"Roller Coaster" Adventure Movies Need A Comeback

 

Today is the 25th anniversary of  The Mummy starring Brendan Frasier and Rachel Weisz as the heroes, and Arnold Vosloo as the villain Imhotep. I watched the movie over the weekend in honor of its anniversary and it got me thinking. It's time there is a resurgence in Hollywood of the action adventure genre.

The type of films often described as a "roller coaster" adventure film. The Mummy and its two sequels along with Mask of Zorro and its sequel helped the genre experience a brief period of popularity in the late 90's-mid 2000's. New Line's 2002 film Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring and its sequels aided the adventure films.

Then Disney's Pirates Of The Carribean film released in 2003 and helped continue that trend. Along with National Treasure starring Nicolas Cage, another Disney property that was released in 2004.

Tin the late 2000's and early 2010's. That genre lost popularity to films based on YA literature like Twilight, Hunger Games, Divergent and Maze Runner. Of course we can't forget the Harry Potter film series. That wasn't the only thing that clobbered action adventure films during that time. Superhero movies and the juggernaut that was the marvel cinematic universe sucked up any genre in its path.

In 2017 a legacy to 1995's Jumanji film was released. Which that film Welcome To The Jungle and it's sequel 2019's The Next Level bought some popularity to the genre, and while both films were highly successful they couldn't sustain the genre on its own. Last year's film Dunegons & Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves was mildly successful in trying to revive those type of films.

With the MCU trying to stabilize itself after several blunders. Other comic book films waiting in the wings. Long standing franchises like the Fast & Furious series heading into the sunset. Indiana Jones not connecting with a new generation. Franchises like Masters of the Universe and Power Rangers having a hard time getting off the ground. While properties like G.I. Joe and to an extent Transformers not able to refresh themselves.

It's time someone steps in and brings back those swashbuckling, gunfights left and right, falls and screams and high stakes. With just enough plot and dialogue to keep the story until the next action piece. We are waiting to experience the whiplash of roller coaster adventure films.

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The Movies That Made Us Wishlist

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Netflix recently released the third season of The Movies that made us, featuring Robocop, Aliens, and Coming To America as the topics of the season.I'm already anticipating season 4 and I'm not even sure if the series has been renewed or not. The series covers most films that had an hold on pop culture in some way, shape, or form. As I frequently do when it comes to shows like this, I decided to compile a list of movies I would like to see covered in the next season or beyond.

The Lost Boys

I'm not the biggest horror film junkie but 1987's The Lost Boys is one of my favorite horror movies. I'll take a vampire movie over a zombie or slasher flick any day of the week. Starring Keifer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Jami Gertz and 1980's superstars Corey Haim and Corey Feldman also known as the Two Corey's. The movie is a cult classic and from what I've read was originally developed as a completely different movie, and apparently had a teaser after-credits scene before that was really a thing. There have been a couple of B-movie sequels and a planned TV series that cant get out of development hell. Which goes to show how much the film is loved. The story of how The Lost Boys came to be needs to be told.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure 

"Be Excellent To Each Other" and "Party On Dudes!" are two famous quotes said by two slacker's who just so happened to have the future of humanity in their hands. Starring Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves who must travel through time (another favorite of mine) to keep history on the right path. This is another movie that experienced road blocks during filming and releasing. I read somewhere it was actually supposed to be released a whole year before it did, due to Orion Pictures (an 80's studio juggernaut) experincing financial issues. The Bill and Ted franchise spawned two sequels, a television series, cartoon, toys, cereal and an entire legacy. Let's see how it got started.

Jingle All The Way

We're now in the holiday season and one of my favorite holiday movies to watch is Jingle All The Way. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a father who spend's Christmas eve frantically searching for the hottest toy of the year Turbo Man. The plot had to be based on the Power Rangers craze of the early 90's, I remember my mother telling me her struggles to get me Power Rangers figures for Christmas. Technology has taken over the toy frenzy of a new everyone must have toy, but Jingle All The Way is available every holiday to remind us of the good ol' days. We deserve to see how the film came to be.

Clueless

Clueless the 1995 classic starring Alicia Silverstone, StaceyDash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, and Breckin Meyer. It's a teen comedy known for the slang, soundtrack, fashion and display of teen life in the 90's for rich kids. I loved the movie as a kid I just thought all the characters were cool and looked forward to my high school years (turned out to be nothing like the movie obviously). The movie made Alicia a bonafide star for a period of time, spawned a TV series, several copycats, and a planned reboot . It's impact on pop culture and the stars it created years later would make for an worthy episode.

The Nutty Professor 

In the 1980's Eddie Murphy was everywhere and on top of the world. It seemed like he had the midas touch for success from SNL, Delirious to 48 hours, Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop I and II, Eddie Murphy Raw, and Coming to America (which is covered in season 3). Even his movies that divide his fans like The Golden Child and Harlem Nights are still good movies, hell he was even shoehorned into an movie (Best Defense) to increase the chances of the movies success. In the 90's that touch was wearing off, Another 48 hours was a dud. Boomerang is a classic, but The Distinguished Gentleman was not well received along with Beverly Hills Cop III and Vampire In Brooklyn (which I love).

Anyway his success turned around in 1996 when he starred in the remake of the Nutty Professor playing main character Sherman Klump, his alter ego Buddy Love and Sherman's family. The movie is hilariously funny, showed Eddie Murphy's range in playing multiple characters. The soundtrack still hits today, and if you watch it now you'll still laugh. I'm sure the story of how the reboot came about and how Eddie got involved is not an average story for film development.

The Sandlot 

Ask any 90's kid their favorite sports movie of that decade and the answer is more than likely The Sandlot or Mighty Ducks, depending on their preference. While I have a special place in my heart for both films and think the story of both deserve to be told. I think Disney would keep The Mighty Ducks close to their chest and capitalize on that film's story on their own platform, especially with the 30th anniversary next year. Back to the Sandlot, the movie is the ultimate be a kid, get into stuff with your friends, adventure film.

At it's core the movie is about life long friendships, which the older you get you learn to value more often. Some good baseball, funny moments, and very quotable lines are sprinkled throughout the film. I would love to hear about what inspired the story, it's development process and the fun of playing baseball during filming. Transport me back to the sandlot in the 1960's for an episode.

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