8 Movies I Like But Everyone Else Hates
4.) Mom and Dad Save the World
Years ago I got to go to the state fair with my parents and while I did see cool stuff like a woman turning into a gorilla, this movie is what I most remember about the trip. It was on TV and we watched it in the hotel room before going to bed. Fun Fact: the TV version is unfortunately the only cut that contains the deleted bath scene with Kathy Ireland… damn. Still the movie is written by the same writing duo of the “Bill and Ted” movies and has their same penchant for dumb humor told in a smart way. The plot is about an Alien emperor (Jon Lovitz) who decides earth has to be blown up but stops when he sees the mom (Teri Garr) of the title. While on a second honeymoon with her husband (Jeffery Jones) they’re brought to his planet so that Lovitz can kill Jones and marry Garr. This is also a planet of idiots so in no time at all this normal human (Jones) leads the people against the emperor to save his wife. Don’t get me wrong, this is a dumb movie with dumb jokes, however they’re so often told in a smart way. My favorite being the light grenade that when picked up disintegrates the person holding it. So seems like a simple thing to avoid, but remember this is a planet of idiots and the grenade has a “genius” ploy. The words “Pick Me Up” appear on it and before you know it, an entire army is taken out. However this film is really a showcase for Jon Lovitz. I know that may sound weird, but the role really is perfectly suited to him. All of the actors a great, but it’s Lovtiz who really shows if he had gotten more roles like this he may have been better off than he is now.
3.) Fierce Creatures
“A Fish Called Wanda” is one of my all-time favorite comedies, as in like top 2 or 3. So this sorta-sequel appeals to me. Yes I say sorta-sequel as it’s not official, but it includes all 4 of the main actors (and a fair amount of supporting) all returning playing similar parts. John Cleese is the naïve hero, Jamie Lee Curtis is the morally gray love interest who is won over by Cleese’s genuineness, Kevin Kline plays the antagonist with a huge ego (plus an extra role), and Michael Palin is the side character with an odd speech pattern. This time the story is about a multinational conglomerate accidentally acquiring a London zoo from a recent purchase. They decide to put a former TV producer (Cleese) in charge who decides the best way to attract more attendance at the zoo is to only keep animals that are potential killers, fierce creatures as it were. The rest of the zoo (led by Palin) tries to rebel before the Curtis and Kline characters take over and make things even worse. The film is full of little comedy gems and great running gags as well as a very sweet romance between Cleese and Curtis. It’s not as well done as “A Fish Called Wanda,” but it’s still good. Also ,even more so than “Wanda,” many scenes in this film feel very Monty Pythonesque such as the zoo keepers trying to convince Cleese to allow their animals to stay. “This new plaque of yours says they’re known as the piranhas of the desert.” “They can strip a human carcass in three minutes.” “My encyclopedia says they’re easily tamed and often kept as pets.” “You’ve not been attacked by one, sir.” “Nobody’s been attacked by one, Lotterby… or, rather, if they have, they never noticed.” And here’s an odd confession to make I actually have this movie completely memorized. I didn’t try but for whatever reason I can recite the entire movie from start to finish. Yes… I just admitted to that.
2.) King Kong (1976)
I know what I’m about to say is blasphemy for film lovers but here goes…this is actually my favorite version of “King Kong” and I don’t mean that ironically. Please put the hammer and nails and cross down and let me finish. Growing up we actually had both versions on VHS, the original 1933 and the 1976 version. I basically decided which version to watch by one question, do I want a more emotionally satisfying experience or dinosaurs? Most of the time I went with the emotional experience which for me meant the 76 version. That’s not to say I don’t hold the original classic in high regard, I do. Its contributions to cinema are immeasurable. This remake was the result of producer Dino De Laurentiis’ attempt to make a bigger blockbuster than “Jaws.” It’s the same story as before just set in what was then the present and instead of a film crew it’s a crew looking for oil. Jeff Bridges is great at being that right balance of a smart/action hero. I believe him when he talks about gorilla behavior and I believe he’d be someone who would try to steal a woman back from a giant gorilla. Jessica Lange as Dwan is one of the most attractive women on film. Charles Grodin makes for a great sleazy bad-guy who gets an awesome death-scene. While some may be disappointed since he’s clearly this remake’s version of Carl Denham, who was a good decent man (though often being lead astray by his own zest for life), but sometimes it’s just satisfying to see the obviously crappy guy meet a crappy end. The score by John Barry is one of my favorites of all-time. Rick Baker pulls an amazing feat of being able to allow Kong more facial expressions through the mask without it ever not looking like a real living gorilla. The rest of the suit is another matter. The blue screen compositing is pure 70s cheese, but I still find myself coming back to this version. I know some fellow Kong fans would want to take away my fan membership card (if it existed) for this opinion, but there it is.
1.) M Night Shyamalan movies
On the internet this almost feels like an admission of guilt. I will make one thing clear, this is pre “The Happening.” I’m not going to try to argue for that film or “The Last Airbender,” but instead the ones before that… yes even “Lady in the Water.” “Unbreakable” doesn’t need much defending, it may have been passed by when it first came out but it’s found its footing with a fanbase. “Signs” is odd in that when it came out it got GREAT reviews from critics and audiences, but in recent years is often lumped in with his bad films. You see so many people trying to say this is where it started to fall apart and audiences started turning away…BULLCRAP! I remember being in middle school and constantly hearing about it EVERYWHERE. “The Village” on the other hand was not given great reviews at the time. They weren’t horrible, they were more, “well that didn’t work, I’m sure he’ll do fine with the next film.” I have to admit this was actually the first film of his that I saw (yes before “The Sixth Sense”). It was not only my gateway drug to the other (at the time) Shyamalan movies, but it was one of the first movies to help me get into scary films which was something that I had little to no interest in before. Also it contains quite possibly my favorite film score ever. I even bought the CD which is rare for me. Say whatever you want to about the movie (the twist is a bit weak but not what really mattered to me) but I’ll always defend the music in “The Village.” (SPOILERS) It could be that scene in “Casino” where Joe Pesci’s character and his brother get almost beaten to death with bats and then buried before they die and my dying words would be, “The score to ‘The Village’ was still amazing.”
Then “Lady in the Water” came out and the floodgates opened for absolutely terrible reviews. While I’m not going to try to argue that it’s a great film, I find it to be a fun little fable. One thing the film did make clear to me is that M Night does have a good sense of humor. I can’t tell you how many reviews I’ve read or watched where one of the things they’re complaining about is a part that clearly wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. The critic death scene is one of the funniest scenes ever that really plays with the tension. I don’t know but perhaps that rubbed some of the critics the wrong way. I’ll admit that his ego was humongous to cast himself in the role of the author whose work will change the world. Beyond that I do think it still contains some very emotionally affecting scenes such as where Paul Giamatti “heals” Story and it basically turns into a prayer to his wife and kids. To put it simply, Giamatti kills it with his performance. To me that’s the thing about all of these pre “The Happening” movies, they all really touch me in some way and perhaps that allows me to see past some of their flaws and once that stopped appearing in his directed movies they lost a lot of their power. That and how it’s almost as if he’s going backwards. Like the more movies he makes the more first time director type mistakes he makes in them which is so totally bizarre. Still for me his early batch of films were still really good and is probably what makes me not want to hate him as a director even though I truly hated movies like “The Happening”. However movies like “The Visit” have given me more hope.
