What's your favorite John Landis movie?

[Bartwald]

I know, Smitty! Love Three Amigos as much as you do, probably, and it's one of the movies I watched the greatest number of times, sometimes day after day. As I said before - the choice was tough here!

[Heineken Skywalker]

Okay, so I finally watched OSCAR. All the way through, that is. Er... barely. And all I can say is, "Bombs away!!!".
Sorry folks, those of you who liked it, but I thought this flick was a real dog. Stallone gives a nice performance and he's surrounded by a strong comedic cast, but the movie's just not funny.
The funniest things in it? Chazz Palminteri emptying his pockets of all his weapons, ie: guns, knives, brass knuckles, clubs, etc., which goes on and on like a scene from a Tex Avery cartoon short.
And the character played by Tim Curry was pretty funny.
Most of the other attempts at humor just fall flat.
Big disappointment. 2/10

[Termination]

I picked Coming to America. Very tough to narrow these films into 1 all time favourite. I'm a big Eddie Murphy fan so my other choice would have been Trading Places. The Blues Brothers had a wicked car chase scene if I remember correctly. I didn't see Oscar, nor do I plan to.

[Bartwald]

Heineken said:

Okay, so I finally watched OSCAR. All the way through, that is. Er... barely. And all I can say is, "Bombs away!!!".
2/10

Oh, yeah - that's what I thought, too.

And Coming To America? It always worked for me to some degree, though I wouldn't call it Landis' best. Good to know someone here shares my guilty pleasure!

[Heineken Skywalker]

Bartwald said:

And Coming To America? It always worked for me to some degree, though I wouldn't call it Landis' best.

Yup, me too. There are some very funny bits in the movie, I liked the cast and all the characters that Eddie and Arsenio played, but I didn't think the entire movie worked. Better than a lot of Eddie's later movies though.
And I'd see it 10 more times before I ever watch OSCAR again.

[Heineken Skywalker]

****BUMP****

Hey Newbies! Pick a favorite John Landis movie and win fabulous prizes!!*














* No, not really. But let your voice be heard.

[slayrrr666]

I gotta go with Werewolf, mainly because of my horror past, and because it's the only one I've seen, other than Three Amigos. (I didn't even know he directed that one) Spies Like Us I've heard lots of good things for and hope to see it soon, but whenever I go DVD shopping, I can never remember to look for it. However, how he got on Masters of Horror is beyond me. It's the only horror movie he's done, and it was mixed in with a lot of comedy as well, so it's not a true horror film, and on top of it, I prefer the fourth sequel to The Howling and the original Howling over this one. That will be one I hope to see, but I don't have high hopes for.
Bart, I also love Cobra. It's a Stallone action film, so I had to see it. Amazing car chase, some good explosions and a great villain, with a good ending and lots of action. It's a guilty pleasure, but then again, most of Stallone's are.

[Bartwald]

slayrrr - don't forget Landis also has the Michael Jackson video "Thriller" to his horror credit. His episode for Masters Of Horror is one of the most eagerly awaited by me - let's see if he really IS a master!

[slayrrr666]

True, it is, but I don't count it as horror. His episode may be worth it to see mainly because I doubt he is a master, but we'll have to see.

[Quorthon]

slayrrr666 said:

True, it is, but I don't count it as horror. His episode may be worth it to see mainly because I doubt he is a master, but we'll have to see.

I'd consider having to spend any amount of time near Michael Jackson to be something akin to horror...

[Pulpmariachi]

The Blues Brothers for me.

It's kinda the same with all you horror guys and An American Werewolf in London.

I was in Jazz band for my entire high school career and a third of my middle school one, so...you get the idea. We watched this movie on the way up to contests and stuff too with this old tape. Fun times.

On top of that, it's a great movie! Come on, what other musical is like this one? Sure, The Sound of Music had Nazis, but this has ILLIONIS Nazis. And about thirty car chases, good music, cameos by the blues greats (Ray Charles, James Brown, Arthea Franklin, John Lee Hooker), and...so much more.

My favorite of his.

[Heineken Skywalker]

I hate Illinois Nazis. ;D

[Bartwald]

But see... An American Werewolf is - so far - Landis' best film according to the above poll. A true Master of Horror rather than Comedy, then, is he? Whaddya say, slayrrr?

[DrLenera]

I really like American Werewolf,it combines horror and comedy superbly,it's harder to do than many think. That transformation scene is still effectve and then there's Jenny Agutter......But I voted for Animal House,it's one of the first and by far the best college/raunch comedies,far funnier than Porkys or more recent variants like American Pie. It just makes me laugh a great deal,that's good enough recommendation for myself! I think his successive comedies all have superb funny bits but don't quite reach that great level all the way through.

Anyone alse seen Innocent Blood. He tried to recapture the horror/humour feel of American Werewolf. It works in fits and starts,and didn't deserve to flop and pass into virtual obscurity. I also remember quite enjoying Into The Night,sort of a Hitchcock-type movie with more humour. It reminded me of After Hours.

[Bartwald]

Innocent Blood, yes... Well, the only thing I remember from it is - you guessed it! - the naked Anne Parillaud; I much prefer Into The Night... though, to be painfully honest, the thing I remember most clearly from it is, um, the naked Michelle Pfeiffer. Please understand: I was a teenager back then!