Movie Debate #44: Gremlins

[fox | 1,666]

19 minutes ago, Shmup said:

I know Spielberg is still doing great stuff but I wish he would direct more movies like this again. Ready Player One was a good return to some of the stuff he used to direct, so hopefully we see more of that.

I wonder if that Gremlins 3 project will ever happen.

*Joe Dante

There is suppose to be some animated Gremlins project happening on HBO Max.  I know Gremlins were all over the Batman Lego movie and starred in some commercials, so I kind of feel like they are testing the waters to see if there is interest in another film.  There are so many more "smart" devices and crazy tech for Gremlins to take over now, it seems like a no brainer to do a new film. 

You would need Zach Galligan for sure, Phoebe Cates doesn't really act anymore but voiced the character for Lego Dimensions so maybe she could return?  I don't know, I think you would need a bigger star before the studio would really be willing to throw money at it.  I guess call up The Rock or the kids from Stranger Things.  XD

Edited November 18, 2020 by fox

[Brickman | 3,983]

1 minute ago, Reed Rothchild said:

He didn't direct, Joe Dante did.  But, like Poltergeist and The Goonies, his fingers are all over it.

Wow that is something I didn't know. I've always thought he directed it. Thanks for the info.

[Brickman | 3,983]

Thought I'd add this here. Stripe replica puppet I purchased from a company called Trick or Treat Studios.

 

[PII | 1,884]

I gave it an 8.  I'm probably in the minority, but I've always considered the 2nd movie to be far superior.  Here're a few questions:  

If Gizmo cannot even DRINK water, what exactly are Mogwai's made of?  I noticed that Snow and Beer apparently do not constitute "water" as far as gremlins are concerned and running through snow and drinking beer do not constitute "getting wet" for some reason.

When exactly does "after midnight" end?  Sunrise?

What video game was one of the Gremlins playing during the bar scene?  Looked to me like he might be playing a Vectrex, but I'm uncertain...

What happens if Gizmo eats after midnight?  We've never seen this.  Presumably he'd go into pupal stage and emerge a hideous green scaly creature, but would he have a total bastard attitude or not?  His offspring are bastards from the get-go even when they were still furry-mammal-like-Mogwai's like himself...

Are all Gremlins male until they consume a gender-bending formula like "Greta" in "The New Batch?"

Is the reason for the offspring's terrible disposition because humans repeatedly farmed and slaughtered these creatures in the distant past in some sort of flawed attempt to feed the whole world......?

How badass is Billy's mom in this movie?  She kills one in some kind of blender device, then stabs one to death and microwaves a third into submission faster than you can say "Yeah, what kind of rules?", all while showing little to no fear..

Finally, are we ever going to see Gremlins 3?  Or will we be subjected to a boring and unnecessary reboot?

...I think the creepiest part of the whole movie is by far the scene where the evil Mrs. Deagles sees them for the first time, starts screaming and laments: "They've come for me!  I'm not ready, I'm not ready!"

The funniest part for me is still the scene with Gizmo driving the Barbie car around.  I especially like how it explodes when he crashes during an Evil-Knievel-type-launch off of a snow shovel.

Seeing Horror/Comedies in the 80's was like having pineapple on pizza for the very first time...

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2022 by PII

[Sumez | 2,941]

9 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

He didn't direct, Joe Dante did.  But, like Poltergeist and The Goonies, his fingers are all over it.

So are Joe Dante's! The guy's amazing.

  

2 hours ago, PII said:

If Gizmo cannot even DRINK water, what exactly are Mogwai's made of?  I noticed that Snow and Beer apparently do not constitute "water" as far as gremlins are concerned and running through snow and drinking beer do not constitute "getting wet" for some reason.

When exactly does "after midnight" end?  Sunrise?

 

[Sumez | 2,941]

2 hours ago, PII said:

Finally, are we ever going to see Gremlins 3?  Or will we be subjected to a boring and unnecessary reboot?

I bet we'll see a superfluous reboot at some time, but I honestly think a real sequel by Joe Dante with the same cynical no-fucks-given attitude as Gremlins 2 would be amazing. The franchise has plenty of potential for stepping up the stakes, and I think RLM's joking pitch for a potential sequel (around 10:43 until 13:47 in the video below) actually sounds like a very natural next step, especially given their existing Trump surrogate.

 

[PII | 1,884]

@Sumez I forgot all about that scene with Billy getting the 3rd degree from building security...  

If Gremlins 3 were mine to make, I'd initiate the film with the first half-hour qualifying as a stand-alone film.

Billy and Kate decide its time to return Gizmo to his home - Mogwai Island or something, board a plane with Gizmo in a knapsack after sneaking through airport security.  Gizmo has to use the restroom, falls into the toilet while relieving himself and voila, we get Gremlins on a plane.  The first thing they do is raid the flight's supply of airline peanuts (after midnight of course...)  Alternate scenario: Gizmo goes in checked luggage made possible by Murray Futterman, who's now employed as a baggage checker...

Hmmm, I see a Gremlin and his co-pilot wearing captain's hats while flying the plane and talking to the controllers through their headsets, "roger, roger; we've got a deadhead crew.." Another Gremlin determined to bag the hot stewardess.  The super-intelligent Gremlin from New Batch is present for some reason, reclining in 1st class w/a cup of coffee and a newspaper....  

The plane barely makes a landing in the ocean near a large yacht allowing the passengers to escape.  Billy has to convince the ship's captain to steer the yacht over to a rapidly multiplying horde of gremlins in the water and utilize a large fishing net to contain and bring them on board.  The kickstarter comes to a close with our heroes throwing gremlins into the ship's Stokehold by hand for about 15 real-time minutes until the audience has grown thoroughly uncomfortable with the scene, young children begin to cry... and the whole time Kate is regaling us with the story of the time she found out that every politician on Earth is just an actor...

Billy and Kate get arrested, but then released to save the day again after Stripe and Co. do their Whitehouse and Congress deal as described by RLM above...

[JamesRobot | 5,798]

10

Just watched Gremlins again.  Some of my favorites Christmas movies.  Absolutely traumatizing as a little kid.  Plus it's a Corey movie.

[PII | 1,884]

3 hours ago, JamesRobot said:

Just watched Gremlins again.  Some of my favorites Christmas movies.  Absolutely traumatizing as a little kid.  Plus it's a Corey movie.

Didn't somebody say something a while back about having Corey MONTH? ......

[JamesRobot | 5,798]

4 hours ago, PII said:

Didn't somebody say something a while back about having Corey MONTH? ......

 

@Reed Rothchild, take note.

[PII | 1,884]

6 hours ago, JamesRobot said: