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.

Friday the 13th

Now this film's got Craaaaazzzziiiiieeeeee written all over it!

Plot: There's a camp for the kiddies in the woods somewhere, the councillors fail to pay attention and a kid drowns. Twenty years later the camp re-opens and a crazy lady starts offing the new councillors.

This is one of the eighties iconic slasher series. Not only did the film spawn eleven sequels (one in 3D-look out for the TV ariel...dangerous) it also crossed over into another famous slasher series-Nightmare on Elm Street. Think Maniac Cop 2 (where a killer cop and a serial killer team up) but better, 'cos you get Jason and Freddy. Admittedly that spin off wasn't fantastic, but to have a franchise that spreads over 30 years is no mean feat.

A remake, like there seems to often be these days was released to moderate success in 2009 (starring one of the lads from the Supernatual TV series).

Budget: $500,000

Gross: $59,700,000

Fun Fact: The Hollywood game, the seven degrees of Kevin Bacon can include this film also.

The Hitcher

Awesome!!!! In so, so, sooooo many ways!

This is the reason that you don't give a stranger a lift, especially if you're delivering a car from one end of the United States to another.

Plot: Lad is delivering said car, see's a fella hitch hiking and thinks, What's the worst that could happen? and in pops Mr Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner) in a trench coat and an odd look on his face. Thing's are hunky doorey until Ruts' tells the lad (C.Thomas Howell) that he murdered the last fella that gave him a lift and C.Thomas is next...Dun dun Duuuuhhhhhh! C.Thomas boots him out and heads off...then there's the chase!

There is categorically NO reason not to watch this film if you are a fan of horror.

Budget: $6,000,000

Fun Fact: A sequel (also with C.Thomas Howell-cos' he's kinda a crappy actor and doesn't get many good roles) was released in 2003 and the remake (with the legend that is Sean 'I'm a Yorkshire Boy' Bean) in 2007.

La Jetee

Here's an odd one, compared to the rest of these reviews, but certainly no less worthy.

La Jetee (The Pier or The Jetty) is to all intense and purposes, a short film. The only one I'll review. It is also the strong inspiration for the Terry Gilliam feature, Twelve Monkeys. Created by Chris Marker, this film is shot almost entirely from black 'n' white still images and tell the story of a future lived underground, following a holocaust and the time travel experiments to change the past.

If you've see Gilliam's incarnation you'll see he stayed very near to the original. A true homage rather than a remake in any sense. Shot in 1962, I guess similar to Godzilla in it's message, Marker's film is a statement on life as we know/knew it and the way things are potentially headed. I'm doubtful many have likened Marker's stuff to Godzilla before, I hope I'm the first.

 

The Philadelphia Experiment

A film based on a WWII legend. Think Roswell, but, slightly more likely...I guess.

Two sailors are on board the USS Eldridge, they are taking part in an experiment to render the ship invisible to radar. Sadly things go squiffy, the lads jump ship and oddly land in the Nevada dessert. Turns out the experiment created a kind of time vortex, thing. Now the guys are stuck in 1984. That's bad, I remember 1984...pretty dull.

This is another of those oddly alluring films. It touches on patriotism, sci-fi, love and comradeship. The fact that it has this legend attached to it only makes this film that much more fascinating. Try this link for a laugh-

Budget: $?

Gross: $8,103,330

Click on the link for more 'facts', http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia_Experiment

Fun Fact: The sequel (which I was rather excited to see at the time-1993) sees a new cast, but this time battling time traveling Nazi's and a Stealth Bomber...good concept, bad film. Co-starring Nancy Allen (RoboCop).