Baumer's Top 100 films you have probably heard of but more than likely haven't seen. #1: Cute Clever Mischievous, but don't feed them after midnight!

[75Live]

4 minutes ago, Baumer said:

 

I debated putting it at number one. But ultimately I figured number one shold be really well known.

 

yeah it's probably my number one, or close to it, most underrated or unknown great movies

[Porthos]

11 hours ago, Baumer said:

A weather sign in LA has all the answers

 

 

But what if my heart was set on ordering the duck? 

[baumer]

Number 14

Ruthless People (1986)

Directed by: ZAZ Zucker Abrahams, Zucker

Starring:  Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater, Bill Pullman

Box office:  71.2M

 

First of all, this is one of the funniest movies ever made.  It's pretty much a laugh a minute.  "Ruthless People" has one of the best premises in film comedy history.

Spandex miniskirt millionaire Sam Stone (Danny DeVito) plans to kill his battle axe wife (Bette Midler) for her inheritance. However, his plan is put on hold when she is kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnappers threaten to kill her if Sam doesn't pay, which is a-o.k. with Sam, and means he doesn't have to do his own dirty work. But the kidnappers (Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater) are too kind hearted to follow through with what they start. Meanwhile, Sam's floozy mistress (a smokin' Anita Morris) knows about Sam's plans, and sends her doofus boyfriend (Bill Pullman) out to videotape what he thinks is Sam killing his wife so that they can blackmail him.

This is a lot of plot to cram into a brisk 90 minutes, but this well written film never feels forced or rushed. Every scene conveys something important either for the story or about one of the characters, and not a moment feels wasted. The ensemble is terrific, each actor landing his/her jokes without fail. The standouts, though, are Bette Midler, who gives an outrageously vulgar performance pitched to the third balcony; and Judge Reinhold, who gives the film its heart.

One of the most quotable movies ever.

 

Trivia:  Bette Midler claims that Danny DeVito called her twice after the premiere of this film: once to congratulate her, and a second time, twenty minutes after the first call, during which he and Midler both broke down in a nervous frenzy over how terrible the movie was, and how both of their careers were over. The film went on to become a box-office smash.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVnQlphhuqQ

[ProtoMan]

6 minutes ago, Baumer said:

Number 14

Ruthless People (1986)

Directed by: ZAZ Zucker Abrahams, Zucker

Starring:  Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, Judge Reinhold, Helen Slater, Bill Pullman

Box office:  71.2M

 

First of all, this is one of the funniest movies ever made.  It's pretty much a laugh a minute.  "Ruthless People" has one of the best premises in film comedy history.

Spandex miniskirt millionaire Sam Stone (Danny DeVito) plans to kill his battle axe wife (Bette Midler) for her inheritance. However, his plan is put on hold when she is kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnappers threaten to kill her if Sam doesn't pay, which is a-o.k. with Sam, and means he doesn't have to do his own dirty work. But the kidnappers (Judge Reinhold and Helen Slater) are too kind hearted to follow through with what they start. Meanwhile, Sam's floozy mistress (a smokin' Anita Morris) knows about Sam's plans, and sends her doofus boyfriend (Bill Pullman) out to videotape what he thinks is Sam killing his wife so that they can blackmail him.

This is a lot of plot to cram into a brisk 90 minutes, but this well written film never feels forced or rushed. Every scene conveys something important either for the story or about one of the characters, and not a moment feels wasted. The ensemble is terrific, each actor landing his/her jokes without fail. The standouts, though, are Bette Midler, who gives an outrageously vulgar performance pitched to the third balcony; and Judge Reinhold, who gives the film its heart.

One of the most quotable movies ever.

 

Trivia:  Bette Midler claims that Danny DeVito called her twice after the premiere of this film: once to congratulate her, and a second time, twenty minutes after the first call, during which he and Midler both broke down in a nervous frenzy over how terrible the movie was, and how both of their careers were over. The film went on to become a box-office smash.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVnQlphhuqQ

 

This movie probably has one of the funniest 3rd acts ever. I recorded that part of the film and watched it over and over on VHS...

[baumer]

Number 13

Less Than Zero (1987)

Directed by Marek Kanievska

Starring:  Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr. James Spader

Box office:  12.4M

 

"Less Than Zero" is one of the seminal films of its era. Director Marek Kanievska and cinematographer Ed Lachman created a masterpiece of form and style, unlike any other film in the 1980s. "Less Than Zero" visual style was the first to blend the high style glossy fashion ad look of Los Angeles and Palm Springs with the first MTV generation energy of music videos.

For example, one of the establishing scenes of the movie is the intro credits with Clay, portrayed by Andrew McCarthy in his finest role, arriving home to sunny L.A during Christmas Vacation. A yellow filter is placed over the lens so that L.A. glows. There is no dialog, but only the booming singing of The Bangles' rock cover of Simon & Garfunkels "Hazy Shade of Winter". The palm trees go by as Clay's taxi floats into one of Beverly Hill's affluent neighborhoods. The music dies down as Clay enters his empty modern impersonal family home and plays the message machine, only to learn that both his parents could not be present to welcome him home.

The foreshadowing is all there in that establishing scene with the credits - the lack of familial love, the emptiness and detachment of the main character that matches the hollow environment.

The first party is a lavish F. Scott Fitzgerald "Great Gatsbyesqe" 1989 party filled with dozens of television playing video images timed to rock musics. There are theme winter wonderland rooms, where the fake snow on the floors represent the white cocaine being blown up the rich teen's noses.

The plot of the film is loosely based on the brilliant first novel by Bret Easton Ellis. Mr. Ellis' novel stands as one of the most significant literary works of the late 20th Century.

Many amateur "film" critics have criticized the film for not doing justice to Mr. Ellis' literary creation. Fortunately, I do not suffer from the misconception that a film must be judged by how exact it matches its literary inspiration, rather than judging the film on its own merit.

Screenwriter Harley Peyton, who was rumored to produce a first draft closely following the novel, modified his script into a lean script that could be transformed into a brilliant motion picture. The essence of isolation, friendship, drug-addition, and lost youth remains. I would argue that a closer adaptation of Mr. Ellis' novel would not have made a good film, because rarely on screen is it successful to portray a main character without emotion. Mr. Peyton needed to create character arcs, where the characters start one place and over the course of the film has some change, whether positive or negative. 

Robert Downey Jr. gives the performance of his life (literally) portraying the drug addict that he was to become and which almost ruined his career.

One of my favorite shots in film is the second to last shot. Andrew McCarthy, Robert Downey Jr. and Jami Gertz sit mourning in Clay's classic Corvette which sits on a lonely road in the middle of the desert surrounded by Joshua trees. A flyover shot of the desert closes in for a close-up on the Corvette and the devastated main characters. The shot is breathtaking.

Taken in context of film history of the 1980s, this is a clearly darker take on youth, than the John Hughe's stories of the time, like "Pretty in Pink" (1984) and "The Breakfast Club" (1985). "Less Than Zero" - the film and the novel should be a must see film and must read novel for every serious film viewer and reader.

 

Trivia:  According to the the 'Robert Downey Jr Film Guide' web-site, 'Marek Kanievska' suggested Robert Downey Jr. and Andrew McCarthy should go out and party to 'get into character' which ended with Downey in the middle of Santa Monica Boulevard, howling at the moon, and McCarthy had to bail him out of jail.

 

 

 

[Thegun]

Bill Pullman's first two movies were Ruthless People and Spaceballs, quite possibly one of the best debuts ever.  His confrontation with Judge Reinhold is one of my favorite scenes ever.

 

 

Edited August 3, 2016 by Thegun

[baumer]

Number 12

9 1/2 Weeks (1986)

Directed by Adrian Lyne

Starring:  Mickey Rourke, Kim Basninger

Box office:  5.3M

 

I'll make this simple and quick.  This is the film that came after Last Tango in Paris but before everything else.  Basic Instinct and 50 Shades of Grey got nothing on this.  Basinger and Rourke are excellent and if you haven't had a striptease to Leave Your Hat On by Joe Cocker, well, you should.  This is one of my favourite 80's films.  Eroticism at its finest.

 

Trivia:  Kim Basinger said she didn't feel like a "real actress" until she made this film. She described the shoot as emotionally draining and admitted that it contributed to marital problems with then-husband Ron Snyder which were eventually patched up

 

 

 

[baumer]

40 minutes ago, Thegun said:

Bill Pullman's first two movies were Ruthless People and Spaceballs, quite possibly one of the best debuts ever.  His confrontation with Judge Reinhold is one of my favorite scenes ever.

 

 

 

Give the bag to Bozo might be the funniest scene ever filmed, not kidding either.  

[Thegun]

I love that he almost breaks down crying over his tire being shot.

[baumer]

Number 11

Arachnophobia (1990)

Directed by:  Frank Marshall

Starring:  Jeff Daniels, Harley Jane Kozak, John Goodman, Julian Sands

Box office:  53.2M

 

ARACHNOPHOBIA remains one of the best horror comedies I've seen. Not only does it make for truly scary film-making, thanks to the solid direction of longtime Spielberg right-hand man Frank Marshall, but it also delivers good doses of black comedy--something that has sorely been missing from most horror movies of the last two decades.

The film revolves around the small town of Canaima, California suddenly being overrun by arachnids of a particularly dangerous variety. The spiders originate in Venezuela and are exported accidentally to California in the coffin of a photographer who is fatally bitten by one of the spiders down there. The Venezuelan spider has managed to mate with the local garden spiders of Canaima to produce an incredibly lethal offspring. All of Canaima's hopes rest on the new town doctor (Jeff Daniels), who, as it turns out, has the worst case of arachnophobia known to Man.

Without resorting to overt grossness, Marshall gets some really good shocks and scares, and plenty of suspense, something he clearly learned from Spielberg and Hitchcock (the film closely resembles JAWS and THE BIRDS in its approach). Marshall also pays a very direct and witty homage to the Master by having a whole horde of spiders nearly frighten a teenage girl to death while in the shower--a clear homage to the famed shower scene of PSYCHO.

Daniels, Harley Jane Kozak, and the inimitable John Goodman as the well-meaning Rambo-type exterminator help to make ARACHNOPHOBIA a masterpiece of fright and just the right amount of comedy, something that the film at number one also displays.

 

Trivia:  The sound of a spider being crushed by John Goodman was made by the foley artists crushing a couple of potato chips

 

 

 

 

Triva:  

[baumer]

That brings us to the top ten...which will commence tonight.

[RandomCat]

2 minutes ago, Baumer said:

Number 11

Arachnophobia (1990)

Directed by:  Frank Marshall

Starring:  Jeff Daniels, Harley Jane Kozak, John Goodman, Julian Sands

Box office:  53.2M

 

 

I've heard great things. But fuck no, never watching this.

[nthanh61]

45 minutes ago, RandomJC said:

 

I've heard great things. But fuck no, never watching this.

You don't know what you're missing. It's a great horror movie without all the gores. Anyway, my kid refuses to watch it too because of them spiders.  

[RandomCat]

Just now, nthanh61 said:

You don't know what you're missing. It's a great horror movie without all the gores. Anyway, my kid refuses to watch it too because of them spiders.  

I know exactly what I'm missing. Even images of spiders give me palpitations.

[baumer]

Number 10

Presumed Innocent

Directed by Alan J. Pakula

Starring:  Harrison Ford, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Greta Scacchi, Brian Dennehy, Paul Winfield

Box office:  221M WW

 

"Presumed Innocent" is a good solid thriller/courtroom drama staring Harrison Ford as prosecutor Rusty Sabich who finds himself accused of the rape and murder of a female colleague. Although admitting he had an affair with this woman Sabich find that incriminating evidence has been found at the crime scene linking him with the offence. His boss turns against him and finding himself isolated from the rest of the legal community Sabich's only support seems to come from his betrayed wife and the lawyer hired to defend him. The idea of being accused for a crime one didn't commit and then finding that the odds are stacked against you of proving your innocence is probably a nightmarish thought that scares most people. In this sense the film works very well as you can't possibly see a way out for Ford's character. What adds another element to the tale is that the personality of Sabich is one where you can actually believe he did commit the crime, making the plot a real guessing game all the way through. Also coming into the fascinating mix is the neurotic wife of Ford, played by Bonnie Bedelia, who was well aware of his tryst with his fellow prosecutor. Bedelia plays a key role in the drama which is not resolved until after Ford's trial has played itself out.

What we come to realize by the middle of the film is that political intrigue, blackmail, and sex influence *everyone* in the film. Anyone even tangentially involved in the case is dirty in some respect. No one is innocent. Although you may guess the true identity of the murderer before the trial ends, I promise you will never forget the speech delivered in the denouement of the film. As Sabich says in the final minute of the film, "There was a crime. There was a victim. And there *is* punishment." The John Williams score is quite haunting and will stay with you for some time. All of the principal actors (Ford, Bedelia, Julia, Winfield, Spencer, Mardirosian, Dennehy, Grifasi) deliver powerful performances. As a bit of trivia, Mardirosian and Grifasi later had guest appearances in the second season of a fledging TV series named Law & Order. Julia showed that he could play a serious role (unlike other roles in Street Fighter and Addams Family). As a previous reviewer noted, Julia should have garnered an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, as his performance carries the film from the second act forward. Overall, "Presumed Innocent" is a pretty solid movie. If you've never seen it and are a fan of court dramas or Harrison Ford, I would recommend it.

 

Trivia:  Before the book was released in August 1987, producer Sydney Pollack purchased the rights to the film for $1 million.

 

Paul Winfield read the novel in the late 80's and loved it, telling his agent if a movie was ever made, he had to have the role of the judge. A few years later when the movie was actually in preproduction, Winfield campaigned hard for the part of the judge, impressing director Alan J Pakula, who auditioned him and subsequently cast him.

 

 

 

 

 

[baumer]

Number 9

Alive (1993)

Directed by Frank Marshall

Starring:  Ethan Hawke, Vincent Spano, Josh Hamilton, John Malkovich

Box office:  36.7M

 

This is one of those movies where you say to yourself, "that could never really happen", and yet it did. The story of how these boys, some who had never even seen snow, were able to survive for 72 days on the side of a mountain is truly uplifting. It is a spiritual experience to see this film, as it puts you in the survivors point of view and you say to yourself, what would I do? 

The plane crash is incredible and terrifying, with the tail ripping off and people flying out the back, and the shuddering of the vibration as the pilots struggle to get over the mountain. Then, the eerie silence as the wings get torn off and the plane flies like missile down the mountain. All this before CG, so it's even more amazing. 

Watching the movie is a spiritual experience that illustrates that if you don't give up, you can overcome almost anything. It's a wonderful movie about the power of the human spirit.  If you don't know anything about the film, that might be the best thing.  But it is inevitable that you know something.  This is based on a true story of how these people survived a plane crash by turning to.....CANNIBALISM.

 

Trivia:  The real plane crashed on Friday the 13 October 1972.

The crash sequence took nine days to film. As the set was mounted on a huge gimbal, most of the cast were taking motion sickness pills as they spent a large amount of time being tossed about.

 

 

 

[baumer]

Number 8

Witchboard (1986)

Directed by Kevin Tenney

Starring:  Todd Allen, Tawney Kitaen

Box office:  7.4M

 

Here's an unheard of 80's horror that scared the hell out of me when I first saw it.  It's about a Ouija board, but imo, it's much better than Ouija could ever hope to be.

 

This is one of those movies that proves that you don't need a huge budget to make a quality horror film, or any film for that matter, but we are talking horror here. I had read many years ago that this film was made for less than a million dollars and even in 1985 that is chump change. But this film is so pure with it's suspence that you would think it was done by a major Hollywood studio with a ten million dollar budget.

When a witchboard is discovered it is at first played for fun. But then it becomes an obsession and it takes over the life of the woman that talks to it. A spirit named David is a little boy that may or may not be the spirit that is possessing the Witchboard and sometimes he is nice and other times he is down right nasty. There is also a great horror villains name in this film, Mal Veder, almost sounds like Darth Vader's distant cousin.

What Witchboard does well is it pays attention to detail and it pays attention to what made some of the great horror movies did. And what this manages to do is treat the camera like it is his best friend. The camera lurks mysteriously behind it's actors and beside them and above them and everywhere else. And what this does is it gives you the illusion that there is someone or something there, and that is the beauty of this film, you don't know if it really is someone or something there. This is great homage to some of the greats like Carpenter and Hitchcock.

Witchboard is a great 80's horror film and I like it for the fact that it is much more concerned with atmosphere than stupid blood and guts and unnecessary gore.  It's my opinion that 90's horror got away from what made horror so effective in the 70's and 80's.  Witchboard is one of the better 80's horror films.

 

Trivia:  The house in the film was also used in Waxwork (1988) and Willard (1971). This Los Angeles home has since been "retired" as a filming location.

 

 

 

 

[baumer]

Number 7

LA Story (1991)

Directed by Mick Jackson

Starring:  Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Sarah Jessica Parker

Box office:  28.8M

"Your breasts feel weird"

"That's because they're real."

 

This is simply an incredibly wonderful romantic comedy regardless of where you grew up. The script is fabulous, and the soundtrack featuring the music of Enya is the perfect counterpoint to this wonderfully wicked lampoon of Southern California culture.

The humor is much more intelligent than early Steve Martin features such as "The Jerk", but it isn't snobbish. It has wit, charm, and pure satirical funniness. Whether it's watching Martin roller-skate through a museum of Old Masters, seeing a restaurant full of jaded Californians casually ride out a minor earthquake as their tables gracefully vibrate across the room, or the absurdity of a freeway sign giving out cryptic personal messages that change the course of the principal character's lives, the movie simply works.

Steve Martin is at his best here, equal to his wonderful performance in "Roxanne". Victoria Tennant is the perfect choice as the off-beat, tuba-playing British journalist Martin's character falls for. Sarah Jessica Parker is absolutely priceless as SanDeE* (that's her spelling, not a typo), the young would-be spokesmodel/bimbette who "likes to point". Even Rick Moranis as the comedic Cockney grave digger is wonderful, despite his having one of the least believable accents since Dick van Dyck as the chimneysweep Bert in "Mary Poppins". Forget the comment about Moranis' accent... you'll enjoy him anyway.

 

When Steve Martin is hot, he's really hot. L.A. Story, written by Steve Martin, is hot. The entire film keeps you in a state of constant chuckling. And, the movie has more than a few moments of comedic genius. It's the cumulative effect of little jokes littered throughout the film, both verbal and visual, that keeps you in stitches. On top of that, it piques your interest. 

For some truly gut busting laughs, find this movie and enjoy the cynicism of it.   And ask @Tele Loves Bay & Twilight if he has experienced RUSH HOUR on the LA freeways or if he can talk his way calmly through an earthquake while sipping on a half double decaffeinated half-caf, with a twist of lemon.

 

 

[baumer]

Number 6

Internal Affairs (1990)

Directed by Mike Figgis

Starring:  Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Nancy Travis, Laurie Metcalf,  William Baldwin

Box office:  27.7M

 

This, along with Basic Instinct, is my favourite screw with your head movie.   In it, Richard Gere plays his most sinister role and imo he gives the performance of his life. There are many disturbing elements in this film and most of them are perpetrated by Richard Gere's Dennis Peck. He knows how to manipulate people to get what he wants and if that doesn't work he uses other measures.

The story goes like this: Richard Gere plays a cop that everyone owes a favour to. He is everyone's friend and everyone's silent worst enemy. He also lives a little above his income should allow him too and this is why he is being investigated by internal affairs. Enter Andy Garcia as Raymond, in a mesmerizing performance. These two know they are going to square off in the film and Peck has fun tormenting him.

Peck is a charismatic, good looking, wealthy play boy. He knows how to use what he has to his advantage, and that eventually means playing with Raymond's head to make him think that he is sleeping with his wife. Did I mention that he is intuitive? And this is established so brilliantly in one of their first meetings together that it makes you cringe.

Peck introduces himself to Raymond and at first he seems very co-operative assuring Raymond that he realizes Ray has a job to do just like he does. But the conversation takes an abrupt turn when Peck begins to hit too close to home when he begins to question how good Raymond's love life is right now. He knows he spends too much time at the office and that he has a beautiful, young wife that may be neglected. The scene works beautifully and sets up the psychological battle that takes place between the two as the film goes on. The next scene they have with each other is enough to make every man cringe at the cruelty of it.

Internal Affairs is a character study at it's finest. There are few films out there that can compare to this one and that can be attributed to the director, Mike Figgis. He hits every note perfectly and the performances he gets from his cast is such a joy to watch. After this movie, I really thought Garcia would go on to be a much bigger star.

This is an absolute must see for anyone that hasn't had the pleasure of doing so yet.

 

 

 

[baumer]

Top 5 tomorrow.

 

One of Spielberg's protegee's makes it in at 1-2 and 3.   Sci fi, horror and comedy all make an appearance.