Tough Guy Cinema: Russellmania II

A couple of years ago I visited Austin for the first time to attend a special screening of Lionheart and Only the Strong with writer and director Sheldon Lettich. Local Alamo Drafthouse programmer and editor Greg is a huge action movie fan, putting on marathons for the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone and Nicolas Cage (who attended the recent 4th edition). Russellmania was a celebration of the Saint of Being Charmed Kurt Russell and we attended the sequel a couple of weeks ago as a long weekend getaway. Luckily the lady is a huge Kurt Russell fan and spent some time in Austin growing up so everything just lined up. Five mystery films, a themed menu and a few surprises seemed like the perfect way to spend a Sunday.

Starting at 11:30 AM, the Ritz on Sixth was already packed and there were plenty of Jack Burton tee shirts and tanks in the crowd. The 200 person theater sold out in a day and each patron was greeted with a special menu for the day along with buttons with Russell's visage from The Thing, Tombstone, Used Cars and so many more. Random and hilarious clips from Russell's vast filmography, from roles as a child actor in Disney flicks to providing voice over for DMV spoofs played along with trailers before each film. Greg welcomed the crowd and shared that Kurt Russell would not be attending but he was able to talk to the man and send him the line up. Russell and long time partner Goldie Hawn had both just finished whirlwind PR tours for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 and Snatched, and it was time for a trip to unwind.

Big Trouble In Little China, I was a little disappointed this kicked things off as it played in the first Russellmania and of course we saw it at Beyond Fest with Russell in attendance last fall. But it doesn't take you long to fall back into the film as it's one of my favorite movies of all time and one of Russell's best roles/performances. Greg debated showing it again but when he proposed it to Russell, the response was "if you have Freebird, play Freebird", fair enough.

Overboard, this was a title I thought would play since Russell and Hawn had films this summer and received side by side stars on the Walk of Fame. It's still a fun flick with questionable morals but nothing you can't come back from. Plus you begin to notice Russell's beautiful hair and penchant for tank tops. It was a nice treat for the lady because she grew up watching the flick with her family.

Backdraft, this was one I didn't quite expect but should have since it was Russell's first big budget headlining film. Ron Howard does an excellent job crafting a solid drama with intense action sequences with real fire in the pre-CGI 90's. Sure it's a bit 90's cheese with William Baldwin and Iron Eagle's Jason Gedrick as part of the random montage that shows the danger of fire fighting along with the mundane day to day. Robert De Niro does his De Niro thing aka repeats himself to glorious effect. Awesome supporting cast here too with Scott Glenn, J.T. Walsh, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca DeMornay and Donald Sutherland. The lady was not a fan of William Baldwin though. Short hair this time out but tank top? Check.

Tango & Cash, this was the wildcard title but I thought it should play because Stallone and Russell were both in Guardians 2. I could tell it was T&C from the opening Warner Brothers logo and gave out a big holler to express my excitement. Just the most random (delivery guy leaving with pizza? Russell's Gabriel Cash is really upset a bad guy shot his shirt that cost nine bucks), patriotic (don't let a limey jerk off cut your head off, let an American!), homoerotic (multiple men ask each other if marriage jokes are proposals, Cash dresses as a woman to escape police, he and Tango get to prison and immediately shower together) but fucking awesome 80's flick you could ask for. Between Backdraft and Tango, I realized that Russell is one of cinema's greatest screamers. He just goes into "scream mode" and you totally believe it and it makes you laugh. See Swing Shift "you want it pal, come get it!", Tombstone "Hell's coming with me you hear?!", Dark Blue "because they built it with bullets!", Death Proof "you really gotta be sitting in my seat!", etc. for more examples.

The Thing wound things down but I was pretty tired as I'd been fighting a cold for a couple of weeks and while John Carpenter's film classic, it's a movie I've seen on the big screen more than once. Greg and the staff made for a great day as there's full service food and booze you can order any time. We went for Jameson and Ginger Beers, a burger, a Tombstone themed pizza, popcorn and a cookie trio a la mode. There's still so many more films for a Russellmania 3 but sounds like Keanu Reeves might be the next star to get an Alamo marathon.

Blast Off Weekend: Stars Wars Day & Guardians of the Galaxy Double Feature

Space opera fans had much to celebrate as Thursday was May the Fourth Be With You and Friday was Revenge of the Fifth. At the office I had the films playing in random order, themed menu items and restrooms were decorated with Luke, Leia, Finn and Rey. We watched The Force Awakens at home and picked up a Poe Dameron figure on sale at the local Disney store. Now I have the hankering to watch Ex Machina... The Han Solo movie is currently in production and Episode VIII: The Last Jedi hits theaters in December.

Thursday also saw the summer movie season take off with the release of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. We ended up taking in a double feature at the nearby Arclight Cinema. Part one still plays quite well as an entertaining, space trotting thrill ride even if it doesn't hold up to much deep thinking or scrutiny. Written and directed by James Gunn, Volume 2 starts off with a big and funny action sequence but surprisingly goes into character depth mode with Chris Pratt's Star-Lord being found by his dad (KURT RUSSELL), Zoe Saldana's Gamora tries to reconcile with sister who tried to kill her last movie Nebula (Karen Gillan), Dave Bautista makes a would be lady friend then Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Yondu (Michael Rooker) bicker because they're afraid to lose their adopted families. While things seemed to move quickly, the character beats and humor work but it felt like nothing really happened. Kurt Russell is great as the manifestation of an entire planet but badass assassin Gamora gets little to do. Sylvester Stallone shows up in a small role opposite Rooker for a nice Cliffhanger reunion even if we don't get a Tango & Cash or Tombstone one. All in I probably liked the film an extra 20% because of Russell and Stallone.

It was great to see Russell doing so much press for the flick and Stallone did his fair share as well. Russell and long time partner Goldie Hawn were honored with Stars on the Walk of Fame this week as Hawn has Snatched with Amy Schumer opening next week. Since taking a bit of a hiatus from filmmaking in 2006 to make wine, it's been awesome to see Russell return with Quentin Tarantino, Peter Berg, the Fast and Furious movies and now Marvel. Located past the Pantages theater, we checked out the shiny new stars and did the Tango & Cash high five over them. Now we just need Jean-Claude Van Damme to work with Spielberg, Nolan, Marvel or DC to get his honor.

Born Ready: Kurt Russell

Not only was this past Monday St. Patrick's Day, it was also the birthday of one titan of cinema and life: Kurt Russell.  While Russell didn't inspire me the way Jean-Claude Van Damme or Arnold did as a kid, his films and attitude were definitely a big part of my formative movie watching years.  Always a perfect mix of funny and physical with a rough around the edges charm, Russell just effortlessly comes off as a cool guy.  After hearing stories about him and then seeing him in person last year, I can definitely say I still believe it to be true.  A few weeks ago I opined that America doesn't have many leading men of the durable and capable variety and I would argue that Russell was one of our last.

Coming off a string of television work and Disney features, Russell transitioned to Hollywood leading man the help of directors like Robert Zemeckis, John Carpenter, Mike Nichols, Garry Marshall, Ron Howard and Roland Emmerich while playing a multitude of iconic characters like Snake Plissken, R.J. MacReady, Jack Burton, Gabriel Cash, Captain Ron and Wyatt Earp.

Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

Used Cars - Probably Russell's funniest and most dialog heavy role of all time where he plays salesman Rudy Russo, a small time hustler/charmer trying to raise enough money to join the Senate and skim all the graft he knows is waiting.  Socially irresponsible with some great practical car stunts.

Escape From New York - The B-Movie classic that helped launch his career and a character that has lived on through a sequel, comic books, toys and more.  The ultimate wise ass anti-hero before there were wise ass anti-heroes.

The Thing - Drinks whiskey, plays computer chess, flies a helicopter, wears a huge sombrero and blows shit up.  What more could you ask for from an arctic set, alien thriller with Cold War paranoia?

Big Trouble In Little China - Arguably my favorite Russell flick since the time I saw it late night on TBS then bought the VHS at Saturday Matinee in the mall.  Russell's turn as blowhard trucker Jack Burton is hilarious and shows his gameness for not giving the audience what they expect as he's actually the sidekick but doesn't know it.

Tango & Cash - A beautiful love story between two hard working men just trying to make it in life.

Captain Ron - Good times.  Again shows his willingness not to be pigeonholed as he seemingly plays a buffoon in this broad family comedy who isn't actually an idiot.

Tombstone - The master class example.  Russell plays legendary lawman Wyatt Earp in this popcorn western action classic that nearly fell apart but was saved and came out a winner unlike the bloated attempt by "serious" actor and Oscar winner Kevin Costner.

Executive Decision - Showcases Russell's ability to play heroic but not cartoonish as an intelligence analyst thrown into a combat/hostage scenario after leader Steven Seagal plunges to his death aboard a Stealth Bomber 1/3 of the way into the movie.

Breakdown - Russell plays regular here, very regular as a guy moving cross country with his wife and becomes the target of a kidnapping scheme run by truckers out in the middle of nowhere.  Very freaky and became my mind's worst case scenario when thinking of pulling up stakes and driving cross country to California.

Soldier - Is it a good film?  That's debatable.  Is Russell awesome in it?  Yes.  As a silent career soldier facing his younger replacement, Russell is built like a tank in this science fiction action flick set on a near deserted trash planet in the same universe as Blade Runner.

Mr. Russell had taken a hiatus from filmmaking as he and life partner Goldie Hawn have been busy running a winery and producing their own label.  He's slowly coming back as Canadian heist flick The Art of the Steal has rolled out this year and a part in the latest Fast and Furious chapter is in the works.  Russell had already turned down an offer from friend Stallone to appear in The Expendables, citing he wasn't interested in ensemble acting or looking back.  While it would be nice to see him in one of the 90's reunions, you gotta respect the fact he doesn't need the work and is still setting out to do his own thing.

24 Hours: Tango & Cash (24th and 3rd) Anniversary

Movies.  Anniversaries.  Movie anniversaries.  Movies as anniversaries.  That's how this crazy weekend got started.  A weekend that would include 5 movies at 3 venues in 24 hours.

12:01 AM, Saturday, 5.18...

You see, three years ago a local Los Angeles theater played a Sylvester Stallone triple feature of Cobra, Tango & Cash and Cliffhanger.  Randomly, I met a fellow Stallone fan and her friend at the event.  Cut to today, we're all still seeing movies together and celebrated our anniversary at a midnight screening of 1989's Tango & Cash at The Cinefamily's Heavy Hitter Midnites series.

Who programs movies like this?  Why, the same action movie connoisseur who programmed it three years ago!  He's a huge fan of action movies and absolutely loves Tango & Cash in a passionate, non-ironic way.  Which is the best way to love anything because it's real.  I actually overheard some clowns (at another theater) talking about paying to see Star Trek Into Darkness just so they could rip it apart ((This is why people still make fun of genre and pop culture fans because some of them are self haters.) You know what's really cool?  Being cool with yourself.)

Apparently, Warner Brothers does not have a copy of T&C in their vault so tonight's 35mm print was provided by a private collector within The Academy Film Archive.  Surprisingly there were at least a dozen members in the audience who had never seen the flick before.  Get ready for a surprise!

If you haven't seen this movie by now, I'm not going to try to convince you to.  Just know that it's awesome and ridiculous at the same time.  It concerns two of Los Angeles' top cops, Detective Ray "Armani with a badge" Tango and Gabriel "eats burritos and wears boots that fire bullets" Cash played by messrs Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell.  They're set up by a powerful crime syndicate headed by mice lover/sniffer Jack Palance (You.  Are.  My number one...Guy!) and James Hong (Lo-Pan!).  The duo have to escape a corrupt prison, fight the clock and blow up a warehouse to clear their names.  Hilarious, homo erotic, big haired, cross dressing, car chasing, back seat humping, gun shooting, fist fighting, RV from Hell-ing, 80's synth-scored hijinks ensues.

I forgot how many familiar faces line the cast.  Beyond Stallone, Russell, Palance and Hong you get pre-Lois and Clark Teri Hatcher, Brion James (Steel Dawn), Geoffrey Lewis (Double Impact, JCVD as twins alert!), Philip Tan (Surf Ninjas), Michael J. Pollard (I Come In Peace), Edward Bunker (cameos in Best of the Best I & II), Michael Jeter (The Green Mile) and the Face himself, Robert Z'Dar!

The chemistry between Stallone and Russell is great and they both look like they're having a good time between the constant ribbing and unrelenting action.  Stallone wasn't bromantic with Arnold yet so there's a few zingers tossed at the Austrian Oak.

It would be interesting to hear some of the stories behind this weirdly funny action movie as credited director Andrei Konchalavskiy was replaced towards the end of production by Albert Magnoli (Nash Bridges!) as the producers didn't like the serious tone he was going for.  It's said that Patrick Swayze was originally set to play Cash but dropped out to headline 80's "philosophical karate bouncer" classic Road House.  Stallone had original Director of Photography Barry Sonnenfeld fired because he wasn't being lit to satisfaction.  The budget swelled as production problems arose and is said to have hit $55 million.

Nevertheless, the movie ended up being a Top 20 grosser in 1989, Russell's biggest hit behind Backdraft and Stargate and a top 10 for Stallone.

It was a fun night and start to my crazy Saturday.  So how about that sequel?

Until then, check out some of the best programming in Los Angeles (Van Damme Triple Feature, come on!) at http://www.cinefamily.org/films/heavy-hitter-midnites/

Check out this great "bad cop, worse cop" bit:

24 Hours: 5 Movies and a Work Out

You know how I was saying Los Angeles spoils you with movie events?  Well this weekend might be the mother lode.  The defining cinematic weekend to test my mental, physical and 80's loving fortitude.

Stand by me as I navigate a Midnight screening of Tango and Cash, a Noon Robocop Special Event and finally a triple feature of the Back to the Future trilogy!

One Pepsi Free please...