I also love Egon in the first movie giving Venkmen the hand signals on how much to charge to the hotel concierge guy. Took me several views to even notice that…but you can tell Egon knows what's up. It's a great character moment.

Agreed on all of this. Jones is pretty bad. Her lines end with a solid THUMP. Would love McKinnon to be the next big thing.

How does After Hours hold up? Was always one of my favorite unheralded Scorsese flicks. Haven't seen it in at least 10 years, though.

Saw the new Ghostbusters with the family. I was rooting for it, hoping it was great…but good lord, it was pretty terrible. You've got four amazingly funny women—and they were the best part, but they don't have anything to do. And the laughs dry up pretty quickly once you hit the middle of the film and the special…

Very true. The Litmus Configuration/counterfitting scene is a great example of him playing off Grodin—such good chemistry.

I think you're right—I've really enjoyed some of his later films, especially The Aviator, but none of them have that sense of danger and grime that made his earlier work so amazing.

Ha, I suppose you are right about the film—I did like DeNiro in it, however, and he has a nice scene with Nicholson—the only time they've ever been in a film together, I think.

Jeez, I forgot about those…that's a great point. Lifetime pass for Spinal Tap and Princess Bride—and When Harry Met Sally is still one of the finest romantic comedies I've ever seen.

Indeed, madam, great post. He and Scorsese had a great alchemy—it was really something. Certain actors and directors just bring out the best in each other—and I don't think it's an accident that when he no longer worked regularly with Scorsese that he kind of lost his mojo.

"After a thorough search of the first room…" (Manos)

I seem to recall Casino and/or Heat being his last hurrahs — those films marked the end of his development, where maybe he realized he had reached a dead end? Not sure, of course, but then he launched into his sort of self-parody/comedy phase, which has been mostly unfortunate for fans and probably very freeing and…

Get away from Comic-Con, you bitch!

Oh, that's right…I have heard that one. I'll have to research that. It certainly was the first King book I gave up on about halfway through.

That was a great one!

Seems like the wheels came off around Gerald's Game, maybe? At least that was the start of the slide for me, although The Tommyknockers was kind of a mess, too. But that one had some entertainment value (nothing like coked-up King), but Gerald's Game started his "meh" period, I think.

That's a great point. Spielberg and IT would make quite a team. Always wondered what Pet Semetary — something definitely creepy and unsettling — would have been with a great director.

YAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH! Servo's scream of rage in that scene is a thing of true beauty.

Joel, why would anyone do that with Mitchell?

That's true…damn. That was quite a bounce back—working with Murphy, who may have been the biggest star in Hollywood at that point. I wonder if the financial/critical success of that film kept him in good graces. It always seems to be about the money, unfortunately.

This is a great point! Too much cocaine, too much freedom, too much something. Coppola never quite recovered nor did Bogdanovich and Friedkin—although they all had some interesting stuff afterward, especially Coppola. His "One From The Heart" truly did him in right after "Apocalypse."