Watch Out! Jeff Likes These

Jeff Higgins hasn't even been with us for a year AND he has good things to say about Goonies when prompted, but he's still managed to win over our hearts with a combination of gentle humor, clever wit, and a mutual hatred for Kevin Costner. This week, he actually tells us a few things we didn't know about him. What was the first Rated R movie he ever saw? What movie does he like that 88% of critics do not? And does he have the - oh yeah, there it is. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is actually the first entry. Well, he tells us four things we didn't already know about him. Check out this romp through the 90s and catch one that may have slipped through the cracks.

Jeff submits his "Movies you've heard of but can't remember if you've seen" entry familiar to this column

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: – I will continue recommending this movie until enough people have seen it that it makes its well-deserved appearance in a Movie Madness Tournament. It’s a neo-noir crime comedy, written and directed by Shane Black, that is full of genuine laughs as well as a substantive plot that will keep you guessing, and it is the best movie to employ a fourth-wall-breaking narrator since Ferris Bueller (even better than Deadpool). Robert Downey, Jr. said it’s the best movie he’s ever made. He’s right. It’s the best movie ALL participants have ever made and you will not regret watching this.

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr, Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, and Corbin Bernsen

Available on Tubi or to rent on Amazon

Bowfinger: Two of Hollywood’s greatest comedians, Steve Martin (who also wrote the movie) and Eddie Murphy (in hilarious dual roles), star in this comedy that’s a send-up of modern movie-making and the celebrity cult of personality. Not only is it really funny, but Eddie Murphy is acting harder than he normally had to at this point in his career, and this is the movie where he perfected his dual characters bit. Great humor, easy watch.

Starring: Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Christine Baranski, and Terence Stamp.

Available on HBO Max

Crimson Tide: This isn’t a hidden gem, I know, but it’s too good to leave off this list. The first ‘R’ rated movie I got to see in a theater set a really high bar. Full of smart dialogue, a stacked cast, and high-stakes tension that slow burns into a big explosion, I will watch this movie, no matter where it is, anytime it is on. Denzel and Hackman going toe-to-toe is something you have to witness.

Starring: Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, George Dzundza, Viggo Mortensen, James Gandolfini

Available to rent on Amazon and AppleTV

Grosse Pointe Blank: Back to comedies. John Cusack plays a hitman whose next hit takes him back home, just in time for his 10-year high school reunion where he is reunited with family, old friends, and his ex-girlfriend that he stood up at prom. Hilarity ensues. Witty script, great cast, even better soundtrack. Works as a romantic date night movie, with guns and explosions. Did I mention THE SOUNDTRACK?

Starring: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Jeremy Piven, Alan Arkin, Joan Cusack and Dan Aykroyd 

Available to rent on Amazon and AppleTV

Oscar: This will be the movie I’m mocked for. It has a 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and I still stand by it. Sylvester Stallone tried to break out of action and get into comedy. It didn’t work, but he is really good in this movie as he is actually trying to play a character vs. different versions of his meathead persona. To keep a promise to his dying father, “Snaps” Provolone tries to give up the life of a gangster and become a respectable banker. Chaos breaks out the morning he decides to go straight: family tensions, rival gangs, surveillance by the Feds, mistaken identities, double crosses, bag swaps – it all snowballs as the movie unfolds. Is it a masterpiece? No. But it’s enjoyable and Stallone is funny here. And the cast is absolutely STACKED. Stupidly stacked. Pre-My Cousin Vinny Marisa Tomei is amazing, and Tim Curry shows up mid-way through for a few scenes. You’ll be saying, “They’re in this, too?” throughout the flick.  

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Marisa Tomei, Chazz Palminteri, Tim Curry, Don Ameche, Peter Riegert, Vincent Spano, Kurtwood Smith, Martin Ferrero, Harry Shearer, and Kirk Douglas. (STACKED)

Available to rent on Amazon and AppleTV. If you absolutely hate it, Dustin will reimburse you from the MM budget. (Ed note: No he won't. He already blew the entire FY21-22 budget on a small bag of lightly salted almonds.)