Sunset Cinema: Blade Runner

With the advent of digital projection, major theater chains have been showing more and more classic titles along side new releases. Whether it's a Blu-Ray or Digital Print scanned from the original, films can screen forever. Last week we checked out Blade Runner: The Final Cut as part of Cinemark's Classics Series. I own a VHS of Runner as well as a box set but have probably seen it maybe twice in my life. It's just one of those titles that people love but I never got into. The 3 hour documentary, Dangerous Days is fantastic though and maybe more compelling than the film, for me. Set in the crowded, neon lit, rain soaked future of 2019 in Los Angeles, Blade Runner sets up a world where robotic creatures, Replicants, are used for slave labor, to fight or for pleasure. When they go haywire, special police officers dubbed Blade Runners hunt them down and "retire" them. Combat model Roy Batty and several accomplices have come back to earth from outer space, looking to extend their built in four year life span. After many a death, former Runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is tasked with pulling the curtain on Batty and his crew. Things are complicated when Deck meets Rachael (Sean Young), a beautiful Replicant who doesn't know she is one.

Based on Phillip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, adapted by Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples and directed by Ridley Scott, Blade Runner is one of the most influential movies of all time. It's easy to see why as Scott and company designed and built an entire world for the story to take place in that feels far off with flying cars and humanoid robots as well as old school with sex, violence, architecture and a noir vibe. Everything is textured and layered from Deck's crowded and stone walled apartment to run down hotels filled with rain, debris and robots to corporate building that look like electric pyramids. While the eye is constantly engaged, the mind starts to drag as the film is a bit slow, Deckard isn't great at his job and gets manhandled by every Replicant he meets and gives off a rapist vibe when he and Rachael get down. Being the final cut, you're more or less spoon fed that Deckard is a Replicant with his unicorn day dream, falling in love with Rachael after knowing her for a day, his eyes do that red robot thing in a scene and then the end where policeman Gaff (Edward James Olmos) lets the two run off together. I always thought he was supposed to be human and if Ford is going to be involved in the sequel, they need to write themselves out of a corner.

Rutger Hauer's performance as Batty is still terrific all these years later and his final "like tears in rain" speech is truly a memorable moment among all the glitz and lights of the film. Vangelis' synth score is effective after all this time and creates even more atmosphere. Of course Blade Runner was not a box office hit upon release in 1982 with Scott being taken off the film after going over budget, being brought back, no one being happy with the released version, on and on. A workprint was discovered in a vault in the 90's and screened at a Los Angeles 70mm film festival leading to a Director's Cut and finally a Final Cut supervised by Scott. While the film has great things going on, can lead to lively discussions and make you question what it is to be human, for some reason the flick just leaves me cold and not the kind you'd watch regularly. A follow up is currently in the works where hopefully the story matches the visuals. Until then, keep seeing things you people wouldn't believe.

Snow Screen: Star Wars The Force Awakens - Spoiler Free

Star Wars week erupted this past Thursday as marathons and 7:00 PM screenings ushered in a new era for the franchise and cultural movement. While sites for the El Capitan, Arclight, Fandango and MovieTickets.com among others crashed, I quietly bought seats at the Cinemark in Playa Vista to check out the flick on their XD system. Happy Hour preceded the film as usual, this time at Hop Doddy, a burger and brews joint. We and nearly everyone else were decked out in Star Wars shirts with one guy in a Chewbacca onesie. Cinemark has some groovy special 3D glasses and we grabbed them with BB-8 and Captain Phasma designs. Taking our seats, I took a deep breath and prepared for the next two and a half hours that I hoped would be good. I didn't have high or really any expectations going in as I like Star Wars but am far from a fanatic or expert. But my heart was literally pounding as it got closer to showtime and after the final theater advertisement, I started the applause to get us going. The claps kept coming for the Lucasfilm card as well as the opening Star Wars title and opening theme.

Bottom line? Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a fun flick. It's big, exciting, visual, funny and uses 3D well. It feels very much like a Star Wars film, carrying on the look and tone of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi with sandy locales, a used and beat up future, flying ships, light sabers, laser blasts, Storm Troopers, the Force, on and on. Leading lady Rey (Daisy Ridley) was excellent; smart and skilled, a pilot and a fighter. While new soccer ball with a head droid BB-8 nearly stole the show with it's beeps, reactions and gadgets. I had issues with John Boyega's Finn and Adam Driver's Kylo Ren being a bit weak as characters played by actors I have no interest in watching. Oscar Isaac shows up as the greatest pilot in the system Poe Dameron and brings a breezy, cool and supportive big brother vibe to his scenes with fidgety and nervous "little brother" Finn. Harrison Ford's returning Han Solo is used to a surprising degree while Carrie Fisher shows up late in the game as Princess turned General Morgana. I consider The Force Awakens a reboot/sequel as you're introducing the world and characters to a new generation but the story mirrors many points of 1978's A New Hope. With billions on the line, Force accomplishes it's job, bringing Star Wars back to the mainstream, breaking box office records and exciting audiences young and old.

If you want to get into the knitty gritty of how I really felt, read the next, spoiler filled post!

BuzzFlick: Gin and Jurassic Park III

Jurassic World opens tonight and I have my overpriced ticket for Cinemark's version of Fake IMAX. Gotta get my time in at the new Playa Vista location before Whole Foods opens and ruins it for everyone. Unlike AMC or The Arclight, Cinemark does not offer any kind of reward program so any money you drop there does not get anything back for you. Anyways, everybody has seen Jurassic Park but I missed III in theaters and watched it on DVD once so it was time to revisit. With some No. Ten Gin from Tanqueray I got ready to head back to 2001 and while finishing the bottle I observed the following:

- Opening scene is a guy and a kid para sailing near the Jurassic Park Islands. Hey, the guy is Davis (Mark Harelik) from hit 90's sitcom Wings! Name of the company is Dino-Soar. CLASSIC.
- Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and Dr. Alan Grant (mother fudging Sam Neil) aren't together anymore?! When the hell did this happen?!
- Sam Neil, you da man. Grant role was offered to Harrison Ford?! Think of that!
- Alessandro Nivola as Grant's sidekick aka Pollox Troy from Face/Off! Tongue sammich anyone?
 - Whoa, 2001 3D printer prototype for raptor skull whistle!
- Practical raptor sitting on plane, gah!
- Movie is pretty violent with some nice thrills and scares. Nice mix of CGI and puppets.
- That dinosaur was like, "gonna have to roll it"! (Plane cabin to get the humans out)
- It's like a reverse horror movie, instead of sexually promiscuous getting deaded, guys with guns do. Or like Predator...no sport!
- That little kid Eric (Trevor Morgan) is from The Patriot! You know? The Patriot? Where Mel Gibson is the best dad in the universe? Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's final collaboration? Hold on let me find you a clip. (Pauses to watch Mel Gibson being a fucking awesome dad)
- Aliens reference with the tube in the lab and the dead specimen not being dead!
- William H. Macy from Tim Allen's Wild Hogs ladies and gentlemen!
- Tea Leoni, so awkward hot in Bad Boys, you hear 3 is being written by Joe Carnahan?
- You climb K2 brah? You know Michael Biehn and Matt Craven, brah?
-  Joe Johnston directed, hell yeah! Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Captain America and Hidalgo with VIGGGGGOOOOO!
- John Diehl from Miami Vice! Eaten! This movie is pretty violent!
- Michael Jeter from Tango and Cash! Synthesizer! Gun boots! RV from hell!
- Man Tea Leoni needs to listen to Dr. Grant and stop being dumb.
- Uh that dinosaur just broke Jeter's neck after they already mauled and stabbed him to death. Shit.

- Allegedly cost $93 million to make and grossed $181 in the states and $363 million worldwide. Good enough for #9 for the year behind the likes of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Rush Hour 2, Mummy Returns, Pearl Harbor and Ocean's Eleven.
- Way better than Lost World by lack of Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and his annoying ass daughter.
- Aliens again with little kid living in duct hiding from creatures.
- That is one big can of pork and beans.
- Malcolm was high on himself and everything about chaos..."fuck Jeff Goldblum".
- That dinosaur was straight eavesdropping! They seem so mean and bitter and...human in this!
- Oh man Pollux is hiding something, maybe it's some nitro, get it out of the sun!
- Aw shit. Literally. Walked into the wrong bird cage...
- Can't believe Pollux just left him like that! Oh he's actually rescuing The Patriot kid...
- Dr. Grant just Van Damme'd that Pterodactyl with a crescent kick to the face!
- That pterodactyl just turned and looked into my soul.
- I feel like I'd leave my shirt untucked if I was running for my life from killer dinosaurs and just saw my friend get pecked to death by a bunch of asshole dinosaurs. But that's why he's Dr. Grant and I'm some guy blogging and dranking.
- Majestic stegosaurus shot with Jurassic Park theme, awwwoooo!
- Digging through steaming piles of shit looking for a lifeline satellite phone, it's like a reality show waiting to happen. Red faced unicorn dinosaur just showed up too and leaves.
- Barney is on TV. Kids love that purple dinosaur. Like they love Jean-Claude Van Damme.
- I wonder how many full size animatronic dinosaurs they built for this show. Where are they now?
- Punch that raptor, Tea Leoni! Establish dominance!
- The Navy and The Marines showed up, where the hell is Michael Biehn?!
- Oh shit the dactyls are out and headed to your house!
- Alexander Payne co-wrote?! Mother fucking Sideways up in here. You ever drink red wine with Sprite and or Coke? Really gives it some effervescence.
- Larry Franco produced. Kurt Russell's former brother in law, producer of Tango & Cash, Big Trouble In Little China and Batman Begins.



Well that was a fast and surprisingly exciting and slightly harrowing 90 minutes. Bring on World!

Expendables Week: Mel Gibson

Aw yeah baby, let's keep this Expendables train rolling.  While it's been the main selling point and punch line of the franchise, the gathering of action heroes and cinematic leading men of the 80's and 90's has garnered a cool $575 million bucks at the world wide box office alone.  Throw in rentals, sales, TV and other ancillary rights and The Expendables is most likely a billion dollar brand already.  I'm pretty sure Sylvester Stallone is the only actor to ever sustain 3 franchises and has now successfully headlined films for five consecutive decades.  If you'll recall, part I gave us fellow throwback leading men like Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts and Mickey Rourke along with cameos by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.  The sequel recruited Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris so the only 90's action star missing was Steven Seagal.  For the threequel, Seagal was still out so Stallone and the producers branched out to recruit 80's and 90's staples who dabbled effortlessly between dramatic and physical roles, landing Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes.

Playing former Expendable turned adversary Conrad Stonebanks, Mel Gibson continues his Hollywood return following a rough few years.  I love the guy and his work so it will be interesting to see how the next several years play out in this town of hypocrites and judgers.  Now let's look back at some of the flicks that led Gibson to joining The Expendables franchise:

Mad Max, 1979 - The role that launched a career, Gibson played Australian policeman Max Rockatansky, out for revenge against a sadistic motorcycle gang in a dystopian future.  I didn't grow up with Mad Max and honestly haven't seen it more than once.  Same goes for the beloved sequel The Road Warrior and third installment, Beyond Thunderdome.  But it was Gibson's first hit, a franchise and arguably most identifiable role until...

Lethal Weapon, 1987 - Now we're talking.  As wild eyed, suicidal, action junkie policeman Martin Riggs, Gibson deftly combines equal parts crazy, heart and physical in a signature role that would lead to a decade of imitators and clichés.  Partnered up with the family man, ready to retire but still a badass Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), the duo took on mercenaries, South African diplomats, crooked cops and the Chinese mafia over 4 action packed and hilarious entries that grossed nearly $1 billion dollars at the global box office alone.  Director Richard Donner and Gibson would ultimately collaborate on 6 films: 4 Lethal Weapons, Conspiracy Theory and...

Maverick, 1994 - An update of the James Garner western television series, the film finds Gibson as a smooth talking yet confrontation averting gambler on his way to a big game worth $250,000 bucks in old timey money.  A nice mix of humor and six shooting, horse riding action, Gibson shines as the charming yet somewhat shady Bret Maverick and looks to be having a ball along with co-stars Jodie Foster, James Garner, Graham Greene and James Coburn.

Braveheart, 1995 - Would you believe I've never actually seen Gibson's 2nd directorial effort that netted 10 Academy Award nominations and won the man statues for Best Picture and Director?  Sure, I know all about the "Freeeeedom!" and whatnot but for whatever reason this flick just passed me by in 1995 and I've never revisited it even though I own it on DVD.  I feel a film of this historic, epic scale needs to be witnessed on the big screen so I'll have to wait for it to come back around.

Ransom, 1996 - Playing a businessman instead a cop or warrior, Gibson acquits himself nicely as a dedicated dad just trying to get his son back in this 90's thriller.  A handsomely produced picture with a stellar supporting cast including Lethal Weapon co-star Rene Russo, Delroy Lindo, Gary Sinise, Liv Schreiber, Lili Taylor and Donnie Wahlberg.  Ron Howard delivers a solid for adults flick with real life implications on the horror of what it must be like to have your child abducted and then delivers the movie goods when dad won't play victim and goes after the kidnappers.

Payback, 1998 - A modern version of Donald E. Westlake's novel, The Hunter, Payback is a moody, stylish noir action flick that finds Gibson as Porter, a thief double crossed by his partner and left for dead.  Once recovered, he threatens, punches, blackmails, shoots, crashes and kidnaps his way up the local crime chain in search of his stolen $70,000.  A troubled production that saw writer/director Brian Helgeland fired days after winning an Oscar, seamless reshoots still add up to an edgy, dark, funny and violent time with another great supporting cast that includes Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, David Paymer, Bill Duke, Deborah Kara Unger, John Glover, Lucy Liu, William Devane, Kris Kristofferson and James Coburn.

The Patriot, 2000 - A change of pace from masters of disaster Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, The Patriot has Gibson as a former soldier living peaceably as a farmer and father in the days of The Revolutionary War.  When an evil Brit kills one of his sons and arrests another, it's time for Benjamin Martin to open up a chest of whup ass...and muzzle loading rifles...and tomahawks!  Seriously, the scene of Martin rescuing son Gabriel (Heath Ledger) is one of the best examples of movie fathering I've ever seen.  He places two of his younger sons on high ground and has them take out the troops from afar while dad goes in double fisting blades.  Of course there's more to the role and film than that as Gibson gives a serious and nurturing performance as a dad just trying to keep his family together.  But when you BLEEP with him, he'll BLEEP with you, hard!

Edge of Darkness, 2010 - Gibson's first starring role in 7 years following directing the mammoth hit The Passion of the Christ and experiencing the first of several public incidents, Edge has him in full on Liam Neesons mode for a dark, stark and shocking tale of revenge and corporate conspiracy.  When his daughter is murdered, Detective Craven uncovers her secret activist life and a local weapons manufacturers dirty dealings.  Action is sparse but well used to jolt the audience and Gibson again does a solid job of playing a stern yet sympathetic character just looking for the truth.

Of course shout outs go to Gibson's other fantastic work in flicks like Hamlet, Forever Young, Chicken Run, What Women Want, Signs and The Beaver among many more but you don't want to read my musings on all of those and they don't have much to do with an explosive, tough guy reunion a la The Expendables.  A mix of handsome, charming, funny, crazed, physical and slightly off balance, it was quite an arc for the New York born but discovered in Australia actor to go from Mad Max to Lethal Weapon to Hamlet before seguing into an award winning director and producer.  Adjusted for inflation, Gibson has fifteen $100 million grossing titles and two franchises to his name along with being one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, banking $25 million per picture at his peak.

The 80's Called...

But it wasn't long distance because they're still here!  Just checking in with your roundup of all things Dammaged Goods 80's appropriate... but today!  The "Me" decade of excess, cocaine, yuppies, viral diseases, teased hair, amphibious comic book heroes and cartoonish action heroes continues it's comeback.  From this week alone:

- The Expendables 3 is nearly here, the reunion of cinematic tough guys led by Sylvester Stallone and featuring no less than 80's icon Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Dolph Lundgren, Robert Davi and Harrison Ford.  Early word is that it's the best of the series yet with a nice mix of bro-humor and lots and lots of explosions.  I'll be seeing all 3 of them in the theater this Thursday which means, yup, JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME on the big screen!  Crowds turned up to premieres in the United Kingdom, Spain and Germany this past week where stars Stallone, Jason Statham, Kellan Lutz, Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes greeted fans and media on the red carpet.  This coming Monday, the boys are back in town stateside for the Hollywood premiere at the historical Chinese Theater.

- Speaking of The Real JC...VD, his seminal "born in Belgium but living in Los Angeles", revenge seeking, American dancing, Muy Thai fighting flick Kickboxer is about to be rebooted.  This week's casting news saw Guardians of the Galaxy's Dave Bautista, Ong Bak's Tony Jaa and The Expendables 2's Scott Adkins rumored to be joining MMA champion Georges St. Pierre and newcomer Alan Moussi in the 3D update.  No word yet on JCVD being lined up for a cameo...

- The weekend's number one movie?  Why it's the latest adaptation of 1984's comic book phenomenon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!  Overcoming tepid reviews and misplaced keyboard warrior wrath due to it's connection to Michael Bay and Megan Fox, TMNT defied expectations and raked in a whopping $65 million shell-backs.  Making it the 4th biggest opening in August of all time behind Guardians of the Galaxy, The Bourne Ultimatum and Rush Hour 2.  A sequel has already been dated for June 3rd, 2016.  Bring on Casey Jones, Bebop, Rocksteady and the Triceratons!

- Know what else came out in 1984?  James Cameron's tech-noir, B-movie thriller masterpiece The Terminator!  Production wrapped this week on the 5th installment with Arnold Schwarzenegger breaking the title on Instagram.  What was once Terminator: Genesis has now become Terminator: Genisys...why?  I dunno...

Spandex, tank tops, shoes without socks, Transformers, what's next?!

Huey, Arnie and Donny...Johnson!

Cinema Swole: The Expendables 3

Proving that muscles still rule the world and movies, the cast of The Expendables III invaded the Cannes film festival and stole the spotlight as the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Randy Couture and new additions Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford, Kellan Lutz and Mel Gibson became their own traveling movie star parade.  The sight of so many famous faces has garnered much attention and validates Stallone's business acumen as the tough guy reunion series is his 3rd franchise and allegedly netted him $15 million this go round.  Stallone has long wanted to pull off a huge premiere stunt like landing a plane on the Las Vegas strip but until now has been unable to accomplish such a feat.  Lionsgate pulled out all the stops here spending "Super Bowl" commercial money to arrange the event.  In France, the cast rode on two military vehicles, not quite tanks, but still big, mean and armored.  Footage was shown and at a stacked press conference, Stallone dropped the bomb that this supposed final outing is going to be rated PG-13.  PG-13?  What the fuck?!  This immediately reminded viewers of the hubbub caused by part 2's Chuck Norris alleged mentioning of a possible less than R rating which of course, turned out not to be true.  The Expendables II wasn't a hard R but still featured tons of carnage, gunfire, riddled bodies, knives piercing flesh, CGI blood, Jean-Claude Van Damme kicking a knife into the chest of Liam Hemsworth and Stallone chopping off VD's head and carrying it in a dripping sack.  However, Stallone and Arnold's recent R-rated solo outings in The Last Stand, Bullet to the Head and Sabotage all failed to find audiences.

The PG-13 rating comes as a bit of a shock but not a surprise as Millennium Film's producer Avi Lerner is a business man and after several not cheap clunkers like The Legend of Hercules and Conan the Barbarian died at the box office, he's got to protect his investments.  2010's The Expendables was a surprise hit and grossed $275 million worldwide.  2012's part 2 upped the ante by adding 80's and 90's favorites Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme to the mix as well as fresh face from The Hunger Games Liam Hemsworth.  Grosses in America were down but the film made up for it overseas and pulled in $300 million.  Now, moving into part III, Stallone claims it's time to hit the widest audience possible and let the younger generation in a la The Fast and the Furious and Transformers saga of violence without blood, PG-13 setting.  It's kind of like when Die Hard IV was given a not R and ended up being the highest grosser number wise in the series.  When part 5 went back to the Restricted rating, it grossed $80 million less but that could be from franchise fatigue, poor word of mouth, etc.

On the tanks and at the press conference, Messrs.' Dolph Lundgren, Mel Gibson (sporting a sweet beard) and Arnold Schwarzenegger were looking particularly swole as they sported short sleeves.  Lundgren will also be shopping his human trafficking action flick Skin Trade, co-starring Tony Jaa, Peter Weller and Michael-Jai White at the festival.  Gibson was linked to a Jackie Chan period action flick, Dragon Blade but it's revenge thriller Blood Father that's for sale at the fest while Arnie is taking a hiatus from the in production Terminator: Genesis to do what he does best: sell his image and charm throngs of hungry journalists and fans.  The Expendables were everywhere: on daytime talk shows, riding on tanks in the streets then all dolled up later before a screening.  In an interview alongside Harrison Ford, Stallone was very complimentary of the fellow 90's superstar and described the two as being actors whose action movies were about ordinary men triumphing over extraordinary odds;  they weren't super heroes with powers beyond passion and commitment.

At it's core, Cannes is a marketplace where studios buy up films completed and not to distribute in their countries.  Guys like Stallone, Arnold, Ford, Gibson, Lundgren etc command a certain value on the international market and two producers who played the pre-sale game incredible well were Cannon Films' Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.  The two were famous for their go-go development in the 80's and paying top dollar for sure bets like Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris.  Golan had the script for Over the Top, the father/son driving cross country/arm wrestling adventure and wanted Stallone to star in it.  Sly's manager informed Golan that his client made a massive $6 million bucks a picture, thinking it would dissuade the mini-major exploitation mogul but Golan shocked everyone when he said he wanted to pay Stallone $10 million to star in the film.  History was made and Stallone became the highest paid actor in Hollywood at the time.  Stallone commented that he loved guys like Cannon as they were pioneers and had the guts to just go out and do it, not thinking about the mathematical, scientific approach that is prevalent today among the conglomerate owned, non risk taking, easily digestible gruel producing studios of the now.

(Pre) Summer Cinema: Expendables III

If Arnold in Sabotage wasn't enough machismo for the week, Lionsgate is kicking down the door and driving up our T (testosterone, keep up), 90's style in preparation for this summer's Expendables III.  First they released 16 character posters showing off the new and old cast featuring Stallone, Statham, Li, etc plus new faces Rhonda Rousey, Kellan Lutz and Kelsey Grammer?  Along with fellow 90's juggernauts Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.  Today, another teaser trailer touting the huge throwback cast hit the internets promising "one last ride" while totally aping the Fast and Furious font.

In this installment, Stallone's Expendables get into trouble with former colleague Conrad Stonebanks (a swole Mel Gibson) and enlist the help of a young group of mercenaries led by Hercules himself, Kellan Lutz.  From the early footage, director Patrick Hughes seems to be headed in the right direction as EX3 looks slick and exciting with a few huge explosions and violent set pieces waiting I'm sure.  Expendables II introduced an odd credit scheme as Jean-Claude Van Damme received an Also tag before With Willis And Schwarzenegger.  This time around, we get With Gibson, With Ford And Schwarzenegger.

See ya at the Comic-Con panel!

Last Man Standing: Harrison Ford

It's 80's time over at The Arclight as they're showing classic flicks like Aliens, Predator, The Terminator, Back to the Future and Die Hard over the coming weeks (a.k.a. Michael Biehn on the big screen 2 weeks in a row!).  On Wednesday, the Dome was nearly sold out for a revival of 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom which finds the globe trotting professor fighting gangsters in China before embarking on a quest for magic stones in India where he uncovers a dark cult of heart stealing baddies.  The film looked great up on the big, curved screen of The Dome and Steven Spielberg's work still holds up with it's mix of walloping action, exotic locales, romance and buddy comedy in the purposely dark story.  Apparently writer/producer George Lucas was going through a divorce at the time and not in the best of moods and also wanted to follow The Empire Strikes Back's move into scarier territory.  If you've never been to The Dome, always sit in the middle sections, whether you're in the front row or the way in the back, it's still a good view.  Sitting on the sides is a little weird because the curvature of the screen seems to distort the image, to me, at least.

Earlier in the week and during dinner, I had been discussing American leading men and how we have so few of them coming up the ranks.  Batman, Spider-Man, Robocop and Superman are all played by Europeans.  Australians like Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman and Chris Hemsworth have a lock on playing tough guys while for a moment America was getting Jesse Eisenberg and Michael Cera shoved down our throats.  Point Break, a film about an Ohio football player turned FBI agent chasing down a California surfer, just got cast with an Australian and a Scotsman in the leads.  Don't get me wrong, we'll always have our Clooney, Pitt, Damon, Cruise and Smith contingent but those guys all started off in the 90's and are "cool guys" who were deemed pretty or funny before coming into their own.  Tom Hanks, a marvelous actor, has made a career of being the nice guy.  Where's the American ideal, the cowboy, the quiet loner, the get it done, Doer?  Burt Reynolds had his day but his good ol' boy charm just wasn't taken seriously.  Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, Robert Redford, Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood did it their way but apparently that's not the times we're living in anymore.

In the 90's, every big script went to 3 guys:  Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner and Harrison Ford.  Gibson is fucking harsh but his career was sold on his Australian upbringing.  Costner was a McQueen wannabe but never half as cool, in fact, he kind of comes off as a dick.  But Ford...Ford was it, Ford, in my estimation was our last American Man.  The O.G.  He was strong, dignified and fought the fight because it was the right thing to do.  In Temple, he is a movie icon for the books with his strong jawed handsomeness, dry wit and laconic personality.  A former carpenter who turned to acting, Ford brings a real life weariness and knowing confidence to the screen with his creaky gait and fit yet not overblown physique.  Turns in Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Blade Runner, Witness, Patriot Games and The Fugitive showcased his anchoring presence and easy going action charm.  While Air Force One gave us the only President, cinematic or otherwise, we can imagine throwing down with terrorists before tossing them off his plane.

Here's to you, Harrison Ford, for showing us how it's done.  Hopefully they manage to cram in "get off my plane" in Expendables III where he's playing a pilot.

Live Goods: Expendables II, Premiere!

Today, two friends expressed their surprise to me that a third Expendables movie was in the works.  I explained to them that Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes and Harrison Ford were joining the 80's and 90's cinematic tough guy party and how I was pumped for all the press coverage August of 2014 is sure to hold.   It reminded me of the awesome summer I had in 2012 when The Expendables II was being released.  My birthday fell during San Diego Comic-Con where I saw some of my favorite actors and movie icons like Sly, Arnold, Dolph, Jackie Chan, Michael Biehn, Michael Jai White and Thomas Jane among many others.  I almost ran into my favorite comic book artist of all time, Jim Lee, as we both entered a room for a  panel about himself.  Things were just coming up Milhouse, know what I mean?

In August I attended two firsts, a movie premiere and a taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  My friend is a die-hard Stallone fan and got a hold of some premiere passes.  We jetted over to the Chinese Theater in Hollywood and got in line with some other action fans, tourists and people who randomly had passes.  I was wearing one of my custom WWJCVDD? shirts while my friend donned an Expendables tee from the first movie.  Maybe it was the power of our combined shirts but a security guard approached us and told us to follow.

We ended up being taken onto the black carpet and placed in the arrival zone across from all of the press.  How cool is that?  We were going to get to see all of the arriving stars and guests which would include new villain, Jean-Claude Van Damme!  A few random actors walked the carpet to little fanfare then a handful of returning Olympians from the London Games showed up, donning their medals and all.  They came over and asked how we got such good seats for the star gazing and were very down to earth.

After a while, things got serious as the main cast was starting to arrive.  I believe Dolph Lundgren was the first and he came over to sign autographs and take photos.  He would soon be followed by Stallone and Arnold who also came over to shake hands and greet the fans.  Mr. Van Damme did a few quick interviews before being whisked down the carpet as the fire Marshall began threatening to close down the parade if it didn't clear out.  While waiting I ended up recognizing Van Damme's assistant and we chatted about the movie he recently directed, insane travel schedules, etc.  Since the media outlets were more interested in talking to the household names, I had the chance to talk to Universal Soldier co-star Tiny Lister about that awesome 90's action flick as well as Ralf Moeller, who also appeared in Unisol and showed up with friend Arnold and his sons.  Moeller seemed genuinely surprised I recognized him but was cool enough to talk action movies with me for a few.

Chuck Norris and Terry Crews were on hand but stuck to the press line and didn't make their way over.  By now the sun had set and the Marshall really wanted the carpet cleared.  The press crews started to pack up as Jason Statham showed up and just hung out talking to fans and not giving a Damme about the movie playing inside.  Unfortunately the theater was packed so we didn't end up seeing the flick that night, we just had to settle for seeing all the stars up close.

Snow Screen: Jack Ryan Saturday

A few weeks ago, I took in the reboot of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series, Shadow Recruit.  It was a serviceable enough action/political/spy thriller in this post Bourne and Bond age with a modern setting and straightforward story.  Chris Pine as the young Ryan is believable as an educated college student who joins the Marines following the 9/11 attacks, gets injured, rehabs and ends up working for the C.I.A. as a financial analyst.  Kenneth Branagh pulls double duty, showing up as the quiet yet menacing Russian villain looking to destabilize the U.S. economy while ably directing the bits of action interspersed with Ryan's budding romance with future wife Cathy (Keira Knightly), his induction into the world of covert ops with mentor Harper (Kevin Costner) and making the transition from analyst to field operative. 

Shadow Recruit is the 5th film based on prolific military/tech fiction author Tom Clancy's work but the first not to be based on one of his novels.  Friends and fellow viewers that evening were disappointed in the latest chapter; feeling the story was too simplistic and suffered from the sometimes awkward scenes between Pine and Knightly.  Looks like Pine will join past Jack Ryans Alec Baldwin and Ben Affleck in the "one and done" club but their entries were much more well received than his.  Recruit hasn't kicked up much business at the box office and failed to appeal to younger audiences.

Thanks to Netflix, today became Jack Ryan Saturday as I plopped down for some The Hunt For Red October action, a movie I own on VHS but never actually got around to watching.  In John McTiernan's entry, Ryan is played by Alec Baldwin as a sauve looking yet nervous analyst and author whose knowledge is called upon regarding a near legendary Soviet Union submarine Captain, Marko Ramius (Sean Connery aka Ramirez from Highlander!), who might be defecting or on the verge of starting a nuclear war.  Whereas Shadow showed Ryan's history as a Marine, the past is only given a line of dialog in October to chilling effect.  Baldwin's Ryan is far from an action hero and comes off as a bit of a bumbler who is thrown into the situation due to his knowledge of the subject and is deemed expendable enough to go forth and find out if he's correct. 

October has some real thrills and tense moments throughout which is no small feat considering it's about a bunch of guys talking in submarines and offices during The Cold War.  A stellar cast includes Courtney B. Vance, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, Richard Jordon and Sam Neil who give the Soviets and the Americans depth and personality.

Two years later, Paramount released Patriot Games based on Clancy's novel that finds Jack Ryan in England for a lecture and stopping an IRA assassination attempt.  After killing one of the assailants, Ryan goes up against a faction headed by the revenge seeking brother of the man he killed.  This time around though, Harrison Ford steps into the role.  In a bit of shady behind the scenes Hollywood dealing, it's said that Paramount owed Ford a lot of money for a movie that fell apart and offered him the sequel to Red October as a way to resolve some of the debt while placing a well known, bankable movie star into an established role currently held by talented but less recognizable actor Alec Baldwin.  When Baldwin heard all of this second hand, he refused to play ball with the back stabbing studio and went off to do a play instead.

In Games, Ryan is the main attraction as October cast the spotlight on Connery's defecting ship commander.  Since Ford is a few years older than Baldwin, the character is now a retired C.I.A. analyst turned professor.  Given Ford's pedigree as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, his turn as Ryan is more physical  than Baldwin's but is still not an action hero in the vein of cinema contemporaries like John McClane or Martin Riggs.  There's some simple rough and tumble goings on but at the end of the day, it's his brains and time behind a desk doing research that nets him the juicy leads.  While not as compelling as October, Patriot is a fine example of a for adults thriller that deals with current events and the nuts and bolts of clandestine government operations while keeping a foot in reality with the simple paradigm of how does one keep their family safe once exposed to a public threat.

It's a shame that Shadow Recruit didn't find an audience as it's always good to try and give movie goers a bit of excitement peppered with geopolitics, current events and good ol' American spy stuff.  For now, looks like Jack Ryan will take another hiatus and we'll have to settle for super soldiers on the run and depressed secret agents blowing shit up.

Cinema Swole: Mel Gibson

Expendables III has officially begun production in Bulgaria.  In addition to franchise mainstays Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li and Jason Statham; fellow 80s/90s juggernauts Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford and Wesley Snipes have also RSVP'd to the movie tough guy reunion.

Gibson will be playing Conrad Stonebanks, former partner and co-founder of the Expendables with Stallone's Barney Ross.  The third flick will see the Expendables fighting for their lives as thought to be dead Stonebanks comes back to haunt them.  From the looks of it, Gibson won't be playing a typical suit and tie clad, mustache twirling villain.  Instead it looks like he's been hanging out with Stallone in the gym...and wherever else Stallone goes to stay in such good shape.

Given the history between characters, hopefully Stallone and Gibson can face off in some tense, meaty verbal scenes before beating each other senseless in a I'm sure what will be a fists, knives, guns, explosions and nukes filled final showdown.

Check out Mel being the best dad EVER: