The Postman in “Kevin Costner.” Yes, I know it’s supposed to be the other way around, but this was as blatant a vehicle as I’ve ever seen. However, I enjoy the Reluctant Hero and Defeat the Army of Assholes tropes, as well as the sheer ludicrousness of many (many, many) of the scenes.
“The Edge.” Bear runs around trying to kill Alex Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins. Alex Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins run around trying to kill each other. I like this because the scenery/cinematography is fantastic and the soundtrack is compelling. I enjoy how Anthony Hopkins takes some absolutely awful lines and makes them work. I also enjoy the premise of two men who want very much to kill each other, but can’t, because they need each other to survive (I’m sure this theme has been used before somewhere).
Widely regarded as a total stinker, I kinda like it.
1.Very cool sets and design, good special effects.
2.I suspect this was a case of a vehicle or the studio not realizing how squicky the age differen between the leads was, but I actually think it is interesting. We’re talking a Harold and Maude love affair here, I like it just because it is rarely done.
3.Hector is pretty lame I’ll give you that.
I first saw this movie as the nightly after news movie on a local broadcast channel, it is perfectly suited for that. Not compelling enough for the theater but great on free TV.
North is famously one of Roger Ebert’s most disliked movies. I don’t know why, as I thought it was fun. Maybe I just understood the humour it was going for.
I will defend this movie to my dying breath. It is as perfect a fantasy-humor-action movie as has ever been made. I think a lot of people went into it expecting a standard Arnie action flick, and were put off by the layers of meta. But that’s the point of the movie – celebrating and parodying 80s/90s action cliches. And oh so quotable.
“He killed Mozart!”
“Schwarzenegger.” “Gesundheit.”
Arnie shoots into his closet, a dead ninja falls out. “You knew someone was in there?!” “There’s *always *someone in there.”
Mannequin with Kim Cattrall and Andrew McCarthy. Fun bit of fluff that always makes me smile.
Secret of My Success with Michael J Fox and Helen Slater. Another bit of fluff that makes me smile.
There’s several 80’s comedies like that. Harmless drivel that’s lots of fun to watch.
That’s when that song "Oh Yeah, thump thump " was used in so many comedies. Really catchy tune until it got over used.
*
Fast Times at Ridgemont High* is another favorite that’s not exactly art.
Mystery Men and Almost Famous died at the box office, but I can watch them both many, many times. There are lots of much better movies I don’t say that about (How many times can you binge-watch Gandhi or Schindler’s List?).
Demolition Man. If I happen to catch it on TV, I become physically incapable of switching the channel.
Yes, it’s cheesy and over-the-top. But I also think it’s a fine satire of political correctness and nanny-state policies.
Also Rock Star. I’m a sucker for these behind-the-music type stories, and the soundtrack rocks. I also get a kick out of seeing Dominic West, aka Det. McNulty, in full 80s hair metal regalia.
I really kind of enjoyed Major League: Back To The Minors. I wouldn’t say that it’s a fantastic movie, but I think it has a certain breezy charm, and Scott Bakula is always an asset. I certainly prefer watching it to the second one in the series.
to the OP–Just viewed some of the Postman–took itself a bit too seriously for my taste (and this from someone who’s acquainted with the source material), but it takes all kinds.
Mars Attacks! and Starship Troopers are both great films that I really enjoy but very few people seem to like.
Flash Gordon (1980) is also fun, but it also has a cult following, so maybe it doesn’t count.
Xanadu is a lot better in my mind than in reality. However, it has a great soundtrack, a nice Don Bluth animated sequence and Gene Kelly. Also, it seems to capture the late '70s zeitgeist really well. That said, a lot of it sucks, though it’s nowhere near as bad as Can’t Stop the Music.
3000 Miles to Graceland. Decent plot, poorly executed. Murky, seemingly contradictory, motivations for major characters.
But I like it.
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. A mostly lighthearted late 80’s take on the noir-detective thriller, with an ungrudging, genre savvy nod-and-wink to the audience, it failed because it couldn’t make up it’s mind if it wanted to be a comedy or an action thriller, zigging back-and-forth pretty much at random.
But I like it.
But seriously: you didn’t really think they killed the fucking Koala bear, did you?
*The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. * This may be considered a “cheat,” as it’s now 71% “Fresh” on Rotten Tomaotes, but that wasn’t always the case; it seems to have aged well with the critics.
I’ve always liked it. I caught it on video in late '84 or so, and immediately loved it.
Very Bad Things. An unflinching black comedy. You have to have a seriously warped, fucked, dark sense-of-humor to enjoy this.
Waterworld may have been rife with production problems, and may suffer from an uninteresting protagonist and comical villain, but I’ve always liked the movie. The sets are amazing and I really loved the idea of a flooded post apocalyptic world. It’s something I think would work really well as a reasonably well budgeted mini-series, shame it’ll never happen due to the stigma.
People normally ignore Jurassic Park 3 but I honestly like the film. The Lost World was a disappointment but JP3 was pretty much what you’d want from a sequel. Lots of dinosaur action done competently, it also helps that it’s essentially the unused bits of the novels formed into a new plot.
I like Crystal Skull, yes really. I got the feeling that most of the things that people complain about were intentional. Like the previous films Crystal Skull is an homage to adventure films/serials of a specific type, but this time around it’s a tribute to those of the 50’s where commies, aliens, nukes, and other nonsense would pop up without warning. In that I think it did pretty well.
I like the Riddick movies, all three of them, yep even Chronicles. Why? I honestly don’t know, heck I’ve seen Chronicles four or five times and I couldn’t even give you a decent synopsis, but I do know I enjoyed it.
I loved 2012. And not ironically in an “it’s so bad it’s good!” way, either. I mean, I loved that movie. John Cusack running, driving, and flying away from lava for two and a half hours is gold. The crazy Russian business magnate, the noble but misunderstood scientist, the mournful President who goes down with his sinking ship of state, not to mention giant chunks of California sliding into the sea and an aircraft carrier slamming into the White House… man, this is making me want to go watch it again right now.