Hello, Dolly! (1969) — Possibly the most uniformly enjoyable musical ever made: The comedy is actually funny, the songs are catchy, the dance choreography is witty (oh hey! I never realized Gene Kelly directed this!), and the pace never flags, by which I mean that there isn’t an irrelevent and interminable dance sequence 4/5 of the way through that brings the momentum to a stop (one benefit of having Gene Kelly behind the camera instead of in front of it). And every time I see this, I remember that Carol Channing starred in its initial Broadway run. I can’t imagine willingly sitting through that.
AE: Apocalypse Earth (2013) — As the back cover trumpets, it’s Predator meets Avatar! Said meeting being arranged by The Asylum. A group of refugees fleeing an allien invasion of Earth crash on a jungle planet (played by Costa Rica) where a chameleon race with superior technology (that’s the Predator part) enslaves a Stone-Age albino humanoid race (that’s the Avatar part). This one barely touches adequacy with its outstretched fingers; it could have been okay if not for the cringe-worthy CGI dinosauroids and giant insects, the inadequate practical effects (ain’t no way a crashlanding spaceship leaves less wreckage than a downed Cessna), the too-sluggish pacing, and the “I’m not surre that really makes sense” twist ending. (Of course, all Asylum endings have to be judged against that of I Am Omega, which was aggressively nonsensical.) On the other hand, if you ever wanted to see Richard Grieco and Adrian Paul sing “The Road to Tipperary” together, this is your flick.
Big Trouble in Little China (1986) — I hadn’t watched this in probably twenty-five years. I wasn’t really taken with it the first time I watched it as so many of my contemporaries were, and my opinion, oddly, hasn’t changed an awful lot in the time since then. It’s an amusing little movie, it has some memorable lines and good jokes, and of course knowing all of these actors from other features makes it more fun (including some Hong Kong actors like Carter Wong), but it just doesn’t grab me as the Patron B-Movie Of My Generation, as it does so many others. (I also never really liked Scooby-Doo; I am a complete statistical outlier, apparently.)
I wonder how AE compares with ATLANTIC RIM, which made me want to stab someone, despite being about giant robots fighting monsters.
Well, I felt no stabbing urges. I don’t know if that helps you.