- Mar 14, 2012
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THE LESS YOU KNOW, THE BETTER
Some movies are all the better if you go into them knowing nothing. I don’t believe I knew anything more than a few details about these next few, and usually it was just enough so that I knew I’d be interested. I have included the trailer links like usual, though I don't recommend watching them if you haven't seen the movies. And I absolutely did not put the link for the last on this list, as it simply takes away the joy of the surprise while watching the actual movie.
Heathers – 1988
The other day I was talking with some people and mentioned I really would love to see a sequel to this, all these years later. They responded that they’d never heard of Heathers, and wanted to know what it was about. Instantly I knew not to say a thing, as this is a movie to be discovered and enjoyed, the better to shock with.
All that is needed to be known that it was Winona Ryder’s breakout roll, same for Christian Slater. It has catch phrase worthy dialogue that would make John Hughes blush. It is a dark comedy, and is often cited as the reason Mean Girls exists. The movie is easily dated by its late 80’s fashion, but thematically it couldn’t be more relevant.
Oh, and to all you who know exactly what I’m talking about? Two words…Corn Nuts.
The Abyss (Special Edition) – 1989
3 movies dealing with underwater labs all came out around the same time. This, Deep Star Six, and Leviathan. Guess which one didn't try faking being underwater for real. The ad campaign was very mysterious for The Abyss, but all I needed to know was that it was from James Cameron, director of two of my favorite movies, The Terminator and Aliens.
I got a very different movie than I expected, which wasn’t a bad thing. Unfortunately there seemed to be something very much missing from it, or was it there was too much being included? Well, once the Special Edition hit theaters 2 or 3 years later, it was obvious what had been missing. Suffice it to say, do not watch any other version than this! Based on Cameron’s subsequent films, the tone of this will probably go down much more familiarly than the one I had expected.
There is one scene from which the entire movie was written around, and it is a doozy of acting from Ed Harris. It involves a theory Cameron had from being a diver, and it is pure acting, no special fx. I find the whole movie to be a wonder actually, as the logistics of filming the way they did are purely daunting. I’ll put it to you this way, there is only one effect that is done via CG, everything else is practical effects.
Strangely, The Abyss has yet to be put out on Blu-Ray, and the DVD version is nowhere near the quality studios later put out. On top of that, I think a lot of people dismissed it after only having watched the theatrical version. I swear, any problem you had with the story is cleared up in the Special Edition.
The Game – 1997
About the only thing the trailer told us about this movie was it came from the director of Se7en. Smart move. To try and explain it is a sure way of making people not want to watch. To watch it though is to get sucked into a real brain melter of a movie. This is a dark story, with seemingly only the faintest of light at the end of the tunnel. There are people I know who hate this movie, but will still get sucked into an hour long conversation about it.
The movie stars Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. It involves a gift that keeps on giving. That’s all you’ll get from me. Watch, knowing no more. Why does it need to be brought to the attention of this list? Because it isn’t constantly on cable, it didn’t come from a major studio and so never has gotten a proper push with video release, thus it is one of those forgotten films. I’m telling you it’s great and should be seen by more.
The Descent – 2005
Every time I started to read about this, the first sentence written would be something like this…DO NOT READ ANYTHING MORE, JUST GO SEE THIS MOVIE. So know this, it is technically a horror movie. If I suffered from claustrophobia, I think I’d have gone out of my mind watching this. Do not even read the movie description on the back of the package or on Netflix. Go into it as pure as you can.
The fact that people don’t want to talk about the Descent for fear of spoiling it, is probably why it is not more recognized. Had it been a hit like The Sixth Sense, things would have been different in how it’s remembered. Unfortunately it was a small movie from the UK, and only got a limited release. Turn off the lights, crank up the sound, and give yourself a sleepless night. I say nothing more than that.
The final movies of the 35 get revealed next time. I'm prepared to take the ridicule too!
Have you missed a previous post? Here they are!
Pt.1 - Comedies
Pt.2 - Heists and Cons
Pt.3 - Foreign
Pt.4 - Sci Fi
Pt.5 - Manly Flicks
Some movies are all the better if you go into them knowing nothing. I don’t believe I knew anything more than a few details about these next few, and usually it was just enough so that I knew I’d be interested. I have included the trailer links like usual, though I don't recommend watching them if you haven't seen the movies. And I absolutely did not put the link for the last on this list, as it simply takes away the joy of the surprise while watching the actual movie.
Heathers – 1988
The other day I was talking with some people and mentioned I really would love to see a sequel to this, all these years later. They responded that they’d never heard of Heathers, and wanted to know what it was about. Instantly I knew not to say a thing, as this is a movie to be discovered and enjoyed, the better to shock with.
All that is needed to be known that it was Winona Ryder’s breakout roll, same for Christian Slater. It has catch phrase worthy dialogue that would make John Hughes blush. It is a dark comedy, and is often cited as the reason Mean Girls exists. The movie is easily dated by its late 80’s fashion, but thematically it couldn’t be more relevant.
Oh, and to all you who know exactly what I’m talking about? Two words…Corn Nuts.
The Abyss (Special Edition) – 1989
3 movies dealing with underwater labs all came out around the same time. This, Deep Star Six, and Leviathan. Guess which one didn't try faking being underwater for real. The ad campaign was very mysterious for The Abyss, but all I needed to know was that it was from James Cameron, director of two of my favorite movies, The Terminator and Aliens.
I got a very different movie than I expected, which wasn’t a bad thing. Unfortunately there seemed to be something very much missing from it, or was it there was too much being included? Well, once the Special Edition hit theaters 2 or 3 years later, it was obvious what had been missing. Suffice it to say, do not watch any other version than this! Based on Cameron’s subsequent films, the tone of this will probably go down much more familiarly than the one I had expected.
There is one scene from which the entire movie was written around, and it is a doozy of acting from Ed Harris. It involves a theory Cameron had from being a diver, and it is pure acting, no special fx. I find the whole movie to be a wonder actually, as the logistics of filming the way they did are purely daunting. I’ll put it to you this way, there is only one effect that is done via CG, everything else is practical effects.
Strangely, The Abyss has yet to be put out on Blu-Ray, and the DVD version is nowhere near the quality studios later put out. On top of that, I think a lot of people dismissed it after only having watched the theatrical version. I swear, any problem you had with the story is cleared up in the Special Edition.
The Game – 1997
About the only thing the trailer told us about this movie was it came from the director of Se7en. Smart move. To try and explain it is a sure way of making people not want to watch. To watch it though is to get sucked into a real brain melter of a movie. This is a dark story, with seemingly only the faintest of light at the end of the tunnel. There are people I know who hate this movie, but will still get sucked into an hour long conversation about it.
The movie stars Michael Douglas and Sean Penn. It involves a gift that keeps on giving. That’s all you’ll get from me. Watch, knowing no more. Why does it need to be brought to the attention of this list? Because it isn’t constantly on cable, it didn’t come from a major studio and so never has gotten a proper push with video release, thus it is one of those forgotten films. I’m telling you it’s great and should be seen by more.
The Descent – 2005
Every time I started to read about this, the first sentence written would be something like this…DO NOT READ ANYTHING MORE, JUST GO SEE THIS MOVIE. So know this, it is technically a horror movie. If I suffered from claustrophobia, I think I’d have gone out of my mind watching this. Do not even read the movie description on the back of the package or on Netflix. Go into it as pure as you can.
The fact that people don’t want to talk about the Descent for fear of spoiling it, is probably why it is not more recognized. Had it been a hit like The Sixth Sense, things would have been different in how it’s remembered. Unfortunately it was a small movie from the UK, and only got a limited release. Turn off the lights, crank up the sound, and give yourself a sleepless night. I say nothing more than that.
The final movies of the 35 get revealed next time. I'm prepared to take the ridicule too!
Have you missed a previous post? Here they are!
Pt.1 - Comedies
Pt.2 - Heists and Cons
Pt.3 - Foreign
Pt.4 - Sci Fi
Pt.5 - Manly Flicks
