Sunday, April 25, 2010

We watched TREMORS again Friday night. Now that is a fine piece of cheese. I like to call it an "unnecessarily good movie." Unnecessary, because it probably did not make a penny more because it has well-written, fleshed-out characters, or lovely performances, or because the characters behave sensibly throughout. (From the moment it's apparent that There Is A Problem, they are trying to get the hell out of the valley.) But it does have those things, and boy is it watchable. Even the normally giant-mutant-worm-averse Lisa enjoyed herself.

Nothing clever to say here, really. We just had fun.

Labels: watching movies

1:22 PM

7 Comments:

Agreed! Tremors is one of those movies you can watch any Saturday afternoon. Not just because it seems to be on cable somewhere every Saturday but because the characters, although wacky and over the top, are so well written and well acted. What a great cast for such a little movie.

By  JBC, at 1:31 PM  

Is it really unnecessarily good? I mean, it may not have mattered in the original release, but isn't part of its longevity on cable the fact that it's better than other b-movies in this vein?

By  Dan, at 1:41 PM  

I agree completely. Perhaps add "exceeds expectations".

There are a few movies now and then who are smarter and better than the genre demands, and these are buried treasure.

By  Anonymous, at 2:08 PM  

I feel the same way about "Four Brothers."

Even though I've seen it five or six times, I'm always so pleasantly surprised. It's gorgeous, well-written, and the cast has amazing chemistry. Yet it's just some random revenge movie. Go figure? It too, however, lives on in cable. So maybe it has made at least a *penny* more for its virtues?

Plus, now I've got such a soft spot for all those actors and the director that I'm willing to see whatever schlock they put out. So it helped maybe also helped them with brand-building.

By  Sasha, at 2:29 PM  

In my own development as a writer, TREMORS is the missing link.

What elevates an otherwise B-movie plot to an A-level movie?

The first TERMINATOR is equally as B-movie cheesy. And yet is also elevated because we actually care about the plight of the characters.

I really think that's the answer right there.

By  James, at 7:43 PM  

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By  Unknown, at 3:18 AM  

I think James hit it on the head there with what he said about Terminator. Just think how awful it could have been if it hadn't been done so right! It could have been a complete joke, but Cameron's writing and brilliant acting made it a classic - and one of the best films to watch for any budding screenwriter - if only for the clever ways Cameron gives us exposition through action!

By  Neil, at 9:28 AM  

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