30 days of movies challenge

[Crewe]

The previous generation or the following generation? Because your issue with Cheech and Chong seems to be that today's generation doesn't get it

My post was poorly worded. Yes, the following generation. I was thinking films previous to the generation....good catch

[BojackHorsefella]

Alright then

Films that future generations don't get. This is kind of tough, because 1) I have no idea what kids these days find entertaining and b) part of that is because I had my son at 18, so he's more or less latched on to all of the things I like. It's not the same pop culture gap that, say, my dad and I have, him being either 32 or 33 when I was born. 18 years actually isn't terribly hard to play catch up on.

So, from personal experience with my own 12 year old son, I'll go with this: The Lord of the Rings. Yup, the kid that loves Star Wars, Marvel, even Tron: Legacy just has 0 desire to see Lord of the Rings. I don't know if he just assumes it'll be some stuffy, old person 4 hour slag, like a western set in Middle Earth or something. Or maybe it's just an attention span thing that he refuses to fight in order to take in this cinematic excellence. Regardless, he has 0 interest in the films.

I DID get him to watch the first one (extended cut, of course), but that made him even less receptive to watching the other two, even though Two Towers is, of course, the best one.

[BojackHorsefella]

Per my first paragraph in that prior post, I didn't expect to be so completely unhip and out of touch when I'd only reached thirty. I'm the oldest person my age in the world.

[cflnut]

Day 28
A film that was a staple in your era you wish the previous generation would "get"

My choice is due to the popularity of the modern superhero movies, which i find tend to focus more on CGI effects, and action violence, instead of dramatic story telling. So I'm going with Superman, staring Christopher Reeve. These movies had very little in the way of fighting in them and tended to focus more on Superman/Clark Kent as a person instead of solely as the hero that always wins.

[TheNorm]

Day 28
A film that was a staple in your era you wish the previous generation would "get"

Really had to think about this one for a bit, but a good portion of Cold War movies from the 80s could probably be my answer. Anyone that grew up in that era knows the threat was real, and movies weren't in short supply to demonstrate that (WarGames, Red Dawn, The Day After, Threads, The Manhattan Project). For awhile in the very late 80s/early 90s up until a few years ago, that faded away while new enemies popped up. Just to choose one, I'll go with Countdown to Looking Glass, a 1984 movie that was styled in the setup of following a news broadcast in the days leading up to a confrontation between the US and Soviet Union. I remember watching this on HBO (I was 11 at the time) and it scared the hell out of me. Interesting to me how some things seem to come back.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countdown_to_Looking_Glass

Hell, can even find it on youtube. Dated for sure...and if you do watch you might recognize the reporter at the 1:56 mark.

[rollntider]

Day 28
A film that was a staple in your era you wish the previous generation would "get"

Red Dawn - Red Dawn to me because of the cold war. My generation was the last one to grow up with that. We would have nuclear attack drills once a year(or was it every other year? we seemed to stop after the 6th grade though), and get under our nuclear fallout proof desks. They would tell us where the fallout shelter was at the city hall. Red Dawn gave an idea what it would be like if they invaded and Russia was a feared country,

[Crewe]

You two went deep man lol

Day 29
Free day

Promote or discuss any film you wish for any reason.

ill take one that hasn't been discussed yet, Platoon (1986)
With family having survived Vietnam, I knew what I read, but it was still hard to understand, and no-one, especially those that were there, would talk about it. Even as a real youngster, I didnt know what I was seeing on tv, I didnt understand when my parents talked abut it, I didnt understand the effects it had on people. Those there, and the ones at home.
At that time, information wasn't at your fingertips the way it is now and as I went through high school it wasn't at the forefront of my mind as much as society was moving beyond the war.
There weren't dozens of films released seemingly every week back then, so a good one was really an event and when this one arrived, I thought it would be a good war movie.
I didnt know it would help me understand so much more. It made me cry, it made me angry, it made me feel like everyone else who lived it.
That film impacted me heavily and has stayed with me to this day.

[BojackHorsefella]

Day 29

I come to you to extoll the virtues of the unfairly maligned film Speed Racer.

This movie was a box office bomb and received beatings from critics. It has a cult following though for those who can appreciate all the film has to offer. From absolutely incredible, colorful visuals to what amounts to a charming, live action cartoon. Yes, there are some crazy gags, especially concerning his kid brother and the monkey, but that's not really any different from the popular Japanimation style of the TV show.

Emile Hirsch does a good enough job as Speed, but it's really John Goodman, as Pops Racer, that's the heart of the movie for me. I love just about everything John Goodman does and this is honestly one of his best performances. He makes Pops Racer feel like a person that actually exists.

All of this leads to an incredible finale that ties the whole movie together. It's really just such a fun, entertaining movie that yeah, is campy, but that's all part of it's charm.

[TheNorm]

Day 29
Free day

I'm just going to mention one of the most underrated movies from the late 80s...a great odd-couple action/comedy that gets awesome chemistry from the two principal actors as well as some strong supporting roles as well. The movie works because the two actors work so well together, even if it's a formula that's been used a bunch of times before: two people that don't necessarily like each other but have to cooperate to get out of a jam while on a road trip from New York to LA, and end up having a healthy respect for each other by the end of it. I'll always believe this is one of Robert De Niro's best performances on film, and Charles Grodin played a great foil to De Niro's bounty hunter. Midnight Run is still enjoyable to me almost 30 years later.

Here's the theatrical trailer...enjoy.

[BojackHorsefella]

Underrated? Isn't that considered a classic?

[TheNorm]

Underrated? Isn't that considered a classic?

Wasn't a big box office smash, tends to get overlooked in "best films of the 80s/comedies/etc." categories, more of a cult classic...

[Crewe]

agreed, Midnight Run is beyond awesome.
If you want more Charles Grodin and a seriously overlooked film, go with Seems Like Old Times with Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase and Charles Grodin.
That one's up there for me as well.

[Crewe]

This has been a fun discussion, and just like the others, I picked up some new watches and was reminded of many I need to go over again.
I debated about what to do for the final day and while this may not be popular, I thought Id try anyway.

Day 30
Favorite Tarantino film (writer and/or director)


its hard to call a favorite because theres more than one I want to pull but Im going with Death Proof for a few reasons.
One, I really like Kurt Russell and think he's a good actor. Second, Zoe Bell's stunts were incredible. Third, this film captures the drive in fare perfectly! It was as if Tarantino read my mind while making this film and it turned out to be a good one IMO. Most people put it as the worst of his films but for me, its highly rated.

[BojackHorsefella]

Best Tarantino movie....

Allow me to choose Inglorious Basterds. For so many reasons:

"The Bear Jew"

Delivering Christoph Waltz to a mainstream audience and kick starting his Hollywood career.

Also this is the first time I personally recall seeing Michael Fassbender as well. Really, the whole cast is amazing.

The unrealistic ending. Nothing prepared the audience for that, and it went from a movie where you're expecting a certain level of heartbreak and failure and instead get total wish fulfillment.

The dialogue the entire way through, the incredible cast, Sam Jackson's brief narration, just every element is so meticulously crafted and beautiful and just....well, the final line of the film really sums it up.

[TheNorm]

Best Tarantino movie? Gotta go with Pulp Fiction for me. This is the movie that was my introduction to Tarantino and it just holds a special place for me. Travolta's revival (again), all the guest stars, Christopher Walken's cameo...I could go on. Love this movie.