‘Cause I realized it only after I fortuitously started writing a review for exactly the movie I’d have picked if we had done a celebratory roundtable.
Big Trouble in Little China (1986), in which Jack Burton was not brought upon this world to get it…
Godzilla (2014), in which Gareth Edwards amply makes it up to us for the last time Hollywood tried to make a Godzilla movie…
Macumba Sexual (1981), which continues the crappy run of luck for real estate agents encountering the supernatural begun by Nosferatu 60 years earlier…
and…
The Warrior (1981), in which Indonesia gets a Wong Fei Hong of its own.
#1 by RogerBW on June 30, 2014 - 5:04 am
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“Also, he’s bulletproof, and he can breathe fire.” I think that pretty much explains my fondness for B-movies in eight words.
I like Big Trouble, and should watch it again. “Big” filmmaking in the Eighties (as opposed to DTV) sometimes produced a lot of garbage, but at least it wasn’t all slotted into a marketing category even before the scripts were written. This is why I like your rating system: a minus four star film is more interesting than a zero-star film. I want a mode of filmmaking in which people can readily afford to have films fail, because without taking risks it’s hard to make anything good.
#2 by The Rev. on June 30, 2014 - 11:19 am
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It has been 15 years….wow.
I know I talked about it over at BMMB, but I was quite happy with the Godzilla movie. It is in no way perfect (I was particularly disappointed in the human relationships, considering it was one of the strongest points of Monsters), but I’d put it over all but two or three of the series’ entries since 1984. That may sound like damning with faint praise, but is not meant to be. I look forward to the next one, and hope for more monster action since I had no complaints in that department.
BTiLC is one of those movies that I will stop and watch whenever I come across it, regardless of how many times I’ve seen it or whether I own a copy. Just all around fun and good times, that one.
#3 by blake on June 30, 2014 - 1:47 pm
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Mediocre remake, eh? I like trying to guess these. Let’s see, we got:
Nightmare on Elm Street
Carrie
Last House on the Left
The Omen
I Spit on Your Grave
Dario Argento’s Dracula 3-D (if that counts)
Two more iterations of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers made since 1990
#4 by El Santo on June 30, 2014 - 2:40 pm
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I think you’ll do better if you concentrate your efforts on “a uniquely strong justification for existing” rather than “mediocre.” The field of mediocre remakes is so broad that nothing but dumb luck will guide you to the target otherwise.
#5 by Rabukurafuto on June 30, 2014 - 8:20 pm
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My first thought was the 1990 Night of the Living Dead given how Romero was screwed over by the original’s copyright issues.
“Holy shit! Jormungander!”
#6 by The Rev. on July 1, 2014 - 6:52 pm
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Nice piece on Godzilla; really interesting take on the (subconscious?) message therein, one I had not picked up on. I haven’t seen it a 2nd time yet, although I plan to. I like that the three G movies you listed as giving it stiff competition are ones I’d pick as well; along with Biollante I think GvMG II and GMK are the only ones since 1984 to give it a run. (I will fully admit that GvMG II is up there largely because the monster stuff is so damn good; the other two have more traditional merit to them.) I haven’t really pondered which Showa ones, other than the original, I consider as good as or better than this one; although ToM would definitely make the list.
I hope your feelings on Monsters echo the ones I posited over at BMMB, rather than the general consensus I’ve run into on it; more importantly, I hope it leads to a review!
#7 by Craig York (Dr. Yo ) on July 21, 2014 - 1:57 pm
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A not-exactly-belated ( its still 2014, isn’t it? ) congratulations on the anniversary year. THe B-masters have been a staple of my weekly web browsing for at least twelve years, and I thank you all.
Thoroughly enjoyed the reviews of Godzilla and Big Trouble in Little China. The latter was a puzzler to me as well when I saw it in my early twenties, but with later viewings ( and helpful friends who repeated a number of the better quotes to me on a regular basis ) I did wise up.
And your review of Godzilla is probably one of the most measured and respectful that I have seen. My own favorite for message remains the often uneven Godzilla vs. Hedorah.
#8 by maggiesmith on February 13, 2022 - 6:48 pm
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Big Trouble in Little China : I got the impression from the movie that Grace Law was supposed to be Eurasian, though it’s never mentioned in the dialogue. It has always surprised me that nobody seems to notice that Kurt Russell is parodying John Wayne all through the movie. Mind you, no one seemed to notice his Clint Eastwood impression in Escape From New York either. But just listen to the way he says his lines in either movie. To me, it’s unmistakeable. I once described Big Trouble as “An Indiana Jones movie where Indie is an idiot who is always knocking himself unconscious.” which I think sums it up.