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Post by The Curmudgeon on Mar 19, 2007 16:40:29 GMT 2
 OK, here's something for you all to think about and, as the title suggests - discuss, stating examples if you disagree.
Horror Movies - Best decade was the 1970's.Although the original Universal monster movies defined the genre in the 30's and 40's, I think this decade set the tone and raised the bar considerably from the shlocky B-movies from the 50's and 60's (Hitchcock notwithstanding). Examples - Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead, Halloween, Exorcist, Omen. Comedy Movies - Best decade was the 1980's.whereas nowadays it's teenagers doing gross things for cheap laughs, in the 1980's there were genuinely funny people (ah yes, comedians, I think they were called) doing funny things, bending rules and mixing genre's. Examples - Man With Two Brains, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Airplane!, Planes Trains And Automobiles.
"Independent" movies - Best decade was the 1990's.
Don't really know how else to put this, but you'll probably know what I mean. The quirky, character driven movies that didn't cost a billion dollars to make but certainly ended up making them. What's another word for it? Tarantino movies? Help a brother out here. Examples - Trainspotting, Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Shallow Grave. Action movies - Best decade was the 1980's.Car chases, cool characters, good fight scenes, iconic dialogue.. wheras the action movie nowadays is something of an embarrassment (I'm sorry? Who's your leading actor? Jason Statham? Well, best just "transport" me someplace else), in the 80's some of the best movies were.. Examples - Commando, Running Man, Rambo, Police Story, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon. Sci-Fi movies - Best decade was the 1980's.Although Star Wars came in the '70's, it was the 1980's that fully exploited its popularity, giving birth to a million inferior copies, but also some spectacular movies as well. Some of these could arguably go in the "Action" genre, but what the hell - same decade. Examples - Aliens, Predator, Star Man, The Thing, ET, Tron, Empire Strikes Back, Terminator. Superhero movies - best decade is the 00's.I refuse to say the "noughties" (ugh!) I know this could be tied in with action and sci-fi but hey, it's The Fortress. Anything goes. And it's my favourite type of movie anyway. And let's face it, we have all been spoiled for choice in the last six years. OK, there have been some cracking superhero movies throughout the years, but the level of success Spider-Man achieved opened so many doors and gained new respect for the spandex set. Finally the mind-bending ideas could finally be realised with today's special effects, and true writers with knowledge and passion of the books were the ones making the movies and calling the shots. Examples - Batman Begins, Spider-Man, X-Men, Punisher, Unbreakable, Hulk. And, uh.. that'll do for now. Any more genres I care to mention (or indeed, you care to mention, feel free. Just try and follow this pattern). |
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Post by hackersanonymous on Mar 19, 2007 16:41:18 GMT 2
Ah, the 80's...
Action Flicks at their finest, I reckon... OK, so films like Commando had a plot (and dialogue) which could fit on a postage stamp, but come on - simply superb. Ditto, Rambo. Although First Blood is unfairly overlooked because of the Gung-Ho side of Rambo: FB2.
Lethal Weapon - man, what a film. As good as the sequels were (albeit rather OTT), the original is still the best. When Riggs was actually a burning fuse.
And, of course, the film whose title spawned a whole new film "type": Die Hard. Yippee-ki-yay, Kemosabe! (as expressed in the edited version for TV version - broadcast at about 10pm)..
Nowadays, Action Films are, by and large, almost apologetic in their presentation and feel the need to insert ironic comedy or crowbar some deep and meaningful "message" into the "subtext"..
One thing I will say is that I rather enjoyed "Transporter" - it was as close to an unapologetic 80's actioner as I'd seen in a while. And Jason S does grow on you - the audio commentary on the Transporter DVD presents him as quite a down-to-earth, funny, guy who evidently worked his arse off in the film... Plus, he's had Kelly Brook, for which deserves an "attaboy"!
Toodles!
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Mar 19, 2007 16:41:54 GMT 2
For our American friends who don't know who Kelly Brook is..  That's the best of British, right there. Oh my. |
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Post by hackersanonymous on Mar 19, 2007 16:44:29 GMT 2
Dare I say that the 80s were also the best time for Kid's TV? Methinks I dare.
Come on - what's on nowadays that could even come close to the utter class of Dangermouse?
Toodles!
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Mar 19, 2007 16:45:22 GMT 2
The Curmudgeon agrees with you on the TV show, Hacker (as I'm going to call you from now on, I'd toyed with HA or Hackanon - Hacker it is). The 80's were a SUPERB time for kids cartoons, from Dungeons and Dragons to He-Man to Thundercats to Dogtanion.. the list goes on and on, and although there may be a touch of dewey eyed setimentality when you think about them, the shows still stand strong today. Great characters, good (if dated) animation.. head and shoulders above the noisy, hollow CGI trash that's polluting kids brains today.
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Post by trashcanman on May 8, 2007 22:48:36 GMT 2
Correct on all charges, Curmudgeon. The giant Kelly Brook banner was a big help, too,  damn, she fine! I'll also add that the 80's was a great time for fantasy films: Conan, Beastmaster, Clash of the Titans, Dragonslayer, etc. |
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Post by Benjamin Haines on Dec 13, 2007 8:29:19 GMT 2
While there are great comedy classics from every decade, I'd actually say that the '90s and '00s have had the best. From the endlessly witty writing of Kevin Smith in the likes of Clerks, Chasing Amy, and Clerks II to the perfect-fire comedic sharpshooting of Judd Apatow and his cinema kin with The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Superbad. I also really dig the screen presence of Adam Sandler, although some of his movies are flat-out duds. But what really seals this era of comedy for me are two instantly classic works: Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost are like the perfect creative comedy team. Those two flicks that they've done so far are pure gold, completely and totally, and I'll see anything the trio puts out in the future solely because I'm that confident in their talent.
However, I would have to say that the modern era of cinema has also churned out some of the most cringeworthy, forgettable, and downright dire attempts at comedy. I swear I'll kill myself if the team that made Date Movie, Epic Movie, and The Comebacks spew forth one more disaster like that. Seriously, how can anyone in an executive position allow those movies to be made?
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Dec 13, 2007 9:19:12 GMT 2
I'm not sure if you're from the UK or not Benjamin, and so you may or may not have heard of "Spaced", the TV show that put Pegg etc into the spotlight. It's an absolute DREAM sitcom.
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Post by Benjamin Haines on Dec 13, 2007 9:44:52 GMT 2
I'm not sure if you're from the UK or not Benjamin, and so you may or may not have heard of "Spaced", the TV show that put Pegg etc into the spotlight. It's an absolute DREAM sitcom. I've heard a lot of great things about it, but unfortunately haven't had the chance to see it yet. If no company brings it stateside, I'll eventually just import the UK R2 DVDs whenever I have money. Were Edgar Wright and Nick Frost involved in that show at all? And on the note of Simon Pegg, I recently saw a flick with him in it called Big Nothing. He was great playing the part of a sleazy American con man, but the film itself was a wretched mess. Started out pretty good in the first 15 minutes or so, but then it just imploded on itself. Avoid. |
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Dec 14, 2007 0:42:46 GMT 2
I actually REALLY enjoyed Big Nothing, far more than I thought I would. It's strange, Pegg is awesome and I always thought Schwimmer was far and away the best in Friends, but I had heard nothing but bad things about it. I just laughed and squirmed in all the right places, I guess.
And yep - Nick Frost is a main character in Spaced (playing Pegg's best friend) and its directed by Edgar Wright. Honestly Benjamin - you'd LOVE it. It's just as good as their movies. (Whisper it) if not better...
If you're buying it from R2 I would recommend buying the 3 disc boxset of both series. It comes with the (awesome) special features from the original releases but also has an excellent feature length "reunion" documentary.
Seriously - I cannot recommend this show highly enough.
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damn, she fine! I'll also add that the 80's was a great time for fantasy films: Conan, Beastmaster, Clash of the Titans, Dragonslayer, etc.
