Guilty Pleasures/Bad Movies

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  • #35724
    Aeryn Crichton
    Participant

    What movies or shows are guilty pleasures for you? What movies do you just consider bad? Here are my picks –
    Guilty Pleasures
    1.Center Stage – I love the dancing in it even though I’d never admit to many that I’ve seen it
    2.Flash Gordon – great flick (with great music) even though it’s filled with bad acting
    3.Muppets movies – maybe it’s just because I watched them so much as a kid, but I still love them (I just bought Muppets take Manhattan on DVD)
    4.Last House on the Left – Campy, but has an intriguing story – my mom even enjoyed it (especially getting to see where Loreena Bobbitt got her idea from)
    5.Anything that Bruce Campbell is in
    Bad Stuff
    1.Dungeons & Dragons – I recently saw it again, and it’s still so bad!
    2.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – people say that it’s a cult classic, but I hate it
    3.Wing Commander – terrible, terrible, terrible!

    ——————
    “I love you” “I know” – Princess Leia and Han Solo
    “First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me, blow” – Ash from Army of Darkness
    “Darling, you idiot!” – Lum from Urusei Yatsura
    “Who is this Anya!? Is she prettier than me!?” Xander’s sock puppet friend from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

    #42242
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Aeryn Crichton:
    [b]What movies or shows are guilty pleasures for you? What movies do you just consider bad?[/b]


    Guilty pleasures…hmm…that’s hard because I don’t feel guilty about anything I like, but there are a number of movies/shows that I like that make other people leave the room…

    1. The Films of Russ Meyer. Hard to defend in today’s “politically correct” times, but I love these movies to death. [i]Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill![/i] and [i]Beyond the Valley of the Dolls[/i] will live forever.
    2. [i]Rod Serling’s Night Gallery[/i]. Most people dismiss this series as a poor man’s [i]Twilight Zone[/i], but most of the episodes were extremely effective little shockers, and I have fond memories of getting the pants scared off me several times by this show as a wee one.
    3. [i]Forbidden Zone[/i]. 1980 (I believe) film by nearly the entire Elfman family, and basically an early project by the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (before they dropped the first 2/3 of their name). Utterly twisted, incredibly offensive, and contains Herve “Tattoo” Villachaize’s best performance. Don’t miss Danny Elfman stealing the show as Satan!
    4. Of course, every film Edward D. Wood, Jr. has ever made.
    5. The Films of Pam Grier and Jack Hill. Jack wrote and directed Pam’s best films. [i]Coffy[/i] and [i]Foxy Brown[/i] are two of the most incredibly witty and outrageous films of the 70’s. Their work for Roger Corman stands out as well: [i]The Big Bird Cage[/i] and [i]The Big Doll House[/i] had the good sense to team Pam up with Sid Haig.
    6. John Waters. The Man, The Myth, The Legend. Bow down before him, for you are not worthy.
    7. The Blood Trilogy of Herschell Gordon Lewis. [i]Blood Feast[/i], [i]2000 Maniacs![/i] and [i]Color Me Blood Red[/i]. Beautiful.

    The Bad:
    1. Anything Joel Schumacher has done.
    2. Universal’s 1998 version of [i]Godzilla[/i]. Everyone involved should be shot.
    3. [i]Lost in Space[/i]. The movie. A waste of time for everyone involved, and 2 hours I’ll never get back.
    4. Mandy Patinkin.

    quote[quote][b]4.Last House on the Left – Campy, but has an intriguing story – my mom even enjoyed it (especially getting to see where Loreena Bobbitt got her idea from)[/b][/quote]

    You’ll be pleased to know that next year will see a restored DVD release of this film (which, not many people know, was based on Ingmar Bergman’s [i]The Virgin Spring[/i]).

    quote:


    [b]
    2.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – people say that it’s a cult classic, but I hate it.[/b]


    Oh, you’re talkin’ smack about one of my top 5 favorite films of all time! You’ll pay for that one!

    –Aleck

    #42243
    Anonymous
    Guest

    hmmm, where to begin? the waverly used to have these great film festivals, one year it was two weeks of “movies only shown in drive-ins in the deep south”

    my favorites from that extravaganza, in no particular order, inlude [b]i spit on your grave[/b] (originally released as day of the woman), [b]i dismember mama[/b],[b]10,000 maniacs[/b]…also like chainsaw (walked back home through central park at two in the morning with my friend to maintain that little [i]frisson[/i] of eerie…also love love love [b] basket case [/b] and of course, todd browning’s [b]freaks[/b] (old bad movie!) oh and anything by john waters! [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

    #42244
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by FX:
    [b]and of course, todd browning’s freaks (old bad movie!) [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img][/b]


    I have to disagree with you in labeling Tod Browning’s [i]Freaks[/i] as a “bad” movie. It’s certainly controversial in its use of genuine “freaks” in the film, extremely misanthropic and the acting sometimes leaves a bit to be desired (but, remember, these weren’t trained actors for the most part). However, it is extremely well-crafted, brilliantly shot (the attack scene at the end, in the rain, is still frightening), and tremendously effective. “Bad” yet enjoyable filmmaking, for me, entails a level of technical incompetence that Tod Browning, the [i]auteur[/i] behind such films as the original [i]Dracula[/i] and most of Lon Chaney Sr.’s most entertaining offerings, does not possess. He was a good filmmaker, albeit a twisted one with an idiosyncratic style.

    –Aleck

    #42245
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Aeryn Crichton:
    [b]
    5.Anything that Bruce Campbell is in
    Bad Stuff

    [/b]


    Hey!! I love Bruce Campbell movies!!

    I couldn’t understand why anyone liked Men in Black.
    Dungeons and Dragons answered the question of how many fantasy stereotypes you can fit into one movie!

    My somewhat guilty pleasure(not really) is the Highlander movies. Except that I didn’t like the second one but everyone ignores it anyway.

    ——————
    Methos: I was in Rome once. 93 AD, the Coliseum. I saw Christians facing the lions. Some of them looked almost happy to die for their faith…then afterwards, the only ones looking happy were the lions.

    [This message has been edited by tolandria (edited June 15, 2001).]

    #42246
    Aeryn Crichton
    Participant

    quote:


    Originally posted by tolandria:
    [b] Hey!! I love Bruce Campbell movies!!
    [/b]


    Yeah, I’ll watch just about anything (like Congo or even the remake of the Love Bug) just because Bruce Campbell’s in it! He just brings a certain something to every movie that he’s in. Oh, and Aleck, that’s good to hear about Last House’s DVD release. I’ll have to get it.

    ——————
    “I love you” “I know” – Princess Leia and Han Solo
    “First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me, blow” – Ash from Army of Darkness
    “Darling, you idiot!” – Lum from Urusei Yatsura
    “Who is this Anya!? Is she prettier than me!?” Xander’s sock puppet friend from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

    #42247
    Anonymous
    Guest

    I have a weakness for bad movies. I’ll watch anything with Bruce Campell in it. “Killer Clowns From Outer Space” and “The Toxic Avenger” are also favorites. They are so bad they’re good. I never miss a chance to see “Day of the Comet” again either. I loved Sean Connery in Outland. Not a great piece of classic sci-fi, but it’s still fun in a High Noonish kind of way. My latest guilty pleasure has been Lexx on the Sci-Fi Channel. [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
    My high school graduation party was a 24 hour Bad Science Fiction event. My parents indulgently allowed my friends and I to run movies day and night while a stream of kids came and went round the clock. We watched such gems as Flash Gordon, Cars That Eat People, Toxic Avenger, The Thing, Evil Dead, Halloween, and more. Actually, some of the movies, like The Thing( both old and new versions) are still favorites of mine.
    I have never been able to stomach The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I feel as though there is a hole in my education without it, but I just can’t watch it. [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/frown.gif[/img]
    If any of you had to put together a sci-fi movie list of 10 films that were required viewing for literacy in the genre, what would you choose?

    #42248
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Aleck:
    [b] I have to disagree with you in labeling Tod Browning’s [i]Freaks[/i] as a “bad” movie. However, it is extremely well-crafted, brilliantly shot “Bad” yet enjoyable filmmaking, for me, entails a level of technical incompetence that Tod Browning, the [i]auteur[/i] behind such films as the original [i]Dracula[/i] and most of Lon Chaney Sr.’s most entertaining offerings, does not possess. He was a good filmmaker, albeit a twisted one with an idiosyncratic style.

    –Aleck[/b]


    fair enough…to me however, “bad” movie also encompasses the plot, particularly plots of the penny-dreadful, or gothic horror [i]genre[/i], besides bad acting/directing/cheesy sets and effects…so while [b]freaks[/b]is atmospheric and mesmerizing, the plot is very basic, girl hurts boy, and she and her lover are punished in grotesque, kind of biblical fashion, but because of the points you mentioned, it is an extremely well made or ‘good’ bad movie…a step above the “classy b movie” that mel gibson described the road warrior as, which is also a good ‘bad’ movie…how’s your pneumonia, you have been quiet lately? [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

    #42249
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by FX:
    [b] fair enough…to me however, “bad” movie also encompasses the plot, particularly plots of the penny-dreadful, or gothic horror [i]genre[/i], besides bad acting/directing/cheesy sets and effects…[/b]


    I can give you that, but seeing as that there are only like 5 basic plot lines that any drama can follow, I’d say it does pretty well given its setting. It’s a basic revenge plot, and we [i]know[/i] how it’s going to turn out long before it ends, but it’s still pretty durn compelling.
    Now, if you want to talk about [i]good[/i] bad movies, I have but two things to say to you: [i]Frankenstein Island[/i] and [i]Blood Freak[/i]. Seek these out, and you will know true wisdom. Throw in a viewing of [i]The Worm Eaters[/i] and your brains will come oozing out of your ears like a warm vanilla milkshake.

    quote[quote][b]how’s your pneumonia, you have been quiet lately? [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img][/b][/quote]

    Doing just fine right now, thankfully. Was laid up for a week, and have been swamped with work since (catching up on what I’ve missed on top of a bundle of projects coming in at once). Sorry you missed the Uncon plane. At least you were spared the jealous rant that I was prepared to give upon your return. [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

    –Aleck

    #42250
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Basilisk:
    [b]I have never been able to stomach The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I feel as though there is a hole in my education without it, but I just can’t watch it. [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/frown.gif[/img][B]


    There is, indeed, a hole in your education. I am constantly amazed by this film. It’s brutally intense, and people continue to be convinced that it’s an exceptionally gory film, yet there are only 2 scenes of bloodletting, both involving people getting their hands cut (and only for a few seconds at that). Ahhh, [i]Saw[/i], how I love thee.

    quote[quote][B]If any of you had to put together a sci-fi movie list of 10 films that were required viewing for literacy in the genre, what would you choose? [/b][/quote]

    1) [i]2001: A Space Odyssey[/i]
    2) [i]Alien[/i]
    3) [i]The Thing[/i] (either version, though I prefer John Carpenter’s)
    4) the [i]Star Wars[/i] series (it’s 4 films going on 6, and I’m cheating, but there you go)
    5) [i]Forbidden Planet[/i]
    6) [i]The Day the Earth Stood Still[/i]
    7) [i]Godzilla[/i] (1956, particularly the original Japanese version, sans Raymond Burr)
    8) [i]Videodrome[/i]
    9) [i]Quatermass and the Pit[/i]
    10) [i]Blade Runner[/i]

    …And no, I wouldn’t include any [i]Star Trek[/i] vehicles. They just don’t cut it.

    –Aleck

    #42251
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Aleck:
    [b] 1) [i]2001: A Space Odyssey[/i]
    2) [i]Alien[/i]
    3) [i]The Thing[/i] (either version, though I prefer John Carpenter’s)
    4) the [i]Star Wars[/i] series (it’s 4 films going on 6, and I’m cheating, but there you go)
    5) [i]Forbidden Planet[/i]
    6) [i]The Day the Earth Stood Still[/i]
    7) [i]Godzilla[/i] (1956, particularly the original Japanese version, sans Raymond Burr)
    8) [i]Videodrome[/i]
    9) [i]Quatermass and the Pit[/i]
    10) [i]Blade Runner[/i]

    …And no, I wouldn’t include any [i]Star Trek[/i] vehicles. They just don’t cut it.

    –Aleck[/b]


    it’s funny,i was musing over this question on my way to work this morning, and i knew you were going to answer this,and that your answers would be close to what i would pick, except for star wars (couldn’t decide given simplicity of story) HOWSOMEVER, i would substitute [b]invasion of the body snatchers[/b] either version(although i am partial to the first overall,) for godzilla…the star trek films were slow starting but became very star trekkian, and thus satisfying to me… none of the “dunes” has lived up to the book…how about [b]war of the worlds[/b],[b]metropolis[/b], and [b]aliens[/b]…also, i still feel honorbound to include [b]clockwork orange[/b], which in many ways has been more prophetic of this future than all the glitz and silver space suit visions? alex is a fifteen year old jailed for murder/rape, in a society that has become immune and hostage to casual violence( think columbine), and where the melding of the world community is manifest by the russo-english slang…i mean, we can talk to each other all over the world instantaneously, and all the cultures are becoming homogeneous, but we all seem to be picking up each other’s bad habits without learning any of the good…okay, off my soapbox now [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

    also aleck, you are right about a limited number of plot lines, but i guess it’s the twists and turns of the plot lines, and the attempts to amplify on why we do what we inevitably do that captures me, hence my love of cronenberg and david lynch! [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

    basilisk, i know how you feel, i have never been able to sit through all of [b]the deer hunter[/b], even though i know i should…give it time and a rainy sunday afternoon, and maybe it will work [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

    #42252
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by FX:
    [b] it’s funny,i was musing over this question on my way to work this morning, and i knew you were going to answer this,and that your answers would be close to what i would pick, except for star wars (couldn’t decide given simplicity of story) HOWSOMEVER, i would substitute [i]invasion of the body snatchers[/i] either version(although i am partial to the first overall,) for godzilla…[/b]


    Actually, I would’ve replaced [i]Star Wars[/i] with [i]IOTBS[/i] if I’d thought about it hard enough. The original. I like the ’78 version, but it lacks a certain creepiness and paranoia that the original has in spades. Donald Sutherland is a creepy mofo, though. Can’t replace [i]Godzilla[/i] in my book, however. The original is an extremely profound little film.

    quote[quote][b]the star trek films were slow starting but became very star trekkian, and thus satisfying to me… [/b][/quote]

    Yeah, it’s just me. I like the original series, and maybe 2 or 3 of the films, but that’s about it. I’m not a Roddenberry fan.

    quote[quote][b]how about [i]war of the worlds[/i],[i]metropolis[/i], and [i]aliens[/i][/b][/quote]

    Came close to mentioning [i]WOTW[/i], but I ran out of room. [i]Metropolis[/i] is indeed a classic, but recommending it is tricky because there are so many edits of it around. [i]Aliens[/i] is not a movie I’m a fan of. I’m in the minority on this one, but I think it pales horribly in comparison to the first film, reduces it to a routine actioner, and does nothing original. Effect-wise, it’s nice, and it makes for good eye and ear candy, but I prefer the Lovecraftian aspect of the original.

    quote[quote][b]…also, i still feel honorbound to include [i]clockwork orange[/i], which in many ways has been more prophetic of this future than all the glitz and silver space suit visions?[/b][/quote]

    Came close to saying this one, but I thought one Kubrick film for my 10 was enough. I was going to limit myself to one film per director, and broke my rule by putting in [i]Blade Runner[/i], and by that time I just wanted to get the post over with.

    quote[quote][b]also aleck, you are right about a limited number of plot lines, but i guess it’s the twists and turns of the plot lines, and the attempts to amplify on why we do what we inevitably do that captures me, hence my love of cronenberg and david lynch! [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] [/b][/quote]

    Yeah, but [i]Freaks[/i] takes the utterly original stance of showing everything from the POV of the “freaks,” and shows the “normal” people as being the monsters (years before Clive Barker made [i]Nightbreed[/i] or wrote [i]Cabal[/i]). Of course, I could argue about the merits of [i]Freaks[/i] for years. And occasionally do.

    –Aleck

    #42253
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Flash Gordon is the ultimate guilty pleasure movie. It’s _so freaking bad_!!!(But the music’s so freaking good!…I love Queen…)

    Something that applies to both movies and books: cheesy fantasy. Not _good_ fantasy, like Lord of the Rings, but stupid cheesy fantasy…you know what I’m talking about…scantily clad damsels in distress, stereotypical villians, predictable endings where the hero always gets the girl…I love that stuff.

    Also really old cheesy monster movies…in fact, anything that’s old and cheesy. [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

    ——————
    Gideon: I thought you said you don’t hold a grudge.
    Galen: I don’t. I have no living enemies. At all.

    #42254
    Anonymous
    Guest

    cheesy is good! who the hell needs to be thinking all the time, i mean sometimes i just want to be entertained or grossed out or whatever…

    aleck, if i start anticipating the text of any more of your replies i am going to start believing in all that separated at birth bushwah [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img] but yeah, your one director rule is tidy( i was trying to separate by types/ages of science fiction), and i guess i agree that [b]aliens[/b] is a good old-fashioned war movie, whereas[b] alien[/b] is absolutely creepy and claustrophobia inducing…as for freaks, i would love to hear the rest of your discourses, perhaps when next i am in dc and save you from mass transit [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

    #42255
    DalekTek790
    Participant

    I don’t think it’s fair to call the [i]Evil Dead[/i] films bad movies, because they’re [b]trying[/b] to be silly. The whole idea is to spoof those lousy B horror movies with the unrealistic zombies.

    And I don’t see how anyone could not like the new [i]Godzilla[/i] and [i]Lost in Space[/i] movies. They took what was already a good sci-fi concept and expanded it to new excellence. The remake that really needs to die is [i]The Fly[/i] (1986).

    ——————
    Lee P. Sherman, code name DalekTek790
    Whovian, Froudian, Lexxian, etc.

    #42256
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by DalekTek790:
    [b]I don’t think it’s fair to call the [i]Evil Dead[/i] films bad movies, because they’re [b]trying[/b] to be silly. The whole idea is to spoof those lousy B horror movies with the unrealistic zombies.[/B]


    Agreed except on the matter of the first film. The first film was made as a serious horror film while incorporating elements of humor. It wasn’t meant as a spoof, but meant to take things in a different direction than one expected (for example, making the typical “female role” of the put-upon heroine in most 80’s horror flicks a male).

    quote[quote][b]And I don’t see how anyone could not like the new [i]Godzilla[/i] and [i]Lost in Space[/i] movies. They took what was already a good sci-fi concept and expanded it to new excellence. The remake that really needs to die is [i]The Fly[/i] (1986).[/b][/quote]

    Oh, man, we couldn’t be two more dissimilar people. Okay, for starters, Universal’s 1998 remake of [/i]Godzilla[/i] was a travesty. It basically said to anyone who might have cared, “To hell with what you actually *like* about Godzilla flicks, we’re making something completely different and calling it by that name, so what’re you gonna do about it?” The answer, of course, was “stay home,” as the film performed horribly after a decent opening weekend. Bad word of mouth killed it. What is not to like? The passing of bucks for one thing. The original 1956 film was a contemplation on the results of war, and weapons of mass destruction, with the citizenry being visited with an unspeakable horror because of atomic bomb testing. The 1998 remake basically says “The US is under attack, and it’s all the French’s fault!” There’s the wholesale ripping-off of the [i]Jurassic Park[/i] franchise. There’s the inane riffs on Siskel and Ebert. There’s the casting of Matthew Broderick, and giving him absolutely nothing to work with. There’s the total disregard for a cinematic icon (which, up until recently, was the most-licensed image in the world, surpassing Mickey Mouse). It taints a cinematic legacy, which is why Toho kicked the character out of retirement for [i]Godzilla: 2000[/i].
    [i]Lost In Space[/i] is a celluloid dung-heap of a movie. Trite, shallow, meaningless fluff. It doesn’t even succeed as decent eye-candy. It’s ugly, it’s badly constructed, it’s got bad CGI, and it’s written by the same hack that brought us [i]Practical Magic[/i], [i]Batman and Robin[/i], and [i]Batman Forever[/i] along with some non-genre lackluster John Grisham potboilers. And, for all that, it doesn’t even succeed in being campy enough for “bad film” enjoyment. It’s mind-numbingly blase and middle-of-the-road crap. It’s neither good nor bad enough to get excited about, it’s stupendously mediocre, time-wasting rubbish.
    And if I were a more judgemental beast, I’d say that your opinion on Cronenberg’s [i]The Fly[/i], in addition to your opinions on the previous 2 films, should invalidate any future value judgements you make. But I’m not.

    –Aleck

    #42257
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Aleck:
    [b] Oh, man, we couldn’t be two more dissimilar people. And if I were a more judgemental beast, I’d say that your opinion on Cronenberg’s [i]The Fly[/i], in addition to your opinions on the previous 2 films, should invalidate any future value judgements you make. But I’m not.

    –Aleck[/b]


    [i]kind of cringed when dt dissed the fly too, but i have to add i loved both versions, which are very different and very good…still not my favorite cronenberg though, and i am not sure cronenberg would be bad movies,or good bad movies, he is just….different…trying to decide if i like videodrome better than dead ringers, but then i keep thinking about scanners and the brood and just can’t make up my mind…still think basket case is in the top ten for best bad movies [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img][/i]

    #42258
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by FX:
    [b]
    [i]kind of cringed when dt dissed the fly too, but i have to add i loved both versions, which are very different and very good…[/i][/b]


    Oh I’m with you on that. I think the original is great. The “unmasking” is just as good as the parallel scene in Chaney Sr.’s original [i]Phantom of the Opera[/i]. Scared the bejeesus out of me as a tyke.

    quote[quote][b][i]still not my favorite cronenberg though, and i am not sure cronenberg would be bad movies,or good bad movies, he is just….different…trying to decide if i like videodrome better than dead ringers, but then i keep thinking about scanners and the brood and just can’t make up my mind…[/i][/b][/quote]

    [i]The Brood[/i] all the way. At least that’s how I feel today. It, along with [i]Shivers[/i], aka [i]They Come From Within[/i], are his most underrated films, IMHO. Oh, and there’s [i]Rabid[/i]…

    quote[quote][b][i]still think basket case is in the top ten for best bad movies [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img][/i][/b][/quote]

    Oh, you can’t pass on the “bad” judgement you’ve used before on this one…Okay, so the acting isn’t great. So the effects (and yes, that includes the wig) aren’t spectacular (but, then, it was made for something like $2.50). But you can’t deny that this little baby [b]works[/b]. It just chugs along and there’s no stopping it until Duane is hanging from a fire escape. It gives that special “Times Square”-in-its-ugly-glory feeling to people who haven’t even been there. And you want originality in your plot turns…Sure, it may be a standard “taking revenge on those that wronged us” plot, but how many of these plots involve a mutant former siamese twin living in a large picnic basket, with the strength of 10 men, the ability to communicate telepathically with his brother and eat mass quantities of hamburgers, and whose comeuppance comes about because he wants to get funky with his brother’s new girlfriend? Oh, man, it ain’t nothin’ but sweet. One of the finest motion pictures to emerge from the exploitation/horror boom of the early ’80s. Kiss it square on the lips and buy it in every format in which it’s released (and the Special Edition DVD will be out soon!!! IT WILL BE MINE!!!).

    –Aleck

    #42259
    Anonymous
    Guest

    (fx attempting to recover from snorting white wine back out her nose…) okay aleck, i have to stand firm on this; basket case has everything that makes a bad movie: cheesy sets (and I HATE what giuliani and his goons did to times square! not one sleazy sex shop to be found!), terrible acting, amateurish directing, and lines you could shout out with your popcorn before they happened (TAKE ME DUANE!) and a wig that is almost as scary as kai’s!…and yes, the plot is original, but so is mutant tomatoes terrorizing some town’s inhabitants!
    Therefore it is the ultimate bad movie [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] QED oh and yes it works, and yes i love it (and i thought duane was a fairly toothsome morsel,just enough to fill a cavity or two!) and yes i will kiss my dvd of it when i buy it!

    #42260
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by FX:
    [b](fx attempting to recover from snorting white wine back out her nose…) okay aleck, i have to stand firm on this; basket case has everything that makes a bad movie: cheesy sets (and I HATE what giuliani and his goons did to times square! not one sleazy sex shop to be found!), terrible acting, amateurish directing, and lines you could shout out with your popcorn before they happened (TAKE ME DUANE!) and a wig that is almost as scary as kai’s!…[/b]


    I contend that all of that (except for maybe the acting, because what kind of actors can you get on a budget like that?) is intentional. Frank Henenlotter (writer/director/bon vivant) is an intelligent guy that knew exactly what conventions would be expected from the movie (and slyly sent up those conventions), what crowd would be watching the film, and self-conciously aimed it at that crowd: the 42nd Street grindhouse crowd. Much of the movie is intentionally funny, and I think it sports an incredibly (considering its market) witty script, some decent low-budget cinematography, and a charming first-time perf from Kevin Van Hentenryk as Duane. It’s tone is a middle ground between the first and second [i]Evil Dead[/i] films. It works fine as a horror film, and while humorous, doesn’t delve into outright spoofery like the second Dead film.

    quote[quote][b]and yes, the plot is original, but so is mutant tomatoes terrorizing some town’s inhabitants![/b][/quote]

    Oh, the mutant (insert animal/insect/vegetable here) terrorizing a town is nothing new. Just in flora, there’s [i]Day of the Triffids[/i], [i]Invasion of the Body Snatchers[/i], [i]From Hell it Came[/i], the giant pickle in Roger Corman’s [i]It Conquered the World[/i], and the original Howard Hawks version of [i]The Thing From Another World[/i]. So [i]Attack of the Killer Tomatoes[/i], despite having one of the best theme songs of all time, isn’t that original.
    Oh, and you’re right. Ain’t Duane just yummy? Especially with his Brady-Bunch-esque hairdo?

    –Aleck

    #42261
    Anonymous
    Guest

    …I am not going to sing the tomato song, I am NOT going to sing the tomato song…oh, heck…

    ATAAAACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOOOOOOOS!!!

    ——————
    Gideon: I thought you said you don’t hold a grudge.
    Galen: I don’t. I have no living enemies. At all.

    #42262
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by Catalina:
    [b]
    …I am not going to sing the tomato song, I am NOT going to sing the tomato song…oh, heck…

    ATAAAACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOOOOOOOS!!!

    [/b]


    okay, i am sick and tired of spewing wine out my nose [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] from now on i am reading this forum BEFORE i start drinking (fat chance!)

    aleck, you are incorrigible but i love you, and i will concede defeat on this point (KILLER KETCHUP PREDECESSORS as NOT original aside!i am italian and therefore view tomatoes as divine and i still cannot take that seriously!) [i]basket case[/i] is a GREAT low budget cinematic oeuvre and deserves its place alongside [i]texas chainsaw massacre[/i] in MOMA ,okay?! [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img] and i get dibs on duane, since i said he was cute first!!!

    #42263
    Anonymous
    Guest

    quote:


    Originally posted by FX:
    [b] okay, i am sick and tired of spewing wine out my nose [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] from now on i am reading this forum BEFORE i start drinking (fat chance!)[/b]


    Hey, might as well live it up. This is one of the only (if not *the* only) sci-fi forum that works perfectly well while imbibing. [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

    quote[quote][b]aleck, you are incorrigible but i love you, and i will concede defeat on this point[/b][/quote]

    I win! I win!!! So, what’s my prize?

    quote[quote][b](KILLER KETCHUP PREDECESSORS as NOT original aside!i am italian and therefore view tomatoes as divine and i still cannot take that seriously!)[/b][/quote]

    Oh, that was just so I could throw in a mention of [i]It Conquered the World[/i] and [i]From Hell it Came[/i] (which is the best rampaging tree movie, since, well, ever). I’ll concede the originality of [i]Tomatoes[/i], especially in light of its amazing sequel (which has the funniest product placement gags *ever*, and George Clooney when he still had the mullet).

    quote[quote][b][i]basket case[/i] is a GREAT low budget cinematic oeuvre and deserves its place alongside [i]texas chainsaw massacre[/i] in MOMA ,okay?! [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img] and i get dibs on duane, since i said he was cute first!!! [/b][/quote]

    No, [i]Basket Case[/i] is a great low budget work in the cinematic oeuvre of Frank Henenlotter. Just because you’re sipping white wine doesn’t mean you should start tossing around French. [img]http://www.sadgeezer.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img] Especially Gerard Depardieu. You could throw your back out.
    And I agree with you about MOMA. Of course. If for no other reason than so we can have Times Square preserved *somewhere* as it should always remain. Did you know that they let them shoot the hotel scenes in an actual hotel there as long as they didn’t reveal which one it was, just in case the Health Department found out what the conditions were really like in there? I think that Times Square should be immediately converted back, and that MTV should still shoot TRL there. I’d just like to see the crowd of N*Sync fans dealing with random muggings and people offering to sell them angel dust.
    But that’s just me.

    –Aleck

    [This message has been edited by Aleck (edited June 28, 2001).]

    #42264
    Aeryn Crichton
    Participant

    I have to agree about Flash Gordon being a definite guilty pleasure. The music is great too! I do have another flick to add to the bad movie list – Dracula 2000. I kinda enjoyed it up until the entirely far-fetched ending. Has anyone else seen it? What do you think of the ludicrous plot twist?

    ——————
    “I love you” “I know” – Princess Leia and Han Solo
    “First you wanna kill me, now you wanna kiss me, blow” – Ash from Army of Darkness
    “Darling, you idiot!” – Lum from Urusei Yatsura
    “Who is this Anya!? Is she prettier than me!?” Xander’s sock puppet friend from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

    #42265
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Getting back to the original question of guilty pleasures: has anyone seen ‘Python’? Extra cheesy monster movie. But plenty of studly men which to be honest is the only reason I watch anything. I now have to confess my sick compulsion for anything in almost any American police uniform.

    As for just bad sci-fi movies: All the star trek ones except ‘The Wrath of Khan’.

    I’ll just sit back and wait for the flaming to begin shall I?

    #42266
    Anonymous
    Guest

    I havent seen python; what about Reptilicus? has anyone seen that? I guess it’s a bit silly and the miniature sets are a bit obvious. It’s a real B-movie i guess.

    ——————
    —————
    “In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”

    -HHGTTG

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