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]

Yes my bad @Telemachos. I remember you saying that now.

[Chaz]

Chariots of Fire is such a classic, and not just for that one famous scene. So good.

[Jake Gittes]

I read that the novel The Spectacular Now is based on ends with

 

Spoiler

Teller's character staying right where he was and getting drunk in a bar while Woodley moved on

 

, and I would have respected the film much more if it had the balls to keep that ending instead of pulling a half-assed Good Will Hunting. 

[baumer]

I loved the book. So honest and insightful. It's what made me want to see the movie.

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, Baumer said:

Number 76

Chariots of Fire (1981)

Directed by Hugh Hudson

Starring Ben Cross, Ian Holm (Yep, Bilbo is in this) and John Gielgud

Box office:  59 million

 

There is absolutely nothing unnecessary in this film. The writing, the direction, the acting, the dialogue are all outstanding. And then there's that haunting score. 
 

 

 

I say this without hyperbole that I consider the main theme/title of the movie is one of the great movie themes of all time.  I wouldn't try to figure out where to place it in a Top 25, 50 or even Top 100*.  But it is there somewhere in that list.

 

* It is absolutely no contradiction in my mind to say that something of one the best of all time and say it is somewhere in a list of a 100.  There's been a LOT of truly great movie themes after all.

 

You wouldn't think someone like Vangelis would become synonymous with both the Olympics and the triumph of the human spirit, but he did.  Still gives me chills to this day to listen to it.

 

[baumer]

Number 74

8MM (1999)

Directed by:  Joel Schumacher

Starring Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Norman Reedus, Peter Stormare

Box office:  96 million WW

 

8MM is a film that really affected me.  In 1992, there were two girls who were kidnapped and then tortured and murdered by two sick lovers named Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.  This was one of the most horrific cases in Canadian history.  Bernardo and Homolka were a super couple.  He made his money on Bay street (our Wall Street) and she was the gorgeous super model type.  Their wedding was huge and they spent money on everything.  When Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy disappeared within a year of one another, no one suspected these two normal and seemingly perfect people to be cold blood and sadistic killers.  The girls they killed were 14 and 15 years old.  It's a case that grips Canada to this day and the two names are as well known in Canada as Don Cherry and Justin Trudeau.  I preface this introduction to 8MM because this film really brought back a lot of memories for me.  And they were not good memories.  I remember reading the paper every day and watching the news every night to see if they had finally caught the killers.  Adn with 8MM being about snuff films and ritualistic killings of young and innocent teen girls, it hit a little to close to home.

 

 This film is hugely under-rated. For those reviewers who call this film a "waste of time" or place it in the "hall of shame", they are missing the point of it. 

8mm focuses on "snuff" movies and follows Nicholas Cage as he ventures into the dark underworld of the pornographic industry. In many roles Nicholas Cage is brilliant.  He manages to convey an every man kind of vibe and you feel like some of the characters he plays are people that could know.  This might be one of his best performances as he goes so deep into the rabbit hole that he begins to wonder if he'll ever come out.  Other actors in the film put on great performances, notably Joaquin Phoenix, and James Gandolfini.

What makes the film worth watching though is the emotion, dark imagery and tense moments throughout the film. The story is very well thought out although does have a few holes and untouched areas that may have helped develop the film further. There is no Hollywood ending, forced propaganda, or marketing. What you do get is graphic scenes, moderate violence, and an insight into "snuff" movies (which really is quite disturbing).

Having said that this movie is not for the faint hearted, so if you're a "puppy-dogs and ice-cream" kind of person I'd suggest watching something else. If however, you feel you will be able to stomach such a film then prepare yourself for a moving film, which will leave with the message that tells you the world is one fucked up place.

 

 

 

 

[DAR]

There's been a few I haven't seen.  But a lot are one's I haven't seen in years.

[The Stingray]

9 hours ago, Baumer said:

@The Stingray @75live you might like the last couple.

 

Not a fan of I Spit On Your Grave. Torture porn is really not my cup of tea.

 

Imo, a somewhat similar but better horror movie is the Last House on the Left remake.

Edited July 22, 2016 by The Stingray

[baumer]

I liked the Last House remake as well.

[baumer]

Coming up

 

A dudes package shocks the world

Another 80s teen movie starring Travolta wife and one of the Coreys

[baumer]

Number 73

The Crying Game (1992)

Directed by Neil Jordan

Starring:  Stephen Rae, Jay Davidson, Miranda Richardson, Forrest Whitaker

Box Office:  62 million

 

"The Crying Game" is one of those films that you see and you talk about for days after you first see it. A genuine shocker at the time of its release, the film was huge in 1992 and earned a Best Picture nomination from the Academy. The film is a complicated puzzle which involves an IRA volunteer (Stephen Rea in his Oscar-nominated role) who is assigned to guard a British soldier (Forest Whitaker). An unlikely friendship develops and when Whitaker is killed, Rea goes to find his girlfriend who is not at all that she seems. There is no point in giving away her secret to those who have not yet seen this film. However, the twists and turns of "The Crying Game" are what make the film work. The movie is flawed in several areas, but overall it is a noble work that ranks real high on the list of other great films of the 1990s. 

 

Trivia:  The film was shot on such a shoestring budget it actually came very close to running out of funds.

The film was turned down by all the studios because they thought "the twist" in the film would turn viewers off; in fact it became why many went to the movie.

 

 

 

[RascarCapat]

omg Baumer I havn't seen any of these.

 

I'm adding some to my watchlist for the hollydays and Damn that cast for The Spectacular Now is Spectacular.

[baumer]

1 minute ago, RascarCapat said:

omg Baumer I havn't seen any of these.

 

I'm adding some to my watchlist for the hollydays and Damn that cast for The Spectacular Now is Spectacular.

 

IMHO, a lot of the films on here are certainly worth seeing.  The Crying Game will blow you away at the end.  It's the twist that no one saw coming....DO NOT SPOIL IT FOR YOURSELF.

[baumer]

Number 72

Goon (2012)

Directed by:  Michael Douse

Starring:  Sean William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Liev Schreiber, Eugene Levy, Alison Pill

Box office:  6.4 million

 

There is one element that distinguishes a "great" sports movie from a "good" sports movie. It's "the feel". It doesn't matter if the movie is about baseball, basketball, football or hockey. If it doesn't smack of authenticity you might as well flip over to a live game. "The Natural" had the feel of baseball and for hockey "Slapshot" has always been the template for the great hockey movie. I happily add "Goon" to that rarefied space.

As far as movie making goes, it has all the right stuff. The acting is convincing and solid, the jokes are funny and there is lots of on-ice action. But the defining feature of this film is that it feels real. It feels like these are real guys playing a real game in front of real fans. True hockey fans will get the in jokes, wince at the ankle injury, relate to the dressing room banter, and feel tempted to yell "head's up" when the bad guy starts to take a run at the little guy.

The key scene is, of course, the final showdown between "good goon" and "bad goon". We know it's coming, but sometimes we know the NHL fights are inevitable, as the tough guys line up before the face-off and start jabbering. The build-up is just as visceral in "Goon", and when they finally drop the gloves it reminded me of that great final shoot-out scene in "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly", as the guys do the pre-fight strip tease and wait for other to draw first.

I will risk the wrath of my fellow hockey fans who have grown up worshipping at the church of "Slapshot". It was a great movie, although a bit long. I found "Goon" to be more entertaining, as authentic and more believable. I also think this is a movie where you don't have to be a hockey fan to enjoy it.  There's enough humour in here (not of the hockey kind) to keep people entertained and with some recognizable actors playing caricatures and stereotypes of what you think an NHL player is, you might find yourself enjoying this.

 

 

 

 

[baumer]

Number 71

Knockaround Guys (2002)

Directors:  Brian Koppelman and David Levien

Starring:  Vin Diesel, Seth Green, Barry Pepper, John Malcovich and Dennis Hopper

Box Office:  14M

 

 

Trivia:  Although production wrapped in late 1999, the movie sat on the shelf for nearly three years before it was finally released.

 

This films proves the consistency of Murphy's Law. If anything can go wrong, it will, at the worst possible time. Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Seth Green and Andy Davoli are all the privileged sons of mob bosses and it shows. They are caught in between their fathers' world and the straight word, and neither world has a place for them it seems. Dennis Hopper and John Malkovich play the boss and underboss to the hilt, two old school "Gumbas" who have a heavy rep and a lot of street cred. When Matty and his "crew" are finally given a chance to prove themselves, Marbles, who swears he is off the nose candy, screws up and forces them to come to his location to bail him out. Seth Green is Marbles, and out of the entire cast, he is the most believable character. I mean, face it, Seth Green has made a living out of being the perpetual screw up, and will likely continue in that role forever. Barry Pepper makes an effort to come off as the crew leader, but he is relying on everyone else to make decisions and call the shots for him. Vinnie comes off as a typical enforcer, a street thug who does have one of the best scenes in the film when he beats the hell out of Brucker, the small town hood who "runs" Wibaux. All in all it's a fun time at the movies, mainly because of Diesel. 

 

Here's the best scene in the movie....said by Vin Diesel right before he beats the crap Brucker:

 

"500 fights, that's the number I figured when I was a kid. 500 street fights and you could consider yourself a legitimate tough guy. You need them for experience. To develop leather skin. So I got started. Of course along the way you stop thinking about being tough and all that. It stops being the point. You get past the silliness of it all. But then, after, you realize that's what you are."

 

 

 

[baumer]

Number 70

Secret Admirer (1985)

Directed by David Greenwalt

Starring:  C. Thomas Howell, Fred Ward, Lori Loughlin, Stupendous Tits (Kelly Preston), Corey Haim, Dee Wallace Stone

Box office:  8.6 million

 

On the last day before summer vacation, Michael Ryan (C. Thomas Howell) finds an anonymous love letter in his locker. Michael has a crush on Deborah "Debbie" Anne Fimple (Kelly Preston), who is the most beautiful girl of the high-school, and his friend Roger (Casey Siemaszko) convinces him that Debbie has written the letter. Michael writes a love letter to Debbie and asks his best friend Toni (Lori Loughlin), who actually wrote the letter for him, to deliver the letter to Debbie that is also her friend. However Toni reads the letter and rewrites it to Debbie, who immediately falls in love with the unknown author. Meanwhile, Michael's mother Connie Ryan (Dee Wallace) finds Michael's letter and believes it belongs to her husband George Ryan (Cliff De Young) and Debbie's father Lou Fimple (Fred Ward) finds Debbie's letter and believes it belongs to his wife Elizabeth Fimple (Leigh Taylor-Young). Michael dates Debbie while their parents are astonished with the betrayals of their mates. Soon Michael finds that Debbie is a shallow teenager and he misses Toni. Further, he realizes that she has written the letters and he feels that he loves her. But Toni is aboard of a ship ready to travel to study abroad for one year. Will they meet each other? 

 

Written by Jim Kouf, who went on to be one of the most in demand writers for a while in Hollywood.  He penned films like Rush Hour, National Treasure and just recently Money Monster.  

"Secret Admirer" is a charming romantic comedy from the wonderful 80's. The film moves quickly and it's one of the funnier 80's comedies.  There's a lot of confusion generated by the love letter and this is played for a lot of laughs.  The beauty of Kelly Preston is astonishing; C. Thomas Howell is excellent; but the sweet Lori Loughlin steals the show.  And as always, Dee Wallace is perfect.  One of my favourite comedies growing up.  

 

Trivia:  This film was part of an intense, front-page-of-newspapers controversy in Puerto Rico in early March of 2016 when it was revealed that writer/director Eduardo Ortíz had basically plagiarized it almost in its entirety - word-for-word, scene-for-scene, and shot-for-shot - when he did his film Vasos De Papel (2016), and had tried to make everybody believe that the screenplay had been created and written by himself. The film had only been playing at Puerto Rican cinemas for a few days when the first articles pointing out the similarities between the two films, and pointing out that there was no mention anywhere of it being based on 'Secret Admirer', arose. Once the film was no longer being shown in cinemas across Puerto Rico, Mr. Ortíz first issued a statement saying that there were "certain similarities between one film and the other, not plagiarism. Everything is a matter of interpretation". Only a few hours after making that statement, Mr. Ortíz changed it, saying in a radio interview that he "had done something terribly wrong", and apologizing to his cast and crew. Mr. Ortíz had ignored and/or refused to comment on the issue until actress Natalia Lugo, who played the lead on Vasos De Papel (2016), released a statement on social media where she both condemned the film and expressed the embarrassment she felt when she saw 'Secret Admirer', and came to understand how she and her fellow actors and crew had been duped.

 

 

 

 

[Jayhawk the Hutt]

Goon is very funny. It was nice to see Sean   William Scott play such a genuine character. He sells the movie.

[DeeCee]

So far this seems like a list of a lot of films I've probably seen but just can't remember for sure. 

 

I recognised the name David Greenwalt from Buffy and Angel. 

 

 

Edited July 23, 2016 by DeeCee

[TalismanRing]

4 hours ago, DeeCee said:

So far this seems like a list of a lot of films I've probably seen but just can't remember for sure. 

 

I recognised the name David Greenwalt from Buffy and Angel. 

 

 

I've seen a lot of these movies at 3am and/or dubbed in Spanish.
 

[baumer]

Number 69

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Directed by: Arthur Penn

Starring:  Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Wilder

Box office:  70M WW

 

This film jumps into high gear from minute one and it never lets up. Its so intensely violent. It hits you like a punch in the face, then it keeps hitting you. Warren Beatty is fantastic here, I think the only movie he was better in was Reds. Faye Dunaway never looked better. Shes absolutely gorgeous in this, she is also excellent in this film. There's a great supporting cast, Gene Hackman, Gene Wilder, Michael J. Pollard all turn in fantastic performances. Pollard and Hackman both have scenes where they almost runaway with the film. The only weak link performance in this would have to be Estelle Parsons. All she seemed to do was run around talking loudly and screaming. She got on my nerves. Besides her however this film is 100% solid. The violence is so bloody and visceral but so beautifully shot. Its like a ballet of carnage. Its also shot in a very interesting, almost documentary style. The camera doesn't shy away from anything. Your in this world and you see everything, death included.

 

The story is of two Texas young adults who, bored with their lives and the prospects of going nowhere in the world, decide to live out their dreams of stardom by going on a crime spree. They fancy themselves a sort of "Romeo and Juliet" couple, and think of their robberies as harmless fun. They start out small by knocking over grocery stores and gas stations, but soon graduate to banks when they need more money to accommodate their lifestyle. Soon they have a simple minded gas clerk named C.W. and Clyde's brother and wife in the gang, and the duo goes down into history.

Then the fun and games are over. With law enforcement officials now looking for Bonnie and Clyde, they become targets of bounty hunters, unethical cops and other greedy persons who wish to make a name for themselves, and they lose a part of their childish innocence as the escalation of their crimes makes them become more and more violent. When death finally comes for Bonnie and Clyde, it comes with a vengeance.
 

Trivia:  Warner Brothers had so little faith in the film that, in an unprecedented move, it offered its first-time producer Warren Beatty 40% of the gross instead of a minimal fee. The movie then went on to gross over $50 million.  

 

Gene Wilder's debut.