Devin says: Can you dig it? Before things got hairy for The Warriors, this gang from Coney Islandheaded to the big gang meet-up with their nine original members. At
this holiday time let’s remember these nine brave, subway-illiterate
bangers…If you’ve never seen this amazing movie – the best film ever made about
New York City, in my opinion, despite being set in a fantasy version of
New York City – skip the ‘Director’s Cut,’ which ruins many of the best
scenes, adds an extraneous intro and lays comic book panels over scene
transitions. Rarely has a ‘Director’s Cut’ fucked up a movie this
badly…
Russ says: Pick and choose your hated elements in Temple of Doom,
but stay the fuck away from the rope bridge sequence. The setup is
simple and classic; Indy’s stance, machete in one hand, whip in the
other, is my favorite vision of the character, and one of the most
iconic. This is a pristine example of Spielberg and Lucas bringing
their beloved adventure serials back to life — the hero with treasure
in hand, stuck in an impossible situation. But we don’t have to wait
until next week to see how the cliffhanger ends. Instead we get to hear
Amrish Puri deeply intone ‘welcome!’ and then see him chewed up by
crocs minutes later…
Russ says: When
a traumatized kid dons a Santa suit, Christmas runs red. Eleven people
(not counting the snowman) are killed by one of two psychotic Santas in
Silent Night, Deadly Night, the holiday horror film that is one of the few films in the US as reviled as the legendary ‘video nasties’ in England. Charles
E. Sellier Jr’s low-budget slasher flick earned loads of controversial
press (and a scathing review from Gene Siskel) for featuring a criminally deranged Santa who violates a family
(after killing a convenience store clerk) and for the carnage that
follows when one of the family’s surviving children snaps on Christmas
Eve. It’s also notable for Linnea Quigley’s denim shorts, which might
be the shortest in holiday history. All the kills (counting the
snowman) are cheap, and more fun than they have any right to be…
Devin says: Whenthe Ghostbusters’ containment unit fails, the many spooks they’ve
captured wreak havoc in the streets of New York City, all set to the
bizarrely unforgettable Magic by
Mick Smiley. Horrible apparitions swoop out of the subway and zombies
commandeer taxi cabs, but the really memorable moment is Slimer coming
out of the hot dog cart with a dozen franks in his mouth…