movies that you "rediscover" years later and enjoy (recommendation thread and obvious spoilers)

Cafe Society
1

I love movies, and try to watch as many as possible in my free time (which these days is very little).

However, today I was lucky enough to stumble on an old (1987?) movie that I haven’t seen in ages. Three O’Clock High.

This movie cracked me up 23 years ago, and did again today. I loved the camera angles and off-beat camera work. The delivery of the dialog was excellent, and the script was very good. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen this movie uncut, and the uncut version is most definitely worth a look.

It has high school students that actually LOOK like high school students. Not a bunch of 20 somethings that stretch the imagination of the viewer.

A favorite scene of mine is when Buddy Revelle breaks Craig’s finger in the library, and then hauls off and decks him, knocking him into a shelf of books. That shelf falls into another and then another, touching off a domino effect which, by the help of a strategically placed suit of armor, continues to the far side of the library to unveil an observing Jerry and Vince. Love it!

The fight at the end of the movie is also fun. Unlike so many of these movies that don’t know how to end, this one did, and ended well. I especially love when the principal wakes up on the ground after being knocked out by Buddy and yells “Don’t fuck this one up, Mitchell!”

Don’t forget “the Duker”, or Voytek Dolinski, either. Great characters.

I recommend this as a fun movie to watch over the holidays if you are bored and haven’t seen it.

If you have any comments about this movie (positive or negative), or another sleeper or long-forgotten movie for viewing, post them here.

2

3 o’clock high was my favorite of those 80’s high school movies. I’m glad too see someone else likes it. I think it’s been way overshadowed by a lot of worse movies.

3

The Karate Kid is actually a really good movie! Original Recipe, I mean. I hadn’t seen it since I was a kid and we Netflixed it a few months ago and really enjoyed it quite a bit.

4

Rediscovered Harold and Maude a few days ago, I had forgotten how smartly written it was. It has aged incredibly well, unlike other flower-rebel movies of the era like The Graduate.

5

I saw Oscar a few weeks ago after not seeing it for several years. I had forgotten how funny it is. I know, “Stallone” and “comedy” don’t seem like they should go together but throw in Don Ameche, Marisa Tomei, Tim Curry, Chazz Palminteri, Harry Shearer, Kurtwood Smith and a host of talented character actors all under the direction John Landis and you’re just about guaranteed to get comedy gold.

Seriously, if you like screwball comedies, watch it.

6

I watched the first Highlander movie for the first time in at least 15 years yesterday and I was very pleasantly surprised with how well it’s made - compared to any of the sequels, that is.

I loved the original movie when I first saw it (I think I was about 13 or 14 at the time), and I can definitely still see why. The opening act is mysterious, bad-ass and has a very “dirty 80’s” feel that just draws you in - Lambert’s nasty coat is perfect for setting the tone (for someone as rich and knowledgeable he’s got a seriously hideous sense of style or he’s doing it on purpose, but it works in the movie).

There’s plenty of unintentionally silly stuff in the movie, even for a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but the main story is compelling, Lambert seems perfect for the main character (except, of course, his accent doesn’t match his “background” and neither does Connery’s) and the sentimental flashbacks actually work emotionally AND as part of the story. The only important things I think don’t really work are the modern-day romance part and the prize at the end (and I can’t help but think it’s because they’re related and the modern romance chemistry just doesn’t seem strong enough to make you really care).

Oh, and it’s got an awesome villain.

If you’ve seen and liked it when you were a teenager, you might want to watch it again some day. Just do not watch any of the sequels.

7

I recently caught Iceman on cable, and I have to say it’s held up remarkably well after 26 years. Still a interesting and moving film.

More recent, but I found 50 First Dates to be just as fun as the first 5 times.

8

I showed that to my boyfriend a few months ago and we loved it! I was shocked to see how critically panned it was. I think it’s great.

9

Happened to see Top Secret! on Netflix streaming the other day. This is a movie made by the same people (Zucker, Abrams, and Zucker) that did the Airplane! and Naked Gun movies.

It has Val Kilmer in his first movie roll and he is excellent. It’s a spoof (naturally) of spy movies set in East Germany. Typical ZAZ bits of non-sequiturs and funny bits in the background while characters talk.

Of course, there are all the quotable lines, like “I know a little German. He’s right over there.” and “How do we know he is NOT Mel Torme?” and “In women’s tennis, I never bet on the heterosexual” Classic stuff.

BTW, Netflix has it as PG, so I figured I could watch it with my kids. Not really. Especially the Anal Invader scene.

10

[junior mod mode] Here at the SDMB we have dedicated our lives to fight against ignorance. This will be your only warning: Highlander II was never filmed. [/junior mod mode]

For me the movie is Glory. I have seen it dozens of times and every time I am surprised at how good it is. It’s one of the few perfect movies I’ve seen.

11

Hellzapoppin’ was a movie I watched as a kid on TV. When I discovered that a VHS tape existed, and got it, I insisted on watching it alone, because I was afraid that my memory was much better than the real thing. It turned out that the real movie was even better than I remembered.