Last Action Hero (1993)
I've been both dreading and looking forward to this one. Dreading it because I've seen it, and looking forward to it because I was hoping I was remembering it too harshly. This is a challenging one to try to watch objectively, particularly where Arnold is concerned, owing to how odd the middle of the movie is. I think the filmmakers accomplished what they set out to do, and I do think this is a very clever idea for a movie, they just needed to have another couple of months to edit and re-shoot a good portion of it.
I'll sidestep all the usual criticism of the believability, cheesiness, and overall merits of the narrative and focus on the thing that wound up bothering me the most: This movie is way darker than it should be. It's particularly noticeable coming off of True Lies, which has a much more even tone throughout and is just damned fun. You have to work at this one to be entertained and just when you start settling in, they smack you with something else. The scene where a robber breaks in and handcuffs the kid to the toilet is flat out uncomfortable and for me, doesn't really server the narrative. There were plenty of other ways we could have gotten a handcuff key into his hands and I don't really need to be reminded that the real world isn't as carefree as the movie world. I get that they were trying to make a big contrast between the movie and real worlds, but honestly those worlds do that just fine on their own, we don't need to beat the point home with un-fun dark scenes.
I'd also forgotten how long the movie world section of the movie is. That really drags on about twice as long as it needed to and we spend way to much time on the completely irrelevant plot details of the movie world. He's in a movie, I don't care what's going on, I just want fun character interactions. The plot is getting him home and stopping the bad guy from running amok in the real world. We didn't need to spend an hour setting that up. Even within the movie world, things get pretty bleak near the end when we see Arnold at his empty apartment and get both barrels of his disillusionment. In this movie, of all movies, I'd expect to have some lighthearted fun. We do get glimpses of that, and there are some genuinely clever and fun moments, they're just lost in the noise.
That's not to say I hated all of it, I really like most of the time when Arnold is back in the real world, and that's where this movie really shines. Learning how the real world works and the scene with the kid's mom are fantastic and well done. But then we have to go all dark with Arnold and the kid splitting up and blah, blah, blah... Sigh.
How to rate Arnold's performance on this? That's a tough one. He's effectively acting in two separate movies, so let's break it out that way. In the last part where he's come from movie to reality, he's excellent with a very genuine delivery and some real fun and banter. Perhaps that's again because that gives him a chance to do the fish out of water bit where things don't work quite as they do in the movies. Regardless, he was very fun and I really enjoyed him in the end of the movie, so it's a little puzzling why I didn't care for him in the majority of the middle. Given how he was at the end, he's definitely on top of his acting game here as he was in True Lies, so I have to concede that whatever's going on in the movie world part is intentional. The movie world is heavily satirized, so obviously his character needs to be even more of a caricature and completely over the top, it's just pretty grating to watch. He's really going full Ahnold through most of the middle and I usually enjoy that, but I think the kid constantly pointing out that he's doing it detracts from the entertainment value. If we could have redone the middle part with less of that, less of the boring mob plot, and more of the fun kid observations ("I'm a comedy side kick! It's not going to work!!") I think this could have worked really well. Would be an interesting exercise to edit down the middle section and see if it's more enjoyable.
Of special note is how well Arnold played himself in the real world. I'm not an actor, but I have to think that's not necessarily an easy thing to pull off. He comes across exactly as he does in real life interviews and the bits with Maria are incredibly funny, if a little sad in retrospect now. Very good stuff and, coupled with the overall fun in the last part of the movie, really gives a nice finish. It's just a pity that by that point, I'm mostly just waiting for it to end.
Ahnold Quotient - 10
This is a good example that a high AQ doesn't necessarily mean an great movie. There's certainly no lack of glares, gunplay and explosions, cheesy one-liners, etc. They pretty much threw it all at the wall to see what would stick, and Arnold does his best to do as he's asked, it ultimately is without much spark and falls flat.
Rewatchability - Er....
If you'd asked me 5 minutes after watching it, I'd have said an easy "no thanks" but even just the time it's taken to write this has me wanting to give it another try. There's an awful lot going on in the movie and it seems like there's more fun to be had here. It's just hard to distinguish whether that's wishful thinking on my part or the movie just hasn't yet clicked with me. I think I'll be back to this one again, if for no other reason than the thin hope that at some point I'll enjoy it more.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Give me the goddamn page!
True Lies (1994)
I was rescued from watching Last Action Hero by a very fortunate turn of events. My good friend Andrew noticed that one of our Alamo Drafthouses was showing a nice 35mm print of True Lies! Talk about impressive timing. Screw Last Action Hero, let's go see one of my favorite Arnold movies instead! The presentation was excellent as well as this was one of the Drafthouse's "Tough Guy Cinema" showings, and the presenter was really energetic and enthusiastic and he set off pyrotechnics and confetti during key scenes that, rather than distracting from the movie, I found made it all the more fun. Along with Conan, that now makes 2 Arnold movies I've seen just this year at an Alamo Drafthouse, so thanks guys and keep up the great work!
Special Honorable Mention to Andrew here... While I've been working my way through Arnold's body of work, he's watched nearly as many of these as I have. I think to date we've now watched 4 of them together and he's watched at least another 3-4 on his own. Heck, he even put Hercules on in the background one day. Has been fun to share the ride with him.
Anyway, back to the movie: True Lies. One of, if not the best, movies Arnold has made. This is right up there with Conan for me. Hard to pick one of those two as top since they're such completely different movies, but this is pretty much the definitive Arnold movie. Once again James Cameron really knows how to get a good performance out of his actors and the excellent blend of action, comedy, drama, and Ahnold in this movie keeps it as fresh now as it was when it first came out. Pure escapist fun and I must have laughed out loud 30+ times during this. Above all, the level of excellence is very consistent here and it doesn't come off contrived or goofy or any of what I think I'm going to run into quite a bit with Last Action Hero.
Arnold is in top form again and this movie is how I like to picture him. He's suave as a spy, a smartass with his partner, vulnerable with his family, and blows lots of shit up. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously, yet manages to still maintain a certain realism that maintains the suspension of disbelief very nicely. It's very much Cameron's nod to the Bond films and has the humor of a Roger Moore Bond movie without being hopelessly self-serving and cheesy. Arnold is given many many wonderful opportunities to glare at/kill people, but also a tremendous amount of character depth for an action movie. One of my favorite moments (I could easily list 20+) is Arnold acting shell shocked after finding out his wife is having an affair. It's perfectly played and, for added brilliance, is offset by Tom actually being happy for him that he's finally been the victim of an affair as well. The rapid pace and deft movement between action/comedy/drama across the film is impressive and frequently happens within a given scene. Great, great stuff.
Special appreciation to Tom here, as he usually irritates the hell out of me in most films, but his character is so perfect a foil to Arnold's, and his delivery is so spot-on, that you can't help but be entertained. His "What kind of sick bitch takes the ice cube trays out of the freezer" line is inspired, but so are the little exchanges like "Dickhead" "Blow me"... So much rapid fire fun dialog in there.
We need more movies like this. I love a good drama, and crying at a film is okay, but when I go to a movie, this is what I'm always secretly hoping for. Take me on a ride and entertain the hell out of me and I'll be back time and time again.
Ahnold Quotient - 11
Yep, they cranked the knob to 11 for this one. It has everything from the nods and winks to the glares to the blowing shit up. I guess we don't see him without his shirt that I can recall (although he does run around with it open for a bit), but that's more than made up for by the steady stream of testosterone-laden scenes and the crazy number of one-liners. Only Cameron can cram in that much AQ without dipping it in cheese.
Rewatchability - Yes please
Any time, any place. If I ever hear someone hasn't watched this, it makes me want to drag them to the nearest screen and have them watch it immediately. I'm sure it's possible, but I've never heard of anyone not being genuinely entertained by this movie. We have Cameron and Arnold at their peak of creativity and performance, and I'm so glad we have this wonderful gift from them.
I was rescued from watching Last Action Hero by a very fortunate turn of events. My good friend Andrew noticed that one of our Alamo Drafthouses was showing a nice 35mm print of True Lies! Talk about impressive timing. Screw Last Action Hero, let's go see one of my favorite Arnold movies instead! The presentation was excellent as well as this was one of the Drafthouse's "Tough Guy Cinema" showings, and the presenter was really energetic and enthusiastic and he set off pyrotechnics and confetti during key scenes that, rather than distracting from the movie, I found made it all the more fun. Along with Conan, that now makes 2 Arnold movies I've seen just this year at an Alamo Drafthouse, so thanks guys and keep up the great work!
Special Honorable Mention to Andrew here... While I've been working my way through Arnold's body of work, he's watched nearly as many of these as I have. I think to date we've now watched 4 of them together and he's watched at least another 3-4 on his own. Heck, he even put Hercules on in the background one day. Has been fun to share the ride with him.
Anyway, back to the movie: True Lies. One of, if not the best, movies Arnold has made. This is right up there with Conan for me. Hard to pick one of those two as top since they're such completely different movies, but this is pretty much the definitive Arnold movie. Once again James Cameron really knows how to get a good performance out of his actors and the excellent blend of action, comedy, drama, and Ahnold in this movie keeps it as fresh now as it was when it first came out. Pure escapist fun and I must have laughed out loud 30+ times during this. Above all, the level of excellence is very consistent here and it doesn't come off contrived or goofy or any of what I think I'm going to run into quite a bit with Last Action Hero.
Arnold is in top form again and this movie is how I like to picture him. He's suave as a spy, a smartass with his partner, vulnerable with his family, and blows lots of shit up. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously, yet manages to still maintain a certain realism that maintains the suspension of disbelief very nicely. It's very much Cameron's nod to the Bond films and has the humor of a Roger Moore Bond movie without being hopelessly self-serving and cheesy. Arnold is given many many wonderful opportunities to glare at/kill people, but also a tremendous amount of character depth for an action movie. One of my favorite moments (I could easily list 20+) is Arnold acting shell shocked after finding out his wife is having an affair. It's perfectly played and, for added brilliance, is offset by Tom actually being happy for him that he's finally been the victim of an affair as well. The rapid pace and deft movement between action/comedy/drama across the film is impressive and frequently happens within a given scene. Great, great stuff.
Special appreciation to Tom here, as he usually irritates the hell out of me in most films, but his character is so perfect a foil to Arnold's, and his delivery is so spot-on, that you can't help but be entertained. His "What kind of sick bitch takes the ice cube trays out of the freezer" line is inspired, but so are the little exchanges like "Dickhead" "Blow me"... So much rapid fire fun dialog in there.
We need more movies like this. I love a good drama, and crying at a film is okay, but when I go to a movie, this is what I'm always secretly hoping for. Take me on a ride and entertain the hell out of me and I'll be back time and time again.
Ahnold Quotient - 11
Yep, they cranked the knob to 11 for this one. It has everything from the nods and winks to the glares to the blowing shit up. I guess we don't see him without his shirt that I can recall (although he does run around with it open for a bit), but that's more than made up for by the steady stream of testosterone-laden scenes and the crazy number of one-liners. Only Cameron can cram in that much AQ without dipping it in cheese.
Rewatchability - Yes please
Any time, any place. If I ever hear someone hasn't watched this, it makes me want to drag them to the nearest screen and have them watch it immediately. I'm sure it's possible, but I've never heard of anyone not being genuinely entertained by this movie. We have Cameron and Arnold at their peak of creativity and performance, and I'm so glad we have this wonderful gift from them.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
I need a vacation
Terminator 2 (1991)
Turns out it had actually been quite a while since I'd seen this last. I thought I had seen it in the last few years, but the DVD that's been sitting unopened for 10+ years nicely disproves that. I'm now up to 6 previously unopened DVDs and counting. Whoops. I prefer to look it as having subconsciously been preparing for this all along.
Overall this is still a damn fine movie. The CGI effects hold up remarkably well considering how many advances have been made since, and the only real issues I had with the effects were how uneven the green screen color matching was. That's pretty noticeable, but everything else was just fine and still enough actual set pieces to keep it very real and believable. The entire sequence at Cyberdyne is fantastic and one of my favorite set pieces in any movie. Gunfire, explosions, one-liners, swat guys, lens flare... It's got it all and it's a wonderful spectacle. There's something special about most of that scene being done with physical effects rather than in post-production. Need more of that these days.
Arnold is again in top form here and it's fun to have him play the Terminator against type. That gives us some wonderful comedic elements and his conversations are excellent and give some nice depth to the story. He's playing it considerably less robotic than the first one, and while I do miss that, he's much more charismatic here and that definitely ups the fun factor. He did strike me as being a little less in character than I remembered, but by doing that he's also more Ahnold and I'm good with that trade. Arnold has some of his best physical acting here and I do love the way he one-handed cocks the shotgun, uses the grenade and smoke launchers, or hefts a mini-gun around. There's craft and dexterity behind how he handles weapons and it never fails to put a smile on my face.
Really enjoyed Robert Patrick and his warm/cold manner is great. The scenes where he's politely talking to civilians give a nice contrast to the many times he nonchalantly kills someone. Above all, he just looks great in uniform, glaring, or running after someone. He manages to ooze menace while still looking cool doing it. The contrast in body styles between Robert and Arnold is used to good effect and makes it much more interesting than if they had put another bodybuilder out there as the bad guy.
Ahnold Quotient - 9
He's once again bigger than life with great one liners, awesome action sequences, and no openly goofy bits. Even though I might prefer he act a bit more like a machine, there's no denying his charisma and screen presence, and he's obviously committed to the role. Cameron really knows how to get a good performance out of him.
Rewatchability - Yes please
I think I have to give the nod to the original Terminator being a more thought-provoking pure sci-fi film, but the sheer spectacle of T2 is wonderfully compelling. It's still a hell of a ride, is wonderfully paced, and very satisfying to watch. Another Arnold movie I'd be happy to sit down and watch again anytime.
Next up: The Last Action Hero. I'm trying to not be too negative going into this one, even though I have some seriously unpleasant memories of watching it in the theater and subsequently on cable. I did pick this up on DVD a while back, but it's another unopened one. I'm hopeful that I'll find more to enjoy here than I remember, but can't say I'm really looking forward to it all that much.
Turns out it had actually been quite a while since I'd seen this last. I thought I had seen it in the last few years, but the DVD that's been sitting unopened for 10+ years nicely disproves that. I'm now up to 6 previously unopened DVDs and counting. Whoops. I prefer to look it as having subconsciously been preparing for this all along.
Overall this is still a damn fine movie. The CGI effects hold up remarkably well considering how many advances have been made since, and the only real issues I had with the effects were how uneven the green screen color matching was. That's pretty noticeable, but everything else was just fine and still enough actual set pieces to keep it very real and believable. The entire sequence at Cyberdyne is fantastic and one of my favorite set pieces in any movie. Gunfire, explosions, one-liners, swat guys, lens flare... It's got it all and it's a wonderful spectacle. There's something special about most of that scene being done with physical effects rather than in post-production. Need more of that these days.
Arnold is again in top form here and it's fun to have him play the Terminator against type. That gives us some wonderful comedic elements and his conversations are excellent and give some nice depth to the story. He's playing it considerably less robotic than the first one, and while I do miss that, he's much more charismatic here and that definitely ups the fun factor. He did strike me as being a little less in character than I remembered, but by doing that he's also more Ahnold and I'm good with that trade. Arnold has some of his best physical acting here and I do love the way he one-handed cocks the shotgun, uses the grenade and smoke launchers, or hefts a mini-gun around. There's craft and dexterity behind how he handles weapons and it never fails to put a smile on my face.
Really enjoyed Robert Patrick and his warm/cold manner is great. The scenes where he's politely talking to civilians give a nice contrast to the many times he nonchalantly kills someone. Above all, he just looks great in uniform, glaring, or running after someone. He manages to ooze menace while still looking cool doing it. The contrast in body styles between Robert and Arnold is used to good effect and makes it much more interesting than if they had put another bodybuilder out there as the bad guy.
Ahnold Quotient - 9
He's once again bigger than life with great one liners, awesome action sequences, and no openly goofy bits. Even though I might prefer he act a bit more like a machine, there's no denying his charisma and screen presence, and he's obviously committed to the role. Cameron really knows how to get a good performance out of him.
Rewatchability - Yes please
I think I have to give the nod to the original Terminator being a more thought-provoking pure sci-fi film, but the sheer spectacle of T2 is wonderfully compelling. It's still a hell of a ride, is wonderfully paced, and very satisfying to watch. Another Arnold movie I'd be happy to sit down and watch again anytime.
Next up: The Last Action Hero. I'm trying to not be too negative going into this one, even though I have some seriously unpleasant memories of watching it in the theater and subsequently on cable. I did pick this up on DVD a while back, but it's another unopened one. I'm hopeful that I'll find more to enjoy here than I remember, but can't say I'm really looking forward to it all that much.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
It's not a tumor!
Kindergarten Cop (1990)Another fond favorite and I'm not sure how much of my enjoyment of it is looking back on it with rose-colored glasses since I've not watched this one in at least 10 years. I remember this being hugely anticipated at the time coming so closely to Twins being a breakout hit, but I don't remember it quite as fondly as Twins.
It's still a very fun movie and yet another good use of Arnold playing against type by putting him in a strange situation. I found the beginning of the movie where he's chasing down Stereotypical Bland Bad Guy to be rather disjointed and a little off-putting. I understand the need to establish Arnold as a tough cop who's been chasing Stereotypical Bland Bad Guy for a long time, but they didn't really do much with it. Granted, it's fun to see Arnold with a beard and tearing around the same mall from Commando, but I keep getting the feeling they're trying too hard to be both gritty and wink-and-nod at the same time and it makes it a bit of a mess. Probably why I'd forgotten most of this part because it's unfortunately a complete throw-away while waiting to get the the meat of the movie. Would have been much more effective if we just had a quick 5 minute chase scene and then had Stereotypical Bland Bad Guy kill Arnold's partner and end the scene with a nasty look from Arnold or something. We're not watching this movie for the crime drama angle.
Thankfully we don't waste too much time on the intro and quickly enough get Arnold in front of The Demons of Kindergarten and that's where the real magic kicks in. Rather than just have Arnold be cuddly from the beginning, it's very fun to see him losing it when he can't control the kids for more than a couple of minutes. Some excellent expressions by him here, peaking with an awesome scene where he finds a kid eating everyone else's lunches, picks him up and berates him, then just drops him to the side. As a parent now, I do have that quick moment of "Child abuse!" but it's still damn funny and I'll allow it.
If they had stopped here and just had him be a gritty cop out of place, it would have been a funny movie, but it wouldn't have been memorable. The genius of Ivan Reitman comes through again by giving us a sweet side to the story as well and, as Arnold gets to know the kids and finally connects and has some success with them, you can't help but be pulled in with him. As he did with Twins, he again shows some really nice acting chops when he's acting sweet and he's completely believable in those moments, enough that I find myself rooting for him to stay at the school because he's so obviously happy there. What the hell am I doing caring about whether one of Arnold's characters stays as a kindergarten teacher? The mind boggles, but that's how well these scenes play.
Ultimately the movie reaches it's predictable conclusion as Stereotypical Bland Bad Guy dies a bloody death with bonus points for having it happen right in front of his son. Arnold and Random Hot Teacher Chick wind up together, he decides to remain a teacher, and presumably his police pension will help cover his son's extensive future counseling needs. But we're not watching this one for the plot. It's serviceable enough that it gives some structure and opportunities for Arnold to do his thing.
Ahnold Quotient - 8
Even though this isn't a standard Arnold movie, there's still plenty of Ahnold to be had. They're definitely playing up his accent and I swear it's been getting stronger over his last few movies, so I have to think that's intentional. We are given plenty of bad-ass moments so that ups the overall quotient, even if they're mostly distracting here. But this movie wouldn't work without playing up Arnold's size and supposed lack of tenderness and both are used to excellent effect.
Rewatchability - Sure
Hopefully I'll not let another 10 years go by before I watch it again. For a pure Arnold comedy, I'd go back to Twins first because the whole movie works a little better than this, but this is definitely one of my favorite Arnold movies. Perhaps I should just skip the first 20 minutes and enjoy it more.
Up next - T2!! About to enter the Era of Arnold where his movies were huuuugely hyped and he was bigger than life. Pity about the misfire of Last Action Hero, but another Cameron masterpiece coming up after that with True Lies!
It's still a very fun movie and yet another good use of Arnold playing against type by putting him in a strange situation. I found the beginning of the movie where he's chasing down Stereotypical Bland Bad Guy to be rather disjointed and a little off-putting. I understand the need to establish Arnold as a tough cop who's been chasing Stereotypical Bland Bad Guy for a long time, but they didn't really do much with it. Granted, it's fun to see Arnold with a beard and tearing around the same mall from Commando, but I keep getting the feeling they're trying too hard to be both gritty and wink-and-nod at the same time and it makes it a bit of a mess. Probably why I'd forgotten most of this part because it's unfortunately a complete throw-away while waiting to get the the meat of the movie. Would have been much more effective if we just had a quick 5 minute chase scene and then had Stereotypical Bland Bad Guy kill Arnold's partner and end the scene with a nasty look from Arnold or something. We're not watching this movie for the crime drama angle.
Thankfully we don't waste too much time on the intro and quickly enough get Arnold in front of The Demons of Kindergarten and that's where the real magic kicks in. Rather than just have Arnold be cuddly from the beginning, it's very fun to see him losing it when he can't control the kids for more than a couple of minutes. Some excellent expressions by him here, peaking with an awesome scene where he finds a kid eating everyone else's lunches, picks him up and berates him, then just drops him to the side. As a parent now, I do have that quick moment of "Child abuse!" but it's still damn funny and I'll allow it.
If they had stopped here and just had him be a gritty cop out of place, it would have been a funny movie, but it wouldn't have been memorable. The genius of Ivan Reitman comes through again by giving us a sweet side to the story as well and, as Arnold gets to know the kids and finally connects and has some success with them, you can't help but be pulled in with him. As he did with Twins, he again shows some really nice acting chops when he's acting sweet and he's completely believable in those moments, enough that I find myself rooting for him to stay at the school because he's so obviously happy there. What the hell am I doing caring about whether one of Arnold's characters stays as a kindergarten teacher? The mind boggles, but that's how well these scenes play.
Ultimately the movie reaches it's predictable conclusion as Stereotypical Bland Bad Guy dies a bloody death with bonus points for having it happen right in front of his son. Arnold and Random Hot Teacher Chick wind up together, he decides to remain a teacher, and presumably his police pension will help cover his son's extensive future counseling needs. But we're not watching this one for the plot. It's serviceable enough that it gives some structure and opportunities for Arnold to do his thing.
Ahnold Quotient - 8
Even though this isn't a standard Arnold movie, there's still plenty of Ahnold to be had. They're definitely playing up his accent and I swear it's been getting stronger over his last few movies, so I have to think that's intentional. We are given plenty of bad-ass moments so that ups the overall quotient, even if they're mostly distracting here. But this movie wouldn't work without playing up Arnold's size and supposed lack of tenderness and both are used to excellent effect.
Rewatchability - Sure
Hopefully I'll not let another 10 years go by before I watch it again. For a pure Arnold comedy, I'd go back to Twins first because the whole movie works a little better than this, but this is definitely one of my favorite Arnold movies. Perhaps I should just skip the first 20 minutes and enjoy it more.
Up next - T2!! About to enter the Era of Arnold where his movies were huuuugely hyped and he was bigger than life. Pity about the misfire of Last Action Hero, but another Cameron masterpiece coming up after that with True Lies!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Get your ass to Mars!
Total Recall (1990)
I'd actually watched this one not too long ago (decided to rewatch the original rather than go see the remake in the theater) so it was pretty fresh in my memory, but figured I should go ahead and watch it again with more of a critical eye toward the Arnold Factor. Overall this is still a pretty entertaining movie and has a lot going for it, but I do have to say that it falls kind of flat compared to some of his previous movies. The action isn't as tense as Predator or as crazy as Commando, it didn't entertain as well as The Running Man, and it's not as funny as Twins. It's not a bad movie by any stretch, and it does a lot of things, it just doesn't do many of them very well.
Arnold's not quite as "on" as he has been in most everything else. He's acting pretty well, he just comes across a lot more flat than he has been in his prior films aside from Red Heat. I'm not sure if that's the result of the complexity of the plot or if he just wasn't as in to the director (or vice versa) as he could have been. He's not phoning it in or anything, there's just not all that much spark. That said, he has quite a few excellent scenes, some good over-the-top action/gore, and lots and lots of "Aaarrggghhhaaaggghhh". I've not touched on that yet, but Arnold's distinctive pain/action yell is as much a hallmark in his movies as "I'll be back" or a hard stare or shooting someone in the head. I love it and find myself disappointed when they don't manage to fit one of those in somewhere. It's almost his version of the Wilhelm Scream. Perhaps somewhere down the line, he'll let a particularly good one become public domain and we can hear it in all sorts of movies for years to come.
After all this time, I'm still not sure exactly how to call the reality of this show. It's possible that it's exactly like it seems and the attempted trip at Rekall triggers his capped memories and he then goes on a rampage, shoots a bunch of people, goes to Mars, shoots a bunch more people, and then activates an alien device to bring an atmosphere to Mars. In movie-speak, we call that "plausible" these days. Also possible that from the moment he goes under at Rekall, we're inside his fantasy and everything from that point forward is us along for the ride on his trip. There's ample evidence for both... Seeing things going on outside of his experience (chats with the bad guys and whatnot) would certainly make it seem like it actually happened. The various hints like "Blue Skies on Mars" being the name of his trip or the fade to white at the end could have you thinking they're going all Blade Runner on us and trying to get us to question the reality. Then there are bits like the girl of his dreams being a character later that could serve either interpretation. Personally, I'm going with Door C and saying that the filmmakers were haphazardly attempting to straddle the line between both possibilities to instill ambiguity that the real villain is the inconsistency of the script. It's not Prometheus-level bad or anything, but it does smack more of them not really having fully planned out what they wanted to do, as opposed to deftly placing hints or sowing the seeds of doubt.
Ahnold Quotient - 10
Pretty strong amount of AQ being tossed around in these scenes. From the arrogance of Hauser to the bloody violence just for the sake of bloody violence, this one really lets the Ahnold flag fly. Couple that with some (hopefully) intentionally cheesy sequences (bug in skull removal) and dialog ("Consider that a divorce") and we're definitely hitting all the beats with this one. Toss in a smattering of Arnold not really seeming into the movie and I think we have our first good example of the archetypal Schwarzenegger movie. Woot!
Rewatchability - Sure, why not
Wouldn't really go out of my way to pop it in, but wouldn't argue it if it was suggested by someone or the Blu-ray looked at me funny. It's a good ride and it's classic Arnold, it's just falling further down the list of my favorites the more of his other movies I rewatch.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
The pavement was his enemy
Twins (1988)
I have particularly fond memories of this one. The right movie at the right time in my life. Very funny, very sweet, and Kelly Preston looking hot-as-hell. It'll be interesting to see how well this holds up, particularly after having watched Arnold's previous movies in rapid succession recently. I remember a pretty high cheese factor, but something about the movie just clicks and really connected with me. I'm not sure how well this movie would stand on its own if you weren't familiar with Arnold and his action movies, but it's probably a pretty rare that this would be someone's first Arnold movie. Watching this after something like Commando or Predator is the perfect contrast, and makes the comedy just that much more effective.
Upon rewatch, the movie doesn't disappoint. While the plot is not exactly involved, from a storytelling and execution standpoint, Twins excels. This is Ivan Reitman at the height of his creativity and the movie is an obvious labor of love for all involved. The beginning immediately hooks you with the great voiceover and the cute/soft music. The contrast of the title sequence between this and Red Heat is striking. Red Heat had me questioning whether I wanted to watch the movie or not, and here I already have a smile on my face. Speaking of, I noticed regularly that I was sitting there with a big goofy grin on my face (appropriate given who I was watching) for the majority of the movie. To me, this is what a movie is supposed to do: entertain. One of the best introductions of Arnold's character in any of his movies, and I love the shot of him rowing his boat out to sea. Nice touch putting a motor under the boat so it looks like he's rowing it that fast. It's the perfect nod to his size and reputation and does a good job setting the tone for the film. With that one moment, you know you're in for tongue-in-cheek, but not in-your-face comedy.
Arnold is in top form again and having him play a completely naive, incredibly kind, and gentle character is genius. It's another great example of putting Arnold in a fish-out-of-water situation and just letting him run with it. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there are very few completely cheesy moments (they're there, but not distractingly so) and the majority of it, he's just playing it wonderfully straight and genuine. His expressions are awesome, his delivery is spot-on, and he shows incredible comedic timing that had only been hinted at in his previous films. This is the most range I've seen from him thus far, and when his charisma is combined with sweet and soft-spoken moments, it's magical. He's not "doing Arnold", he's constantly in character, and we actually get to see his character evolve over the course of the movie, which may be a first in an Arnold movie. He's given a chance to show some range in his acting, and he makes the most of it. He plays an excellent straight man to Devito, but also helps to rein him in so Devito isn't as grating as he can often be and even has some sweet moments of his own.
Love the entire Santa Fe sequence. Arnold confronting his "creator", getting his matching suit, the bar scene, the hotel scenes.... All excellent stuff and a much more interesting 2nd act than frequently happens in his shows. All too often his movies are fun at the beginning and great in the obligatory random-violence endings, but often sag in the middle and this is a pleasant change of pace from the standard formula.
Special note of appreciation for Kelly Preston... Have always had a sweet spot for her, and here she's at her peak in my favorite role of hers. She's crazy-sexy, but also very open, encouraging, and sweet to Arnold and really fills the dream woman role nicely. Watching this now, I still get echoes of the 20-something lonely person I was back then and several of her scenes with Arnold scratch that same itch of longing that any good romantic comedy of the era can. In the bedroom scene, she's just over-the-top sexy, but also plays well off of Arnold's nervousness and manages to turn that into a very touching scene and one of the most memorable for me in any of his movies.
Ahnold Quotient - 8
There's just the right amount of Arnold in this one and they make appropriate use of his size and physique and manage to not go over the top. He has plenty of opportunities to show off his strength, but they all serve the story and aren't there just for the sake of it. Every time his size comes up, it's used to good effect for a visual gag or something for Devito to riff on. We do still get some good glares from him, but again they're used to good effect and make for some excellent moments.
Rewatchability - Yes, please
This is another of those movies that I want to start watching again the moment it ends. It's an excellent feel-good movie and one that I can always count on to put a smile on my face. I probably manage to watch this at least once per year and appreciate it all the more in contrast to his previous films. If you've not seen this movie, but have enjoyed any of Arnold's more standard fare, you owe it to yourself to give this one a try.
I have particularly fond memories of this one. The right movie at the right time in my life. Very funny, very sweet, and Kelly Preston looking hot-as-hell. It'll be interesting to see how well this holds up, particularly after having watched Arnold's previous movies in rapid succession recently. I remember a pretty high cheese factor, but something about the movie just clicks and really connected with me. I'm not sure how well this movie would stand on its own if you weren't familiar with Arnold and his action movies, but it's probably a pretty rare that this would be someone's first Arnold movie. Watching this after something like Commando or Predator is the perfect contrast, and makes the comedy just that much more effective.
Upon rewatch, the movie doesn't disappoint. While the plot is not exactly involved, from a storytelling and execution standpoint, Twins excels. This is Ivan Reitman at the height of his creativity and the movie is an obvious labor of love for all involved. The beginning immediately hooks you with the great voiceover and the cute/soft music. The contrast of the title sequence between this and Red Heat is striking. Red Heat had me questioning whether I wanted to watch the movie or not, and here I already have a smile on my face. Speaking of, I noticed regularly that I was sitting there with a big goofy grin on my face (appropriate given who I was watching) for the majority of the movie. To me, this is what a movie is supposed to do: entertain. One of the best introductions of Arnold's character in any of his movies, and I love the shot of him rowing his boat out to sea. Nice touch putting a motor under the boat so it looks like he's rowing it that fast. It's the perfect nod to his size and reputation and does a good job setting the tone for the film. With that one moment, you know you're in for tongue-in-cheek, but not in-your-face comedy.
Arnold is in top form again and having him play a completely naive, incredibly kind, and gentle character is genius. It's another great example of putting Arnold in a fish-out-of-water situation and just letting him run with it. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there are very few completely cheesy moments (they're there, but not distractingly so) and the majority of it, he's just playing it wonderfully straight and genuine. His expressions are awesome, his delivery is spot-on, and he shows incredible comedic timing that had only been hinted at in his previous films. This is the most range I've seen from him thus far, and when his charisma is combined with sweet and soft-spoken moments, it's magical. He's not "doing Arnold", he's constantly in character, and we actually get to see his character evolve over the course of the movie, which may be a first in an Arnold movie. He's given a chance to show some range in his acting, and he makes the most of it. He plays an excellent straight man to Devito, but also helps to rein him in so Devito isn't as grating as he can often be and even has some sweet moments of his own.
Love the entire Santa Fe sequence. Arnold confronting his "creator", getting his matching suit, the bar scene, the hotel scenes.... All excellent stuff and a much more interesting 2nd act than frequently happens in his shows. All too often his movies are fun at the beginning and great in the obligatory random-violence endings, but often sag in the middle and this is a pleasant change of pace from the standard formula.
Special note of appreciation for Kelly Preston... Have always had a sweet spot for her, and here she's at her peak in my favorite role of hers. She's crazy-sexy, but also very open, encouraging, and sweet to Arnold and really fills the dream woman role nicely. Watching this now, I still get echoes of the 20-something lonely person I was back then and several of her scenes with Arnold scratch that same itch of longing that any good romantic comedy of the era can. In the bedroom scene, she's just over-the-top sexy, but also plays well off of Arnold's nervousness and manages to turn that into a very touching scene and one of the most memorable for me in any of his movies.
Ahnold Quotient - 8
There's just the right amount of Arnold in this one and they make appropriate use of his size and physique and manage to not go over the top. He has plenty of opportunities to show off his strength, but they all serve the story and aren't there just for the sake of it. Every time his size comes up, it's used to good effect for a visual gag or something for Devito to riff on. We do still get some good glares from him, but again they're used to good effect and make for some excellent moments.
Rewatchability - Yes, please
This is another of those movies that I want to start watching again the moment it ends. It's an excellent feel-good movie and one that I can always count on to put a smile on my face. I probably manage to watch this at least once per year and appreciate it all the more in contrast to his previous films. If you've not seen this movie, but have enjoyed any of Arnold's more standard fare, you owe it to yourself to give this one a try.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Do you know Miranda?
Red Heat (1988)
When you find yourself annoyed by the opening credits, you know you're in for it... I get that they're playing up the Soviet angle and that they're very proud to be actually filming in Moscow (apparently one of the first western films to do so), but that gives an excruciatingly slow and dull start. T he pace doesn't ever really get much better until the final chase sequence. I don't need non-stop action or anything, but this felt way too much like Raw Deal for my tastes.
The opening spa fight scene was fun, albeit brief and kinda goofy. Sven sighting: Possibly another "Sven lives!" movie since, even though we could plausibly assume he dies of hypothermia after being knocked out and left naked in the snow, they don't actually show him die. So I call it his 2nd Arnold movie survival. From there, we go through a rather annoying series of standard cop movie moments and, while I normally like James Belushi, he's pretty grating and unfunny in a lot of this. Overall good supporting cast here and some good directing and cinematography, so I guess the screenplay and dialogue are mostly to blame for this being a yawner. It's a well put-together film, I just don't care. It's not quite gritty enough to be a good cop drama movie, not quite funny enough to be a buddy cop movie, and not enough action to keep the pace up.
I do have to take a moment to comment on Arnold's hair: He frequently has awesome hair in his movies and this is another excellent example. His flattop is so tall, precise, and attention-grabbing that I think it should have its own nod in the credits. It's awesome almost to the point of distracting, but for me it was one of the highlights of the film.
Unfortunately hairstyle alone isn't enough to carry this one. With most of the movie being uninspired, the only real possible salvation was going to be an excellent Arnold performance. Well, it's an excellent performance, but as with Raw Deal, we don't get quite enough Ahnold coming out. The accent is quite fun and to the western ear sounds perfectly plausible as Russian, but that alone doesn't give him character. For the first half of the movie, he's showing even less emotion than he did in Terminator. That's all well and fine and exactly in character, it's just not fun. He loosens up a little later on and you get some good eye-widening and scowling and smirking, just too little too late. Arnold does that stuff really really well and it's a critical component of making his movies fun. There are certainly plenty of muscle-shots and gunplay and general bad-assery to be had, but aside from the really fun ending chase sequence with 2 buses through downtown Chicago, there's very little that's memorable here.
Ahnold Quotient - 5
He's huge, he looms, he scowls, the accent is fun, but he doesn't do anything with any of that. With a more interesting script and allowing his character to show a little more personality, we could have had something memorable, but instead it's a toss up between this and Raw Deal for biggest waste of Ahnold potential.
Rewatchability - No thanks
Not saying I would never watch this again, but there's very little point. Which is a shame given how awesome his hair is and how fun it should have been to hear him playing a Russian, but I'd only be trying to convince myself to like it if I kept at it.
When you find yourself annoyed by the opening credits, you know you're in for it... I get that they're playing up the Soviet angle and that they're very proud to be actually filming in Moscow (apparently one of the first western films to do so), but that gives an excruciatingly slow and dull start. T he pace doesn't ever really get much better until the final chase sequence. I don't need non-stop action or anything, but this felt way too much like Raw Deal for my tastes.
The opening spa fight scene was fun, albeit brief and kinda goofy. Sven sighting: Possibly another "Sven lives!" movie since, even though we could plausibly assume he dies of hypothermia after being knocked out and left naked in the snow, they don't actually show him die. So I call it his 2nd Arnold movie survival. From there, we go through a rather annoying series of standard cop movie moments and, while I normally like James Belushi, he's pretty grating and unfunny in a lot of this. Overall good supporting cast here and some good directing and cinematography, so I guess the screenplay and dialogue are mostly to blame for this being a yawner. It's a well put-together film, I just don't care. It's not quite gritty enough to be a good cop drama movie, not quite funny enough to be a buddy cop movie, and not enough action to keep the pace up.
I do have to take a moment to comment on Arnold's hair: He frequently has awesome hair in his movies and this is another excellent example. His flattop is so tall, precise, and attention-grabbing that I think it should have its own nod in the credits. It's awesome almost to the point of distracting, but for me it was one of the highlights of the film.
Unfortunately hairstyle alone isn't enough to carry this one. With most of the movie being uninspired, the only real possible salvation was going to be an excellent Arnold performance. Well, it's an excellent performance, but as with Raw Deal, we don't get quite enough Ahnold coming out. The accent is quite fun and to the western ear sounds perfectly plausible as Russian, but that alone doesn't give him character. For the first half of the movie, he's showing even less emotion than he did in Terminator. That's all well and fine and exactly in character, it's just not fun. He loosens up a little later on and you get some good eye-widening and scowling and smirking, just too little too late. Arnold does that stuff really really well and it's a critical component of making his movies fun. There are certainly plenty of muscle-shots and gunplay and general bad-assery to be had, but aside from the really fun ending chase sequence with 2 buses through downtown Chicago, there's very little that's memorable here.
Ahnold Quotient - 5
He's huge, he looms, he scowls, the accent is fun, but he doesn't do anything with any of that. With a more interesting script and allowing his character to show a little more personality, we could have had something memorable, but instead it's a toss up between this and Raw Deal for biggest waste of Ahnold potential.
Rewatchability - No thanks
Not saying I would never watch this again, but there's very little point. Which is a shame given how awesome his hair is and how fun it should have been to hear him playing a Russian, but I'd only be trying to convince myself to like it if I kept at it.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Give Me the Justice Department, Entertainment Division
The Running Man (1987)I believe I have been unfairly categorizing this as the movie where the Arnold Cheese really started getting out of control (I guess I'll have to push back to Last Action Hero as the starting point), but upon further review the movie has excellent internal consistency and works very well. It's been at least 10 or more years since I had last seen this and it appears all the one-liners in the 2nd half of the movie were what stood out in my mind. Pretty much every smirky delivery of a one-liner happens during the time where Arnold is on the show and I'll give a nod that he's actually doing that for effect because his character is playing it up for the home audience and/or trying to piss off Killian. His acting in the first half of the movie is much more restrained and completely appropriate.
Much like Predator before it, Arnold continues his cigar-chomping & larger-than-life persona here and this is another excellent vehicle for him. He gets to be the fish-out-of-water that he plays so well and he also has an excuse to ham it up while appearing on the show. For some reason, I had this pegged as a semi-serious movie that came off as a joke and I have no idea why upon re-watch. Intentional and clever satire all over the place and given how firmly tongue-in-cheek it is, Arnold's playing it exactly as he should.
Arnold's excellent comedic timing is put to good use here with not only some very fun dialogue, but some excellent expressions and great banter with Maria Conchita Alonso. Yes, you have to use her full name every time you mention her. Too many great lines to mention, but of special note is the snappy retort "Me and my big mouth. We should have taken that trip to Hawaii" "I had the shirt for it, but you fucked it up" and it's delivered in the middle of climbing down a rubble pile before Jim Brown shows up with the flamethrower, all in one take. Nice work by Jim here, he sure appears to be using a fully-functional flamethrower throughout the movie, action scenes and all, including one time where I think he pulls the trigger by mistake after getting hit by a thrown barrel. What kind of insurance did they have to take out for that crap?
Of particular note is Richard Dawson's truly excellent performance in this, his final pure acting role. I remember him doing the game show host bit well because that's 2nd nature to him, but he plays the conniving and egotistical maniac bits just as evenly and with real style. He's perfectly at home in this role and it really looks like he had a bunch of fun.
Now is a good time to give a special nod to Sven-Ole Thorsen, frequent Arnold co-star dating back to Conan, and worth noting this is the first Arnold movie where he lives. Also his first clearly audible, although not remotely intelligible, line. My friends and I used to speculate on exactly what the hell he says in response to Killian at the end when he's confronted by Arnold. Closest we could come was "I guess it's caused by steroids" or "I guess it's come from steroids" and we played that over and over. IMDB lists the quote as "I got to score some steroids" and I guess I'll run with that.
Anyway, up to this point Sven has been the awesome hammer-wielding, dead giant snake-mourning Thorgrim in Conan, a big soldier in Conan the Destroyer, one of the bodyguards of random lord-what's-his-name that Red Sonja beheads, one of the last mobster gunmen to die in Raw Deal, the Russian Officer who offs a prisoner in Predator, and now Killian's bouncer Sven. He doesn't usually get to do much, but he's got awesome presence, has some pretty great bits in Running Man, and will show up in 6 more Arnold movies. Arnold mentions him in the commentary on Conan and apparently they're still friends to this day. I just find it amusing how often Arnold gets to kill him.
Ahnold Quotient - 10
When I think modern Arnold, I picture this movie. Good action, plenty of comedy (some of it forced), and lots and lots of screen presence. A good example of really tweaking the screenplay to suit Arnold's performance envelope and to milk the most they can out of his accent and physique.
Rewatchability - Every now and then
It's still not my favorite, but I enjoyed this quite a bit more than I thought I would. The world they created is very fun and there are a lot of wonderful details in there. (Watch the credits on the monitor behind Killian when he thanks his crew after the "final" showdown) I could definitely watch this again, and it's a fun one to watch with friends.
Next up, another real tough pill to swallow: Red Heat. Argh. I've not seen it since it came out or maybe on cable shortly thereafter, so perhaps it doesn't suck as completely as I remember. Just have to get through that and then on to one of my favorites: Twins!
Much like Predator before it, Arnold continues his cigar-chomping & larger-than-life persona here and this is another excellent vehicle for him. He gets to be the fish-out-of-water that he plays so well and he also has an excuse to ham it up while appearing on the show. For some reason, I had this pegged as a semi-serious movie that came off as a joke and I have no idea why upon re-watch. Intentional and clever satire all over the place and given how firmly tongue-in-cheek it is, Arnold's playing it exactly as he should.
Arnold's excellent comedic timing is put to good use here with not only some very fun dialogue, but some excellent expressions and great banter with Maria Conchita Alonso. Yes, you have to use her full name every time you mention her. Too many great lines to mention, but of special note is the snappy retort "Me and my big mouth. We should have taken that trip to Hawaii" "I had the shirt for it, but you fucked it up" and it's delivered in the middle of climbing down a rubble pile before Jim Brown shows up with the flamethrower, all in one take. Nice work by Jim here, he sure appears to be using a fully-functional flamethrower throughout the movie, action scenes and all, including one time where I think he pulls the trigger by mistake after getting hit by a thrown barrel. What kind of insurance did they have to take out for that crap?
Of particular note is Richard Dawson's truly excellent performance in this, his final pure acting role. I remember him doing the game show host bit well because that's 2nd nature to him, but he plays the conniving and egotistical maniac bits just as evenly and with real style. He's perfectly at home in this role and it really looks like he had a bunch of fun.
Now is a good time to give a special nod to Sven-Ole Thorsen, frequent Arnold co-star dating back to Conan, and worth noting this is the first Arnold movie where he lives. Also his first clearly audible, although not remotely intelligible, line. My friends and I used to speculate on exactly what the hell he says in response to Killian at the end when he's confronted by Arnold. Closest we could come was "I guess it's caused by steroids" or "I guess it's come from steroids" and we played that over and over. IMDB lists the quote as "I got to score some steroids" and I guess I'll run with that.
Anyway, up to this point Sven has been the awesome hammer-wielding, dead giant snake-mourning Thorgrim in Conan, a big soldier in Conan the Destroyer, one of the bodyguards of random lord-what's-his-name that Red Sonja beheads, one of the last mobster gunmen to die in Raw Deal, the Russian Officer who offs a prisoner in Predator, and now Killian's bouncer Sven. He doesn't usually get to do much, but he's got awesome presence, has some pretty great bits in Running Man, and will show up in 6 more Arnold movies. Arnold mentions him in the commentary on Conan and apparently they're still friends to this day. I just find it amusing how often Arnold gets to kill him.
Ahnold Quotient - 10
When I think modern Arnold, I picture this movie. Good action, plenty of comedy (some of it forced), and lots and lots of screen presence. A good example of really tweaking the screenplay to suit Arnold's performance envelope and to milk the most they can out of his accent and physique.
Rewatchability - Every now and then
It's still not my favorite, but I enjoyed this quite a bit more than I thought I would. The world they created is very fun and there are a lot of wonderful details in there. (Watch the credits on the monitor behind Killian when he thanks his crew after the "final" showdown) I could definitely watch this again, and it's a fun one to watch with friends.
Next up, another real tough pill to swallow: Red Heat. Argh. I've not seen it since it came out or maybe on cable shortly thereafter, so perhaps it doesn't suck as completely as I remember. Just have to get through that and then on to one of my favorites: Twins!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
I ain't got time to bleed
Predator (1987)
Have seen this one plenty of times, but seems like I always wind up catching the last 30-45 minutes on cable, so this is the first time I've actually sat down to watch it quite some time. For the record, this is already DVD #3 that was unopened prior to my watching it this go around. Ahem. Money well spent? But hey, isn't this exactly the reason that you buy those movies, so you have ready and available in case you feel the need to watch the complete works of a given actor or director? Check.
Just an excellent movie all around and it's between this or Commando where Arnold really starts being "Arnold". At this point, he's larger than life in the film, but not yet "doing Arnold" very much, or at least not to the point of distraction like begins happening with The Running Man. Yet again, he really is the character in this one. His expressions are awesome, his screen presence is dominating, and he just. looks. cool. I'd forgotten how much good stuff goes on in the first half of the movie, way before the Predator starts collecting the heroes. The first half is an excellent combat action movie, the troop is *almost* entirely believable in their roles (I'm looking at you, Jesse), and there's some genuine tension, drama, and great performances handed in. Carl really holds his own paired up with Arnold, and special nod to Sonny Landham as Billy for just being completely bad-ass and fun to watch.
Have I mentioned how important directors are in Arnold's movies for getting a good performance out of him and his co-stars? Well, we happen to blessed with future hall of famer John F'ng McTiernan at the helm here and... well... just wow. It's a testament to his skill that he took a complete joke of a story idea (a highly advanced alien has nothing better to do than come to Earth and go hunting the locals... seriously?) and made it feel completely believable. The moments that are over the top are just cool. They're not the wink-at-the-camera crap that, while loads of fun, really breaks the immersion.
McTiernan gets a truly excellent performance out of Arnold. His looks, his timing, his delivery, his expressions.... they all connect and bring a lot to what would have otherwise been pretty much a by-the-numbers action film. A great example of Arnold being a star worth tossing craploads of money to. He's just so earnest and direct and the few cheesy one-liners are delivered straight and without that "hey, I'm Arnold" wink and nod. So when he says "You're one... *ugly* motherfucker" in The Accent, it's just pure awesome. Arnold's dialogue actually *adds* to the tension rather than being used as periodic comic relief. As they start figuring out what's going on with the Predator, the overall sense of fear amongst these formerly unflappable guys sucks you in and their performances do wonders for the drama.
This isn't a well-rounded movie on the level of Conan, but it's a lovingly-crafted bit of escapist fun and absolutely worth the occasional re-watch. Also worth noting that the effects held up very well, particularly the invisibility screen. Although I do still have to wonder how the Predator's species managed to evolve to be tool users with such complete crap vision quality.
Ahnold Quotient - 9
Arnold again at his cigar-chomping best. His accent actually seems stronger here than the last few movies, and I have to think that's intentional. And I don't mind one bit.
Rewatchability - Yes please
Had forgotten just what a great movie this is. As much action as Commando, but a much more intelligent use of it with vastly better pacing. I'd happily sit down and pop this DVD in any day.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
You should not drink and bake
Raw Deal (1986)
Nope, hadn't seen this one before. Must have been in that black hole of time just before I was watching R-rated movies in the theater on my own and was catching everything on cable. This one's a bit of a puzzler. Other than the last 15 minutes, it's quite remarkably dull for an Arnold movie. Possibly *the* most dull, and it's particularly odd coming right after Commando, as it's almost an anti-Commando from a tension and action standpoint.
I think the real issue here is that it's just another cop movie, and there really aren't opportunities for Arnold to let his inner Arnold frolic and run free. Granted, he's not exactly turning in a great performance, but I can hardly blame him with as tame a script as he was given. This movie is notable in that you don't have Arnold in a fantasy or sci-fi setting, full-on action/adventure, or playing up his size/physique/origins, and that's really what causes the movie to suffer. The little bits of Arnold beating people up and blowing shit up are too spread out and the stuff in between is just so... normal. Arnold's been accused of a great many things, but being normal is certainly not one of them. Commando is such an interesting contrast to Raw Deal. He's playing very down-to-earth guys in each, but Commando lets him go over the top while also giving him those moments of sweetness and comedy that he excels at. Coming immediately off that, you would expect more of the same, or at least expect them to adapt the screenplay to work to Arnold's strengths, but instead we have a vanilla cop movie with a big action sequence tacked onto the end. Where are the snappy one-liners? Where is the fish-out-of-water fun? The bits that make you sympathetic to him because he does such a good job of showing just how hard acting really is?
There are still some great moments to be had... The mad, drunken wife hurling dinner (a cake with "shit" written in icing on it) at him is fun and gives some of that important "what is life like behind the scenes" stuff that would later play so well in True Lies. The last 15 minutes are a blast because we throw all pretense away and let Arnold do a completely unrealistic assault on the mobster's base of operations and then headquarters, probably taking out 40+ guys in the process. He shoots and smashes out his car windshield in order to make room to shoot through while driving pell-mell around a quarry. It's of course completely silly that someone can take someone out at 100+ yards with an automatic weapon while shooting through the windshield of a bouncing car, but it's Arnold! That's what he does! It's not about realism, it's the spectacle that's the important thing.
That also brings up another important point from these early movies: They really can't double Arnold. We don't have modern CGI, Arnold's still too huge to believably double, and he's still young enough to be willing to take the risks. As such, when you see that figure running in front of the explosion, jumping out of a car, riding a horse at speed, or driving around while shooting automatic weapons, you know it's him and that really adds something to the coolness factor. In both Commando and Raw Deal, there are some excellent shots of Arnold driving/acting and it's not the usual Hollywood trick of going slow or being towed behind a camera truck. He's actually driving at a pretty good speed while doing crazy Arnold shit and the scenes are all the better for it. Give me more of that and much, much less "normal" stuff.
Ahnold Quotient - 4
I'd probably give it a 2 if not for the final assault scene. He's big, but only in size, not in persona. Arnold's way too confined playing a stereotypical wise guy and, without some other angle or hook in the story or setup, it could be anyone in this role.
Rewatchability - No way
Pretty sure I'd rather watch Red Sonja again first.
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