Mondo Kane

If there's one thing I love about this movie, it's the slot machine!


I always have good luck breaking even or doubling my money with this one.

"Let's all eat at the Snack Lagoon!"

benh911

Just wanted to throw in my thoughts on the Shining, which I watched again last night. This is my favorite film. I've seen it probably 15-20 times, and I love it more and more every time I see it. I love the atmosphere that this movie creates. The two scenes in the Gold Ballroom are amazing. The tension produced through the steadicam tracking shots is awesome. Nicholson is Nicholson, of course. And I still think this has the best score of any movie..Midnight, The Stars and You is phenomenal.

Numes

Since The Shining was part of the 31 films, I thought it would be ok to discuss The Shining Mini Series here too. Anyone else watch this? It was probably a real bad idea to watch it right after I watched the movie because it is really nowhere near the quality of the movie. I know I should try to be objective and view it on its own for what it is, but that was about impossible.

There were quite a few differences in the mini series, which I'm assuming were more in-line with the book. Some of them were interesting, but they didn't really pull them off as well as they could have. I really like Steven Weber, but I will always see him as Michael Hackett from Wings, so even his psychotic episodes didn't feel real to me. Once again, unfair to stereotype him as actor, but I couldn't get over it.

clckworang

Numes, that very cheesey thing you refer to in your spoiler tag was a part of the book. I haven't seen the mini-series, but I have heard it's far more loyal to the book. I love the book, and I love the movie but I see the movie as more of a spin-off idea from the book, not an adaptation of the book.

The book deals a lot more with the supernatural. Yes, there are elements of that in the movie, but for the most part it's about insanity and the effects of isolation. I think Kubrick took the elements of the book that appealed to him the most and focused on that, and he made a classic film. It's a Kubrick film, not a King adaptation.

Numes

Yes! Yes! That exactly what I was trying to say...Or at least exactly how I feel about the movie.

To clarify, my "cheesy" comment was simply on how they implemented it in the mini-series, not the concept. I like the concept.

clckworang

^^ I figured as much. When I read the book, that was always something that I thought would be really difficult for a movie to replicate and have it actually look good. I guess I was right.

shadokitty

I actually found a copy of the Good Times DVD of the orginal at a pawn shop for $2.

Trevor

This and one of the sequels were originally released in 3-D. Have 3-D versions been released on DVD? I don't think so.

A remake is in the early works, wiki says that Peter Jackson almost was set to direct it.

Trevor

Very nice melding of Free Bird into the final sequence.

Well done for it's type I guess, but I just don't like that sub-genre very much.

Trevor

Another classic that I've put off watching until now.

Enjoyed it, great to see some older actors given good roles, including an Oscar winning performance by Ruth Gordon.

Trevor

I'll be lynched for saying this perhaps, but I didn't like it.

Somehow put off seeing this until the other night, while I had seen the Michael Bay remake and the Zellweger/McConaughey version. I liked both of those films more.

Numes

I still can't believe someone actually picked this movie for this challenge. I haven't quite decided if I'm going to go for the original or the MST3K version yet. Maybe I'll see if some people want to get together to play a drinking game or something to the original, that's about the only tolerable way to watch it.

edwardnortonfan

Manos was terrible, but I still had fun mocking it.

NoirFan

Creature from the Black Lagoon is probably the weakest of the Universal monster films, but it still boasts a great underwater mating dance between the Creature and luscious litterbug Julie Adams.

poster mayhem

Not only is it one of the weakest films but it's a weak series, it's also bizarre how quicky Universal felt it was ok killing the potential series. Especailly when you consider the best thing the series has going for it is the incredible monster suit.

NoirFan

Nah, I'll just hang you from a meathook.

Trevor

I think this may be the best movie in the list so far.

Trevor

Was never a big fan of this series, have probably only seen one of them all the way thru in my entire life, the original. I'm sure I've seen parts of several of them on cable over the years, and have probably seen the original 5 or more times, but never really got into them enough to seek out the sequels.


Seeking the Best Buy exclusive disc, I finally bought the box set of this earlier this year, and planned to marathon thru all of the movies this month. So far, watched the first two and have enjoyed them.

I completely forgot that Kevin Bacon was in the original, and actually didn't recognize him at first. Did any of the other stars of this end up getting big roles later?

Trevor

I recognize it's importance to the medium/genre, and admit that I may have liked it or appreciated it more if I had seen it 30, or even 10 years ago. I understand that many of the horror films I watch and enjoy owe a lot to it, but I just couldn't get into it. One big problem for me was that I couldn't generate sympathy for any of the kids.

Strange that I prefer really old horror, or stuff from the 90s and on, but many "classic" of the 70s or so don't do much for me.

Trevor

I'll agree that it is the weakest, although I haven't watched The Invisible Man in years. Coming up next week I think.

But that great scene you mention, and the fantastic suit, along with a cool premise, will always keep it in my favorites list.

Now if Peter Jackson had ended up doing the remake, would we have seen Naomi Watts in that scene? Yum!

Drop

It's obvious something is wrong with you. Seriously, I think the 70s being that medium between your tastes doesn't help. It's not quite golden era horror, but has some qualities and it's not modern, but also has those qualities. It's a bizzare hybrid that I'm guessing feels off to you. It's like a middle child.

Also, horror doesn't depend on sympathy for me, it's more me imagining myself in that situation. The Sawyer family comes off like the real deal to me though, and so I find TCM to be really effective. That's also why I can overlook the acting in horror films, and often I like seeing that kind of acting. Now it just helps set the mood for me. "Poor acting? Switching to horror mode".

I would imagine the 70s era films requiring a few views to really appreciate them, so don't give your final verdict yet Trevor. I'm kind of like that for all the genre classics of that era. I'm a bit underwhelmed at first, and so I don't think I really like them, but the more I think about them my views change, and when I see them again I really like them.

clckworang

^^ I agree to a point with the sympathy thing. Most of the time it's not a problem, but then I look at a film like Hostel where I hated all the characters so much that I was wishing horrible fates to befall them.

In the case of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I didn't have that problem at all. I can easily put myself in their position. I don't know, TCM has always represented the ultimate in horror to me. Some films might be scarier or creepier, but I always get this sense of absolute horror when I watch TCM.

As for the remake, it's proof that sometimes restraint is a good thing. And the Next Generation one, it just felt like a shameless ripoff of all the best moments from the original.

Chad

Was Franklin really that annoying? Nah, sound likes another falls victim to the Hollywood remake machine - the flashy "MTV style" editing, WB channel eye candy and high production values just to cash in on name recognition. Shoulda caught the original first! The same thing happened to me with the American version of "The Ring".

Just give it another chance. You might still harbor the same feelings on subsequent viewings, but you'll at least come to appreciate the gritty documentary feel and sense of realism that was accomplished on a shoestring budget. Remember, it's not supposed to be a pleasant experience!

Now, the part 4 thing I can't explain!

Chad

Just noticed a couple of back-to-back films on the list share a common "theme"...

"The Shining" and "Re-Animator" both borrow very heavily from the opening theme songs of older horror films. The former from "The Return of Dracula" and the latter from "Psycho". Coincidence? Probably.

NoirFan

I never got the bashing of Night of the Living Dead's performances. Give me amateur acting over hammy overacting (Day and Dawn) any day. Besides, Duane Jones turns in the finest, most believable performance of the entire trilogy. Plus, the scene in which the daughter butchers her mom with a spade still shocks today. I love Rosemary's Baby - the frumpy, nosy characteristics of the elderly satanists make them far more credible than the typical long haired, Manson-esque devil worshippers we're used to seeing.