WrestlingDeacon

who was the original leader of THE ODDITIES in the WWF.

Hayes wasn't that great, and the worst color man ever was DAVID CROCKETT.

I'm up 6665 and hoping to finish today. I'm actually at my office so it will be quiet and I won't be distracted. Of course, there is still this damn internet. *resists temptation to download porn at work*

I think with Evil Dead and Night of the Living Dead, you're getting into films that are only liked and hyped by a certain segment of the film going population. Overall, films like ED and NotLD could be considered underrated or not even on the general radar of most. You could stop a random 100 people on the street and I bet at least 90 would have no idea what you were talking when you said "Evil Dead." I'm beginning to think that Titanic is overrated for being overrated. Most critics and those in the know admit that it's not that great of a film and just managed to ride the wave of hype around it more than anything.

I loved Garfield and Friends. It was actually a pretty clever little cartoon with the type of humor and sensibility of that old Warner Brothers cartoons, aimed at kids but with little bit to entertain the adults. My sister and I still referenced the series all the time such as the Gazornaplat World Record book, "27 pianos" and "those little red potatoes that your mother likes" Heathcliff looks more like generic 3D animation than true cgi.

Kurt Russell as a punk kid kicking Elvis in the shin in "It Happened at the World's Fair." Oddly, Russell would go on to play Elvis in a high acclaimed t.v. movie.

At least they didn't revert him to being JERRY LAWLER'S dentist.

unstick

Laurence Fishburne actually has a sizable rule in Apocalypse Now and he looks so young and skinny. I did mark out the first time I realized that was him in Dream Warriors though.

A big part of those writing flaws was that Welles was used to writing for radio where you have to spell everything out as much as possible. True, co-writer Herman Mackiwiecz was experienced with film, but word now is that he was drunk for great portions of the writing and Welles had to hold his hand through it. I also want to say that there was a conscious effort on Welles' part to showcase Cotton and get him over with viewers, hence the lengthy monologues here and there and some of the lunacy involved with him as an old codger. My favorite scene for Cotton is during the opera where he is slowly tearing the program to shreds and makes a sort of fan out of it. I don't know if that was written in, but Cotton just plays his boredom beautifully there and that's all in body language and facial expression with a neat little prop to add the icing on the cake. You want to talk about some GOLD work between Cotton and Welles, check out the ferris wheel scene in The Third Man. I would have given my left nut to have written that or have that kind of crackling chemistry with an actor on screen.

GtD: I think you nail a lot of good points on the head with your mini column on Kane there. Two things do come to my mind to mention. I don't really see the movie as a comedy in the first half, although I do see where there are lighter moments and a lighter tone. I think that is to highlight the idealism Kane starts with in running his newspaper. You can contrast this with the early scenes based on Thatcher's diary which are just as dark and sober as most of the rest of the movie. When it moves into the lighter part, it is Bernstein's recollections and he is the type of character that would remember the lighter and more joyful moments and play them that way in his tale. You are probably one of the few I've seen that does pick up on how Kane and the movie tweaks every so slightly depending on who the reporter is talking to. I also think that close attention should be paid to the relationship between Leland and Kane and that for me is the money relationship and storyline of the film that most overlook. Kane and Cotton have magnificent chemistry and their scenes centered around Jed's review of Susan's opera and his leaving the Chronicle employ are very well played by both men with fine subtleties, I also feel that these scenes are where the writing comes off the best and strongest still today.

Temple of Doom is fun for me in a very campy way. The Last Crusade really hasn't worn well with me and I've only been able to watch pieces of it when I run across it on t.v. the past few years. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a great adventure film that manages to combine modern sensibilities, film making and stunt work with a feel and tribute to the old adventure serials and films like Gunga Din. I think Raiders has such a following among the younger set because it is a type of movie that studios just don't make anymore, while still being accessible to them and a good film. A big problem is stigma. If they can get over the fact that something like Gunga Din or Beau Gueste was made in 1939 and is in black and white, they might be pleasently surprised to find a movie with a lot of the same elements they liked in Indiana Jones movies.

who was trained by BIG JOHN STUDD and goes by Big Ron Studd today as a tribute to him.

Hmm, I really don't see how you can compare Citizen Kane to Star Wars. They are two completely different movies with two completely different fan bases. Also, they have their reputations and hype for totally different reasons. I don't hear anyone, aside from maybe the most single minded of fanboys, declaring that Star Wars is the greatest movie ever and aside from the special effects there is really not much innovative or groundbreaking with Star Wars as far as storytelling, acting and basic technical specs go. These are the elements Kane's greatness and reputation are based on. Your argument here seems to be that it is overrated because everyone hypes it as being so great, but that has nothing to do with the movie in and of itself. If something lives up to the hype and accolades then it can't be over hyped or overrated. As I did mention above, i can see where the hype on Kane makes it hard to get into for today's audience. But being inaccessible or hard to get the jist of does not make it overrated either.

but he'd be the most talented alumni if he had come from THE DUNGEON OF DOOM!

They're making a live action Garfield movie with a cgi cat, much like the Scooby-Doo movie. Take into account that only a teaser picture. I want to see the cat in motion on the screen first before juding it.

The main element of Citizen Kane that I don't think holds up is the script, oddly the only thing it won an Oscar for. At times it comes off as way too old Hollywood, stilted and cheesy. Especially the scenes of Leland and Bernstein as old men that feel way too over written. The rest is magnificent, but you really have to understand film making to appreciate it. A casual movie goer, especially of this generation, is going to get bored quick. Citizen Kane is one of the most technically sound films ever made, even today. Welles did things with that movie such as his use of deep focus and reflection that a lot of directors don't or can't figure out how to do today. The acting is superb too and I always peg Everett Sloane and Joseph Cotton as two marvelous actors who get overlooked today. Again, though, a modern audience is going to miss the subtle touches. They're use to Al Pacino's scenery chewing and generic method acting and some of the little flourishes that Welles puts in Kane, especially as he grows more olded, jaded and like Thatcher, will not be noticed. I think Kane's legacy and hype kills it for younger people. They go into it determined not to like it, or thinking it's overhyped and it is such a picture that does't blow you away that they can project those feelings on it without really trying to get into it.

Yeah, I could make an argument for each one of the films on YNA's list, but that doesn't mean I actually believe what I would come up with. Let us know what you think. But please don't give the circular logic argument for Citizen Kane, "everyone says it's the greatest movie off all time so it has to be overrated."

Hey, I came for the wrestling and the e-fed and strayed into much more. And it actually scares me that one day we'll have former TSM posters in their seventies trying to tell young whipper snappers how great Saved by the Bell and Kylie Minouge were.

CJ: Your ideas are intriguing to me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. Be sure to let me know when your new boards are up and running.

who teamed with TEST

godthedog: I said in an earlier post that I could stick with just American films, post the silent era and come up with stuff that should be seen and that probably a good many of the posters on here have never heard of. I wanted to keep suggestions mainstream and accessible. Granted, I have not seen every film ever made or am well versed on foreign films and the smaller U.S. independents, but I have seen a good many outside of that and could have as easily made up a list of movies like Greed and Grand Illusion. And trust me, I think it would be very hard for you to name 20 good and significant films I have not at least heard of. Not seen, probably, but not at least aware of. This is kind of my beef that I was expressing earlier. People are not aware of what has come before the past ten years, even as far as mainstream Hollywood is concerned, and yet will still throw up stupid notions like Robert De Niro is the greatest actor to have have walked the earth when they haven't seen thirty seconds of Spencer Tracy or James Cagney on screen. Or that Titanic is the most overrated movie of all time when they just write off Gone with the Wind as some old sucky movie that their grandma likes. And yes, I am being elite and yes I am waving my dick, because I have always concerned myself with educating the younger generations on popular culture and have time and again posted not only lists and opinions, but have encouraged people to post replies or pm me asking questions and getting suggestions. Pop culture ignorance is a pet peeve of mine and it gets me steamed and gets me in a bit of a snobbish mode.

Hey, MM, I see you like Eastwood. Have you ever seen Tightrope? His most underrated film ever and probably one of his top five best.

Off the top of my head, here are twenty films pre-1970 that I adore and I think most film lovers should see: The Searchers Cool Hand Luke An American in Paris Casablanca Citizen Kane She Wore a Yellow Ribbon Red River North by Northwest Wait Until Dark A Face in the Crowd Spartacus Ben-Hur The Third Man Touch of Evil Brining up Baby Duck Soup Key Largo Night of the Hunter It Happened One Night Ride the High Country

My mistake MM, I breezed through your one post and didn't read it clearly enough. Still, there's a whole world of film out there you should open your eyes to and I would be more than happy to recommend some older films for your perusal.