I would say any late period Liam Neeson “old man throat punching and kicking ass” flick. I don’t care what anyone says, but to me movies like “Run All Night” and “Non-Stop” are solid grade-A action flicks, and if I happen to catch one while flipping through the channels, I can’t not stop and watch.
I really like this movie!
That was going to be my suggestion too, although not all of them, because some are legitimately good (I am a Bond nerd though so probably tend to overrate them all). But I have seen all of the Bond films so many times (not just Rog’s) and speaking objectively a third at least are probably not of sufficient quality to justify that, but hey, I still love 'em.
Just to note (because it’s the Dope, so of course I should), if by ‘redneck Bond’ you are referring to Sheriff JW Pepper from Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun, weeellll, both those films predate Smokey and the Bandit, so maybe the inspiration was the other way round! LALD’s main inspiration was blaxploitation and TMWTGG’s was Kung Fu/Bruce Lee.
Oh also Moonraker only really existed due to Star Wars. After The Spy Who Loved Me the film makers even said ‘James Bond will return in For Your Eyes Only’, which got postponed after George Lucas made a tonne of cash).
It’s beloved enough to be getting a star-studded remake…
Yeah, happened upon this film by chance, couldn’t stop watching, and it stayed with me to this day, even though I can’t objectively say it’s a great film. A perfect example.
That one stayed with me, mostly because of the bait-and-switch of the ending. After all the debate about changing history, we’re finally going to see a bunch of F-14s absolutely curb stomp the Japanese planes attacking Pearl Harbor, and then poof! Magic Time Storm shows up again to ruin it!
I agree. But if they had gone that route I don’t know how they’d have tied up the ending.
But, yes, it seemed a lead up to some preemptive “payback” that didn’t play out. “How do you like these apples, tough guys?”
Highlander is one of those films that just has so much potential in the concept that it’s almost impossible to really do it justice. The TV show tried, and it probably fits the theme of this thread in its own self. It was definitely a Canadian-made mid-90s sci-fi show, but several episodes are legitimate stand-outs, and the over all tone is generally pretty good.
ETA: I knew about the reboot, but I didn’t know this part:
My God, Russel Crowe channelling Sean Connery to portray an ancient Egyptian who now lives in Spain? This could break the universe!
It sets up the sequel! “The Ultimate Final Countdown!” The Nimitz of 2020 has to go back in time to defeat the mid-80s Nimitz so that Japan can attack Pearl Harbor and set the timeline back to what it’s supposed to be. F-14s vs. Super Hornets, what’s not to like?
I’m in!
Vanishing Point (1971) has been mentioned a couple times, but we need to remember that there were all kinds of pretty mediocre films being made after the success of Easy Rider (1969). A lot of young filmmakers (and non-filmmakers, like James Guercio) got handed money to make films that would bring in the “youngsters.”
Anyway, we ended up with films like Electra Glide in Blue (1973), which is my second submission to this thread. Thoroughly ordinary, but often fascinating to watch. They probably could have saved a lot of the film’s budget and just filmed the ending as a short.
You are not alone.
Point Break. It’s completely idiotic, the pseudo philosophizing by Brody is gibberish, and a traffic cone is a better actor than Keanu Reeves, but damn if I don’t watch it every time I run across it on TV!
Creation of the Humanoids
Low-budget science fiction movie from 1962 about a 23rd century post-nuclear war society (but not post-apocalyptic in the usual sense. Civilization and high tech survive). People are served by The Humanoids – human-shaped robots – and some fear that they’re becoming too pervasive. A group called The Order of Flesh and Blood opposes any further advances in robot technology.
The sets, makeup, and acting are all kinda cheap. It feels almost like an amateur theater production. But the ideas are interesting, and well-told. The ending is a cliche, but it’s consistent with everything else. Worth a watch.
This is possibly my favorite book of all time, by Peter S. Beagle, and it took a few readings for me to grasp it all. I think it’s a crying shame a live version was never made. (it was on the table years ago with Mia Farrow to play Molly.). It could be done today with CGI! …I think a young Adrian Brody would have made a great Schmendrick. There he is, a ‘magician’ - the type pulling a rabbit out of a hat - and then REAL magic possesses him, and that’s kind of thrilling. A young Amy Irving would have been a lovely Lady Amalthea, and a young Brad Pitt as the prince…but it will never be, except in my imagination.
I have not read the book but I’m really curious. I will check it out!
How do any of the Evangelion rebuilds count as “mediocre movies”?
It’s very poetic, a touch of magic realism, some humor. Not always straightforward. Just…lovely. and sad.
Agreed. It’s a terrible film but it commits to its vibe and I respect that.
Death of a Unicorn was weird because the two protagonists played by Ortega and Rudd were practically background for most of the film, while all the best bits went to Tia Leoni, Richard E Grant and Will Poulter as the Evil Rich Family (plus a Very Honorable Mention to Anthony Carrigan who had very few lines but stole every scene he was in). There were some great lines and some brilliant subversions of tropes, even as the overall plot was thin and hole-filled in a lot of ways.
I would give it a qualified recommendation - it’s bad overall but, like the proverbial curate’s egg, bits of it are excellent.
Toys starts great, and then just about the time you think it should be winding up you discover there’s another whole hour to the film. There really did not need to be.
I like the film better than the book because it removes the unnecessary (and pretentious) narrator character. The only weak spot, alas, was Murray himself. I know it was his vanity project but he was not a good fit for the lead role.
I’m going to add Undercover Blues with Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner. It’s just unrelenting spy-related goofiness from start to finish. The leads are just having fun with the roles, the supporting characters in Fiona Shaw and Stanley Tucci compete to show off the most outrageous foreign accents and scenery chewing, and really nobody involved in the film appears to be taking it seriously. Which is why I like it, despite all its obvious flaws.
Morty!!!
I actually really like the absurd spy crime flick =)