09/07/2004 Entry: "Ninja Turtles Bike Safety PSA."

I mentioned this ad in an old article, but figured a lot of you would enjoy seeing it for yourself. It's an early 90s PSA starring Michaelangelo of the Ninja Turtles, who was absolutely shocked...SHOCKED! Shocked...by the level of bike-related negligence spewed forth by his legions of wish-they-had-a-shell fans. Yes folks, it's the Ninja Turtles on bike safety.

I can't tell if the original voice actor was used, but if not, the new guy did his homework. Mikey retains his slimy charm and penchant for calling everything awesome, but speaks in a noticeably subdued manner. His words are uncharacteristically spaced; he even looks a bit apprehensive. The message is simple enough -- wear your bike helmet or suffer an unimaginable fate. Click here to watch the magic. Please take note of Michaelangelo's indisputably apologetic "cowabunga" thrown in at the end of the spot. He knew he wasn't supposed to do things like this.

New Survey Yay: Recommend a movie you don't believe many people have seen / would have bothered to see. I'll start: Mother, starring Albert Brooks. Groan all you want. Where else can you see Debbie Reynolds coin the phrase "bullshit jam?"

Chestnuts roasted by Evin @ 09/07/2004 11:36 PM EST

SLC Punk. Matthew Lillard has done a lot of bad acting in a lot of bad movies, but here he's actually good. That alone is makes it worth seeing.

Chestnuts roasted by Emperor_Zorak @ 09/08/2004 12:00 AM EST

The Cube was good but the ending was a huge let down.

Chestnuts roasted by Mr King @ 09/08/2004 12:06 AM EST

Yay! SLC Punk!

Chestnuts roasted by Mara @ 09/08/2004 12:16 AM EST

'the unholy' is a sacreligious horror farce advertised in the beginning of 'the monster squad'. the trailer scared me, but satan shitting midgits dressed in foam rubber just killed it for me (by the way, the dad from 'boy meets world' plays the baddie)

Chestnuts roasted by eurosteveperry @ 09/08/2004 12:18 AM EST

Freaks that was a cool movie. I love the Josie and the Pussycats movie.

Chestnuts roasted by pikachulover @ 09/08/2004 12:46 AM EST

On Conan O'Brien's show right now, he has Andy Richter on as the guest, and he's showing some of the toys his son plays with. One of the toys is a Playmobil toxic waste removal playset. The other is another Playmobil playset that comes with a toy port-a-potty and a worker figure that looks like a homeless person. I sure hope Mare Winningham doesn't get any ideas...

Chestnuts roasted by Luap @ 09/08/2004 01:11 AM EST

As for movies I recommend "Return of the Killer Tomatoes". A cult comedy classic. George Clooney should be more ashamed of "Batman & Robin" than that film.

Also "Looney Tunes Back in Action". Not only did Joe "Gremlins" Dante direct the film, but it has cameos from everyone from Mr. Futterman to Ro-Man the robot monster.

There's probably more but that's what popped in my head so far.

Chestnuts roasted by Luap @ 09/08/2004 01:19 AM EST

Bubba Ho-Tep. It's relatively new, but it's amazing and it has Bruce Campbell. If you have seen it, however, I reccomend Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter.

Chestnuts roasted by AJ` @ 09/08/2004 01:20 AM EST

Boondock Saints and SLC Punk are definitely two unbelievable movies. They're coming out with Boondock Saints II. !!!

As for my personal reccomendation...I would have to go with Goodbye, Lenin. It was an excellent, endearing, funny German comedy. Definitely brought back memories/nostalgia of the good ol' soviet days, which I'm not sure how much of you guys can share... Nevertheless, its awesome cinematography and very entertaining. A++

Also, My Neighbor Totoro is my recomendation to all my friends. But Matt's site has a lot of anime fans, so its probably on everyone's top-10 list.

Chestnuts roasted by SovietRocket @ 09/08/2004 01:58 AM EST

The Salton Sea with Val Kilmer. It's a really hip, crazy cool movie, and I don't know anybody that's seen it. Besides, you know it has to be good, because Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club have already established the "Any movie with an appearance by Meatloaf will kick ass" rule. (Spice World is the exception that proves it!)

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 09/08/2004 01:59 AM EST

Oh, and Wet, Hot, American Summer.

Go out, rent it and see it NOW!

Chestnuts roasted by SovietRocket @ 09/08/2004 01:59 AM EST

btw,Squee...your livejournal layout is lovely. I'm staying up reading for a politics class and I was bored...so I decided to see who else is commenting in Matt's journal at this ungodly hour on a weekday. The Kill Bill and the magenta--definitely beats fucking public policy debates on land zoning.

Chestnuts roasted by SovietRocket @ 09/08/2004 02:04 AM EST

Shit, yeah, and Wet Hot American Summer. So good. *<3's Janeane Garofalo*

Chestnuts roasted by Evin @ 09/08/2004 02:13 AM EST

Wet Hot American Summer is an AWESOME movie. But I'd have to say my favorite is Empire Records. Not sure on the obscurity, but it is a movie that I have to introduce people to pretty often. ALSO if you're looking for something terribly, horrifyingly (is that a word?) awful... look for Cheerleader Ninjas. THAT will keep you entertained. But at the same time it may make you want to kill yourself. Damn double-edged swords...

Chestnuts roasted by Meg @ 09/08/2004 02:18 AM EST

Wow, thanks for the compliment SovietRocket! The picture is from the Japanese promos for Kill Bill, where they marketed it as a love story.

You Know You Read Too Much X-E When:

~You find yourself conversing in real-time on the blog
~When you finally get ahold of the elusive Squidward figure you've wasted too many quarters trying to attain you pump your fist into the air and let out a booyah. In the middle of a crowded restaurant. That you eat at everyday.
~You've gotten tired of explaining who "Matt" is, so "TheGuyFromXE" has become a regular part of your vocabulary.
~You spend significant time in the video store debating whether you should buy Gremlins 2 or My Pet Monster Volume 6. (Gremlins, BTW. More replay value ^_^)

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 09/08/2004 02:29 AM EST

Kentucky Fried Movie... nuff said.

Chestnuts roasted by Gnarkill @ 09/08/2004 03:32 AM EST

You can download an image of that TMNT sticker and print it out or something. Woo hoo! Cowabunga, indeed.

http://www.sph.emory.edu/Helmets/Headlines/spring98.html
(scroll down about halfway)

Chestnuts roasted by Destro @ 09/08/2004 03:34 AM EST

Pardon the fact that I'm not recommending "cult" movies of our generation in the sci-fi, fantasy, or horror genres, opting instead to name some overlooked films made before the 80's, i.e. made before many of us were born.
(I also won't bother naming any films that made it to the AFI Top 100 -- you should know all the movies on that list by now -- nor any films made by Akira Kurosawa whose filmography is almost entirely worth watching.)

Once Upon a Time in the West
12 Angry Men
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Wild Strawberries
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Wait Until Dark
The Desperate Hours
All the King's Men
Being There
The Day of the Jackal
The Lavendar Hill Mob
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Papillion

Chestnuts roasted by rapsodist @ 09/08/2004 03:44 AM EST

Pardon the fact that I'm not recommending "cult" movies of our generation in the sci-fi, fantasy, or horror genres, opting instead to name some overlooked films made before the 80's, i.e. made before many of us were born.
(I also won't bother naming any films that made it to the AFI Top 100 -- you should know all the movies on that list by now -- nor any films made by Akira Kurosawa whose filmography is almost entirely worth watching.)

Once Upon a Time in the West
12 Angry Men
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Wild Strawberries
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Wait Until Dark
The Desperate Hours
All the King's Men
Being There
The Day of the Jackal
The Lavendar Hill Mob
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Papillion

Chestnuts roasted by rapsodist @ 09/08/2004 03:44 AM EST

Yeah! I remember Mother. I actually liked it too I remember the protective coat on the ice cream part. XD Cause the icecream was old/freezerburned and had tons of ice on top, lol, Great moment.

Chestnuts roasted by heeloyd @ 09/08/2004 04:00 AM EST

"Phantoms" based on the book of the same name by Dean Koontz. Directed by Joe Chappelle. It stars Peter O'Toole, Rose McGowan, Joanna Going, Liev Schreiber and, surprisingly, Ben Affleck (Note: in Jay in Silent Bob Strikes Back, Jay yells "Ben Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms" he was talking about this movie) It's surprisingly good. I read the book, it's good too. Although I've seen it in one video store, ever and it took me several years to find a copy of the DVD, it's worth watching at least once.

Chestnuts roasted by Alix @ 09/08/2004 04:10 AM EST

This just goes to prove that people in first-world countries have *waaaay* too much spare time and money... (gimme some? heehee).

I think I'd say Pitch Black, just because I can. I know everyone has probably seen it a million times, but: see it again. And Robin Hood, Men in Tights is good for a few cheap laughs, although if you really want cheap laughs watch Prince of Thieves again, and join the "lets kill kevin costner" Movie Club! Right next door to the clubs dedicated to killing Jeff Probst and Richard The Naked Wrinklie Boy Hatch! (sorry, coffee withdrawal). I can't tell you how irritated by reality TV I now am. Do you think it's possible to... get rid of it? ::evil expression, holds up flamethrower and claymore mine, just not next to eachother::

I love silent bob! My friend used to do this brilliant impression, complete with coat! It's incredible the way he never needs to talk! (Silent Bob, that is. )

I think now is the time for more really good Scifi to be made into movies; Ursula K Le Guin and CJ Cherryh spring to mind as good authors (Who else has read Hunter of Worlds??) I mean, they have the technology, and look at how well LOTR came out. (Let's not talk too much about, say, the backgrounds in Chronicles of Riddick. And the way he managed not to be burnt to a crisp even though everybody else in the sun was, on Crematoria. He just... steamed a little. Surely the air even in the shade would've been more than enough to casually vapourise even the most hardy smore?)

Chestnuts roasted by Childlike_empressnessness @ 09/08/2004 05:53 AM EST

The Hudsucker Proxy! Everyone else in the world seems to think that it's so mediocre, but I think it's fantastic. Too bad they give away a major plot point that really would have been better as a surprise and is treated as a surprise in the movie right on the damn thing's packaging.

Also High Fidelity. That movie is just perfect.

Chestnuts roasted by BDK Mat @ 09/08/2004 06:10 AM EST

How about GYMKAT.... I use to love that movie as a kid!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089243/

Chestnuts roasted by Greg @ 09/08/2004 06:55 AM EST

Manos: The Hands Of Fate is my favorite semi-obscure movie. :-)

-Paul.

Chestnuts roasted by Paul @ 09/08/2004 07:54 AM EST

Meet the Feebles...pre-Rings Peter Jackson at his absolute strangest. Basically The Muppets on acid.

Ichi the killer...most twisted "super hero" movie ever. Actually, any movie by Miike is worth checking out.

As for pure, unadulterated crap, you gotta go with the Thunder Ninja Kids series. You can find them at many discount places for a couple bucks each. The "best" (and by that I mean worst.) is Hunt for the Devil Boxer. Great stuff.

Chestnuts roasted by Trash @ 09/08/2004 08:24 AM EST

Probably really hard to find, but Redneck Zombies. Not only did it of course go straight to video, it was made on video. Back when semi-cheap VHS video cameras were the rage. We found this at Blockbuster around maybe '93. It's a Troma movie so you know its bad in a good way, but even for Troma this has to be the worst/best movie ever.

Daddy can we have some money? The terbacky man is a coming!

Chestnuts roasted by Blah...blah @ 09/08/2004 09:05 AM EST

One of my favorites of all time, early 80's, almost impossible to find now (except on E-bay): Turk 182.

Chestnuts roasted by jhnnywalkr @ 09/08/2004 09:11 AM EST

Holy crap, I thought of quite a few while reading everyone's posts.
Let me start off by saying I have an affinity for Sean Astin (pre-LOTR), Denis Leary (he hails from Worcester, MA - about 10 minutes from me) and Henry Thomas (never mind E.T., that wasn't nearly his best performance).

Ok, my list, in no particular order:

Freaks - ITA w/ the previous poster. Awesome, awesome movie. Before CGI and latex, they used real circus freaks, and it could never have been done better.

The Sky Is Falling - about a girl who's life is falling apart, and she starts to contemplate suicide. She meets some interesting characters on her journey - chain-smoking Santa Claus (Chris Eliot), a child-like literary agent (Sean Astin), and even her ex-hippie dad (Howard Hessman) and her mom (Teri Garr). W/ a cast like that, how could it NOT be good?

WaxWorks - I know Matt has mentioned this, but I wanted to reiterate how excellent this movie is. A bunch of teenagers go to a midnight showing at a wax museum and get sucked into the displays. Cool special effects.

Freeway - a modern Little Red Riding Hood w/ Reese Witherspoon as a gangsta runaway picked up by Big Bad Wolf Kiefer Sutherland. Cameo by Brooke Shields as Kiefer's wife.

The Good Baby - starring Henry Thomas as a mentally slow man who finds a baby in the woods and decides to keep her. Slow but excellent.

Suicide Kings - probably not really obscure, since I'm sure it's more popular than I give it credit for. Starring Christopher Walken (WALKEN, people), Henry Thomas, Denis Leary, Johnny Galecki (Darlene's boyfriend from RoseAnne) and Jay Mohr. A bunch of rich twenty-somethings kidnap an ex-Mob boss, cut off his finger, and blackmail him into helong one of the guys find his kidnapped sister. Walken. That's all I have to say.

Double Whammy - also starring Denis Leary as a cop trying to figure his life out. There are awesome subplots, like the one w/ two future screenwriters trying to put their movie together in the empty apartment next to Leary's. Steve Buschemi plays Denis' gay partner, Elizabeth Hurley is the chiropracter who fixes Denis' back, and Luiz Guzman is the building super. Also stars Chris Noth and Sally Jesse Rapheal.

Harrison Bergeron - starring Sean Astin as Harrison Bergeron. Cool Kurt Vonnegut story about a world aiming at making everyone average. If you're smarter than average, the Government will find a way to fix that. Also starring Eugene Levy and Howie Mandel.

Where The Day Takes You - I can't praise this movie enough. Story of a bunch of homeless kids and the different paths their lives take. If only all homeless were this good looking. :-) Almost makes you want to move out of your house and live in a box. Starring Sean Astin, Will Smith (in a wheelchair), Dermot Mulroney, Balthaxar Getty, Ricki Lake (before the talk show), Lara Flynn Boyle, Alyssa Milano, David Arquette (before he became a parody of himself) and Adam Baldwin.

Safe Passage - after seeing a military bombing on the news and realizing her son was there, a woman (Susan Sarandon) gathers her family around her to wait for the phone call w/ the news. Also starring Sean Astin (who's part was supposed to go to River Phoenix, before he died), Nick Stahl, the London twins (Jason and Jeremy), Marcia Gay Harden and Sam Shephard.

Staying Together - also starring Sean Astin (I told you I was obsessed). Three brothers find out that their family business - a fried chicken fast food restaurant - has been sold by their father, leaving them nothing for their futures. Also starring Dermot Mulroney, Stockard Channing and Daphne Zuniga.

Theresa's tattoo was pretty good. A "good" girl gets kidnapped during a party and made to pose as some guy's dead sister (who happens to be a prostitute). Cheesy but awesome. Also starring C. Thomas Howell as the Frozen Foods king, Matt Adler, Nancy McKeon, Lou Diamond Phillips, Casey Siemaszco (Three O'Clock High), Jonathan Silverman, Melissa Etheridge, k.d. lang, Tippi Hedron (The Birds), Anthony Clark (Yes, Dear), and Diedrich Bader (Oswald from The Drew Creey Show).

Phew. I'd be surpised if anyone actually reads that, but I just kept thinking of more.

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/08/2004 09:23 AM EST

god#$%it. i can't believe someone else recommended 'defending your life' before i did. buggernaught!

hmm. well my guilty pleasure is 'undercover blues' because it has my ideal relationship - HORNY SPIES!
but i wouldn't inflict that on anyone else...so i'll go with...

Battle Royale. KICKASS-U!

Chestnuts roasted by Melinda @ 09/08/2004 09:36 AM EST

Can there be any greater flick than MEGAFORCE? And yes, MEGAFORCE always has to be written in caps. Always.

MEGAFORCE.

Chestnuts roasted by GLS @ 09/08/2004 09:59 AM EST

Crap, sorry about the bold again, y'all.

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/08/2004 10:03 AM EST

A movie not too many people have seen named ET. It's about a boy who befriends an alien. Just kidding.

Two movies that come to mind are Joy Sticks and Kilbots. Joysticks is about a group of kids who try to save an arcade. It just like every other movie like Breakin 2 where kids all hang out and participate in some fad and have to try to save it from evil rich people. It's a real cheesy and bad movie but you get to see a lot of classic video games from the 80's. Matt should review it sometime.

Another is Kilbots or Chopping Mall as it is also known as. This is about a group of kids who party in a mall after hours and a group of security robots malfunction and begin to kill the kids. Another really bad but fun movie.

Chestnuts roasted by King Chachi @ 09/08/2004 10:10 AM EST

Meet the Feebles!

Chestnuts roasted by Poopman @ 09/08/2004 10:35 AM EST

Has anyone seen Trancers? One of those movies that used to be on HBO everday back in the '80's. Watched it while playing hooky from school once. I thought it would be horrible, but not bad entertainment when you are sitting home in your pj's. There is a line that sticks in my head to this day from it, the main character travels back in time to present day (1985-6?). And the first thing he does is find some kind of lotion and puts it in his hair and says,"Dry hair is for Squids." Everytime I put gel in my hear to this day that line goes through my head. Amazing because it was almost 20 years ago!

Chestnuts roasted by Mike @ 09/08/2004 10:51 AM EST

Guys, it's movies you don't think others have seen. Movies like Robin Hood, Men in Tights don't count b/c everyone has seen them.

My obscure fave of all time is the 1984 Japanese film Gyakufunsha Kazoku. THE CRAZY FAMILY. My parents (who only see foreign films) took me to see this acid trip of a flick when I was only nine. Basically, your stereotypical Japanese family moves to the burbs and flips out and starts trying to kill eachother. IF ANYONE HAS SEEN THIS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!

Runners up for Movies you've probably never seen:

1. BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL.
2. MANOS THE HANDS OF FATE (someone above named it too, but the insanity of this movie warrants mention again).
3. Rashamon and Kagemusha (tie for best non-Ran Kurasawa flicks)
4. MY LIFE AS A DOG (Swedish flick)
5. Casabanga (yes, banga), the Flintbones and Edward Penishands (3 way tie for most hysterical porn titles).

Chestnuts roasted by Pedro @ 09/08/2004 10:53 AM EST

Recommended movies you guys might not have seen:

Toy Solders w/ Sean Astin

Only the Strong (Survive)

Blood In, Blood Out w/ Benjamin Bratt

Chestnuts roasted by J-Dog @ 09/08/2004 10:57 AM EST

Mahabharata
or Tron (I really wanna throw a frisbee at someone)

Chestnuts roasted by ghfghj @ 09/08/2004 11:23 AM EST

oh wait maybe Starcrash

Chestnuts roasted by ghhgg @ 09/08/2004 11:24 AM EST

Why is everything Bold?

Anyway, anything TMNT is always appreciated. But I never wore a bike helment. Sue me. I guess the ad didn't work.

As for movies: I'm going to suggest the 1984 Version of "1984", starring John Hurt and Richard Burton. Yes, it is depressing, but it is also one of the best book-to film translations ever made. It was actually filmed in England in 1984, just as Orwell had written. Pretty Awesome.

Chestnuts roasted by Cameron T. @ 09/08/2004 11:26 AM EST

I remember that Mikey infomercial - he did sound apologetic saying "cowabunga." Mother was great and so was defending your life, but my movie pick has to be Shallow Grave. If you like Trainspotting, you'll enjoy this movie!

~Mother, tell your children not to walk my way!

Chestnuts roasted by Mugzy. . . @ 09/08/2004 11:32 AM EST

I know a lot of people probably saw it but "Rushmore" is my all time favorite movie, bar none.
"Nice nurses uniform guy."
"They're O.R. Scrubs"
"OH ARE they?"

Also I went to a "schlock around the clock" a while ago and Saw "Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine" Thats a classic. Vincent Price making the original Fembots to try to blow up Frankie Avalon.

Chestnuts roasted by Paulzy @ 09/08/2004 11:50 AM EST

Calling Bobcat

It's the story of some guy and his two freinds driving around Middlesex/Bound Brook, NJ looking for his grilfreind to find out why she dumped him. They're also drinking olive oil, trying to keep the main guy's drunk dad at home, and breaking into a potato chip warehouse.

I found the DVD for like 3 bucks at Cost Cutters, so I don't know how hard it'd be to find, but if you do it's worth it.

Chestnuts roasted by Lim @ 09/08/2004 11:51 AM EST

God. Worst Commute EVER this morning. Holy God Christ.

Anyway. Couple o’more:

The Grinch: A lot of people hate this movie. I’ve never understood why – and believe me, I was totally prepared to hate it. I hated it for a good two years without ever seeing it. Seriously though, it’s good stuff. Especially for X-Mas lovers. The scene with Carrey eating glass out of frustration is worth putting up with however many annoying scenes there were.

Honeymoon In Vegas: Worth seeing for Mr. Myakakakgison and Peter Boyle. Everything in this movie clicked despite itself.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 09/08/2004 12:18 PM EST

Matt, I hear ya, man. Terrible freakin' commute. No goddam uptown B, D, F or V makes Pedro go crazy . . .

Chestnuts roasted by Pedro @ 09/08/2004 12:29 PM EST

Peter Boyle was in Honeymoon in Vegas? No kidding. Makes me want to see it again.

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/08/2004 12:41 PM EST

Flesh gordon

http://imdb.com/title/tt0068595/

btw thats not the original Mikey voice actor but that guy did do his homework like you said

Chestnuts roasted by gamersource @ 09/08/2004 12:46 PM EST

Hmm..well one I haven't seen until this year was Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and its quite old. I loved it.
Ni!

Chestnuts roasted by Sarah @ 09/08/2004 12:51 PM EST

Matt & Pedro - it took me 2 hours to get to work this morning. I wanted to turn around and go home.

My recommendation - Twin Falls Idaho. Independent film about conjoined twin brothers (played by actual non-conjoined twins, the Polish brothers). I highly recommend it, but it is a bit of a downer.

Chestnuts roasted by Alison @ 09/08/2004 12:59 PM EST

I was on the bus at 7:20. Didn't get to the office until 10:30. And, the bus was leaking all over the place -- I was absoluely soaked just from taking the ride. Awful. Had to stay awake the whole time holding tissues up to the water drip holes. Ugh. Then I had to walk an extra 10 blocks than the norm, because swear to God, my damn bus HIT A VAN. Best morning ever.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 09/08/2004 01:02 PM EST

Bubba Ho-Tep please. Nothing beats Bruce Campbell... as ELVIS nonetheless. Speaking of Elvis, Quentin Tarantino was on Golden Girls last night as an Elvis impersonator in the episode where Sophia marries that old Max guy. I saw the weird dancing and the pointy chin and checked IMDB... and sure enough, there was the GG's episode right at the bottom.

Chestnuts roasted by phillip @ 09/08/2004 01:02 PM EST

True Stories- I really like this one. Contains one of Spaulding Grey's best perfomances. and Pops Staples as a VooDoo practicianer.

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust- A monster hunter movie that makes sense. The sound of one hand yapping, indeed.

I'll drop some more as they come to me.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 09/08/2004 01:04 PM EST

I've just been thrown out of an unauthorized Elvis fan club! I'll try to pick up the pieces and move on with my life. I mean, there must be a support group for people like me.

Chestnuts roasted by Dorothy @ 09/08/2004 01:05 PM EST

Transformers the movie is the greatest movie I've ever seen. No question.

Chestnuts roasted by Greg @ 09/08/2004 01:05 PM EST

I'd say "Oscar" with Sylvester Stallone and Marisa Tomei. Damn thing makes me laugh every time I see it!

Chestnuts roasted by Mechugena @ 09/08/2004 01:23 PM EST

I enjoy many movies that I know a) many people have either never seen or b) generally hate them. Examples you say? How many of you have seen Tourist Trap? Matt, this would be a GREAT movie to review for X-E. It stars Chuck Connors and...I guess he's the only "name" in the film. I don't really like this movie, it's just so bizarre though and everytime I mention it to people they're like "Huh?" I also love bad movies with Olivia Newton-John like Xanadu and Two of a Kind.

Chestnuts roasted by Melissa Y. @ 09/08/2004 01:25 PM EST

Major Payne is one of the funniest movies ever made, yet it's almost forgotten.

Tombstone, meanwhile, is my favorite movie.

Chestnuts roasted by Josh @ 09/08/2004 01:39 PM EST

My brothers and I spent our youthful summers watching Ninja Turtles movies and the Wrong Guys. Wrong Guys is a great obscure (I think) movie starring Louie Anderson as a guy who still lives with his mom but wants to relive his days as a Boy Scout. So he gathers all his friends together to go camping in the mountains. They run into a crazed killer, played by John Goodman, who is hilariously deranged.

Chestnuts roasted by purplegirl247 @ 09/08/2004 02:17 PM EST

Mike I feel your pain, "dry hair is for squids" is the same quote I think of when I think of trancers. It may not be obscure to some but if you have not seen Forbidden Planet, you should check it out. Its a sci-fi movie from the 50s starring Leslie Neilson in a serious role.

Chestnuts roasted by Gozer @ 09/08/2004 02:43 PM EST

Here's a few:

Santa With Muscles - Hulk Hogan saves an orphanage, and kicks the crap out of bad guys, all while wearing a Santa costume.

Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot - Sylvester Stallone and Estelle Getty solve crime as mother and son detectives.

Monster Squad - A group of kids fend off every stereotypical monster from Dracula to the Wolfman.

The Stoned Age - A couple of stoners on a quest to find a couple of hot chicks. Beer, hot chicks and a wicked puke scene!

Strange Brew - Rick Moranis in a movie about beer, independent film and love. One great scene involves Rick pissing out a 4 alarm fire after drinking a tank filled with beer.

Chestnuts roasted by Hypnotix @ 09/08/2004 02:43 PM EST

I recommend extremely similarly titled movie "The Wrong Guy," starring Dave Foley from the Kids in the Hall and a cameo by Kevin McDonald.
Also, "Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy."
Why do I actually like "Spice World"? I don't know, but I do!
"The Last Unicorn"
"The Impostors"
and "Dumbo." Can't explain this one either, but it's good.

Chestnuts roasted by DeathFrogurt @ 09/08/2004 02:49 PM EST

Hell Comes to Frogtown

The movie stars Rowdy Roddy Piper as the last remaining virile man on Earth. He is sent to battle mutant frogs who have kidnapped fertile women. Fantastic movie.

Chestnuts roasted by Al @ 09/08/2004 03:14 PM EST

Okay, I caught it on Oxygen, but it was a really good movie: Molly. Stars Elisabeth Shue as an autistic woman who benefits from a treatment that allows her to become "normal". It's way better than it sounds.

But it can't beat the greatest film I've seen in some time, "The Borrower". Oh boy. I caught it really late at night on some channel (maybe TNT) after all the real programming had finished running. It's about an alien who is sentenced to be left on Earth and "de-evolved" into a human form. Even thought the aliens are "more advanced", the de-evolved alien immediately beats the crap out of one of the aliens before it can leave (in one of the funniest scenes I've ever watched), and then proceeds to kill people by ripping thier heads off. He also has the inexplicable ability to then "borrow" and use said heads to become a copy of the person he killed (somehow the skin all over his body also changes). Terrible acting, gaping plot holes, bad special effects, an awful villian- this movie has it all.

Other memorable scenes:

* The Borrower, seconds after going through the trouble to assimilate a head, kills a dog and decides to take the dog's head. The rest of his body does NOT change. (Believe me folks, it's not as gruesome as it sounds, but it IS amusing in an "I-can-see-the-zipper" sort of way.)

* The Borrower walks down the sidewalk covered in blood, right past SEVERAL people and a cop (who says nothing), and then a homeless man takes him aside and warns him to clean up unless he wants to be picked up by the police.

Chestnuts roasted by Night_Trekker @ 09/08/2004 03:26 PM EST

2 Movies that Changed My LIFE:

1) Airplane!

2) Blazing Saddles

Both of those movies are hilarious EVERY time I watch them. I have missed dates with girls b/c they've been on television... possibly girls who could have become my wife (though I love my actual wife very dearly) if it weren't for those 2 movies.

"Joey, do you like movies about Gladiators?"

"Joey, have you ever been to a Turkish Prison?"

"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking!"

"Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue!"

"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines!"

I could go on and on...
(mmmmmmmmmmmmm, happy.)

Oh, and Today's my birthday! 27!

Chestnuts roasted by Barry J. Deeper @ 09/08/2004 04:26 PM EST

"There is no reason to be alarmed. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?"

Ah HA! I couldn't resist!

Chestnuts roasted by Barry J. Deeper @ 09/08/2004 04:34 PM EST

Well, I've been watching these movies for so long they probably don't qualify for cult status...
-Bubba Ho Tep(thought I'd be the first with that one, but no, number 3!)
-Big Lebowski(I am the Jesus)
-Kingpin(A bowling movie, not a Mob one)
-Raising Arizona
-Snatch(What's a dag?...Ya know, a dag.)
-Bad Santa
(Little Boy: Where are your reindeer?
Billy Bob Thornton:....What, I don't know, they're fucking stabled).
Office Space of course....
Super Troopers(You have a good day Meow)

Haven't seen Club Dread maybe if anyone else posts they could give me a heads up...

Also for cartoons you can't go wrong with Family Guy or Invader Zim...

Chestnuts roasted by whitemale_98/competent soldier @ 09/08/2004 04:36 PM EST

I would add the following:

-Ronin. Didn't make a big splash at the box office, but the plot is great. One of the best spy/caper/etc movie ever. The cast includes Robert de Niro, Jean Reno and Sean Bean.

- Sneakers, another techno-spy movie a la Mission Impossible, but a million times better. Besides, any movie pairing Robert Redford and Dan Akroyd is worth your time.

- The Decline of the American Empire, This is a Canadian film whose sequel, The Barbarian Invasions, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Feature Film for 2003. In the first movie, a group of yuppie friends gather at a cottage for dinner, talking about sex and philosophy. Raunchy and talky, it's amazingly good. But then again, I'm biased!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090985/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338135/

Chestnuts roasted by Yzziefrog @ 09/08/2004 05:19 PM EST

Holy shit, Pedro, i thought i was the only person on earth who's seen my life as a dog. i remember my brother and i watching it and being hooked once he got his dick stuck in the bottle. gotta love pbs.

I loved Rock & Rule. it was an anitmated movie about a post-apocalyptic earth. new york was nuke york, rodents had evolved into people-esque beings, and there were apaprently no more humans. this guy Mock who's a combination of iggy pop and mick jagger (and a rat) tries to raise a demon through some sort of magical song. it's a cool assed movie, and damn near impossible to find nowadays. if you happen to see it, grab it. last i heard you could buy a "new" copy for as cheap as 80 bucks.

Chestnuts roasted by The Other White Meat @ 09/08/2004 05:20 PM EST

A movie that i believe should be reviewed here, definatly "Six String Samuri". It's the best post apocolyptic, rock and roll kung-fu movie ever. It has buddy holly in a guitar fight with death, that scene alone is worth seeing it, but it's freakin hilarious. I also believe someone should try to get that sticker from the comercial

Chestnuts roasted by Scuba @ 09/08/2004 05:58 PM EST

While flipping the channels the other morning I was at first frightened, but then realized that "LazyTown" will probably be the next big thing with kids.
Video: http://www.lazytown.com/video/welcome.mov

Chestnuts roasted by ME @ 09/08/2004 06:02 PM EST

I would have been able to say this one about 2 weeks ago, Shaun of the Dead..
I downloaded it when it was on Usenet because I was sure we'd never get it here in the good ol' Western Hemisphere and I loved it then and I love it now.

Instead I'll say Where the Buffalo Roam,
starring Bill Murray as Hunter S. Thompson.
(the character in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)

If you liked that movie then I highly recommend this one because it is better.
(Because I said so of course)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081748/

Chestnuts roasted by Cyanyde @ 09/08/2004 06:13 PM EST

See Playing By Heart. Its kind of a chick flick but it has a whole bunch of cool actors in it like Sean Connerey, Angelina Jolie, Gillian Anderson. It is one of my favourite movies.

Chestnuts roasted by happygirl @ 09/08/2004 06:29 PM EST

Twilight of the Cockroaches: In this japanese film, combining animation with live action, a city of cockroaches, located in lazy slob's house, is forever changed when a roach arrives from a neat freak's house across the yard. Expect one of those typical deep messages, but also be on the watch-out for the clay animated talking pile of dog doo doo. How can you resist that?

Also, I can't really reccomend it because I've haven't seen it yet, but be sure to check out the clip for "Crippled Kungfu" at www.stupidvideo.com. That alone should get anyone interested. I've seen it in Suncoast's bargain bin a while ago.

Chestnuts roasted by cheaptrick @ 09/08/2004 06:35 PM EST

Mutant League-Unnaturally bloody children's toon that features pretty much any kid of limb removal

And that's about all the indie movies I know of that arn't pornos.

Chestnuts roasted by Grandmaster Useless @ 09/08/2004 07:06 PM EST

Cheaptrick: I've always wanted to see Twilight of the Cockroaches. It just sounds too weird to pass up. Sadly, I can't find it at any store. Maybe some day on eBay.

Anyway, I recommend Looney Tunes: Back in Action (Much truer to the cartoons and funnier than Space Jam, great effects, animation and actors, and a genuinely good movie), Rat Race (Surprisingly funny nutty comedy with a good premise), and Laputa: Castle in the Sky (My favorite Miyazaki film. A must-see.).

Chestnuts roasted by Behonkiss @ 09/08/2004 07:51 PM EST

Happiness Of the Katakuris, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0304262/ Its a fantasticly weird japanese movie. Its about a family who runs a hotel in the middle of nowhere and all the guests end up dying. Some become zombies, some stay dead. Random musical numbers happen for no reason, it is excellent. Few other great films from the land of the rising sun are Versus, Audition and Naked Blood, check em all out if you have the chance.

Chestnuts roasted by The Dude @ 09/08/2004 08:08 PM EST

SLC Punk and High Fidelity are 2 more of my top 5 of all time. Though I thought HF was rather well known. Maybe cause I hang out with a GIANT Cusack fan just about everyday of my life--love ya K! BTW Pikachulover, I am a guy. Sorry if the fact that I love JPC sounds freaky now. Wouldn't be the first time I've been called out for it =P

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 09/08/2004 08:33 PM EST

BIKE HELMETS ARE TOTALLY AWESOME!!111111111111

Chestnuts roasted by Teirusu @ 09/08/2004 09:24 PM EST

Two words: Prime Time...or was it one word. Anyway funniest movie youll ever see ever

Chestnuts roasted by kurtlyone @ 09/08/2004 09:35 PM EST

Amazon Women on the Moon: A sketch film like Kentucky Fried Movie,but just as funny. Worth checking out just to see David Alan Grier as the black singer with no soul.

Over The Edge: A late-70's drama about small-town juvenile deliqients,who vadalize and do drugs,led by Matt Dillon in his first film role. All the kids in town have nowhere to go except a rec center,but when that gets closed down becuase of a kid with pot,it only drives the wedge between parents and children wider,and wider still after Matt Dillion's character is killed after stealing a car. It all leads up to a violent showdown that has to be seen to be believed.

Chestnuts roasted by Overlord @ 09/08/2004 09:35 PM EST

I'll say it before and I'll say it again: UHF!!!!

Go review it!

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 09/08/2004 10:32 PM EST

Watch the FMV of * getting killed by * in FF7.

Chestnuts roasted by RPharazon @ 09/08/2004 11:59 PM EST

Watch the FMV of * getting killed by * in FF7.

Chestnuts roasted by RPharazon @ 09/09/2004 12:00 AM EST

Double Take
Anti-Trust
Barberella

and the greatest indy movie ever...

Run Lola Run

Chestnuts roasted by Axerogh @ 09/09/2004 12:18 AM EST

HYPNOTIX - MONSTER SQUAD! How could I ever forget that great film masterpiece - love it from beginning to end - I need to get it on DVD!

~WOLFMAN's got NARDS?!

Chestnuts roasted by Bang-droppin' MUGZY. . . @ 09/09/2004 12:30 AM EST

I love Carebears in Wonderland. It's definately the weirdest Carebears movie out there. Everyones favorite fuzzy cheersquad heads to yep, you guessed it, Wonderland. They have to help Alice impersonate the missing Princess of Wonderland to keep the bad guy off the throne. Watch out for the Cheshire Cat's old school rap skillz.

Chestnuts roasted by Gabbylicious @ 09/09/2004 12:45 AM EST

Sorry, I forgot. I also love Strike. I think it's from sometime in the late 90s. It's got Kirsten Dunst, pre-Spiderman of course, and a few other girls breaking the rules at boarding school. No, not in the porno way.

Chestnuts roasted by Gabbylicious @ 09/09/2004 12:46 AM EST

Amelie (though a lot of people have seen that). Or Monkeybone, which isn't quite as much of a classic.

Chestnuts roasted by Andy @ 09/09/2004 01:12 AM EST

A few come to mind, but I wouldn't say they are too obscure... maybe just forgotten?

Drop Dead Fred
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Professional
Men at Work
The Horseman on the Roof

Ok, that last one might be a little obscure. It's french.

Chestnuts roasted by Ryane @ 09/09/2004 02:21 AM EST

Vendetta: A christmas story. Admitadly it's only two shorts, but I still love it. Click on the homepage to find it.

Chestnuts roasted by Betrayer @ 09/09/2004 07:29 AM EST

I don't think too many people (my age anyway) have seen 1984's Starman, with Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. It's a very interesting story about an alien who takes the form of a woman's dead husband, and has her take him to a rendezvous point in the dessert.

It seems like an adult version of ET at first, but it's been revealed that the script for starman may have been written before ET's was, and was just on the shelf longer. Anyway check it out for it's good performances. Jeff Bridges as the alien is particularly stunning.

Chestnuts roasted by Number 5 @ 09/09/2004 07:55 AM EST

Bang-droppin Mugzy, that's the most memorable line of that movie. I almost added it to the comment above.
"Kick 'em in the nards!"
"Wolfman doesn't have nards!"
"Kick 'em in the nards!"
(WHOMP!) Wolfman hunches over in pain.
"Wolfman's got nards..."

Other movies that just came to me:
Witches - Two kids uncover a plot where old women are really witches, planning on taking over a hotel. Oh yeah, and the boys get turned into mice.

Winners Take All - Weird dirtbike racing movie. 80's cheesiness abound.

Stupid Movies - Find it at Blockbuster. Its just some old man filming himself with an old VHS camcorder, doing dumb things.

Evil Toons - I saw it on late-night Cinemax. Its about four girls who find a cursed book with this weird evil cartoon in it. After saying a chant, the evil cartoon character jumps out of the book and posesses the girl's bodies, making them do evil things. Its basically softcore porn with cheesy cartoon effects. A must-see!

I Spit On Your Grave - A bloody tale of a woman who takes revenge on the men who raped her. Very graphic, including a scene where a man gets his nuts sliced off in the bathtub after his victim seduces him with a massage.

Chestnuts roasted by Hypnotix @ 09/09/2004 08:15 AM EST

Hey guys, anyone else seen Damnation Alley? Fun little post-WW3 movie with George Peppard from the A-team and Jan-Michael Vincent. It features an awesome tank creation with 4 pairs of 3 wheels. You'd need to see it for it to make sense.

Chestnuts roasted by Jeephog @ 09/09/2004 08:31 AM EST

First off...I am so glad that both Amazon Women on the Moon and Monster Squad are in here....great flicks....

I have been trying to get through Ebert's Greatest Movies list for quite some time, but my son's birth got in the way...damn kids! Anyways, that has introduced me to some movies I can't believe I have never seen...I know they are classics, so the idea of obscurity may not be present, but they are still movies that I am pretty sure are not being watched that much...

The Third Man (great film noir)
The Apartment (Jack Lemmon)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (spaghetti western)
Notorious (very good Hitchcock...maybe not Rear Window good, but good nonetheless)
Grave of the Fireflies (awesome anime)
The Thin Man (an extremely funny detective movie)

Those are some that I have watched on that list...From my own personal stash, I would recommend Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein...It's high-god damn-larious! Also have to agree with Wet Hot American Summer and anything Kurosawa....Oh, and Teen Witch.

Chestnuts roasted by Goody @ 09/09/2004 08:54 AM EST

All-time favorite movie: Stephen King's The Stand. It's about 6 hours long, but it's definitely worth seeing.

Chestnuts roasted by Candice @ 09/09/2004 08:59 AM EST

Oh crap...thought of one more...remember that movie Runaway with Burt Reynolds and Gene Simmons about killer robots and the robots kill and people get killed by the robots...remember?

Chestnuts roasted by Goody @ 09/09/2004 09:02 AM EST

any movie with the COMEDIC SUPERTEAM Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov

Chestnuts roasted by mot @ 09/09/2004 10:50 AM EST

Drawing Flies. If you are a Jason Lee fan, you must see this movie. You will fall out of your chair during the best and most brief scene...I won't ruin it for ya. Carmen climbing over the welfare office desk is pretty good too =)

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 09/09/2004 11:35 AM EST

Yeah, I remember Runaway. By The way, it was Tom Selleck, not Burt Reynolds, who starred in it. It also starred Joey Cramer as Selleck's son.

Cramer was also the star of Flight of The Navigator, another fun movie I've seen thousands of times since I was a kid (And still watch today on DVD.)

Chestnuts roasted by Number 5 @ 09/09/2004 11:43 AM EST

Click on my name for fun with celeb pictures: morph em into weird alien caricatures of themselves. Not entirely necessary with, say, Michael Jackson.

To give idea about uselessness of South African movie broadcasting: free-to-air private channel is broadcasting Congo now. During prime time. On the weekend. So, will probably end up seeing all these obscure movies quite soon. Then can understand Matt's strange craving for furry grey gorrilla plushies. Perhaps.

(This is why I read a lot.)

PS, how do you do "crazy" smiley? 88 8B ?

Chestnuts roasted by childlike empressnessness @ 09/09/2004 11:46 AM EST

Saw Airheads quite recently - Kramer had a role! Seinfeld Kramer! Never knew that....

Chestnuts roasted by childlike ...... you know the rest @ 09/09/2004 11:50 AM EST

Tapeheads- A film by Mike Nesmith about two guys breaking into the early days of music video. And one of the coolest ugly cars ever seen in any film.

Battle Beyond the Stars- another low budget flick with Peppard in it. A low-rent sci-fi Seven Samurai where the only surviving good guy is John Boy Walton! A meal and a place to hide.

Wagons East!- About a group of pioneers who get fed up and go home. John Candy's last role. Don't piss off a gay gunslinger.

The multi-terrain vehicle in Damnation Alley is called a LandMaster. It even guest-starred in an episode of "Get a Life!" as a automated paper delivery system.

Actually, in I Spit on Your Grave, She sliced off his whole block-and-tackle. I also like the outboard evisceration.

Glad to see titles like Over the Edge, Trancers, Return of the Killer Tomatos (it had an even better stab at product placment than Wayne's World), and Kentucky Fried Movie mentioned. I recommend that you take down the names of the films you haven't seen from the above, and take time to watch a couple.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash with a video tape @ 09/09/2004 01:14 PM EST

The Other White Meat:

My Life as a Dog was a critically acclaimed movie internationally but, of course, not here in the states b/c we're too busy with shit like Win a Date with Tad Hamilton type of crap.

I thank my lucky stars every day that I live in NYC, (among other reasons) so I'm not relegated to the trash at the local multi-plex.

Chestnuts roasted by Pedro @ 09/09/2004 01:16 PM EST

Gozer -- glad to see I'm not the only one! I hit IMDB after posting and someone has a review titled "Dry hair is for Squids"... we could get a support group going.
How about the movie "A Boy and His Dog" -- with a young Don Johnson. The are in a post apocalyptic world looking for food and tail (no doggie pun intended!) He can hear the dog talking to him in his mind, and he finds survivors living underground trying to recreate the good old days. Kind of a "Pleasantville", "The Village", "Mad Max" stew of a story.

Chestnuts roasted by Mike @ 09/09/2004 02:10 PM EST

Matt-I've seen Mother. It's pretty damn funny from what I remember. Love the PSA as well. Wish I had that free sticker.

I don't think there's any movie I could think iof that the readers of this site haven't seen. We're all a bunch of weirdos, so we've all seen some of the strangest and most obscure flicks around. Hell, some of us (such as me) even own some of these flicks.

Chestnuts roasted by Nate @ 09/09/2004 02:47 PM EST

i'll throw out amazon women from the moon also, you never know if jack the ripper was really a giant dinasaur or not...
also, the legend of boggy creek 2. well, not so much the movie, but the mystery science theater take on it. and if you've never seen boggy creek 1, don't waste your time. that's 90 minutes of my life i'll never get back thanks to my mom claiming it scared the shit out of her when she was a kid.
at the same time, i'll wonder if anyone will even read this post. hmmm.

Chestnuts roasted by Big Jerm @ 09/09/2004 02:54 PM EST

Have any of you seen this crazy post-apocalyptic/drugged up monster movie late night on HBO?

It was about a bunch of cavemen in a post-apocalyptic world who discvoer a city. The city is filled with these high-tech human dudes. The high-tech human dudes get the cavemen to do all these drugs, drink, and get them to have crazy sex all the time. But the high-tech human dudes are really monsters and go wacky and do coke all the time.

It's friggen insane.

Chestnuts roasted by JeremyMac @ 09/09/2004 04:36 PM EST

Pedro:

Critically accalimed or not, the movie was frigging weird. I couldn't have been older than 11 when i saw it and being totally drawn in. I can't say that i remember a full plot, but it was like a train wreck withe the addictiveness of heroin. being the Mature and Educated individual i am now, maybe i'd "get" it (nah, who am i kidding?) but it's still way weird.

anybody here see spaced invaders?
a bunch of aliens come to earth on halloween. becasue they're short and weird looking, people just figure that they're trick or treaters. I remember it being totally cheesey and goofy, but i loved the flick when i was a kid.

Chestnuts roasted by The Other White Meat @ 09/09/2004 04:52 PM EST

Lifeforce: Relatively big-budget (by 1980s standards) cheese with space energy zombie vampires infesting London, created using expensive full-scale sets at Elstree Studios and detailed miniatures, and lots of creature models. It's from Tobe Hooper, the director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the credited director for Poltergeist (though, supposedly, he was high a lot of the time and producer Steven Spielberg had to pinch hit as director). And it's got naked Mathilda May!

Cloak and Dagger: Staring Henry Thomas and some girl who is a Drew Barrymore lookalike who accidentally get themselves involved in the dangerous, often fatal, world of international espionage all because of a seemingly innocent-looking Atari cartridge. And you get to see a hell of a lot more of San Antonio than you did in the Alamo scene of Pee Wee's Big Adventure, and it's got Dabney Coleman in a duel role as Davey's father and as Davey's "imaginary" friend, Captain Jack Flack! And it's a lot more unflinching in its portrayal of the consequences of violence than modern kiddy spy movies like Spy Game and Agent Cody Banks. This would be an excellent film for Matt to review, but it's still not available on DVD.

Gate to Heaven: A bizarre German comedy, though shot in English, about immigrants, legal and illegal, who work menial jobs at Frankfurt airport, and it stars Valeri Nikolayev, who, coincidentally, had a bit part in another recent airport movie, Steven Spielberg's The Terminal (he was the Russian with the knife). The deus ex machinas ending was far too goofy and convenient, but everything else leading up to the ending is sweet and fun. You can read my review of it here, though I don't think this film has a North American distributor yet.

Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer: My all-time favourite anime film, you can read an ancient review I wrote of it Kiki's Delivery Service: If you're one of the few people, like me, who found Spirited Away, while still decent, a bit too unfocused, meandering, disjointed, and, often, downright pretentious, where Hayao Miyazaki is trying to say something deep but often missing the mark, then you might agree with me that Kiki's Delivery Service is Hayao Miyazaki's best film by far, aside from maybe My Neighbor Totoro, since it's a straightfoward, focused, and unpretentious story about a girl in a new city trying to find her niche in life and make friends and the film says exactly what it needs to say and, while it would be a mistake to say this film is shallow, the depth is perfectly accessible to the average viewer, and, to me, that's actually a plus, not a minus.

Project A-Ko: My favourite anime film for straightforward shallow fun. One time on RottenTomatoes.com (where I'm Kiyone), I wrote "This movie is proof that not all anime films are insightful, haunting, poetic, elegaic, or philisophical with deep subtexts on the nature of existence, asking what makes us human. Some anime films are about schoolgirls with powers and big robots and spaceships and panties and wacky mayhem." Sums it up in a couple of sentences.

Blatant Self-Promotion: My 30th birthday is October 2nd, so I'm writing about my whole life, year-by-year, over in my blog. Here's the introduction and index.

Chestnuts roasted by Steve Brandon @ 09/09/2004 05:14 PM EST

D'oh, screwed up the HTML formatting. Should have hit "preview".

Here's the link to the index of my bio, not that anyone would care, though I do talk about many TV shows and movies I liked.

Chestnuts roasted by Steve Brandon @ 09/09/2004 05:16 PM EST

Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter: I know it's been said, but it's definitly up your alley, Matt, if you've never seen it. REVIEW!! O_o!!

Or C.H.O.M.P.S about a little robot crimefighting dog. I loved it from the 80's and tracked down an old VHS on ebay to find it's still not bad. PErhaps a little sweetened by nostalgia, but worth a look.

Chestnuts roasted by Blaine @ 09/09/2004 05:25 PM EST

Oh yeah... or "I Woke Up Early the Day I Died", written by Ed Wood and starring Billy Zane.

Chestnuts roasted by Blaine @ 09/09/2004 05:27 PM EST

Stay Tuned. Starring John Ritter (God rest his soul) as a lazy couch potato who buys a television with 666 channels on it from a salesman who is actually Satan. This is a great movie, you should definitely watch it if it's on any movie channels on TV.

Chestnuts roasted by Meat Pöpsicle @ 09/09/2004 05:47 PM EST

how about "THE PEANUT BUTTER SOLUTION"? it's really obscure and came out in the early 80's. about a kid who goes into a haunted house (perfect for halloween) and see's the fright! Causing him to lose all his hair. Then after days or weeks trying to fit in at school with a wig it is pulled off during PE. Later that night he has a dream where in old people are in his house eating his food and the tell him of the peanut butter solution to grow his hair back. he wakes up puts the magic potion together with to much peanut butter and his hair does not stop growing. Enter Villian. An evil painter that wants the kids hair to make magic paint brushes that paint pictures you can walk into. And talk about a child sweat shop. I guess you have to see it I wont give anymore away..... blah.

Chestnuts roasted by Azriel Sin @ 09/09/2004 06:29 PM EST

A-Ko can be used as a reference point if you are just starting to get into anime. As you get to know more and more , you can go back to Project A-ko and get more and more of the jokes. And it has B-ko in the Akagiyama 23. But I like A-ko better.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 09/09/2004 06:53 PM EST

Killer Clowns from Outer Space: this movie consumed my life at one point, but noone seems to know about it.

Chestnuts roasted by s0fa @ 09/09/2004 07:16 PM EST

Killer Clowns from Outer Space: this movie consumed my life at one point, but noone seems to know about it.

Chestnuts roasted by s0fa @ 09/09/2004 07:16 PM EST

Well...as a clown hater, I do know about KKfOS. Unfortunately. EEE...I hate clowns.

Here's a movie NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN. It's called...

Chestnuts roasted by Walks @ 09/09/2004 07:50 PM EST

I'm glad to see some obscurites I recognize, from "The Peanut Butter Solution" (which I actually saw a couple of times as a kid, both on cable and - in all places - at school) to "Mother" (my dad has it - Debbie Reynolds is a riot), as well as "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" (which I thoroughly enjoyed when I rented it earlier this year) and "Care Bears In Wonderland" (extremely out of print, but we taped it, and my brother STILL goes around singing the Mad Hatter's crazy hat song to this day). I'm also glad to see reletively unknown classics like "The Thin Man" (try the whole series - Nick and Nora ROCK) and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (I grew up on John Wayne movies - Dad worships him).

My additions that I haven't seen listed yet include....

"Radioland Murders" - Very long but very fun comedy/mystery if you don't mind the retro setting and the extremely fast and confusing pace. Brian Benben and Mary Stuart Masterson lead a cast that ranges from Joey Lawrence imatating a young Frank Sinatra to comedianne Anita Morris as a hormonal Mae West-esque vamp. Might be best for old movie and/or radio fans, who will catch the references, but a lot of fun if you can scrape it up.

"The Road To...Series" - Satire at its silliest, the "Road To" series were the "Airplane" of their day. Each movie was the same in outline - immortal crooners Bing Crosby and the late Bob Hope insult each other and chase starlet Dorothy Lamour across some exotic setting, stopping long enough to get a few songs and non-sequiters in - but the frequently ad-libbed scripts made up for the feeling of sameness. My favorites are "Road to Morocco" (Bing sells Bob to desert Princess Dorothy - what's not to love ; 0 ) and "Road to Bali" (only color "Road" picture), but I recommend the whole series, most of which I believe are on DVD.

If you get a kick out of Hope in the "Road" flicks, try two of his lesser-known vehicles, "The Princess and the Pirate" and "Casanova's Big Night," both hilarious swashbuckler spoofs.

But the oldest obscure movies anyone will probably recommend on this list go back to the dawn of sound, ie 1929, when the movies began to talk...and didn't know what the HELL they were doing. This is amply demonstrated by one major hit and one major flop from that era, both musical and both on video, "The Broadway Melody" and "Glorifying the American Girl."

"Melody" is a wee bit creaky but still fairly enjoyable if you don't mind the shaky technique, especially in Bessie Love's bravura performance as the elder of a sister act that tries Broadway...with disasterous consequences. The only real problem today with "Melody" is its attempt at big stage-style numbers, none of which work - the smaller, more intimate numbers are also much better. "Melody" was the first sound film, the first MGM film, and the first musical to win an Oscar...and if you put the film in the context of its sound-crazy time period, you'll understand why.

...And you'll also understand why "Glorifying" was and remains something of a flop. It was intended as one of Parmount's big productions for 1928, but it wasn't until a year later that anyone even got a tenuous idea of what the plot should be about. Someone eventually concocted a very melodramatic story about a store clerk named Gloria who is so desperate to get on the stage, she drops her boyfriend and shacks up with a sleazy vaudeville dancer...and eventually loses both. It's depressing but interesting for glimpses of New York in 1929 (it was shot in Long Island and on what was then Paramount's New York studio) and of several 1920s celebrities.

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 09/09/2004 08:25 PM EST

i wold have to say the movie donnie darko...its such an underrated movie

Chestnuts roasted by bri-guy @ 09/09/2004 08:57 PM EST

I just thought of a obscure film I remember watching on cable all the time: The Invisable Kid,with that one guy who was Alan Thicke's android son in those one movies. He invents a invisability potion,but it has a time limit of thirty minutes of use,then twenty,then ten,and it starts back at thirty again. You also had to be completly naked for the total invisablity effect to work,which led to much naked hirlarity.

Anybody remember seeing this?

Chestnuts roasted by Overlord @ 09/09/2004 08:58 PM EST

Hey I know this is a little off topic, but does anyone know which movie I'm talking about? It has to do with some kids going to some alternate dimension and somehow finding a warp out or something, but theyre being chased by something bad. I know this is such a vague description. It reminds me of the Ghostbusters episodes featuring the Boogieman where theyd be in this alternate world. I know it starred some of the typical 80's child actors. I believe there were three of them... not too sure. Anyways, umm as for a movie no one has bothered to see? Can we say Double Team?? Jean Claude Van Damme and Rodman. Hahhahaha, I love it though.

Chestnuts roasted by David @ 09/09/2004 10:35 PM EST

Donnie Darko is underrated? Are you kidding me?! That's a cult flick if I've ever seen one. Anyway, as far as my choices go:

C.H.U.D. (stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers) Stars the dad from the Home Alone series and some godawful, yet wonderful, puppets.

They Came from Within - THE best crappy horror flick I've ever seen. It is a MUST SEE for those who haven't and enjoy this type of movie. Leach-esque alien things who cause mass orgies...what more could you ask for??

Chestnuts roasted by 1drland @ 09/09/2004 11:03 PM EST

I know a lot of people who would kill me for mearly uttering this, but I really liked "Freaked." Well, I thought it was funny.

Chestnuts roasted by Mr. Mr. Mr. @ 09/09/2004 11:34 PM EST

Pootie Tang!

Chestnuts roasted by ToeKnee @ 09/09/2004 11:36 PM EST

Favorite unknown movie is hands down, without a doubt, the excellently and addictively titled "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover." It's one of the most profusely brutal movies (though not too gory), sexually explicit enough to merit an NC-17 rating, and funny enough that you don't want to turn it off at any time. Hard to find, but once you do, you'll be going back again and again.
Other nominations: Joe vs. the Volcano and L.A. Story--positively the most underrated, overlooked movies that have ever been made.

Chestnuts roasted by inkmage @ 09/10/2004 12:44 AM EST

- Mr, Freaked is one of my favorite movies. With Brooke Shields and Randy Quaid in probably their best roles.

Chestnuts roasted by Psuedo Bohemian @ 09/10/2004 04:27 AM EST

Slappy and the Stinkers - a movie about some kids on a mission to save a seal from the bad guys who want to sell slappy to the circus. Slappy practically talks in the movie saying shit like, "no, no, no," and even laughing. Its the shit where the director rewinds and plays back the same five seconds to make it look like he's really talking. A friend of mine loaned the movie to me, and boy was it awful.

Explorers - Old 80's flick starring River Phoenix and two other boys who's names escape me. River, being a scientific genious creates a computer program on an old Apple computer that makes a bubble that can move objects all around. They go to a junk yard and steal an old tilt-a-whirl seat and transform it into a space ship. Of course, they get captured by space aliens, but instead of getting killed, they put on a talent show.

Now I know why he turned to heroin.

Chestnuts roasted by Hypnotix @ 09/10/2004 08:30 AM EST

Glory Daze. I wanted college to turn out like PCU, it turned out much more similar to Glory Daze.

Angst for all the memories...=)

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 09/10/2004 08:33 AM EST

Best Title for an old obscure movie "Sssssss" -- it is about a guy who turns into a snake! Strother Martin and Dirk Benedict. If you search for it on IMDB use all seven S's

Chestnuts roasted by Mike @ 09/10/2004 10:27 AM EST

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Simply Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies- Teenage hoodlum becomes undead killer and has a girlfriend who's a hoochie-coochie dancer at a boardwalk sideshow. It's got musical numbers.

David, sounds like a vague description of Little Monsters with Fred "Macho Man" Savage and Howie "Where's My Career?" Mandell.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 09/10/2004 11:56 AM EST

Freaked with Alex Winter and Mr. T as the bearded lady? Pretty damn funny and I also remember the Peanut Butter Solution, man that was a weird ass movie....

Let's see if anyone can figure this one out, it has something to do with aliens, I think the kid is dreaming, but the important part is he has to use an old penny for some reason....is that too vague or what?

Chestnuts roasted by whitemale_98/competent soldier @ 09/10/2004 12:15 PM EST

I loved CHUD one of the greatest movies from my childhood. The one movie I would recommend is an old B flick starring Bruce Dern and Adam Ant (plays a great psychotic badguy). It's called A World Gone Wild and is your typical post apocalyptic movie setting. Best line from the movie is when the good guys kill some cannibals and the main lady is freaking out, Bruce Dern says "she just had a taste of reality, which is why I spend so little time there and spend most of my time in the land of the mushroom." Great freakin movie definately hard to find.

Chestnuts roasted by OldSchooler @ 09/10/2004 12:30 PM EST

For a movie, I'll suggest UHF, MST3K The Movie, Frauds or The Specials. All three of them are totally hilarious.
The only thing is that I think a lot of people here have seen said movies
The only one that may be rare would have to be Frauds. Phil Collins as a guy with a Peter Pan complex!

Chestnuts roasted by AngeFaitore @ 09/10/2004 12:53 PM EST

I remember a couple; The Explorers was a good one. I also liked The Quest (Not the Van Damme one) this one had the kid who played Elliot from E.T.

Chestnuts roasted by El Bang @ 09/10/2004 12:57 PM EST

"X-entertainment isn't spooky yet?" I thought X-E was always creepy, but in a good way. But if it's the upcoming Halloween theme you're referring to, don worry because we still have a while to go before that will become necessary. Or maybe you're jus havin' fun. Maybe I'm just readin' too deeply into this.

Chestnuts roasted by Nate @ 09/10/2004 01:21 PM EST

El Bang, I remember doing a space unit in second grade and the teacher had us watch The Explorers, only to get freaked out that one of the characters used 'bad' language while beating another character up.
We ended up watching Jetsons: The Movie instead.

Chestnuts roasted by AngeFaitore @ 09/10/2004 01:43 PM EST

Hypnotix, is Explorers the one where they end up with the rubbery aliens and the girl alien has a crush on the kid? Loved that movie.

Rat Race, Playing by Heart and Stay Tuned have been mentioned, and I have to agree these were really good.

I will add "The Last Starfighter". It's 1984 and Alex is a video game master, recruited unbeknownst to him to fight in an intergalactic war. Filled with unknown actors (Lance Guest???), and really quaint in the Xbox era, this was a fun adventure at the time.

Same thing with "War Games" from 1983. Matthew Broderick is a teenage computer whiz who hacks into the big army computer and almost starts World War Three. With his, like, Atari or something. I found this movie in a clearance bin for a buck, and I was very happy about it.

Chestnuts roasted by Yzziefrog @ 09/10/2004 02:15 PM EST

I remember The Last Starfighter. The Director, Nick Castle, was the same guy in the Michael Myers mask and suit for the original "Halloween" from 1978. (He's not the guy you see unmasked at the end, that was an actor named Tony Moran. Castle was Myers in all of the other scenes, doing the stunt work and such.)
Castle also directed Major Payne, which I think was mentioned earlier.

Chestnuts roasted by Number 5 @ 09/10/2004 02:25 PM EST

Ooh, I love Brian Benben! I always wondered what happened to him. I miss Dream On. Didn't the secretary go on to play the voic of Management in Carnivale? and his wife went on to become the boozed-up ex-model on Just Shoot Me?

kingklash, actually, it's Fred "Oswald, the Purple Octopus" Savage, now. He's a voice actor. Hee!

Speaking of voice actors, Rupert from Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: All Stars is now having a cartoon created after himself. I guess the million from CBS and all of that great publicity wasn't enough for him. I was happy to see that he still wears the tie dyes, though. He didn't become a pompous ass, like Andrew would have been.

Has anyone ever seen Komodo? Wow, those were bad CGI effects. Bad, in a totally cheesy sort of way.

What about I Know My First Name Is Stephen? Starring the Corker, Corin "Parker Lewis" Nemec? What a sad story, though. Esp that Stephen went and died in a motorcyle accident and his brother become a motel serial killer.

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/10/2004 02:29 PM EST

I was going to say "Freaked is the funniest movie of all time," but a bunch of people seem to have beaten me to it. Good! I'm glad it's more familiar to folks out there than I realized!

Since it hasn't been mentioned anywhere on this list: The Brave Little Toaster. It's like a Disney movie done right: great voice talent (Thurl Ravenscroft, alias Tony the Tiger, in his biggest role ever), the songs aren't obnoxious (some are even catchy), and the artwork, often given short shrift in minor animated features, is beautifully rendered in classic Warner Bros. squash-and-stretch style. And, of course, it's screamingly funny; the scene where the black-and-white TV is trying to hint to the Master where his appliances have gone is worth the price of the video.

Chestnuts roasted by G'Tron @ 09/10/2004 03:13 PM EST

"I just came to check on my radio tubes."

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 09/10/2004 03:18 PM EST

Jesus Christ, Vampire Slayer

Chestnuts roasted by BettieBoo @ 09/10/2004 03:54 PM EST

i would like to add:

sfw: stephen dorf & reese witherspoon get held up in a store and survive. pretty dark and cool movie. if i remember correctly... gary culman has a cameo.

the ref: dennis leary & kevin spacey. i loved this movie!

also loved empire records but that was mentioned.

and melissa y - i saw tourist trap when i was young... it was a freaky movie. didn't know anyone else that saw it either!

Chestnuts roasted by jessica_76 @ 09/10/2004 05:02 PM EST

Here are three that I have not seen listed yet. And Matt, I highly reccomend these.

Bugs, an old 70's movie where an earthquake causes insects that can create fire out of there asses to come up to the surface world and cause all sorts of death and destruction

The girl,the gold watch and dynamite. A cheesy early 80's movie where a guy had a watch that could stop time for a little while.

And then part2, the girl, the gold watch, and everything.

Anybody rember these? Kingklash?

Chestnuts roasted by Gozer @ 09/10/2004 05:47 PM EST

All about the benjamins

Chestnuts roasted by jayar @ 09/10/2004 06:06 PM EST

Hey Matt, thought you would be interested in this....

http://www.hasbro.com/gijoe/experience/pl/page.movie/dn/default.cfm

Chestnuts roasted by gamersource @ 09/10/2004 06:30 PM EST

Beyond the Mat
Iichi The Killer
Toxic Avenger 4: Citizen Toxie

Chestnuts roasted by The REAL Dude @ 09/10/2004 06:50 PM EST

I just remembered another one. Girl w/ Domonique Swain, Jay. R Ferguson (Ponyboy from The Outsiders, The Series), Christopher Masterson (Francis from Malcolm in the Middle) and Sean Patrick Flannery. I keep hearing that the book was better, but the movie was pretty good. I'd recomend it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138467/

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/10/2004 07:24 PM EST

I forgot to add that it reminded me of My So Called Life, so if anyone liked that show, you'll like this movie.

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/10/2004 07:25 PM EST

I thought you guys could help me out, little kid, aliens(?) and the important old penny he uses...

"Let's see if anyone can figure this one out, it has something to do with aliens, I think the kid is dreaming, but the important part is he has to use an old penny for some reason....is that too vague or what?"

Chestnuts roasted by whitemale_98/competent soldier @ 09/10/2004 08:12 PM EST

Man, I'm jonesin' for a good, bloody movie review.

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/10/2004 09:15 PM EST

One with lots of animated GIFs and salsa. Ahhhh...

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/10/2004 09:16 PM EST

Hmmmm...a kid who's dreaming about aliens, and a penny he uses...I don't know but that sounds like Invaders From Mars to me, the 80's version.

Chestnuts roasted by Number 5 @ 09/10/2004 11:27 PM EST

More Notice of Ninja Turtles Visit now:
http://www.panamaparties.com/

Chestnuts roasted by Ninja Turtles Best @ 09/11/2004 12:32 AM EST

Ooh! Someone mentioned Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust! One of my absolute favorites, I actually got a professor to teach it in one of his classes. As for a movie, Drop Dead Gorgeous. It is sooo funny. Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards as beauty pageant contestants in a small Minnasota town.

Chestnuts roasted by Mina @ 09/11/2004 12:37 AM EST

Here's a few you may not have seen:

Maniac - best death scene ever!
Weekend at Bernies - "Betta than ever!"
Jack Frost - not the Michael Keaton one
Night of the Creeps - mind controlling slugs!
The Unnammable and Spookies - crappy yet compelling horror flicks from old USA network rotation
The Hunger - lesbian vampires, oh my!
Critters - Dee Wallace Stone - just wanted an excuse to type that name...

Chestnuts roasted by jayce @ 09/11/2004 01:43 AM EST

There's a "best death scene moment" over at I-Mockery for the movie Maniac.
Night of the Creeps is definitely one I agree w/. I mentioned it here awhile ago. I loved that cop. What the heck was his catch phrase?

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/11/2004 06:57 AM EST

I didn't see it mentioned, but my all-time favorite movie no one has seen is "Assault on Devil's Island" (sometimes called "Shadow Warriors" on video). It has Hulk Hogan (with hairpiece), Carl Weathers, Shannon Tweed, and the evil dojo master from The Karate Kid as secret agents who try to rescue the USA Women's Gymnastics Team from a group of terrorists, including Billy Blanks and Kano from the Mortal Kombat movie. This film is every bit as good as it sounds. The sequel is out there, and easier to find, but this one is definitely better.

Chestnuts roasted by Big Livin Shane Ubermensch @ 09/11/2004 09:01 AM EST

Thanks Number 5, I've been reading reviews of it and even though it doesn't specifically mention the penny(maybe its less important than I remember), I'm pretty sure this is the movie I'm talking about...anyway, reading the reviews of it, apparently it wasn't very good....ah nostalgia makes anything crappy better.

Chestnuts roasted by whitemale_98/competent soldier @ 09/11/2004 12:42 PM EST

Some of these have been said maybe?

>The wrong guy

>Little Monsters(most of my friends never saw it, and if you have seen it watch it again, you'll love it!

>Duel, it was a made for tv movie, its about a dude that gets chased by a transport truck, and you never get to see the driver!

>And you gotta love TMNTs, but how long has it been since youve seen the 3rd one? Thats what I thought!

Chestnuts roasted by strong mabasa @ 09/11/2004 01:41 PM EST

w00t! I just watched Jaws 4: The Revenge last night. It was every bit as bad as I was expecting!! Great movie!!

Trajeal: I am so gald someone else has seen Freeway!! It is one of my mostest favoritest movies ever!!! "The cat drinks....milk! Milk!" "My dick may not function, but at least I have not lost my smile." "I getchoo another one, bendayho. I getchoo a beeper, a cellphone...I get ahold ayo ass."

So many good movies, so hard to add one to the list...but I will.

The Corey Haim Video Diary!!! Since I actually own a copy of this, I can watch it as many times as I want!! Yowza!

Chestnuts roasted by kidneyboy @ 09/11/2004 01:42 PM EST

Of course I remember The Gold Watch movies. For a while in the late 70's, there was a huuge glut of first-run-syndication-made-for-TV movies. Usually seen as part of your regular afternoon movie shows on the affiliate stations, or Prime Time fare on your independant channnels. *activate geezer mode* When I was a kid, we only had three networks! And PBS! Why, in the Bay Area, Channel 2 was what we called independant. It was a like a UHF channel, which were also independant, but on VHF! Yup, I watched many episodes of Benny Hill on that there KTVU. Uh, is that my mush? And tell those kids to stay out of my yard! Young punks, anyway.... *geezer mode off*

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 09/11/2004 02:10 PM EST

ohh, Death to Smoochie!!! great great movie

"I'm Rainbow fucking Randolph!"

Chestnuts roasted by strong mabasa @ 09/11/2004 03:48 PM EST

"My dick may not function, but at least I have not lost my smile."

Ooh! Now I have to go watch Freeway now. $5.88 bin at Walmart, baby!

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/11/2004 05:56 PM EST

The B.R.A.T. patrol

young teens save america from russian invasion. awesome. AWESOME.
also horribly out of print.

Chestnuts roasted by dave @ 09/11/2004 06:46 PM EST

B.R.A.T. Patrol, great movie! They talked by blinking Morse Code to eachother, if I remember correctly. Also starring Sean Astin, woohoo!

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/11/2004 07:54 PM EST

Good to see people mentioning Peter Jackons' pre LOTR offering Meet The Feebles- here's some more of his films: Not sure if these are all avaliable in America but worth checking out!

Bad Taste (1988): Aliens land in New Zealand and start kidnapping people so they can kill them and use the bodies at their fast food restaurant back home (sounds a bit like V!). A government force called `The Boys' is called in to kick alien arse. Very gory but in a funny way (eg one of the good guys aims for an alien, misses and blows up a sheep!)

Brain Dead (1992) New Zealand's answer to Dawn of the Dead- set in the 1950's a grannie gets bit by a rabid monkey at a zoo, next thing you know she's a zombie. Mayhem ensuses.... you also get to see zombies having sex and a new use for a push lawn mower... (very gory too)

Heavenley Creatures (1994): This film got Peter Jackson his first Oscar nomination and was based on a true story. It's also set in the 1950's in New Zealand and was Kate Winslet's(Titanic) first major role. She plays one of two friends who have an unusual (read almost lesiban)relationship and decide to do away with one of the girl's mothers. Another good movie and yes, the ending is rather bloody.

The Frightners (1996): Starring Michael J Fox this was Jackson's first `Hollywood' film (Released by Universal). Fox plays a physic investigator researching a series of murders. He finds out the murderer is a ghost, so has to go `flatline' to go after the serial killer ghost. This has some good scares (and laughs) but the ending is a big let down.

Love your site Matt, Cheers from New Zealand (look on your world map- hint: we're next to Australia!)

Chestnuts roasted by Icebreaker @ 09/11/2004 07:58 PM EST

Yzziefrog, Stay Tuned RULES! It was my favorite movie as a kid and I got it on DVD a year or two ago.
Although I know how Jeffery J-Jo Jones screwed up (Pulled a Jacko), I still like Mr. Spike and his flaming red hair!

Chestnuts roasted by AngeFaitore @ 09/11/2004 09:18 PM EST

Obscure movies rule. I picked up a lil gem by the name of Trick or Treat in the Wal-Mart $5 DVD bin. Sadly, IMDB doesn't have the cover art... which is what enticed me to buy it, then come to find out just because Gene Simmons AND Ozzy are on the cover doesn't necessarily mean they have more than a minute of combined screen time. It's worth watching just to see Ozzy play a crazy televangelist...

Chestnuts roasted by WhiteTrash @ 09/11/2004 09:36 PM EST

Found a pic of the cover art... awesome. Trick or Treat

Chestnuts roasted by WhiteTrash @ 09/11/2004 09:39 PM EST

There's a movie Roland Emmerich did in the mid-80's called "Joey" which was a big hit in Germany, and was edited and brought to the US as "Making Contact". This movie sticks out in my mind because this film featured a very creepy ventriliquist's dummy that comes to life and goes after a young boy who has telekenetic powers, and can bring his toys to life. I saw a few minutes of it on Cinemax once as a kid, and it creeped me out.

Chestnuts roasted by Number 5 @ 09/11/2004 11:32 PM EST

Icebreaker, I love the movie you call "Brain Dead", but I know it as "Dead Alive". Maybe they gave it a different name in The States. Either way, it's one of my favorites.
I didn't notice anyone mention "RAD!", the 80's BMX classic starring Aunt Becky from Full House. If you haven't seen it, be sure to do so.
Also, I really doubt that many people saw "Birthday Girl" with Nicole Kidman (who is somehow hotter in her late 30's than she was in her early 20's). I vaguely remember seeing the TV spots a couple years back and having no idea what to expect but then I saw it on some obscure movie channel and it was really good. excellent "date movie".

Chestnuts roasted by lmnop @ 09/12/2004 04:04 AM EST

One of my favorites is Brain Donors. Very funny movie

Chestnuts roasted by Yank @ 09/12/2004 12:53 PM EST

Secret Admirer is another 80's classic. Stars C. Thomas "Soul Man" Howell, Lori "Summerland" Loughlin, Kelly "I married John Travolta" Preston, Dee "Critters" Wallace Stone, Cliff "Carnosaur 2" D. Young, Fred "Earl from Trmors" Ward, Casey "Three O'Clock High" Siemaszko, Courtney "You shit on my house!" Gains, and, as little brother, Corey Haim. Do you even need to know what its about? Probably not, but here goes anyway. C. Tommy gets an unsigned love letter on the last day of school, and as it passes between people, no one knows who wrote it but has no problem making up their own answers. Comedy ensues.

Chestnuts roasted by trajeal @ 09/12/2004 02:35 PM EST

Yank, how could I have forgotten "Brain Donors?" That's a big favorite of mine, too - picked it up for about $5.99 at the grocery store I worked at. It was the Zucker Brothers' attempt at ressurrecting the "Marx Brothers" trio-acts-crazy-while-helping-lovers formula, and it's worth seeing just for John Tuttorro's hilarious performance as Mr. Flakfitzer, the sleazy, Groucho-esque lawyer.

And if you like those, I heartily recommend all of the original "Marx Brothers" movies, too, especially the ones you may not have seen (like their first sound film, "The Coconuts," and the spy spoof "A Night In Casablanca".

Chestnuts roasted by starwenn @ 09/12/2004 09:24 PM EST

hmmm.... Monster Squad??? man it's been awhile since I've seen that one.

Chestnuts roasted by Azriel Sin @ 09/13/2004 05:27 PM EST

"Harold and Maude": Weirdest love story ever. Set to the music of Cat Stevens. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067185/

"Cannibal: The Musical": Matt Stone and Trey Parker's first effort at filmmaking. Hilarious, though poorly filmed. http://www.cannibalthemusical.net/

"Dead Pit": my favorite cheesy 80's zombie movie. Cheryl Lawson, yum yum. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dead_pit/

Chestnuts roasted by freakachu420 @ 09/14/2004 05:00 PM EST

my "cheesy horror" reccomendations: Brainscan, Idle Hands.

my "quirky indie movie that everyone should see" reccomendation: Six String Samurai

Chestnuts roasted by allisonaxe @ 09/15/2004 03:47 PM EST

krang is the coolest villian ever. i mean, a brain in the belly in a glass box? pure genius.

Chestnuts roasted by 1215 @ 09/15/2004 04:16 PM EST

i don't believe i saw this mentioned on here

Little Monsters.
it simultaneously helped/ruined Howie Mandell's and Fred Savage's carreers.

not to mention it was on abc last night. why i have no idea, but it used to be one of my fav movies.guess it's just that much closer to halloween.

Chestnuts roasted by Randy @ 09/15/2004 04:35 PM EST

anyone else also remember Flight of The Navigator. from disney in the early 80's. it's out on dvd, that was one of my fav movies as well.

Chestnuts roasted by Randy @ 09/15/2004 04:39 PM EST

Yeah Randy, I mentioned Flight of The Navigator earlier in this blog. I have the DVD as well.

Chestnuts roasted by Number 5 @ 09/15/2004 06:25 PM EST

I'm surprised to see that no one has mentioned Freaks. It's hella old (1932) but it features actual circus preformers.
anyways some of my favorite cult movies are (in no particular order) Princess Bride, Labyrinth, Legend, Empire Records, Goonies, UHF, and of course RHPS. And I'm going to have to agree Matt, you need to review UHF for us.

Chestnuts roasted by gimpy421 @ 09/17/2004 12:34 AM EST

THE STUPIDS!

THE MOST UNNDERRATED MOVIE OF ALL TIME!

Chestnuts roasted by Alex WIlkins @ 09/21/2004 05:31 PM EST

I can't believe nobody has mentioned (or , apparently, seen) The Night Of The Comet. Cheesy post-apocalypse style with some comet that somehow (I can't remember exactly) just by passing by Earth kills everybody who wasn't lucky enough to be stuck inside a metal box of some kind. Crappy horror movie (my favorite kind) ensues.

Oh yeah, and ZOMBIES!

(I think... I haven't seen a copy of it for about 15 years)

Anyway, my nurse is coming to give me my meds and make me "leave those poor people alone".

Chestnuts roasted by Rod @ 09/21/2004 10:14 PM EST

-->> ..i have a helmet i wear.. JUST LIKE THAT !! GRAAH !!

Chestnuts roasted by ~tOkK @ 10/08/2004 05:25 AM EST

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