f#$% that. Terrible script, it reminded me of this trashy, tattooed guy I used to live next to. Honestly, I can't believe this script got OKed, it's terrible.

But this movie has a 7.3 user rating!! Ha! Oh, that made me laugh. It's a 3 or 4, tops, come on man! Really?! You guys are just too much.

Wanted to like it, tried to like it, but didn't. At least I tried. I've seen some awful movies lately so I think I deserve a little bit of credit.

BEVERLY HILLS COP

 
I will pause there and finish the rest in a bit.  Another odd place to break, but the rest of the movies all got at least 200pts.    1 and 2 beat the rest by 100pts, and were only separated by 1 point.  

 
It was a great time to be a kid. Plain and simple. No internet, no cell phones, no social media, no public kangaroo court of public opinions in your face 24/7

Crazy what it is today......just crazy.

The 80's movies remind me of good times in my youth. It simply is not the same today. But we can say that about every generation.

 
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#9  175pts

13 votes

Now I feel better

Guess what? After seeing "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", I don't feel sorry when I did some really stupid bad thing--because I realized that even great director or producer or actor did bad job too. That makes me feel better.

This movie is silly: 1. The geographical mistakes. One example is when the airplane fly from Shanghai to Chongqin I saw Great Wall on the ground--but there is no way you will see Great Wall on that course. And then suddenly they crashed on some snow mountain and Jones said its India. I felt no adventure but ridiculous. There is a lot these kind of mistakes that only show one thing--the makers had no respect of their job.

2. The lady. Why Jones had to take that silly girl with him? Isn't that easier that he run away by himself (and the boy--oh that's another question) ? Maybe there was a reason but I didn't see it and I won't see this movie again I swear so I will never find out. Maybe he just needed a woman--I mean the director needed a woman but he couldn't be bothered to find a better way bringing her in the story.

3. The overdone action. Maybe I am just spoiled by latest action movies like Speed or Crouching Tiger or The Matrix, but wait a minute, why I never tired of Star Wars? Because the action scenes in this one are meaningless, unoriginal and unemotional. I won't describe them here because they were all over the movie I am going to over 1000 words.

I like Lucas, Spielberg and Ford, I am a Sci-Fi and Star Wars fan. I just couldn't stand these great people did such a bad movie.

The only good thing of this movie I've already mentioned in the first paragraph, that's the reason I give it 1 of 10.

INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
Can this guy speak English?

 
#7  215pts

12 votes

An insult and mockery of a musical genius.

Wow. I've just read dozens of pages of rave reviews about how this movie was awesome, the best, amazing, and yes, even incredible. Are you serious? Most likely this is because they were no doubt impressed by the score which featured masterworks by one of the greatest musical geniuses in all of history. Or, perhaps this was their first exposure to music of this caliber.

But to anyone who knows the real historic truth about Mozart, these raving positive reviews are the equivalent of these uniformed reviewers wearing a t-shirt that says in big bold letters: "I know absolutely nothing about music history".

Of course, any complete novice of classical music would be impressed by a totally fictional and insulting movie about Mozart simply because of the music. And the obvious fact, they don't realize that what they are watching is pure fiction, ignorant to that it is revisionist history, and to anyone who knows who Mozart really was, an offensive insult.

In reality it's a film that exploits Mozart's music in order to win over the uninformed, and then proceeds to fill their heads with a mockery of who the man really was. The result is the masses, who know nothing about Mozart, go away impressed by his music but believing a fictional mockery as the truth. It uses his creative works to perpetuate a mockery of the genius who composed them. Sad, really sad.

AMADEUS

 
#7  215pts

12 votes

An insult and mockery of a musical genius.

Wow. I've just read dozens of pages of rave reviews about how this movie was awesome, the best, amazing, and yes, even incredible. Are you serious? Most likely this is because they were no doubt impressed by the score which featured masterworks by one of the greatest musical geniuses in all of history. Or, perhaps this was their first exposure to music of this caliber.

But to anyone who knows the real historic truth about Mozart, these raving positive reviews are the equivalent of these uniformed reviewers wearing a t-shirt that says in big bold letters: "I know absolutely nothing about music history".

Of course, any complete novice of classical music would be impressed by a totally fictional and insulting movie about Mozart simply because of the music. And the obvious fact, they don't realize that what they are watching is pure fiction, ignorant to that it is revisionist history, and to anyone who knows who Mozart really was, an offensive insult.

In reality it's a film that exploits Mozart's music in order to win over the uninformed, and then proceeds to fill their heads with a mockery of who the man really was. The result is the masses, who know nothing about Mozart, go away impressed by his music but believing a fictional mockery as the truth. It uses his creative works to perpetuate a mockery of the genius who composed them. Sad, really sad.

AMADEUS
Travishamockery in G Minor

 
#6  217pts

14 votes

Another bad movie beautifully made

There are some movies that are extremely well made, well acted etc etc, but are horrible experiences to sit through. The basic premises are insulting, the messages repulsive, or something along those lines. This is, for me, one such example. It is on a par with "Zardoz." Its repulsiveness is not because of stupidity (i.e., slasher films) or incompetence, just a sick vision of people.

BLOOD SIMPLE

 
#5  221pts

13 votes

Baseball: Bad and Boring

The poster child for bad movies about baseball has just gotta be THE NATURAL, an overrated mess by Barry Levinson who directed DINER (real good) and has since directed one dud after another.

With lots of pretentious and stilted drama --- imagine Masterpiece Theater doing baseball on Saturday Night Live --- this picture might be an unintended tribute to the Chicago Cubs circa 1984 or earlier --- their wonderful Wrigley Field being a holdout against night games.

Why? Much --- I mean most of --- the picture is about Robert Redford trying to destroy the stadium lighting system by smashing it with baseballs! Not to give the whole plot away, but this he does literally dozens and dozens of times. I suppose Levinson thought all this light smashing looked like fireworks, or maybe it was intended to represent the shear glory of Mr. Redford, but the true effect for that portion of the audience neither brain dead nor ga ga over Mr. Redford is how stupid it is, how boring to watch a 2 hour movie which is mostly about smashing up light bulbs.

Somehow this awful film became a rallying point for the pseudo intellectual; hence the numerous 10, 9 and 8 ratings herein. But honestly, almost any other baseball movie is scads better.

THE NATURAL

 
#4  258pts

17 votes

Wax off, cheese on

Just because this film came from the 1980's it seems people are willing to forgive the predictable formula and unrealistic plot elements. Not me! Hollywood has been using the same "underdog" formula since film was invented.

Not to mention the "good guy" always winning regardless of the sport etc he (truthfully they mostly are "he") learns in a few months while experts fall in his wake.

Kids watch films like this and think they can learn karate/baseball/gridiron/ballet/tennis/quidditch (yeah even that) in a few months/ weeks and beat people who have played for years just because you are the sympathetic underdog who is taught by a master. I bet many parents have got new clean cars and painted fences etc while their kids have thought that's all you needed to do to learn karate (I wouldn't turn down a clean car).

Kids think they can poke bullies with a stick and then whine when the bully punches them because the underdog did it and ran away until the bully caught him and punched him - and then the adult male beat up the bully- reality says the adult male would be in jail.

Old Myagi says something about a man who can catch flies with chopsticks being able to accomplish anything – yet there he is a janitor. I guess Bill Gates caught a few flies with chopsticks in his time. The constant reminders that Asian people love bonsai, use chopsticks, drink sake, live in Japanese looking houses even in America and are experts at karate also show the age of this stereotyping movie.

This film is made for kids and sadly teaches kids bad lessons (which they will learn in less than a few months and beat experts at of course).

THE KARATE KID

 
#3  287pts

17 votes

awful

I remember not liking this movie as a kid (but all my friends liked it). I have several adult friends who can recite lines from this movie. So I watched it again recently. I can't believe how strongly I disliked it. I actually tuned it out halfway through, and read books/magazines while it played, then paid attention again during the final scene which I had specifically remembered from childhood.

There are no likable characters in this movie, with the possible exception of Louis (Rick Morannis) , who I found endearing. My biggest problem with the movie was Bill Murray's character. I think his character was trying to be funny. Maybe? My reaction to Murray's character was to intensely want to punch him in the face. Why didn't Sigourney Weaver punch him in the face? I don't know. Why didn't the overworked secretary (Janine) punch him in the face? I don't know. Why didn't his colleagues, the EPA guy, the list goes on and on, Bill Murray was a jack-a$$ who mocked everyone in the movie, yet inexplicably, everyone puts up with it.

A lot of people will dislike this review, because perhaps they really liked Murray's character. That's fine. But he wasn't funny, and he was a &^%#@ the whole movie. And the movie revolves around him.

There was one line, "When someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!" That made my lip curl up, in the closest thing to a smile that the movie made me produce. This line was not delivered by Bill Murray.

GHOSTBUSTERS

 
#2  385pts

19 votes

Ick

This movie was just plain bad. Interesting plot line, but the bad acting and horrible dialogue just killed it. It was like watching a B movie. Honestly, I could have written the script for it. IMDb wants me to submit at least ten lines of text? This movie is not worth that kind of time. It's a B movie, pure and simple. Beat 'em up, blow em' up, shoot 'em up. What more needs to be said? This movie was just plain bad. Interesting plot line, but the bad acting and horrible dialogue just killed it. It was like watching a B movie. Honestly, I could have written the script for it. IMDb wants me to submit at least ten lines of text? This movie is not worth that kind of time. It's a B movie, pure and simple. Beat 'em up, blow em' up, shoot 'em up. What more needs to be said? This movie was just plain bad. Interesting plot line, but the bad acting and horrible dialogue just killed it. It was like watching a B movie. Honestly, I could have written the script for it. IMDb wants me to submit at least ten lines of text? This movie is not worth that kind of time. It's a B movie, pure and simple. Beat 'em up, blow em' up, shoot 'em up. What more needs to be said?

THE TERMINATOR

 
I am totally ok with some of these people losing their right to vote because of these movie reviews.  Like, FBI shows up at their house, serves them a notice that they are no longer eligible voters in the United States and if they are seen within 100 feet of a polling place a sniper will take them out with no warning ala The Long Walk.

 
And Ghostbusters and Terminator are 500 point movies.  That is a shame.  They are the Lou Gehrig's of the 500 homer club here.

 
#1  386pts

15 votes

This is final crap!

Oh! My God! This movie is awful. Almost as bad as "the hangover". Some people find this movie to be funny. Some dare to call this kind of filming: Humor! Obviously in my opinion they are seriously wrong. There's no humor in here. No laughs. Nothing is funny about the movie. It can be really annoying at times. It's the same empty, humor, over and over again. So annoying. I couldn't watch it till the end. I think no one has ever finished viewing the movie. It's impossible. Hum...maybe if someone forced me to watch it the way they did in clockwork orange; but then I'd had to throw up. 8.0? Is it possible? Utter crap!

THIS IS SPINAL TAP

 

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