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Bang us Feedback: bang isaac
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the daily bang | movies that bang | music that bangs |forwards that bang | kosher top 10 | apartments that bang | home |
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Best Films of Best Dumb Action Film Not “Horror” in the standard sense, but horrifying and bone chilling
nonetheless. Oliver Stones’ comment about America’s love affair with
violence and celebrity caused much controversy ten years ago. Filmed
like a nightmare, haunted by demons Juliet Lewis and Woody Harrelson,
NBK can only be stomached once before realizing that the truly scary
aspect of the film is recognizing Oliver Stone had forgotten how to
make engaging movies that matter. Quiz Show or Shawshank? Shawshank or Quiz Show? Who am I kidding?! The Shawshank Redemption, for an inexplicable reason, is so freaking Jewish its scary. Whether its Tim Robbins doing his at peace Chasid imitation or Morgan Freeman’s sage like advice, Frank Darabont’s revolutionary feature just makes you feel both despair and elation. It’ll take up a few hours, its involving, and after seeing Robbins’ Andy Dufresne crawl through ten miles of fecal matter, you won’t want to eat. Weak year for the urban drama, with the exception of excellent documentary
Hoop Dreams (not eligible for this list), however a another basketball
picture tried, with some success, to capture the travails and challenges
of ghetto life. Above the Rim, starring hot African American actors
such as Bernie Mac, Marlon Wayans, Leon, and of course deceased thug
Tupac Shakur, tells the story of street ballers, violence, drugs,
and redemption, and is certainly beholden to Singleton’s vision. It
also mark the Hollywoodization of the “ghetto” film. Easy. Forget Oceans 11, 12, or 13, Interview with the Vampire was the
star studded event of the day. Put Clooney and Damon together and you
still wouldn’t get Tom Cruise. Add Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Christian
Slater, Kirsten Dunst,, Stephen Rea, director Neil (Crying Game) Jordan,
and a book by Anne Rice, and I am exhausted from all this pop culture
prominence. The movie is long and draining (non pun intended) but Cruise
is riveting as a tormented, tormenting blood sucker (why is everyone
so shocked that Cruise played a bad guy in Collateral when he did this
movie ten years ago). Its also a chance to see Kirsten Dunst in a rare
performance that requires more acting than jiggling – and she’s unreal.
Also, if you stick around to the very end of the credits you’ll see
a dedication to the late great River Phoenix, who died of an overdose
before his role as the interviewer (eventually given to Slater) was
finished shooting. Yes, the arguable winner of best “all-time” absurd comedy is 94’s Cabin
Boy starring Get A Life’s Chris Elliot and monkey peddling Letterman,
but I would not have made it through my senior year in high school without
Droz, Moles, Katie, Gutter, the Daves, Celia, Ruggie, and Deej (i.e.
The Pit People). The stars like Jeremy Piven, now on Entourage, and Jon Favreau (Swingers) have become household names. Every line is quotable, every gesture imitable. Hart
Bochner’s toast to college campus life made me really not want to go
to YU. Damn you terrible grades and sub-standard SAT score!!! Tough year to win this one. Both Wes (Life Aquatic) Anderson and Kevin
(Jersey Girl) Smith debuted this year with a resounding “I’m Here!”
as Bottle Rocket and Clerks hit theatres. However, the most impressive
independent which actually was first shown on cable but garnered such
praise that it made it to the big screen, was John Dahl’s The Last Seduction.
Strong performances by virtually unknown Linda Fiorentino and Bill Pullman
elevated this twisting, turning thriller to the top of the heap. Dahl
(Rounders), flopped the next year with Unforgettable, and has subsequently
slipped beneath the more prodigious Smith and Anderson on the radar
of relevant filmmakers.
Bare with me here: I Love Trouble is a very enjoyable movie. Smart
writing and stylish direction by Charles Shyer (of this year’s Alfie
remake), it stands out as a daring, exciting piece of story telling.
Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts play reporters on the trail of a dangerous
scoop. Their banter is sharp and chemistry surprisingly good in this
battle of the sexes caper. Despite the leads’ fame, the movie didn’t
make much of an impact when it was released, but worth revisiting for
some vintage Roberts making one of her interesting mid 90’s career choices(i.e.,
Mary Reilly) I would go medieval on my own ass if I didn’t pick Tarantino’s post
Reservoir Dogs tour de force as the top film of 1994. Oscar voters went
with the safer Gump, but for sheer power filmmaking, seamless complex
story arch development, and stone cold exhilaration the whole way through,
Fiction has no equal. There is even some decent philosophy thrown in
if you pay attention. Maybe after listening to all the hacks that have
copied Quentin since, some of our appreciation for his writing has been
diluted, but at the time, this was just plain refreshing. Jackson, Travolta,
Willis, Rhames, and Uma owe Tarantino a royalty for every movie they’ve
made since. Pulp Fiction single handedly revived careers and the entire
art form. Ten years later this may seem silly, but Street Fighter was responsible for destroying the career of Jean Claude Van Damme. Up until that point, he had been on the rise, and the Sega video game movie was to be his first major blockbuster. The director, Steven de Souza was a big-time player in the action community having scripted Beverly Hills Cop and Die Hard movies. When the film tanked – because it was absolutely awful from start to finish – it became glaringly apparent that Van Damme was never meant for the big time and his Arnold-in-waiting card was revoked. The worst and most disgraceful aspect of this affair was that the supporting cast included real actors like Wes Studi and Ming-Na embarrassing the hell out of themselves. To add insult to devastating injury, the movie was released after the death of Raul Julia so it became his last film. How tragic that such a great, vibrant actor needed to be seen in such a ridiculous film where his physical body is on display, clearly wasting away. Send all comments to movie rav jordan hiller at jtrick1@aol.com
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Who knows what type of stars need to align to get veteran thespians
Jeff Bridges to go head to head with Tommy Lee Jones in a…dumb action
movie. Whatever it was, 1994 gave us Blown Away, a film with heart about
villainous IRA ex con Jones clashing with Boston bomb squad all-star
Bridges. Even cool 90’s action director Stephen (Judgment Night) Hopkins
is involved. Put all these pieces together and add a moving soundtrack,
you get a curious, confounding, but ultimately absorbing dumb action
movie. A rare “B” caliber flick in an “A” list body.
Obvious
choice is Four wedding and a Funeral, but this list would not be complete
without Robert Zemeckis’ man-child, baby boomer masterpiece Forrest
Gump – and if you think about it, it doesn’t get much more romantic
than Gump (Tom Hanks) and Jenny (Robin Wright). The movie is a sweeping
emotional roller-coaster which leaves plenty of time for hand holding
and discussions over coffee. Also, fooling around with person next to
you in a dark theater is like a box of chocolates – you never know what
you’re gonna get (especially if you came to the movie by yourself or
with a relative).
