Looking back, 1999 was actually a pretty solid year for movies. It brought us some disappointments (I'm looking at you, 'Episode I'), but we also got things like 'The Sixth Sense', 'Fight Club', 'Office Space', 'The Iron Giant', 'The Green Mile', the list goes on. Some of these were also revolutionary films, paving the way for more films like them, and some of them did this to a fault. The best example is probably 'The Matrix'. Although 'The Blair Witch Project' comes close, with the concept of "found footage", 'The Matrix' launched the whole "bullet time" thing which has become a primary action movie cliche since (especially with Zack Snyder on the job). However, to this day, one of the most fun bullet time movies out there is the one that got the ball rolling. It has since become iconic in cinematic history, also giving us the stereotypical black leather of the early 00's, and the one and only Keanu Reeves as an action hero. We just thank God that he has since graduated to being John Wick, because as awesome as this movie is, it's hard to say the same about the ever-confusing and almost too deep sequels. The first one just gives us the core concept, leaves the ending open, and I can honestly say from the get-go that I never actually expected a sequel. For my money, the best of what follows is 'The Animatrix', because in retrospect, the sequels kinda go off the rails. But it's all worth at least one watch-through. We are introduced to Tom Anderson (Keanu Reeves), an average, everyday computer programmer by day, but hacker by night, doing things under his alias, "Neo". Getting straight to the point, since about 90% of everyone has probably seen this, he eventually meets Morpheus who gives him the option to return to his reality, or go deep down a rabbit hole. Choosing the latter, Neo finds himself "awoken", in a dull, dark, nasty looking world that has been taken over by machines. The Matrix was the false reality that Neo was plugged into. After some further explanation, a team of freedom fighters consisting of Morpheus, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Cypher (Joe Pantoliano), and a variety of others start to wonder if Neo could possibly be "The One" - someone with uncanny abilities within The Matrix - which they all have, but this "one" is extra special, and will be able to take on the Agent Smiths (Hugo Weaving) of the Matrix - computer programs built for the purpose of crushing the rebellion. I think the most appealing thing about this movie is the idea of making the impossible completely possible. This is scene in cool scenes like the building-to-building jump scene, and perhaps best portrayed with the film's bullet-time. But my favourite bit is actually when Neo just plugs into something and learns Kung-Fu in about 3 seconds. Imagine being able to do something that. You'd never have to look for work again! But I digress. I'm happy to say that 'The Matrix' is actually still a ton of fun to watch. You get Keanu, a lot of cool concepts, a lot of great effects besides bullet-time, a cool, dark, sci-fi atmosphere, and I'd even say a film that really makes you think. I mean, it triggered a whole theory that this whole idea of being plugged into a sort of extreme virtual reality could actually be a thing, and upon death, that's where we find out. Take that with a grain of salt though, it's not quite what I believe. But you have to admit, it's interesting to think about!
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I tend to find for the most part that director Michael Bay is very hit or miss with audiences and critics alike. He embodies a hell of a lot of, what we could call, "dude porn" stereotypes. This is car chases, explosions, gunfire, women in skimpy clothing, the list goes on. For my money, this one represents Michael Bay at his best, embodying all of these stereotypes, but giving us a pretty interesting story all the same. In other words, it's not just noise. A disillusioned war General, Francis Hummel (Ed Harris), and a few of his followers, plan to unleash a deadly chemical on the city of San Francisco. They set up shop when they take over the famous Alcatraz prison - famous for being inescapable. Their demands are for $100 Million in reparations to the families of his fallen army companions, or they otherwise launch nerve gas over the city. Meanwhile, FBI chemist, Stanley Goodspeed (Nicholas Cage) is called in to team up with John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery), a former Alcatraz inmate, known as the only person to successfully escape the inescapable prison, and has since had his identity swept under the rug. They must break into the prison with their combined expertise, and put a stop to Hummel's plans, and hopefully escape with their lives. The film has all the proper Bay-isms that you'll be looking for, so any action buffs out there won't be too disappointed. But it adds some flavor to his usual, with the lovingly crazy Nicholas Cage (who's actually kinda toned down here from his usual), and the just plain awesome and we all know it, Sean Connery - the original James Bond, himself. Truth be told, growing up, this was probably only the second thing I had seen Connery in, first knowing him as the little old man who was Indiana Jones' father. So I was pleasantly surprised at his badassery here. This is a good example of why I kind of enjoy Michael Bay. I get the same fun, popcorn action movie feeling I do from this than I do with the 'Bad Boys' movies, or to a lesser extent *cough* 'Armageddon' (go ahead and put that one with my guilty pleasures). There's still a few I haven't seen yet, but I feel that for the most part, Bay fails when he's trying to adapt something. If he can do something no one is familiar with, and make it his own, you can have a fun time with it. In my eyes, he's the last of a generation, and the torch has kinda been passed to... I dunno, Chad Stahelski ('John Wick')? This is another one that's just a lot of fun to put on if you want a taste of intense action, but with a villain you might be able to relate to. It's always interesting to come to an understanding as to why the bad guy is doing what he's doing. It's always very refreshing when films veer away from the scenarios of "because I can", and "I must rule this place" (not that I don't enjoy 'Batman' villains). Ed Harris does a great job here, and between the three lead actors, he's almost the most human aspect of the whole story. So, if you're in search of some good action from the 90's, with a few Cage-isms here, or a few Connery accents there, this one's for you. When you think Michael Bay, you think of a lot of things, but somehow this one manages to fit all of his cliches in a nice little package, and I find it quite possibly his best work next to the 'Bad Boys' movies. Give it a whirl, you might just have a fun ride. before getting hit.Now, this is a film that hasn't gone down in cinematic history as any sort of critical hit. But at the same time, the audiences who do appreciate it, like it for the simple "popcorn" factor of it all. It's a movie about an alien invasion, reminiscent of 'War of the Worlds', most likely not to be taken as seriously as people tend to To each their own, but I do feel like this one gets a bad rap for no super good reason. In Washington, President Whitmore (Bill Pullman), working with his most trusted adviser, Connie (Margaret Colin), receive a message about a mysterious signal, coming from around the distance of the moon. This is soon revealed to be several city-sized spacecraft, headed towards Earth. New Yorker, TV Cable repairman, and computer nerd, David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) eventually decodes this signal to mean a countdown to Earth's destruction. He then gets his Dad, Julius (Judd Hirsch to drive to Washington to try to warn the President before everything goes down. He has a former relationship with Connie, thus making it a little easier (and admittedly convenient) to get past White House security. Of course, if you know anything about this movie at all, you know that this deosn't help. But it does allow our main characters to survive on Air Force One, getting the hell out of there, before getting hit. Meanwhile, in LA Captain Steven Hiller (Will Smith) of the U.S. Marine Corps finds himself getting called back into action while on leave. This disrupts his time with a potential new family in a stripper named Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox) and her son, Dylan (Ross Bagley), and eventually he's seen is the most relatable badass of the movie. When everything goes down, he's called into action. This eventually brings our central characters together, and they become the central focus in organizing a counter-attack against the hostile alien species. In the midst of all of this, we have a good range of characters, ranging from redneck crop duster Russell Casse (Randy Quaid) to Steve's wingman, Jimmy Wilder (Harry Connick Jr.), and from the eccentirc Dr. Oken (Brent Spiner) to the President's daughter (a very young Mae Whitman). But the real star of this movie is the wide range of visual effects, blending the practical with a bit of early CG really quite smoothly. Historically speaking, the famous scene from the trailer of citywide destruction involving a massive wall of fire is easily one of the most memorable big screen moments from the 90's. I can still remember being in the theater being pretty blown away by what they managed to do. Now, upon rewatching it damn near 25 years later, most of it still holds up, and it has become a great, fun trip down memory lane. It's obviously not all great, though. There are some scenes in this that are kinda hard to watch, such as the physics of fire vs a dog's run to shelter. The elephant in the room for this has got to be the now infamous "virus", and it makes no damn sense. But I always got what they were attempting, so it never bothered me all that much, even if it's pretty off the wall nuts. As I said before, this is pretty much a modern 'War of the Worlds', and if you know how that ends, the concept is kinda just updated here... although, the original way makes a hell of a lot more sense. You have to take this movie for what it is, and it seems to be a challenge for many. Granted, my taste in movies is pretty widespread and forgiving. But I just never, ever saw this as taking itself very seriously. I recall studying 'War of the Worlds' in school, around the same time, or even a year before. But in knowing that, I went into this, accepting it for what it was right away. Nowadays, if I had to nitpick, I'd just say it's a little overrun with American pride, and some of the effects don't hold up. But even still, I see it as a fun, sci-fi, action, adventure movie, and not something that was aiming for any Academy Awards (although it did win for Visual Effects, and had a nomination for Best Sound). I encourage people to give this another shot with a new set of eyes. Grab your popcorn, sit back, and just have some fun with it. I figured I'd start 90's Action Month with one of the first of the decade. 'Total Recall' is a hard film to overlook in several categories, ranging from action to sci-fi, and from fantasy to thriller. It covers so much ground, and it has its place in the cinematic history books as an action epic that is widely considered one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's best (which is saying a lot, 'cause there are so many awesome Schwarzenegger films out there). 'Total Recall',based on the Phillip K. Dick short story, 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale', profiles Douglas Quaid (Schwarzenegger) - an Earthbound construction worker. He has constant dreams of Mars, and a mysterious woman, and it's kinda getting in the way of life. He decides to check out a place called "Rekall", who implant fake memories of great experiences, such as vacations to Mars. During the experience, something goes wrong, and he suddenly remembers fighting as a secret agent, against Mars administrator, Cohaagen (Ronny Cox). Quaid soon finds that his entire life until this point may very well be a false memory, and that the people who implanted it, lead by a man named Richter (Michael Ironside), are now on the hunt for him. With the help of the lovely Milena (Rachel Ticotin), a plethora of Mars-dwelling, mutants and some unexpected characters, Quaid fights to thwart Cohaagen's dark plans, and figure out who he really is along the way. As I mentioned before, the film stands out as a multi-genre hit, mostly leaning towards sci-fi action. This makes it a hell of a lot of fun for the whole ride, as they even give us some mild horror and comedy elements. Some of the practical effects here are downright uncomfortable (pulling out a tracking beacon from a nostril, gasping for oxygen with your eyes and tongue bulging out), but they're downright memorable. They're just another example of the practical outdoing CGI. It might look silly and fake, but dammit, you just would't get that creepy, Muppet-like terror face from Arnold if this was CG. Also, who could possibly forget the ever-famous three-boobed mutant prostitute, Mary (Lycia Naff)? I also mentioned comedy elements, but I do use that somewhat loosely. There are a few mild jokes here and there, sure, but the humor really comes from the overall fun of the movie. There's a lot here we can look back on and laugh at as memorable moments, not the least of which is the struggling Arnold face, which is used quite frequently here. It's also a good one for a few of his famous one-liners, perhaps the best being "screw you!". I won't tell you why it's probably the best, but in context, you'll roll your eyes, but you'll know. I believe that this was the launch of a mild stereotype of Schwarzenegger movies - him trying to figure out his identity. 'MadTV' did a whole thing on it. The only difference being that here, we can see it as being an original concept, at least as far as Arnold playing the lead. He was a little older for movies like 'Eraser' and 'The 6th Day', so this one also takes place during his hayday, which, for my money, ranges from 'Conan the Barbarian' ('82) to 'True Lies' ('94). After that, we got 'Junior', and he started to wane quite significantly. But we still loved him. I'd have to say, as far as recommending this as a good Schwarzenegger film, this would probably at least make my Top 5. It'd be high on the list, too. Even aside from Arnold, there's so much fun going on here. We get awesome practical effects, a great variety of characters, an interesting concept overall, and an ending that is still a personal favorite as far as open-ended endings go. Not everyone likes that, but I admit that I do like to decide for myself how things turn out. Regardless, this is one I'd consider (and I know I'm not alone on this) a staple of Schwarzenegger action films - a must see, if you're going back to check out what he was all about in his prime. |
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