Crocodile Dundee

"That's not a knife...THAT'S A KNIFE!!"

Plot: Mick Crocodile Dundee (Paul Hogan) is an Aussie chap. Lives in the outback and wrestles crocs...hence the name. Along comes a reporter from the Big Apple, who's heard of his exploits and wants to write about him. She realises there's more to him than appears and takes him to New York, the first city he's ever been to. They fall in love, yadda yadda yadda.

It sounds moderately amusing, it's more. It's legend in itself. There's even a scene where a kangaroo fires a rifle at game poachers...Awesome!

Budget: $10,000,000

Gross: $328,303,506

WOW!

Fun Fact: Clearly there were sequels...2 not so bad, 3 pretty awful- Mike Tyson even appears in it, tells you how bad it really was.

Predator

He's back, again.

I know Arnie has popped up more than once in this blog, but what can you do?! The fella made great cult films!

Plot: Special forces team and a CIA chap (Carl Weathers- Apollo Creed in all the Rocky films) are dropped in a jungle to do some covert stuff. All would be well, except it seems that an advanced alien race likes to use Earth as a safari/hunting preserve. Cue: big mini-gun (Terminator 2 stylee), rippling muscles (errr, that'd be every Schwarzenneger film) and some nifty (even today) special effects.

When a film spawns two direct sequels and a couple of hybrid spin-offs, you know it's done well.

Budget: $18,000,000

Gross: $98,267,558

Fun Fact: Directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard), this film was originally entitled Hunter and was written as a result of a joke, stating that as Rocky had run out of Earthly fellas to fight, next one ought to be an alien. Joel Silver cast Arnie though...well, Stallone had Rambo. Oh and it was originally Jean-Claude Van-Damme in the alien suit...he said it was too hot though and the fella from Harry and the Hendersons took the role.

Beetlejuice

Before Candyman, there was Betleguese, Betleguese, BETLEGUESE!

Before Helena Bonham-Carter, there was Winona Ryder.

Before Johnny Depp, Tim Burton really liked Michael Keaton (Batman) and they made this rather bizzare film.

Plot: Two folks-the Maitlands, living in an American hamlet, die. A little while later a teenage girl and her big city parents move in to their house and start making changes. All would be fine, except the original tenants are reluctant to leave and decide to haunt the gaff. Turns out the city folk don't scare too easy and the Maitlands are rubbish ghosts (nice bed sheets) so they have to enlist the services of a professional, cue Mr Keaton.

This film is quite possibly one of Burton's best and for the sake of a couple of others, he maybe ought to have stopped here. Sandworms, men with shrunken heads and an awesome soundtrack make for a cult/fantasy/comedy/ghost story that fills all the criteria.

Well worth every minute.

I guilted my girlfriend into buying it for me when I was ill one year...best moaning I ever did.

Budget: $15,000,000

Gross: $73,707,461

Fun Fact: An animated television series ran between 1989 and 1991. There was of course talk of a sequel, Bettlejuice goes Hawaiian. Sadly Batman Returns took pride of place and despite a few attempts, Winona got too old and Burton became obsessed with Johnny.