The first 20 minutes are still good. That’s about how long the schtick holds up.
This is the movie I came into mention. I still love the movie, but the soundtrack makes it almost unwatchable.
Independence Day. How many times does the General say something was “completely destroyed” in that movie?
This is a good one. When I was a kid I thought Superman was boring and loved Superman II. As an adult I appreciate the first film and like it so much more. The sequel is not bad but more childish and silly.
Haven’t seen that in 25 years! Might need to see it again. (just to confirm its suckitude)
Ghost
Well, I finally found Fireball 500 after all these years. I loved that movie when I was a kid. Got a slight feeling of dread when I got ready to watch and it was pretty much as bad as you’d expect it to be.
Dead Poets Society. Clichéd garbage. Just fucking awful.
I was reminded of this because a remake :eek: is in the theaters, and its reviews aren’t much better than the ones for the original.
“Endless Love”. It came out when I was in high school, as did the book, and loved both of them. The movie was universally panned, and AFAIK is not even on Netflix. I saw it on a TV listing a while back, and tuned in.
I didn’t last 10 minutes - it was that dreadful.
How hard would it be to replace the soundtrack and has anyone ever tried it?
They released a restored version of the Donner version of Superman II on DVD, using only the footage that Donner shot, including an awful lot that was cut for the commercial release. It’s worth looking up. Much better than the released version, although they couldn’t completely restore it.
I’m trying to think of something that might fit, but can’t. The closest is 2001, which I thought was pretty good when I first saw it, then which seemed to me like pretentious crap the next time. My most recent viewing made me realize it was somewhere in between: some excellent sections, but Kubrick painted himself into a corner at the end, knew he couldn’t come up with anything worth the building, and punted.
I loved Tommy when it came out, but was under no illusion it was anything but garbage. But it was entertaining garbage, and so ridiculous and bombastic that it was one of the funniest movies I’d ever seen.
Might have to pay off a bunch of people who have contracts to have their music in the film. The exposure is part of the compensation, so they would have to be bought off. If it is Alan Parsons, as indicated by someone above, he might be stinking rich enough to not be buyable.
That’s true of a lot of 80s movies. I watched Absence of Malice and the performances are all still top notch. But the 80s score is just awful and distracting. Using actual songs will date a movie but won’t ruin it. An 80s synth score ruins it.
The one I’m going to mention (that will probably get me kicked off) is Highlander. So much potential. So good when I first saw it. But repeated viewings just prove that it is a muddled mess that doesn’t make much sense. And I’m not even talking about the sequels that were never good. If there was ever a movie that is ripe for a remake with a good writer its Highlander.
But I have to admit, as bad as it is, I still like it.
My big three are Easy Rider, Vanishing Point, & Billy Jack.
I only wish that Billy Jack had as happy an ending as the other two.
Austin Powers series.
I find a few moments in the first one funny, but the series as a whole is not funny at all to me anymore.
What’s Up, Tiger Lily?, Woody Allen’s MST3K-ing of a somewhat spoof Japanese spy flick. There are some lines that are still funny (and some that are classic), but most of this movie fell flat when I watched it again.
I gotta disagree about 2001. I just watched it again a couple of days ago, and it’s still in my Top Two list of science fiction films (with Forbidden Planet. The two are miles ahead of the rest of the pack)
Well, to be fair, a lot of stuff does get completely destroyed in that movie.
Oddly, while I’ve noticed that when I revisit a lot of TV shows I remember liking, I find that a lot of them don’t hold up. But I can’t really think of any movies where the same thing as happened. Not sure what the reason for the difference is.
Krull. Completely loved it when I first saw it, and couldn’t wait to own it on VHS (don’t think it came out on sell-through VHS, so had to wait for the DVD). But it is really awful, with some stupid plot decisions and a very boring hero. Plus it made some boneheaded mistakes like dubbing over Lysette Anthony’s voice.
Some of the acting is excellent, and the soundtrack by James Horner is amazing, so, as cheesy 80s fantasy movies go, it’s on the higher end of the scale. But that’s really not saying much.
I wish I could get a hold of all the original footage and re-edit it with modern sensibilities, and with digital VFX. It would be a fascinating experiment, and really quite fun to do.
I’m sure a lot of people are gonna disagree with me, but the first movie that comes to mind is Where Eagles Dare. A great action–adventure romp when I was 14, but I watch it now and the whole thing just seems silly, if not downright laughable in places.
I feel the same way about the James Bond films after No. 7 (Diamonds Are Forever), and even that one was a disappointment.