The Last Good Monster Movie? (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

She is mighty cute.

I wish Bruce Willis did another Die Hard film with her instead of the son in Russia.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Agree with John (and Robert by extension) - she's a cutie. She was probably the best thing about The Thing remake (see what I did there. )

I know you are kidding around, but what I enjoy is the immersive qualities of video games. As a man of my age (ahem) I find that rather than focusing on the entertainment in question I am distracted by some ache or pain somewhere or somewheres. ) Gaming tends to take me out of myself which isn't a bad thing these days.

Anyway, that is enough off-topic rambling by me (at least for now.)

- Walter.

 

[Tino]

I wish Bruce Willis did another Die Hard film with her instead of the son in Russia.

She’s in two upcoming films that my friend wrote.

Gemini Man and a small film called The Parts You Lose. Both opening in October.

 

[Thomas Newton]

One of the last "great" monsters designed for a film was the Xenomorph in Alien. That thing was the stuff nightmares are made of.

There is Nature's version: parasitic wasps that have mastered the art of stinging victims like cockroaches in such a way that the victims can no longer move of their own accord.

A wasp stings its victim, then marches it to a secluded place. Once there, the wasp lays eggs in the still-living, but immobilized, cockroach. When the eggs hatch, the larvae eat their way out, killing their host. These wasps aren't six feet tall, with iron skin and acid blood, but in terms of the doom the cockroaches experience, the wasps might as well be!

 

[Robert Crawford]

She’s in two upcoming films that my friend wrote.

Gemini Man and a small film called The Parts You Lose. Both opening in October.

I saw that the other day as I looked up what movies are coming out with her. I already knew about Gemini Man because I saw her in the trailer with Will Smith.

 

[Bryan^H]

Now if the topic were last good horror movie, that is entirely different, with so many good to great movies being made all the time.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I know lots of people like it and I just can't figure out why as I was totally bored with Cloverfield. For me, it was just another half-baked found footage movie, a format I don't particularly like. Mostly shaky cam video with people screaming and running, running and screaming, jumping and running and screaming. I kept looking at the clock wondering when it would end. That's why I was surprised that I actually enjoyed Trollhunter as it, too, is just another half-baked found footage movie. It's the only one of that format I'll choose to watch.

We have mirror reactions. I loved Cloverfield. It did a good job of creating characters to care about. Troll hunter I couldn’t finish.

I've seen the movie at least twice, but I haven't watched it since it was released on 4K/UHD. I actually like 10 Cloverfield Lane more, but that's probably because I love a certain actress that stars in that particular film.

Why isn’t she a BIG star? She ought to be.

Now if the topic were last good horror movie, that is entirely different, with so many good to great movies being made all the time.

Bryan, I encourage you to start that thread, it would be cool.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

So, when I read Johnny's question I thought he was looking for films of recent vintage not stuff going back to the 1980s or before. You would think as special effects have taken over motion pictures in the last few decades that monsters would be something they would be eager to create and we would get a boom of monster films. We don't though because the industry has become so boringly focused on comic book films and making the same damn film over and over.

I think one problem is that the remakes or upgrades or updates of the Universal "classic monsters" have not been very good for the most part. One huge problem I see with those is they seem to conceive them as action films not monster/horror films and miss completely what made these films so great in the first place.

I mean I was kind of excited to see what would come of Universal's "Dark Universe" pictures then they gave us that debacle of a Tom Cruise Mummy movie.

To me when I think of "monster" films I think of basically the classic Universal pictures and Hammer films. A "monster" movie to me features the monster and that monster is central to the story. I know Alien is thought of in a few different ways but I would basically call it a fantastic monster movie. I also love Carpenter's The Thing, I think it bests the Hawks picture. All of the "creature" aspects of the film are wonderfully done.

I actually think when they were working with practical effects the monsters and creatures were better because you got a sense it was something that was really there. Now with all the CGI you often, or I often, just feel like whatever they are showing just does not have that impact.

Guillermo del Toro, I think, knows how to handle monsters in his films. Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth, and Cronos all show a talent for monsters.

Also a really interesting monster movie that has not been mentioned here but really is all about the monsters is Nightbreed. I did not mention it at first because I was thinking it was too old but seems we are all over the place here and Nightbreed really is a film focused on monsters and even a "monster society" comes into play. I think if we are just talking monster movies you have to mention that one.

 

[TonyD]

I thought he was looking for films of recent vintage not stuff going back to the 1980s or before.

The question is “Last” so depending on the answerer it could be from last year or 50 years ago.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Why isn’t she a BIG star? She ought to be.

I like her too so I am with you guys on this. I loved 10 Cloverfield Lane because it played a lot like a picture made by people that love Hitchcock. The other Cloverfield movies...well...from my perspective they kind of stink.

Why isn't she a star? Well, the first thing I would say is it is a business that is fairly cruel to women. The industry goes through women in droves and it is a flavor of the month kind of thing. I almost think her "moment" has come and gone and now what happens is when somebody is casting a picture she is way down the list. She did not make a big enough impact in the work she did do, and I am not saying her work wasn't good I liked it, but she just never had a part that made a big splash for her. So, when they cast something they start with the usual suspects at the top and then a bunch of the "new flavors" and Mary does not qualify as either of those so by the time she gets considered for a part, particularly a more splashy part, they have likely already tried to get several other women for it.

So, my feeling is, as much as I love her, she is not going to get offered the bigger roles.

Plus in terms of "stars" there really aren't any anymore and they hardly ever write anything that requires actors or acting of the type that gave us "movie stars" in the past. Now the pinnacle of "acting" is delivering a goofy one liner. That's it.

There are not going to be a lot of Meryl Streep type careers because the movies that made Streep, those kind of films, are no longer made or wanted in theaters.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The question is “Last” so depending on the answerer it could be from last year or 50 years ago.

Yes, it does seem we have some people that think it has been decades since someone made a good monster movie.

 

[John Sparks]

When ALIEN came out, wow, it couldn't get any better than that. Then PREDATOR came along and now we have 2 great ones.

 

[bujaki]

Does anybody remember 1997's Mimic, directed by Guillermo del Toro? It scared me when I saw it in the theater.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Does anybody remember 1997's Mimic, directed by Guillermo del Toro? It scared me when I saw it in the theater.

An underrated film.

 

[dpippel]

An underrated film.

Indeed. I think it's one of del Toro's best.

 

[Malcolm R]

Loved Mimic. Good catch.

A few other recent-ish films that I enjoy (hard to pick a "best"):

Dog Soldiers
Bad Moon (thin plot, but my favorite werewolf makeup ever)
Deep Rising
Pacific Rim
Eight-Legged Freaks (dumb fun, needs a blu-ray release)
Life (2017, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds)
30 Days of Night
Abominable (1998)
Jeepers Creepers
Pumpkinhead (more Stan Winston goodness)

 

[Johnny Angell]

Guillermo del Toro, I think, knows how to handle monsters in his films. Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth, and Cronos all show a talent for monsters.

Does anybody remember 1997's Mimic, directed by Guillermo del Toro? It scared me when I saw it in the theater.

I was about to mention Mimic when Reggie mentioned Guillermo, but you beat me to it.

Loved Mimic. Good catch.

A few other recent-ish films that I enjoy (hard to pick a "best"):

Dog Soldiers
Bad Moon (thin plot, but my favorite werewolf makeup ever)
Deep Rising
Pacific Rim
Eight-Legged Freaks (dumb fun, needs a blu-ray release)
Life (2017, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds)
30 Days of Night
Abominable (1998)
Jeepers Creepers
Pumpkinhead (more Stan Winston goodness)

Bad Moon, is that the one with Mariel Hemingway? That one was disappointing for me. Eight-Legged was too dumb and not enough fun. Life, well there’s no there there. But that’s me.

I’m getting a lot of ideas for movies to checkout.

 

[Johnny Angell]

BTW, mention all the old movies you want.

 

[Malcolm R]

Bad Moon, is that the one with Mariel Hemingway?

Yep, that's the one. Definitely not a great film, but my favorite werewolf design in film which is mostly why I keep it around.

 

[Thomas Newton]

Not the most recent, but fun:

Gremlins 2