# Films you love but others don't "get" in the same way **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2003, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579 "2003-12-23T02:26:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/81 "2003-12-24T20:37:17Z")
Another “yea!” for **Mars Attacks!** and **Ghost Ship**. **Impromptu** – just a sexy romp of a flick, inspired by some real-life friendships and dalliances among a circle of continental _belles-lettrists et artistes_ in Bourbon-Restoration France, with a _tour-de-force_ performance by Judy Davis as novelist George Sand. **Love At First Bite** – for years, I thought this was just a silly, campy, and bloodless (some would say “toothless”) vampire spoof set in Manhattan. Now I see it also as a biting satire of the single life (the telling details in Susan St. James’ tragic apartment) and a meditation on modern alienation. That, and the immortal line “For you, never a quickie; always a longie.” **Withnail & I** – (speaking of tragic apartments…) It amazes me that not everyone “gets” this movie – appreciating that it’s supposed to be both funny and tragic, and that the Withnail character is having problems with more than just unemployment, booze, and drugs. I’ve even shown this to people who didn’t think it was funny! I think it’s probably the _funniest movie ever made_… but clearly mine is not a unanimous opinion. **A View to a Kill** – yep, the lame-o Roger Moore James Bond vehicle, with an improbable plot and Christopher Walken and Grace Jones as the villains. But IMHO it is perhaps the best-realized of the campier Bond flicks, with really great villain parts. If its plot was less OTT preposterous than that of, say, Moonraker, it also had peppier pacing throughout to keep it aloft (like a helium-filled zeppelin, you might say). I even like the Duran Duran/John Barry theme song. (I also like **Octopussy** for the same general reasons, though not as much.) **Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid** – I think people tend to overlook this Steve Martin vehicle because, as a formalist exercise in splicing Martin and Rachel Ward in a plethora of classic B&W noir scenes, it defies the usual easy Steve Martin categories (in the way that Woody Allen fans tend to overlook his “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” perhaps?). The pleasures to be had here are twofold, though – the unlikely success of inserting Martin in all these old noir scenes, and the fun of identifying these scenes and figuring out how cleverly they were edited together to put together a more-or-less coherent plot. **The Ninth Gate** – Eurotrash eye-candy, but controlled by Roman Polanski for atmospherics and a general sense of dread. For Europhiles, bibliophiles, noir buffs, occult-flick junkies, and fans of Johnny Depp, Lena Olin, or Emmanuelle Seignier. **The Wicker Man** – A true oddball melange of film structures and styles, not neatly reducible to horror, detective story, melodrama, sexploitation, black comedy, or musical, yet encompassing all of these. Great performance by Edward Woodward, of all people. I have yet to show this to anyone who admits the same rapt fascination and enthusiasm that I feel for this film (and some hated it), but I haven’t given up trying, either. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/82 "2003-12-24T21:16:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AtomicDog \* > \*\*Mars Attacks! > > Ack, Ack, Ack! \*\* Nice to know I’m not the only who liked that movie. Sure, it doesn’t have much of a plot, but the sheer Retroness of it is worth it(notice how nothing seems to be from later then 1970, except for maybe some of the cars?) ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/83 "2003-12-24T21:26:44Z")
I’ll second the votes for _Joe Versus the Volcano_ (just got the soundtrack a few days ago, hooray!), _Tremors_, and _Withnail & I_. Fantastic movies, all. And I’ll add _They Live_, a note-prefect B-grade horror/action flick starring Rowdy Roddy Piper. It’s got all the elements of a classic like the original _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_, including some moderately profound social commentary buried among the cheesy action. Also it’s got, hands-down, the single most bad-ass fight scene I’ve ever seen on film. Totally gratuitous; it’s just thrown into the middle as if John Carpenter were saying, _Check out my big, bad-ass fight scene!_ “I came here to kick ass, and chew bubble gum… And I’m all out of bubble gum.” ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/84 "2003-12-24T21:42:29Z")
**Repo Man** with Emilio Estevez. I heard somewhere that the glowing thing in the trunk was the inspiration for **Pulp Fiction** ’s glowing suitcase. I laughed like crazy all through **A Mighty Wind** , but everyone I was with thought that I was nuts. Movies I can watch over and over again: **Predator 2** **Mortal Kombat** **The Legend of Billie Jean** (currently playing on TV! On Encore. They just met Lloyd.) **Wing Commander** (surprisingly good sci-fi despite the presence of Freddie Prinze Jr.) **The Fifth Element** (brilliant on all fronts) **Lost In Space** **Mystery Men** **Thirteen Ghosts** (who doesn’t love Tony Shaloub?) ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/85 "2003-12-24T22:25:33Z")
I forgot about **Fifth Element** , but it’s one of those movies that doesn’t get nearly enough respect. One of the few Bruce Willis movies I like him in. ---
**Author:** ![sanja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@sanja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sanja)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/86 "2003-12-24T22:53:06Z")
**army of darkness** ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/87 "2003-12-24T23:15:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nurobath \* > **The Adventures of Ford Fairlane:** I don’t think many people liked this one but it cracks me up. > > * * * I clicked on this thread specifically to mention this movie! I literally wore out the two copies of it I had. I need to go get it on DVD. I have always thought Andrew (formerly Dice) Clay was a quiet riot. I am also the only woman I know who feels that way. He’s beyond hilarious. My other pick would have to be **Boogie Nights**. I absolutely love that movie. My husband groans whenever I tell him we need to watch it…again. I’ve probably seen it over one hundred times. I think it is just fascinating, for some reason. Noooo…and not _that_ reason either! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/88 "2003-12-24T23:25:10Z")
I’ve spent the last five years trying to convince my husband that **Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure** and **Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey** are the best movies ever made. He’s not buying it… I also third **Big Trouble in Little China** and **The Emperor’s New Groove** ---
**Author:** ![Strychnos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Strychnos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strychnos)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/89 "2003-12-24T23:57:35Z")
Both Cutthroat Island and Ford Fairlane are directed by Renny Harlin, the Finnish film director that almost no one understands. ---
**Author:** ![Nurobath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a88e57/32.png) [@Nurobath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurobath)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/90 "2003-12-25T07:44:51Z")
Hey **Krisfer** …cool another Caveman fan. Never thought I’d find one. 🙂 I would actually put most of the movies mentioned here on my list of movies that I love to watch. Some really great selections. ---
**Author:** ![Nurobath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a88e57/32.png) [@Nurobath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurobath)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/91 "2003-12-25T07:46:52Z")
And after a quick check…it’s available on DVD (Caveman, that is). $13.46 at Amazon. 🙂 Guess I know which DVD I’m getting next. hehe ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/92 "2003-12-25T08:01:07Z")
I remember **Equus** mainly because of Jenny Agutter and Peter Firth’s nude scene in the hayloft. Mmmm, naked Jenny Agutter,… ---
**Author:** ![cheesepickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/57b2e6/32.png) [@cheesepickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheesepickles)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/93 "2003-12-25T08:49:19Z")
Two Brian DePalma flicks come to mind: ‘Body Double’ few people mention or admire. I think its superb trash, preferable to most ‘serious’ movies. The way DePalma does these movies, it’s like soap opera horror, with heavy romantic strings one moment and outlandish violence another. DePalma also directed Robert DeNiro in his first two movies, ‘Greetings’ and ‘Hi, Mom’. ‘Hi, Mom’ is off-the-wall satire and oddball humor with tons of awesome scenes. Why this movie isn’t more popular confounds me. Has anyone else seen ‘The Heist’ with Pierce Brosnan? This was such a smart, snappy little flick, but it seems unneccesarily obscure. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/94 "2003-12-25T09:02:43Z")
How about **Nomads** with Pierce Brosnan, the directorial debut of John McTiernan? ---
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Short\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/95 "2003-12-25T23:15:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sofa King \* > \*\*With the exception of a little bit of abbreviation, and the fact that Benico del Toro isn’t nearly fat enough (though he obviously tried very hard), I think that Terry Gilliam’s **Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas** is one of the finest expressions of book-on-celluloid that I’ve ever seen. I know several people who loved the book but hated the film. Can’t see how. > > Gilliam, in fact, seems to have received a lot of nods here. I’m dying to see [_Lost in La Mancha_](http://slate.msn.com/id/2078309/), the documentary about his ill-fated project to finish _The Man Who Killed Don Quixote_. \*\* You should. It’s one of the most touching documentaries I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Lawn\_Mower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8dc957/32.png) [@Lawn\_Mower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lawn_Mower)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/96 "2003-12-25T23:21:02Z")
**Kung Pow** Awesome movie. It is quite possibly the Stupidest movie ever made, but thats what makes it so funny. Most people would just turn this one off. If you liked **Monty Python and the Holy Grail** you would probably like this one too. ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/97 "2003-12-25T23:21:19Z")
Miller’s Crossing. I think it’s perfect. All my friends like it, but aren’t gonzo about it like I am. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/98 "2003-12-26T05:22:29Z")
**Vampires Kiss** - Nik Cage is hillarious “I’m a vampire!” “I’m a vampire!” I’m a vampire!" **Dazed and confused** “I wanna dance.” ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/99 "2003-12-27T08:03:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > \*\*The clues: > > 1. Howell is always present/nearby when Hauer kills. (That’s how Howell wound up as a suspect. Remember?) > > 2. Hauer finds Howell at the truck stop/motel. How? Impossible unless they are one and the same. > > 3. Think about the name of the movie. Takes on a new meaning with my theory, eh? > > 4. Howell is in the interrogation room while Hauer is being interrogated by the police. He is even allowed to confront Hauer and ask him questions. This would never happen. Only possibility is that Hauer isn’t really there and it’s really Howell being interrogated. > > You see the two together in several spots in the movie because we are seeing the world through Howell’s deluded eyes. Howell thinks Hauer is a separate person, and so that’s how we see him, too. That is why I like the film so much. I think it’s a clever approach. But if you don’t view the film that way, then it’s just run-of-the-mill slasher fare. > > What do we know about Howell’s character, really? His background is mysterious. We know only what he tells us, which (if I recall correctly) didn’t check out when the police investigated. > > (By the way, the scene where Hauer offers Howell his gun and then puts his head against the barrel takes on new meaning with my reading too.) > > I have seen at least one reviewer who came to the same conclusion (or at least had the same suspicion) as I. I forget who it was. May have been Maltin. But if you disagree with me, you are in a very large club. That’s why I posted in this thread. \*\* Since I like this kind of movie (ie, one in which the reality of what’s going on isn’t what it seems to be), and love going back through a movie once the true perspective has been revealed, I rented it and watched it tonight, keeping an eye out for clues that would point it one way or the other. Unfortunately, neither movie rental store had the newer version with the commentaries, so there’s no way to check those. My conclusion, after watching with a split personality in mind is that it doesn’t hold up. First, I’ll respond to your clues. > [@](#): > > 1. > 1. Howell is always present/nearby when Hauer kills. (That’s how Howell wound up as a suspect. Remember?) True, but that can be explained just as easily by Ryder’s trying to frame Halsey. > [@](#): > > 1. Hauer finds Howell at the truck stop/motel. How? Impossible unless they are one and the same. That would explain it, but it’s not the only explanation. I assumed that Ryder had been driving ahead and staking out the next area that Halsey might stop. Still, your theory does hold up here as well as mine. > [@](#): > > 1. Think about the name of the movie. Takes on a new meaning with my theory, eh? As does the name Ryder. On the other hand, _The Hitcher_ could be to indicate that the bad guy was a psychotic hitchhiker, and that name was already in use for an HBO tv series, which prompted the name change to avoid confusion, and Ryder chose that name as a pseudonym because of how he chose his victims. In either case, it takes on new meaning only if you accept the split personality theory first; it’s not a reason to suspect a split personality. > [@](#): > > 1. Howell is in the interrogation room while Hauer is being interrogated by the police. He is even allowed to confront Hauer and ask him questions. This would never happen. Only possibility is that Hauer isn’t really there and it’s really Howell being interrogated. Ryder wasn’t talking, so Capt. Esteridge took Halsey into the room to try to provoke him. When Halsey spits on Ryder, they remove him from the room. This plays just fine as them being two separate people. In fact, this is one of several scenes that show that Halsey and Ryder cannot be the same person. Capt. Esteridge is talking to Halsey in the observation room while the Sgt. Quark is interrogating Ryder in the interview room. Two different people in two different rooms, both talking to police. When Halsey enters the room, Capt. Esteridge looks back and forth between them. Finally, Halsey spits on Ryder, and he’s escorted out of the room, which makes no sense if the two of them are the same person. Other scenes indicate that there are two people. When Halsey and Nash are escaping in the police car, Nash loses the handgun, and can’t get the shotgun unlocked. Halsey is driving, and has no weapon. Ryder pulls up beside them on the dirt road and shoots down the helicopter with his gun. How could Halsey have shot down the helicopter with no gun? After the chopper is shot down, Nash looks at Ryder in the black pickup, indicating that she sees something there. After Halsey and Nash stop, she asks Halsey, “Why didn’t he kill us?” This shows us for sure that Nash saw Ryder. At the motel, Halsey is in the shower when Nash disappears, and he goes looking for her. Capt. Esteridge finds Halsey and escorts him over to the truck with Nash tied to the trailer. Capt. Esteridge tells Halsey that they can’t do anything, because if they shoot him, his foot will come off of the clutch and the truck will go forward. Someone is in that truck revving the engine with his foot on the clutch while Halsey is outside with Capt. Esteridge. When Halsey gets in the truck, Ryder is in the driver’s seat. This scene makes no sense at all if they are one person. After the arrest and interrogation, Ryder is put into a transport bus, and Halsey into a cruiser. Capt. Esteridge is talking to Halsey. Clearly he’s going to be set free. This makes no sense unless Halsey is innocent. If Halsey/Ryder are one person, who is on that transport is he on the transport or in the cruiser, and who is the other person? While Halsey hijacks the cruiser and tracks down the transport, Ryder manages to get free and kill the guards, the jump onto the cruiser that Halsey is driving just as the bus crashes. How could the same person be simultaneously killing the guards on the bus and driving the transport behind the bus? How could one person jump from the bus through the cruisers windshield while driving the cruiser at the same time? Both Nash and Capt. Esteridge see Halsey and Ryder in two different places at the same time, as well as a bunch of cops at both the truckstop and at the police station. On a couple of occasions, Ryder and Halsey are doing two different things at the same time. Only two of the murders have a blackout to explain how Halsey could have killed without knowing it (the Volkswagon and the jail). All of the others happen while Halsey is awake, and sometimes somewhere else (the family in the stationwagon is slaughtered while Halsey is at the side of the road after the bus accident. My take is that the first half of the movie is set up to keep you guessing about whether Halsey is actually a killer with a split personality, but the second half systematically destroys that theory. Perhaps Ryder is some demon who cannot be stopped by anyone other than Halsey; remember what Ryder says when Halsey asks him what he wants: “I want you to stop me.” Or perhaps Ryder just has “movie-serial-killer” powers, ala Jason and Michael Myers. ---
**Author:** ![Miaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@Miaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miaz)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579/100 "2003-12-27T13:45:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nurobath \* > \*\ ***Caveman:** Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach from 1981. We had a crappy VHS copy of this years ago that my brother and I used to watch all the time. I don’t know anyone else who’s even heard of it. \*\* I too, know and love this movie. It was injected periodically into my childhood as I grew up, but I never could remember the title so my attempts to describe it made all within earshot disbelieve it could ever exist. **The Adventures of Baron Münchhausen** is mine. Many people I know hated it, but it was always dear to me, especially the surreal kingdom on the moon, which I absolutely fell in love with specifically because of how Gilliam handled it with the straining budget, which really made it better than other lavished sets, although they were still exceptionally done. The story of the Baron’s fantasy world in the midst of reality makes it one I’ll never grow tired of. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-you-love-but-others-dont-get-in-the-same-way/220579.md?page=6)