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!

[baumer]

This one is for @75live

[Ethan Hunt]

Excited to see what the top 5 looks like

 

[baumer]

Number 5

Running Scared (1986)

Directed by Peter Hyams

Starring:  Billy Crystal, Gregory Hines, Joe Pantoliano, Jimmy Smits, Dan Hedaya

Box office:  37.7M

 

I had the opportunity to revisit this fun film last week and enjoyed it just as much as when I saw it first-run 30 years ago. For me, there are two things that make it such a winner: the match-up of Crystal and Hines, which was unfortunately not repeated, and the Chicago scenery. Adding in Darlanne Fluegel was just icing on the cake.

Crystal was hot at the time after his year on SNL, and he manages to work in some of his character shtick here without sidetracking the plot. Hines had recently done White Nights and Cotton Club, so he was also on a roll. The two of them work naturally together in the funny AND serious moments of the film, and the dialog is crisp and clever. There are loads of buddy-cop clichés here, but for some reason they work well. Peter Hyams deserves credit for his snappy direction and good camera work, and for making good use of the locations.

 

 

Danny Costanzo (Billy Crystal) and Ray Hughes (Gregory Hines) are streetwise Chicago cops. They are surprised to see drug dealer Julio Gonzales (Jimmy Smits) out on the streets so soon after sending him to prison. They catch his associate Snake (Joe Pantoliano). They use Snake in a sting on Julio who seems to have new cash and trying to be the new Al Capone. It's a trap. Snake is killed and the guys are almost killed when Julio's associates turn out to be undercover cops. They manage to capture Julio but Captain Logan (Dan Hedaya) orders the guys to go on vacation for their sloppy work. They are enchanted by their Key West vacation and plan to open a bar there. They give their 30 day notice but Julio manages to get bail. They vow to get Julio before their time is up but Danny starts to be careful. The captain thinks the guys are short timers running scared and make them teach those undercover cops the ropes. Julio kidnaps Danny's beloved ex-wife Anna Costanzo (Darlanne Fluegel).

I love the duo of Hines and Crystal. Their banter is hilarious and I love the 22 muggers scene. They've got great chemistry and I wish they could have made a sequel. At least, they should have made another buddy comedy. There is a great car chase onto the train tracks.  It's just a terrific buddy film.  These kinds of films really took off in the 80's and imo, this is up there with Lethal Weapon and 48 Hours.  Yes, it is that good.

 

 

[75Live]

^^

 

there it is   

 

I can quote this whole movie (ok I can quote pretty much any movie I've seen, but that's not the point lol )

 

there is so much to this film.  It is hilarious but still has enough serious scenes to keep it from being too corny or over the top.

 

I still love the "I can't believe you missed with all 6 shots" scene where they go back and forth as to who made the car swerve   and that's just one of many funny scenes.  Those two worked so well together that yes I wished they made more movies with each other.

 

obviously @Baumer i approve of this selection  

Edited August 4, 2016 by 75live

[baumer]

Number 4

Indian Summer (1993)

Directed by Mike Binder

Starring:  EVERYONE.... Bill Paxton, Alan Arkin, Diane Lane, Kevin Pollak, Vincent Spano, Matt Braven, Sam Raimi, Elizabeth Perkins, Julie Warner, Kimberly Williams-Paisley

Box office:  14.9M

 

This is one of those films, like JAWS, that I can watch every night and not get tired of.

 

My original review:

 

I am a sucker for films like this. Films that take you back and let you relive your childhood. I'm a grown up now and have many grown up responsibilities like a mortgage, kids, dogs, a wife and a slew of others. I enjoy my life but it is not as innocent and carefree like it was when I was twelve. Mike Binder's Indian Summer knows this and explores this like he was twelve years old. It brings you back to a time when life was simpler and much more fun. It brings you back to a time when worrying about your first kiss and wondering if you could finish the camp marathon were important issues. Indian Summer is a fantastic film and it is one that should be watched at least once a year just so you can sit back and laugh...and reminisce.

The film stars Kevin Pollak, Bill Paxton, Diane Lane and Matt Craven (to name a few) as childhood friends that are being summoned back to Camp Tamakwa by their former Head Camp Counsellor, Uncle Lou. Uncle Lou is played perfectly by Alan Arkin. He is kind of guy who is the patriarch of the group. He is also all knowing and encompasses the true spirit of a father figure and someone who understands the simple things in life. He has a hard time relating to today's kids that need a walkman blaring in their ears when they are at a place of immense beauty like Tamakwa. This is a camp that has moose wandering through the camp, leaves turning colours that God gave them and water for as far as the eye can see. Uncle Lou yearns for the days of old and asks his former campers back to the camp to see one of them will take over the camp. While they are all together again, we get to see their trials and tribulations and perhaps a new love could spring between them.

As the adults return to the camp, it isn't long before they act like kids again as the typical camp pranks get played all over again. They take toilet paper out of the stalls, the put toothpaste on sleeping bags and so on. All of this is done hilariously and with actors like Pollak and Paxton, it is all very funny stuff.

But beyond the hilarity, we get to explore some very real adult emotion that anyone can relate to. In one of my favourite scenes, Kevin Pollak and Elizabeth Perkins are overlooking a bay where they used to go canoing as kids. Pollak can't get over how small it all looks and Perkins finally tells him that the bay didn't get smaller, they just got bigger. It doesn't hammer the point home, but it does it subtly. We all grow up, we all move on and we all unfortunately can't live like we did 20 years ago. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Indian Summer is a character driven film and it is written beautifully by Mike Binder who actually did attend Camp Camp Tamakwa, (as did Sam Raimi, who played Stick in the film) and it is his fond and vivid memories of his experiences that fuel the film. There are many touching scenes and there are many hilarious ones also. Both are perfect.

I love this film. I love everything about it and it is a true hidden gem.

 

 

 

[baumer]

Just now, 75live said:

^^

 

there it is   

 

I can quote this whole movie (ok I can quote pretty much any movie I've seen, but that's not the point lol )

 

there is so much to this film.  It is hilarious but still has enough serious scenes to keep it from being too corny or over the top.

 

I still love the "I can't believe you missed with all 6 shots" scene where they go back and forth as to who made the car swerve   and that's just one of many funny scenes.  Those two worked so well together that yes I wished they made more movies with each other.

 

obvious @Baumer i approve of this selection  

 

I'm so glad I found you, 75, my kindred spirit.  Anyone who loves Running Scared is obviously a terrific human being.

 

It really is a hidden gem and although I can't quote all of it, I can do some of it.  Just a perfect 80's buddy film.

[75Live]

4 minutes ago, Baumer said:

 

I'm so glad I found you, 75, my kindred spirit.  Anyone who loves Running Scared is obviously a terrific human being.

 

It really is a hidden gem and although I can't quote all of it, I can do some of it.  Just a perfect 80's buddy film.

 

couldn't agree more about people who love Running Scared.  Glad I found these boards and someone who shares such great taste in movies

 

I am already laughing thinking about when they interrogate the lady at the door and the little kid is finding all the different ways to flip off Gregory Hines  

Edited August 4, 2016 by 75live

[Dementeleus]

L.A. STORY is awesome. Great pick.

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, Baumer said:

Number 7

LA Story (1991)

 

And ask @Tele Loves Bay & Twilight if he has experienced RUSH HOUR on the LA freeways 

 

 

32 minutes ago, Tele Loves Bay & Twilight said:

L.A. STORY is awesome. Great pick.

 

And to think that film came out only four years after infamous freeway shooting sprees of 1987.  

 

Still, gotta tell you, as someone from NorCal, I busted out laughing at that scene.  Even if I did feel a little bad about it afterwards.    I think it was the fact that it was just so matter of fact and yet so over the top which did it. 

[ttr]

Indian Summer is lovely pick.

[Thegun]

Only thing I'll say about Raul Julia.  I don't think he's ever been considered a comedic actor by almost anyone (Addams Family and Street Fighter are among his most famous mainstream roles, but he was considered probably the elite actor by most in the industry.)  I wish he lived to be in Desperado. But Presumed Innocent, along with Frantic and Regarding Henry are amazing.

 

Running Scared (Classic, extremely underrated)

 

LA Story, great pick, I love Patrick Stewart's cameo.

 

Baums, have you ever seen The Star Chamber?  With Spielberg Proteges on, I'm guessing Used Cars for Zebecks, and either Gremlins or The Burbs for Dante. I doubt it would be Adventures in Babysitting for Columbus.

Edited August 4, 2016 by Thegun

[Porthos]

1 minute ago, Thegun said:

LA Story, great pick, I love Patrick Stewart's cameo.

 

"You think with a financial statement like this you can have the duck?"  

 

and

 

"Your usual table?"

(Chevy Chase) "No, I'd like a good one this time."

"I'm sorry, that is impossible."

"Part of the new cruelty?"

"I am afraid so."

 

[Thegun]

3 minutes ago, Porthos said:

 

"You think with a financial statement like this you can have the duck?"  

 

and

 

"Your usual table?"

(Chevy Chase) "No, I'd like a good one this time."

"I'm sorry, that is impossible."

"Part of the new cruelty?"

"I am afraid so."

 

He is hilarious, when he gets the chance. Have you ever seen this?

 

 

[baumer]

Number 3

Innerspace (1987)

Directed by Joe Dante

Starring:  Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan and Martin Short

Box office:  25.9M

 

Joe Dante's InnerSpace is pure gold for sci fi geeks and adventure lovers everywhere, a breezy, clever little flick with shades of everything from The Incredible Shrinking Man to Buck Rogers. It won an Oscar for visual effects, and when you see them (I picked up the Blu Ray, he'll of a good buy) you'll know why. It concerns hotshot pilot Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid) a brash dude who is taking part in a miniaturization experiment conducted in secret. When criminals bent on stealing the technology interrupt the process midway, the head doctor panics and flees, injecting now microscopic Tuck and his craft into the first person he stumbles, twitchy hypochondriac Jack (a manic, slightly irritating Martin Short). Tuck is forced to assist Jack and reign him in long enough to avoid the bad guys, find his sexy ex girlfriend Lydia (Meg Ryan, who met Quaid on this set and later married him). All the while he's stuck in Jack's body in minute form, dodging blood cells, stomach acid and more in some truly magnificent special effects. The baddies are very comical, yet mean just enough business to do their job of being threatening, played by Kevin McCarthy, Robert Picardo (okay, he's purely comical, with no hint of threat), Fiona Lewis and a terrific Vernon Wells as a terminator inspired spook. Quaid's trademark sense of fun and winning charm go hand in hand with the breezy yet high concept tone, for a movie that's pure Dante, pure inspiration and pure fun.

 

Trivia:  Amy Irving was married to Steven Spielberg at the time, and when he showed her the script, she desperately wanted to play the role of Lydia Maxwell.

 

 

 

[baumer]

Number 2

The Howling (1981)

Directed by Joe Dante

Starring Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine

Box office:  18M

 

The Howling is one of the seminal 80's horror films.  This is a Joe Dante film but maybe even more important that the director is the man and his team of creature artists who gave us the wolf transformation scenes.  Rick Baker and Rob Bottin were the best at what they did.  Baker is much more known to the public than Bottin but both were incredible artists.  Baker became famous for his work on Michael Jackson's thriller and he's done everything from Star Wars to American Werewolf in London to Men in Black.  He has no equal.  

 

Terrific modern werewolf film from director Joe Dante remains one of his best movies.

News Anchor has a terrifying encounter with a lunatic murderer, then decides to seek rest in an isolated colony of weird characters. It's about to become a hairy situation!

Writer John Sayles (who does a humorous cameo as a morgue attendant) makes The Howling a clever and deeply spooky picture with some nicely tongue-in-cheek humor. The story references lots of old-school horror movies, notice how many of the characters in this movie are named after directors of old werewolf films. Dante lends some well-crafted direction, giving the movie a truly haunting atmosphere. He builds some great suspense and the occasional good shock. The art direction by Robert Burns is also quite good, making for some creepy settings. As I mentioned off the top, Rob Bottin and Rick Baker's makeup FX are impressive and frightening. Pino Donaggio's music score is splendidly dramatic.

Dee Wallace Stone gives a strong performance as the film's troubled heroine. Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Belinda Balaski, and Christoper Stone are also good in their supporting roles. Elisabeth Brooks and Robert Picardo make for some truly scary villains.  And wait until you see the end.  

The Howling ranks as one of the very best modern werewolf movies!

 

Trivia:  Robert Picardo improvised the line "I want to give you a piece of my mind" before pulling out a bullet from his head.

 

Art director Robert A. Burns had previously worked on the sets for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). In fact, many of the grisly set dressings for this film were hold-overs from "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre"; most notably the corpse in the armchair seen in Walter Paisley's bookstore.

 

 

 

[baumer]

Number 1

Gremlins (1984)

Directed by Joe Dante

Starring:  Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Corey Feldman, Hoyt Axton, Judge Reinhold, Howie Mandel

Box office:  153 million

 

Gremlins is one of those movies so famous that you assume everyone has seen it.  My guess is most here have not.  I cannot recommend this film enough.  The sequel is also highly recommended and is actually funnier in some ways that the original.  This film spent 6 weeks at number two, never reached number one and had the misfortune of coming out the same weekend as Ghostbusters.  It also came out the same summer (two weeks after) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  The summer of 1984 was a terrific time for a 12 year old kid just discovering the cinema.  All three films, imo, are classics.  Ghostbusters is certainly more famous than Gremlins, but in some ways Gremlins is the better movie.  I loved both of them and for a film to be open to 12.5M and go on to get a 12X, you knoqw it did something right.  Gremlins did everything right.  A funny script, sharp direction, likable characters and of course the GREMLINS.  In our time, we have the MINIONS.  They are basically the G version of GREMLINS.  Both are mischievous, clever and are full of hijinks.  Gremlins goes full on bat shit crazy once the cute, cuddly balls of fluff become the green, scaly, menacing terrors that like to hurt people, kill people and play with their minds.  They flash the blind, they get drunk, cause fights and generally wreak havoc.  This was all done before CGI so all of the gremlins you see in this film are animatronics and straight up puppeteering.  

 

"Gremlins" is a story that plays like a darker version of Steven Spielberg's "E.T." Which is funny, because it was Spielberg himself who had the vision of "Gremlins" becoming a movie. Spielberg, along with his then collaborators Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, served as executive producers of the film. Spielberg got a then up-and-coming screenwriter named Chris Columbus to write the script (As you all know, Columbus would go on to become the director of the first two "Harry Potter" movies as well as the first two "Home Alone" pictures), and (at the time) a Roger Corman protege named Joe Dante to direct the picture (don't know who Roger Corman is, look him up).

"Gremlins" is about a young man who receives a very unusual Christmas gift from his inventor father. He gets a little friendly creature called a Mogwai, which is as cute as a button. But there's a twist. There are three rules that must be followed in caring for the Mogwai: Rule #1 - Keep them away from light; Rule #2 - Don't get them wet; and Rule #3 - Don't feed them after midnight. When the rules get broken, all hell breaks loose as mean-spirited little monsters turn everything upside down. "Gremlins" then turns into a super-duper special effects picture, with the creatures created exceptionally by Chris Walas (Oscar winner for the makeup job on the 1986 remake of "The Fly"). These monsters are scary to be sure, but also very funny with some of the antics they provide. 

Even though the special effect monsters steal the show, the acting by the human actors is very good too. Zach Galligan makes the most of his film debut as Billy Peltzer, the young hero who tries to stop the gremlins; Phoebe Cates is effective as his girlfriend; the late Hoyt Axton is a hoot as the inept inventor father (some of his crazy inventions are hilarious, especially when the inventions backfire into slapstick catastrophes); Frances Lee McCain is good as the mother and housewife (who has one big scene with the nasty critters); Polly Holliday is wickedly funny as Mrs. Deagle, the meanest woman in town; and Dante regular Dick Miller is a riot as Mr. Futterman, the nice man who's always complaining about hand-made products being made out of foreign parts. Judge Reinhold and Corey Feldman have small roles as Billy's bank co-worker and good friend, respectively, and look for a quick cameo by Spielberg himself.  

 

Gremlins is one of my favourite films.  It's scary, hilarious and exceptionally quotable.  There is apparently a third in the works.  I hope it gets made with the same creative team.  I have no idea if it will be any good, but Gremlins and the sequel are special films and Gremlins tops my list of films you have probably heard of but more than likely have not seen.

 

Trivia:  The set for Kingston Falls is the same one used for Back to the Future (1985). Both movies were filmed in the Universal Studios backlot.

 

There's a great line in Goonies, which came out the next year.  In it, one of the characters, Chunk, a known prankster, is calling the police to report a murder...here is the exchange:

 

Chunk: Hello, Sheriff's Office? I'd like to report a murder!

Sheriff: Hold on, hold on a minute. Is that you again, Lawrence?

Chunk: Listen, Sheriff, I know I've jerked you around before, but this is for real now. I'm in the Fratellis' basement, with this guy...

Sloth: Rocky Road? Heh Heh!

Sheriff: Yeah, like that time you told me about the fifty Iranian terrorists who took over all the Sizzler steakhouses in the city?

Chunk: Sloth, get back here! Sloth!

Sheriff: Just like that last prank about all those little creatures that multiply when you throw water on them?

 

Gremlins and Goonies of course were both produced by Spileberg and starred Corey Feldman.

 

Originally planned and scheduled for a Christmas release, the film was rushed into production shortly after Warner Bros. found out that it had no major competition against Paramount's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) or Columbia's Ghostbusters(1984) for the summer movie season.

 

One of the studio notes to director Joe Dante and producer Steven Spielberg on seeing the first cut was that there were too many gremlins. Spielberg suggested cutting them all out and calling the film "People".    

 

Joe Dante actually prefers Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), this film's sequel, to the original.

 

Chris Columbus' script went through a few drafts before a shooting script was finalized. His original version had the creatures killing the dog and cutting off the mom's head and tossing it down the stairs. These elements were never shot due to the fact that bothJoe Dante and Warner Bros. wanted the movie to be more family-oriented.

 

 

[DeeCee]

Have you listed the 100 in 1 post?

[baumer]

Nope.  I will get to that later today.

[RandomCat]

...really? Thought everyone saw Gremlins.

[75Live]

awesome top 5

 

and the list itself was very well done and great work putting it all together