EDF Cinema

[*Bob*]

You're joshing?

'Raiders' is THE benchmark film of its genre.. and (genre aside) it would get into my desert island list, no problem!

[*Bob*]

The rest suck though, to varying degrees.

[Otta]

Raiders is the best of the bunch, and they went downhill with each film after that. Saying that, I quite enjoy Temple of doom. They are fun, just not great IMO.

I'd rather watch Romancing the Stone from that sort of era of Action/ Adventure film.

[Otta]

(just for the cool mud slide bit)

[El Pibe]

Gone are the days where I really thought I could be a jedi or someone would invent a lightsaber in my lifetime, and sadly I even reacehed the stage where I realised that star wars isn't the-best-film-in-the-world-ever, it's not even top 50.

Yep, I'd actually settle for watchable whilst the sounds wash me in a nostalgic haze.

[DaveR]

I've been watching all the Star Wars films again recently with the kids. They are absolutely loving them - all of them - whereas I am largely relying on nostalgia for the old ones, and am frankly embarrassed by most of the acting and plotting in the later ones. If I were brutally honest, they don't even get into the top 50 films-I-have watched-with-my-kids.

[El Pibe]

Intersting question.

I'd go with "Up" for a film that pleases both equally.

I've watched edited highlights of Star Wars with my (just) 3 year old.

He likes Spaceships and robots, we skipped over neck crushes, he seemed indifferent to lightsabers, most scared of the wookie and was quite taken by the princess, weren't we all! I wouldn't say his eyes lit up with the magic, Ben & Holly still wins hands down on that, but it has been requested again, the robot bits.

[nashoi]

According to this list of inflation adjusted US box office grosses, the first three Star Wars films made the top 15 of all time. The Phantom Menace made a respectable 16th and then...oh dear.

http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

[El Pibe]

Titanic still defies explanation for me.

Was there some Max Headroom style blipvert tucked into Celine Dion's godawful songs?

[Otta]

People just wanted t see it sink; simple as thar

[El Pibe]

Be interesting to see profitability in that list.

Grease must have cost buttons to make!

[david_carnell]

CNBC lists the following as most profitable:

15. Lord of the Rings 1008% return

14. Mrs Doubtfire 1160% return

13. Something about Mary 1194%

12. The Hangover

11. Jaws

10. Ghost

9. Home Alone

8. The Passion of Christ

7. American Beauty

6. Star Wars

5. Grease (good shout Piers - a whopping 1975% return on its $20million (adjusted) budget)

4. Pretty Woman

3. Slumdog Millionaire

2. E.T.

1. My Big Fat Greek Wedding!?

What? Really?! It cost just $6million to make and yet reaped a huge $369million at the box office. That's a return of 6150% fact fans. As I was typing that list out I was thinking it was pretty good actually (bar Passion of Christ) and I'd happily watch all of those. But that number one just ruined it. Gah.

[Jeremy]

Going back to the star wars topic... a release date of 2015 seems incredibly optimistic, seeing as they don't yet have a script, let alone a cast. I fear that we're just going to get some hastily cobbled together rubbish.

[StraferJack]

Scorsese passion of Christ? Made that much?

It is it gibsons The Passion?

[El Pibe]

Gibson's, horrible film.

I think he's just a massive gore fetishist misanthropist.

I can't stand any of his films truth be told.

He hasn't really done it for me as an actor since he left Oz either. Gallipoli last decent film he made?

[*Bob*]

El Pibe Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

Gallipoli last decent film he made?

Aug. 28, 1981: Gallipoli.

Dec. 24, 1981: Mad Max: 2: The Road Warrior is released in Australia.

[david_carnell]

The first Lethal Weapon is pretty good.

We Were Soldiers makes a decent stab at the futility of Vietnam.

But otherwise, utter guff.

[El Pibe]

Maybe Bob, though it was poorer for not having many neighbours actors in it.

I'm not sure We Were Soldiers did. It did a bit of 'oooh they have photos of families too' stuff as a nod to a modern motif that we maybe ought to care about the enemy, but for the most part it did the usual yellow peril stuff.

It was really a tedious celebration of the US infantryman as doomed warrior hero surely.

IT was better than My Big Fat Greek Wedding though!

[*Bob*]

I think the general rule of thumb seems to be: the more Gibbo has to do with a film, the more chance it has of being unpleasant at the core. The Passion.. unpleasant. Apocalypto.. unpleasant.

I think you'd have to say Braveheart is well done and a jolly good wheeze, despite its preposterousness (same for Titanic - sorry!) There's a few I haven't seen for a while but thought were ok at the time: The Bounty, Year of Living Dangerously. Hamlet even. None of them exactly great, but ok. And not unpleasant.

[david_carnell]

I had you down as a Bird on a Wire fan, Bob?

[Otta]

The Patriot was okay in a take braveheart script and rewrite for American war of independence kind if way.

Basically make the English the evil bastards and give them a good kicking.

[*Bob*]

I'm afraid Bird on a Wire passed me by.

I did join LoveFilm last night though - will it be available on Blu-Ray?

[El Pibe]

ok, had a look at imdb

Dislike most of his films.

I loved Lethal Weapon when I was 14, but apart from having dated visually it has aged very poorly, the sequels followed the quality trajectory of most trilogies.

From the (non sequel) films i've seen post mad max 2

As Actor

The Good:

The Bounty

Bird on a Wire (when I say good we're not talking oscars quality here, enjoyable pap is perfectly acceptable)

Chicken Run

The Indifferent:

Lethal Weapon

The River

Mad Max 3

Air America

Forever Young

Payback

What Women Want

We Were Soldiers

The Bad:

Braveheart (i hate it i hate it i hate it)

Ransom

Conspiracy Theory

The Patriot

Signs

The Singing Detective

Edge Of Darkness

--------------------------

As Director:

Only Bad:

Braveheart

The Passion of Christ

Apocalypto

From this I conclude that although patchy, he made worse choices as an actor as he got older, but he's just loathsome when it comes to his own projects

[nashoi]

Mel Gibson has one saving grace.

He's not Russell Crowe.

[El Pibe]

GOd don't make me do another list....

Offhand I can already think of a few films of his I like regardless of my personal feelings about the man.

LA Confidential and A Beautiful Mind spring to mind.

Gladiator is defintely Patriot and Braveheart territory with added boredom.