baumer Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 #13 The Abyss Starring: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn Directed by James Cameron Number of lists: 10 Number one: 1 Top 5: 3 Washington Post: The most important thing to recognize about The Abyss is that, beneath all the science fiction/adventure trappings and their allegorical interpretations, this is first and foremost a love story. Those who doubted that Cameron was a romantic at heart were forced to re-evaluate their position when Titanic was released. The Bud/Lindsey relationship is by far the strongest aspect of this movie. The two most tense and powerful scenes are keyed by their relationship: the scene in which Lindsey drowns, is dragged through the cold water by Bud, then revived when he won't give up on her; and the sequence when Lindsey talks Bud through the precipitous drop to the bottom of the Cayman Trough. The Abyss gains much of its tension as a result of our investment in these characters. Of course, the movie is comprised of far more than those two segments, but they are perhaps The Abyss' most memorable moments because of their emotional power. One of the reasons the ending feels a little anti-climactic, even in the Extended Version, is because it's cerebral. The Bud/Lindsey romance has been resolved by the time the extraterrestrials step out of the shadows. My take: Though I prefer The Terminator and Aliens, this film is James Camerons most artistic film. The visual imagery of this film is stunning, with no half measures taken, it is such a pleasure to watch. The aliens look as beautiful as an alien can do and the underwater scenery is so picturesque that I just wish I could be there. The special effects are stunning. As with a lot of Cameron's hits, this was an innovator in special effects. If it wasn't for this film, films such as The Matrix and Lord of the Rings would not be here or at least would not have been able to express themselves in a visual sense. Cameron is the ultimate director. Although he is a pain to work with, he gets his image across and proves why he is such a hit machine. No one compares to him when it comes to picking a cast. Even though most of this cast were, and still are, unknown, the performances in this are fantastic. I know I always praise him but Michael Biehn as Coffey is one of the best acting performances I have ever seen and the fact that Biehn was not even Oscar nominated is a travesty! He is great to watch as the maniac who is irate and just plain horrible. Ed Harris is on par with his good performances in The Rock and Apollo 13. You just want to be his mate in this movie despite the fact he is another pain (see Rock out takes) which is why him and Cameron have not spoken a word since this film. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio was a bit of a fad. She didn't last very long being in good films but she is good as the hard nosed estranged wife who near the end, becomes wonderfully vulnerable and loving. 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 #12 Parenthood Starring: Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, Keanu Reeves, Joaquin Phoenix, Mary Steenbergen, Martha Plimton, Diane Wiest Directed by: Ron Howard Number of lists: 11 Number one: 0 Top 5: 1 Peter Travers: Surprise. Parenthood, heartfelt and howlingly comic, also comes spiced with risk and mischief. Just when you fear the movie might be swept away on a tidal wave of wholesomeness, a line, a scene or a performance poke through to restore messy, perverse reality. Howard, a father of four, longed to make a movie that got down to the grit of child rearing. Along with screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, he developed a story about four families. Though full of bounce and bright jests, the script often cuts deeper than most summer nonsense. It’s a shock and a welcome one to see Steve Martin cast against type as a doting dad. Martin’s nippy wit continually lifts this movie above the swamp of sentiment. Martin plays Gil Buckman, a parent determined to raise his three kids right, which means unlike the way his neglectful father (Jason Robards) raised him. To live up to his own idea of what a dad should be, Gil sacrifices his career ambitions. This leaves his wife, Karen (the radiant Mary Steenburgen), pinching pennies and Gil stressed out. Martin perfectly captures Gil’s rage at his own inadequacy. He’s also astonishingly fine at showing the authenticity of Gil’s tenderness. Martin’s dance of joy when his shy, uncoordinated son hits a baseball out of the park is a lovely, lyrical piece of pantomime. His performance is solid gold. My take: A simply brilliant film in every way. An all star cast that shines and delivers. Written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, this is one of their many hits they had over the span of about 15 years. They were also responsible for City Slickers. Perhaps the greatest strength of this movie is in its realism. Sure every character and event in the movie are somewhat silly and over-the-top but yet they also feel like very real problems and persons at the same time. This due to the great portrayal of the drama elements in the movie. These are real, recognizable or not, family-issues portrayed in this movie. It handles some delicate subjects but never without a smile as well. It makes this movie both touching and warm to watch, as well as fun and amusing. Reason why both the dramatic and comical elements all work so well is also thanks to the cast. The movie has many well known actors in it. Tom Hulce especially impressed me and also Steve Martin was a great leading man, from the period when he was still funny in movies. Solid as always were Mary Steenburgen and Dianne Wiest. Rick Moranis surprisingly doesn't play a loser this time but he still is a nutty character in the movie. He shows in this movie that he also has some real acting skills. Keanu Reeves is also good in his role, from the period when he appeared mostly in just comedies. The still very young Joaquin Phoenix also plays a great and quite big role in the movie 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 #11 Honey I Shrunk the Kids Starring: Rick Moranis, Kristin Sutherland Directed by: Joe Johnston Number of Lists: 11 Number one: 0 Top 5: 3 Entertainment Weekly: Honey I Shrunk the Kids proves that special effects are nothing special unless they serve a larger fantasy. Joe Johnston, the director of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, knows what fantasy is about. The creatures he has designed (Yoda and the Ewoks for the Star Wars movies) are people and not just neat machines. That same combination of technical wizardry and human warmth helped Honey earn $130 million, outlast Indiana Jones and Ghostbusters II at the box office last summer, and make almost every critic’s top 10 list last year. The effects are terrifically convincing: The quarter-inch kids ride bees, battle scorpions, are sucked into a lawn mower, and dumped in a 16,000-gallon bowl of Cheerios made from painted inner tubes. Their characters are also cleverly constructed — satiric without being shrill, sweet without being treacly. The shrinkage is less sensational on the home screen than it was on the big screen. Even so, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids remains big fun. My take: Leave it to Disney to give us a friendly mad scientist in the form of Rick Moranis, who plays an affable, amiable absent minded professor family man by name of Wayne who's latest invention, kept in the attic, is designed to shrink things down. Alas, he's not having much luck with it, as his initial test subject, an apple, gets blown up. Later, one of his neighbor's sons, Ron, hits a baseball through Wayne's window while he's out at giving a science presentation and when Ron's older brother Russ sends him to fetch it with Wayne's son Nick they get shrunk thanks to the baseball whacking the machine. When Russ goes up with Nick's older sister Amy they get shrunk too, along with a chair and Wayne's thinking couch. Unfortunately, a frustrated Wayne, unaware of what's happened, comes home and demolishes his machine and accidentally throws out his kids and his neighbor's (Matt Frewer of TV's Max Headrome fame) with the garbage. It is not until Wayne starts cleaning up the attic that he discovers the shrunken couch and chair (which he steps on) and realizes that his missing kids were shrunk by it and that he threw them out with the trash. So while Wayne embarks on a series of unsuccessful attempts to find his kids without stepping on them, the kids must make a dangerous trek through the uncut back yard, encountering "giant" toys, food, bees, ants, lawnmowers and, strangely enough, a scorpion (someone's escaped pet?). 11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 This brings us to the top ten. I will try to get it done tonight. No guarantees. 4 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 Coming up first, at number ten, we have a guest writer. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 #10 Kiki's Delivery Service Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Kappei Yamaguchi Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki Number of Lists: 10 Number one: 3 Top 5: 4 Take it away @cannastop Kiki's Delivery Service is Miyazaki in his stride, after also making the masterpieces Castle in the Sky and My Neighbor Totoro. While he did not intend to direct the movie at first, he obviously made it his own, adapting from Eiko Kadono's children's novel. The movie is astonishingly beautiful, with impeccable art direction. Miyazaki knows how to make something beautiful and grand with perhaps not as many resources as Disney or Bluth had at this same time, although this might also be due to the lower salary that Japanese animators made and still make today compared to animators in America or Europe. Whatever Miyazaki intended by making this movie, it is rich in themes and empowering too. Kiki learns so much from older women in the movie, and while this was probably in the original book too, it fits in with other material that Miyazaki wrote directly for the screen in his previous movies. The plot is that the 13 year old Kiki must follow the custom of a young witch living on her own, away from her family. While the story doesn't get more complex that that, being mostly multiple set pieces, each scene is a gem, and nearly perfect too. And while it is a great movie, it is not undone by Kiki's own personal perfection, her being perhaps the best role model ever in a Miyazaki movie. This movie helped but Hayao Miyazaki on the map, being the #1 movie in Japan for 1989, after his other movies didn't sell that many tickets. He later of course, would direct the #1 movie of all time in Japan, Spirited Away. 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannastop Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 10 minutes ago, baumer said: Number of Lists: 10 Number one: 3 Top 5: 4 hmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 #9 Back to the Future 2 Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson Directed by Robert Zemekis Number of Lists: 13 Number 1: 0 Top 5: 2 Roger Ebert: "Back to the Future Part II" is an exercise in goofiness, an excursion into various versions of the past and future that is so baffling that even the characters are constantly trying to explain it to each other. I should have brought a big yellow legal pad to the screening, so I could take detailed notes just to keep the time-lines straight. And yet the movie is fun, mostly because it's so screwy. Any story involving travel through time involves the possibility of paradoxes, which have provided science-fiction writers with plots for years. What happens to you, for example, if you kill your grandfather? What do you say if you meet yourself? In one famous s-f story, a time traveler to the distant past steps on a single bug and wipes out all the life forms of the future. ADVERTISEMENT "Back to the Future Part II" is the story of how the heroes of the first movie, Marty McFly and Doc Brown, try to manipulate time without creating paradoxes, and how they accidentally create an entirely different future - one in which Marty's beloved mother is actually married to his reprehensible enemy, Biff Tannen. McFly and Brown are played again this time by Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, the stars of the 1985 box-office hit, and they not only made "Part II" but went ahead and filmed "Part III" at the same time. Indeed, this movie closes with a coming-attractions trailer for the third part, which will open next summer. (Trivia buffs may note that Russ Meyer is the only other filmmaker to end a movie with a trailer.) The script conferences on the set of this movie must have been utterly confusing, as director Bob Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale tried to find their way through the labyrinth they had created. The movie opens in 1985. McFly has just returned from his previous adventure when Doc Brown appears once again in that souped-up De Lorean. He's breathless with urgency and wants McFly to join him on a trip to the year 2015, where absolutely everything has gone wrong and McFly is needed to save his own son from going to jail. My take: While not nearly as charming as the first, it's still very entertaining. Back to the Future Part II is an solid sequel to the first one which Back to the Future (1985) is a masterpiece. This is a fun travel science fiction comedy in the trilogy. It deals with paradox past traveling. From traveling with Time machine Car "DeLorean" in to the future and back to the past again. This film is a 8 in my opinion it doesn't deserve the hate, like mostly viewers stated. I love "Back to the Future" trilogy it is one of my all time favorite trilogy's of all time. I grew up with this trilogy I have seen the first one on VHS as a kid. Years later I have seen the sequels on TV. I love this movie to death and it is my third favorite film in the trilogy. Don't get me wrong but I have enjoyed Back to the Future Part III more than part II and think the third film is the most underrated film in the trilogy and unappreciated. This film does have the comedy and the humor in it. I Love, Love this film so so so much, it is a great direction from Robert Zemeckis and brilliant writing from Bob Gale. Back to the Future Part II was nominated for an Oscar. I really did missed 21st October 2015 an important event date from this film in the trilogy that reached 30 year anniversary in the year 2015 when the trilogy come out respectfully on a Blu-ray. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd are excellent in their performances. Michael J. Fox plays more than just one character, he even played Marlene McFly future daughter of Marty. 11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tawasal Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 Great job with the write up @cannastop. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 #8 The Little Mermaid Starring: Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll Directed by: Ron Clements, Joe Musker Number of Lists: 14 Number one: 2 Top 5: 4 SF Examiner: The love story between mermaid Ariel (the sweet voice of Jodi Benson) and mortal Prince Eric (Christopher Daniel Barnes) is fairy-tale wonderful. And there is a slew of terrific side characters that make the movie as entertaining for adults as it is for children. Pat Carroll gives voice to Ursula, a hefty octopus and deceitful seawitch who makes a sinister deal with Ariel for the love of her Prince Eric. And Sebastian the wise crab is played with crustaceous chutzpah by Samuel E. Wright. He gets to sing lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken's calypso, "Under the Sea," which won best song Oscar. The movie also won an Oscar for best score. Sebastian also sings my other favorite, "Kiss the Girl." "Mermaid" was the last animated Disney feature that was completely drawn (it took more than a million drawings), with no computer-assisted graphics. Four hundred artists took three years to make it. The rerelease, however, has been digitally renovated so that the imperfections of the original (cel dirt and paint crawl on the original negative) are now eliminated. If you have kids, take them and have a ball. My Take: Have not seen it 10 1 1 1 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 Taking a 20 minute break. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plain Old Tele Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 Wow at HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS at #11. Surprisingly high. THE ABYSS is so, so good. I love it so much. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tawasal Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 Just now, baumer said: Taking a 20 minute break. Take more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannastop Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 aww man just realized I made a typo with "but" rather than "put" but I can't fix it because it's not my post. 😭 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfran43 Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 7 minutes ago, Plain Old Tele said: Wow at HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS at #11. Surprisingly high. THE ABYSS is so, so good. I love it so much. It is! It really is!🥰 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 Who else was the person with taste and put The Little Mermaid at #1? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 #7 National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Starring Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid and Beverly D'Angelo Directed by: Jeremiah S Chechik Number of Lists: 18 First Place: 0 Top 5: 7 Reel Reviews: Christmas Vacation is considered by many film critics to be a "guilty pleasure" - largely because some of the set pieces are as hilarious as they are juvenile. Unfortunately, Christmas Vacation also suffers from the malaise that plagues the other three Vacation films (1983's Vacation, 1985's European Vacation, and 1997's Vegas Vacation) - too little material to sustain a 90+ minute motion picture. At about two-thirds of its official length, Christmas Vacation might have been a joy to the world; as it is, a few too many overlong and lame scenes make us want to deck the Griswolds (Clark in particular). These days, there are really only five staple Christmas films: Frank Capra's classic It's A Wonderful Life, Scrooge/A Christmas Carol (pick a version, although the 1951 Alistair Sim one is the most beloved), A Miracle on 34th Street (the original, not the remake), A Christmas Story, and Christmas Vacation. The universal popularity of the last film is not difficult to explain - it's diverting but doesn't require undivided attention, the rights are cheap enough that almost any TV station can (and does) broadcast it, and, despite its failings, it is funny. Oh, and there aren't that many non-saccharine Christmas films that are vaguely watchable. If we take away Christmas Vacation, what are we supposed to substitute for it? My take: This is why critics can shove a lot of their reviews up their keesters. I looked through 10 reviews to find something that was somewhat positive. Critics call this a guilty pleasure. There's nothing guilty about laughing your ass off as the Griswalds celebrate the holidays as only the Griswald's can. And even when you get past all the hilarity and high jinx, there's plenty of moments in that tug at your heart strings. You have Clark wanting to give his cousins kids a nice Christmas, Clark's dad telling Clark that it's up to him to read the Night Before Christmas, and of course the very end when we all learn a valuable lesson that money and presents doesn't mean as much as family. I watch Christmas Vacation maybe 5 times a year once the Christmas season is upon us. And I laugh, every time. "Shitter's full" If you watch this scene and don't laugh, then you have a different sense of humour than me, Even the yuppie neighbors crack me up. "Why is floor all wet MARGO?" I don't know TODD!!" Christmas Vacation is one of the funniest films I've ever seen and it's the best Christmas movie of all time imo. 10 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 #6 Glory Starring: Morgan, Denzel, Ferris Bueller and Wesley Directed by Ed Zwick Number of Lists: 14 Number one: 2 Top 5: 4 Ebert: The story goes that the author of "Glory," Kevin Jarre, was walking across Boston Common one day when he noticed something about a Civil War memorial that he had never noticed before. Some of the soldiers in it were black. Although the American Civil War is often referred to as the war to free the slaves, it had never occurred to Jarre - or, apparently, to very many others - that blacks themselves fought in the war. The inspiration for "Glory" came to Jarre as he stood looking at the monument. It tells the story of the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, made up of black soldiers - some Northern freemen, some escaped slaves - and led by whites, including Robert Gould Shaw, the son of Boston abolitionists. Although it was widely believed at the time that blacks would not make good soldiers and would not submit to discipline under fire, the 54th figured in one of the bloodiest actions of the war, an uphill attack across muddy terrain against a Confederate fort in Charleston, S.C. The attack was almost suicidal, particularly given the battlefield strategies of the day, which involved disciplining troops to keep on marching into withering fire. The 54th suffered a bloodbath. But its members remained disciplined soldiers to the end, and their performance on that day - July 18, 1863 - encouraged the North to recruit other blacks to its ranks, 180,000 in all, and may have been decisive in turning the tide of the war. My take: Easily the best Civil War movie ever produced, and among the front rank of all war movies. Filled with memorable and moving scenes - the look of sheer defiance on Trip's (Denzel Washington) face as his already scarred back is whipped, the men of the 54th telling their stories around the campfire on the eve of battle, Shaw (Matthew Broderick) turning loose his horse on the beach before Ft. Wagner. History is brought to life more vividly in this film than in any big-budget all-star cast epic I can recall. Most often , those films only succeed in collapsing under their own weight and leaving audiences more turned off about history. Glory brings the issues of the time - slavery, freedom and sacrifice - down to human scale. We can understand why the men of the 54th were willing to take up arms, and how tragic it was that they had to sacrifice their lives in order to be considered men. 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baumer Posted September 5, 2019 Author Share Posted September 5, 2019 And that brings us to the top 5. We also have another guest writer for the film at number 5. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tawasal Posted September 5, 2019 Share Posted September 5, 2019 35 minutes ago, cannastop said: aww man just realized I made a typo with "but" rather than "put" but I can't fix it because it's not my post. 😭 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
