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| Gremlins (1984) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 19 2012, 01:01 AM (163 Views) | |
| Laughing Gravy | Dec 19 2012, 01:01 AM Post #1 |
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Hoyt Axton wanders Chinatown looking for an unusual gift for son Zach Galligan; in Keye Luke's curio shop, he finds an adorable little furball that Keye's money-hungry grandson is only too happy to sell him. The furball, whom he names Gizmo, comes with three important raising tips: don't get him wet, don't expose him to bright lights, and never, ever, ever feed him after midnight. Zach manages to break the rules, resulting in army of crude, crass, mischief-loving gremlins assaulting the town, terrorizing the populace, and killing indiscriminately. Zach, girlfriend Phoebe Cates, and Gizmo mount a final stand in a department store against Stripe and the evil gremlins. I remember that this film was controversial back in its day; a lot of people were looking for another E.T., but instead got a horror-comedy-Christmas movie parody that featured, yes, cute furry animals but also offered green, scaly li'l horrors that get stuffed into blenders and explode inside microwave ovens. I tried to watch this movie with a friend today and she refused; she'd seen it when she was little and it was "too scary" for her. Merry Christmas! I like the movie a lot; it's as if horrid little vermin invade Bedford Falls or Disneyland. Although the gremlins kill at a whim, they also manage to take care of the film's villains (including Polly Holliday as the wicked Mrs. Deagle), so that's pretty satisfying. There are a lot of wonderful cameos, including Dick Miller & Jackie Joseph reunited 24 years after the original Little Shop of Horrors, and guest appearances by Robby the Robot and the Time Machine. The gremlins take over a bar and become drunken old barflies; they take over a theatre showing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and become rowdy children; they take absolute glee in causing destruction no matter where they are. Anarchy is nice in a holiday picture. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer | Dec 19 2012, 09:20 AM Post #2 |
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Sapient Balconeer
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I've only watched this when it was out at the theaters, but I did love it, it's just so much fun. I remember reading something about the bar scene, where the cast and/or crew could write down things they wanted the drunked gremlins to do. I believe just about all of the requests were accomodated. I still remember cracking up at the gremlins because they always seemed to be giggling or laughing, whether they were having fun or being mischievous... now that I think about it, mischief and fun seemed to be one and the same to them. |
| It's like Rodney King used to say, "Can't we all get a bong." | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Dec 19 2012, 10:09 AM Post #3 |
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And by the way, I would've given the film a rave review even if director Joe Dante hadn't once emailed me to say how much he enjoyed reading In The Balcony. Maybe. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| Laughing Gravy | Dec 19 2012, 10:13 AM Post #4 |
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BY THE WAY, a little Gremlins trivia for you: the film opened in theatres the very same day as Ghostbusters. Also, note that 6 or 7 years later, there was a sequel (Gremlins 2: The New Batch), which featured Christopher Lee as a mad scientist. It's pretty good, too. But not Christmassy, as I recall. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Dec 20 2012, 11:44 AM Post #5 |
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Mouth Breather
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I love the scene where Cates tells how her father died trying to come down the chimney in a Santa suit. Once I used the sound from that to begin my annual Christmas tape. The gremlins remind me of kittens because they're completely amoral. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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12:20 AM Jul 11