One I love and haven’t seen mentioned is Equalibrium, I’ve probably seen it 5 times, which is a lot of times for me. I see its ham fisted metaphors and raise you gun karate.
Hackers
Grandma’s Boy. If you’re a gamer, its a must watch.
Super Mario Bros. No, not the new CGI one, the old live action one. I know I’m not alone in loving this movie, but man is it divisive— those that don’t like it, HATE it, and I think that’s the majority opinion.
I unironically love this movie. It’s not just nostalgia either, though I did watch it as a kid. I also watched the old Zelda cartoon as a kid when it first came out, and I loved it then but I can’t stand it now. No, I’ve watched this movie recently and it still rocks. It’s perfect for what it is, I think.
I’m just going to drop selections from the Troma catalog in here:
- The Toxic Avenger
- Surf Nazis Must Die
- Class of Nuke ‘em High
- Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD
- Tromeo and Juliet
These are objectively shitty movies. Most of these movies are irredeemable; hell, some of them are down right an exercise in poor taste. A lot of it hasn’t aged well, and I’m not talking about the cinematography. I haven’t kept up with Troma in the 21st century, though, so maybe Troma has gotten worse-better or better-worse?
However, I find joy in these movies because they are like a time warp back to New Jersey and New York in the 80s and 90s. They were so low budget and always filmed around New York (except for Toxic Avenger II which somehow was filmed in Japan), that they used a lot of family members of the cast and crew or random locals as extras. It is obvious that a lot of people on screen probably didn’t know they were being filmed (or if they did, didn’t realize what type of movie they were in). There’s bad hair and makeup (but not from the effects department), and thick accents and regionalisms that have faded. There are mainstreets and skylines that don’t exist anymore, or if they do, are wildly different. It is amazing to catch a glimpse of an era that doesn’t exist anymore. This exists in all old movies, but the low-budget realness hits differently.
Most of these movies are trash, but they’re my trash. Apologies to Mr. Kaufman.
Kung Fu Hustle, my beloved! Must watch for any action fan
The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen. Peak Gilliam, and always a joy to watch. Wish I could find a higher resolution version.
Nacho Libre. Everything about that movie makes me giggle.
Bunraku, easily. I don’t even like noire movies normally.
Just Troma in general
Hoodwinked!
8 Heads in a Duffel Bag.
David spade and Joe Pesci. Amazing.
Beyond the black rainbow
Cypher - 2002
Industrial spy movie that has some strange twists. I just loved the whole feel and atmosphere around the movie.
McHales Navy, one of my favourite Tim Curry roles.
Monty Python and the holy grail
