Unpopular Opinions You Hold About Movies

Started by GregX, February 03, 2013, 06:15:47 PM

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Dr. Ensatsu-ken

The movie even opens with a Looney Tunes skit! It perfectly sets up the tone for the whole film.

To be fair, I've noticed that this movie has gone on to become a cult classic in recent years, so at least it's getting deserved recognition, even if its years after its initial release.

But man, that Brain Gremlin was priceless, and the fucking Lightning Gremlin was ingenious.

Spark Of Spirit

See, I didn't watch them as a kid. I missed out on them. Then my friend brought both movies over and we watched them. I was floored when he said the second movie didn't do as well as the first. It was, like, the best way to do a sequel. Really, what more could anyone want from a movie about evil magical Gremlins who want to destroy everything?
"The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder." - G.K. Chesterton

Dr. Ensatsu-ken

The funny thing is that Joe Dante himself prefers the sequel (I read that in an interview somewhere), and believes that it wasn't successful because they waited too long after the original film came out to make it.

Talks for a sequel had happened right away, but both Joe Dante and Steven Spielberg kept turning down every pitch that they got for a second film because they were nothing more than rehashes of the original. Finally WB said that if Joe Dante made a sequel, they would give him complete creative control to do whatever he wanted, so he agreed, and the movie that we got was absolutely amazing, IMO.

This video does a really good job of explaining just how much love and craft went into this underrated gem: https://youtu.be/33PSQjs3lrk

talonmalon333

Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on July 16, 2015, 02:03:14 PMthey were nothing more than rehashes of the original

I wouldn't be surprised if something like that would've been more well received by the public, sadly.

Dr. Ensatsu-ken

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if that Gremlins reboot that we may or may not be getting turns out to be just that: feeding off of nostalgia rather than being its own creative piece of fun. I hope not, though.

On another note, if that supposed Richard Donner Goonies sequel ever really comes to fruition, I'll be really disappointed of it doesn't reference Gremlins like the first movie did (which also cleverly hinted that both movies took place within the same fictional Universe).

Spark Of Spirit

#305
I hope we never get a reboot, because we don't need one. Just have a new kid get Gizmo. There, easy new movie.

Quote from: talonmalon333 on July 16, 2015, 02:44:42 PM
Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on July 16, 2015, 02:03:14 PMthey were nothing more than rehashes of the original

I wouldn't be surprised if something like that would've been more well received by the public, sadly.
I'm not so sure. Rehash sequels in the '80s didn't do very well. Die Hard 2, for example, is still thought of as the weakest link in the original trilogy.

Not to mention that despite all the reboots and remakes, most still fail at the box office. People want original material. I just think the New Batch waited too long to come out. If it came out a year or two after the original it would have been better received.
"The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder." - G.K. Chesterton

Dr. Ensatsu-ken

It actually did get a decent response from critics. However, much like a great 80's John Carpenter movie, the general movie-going audience simply didn't get it at the time. Movies being so meta was a fairly new concept back then. I think that Wayne's World was one of the first movies to have a healthy dose of meta humor and still be financially successful (though that was a fairly low-budget film, I believe), and then there were those 90's Kevin Smith movies, and then Scream threw in a ton of meta humor despite being a horror movie.

Eventually that type of humor found its audience, but even putting that aside, it was still a bit too zany for the average person, but the positive reception that The New Batch gets today leads me to believe that it was way ahead of its time.

Dr. Ensatsu-ken

Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on July 16, 2015, 03:13:08 PMJust have a new kid get Gizmo. There, easy new movie.

Only if they bring back Howie Mandel to do the voice. :D

Spark Of Spirit

A lot of films in the 80s really took off on video and TV. I guess it comes from different expectations at the time. John Carpenter's stuff got huge from those sources. Especially Starman and Big Trouble.

Quote from: Dr. Ensatsu-ken on July 16, 2015, 03:33:58 PM
Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on July 16, 2015, 03:13:08 PMJust have a new kid get Gizmo. There, easy new movie.

Only if they bring back Howie Mandel to do the voice. :D
This is almost certain.
"The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder." - G.K. Chesterton

Dr. Ensatsu-ken

The Thing found its audience from the video rental crowd since the extreme levels of gore turned off way too many people back in the 80's.

And They Live didn't truly find itself a suitable audience until the DVD era.

I feel bad for John Carpenter, though. Almost all of his films from that decade are now considered classics, yet they were so ahead of their time that he could never manage to find an audience for them back when they needed that kind of support the most.

talonmalon333

Quote from: Spark Of Spirit on July 16, 2015, 03:13:08 PM
I hope we never get a reboot, because we don't need one.

Not to mention that despite all the reboots and remakes, most still fail at the box office. People want original material. I just think the New Batch waited too long to come out. If it came out a year or two after the original it would have been better received.

Well, I'm pretty sure the reboots of horror movies like Halloween are among the highest grossing films in their franchises. Of course, not all are like that. But I think  some movie makers these days take those as the example that it can be easy money to reboot, remake, sequel, or even prequel a franchise that's already a money maker.


Spark Of Spirit

As much as I liked Rocky Balboa and will probably see Creed, and even though I think the Expendables is a decent (not great) action franchise . . . I kind of wish Stallone was making Last Blood like he promised he was working on.

Like Balboa, a movie that comes full circle with the original film is something the franchise and its fans deserve. Sure the other films aren't much like the original (though the fourth at least focuses on the horrors that got him where he was in First Blood) but after so many years on the battlefield, it would be interesting to see John Rambo coming home and having to finally face the world he kept running away from. I'm not sure how many Rambo fans would want that, but it is precisely what I hope for from Stallone's last Rambo movie.
"The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder." - G.K. Chesterton

gunswordfist

That would be interesting. I expected a sequel to the new Rambo years ago.

I'd like to see a new First Blood that's closer to the book and then (obviously) no sequels after that.
"Ryu is like the Hank Hill of Street Fighter." -BB_Hoody


Spark Of Spirit

As the title implies, it would be the last Rambo movie. If that's the case then it needs to have ties to the original movie. It's pretty integral to the character that it ends back where he started.

It's sort of what I'm hoping for the final Die Hard movie for it to tie in to the original (and 3, probably) before bringing it to a close.
"The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder." - G.K. Chesterton