The Films You Watched Thread VI: The Undiscovered Movie

[Neon Ignition]

Dracula
The '79 version, to be honest there's very little to take away from the film. It's broadly the same well worn story and the most standout thing is John Williams score which feels really at odds with the film

[wakka]

Midnight Run

This 80s buddy cop action comedy has such a well worn premise - guy must escort other guy from A to B on a tight deadline, while being chased by cops/mafia, and beset by obstacles - and yet has such a tight script and terrific chemistry that it feels as fresh as a daisy.

I completely loved this film. DeNiro is grizzled, unkempt and unhappy as the bounty hunter for a bail bondsmen, who has to get Charles Grodin's irritatingly friendly mob accountant from New York to LA on a tight deadline - with the feds, the mob, and a rival bounty hunter doing their best to waylay them.

Some terrific action and stunt sequences break it up, but the heart of the film lies in the growing friendship and respect between the two men.

I have no idea why I didn't watch this sooner, it's wonderful. I rented this via Prime, where you can find a pretty solid HD version.

The Heartbreak Kid

This was the original 1972 version by Elaine May, not the Farrelly brothers remake with Ben Stiller.

Coincidentally this also stars Charles Grodin, which I didn't realise until I started watching it. And again, wow, I loved this film. I'd seen May's A New Leaf a few months ago for the first time and thought it was tremendous, and I'd say this is just as good. It's a screwball romantic comedy about a not-very-nice guy who marries a nice-but-pretty-annoying girl, and one day into the honeymoon decides he's made a huge mistake - not to mention falls in love with a girl he meets by the hotel pool and decides to marry her instead.

Farcical hijinks ensue, but it's not just played for laughs. Like A New Leaf, this is a sensitive film which has something to say about how we can treat each other like prizes or obstacles rather than human beings.

Highly recommended. Unfortunately this film is hard to find legitimately. It has only ever been issued on DVD in the US and is long out of print (copies go for £100+ used). No legal paid streaming/download copies are available. You can find it pirated on YouTube and via DVD rips, however. It really deserves a loving remaster like the one A New Leaf got via Eureka.

[QualityChimp]

Not seen either of those, cheers.

[Atticus]

It was sad news about Charles Grodin's passing recently ... way to honour the guy with a top double-bill.

[wakka]

I had missed that that sucks, he was brilliant.

[randombs]

Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge on the Run

Keanu Reeves as the wise sage was great, and there were more than a few belly laughs to be had. It didn’t have the theme song, but I think they did a decent job making everything look and move like the 2D cartoons. Even so, after it finished I was itching to see the 2D stuff…

Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie

It’s pretty untouchable. It’s funny and it looks so cute.

Holes

Naughty boys are sent to the desert to dig holes. Great stuff.

[Atticus]

Raiders of the Lost Ark - Class

[QualityChimp]

I meant to tuck into one of my new discs (got all those Lone Wolf & Cub films to get through), but spotted that Primer was on Amazon Prime(r) and fancied a rewatch (despite owning the disc).

Still such a great film. It's properly cheap, but that doesn't impact it. Shane Carruth is credited as director, star, writer, producer, casting director, production designer, sound designer, editor and composer!

I don't want to give too much away, but two scientists discover a side-effect of their experiment that's intended to make things lighter, thus making goods transportation cheaper and so on.

Carruth has a science background and didn't want to have to explain everything going on, so it gets complex pretty quick and you'll definitely find yourself looking up and explanation by the end.

If you've not seen it and fancy stretching you grey matter, I'd recommend it and it deserves its "cult classic" status.

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[wakka]

Good shout QC. Been meaning to watch that for years, and it popping up on Prime(r) Video is a good opportunity.

[QualityChimp]

Good shout QC. Been meaning to watch that for years, and it popping up on Prime(r) Video is a good opportunity.

Perfect, mate.
That's exactly why I posted, in case someone else wanted to see it and hadn't had opportunity.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
This is a good summary of the film and the wibbly-wobbly parts:

https://www.thisisbarry.com/film/primer-2004-movie-plot-ending-explained/

I love my big budget bonanzas, but also those titles slightly away from mainstream that try something different.

Prime is quite good at having older films that I gazed at the cover of in the video shop, but was too young to watch.
Most of them haven't aged well, I suspect, but I'm still intrigued.
Xtro
Star Crash
Deathstalker
The Shape of Things to Come
Moon 44
Six String Samurai
Nemesis
Scanner Cop
Hell Comes to Frogtown
Split Second
The Stuff
The Beyond

That kind of thing is all on Prime. Some I've already seen, but it really does feel like a virtual VHS store from the 80s/90s!

[wakka]

Yeah they do have a lot of wacky pulp VHS type stuff, you're right. I started watching Runaway the other day - scripted and directed by Michael Crichton, starring Tom Selleck. He's a cop who chases after rogue robots in the future (sound familiar?).

Anyway long story short I fell asleep 20 minutes in

The Stuff is awesome. Except the last third, which kinda sucks. But it's a cool idea and there's a lot to like about it.

[QualityChimp]

Yeah they do have a lot of wacky pulp VHS type stuff, you're right. I started watching Runaway the other day - scripted and directed by Michael Crichton, starring Tom Selleck. He's a cop who chases after rogue robots in the future (sound familiar?).

Anyway long story short I fell asleep 20 minutes in

The Stuff is awesome. Except the last third, which kinda sucks. But it's a cool idea and there's a lot to like about it.

I bloody LOVE Runaway!

I think it's seeing it (or bits on telly) as a kid. Had that plonky synth "futuristic" soundtrack, loads of robots part of everyday life (a bit like Patlabor), I fancied Kirsty Alley when I was younger, those robot spiders are terrifying and how bloody good is Gene Simmons as a bad guy?! I think that's the first time I'd seen him, so didn't have the KISS association.

Plus Selleck's tache.

This is the perfect example of the kind of films I love. 80s/90s sci-fi.

Try again mate as snoozing mid-film can get the best of us!

I was underwhelmed when I finally saw The Stuff, but after years being entranced and horrified at what the VHS box may contain, it ended up being a pretty cheap non-event.

I reckon [MENTION=2725]Baseley09[/MENTION] is into this genre too.

[wakka]

I just love the idea in The Stuff that they find this goo in the ground, and then eat it (WTF?!), and it turns out to be a delicious fro-yo style dessert

I really like the spooky family in it too, when they're all entranced by it. Kinda reminds me of something out of Eerie Indiana (it may have been an influence on some of the episodes of that, perhaps Foreverware).

I will try Runaway again

[QualityChimp]

I will try Runaway again

Decent look back at the film on Den of Geek for you to read after watching it.

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/michael-crichtons-runaway-1984s-other-killer-robot-movie/

How great was Eerie Indiana? That was ahead of its time, for sure.

[wakka]

I LOVE Eerie Indiana. That's right up there as one of the most memorable, impactful shows I watched as a kid. There were also novelisations of some of the episodes, which I also read at the time (and must still have, somewhere at my mum and dad's).

'The Lost Hour' was such a great, chilling episode. I still think about that regularly. It was a very formative programme for me.

Thanks for the Den of Geek link, I'll read that after the film.