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Post by mikec on Nov 24, 2020 3:19:00 GMT
Ok so Groundhog Day!
I saw it in the theaters. For probably a decade after that I turned it on solely to annoy my family as the only one that liked it. Immediately as a kid I got the driving drunk on the railroad tracks and driving off a cliff with the groundhog were hilarious and the story was charming and whatever.
But after 8 years of torturing my family watching airings of it I moved to college where I realized that I wasn’t turning it on to annoy anybody, I was turning it on because I absolutely loved it. The older I got the better the jokes played like the seduction of Nancy or the I’m a god, not the god scene in the diner. I fell in with a few friends that liked it and we’d play drinking games for each time you heard Cher sing and saw the groundhog etc.
Then the more you peel it back the darker it becomes. How many years worth of days did he live in that monotony? I thought on first viewing like a hundred days, but the writer has put it at well over a decade to learn all the skills he has by the end. How awful it must’ve been for him and no wonder he tried to kill himself so many times just to make it all stop.
So there is one big flaw to the movie- Rita’s just not that great. I’ll never get the Andie McDowell thing. She was boring. But that’s ok because this is Bill Murray and a bunch of local yokels and the rest are on point.
Obviously the structure of the movie was so iconic that now anytime a movie or show tries this trick it’s “a horror movie Groundhog Day” (Happy Death Day), an “action Groundhog Day” (End of Tomorrow), or a “Netflix series Groundhog Day” (Russian Doll).
So about five years ago or so we did a favorite movie countdown and until then I’d put Eternal Sunshine in my top spot. It seemed serious enough with good enough writing and acting to be taken as a legitimate best movie I’d seen. Then I realized I didn’t really like rewatching it. It’s still great, but not fun. That’s when It dawned on me that Groundhog Day was the movie I’d seen the most, the movie I’d most like to watch tomorrow, and my favorite movie ever.
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Post by Shootist on Nov 24, 2020 3:31:19 GMT
21. Groundhog Day- Pleased with myself for placing it so high. Groundhog Day is an amusing movie with a heart. Rewatchable. Quotable. Bill Murray is a hoot as Bill Murray Phil Connors. Got Sonny & Cher over with me. And Ned Ryerson is an absolute legend. Maybe I'll write more later. An ode to Ned Ryerson, do it now!!!!
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Post by Baker on Nov 24, 2020 3:49:16 GMT
21. Groundhog Day- Pleased with myself for placing it so high. Groundhog Day is an amusing movie with a heart. Rewatchable. Quotable. Bill Murray is a hoot as Bill Murray Phil Connors. Got Sonny & Cher over with me. And Ned Ryerson is an absolute legend. Maybe I'll write more later. An ode to Ned Ryerson, do it now!!!! I was going to, but I forgot to watch out for that first step. It's a doozy. So now I have to write about Undertaker and Smackdown matches instead.
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Post by Shootist on Nov 24, 2020 3:51:09 GMT
An ode to Ned Ryerson, do it now!!!! I was going to, but I forgot to watch out for that first step. It's a doozy. So now I have to write about Undertaker and Smackdown matches instead. Whatever, needle head.
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Post by Baker on Nov 24, 2020 3:54:53 GMT
I was going to, but I forgot to watch out for that first step. It's a doozy. So now I have to write about Undertaker and Smackdown matches instead. Whatever, needle head. That's Ned the Head to you, buddy. Bing!
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Post by Lionheart on Nov 24, 2020 5:56:37 GMT
That’s when It dawned on me that Groundhog Day was the movie I’d seen the most, the movie I’d most like to watch tomorrow, and my favorite movie ever. You should watch it tomorrow. And the next day. You should watch it over and over again every day of your life. There is no more fitting of a tribute.
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Post by mikec on Nov 24, 2020 5:59:41 GMT
That’s when It dawned on me that Groundhog Day was the movie I’d seen the most, the movie I’d most like to watch tomorrow, and my favorite movie ever. You should watch it tomorrow. And the next day. You should watch it over and over again every day of your life. There is no more fitting of a tribute. I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobsters and drank pina coladas. At sunset we made love like sea otters. That was a good day. Why couldn’t I get that day over and over and over?
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Post by UT on Nov 24, 2020 14:26:43 GMT
Home Alone is great , surprising again to see it this high but when you consider how hugely popular it was and a lot of our age ranges it probably makes some sense. There was no bigger movie on the planet at the time this came out , it crushed at the box office and Culkin might have been the biggest star in the world for like a two year stretch between this and the sequel. Shit movie people ever came up with a verb for movies to come out during it's run "Not all our fault , we got Home Alone'd".
The movie itself is really well written , yes there are a lot of nitpicks you could make about the reality of a bunch of it but the writing of the central theme and characters is great and actually keeps you invested. Great blend of physical comedy and the importance of family and I think that's why it remains so popular and is in constant rotation at Christmas time. Especially at my house.
Pesci and Stern were perfectly cast as the bumbling robbers. O'Hara is spectacular as the mom and the cameo by Candy is great as well. Even Culkin despite maybe not being the best child actor had that charisma and charm about him that made you both believe in him and root for him at the same time despite being kind of a little asshole.
I think it showed up around the same spot on my own list , so I don't have a problem with the ranking. Though I'm sure a handful will.
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Post by UT on Nov 24, 2020 16:04:00 GMT
I'd be interested in seeing what Pesci could do now , and Stern has always been a bit underrated - especially as a physical comedian. He really makes so many of those traps more memorable with his reactions.
How about that year for Pesci too? Goodfellas and Home Alone in the same year. Oscar and Top Earning Movie.
I think Home Alone is on his Mount Rushmore too , highest grossing , most recognizable role to an entire generation. Great stuff.
I can't tell you how many traps I tried to set as a kid after seeing this movie , none working to near the affect obviously (nor as dangerous) but it was fun trying. Kevin was a genius.
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Post by thereallt on Nov 24, 2020 17:12:10 GMT
Home Alone is great, but I didn't really have any seasonal movies on my list.
For Joe Pesci's Mt. Rushmore I would have to say Goodfellas, Casino, Raging Bull, and My Cousin Vinny. Home Alone would be an honorable mention.
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Post by Shootist on Nov 24, 2020 17:54:43 GMT
8. The Shining (1980) 9. Rear Window (1954) 11. Apocalypse Now: Redux (2001) 12. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 15. Groundhog Day (1993) 16. Home Alone (1990) 17. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) 19. The Breakfast Club (1985) 21. Clerks (1994) 24. Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) 25. A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) 26. Rocky (1976) 29. Rocky IV (1985) 33. Raging Bull (1980) 34. Taxi Driver (1976) 35. Happy Gilmore (1996) 38. Fargo (1996) 39. Se7en (1995) 40. Back To The Future Part II (1989) 42. Terminator (1984) 45. Die Hard: With A Vengeance (1995) 46. Braveheart (1995) 47. Boogie Nights (1997) 48. The Silence Of The Lambs (1991) 54. Speed (1994) 56. Full Metal Jacket (1987) 59. Psycho (1960) 66. American Psycho (2000) 67. Falling Down (1993) 75. Kill Bill Vol.1 (2003) 78. Avengers: Endgame (2019) 79. Logan (2017) 81. Batman Begins (2005) 83. Scarface (1983) 86. Halloween (1978) 87. Apollo 13 (1995) 94. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) 99. E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982) 100. Vertigo (1958)
I would put Home Alone on Pesci's instead of Raging Bull. Raging Bull was DeNiro's showcase. I agree though with MCV, Casino and Goodfellas though.
I'm surprised Home Alone made it this high as I thought many would simply forget about it due to it being a Christmas movie. It's an annual tradition at my house and I can't really add to what UT said, a perfect mix of comedy with heartwarming family moments.
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Post by UT on Nov 24, 2020 18:01:49 GMT
Meh Casino is fine but it’s like B+ Goodfellas , Id argue he is more recognized for Home Alone. It was more successful and more memorable.
So I’d swap those two.
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Post by The Kid on Nov 24, 2020 18:02:18 GMT
Home Alone is my #37 and I’m very happy to see it get love here.
Before I knew as Pesci the Gangster, I knew of him as this crook! It’s a classic movie that you can watch several times and enjoy it. Just a great, heartwarming movie.
Keep the change you filthy animal.
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Post by mikec on Nov 24, 2020 18:05:32 GMT
I’m surprised to see that Home Alone isn’t on my top 100. My favorite Christmas movie by a stretch.
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Post by The Kid on Nov 24, 2020 18:06:42 GMT
Meh Casino is fine but it’s like B+ Goodfellas , Id argue he is more recognized for Home Alone. It was more successful and more memorable. So I’d swap those two. Agreed 100%. Casino always felt like the B version of Goodfellas to me. Good, not great, not Goodfellas.
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Post by thereallt on Nov 24, 2020 18:24:56 GMT
Meh Casino is fine but it’s like B+ Goodfellas , Id argue he is more recognized for Home Alone. It was more successful and more memorable. So I’d swap those two. As an overall film sure. As a Joe Pesci performance no way.
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Post by Shootist on Nov 24, 2020 18:26:02 GMT
As similar as the two characters in Casino and Goodfellas are, Pesci had more of a stamp on Casino. Pesci's finest moment for me in Raging Bull was off camera.
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Post by UT on Nov 24, 2020 18:56:16 GMT
Meh Casino is fine but it’s like B+ Goodfellas , Id argue he is more recognized for Home Alone. It was more successful and more memorable. So I’d swap those two. As an overall film sure. As a Joe Pesci performance no way. It wasn’t that great or different of a performance compared to Goodfellas though. It was just another comfort spot for Pesci. Home Alone was something different and showed real chops for his range and comedy ability - even physical comedy. Make no mistake that it lead to another tent pole movie for him with My Cousin Vinny. I would also gather a guess that most people couldn’t even name his character from Casino. They definitely could from Home Alone.
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Post by thereallt on Nov 24, 2020 19:05:59 GMT
As an overall film sure. As a Joe Pesci performance no way. It wasn’t that great or different of a performance compared to Goodfellas though. It was just another comfort spot for Pesci. Home Alone was something different and showed real chops for his range and comedy ability - even physical comedy. Make no mistake that it lead to another tent pole movie for him with My Cousin Vinny. I would also gather a guess that most people couldn’t even name his character from Casino. They definitely could from Home Alone. Nicky Santoro. I have ZERO idea what his characters name in Home Alone was. I just knew it was Joe Pesci.
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Post by thereallt on Nov 24, 2020 19:08:07 GMT
As similar as the two characters in Casino and Goodfellas are, Pesci had more of a stamp on Casino. Pesci's finest moment for me in Raging Bull was off camera. Nah for me his best scene in Raging Bull was this. Both him and DeNiro were fantastic here.
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Post by UT on Nov 24, 2020 19:10:41 GMT
It wasn’t that great or different of a performance compared to Goodfellas though. It was just another comfort spot for Pesci. Home Alone was something different and showed real chops for his range and comedy ability - even physical comedy. Make no mistake that it lead to another tent pole movie for him with My Cousin Vinny. I would also gather a guess that most people couldn’t even name his character from Casino. They definitely could from Home Alone. Nicky Santoro. I have ZERO idea what his characters name in Home Alone was. I just knew it was Joe Pesci. Yes that’s you. That doesn’t surprise me , but I don’t think that represents the masses by any means. I mean Home Alone made more than 350 million MORE at the box office. Plus returned him in the sequel. It’s not even arguable that Harry from Home Alone is the more recognizable character.
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Post by thereallt on Nov 24, 2020 19:19:56 GMT
Nicky Santoro. I have ZERO idea what his characters name in Home Alone was. I just knew it was Joe Pesci. Yes that’s you. That doesn’t surprise me , but I don’t think that represents the masses by any means. I mean Home Alone made more than 350 million MORE at the box office. Plus returned him in the sequel. It’s not even arguable that Harry from Home Alone is the more recognizable character. He was a glorified pinata in Home Alone. No way in hell was that a better Joe Pesci performance than Casino.
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Post by The Kid on Nov 24, 2020 19:20:34 GMT
Not going to lie, I didn’t know Pescis name from Home Alone or Casino. Just knew it was Joe Pesci. That’s how I view him everywhere. He’s just that. Joe Pesci.
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Post by UT on Nov 24, 2020 19:37:15 GMT
Yes that’s you. That doesn’t surprise me , but I don’t think that represents the masses by any means. I mean Home Alone made more than 350 million MORE at the box office. Plus returned him in the sequel. It’s not even arguable that Harry from Home Alone is the more recognizable character. He was a glorified pinata in Home Alone. No way in hell was that a better Joe Pesci performance than Casino. Who’s arguing better? Though as I said , it was nothing outside the box from Pesci and exactly what you’d expect. More recognizable , probably more important to his career? Home Alone easily. Goodfellas , Home Alone and My Cousin Vinny are the locks. If you want to argue Casino and Raging Bull than fine , but I’d choose Raging Bull for being his breakout performance and getting the Oscar nom.
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Post by thereallt on Nov 24, 2020 19:55:58 GMT
He was a glorified pinata in Home Alone. No way in hell was that a better Joe Pesci performance than Casino. Who’s arguing better? Though as I said , it was nothing outside the box from Pesci and exactly what you’d expect. More recognizable , probably more important to his career? Home Alone easily. Goodfellas , Home Alone and My Cousin Vinny are the locks. If you want to argue Casino and Raging Bull than fine , but I’d choose Raging Bull for being his breakout performance and getting the Oscar nom. You put up a picture of Joe Pesci and I highly doubt many people are going to say "Hey that one of the robbers from Home Alone" For better or for worse, Pesci is known mainly for his roles in gangster movies. I included Raging Bull because his was his first breakout role, and My Cousin Vinny because his first lead. I don't think Home Alone had nearly the impact on his career you think it did.
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Post by UT on Nov 24, 2020 20:07:32 GMT
Who’s arguing better? Though as I said , it was nothing outside the box from Pesci and exactly what you’d expect. More recognizable , probably more important to his career? Home Alone easily. Goodfellas , Home Alone and My Cousin Vinny are the locks. If you want to argue Casino and Raging Bull than fine , but I’d choose Raging Bull for being his breakout performance and getting the Oscar nom. You put up a picture of Joe Pesci and I highly doubt many people are going to say "Hey that one of the robbers from Home Alone" For better or for worse, Pesci is known mainly for his roles in gangster movies. I included Raging Bull because his was his first breakout role, and My Cousin Vinny because his first lead. I don't think Home Alone had nearly the impact on his career you think it did. It led straight to My Cousin Vinny, look at his career post Casino once. To think that the biggest movie of that year seen my MILLIONS more than most movies , a movie that spawned a giant sequel , a movie that has been in syndication for decades 500 times a year watched by millions more didn’t have a giant impact on his pop culture status is insane.
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Post by Emperor on Nov 24, 2020 20:12:59 GMT
Not sure about that. There's a ton of people out there who haven't seen a single gangster movie but will have seen Home Alone a hundred times.
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Post by Strobe on Nov 24, 2020 20:23:21 GMT
Quirky or whimsical can be good sometimes. If the whole film is about being quirky for the sake of quirkiness, count me out. But a quirky/whimsical take on a standard genre or story generally appeals to me. Juno straddles that fine line between too quirky and just the right amount of quirky. Which side of the line does Amélie sit? Forgotten response. I'd say what someone finds to be the fine line with quirky is even more subjective than if they'll find something funny. Update: I love Psycho - it is near perfect to me. Even the stuff that shouldn't work (Marion being able to hear Norman and Mother arguing in the house from the motel) just seems to in that old film charm way. Like many of the greatest films, the music is so important. One of my favourite scores. Not all of it holds up. The detective murder is both fantastic and cheesy all in the same scene. Once again, the movie goes quiet as we slowly follow the detective up the stairs. Then the camera stays in place and the mother power walks into the scene and stabs the detective in a genuinely spooky scene. However, the fall down the stairs is just so cheesy looking. Hitchcock was always trying new techniques and sometimes you'd get poor shots like that. At least he had the good sense to have the mother confirm the kill to at least end the scene on a more serious note. I used to dislike that death, but now I like the surreal nature of the fall down the steps. The ending also feels tacked on. Usually Hitchcock movies would just end and in the case of Vertigo it's perfect because the shot of Stewart standing on top of the bell tower is so powerful. It's so much better than the alternative ending where he's back at his lady's friend apartment listening to a news report of how they tracked down the murderer overseas etc. Here you get that tacked on ending with the detective explaining Norman's split personality. It was probably necessary for the time since criminal activity like this wasn't too well known but it's another area where the movie has just aged. In saying that, again they nail the actual perfect shot of the movie with Bates' crazed expression in the camera and the mother's narration. Yeah, any problems with that scene are forgotten with that perfect shot. Supposedly Psycho 2 was actually a pretty worthwhile follow up. It borrows a lot from Friday the 13th with all the gore but it does a pretty decent job of following up from Bates and looking into rehabilitation and the barriers that lead to re-offending. Perhaps because Psycho is one of my favourites, I had never sought out the sequels as I had never heard much shouted about them. But I watched Psycho II this year and it is a really solid film. ------------------------------ Big Ern from Kingpin is my favourite Bill Murray performance. By a lot really. No chance it is on his Rushmore. I feel pretty safe in it being Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and Lost in Translation. I don't care for Caddyshack much or Murray in it, but it is a famous and iconic role and his breakthrough film. Ghostbusters is a no-brainer, one of the most beloved films ever. Groundhog Day is not on that level, but is a beloved film and role. Lost in Translation covers his late career and was the role he almost won an Oscar for. I adore Home Alone. I can watch it every year at Christmas and love it each time. Currently sitting at #209 on my giant list. And it clearly makes Pesci's Rushmore in my opinion. It is a massive film that everyone knows. I really like Casino. Sure, it isn't Goodfellas, but I'm glad both exist and that Pesci is in both. But since you have Goodfellas for him, you don't need Casino. Many people view his role in Casino as basically Tommy DeVito II. Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Home Alone and My Cousin Vinny for me for the reasons already mentioned. I might not even have Casino as #6. I can see an argument for Lethal Weapon 3 over it. Getting introduced into a successful franchise in 2 and breaking into being billed alongside Gibson and Glover for the third one.
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Post by UT on Nov 24, 2020 20:30:16 GMT
Thank Marv some sensible people showed up.
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Post by The Kid on Nov 24, 2020 20:54:23 GMT
I think UT can elaborate even more on this but don’t forget The Irishman!
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