Let There Be Movies

I know for me, one of the ways I decide whether I trust the opinion of a reviewer is by the movies they have already said they like. I imagine we all do this to one extent or another. If a writer is head over heels for a movie that I thought was pretty bad, you can bet I’ll remember that the next time I’m reading some of their material. “Oh, he liked Wolverine… well, he also loved Daredevil, sooo…” With that said, it is with great risk that we here at Let There Be Movies disclose to you all some of our guilty pleasure movies!

What’s a guilty pleasure movie, you ask? You know, that movie that everyone rips on, it got horrible ratings and was a bomb at the box-office, but you cannot bring yourself to change the channel when it’s on TV, or buy the DVD when you find it in stores… so long as you buy some other things to cover it up in case you see someone you know. You love it despite what the rest of the planet seems to have concluded about it. Well, in no particular order, here are some of our favorite guilty pleasure movies.

Gene – Waterworld (1995)

It took an estimated $175 million to create this film which was advertised to be one of the biggest blockbusters ever. But at the end of it’s run in theaters, it grossed only about half that in the US. This one should have been easy money. Costner was at the top of his game, Dennis Hopper sports an eye-patch and a back-tattoo leads you to land… what’s not to like? That’s what I can’t understand, how was this not a bigger hit? It’s widely known as a huge flop (despite making out just fine in worldwide gross) and is the butt of plenty of jokes. But I don’t get it. You’ve got your anti-hero with mutant-like abilities, you’ve got a cocky crime-boss with no regard for human life… it’s the makings of a quality conflict. I didn’t find any problems with the acting, it didn’t abuse CGI which it certainly could have tried to do, yeah there were a couple of plot holes (she can’t swim, really?) but what movie doesn’t have those? Is it really because it all takes place on water that people have a problem with it? I for one really like this movie, I like how Costner played the Mariner, I like pull of independence but recognition of injustice driving him to act, and I like the ending. Nowhere near worth the beating this usually gets.

Tres – Zorro the Gay Blade (1981)

So we start where Zorro dies and he sends a message written to one of his twin sons, whichever one gets it becomes Zorro in his father’s place. Will it be Don or Ramone Diego? As history of the character shows, it is Don Diego that takes over the mask and sword. UNTIL, he falls out of a window and breaks his foot. Unwilling to let Zorro disappear, he sends for his long-lost twin, Ramone. HOWEVER… Wait for it… Ramone is no more, he is now…Bunny Wigglesworth. The laughs continue from that moment on. Bunny takes over Zorro, but black is not his color. Therefore, in fashion, he creates a variety of colorful Zorro costumes. Then there’s the sword, not his style either, so… He uses a whip. I have laughed at this movie so many times, but some people simply can’t stand it. I’m not sure what’s wrong with them. I just sat here and started telling my 17 year old about it and laughed so much I couldn’t get it out. When released it took $12.6 million to make… It grossed a whopping $5.1 million. George Hamilton is priceless in both rolls. I can’t find many people who agree with the greatness of this movie… But I don’t care. It’s my guilty pleasure.

Logan – John Carter

The film often toted as the infamous flop by hit animation director Andrew Stanton is often heralded as being the biggest disappointment in all of film. I watched it out of compulsion, expecting it to be terrible. I love Andrew Stanton because Finding Nemo is my favorite animation film of all time. Like I said, I still expected it to be horrid. What I found was far from horrid. It wasn’t Oscar worthy, but it wasn’t horrible either. I thought Taylor Hitsch did a great job as John Carter, and I honestly thought the martians looked awesome. The plot was a little cliché’, but that’s because the source material was books from the early 1900s. The monk dudes were a little weird and a little corny, but that didn’t ruin the whole movie. The end was also very clever, and I liked the open-endedness of it. And at the end of the day, how can you not love a movie that repeatedly refers to the male main character as Virginia? Also, the dog thing is legit. And I want one.

Elliott – Cloverfield

I’m often times attracted to movie that are “different” and this is no exception. Shaky camera, giant monsters, and lots of destruction and running. What’s not to like? Well according to most people they’d say “all of it”. For some reason I was unable to watch it in theater, so I bought it the day it came out on DVD. If you’ve never heard of this movie, the basic story is that a giant monster falls to earth and begins attacking/destroying New York City. The storyline follows a group of friends as they try to escape. What makes it interesting is that it is all filmed with a hand camera and because of that is very shaky. The movie didn’t disappoint, I found the hand camera an interesting way of filming and found the dialogue quite amusing. The part of the movie I didn’t like, was the guy holding the camera. Although he had some funny lines, most of the time you just wanted him to either be quiet or get eaten. One of those two happen, but you’ll have to watch to find out. Check out the video for an example of the great dialogue this movie has to offer.

Derek – Cabin Boy

This movie has it all for me, but everyone hated it! Stars Chris Elliott and features appearances by Andy Richter, David Letterman, and the late great character actor Brion James (to name just a few). The movie is a silly and mystical high seas adventure and coming-of-age-late story with an unfit-for-sea “fancy lad” (a student from a privileged, upper class family at finishing school) at the center of the action. My favorite line: “I’m sorry, sir. I was just wondering what drifter’s corpse you stole those shoes from.” The whole movie is on YouTube for free, so check it out!

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There you have it! We shall now hide our heads in shame and take the verbal beating coming to us, LOL. But before you let loose, what are some of YOUR guilty pleasure movies???