Movies

The hardest part I’ve found of recommending movies is categorization. I may revise this in future, but thought I’d start here.

I decided to start with some off-beat recommendations.

• Underappreciated Movies with generally poor reviews and questionable scripts.
  • Radioland Murders(1994) – The story was written by George Lucas, as part of his obsession with old time radio. It took him 20 years to get it made and was quickly forgotten(probably because the script wasn’t the best). But, as a love letter to old time radio production, with a great cast(including cameos by George Burns and Rosemarry Clooney), it is worth a watch.
  • Crazy People (1990) – I’m not sure if this is a love letter to the advertising industry or an extended lampoon of it. Again, may be worth it for the crazy ads alone. And J.T. Walsh. There is no movie that is not better with J.T. Walsh in it.
  • Delirious (1991) – John Candy plays soap opera writer who gets hit on the head and wakes up as a character in his own show.
  • The Dream Team (1989) – A great cast plays a group of mental patients lost in New York City and framed for murder.
  • Out to Sea (1997) – One of many movies pairing the original Odd Couple, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. What makes this worth watching for me is the scene stealing of Brent Spiner, the same year he was on Broadway as John Adams in 1776…also a scene stealing performance.
• Groundhog Day style movies – If you are bored of rewatching Groundhog Day.
  • Retroactive (1997) – James Belushi is very convincing as the bad guy in this indie movie.
  • 12:01 (1993) – the writers and producers of this movie believed Groundhog Day stole their premise. It was the second of two movies made based on a short story by Richard Lupoff.
• Sci-Fi Neo Noir
  • Dark City (1998) – Recommend you go for the Director’s Cut over the Theatrical release. While it had a disappointing show at the box office, Roger Ebert loved this sci-fi movie, which is compared sometimes to the Matrix, which came out a year later….and also used some of the same sets at the same studio.
  • Thirteenth Floor (1999) – Keeping with the Matrix theme, here is another movie from the same era about a scientist running a computer simulation of the 1930s.
• Worth Watching Even Though They are Bad
  • Passenger 57 (1992) – It may have launched Wesley Snipes as an action star, but I’m not sure if the dialogue is funny or so bad it is funny.
• Just Watch These
  • Taking of Pelham 123 (1974) – A cast of great actors, the only surviving one being Hector Elizondo. Don’t watch the remake, it stunk…on the other hand, so did the original book. While, the movie is a product of its times…the movie script, written by Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winner Peter Stone(look him up), is unforgettable.