It’s beyond hilarious and it would not be made today; there would be riots in the streets. And the sad thing is that this ‘statement’ is true.
It’s a movie so funny, it knows it’s funny and takes the piss out of how funny it is.
As trailers go, this one had me at … title. You just know it’s going to be a tasty affair.
Let’s get the epic quote out the way first:
“One: never underestimate your opponent. Expect the unexpected. Two: take it outside. Never start anything inside unless it’s absolutely necessary. And three: be nice.”
That’s a guide to life right there.
How to define a very good daft movie? It’s Road House (1989), the quotes ready-made for a dissertation, an ’80s tribute from the ’80s. And it’s so violently entertaining.
That Swayze mullet should be in a museum.
It’s pointless. It’s boring. It’s a waste of your time.
Another bit of rubbish.
It’s the high expectations due to the extraordinary A-list cast that sort of let it down a bit. It’s no masterpiece, but it’s good. What’s lacking is a mood, a sense of you really being involved in proceedings. It’s just too workmanlike and clean, and lacks any sense of style. The cop-mob connections aren’t really illustrated, and there’s too much nebulous backstory between the characters.
However, it is acted as well as you’d expect, and even Stallone is fine in it, though his character could have had an edge to him, some shades of grey. The supporting cast are also stellar, and it was surreal seeing the T-1000 with a moustache. For all the considerable talent on display, Ray Liotta walks off with the movie, his conflicted Figgis shambling his way through the narrative, a guilt-ridden bad boy whom you’re never quite sure about until the denouement.
Nice poster, too.
A movie exclusively dedicated to Vietnam-era boot camp.
How did the director of Batman and Robin (1997) make this? But then again, he made Falling Down (1993) and The Lost Boys (1987). ‘Gritty’ gets overused in cinema and reviews of cinema, as if it’s a shortcut aesthetic to a decent film, but here it is decidedly gritty but for a reason and it works. It had to take the gritty approach; the opposite take on basic training is Kubrick.
Farrell is so natural and just … quality. Apparently, he auditioned for a boy band before plying his trade as an actor? I’m so glad he failed at the former. The rest of the cast: all excellent, and it’s rare to see each actor perfect for the role.
Proper drama, a gritty drama.
A taut thriller from a pre-smartphone era, the internet in its relative infancy, it’s exactly this disconnection which makes the premise genuinely creepy. Think Duel (1971) but with less sympathetic leads who kind of have it coming.
There’s a real sense of menace throughout this road trip from hell, and that’s in no small part to the spooky vocal talents of Ted Levine as ‘Rusty Nail’. Every time he decides to terrorise the trio down the CB radio, I couldn’t help but think of Buffalo Bill trying on his next arm cast.
Superb movie.
This is a who’s who of 1999 – Sarah Polley, Jay Mohr, Scott Wolf, and the loon film buff from Scream 2 (1997).
It’s a wee bit annoying that the characters don’t appear to be affected much by anything that happens but then the movie does exist in this enclosed Tarantino-World with its own parameters. I’ve also never even heard of supermarket employees living such ridiculous adventures. And it’s good to once again have a movie that reveals Las Vegas for what it is – a pointless mess of a city consisting of predators and losers.
Revelation: I never knew William Fichtner could do comedy. He’s understatedly very amusing, his “ulterior motive” confession capping off the most awkward Christmas dinner ever.
Like all Doug Liman films, it’s a brisk affair, unpredictable and with a purposeful style that never wavers.
Firstly, let’s get this out of the way: Angelina Jolie should not be in movies. She has no acting ability that has ever been evidenced in anything she has featured in. I mind that Sony Pictures hack years ago when a producer referred to her as a “minimally talented spoiled brat”. Sums the situation up. For some reason she is in movies, and was cast in this to put bums on seats, though I do question the sanity of folks who’d watch it for the delights of Jolie. She’s awful.
Now that’s cleared up, some positives. Like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2001), this was gripping without ever seeming to be about anything; it’s the little details and the intricacies and the things that are easily missed. It’s less a depiction of Cold War espionage and more a portrayal of a bloke operating within a system of double entendres, maintaining the poker face at all times (Damon is a cold fish here but we can see why).
De Niro hasn’t made many films and this one is curious subject matter. Of all the topics and milieus, I’d never imagined he’d be interested in something like this. It’s very well made, a bit of the Michael Mann about it.
Bobby should make more spy flicks.
Andrew Dominik made Chopper (2000) and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), so I’ll watch anything he makes, despite a batch of bad reviews for this one. I don’t know what these critics are on because this movie is dazzling from the get-go, an opening sequence featuring a Golden Age Hollywood in flames.
It’s a fascinating, absorbing watch, and you’re pulled right into the tapestry with the magnificent sound editing and cinematography, Dominik a master of his canvas. And it’s one dark canvas, Monroe a bullied, manipulated, tragic figure, less a character than a metaphor for Hollywood itself. I can see why so many folk hate this movie – it’s realism at its most brutal, the myth busted.
How to summarise it? An NC-17 anti-biopic with more visual treats than most of the crap pumped out by the system it lambasts.
I’ll be watching again in a few weeks.
Wanderings and ... wonderings. 