Just watched this again tonight, this movie is defiantly in my top ten movies. James Woods works great with everyone in the film, Oliver Platt always hilarious, Louis Gossit Jr. always likable, as Bruce Dern is unlikable, well I guess I should say you like to dislike him. Every time I watch this film, it makes me want to make a film of its caliber, it is inspiring. If you've never seen it I highly recommend it.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Better known as Midnight Sting here in Europe. I own the VHS tape and it´s another highly entertaining James Woods movie.
This movie got me into James Woods films. After this film I watched "Cop" great movie, "True Believer" another good one, "Cat's Eye" love that one too. "Videodrome" though strange and hard to follow, there is somthing about it I like.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
You named a whole bunch of really great James Woods movies. I also recommend two fairly obscure but completely different performances by Woods from 1982: "Fast-Walking," where he plays a corrupt prison guard and "Split Image," a really sharp little film with Woods as a deprogrammer trying to deprogram Michael O'Keefe from the clutches of a cult.
"Cop," by the way, has one of the best last lines in any movie ever. Posted by The Good Package (Member # 9492) on :
i really liked the end of this movie, its a great story too, and i agree about the performances.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
It's a shame that Woods and writer/director James B. Harris didn't do any more of James Ellroy's Lloyd Hopkins books. That character is terrific. (I love the scene in "Cop" where Woods tells his little daughter the bedtime story: "So Daddy got the drop on those scumbags...") "Cop" is so cool because Woods is such a jerk especially when he's muttering sexist trash about Leslie Ann Warren, who I think is terrific here in a fairly poorly written part.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
James Woods is one of the best. Still don´t own/haven´t seen Fast Walking but i have most of his 80s movies. I think i´m gonna watch In Love and War (1987) tonight.
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
I am not going to condemn Woods in this thread. I do actually like him for his raw quality but does anyone think that he chronically overacts?
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
No Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
No. I think we may differ only in our interpretation of the definition of overacting, BL. Woods is always intense and very aggressive in his performances, but he doesn't overact. He's always appropriate to the nut-job characters he usually portrays. You want to see overacting? The example that comes to mind for me is Dennis Quaid in "Great Balls of Fire." Man, does he chew scenery in that one. I'll give you that Jerry Lee Lewis was flamboyant and over-the-top, but Quaid just has way too much fun with the part. That's why I've never really cared for "Great..."--Quaid's performance is too much. When I saw it, I noticed that his overacting, seemingly like a virus loose in the wild, caused Winona Ryder to overact in certain scenes. Watching a young Winona Ryder shamelessly mug for the camera was sad...
"Fast-Walking," which was also written and directed by James B. Harris, is really hard to find, my friend, but well worth checking out. (In additon to the usually manic Woods, Kay Lenz looks really nice here and has some very alluring nude scenes too.)
[ 18. November 2011, 12:44: Message edited by: Crash ]
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
I have never seen Great Balls of Fire so I can't comment there. I don't mind Dennis Quaid but have never really seen him in anything that was what I consider to be a great movie.
Hmmm, I dunno how to explain Woods's acting. I agree that he is intense and agressive but to me it's too much. I think acting should appear effortless, not in the means that the actor should have no drive or anything, but that the performance should come across naturally as if it were a real life character. I just don't see anybody acting like that in real life. Just my two cents. The reason why I like him though us that he is unique in certain respects and he usually has some great derogetory dialogue ready for someone. I won't argue the point any further, just wanted to see others views Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
I wanna check this movie out though. When I saw the title Diggstown, I was like, I've never heard of it but I have heard of Midnight Sting. I guess here in OZ we get the European titles too.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
What's weird is, I like Dennis Quaid, and he doesn't generally overact. It might have been the fault of director, Jim McBride, who also did the remake of "Breathless" where Richard Gere gave a really over-the-top performance. (It was more fun than Quaid's though.)
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Bernie, I just watched "Not Quite Hollywood," the terrific documentary about Australian exploitation films. So many of those films from the 1970s and 80s are unheard of on these shores. (I do love the ones I've seen, though. )
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
Crash, I have not seen the doco but I will check it out.
Did they mention any specific titles?
I am not gonna say it simply cos I am Australian, but if you guys are unawre of this, we have some truly great movies. The thing I love about Aussie films is that they are usually very down to earth, so have a very real quality. No special effects and all that Transformers kind of garabage.
Posted by Helen_S (Member # 5804) on :
quote:Originally posted by Bernie_Lomax: I am not going to condemn Woods in this thread. I do actually like him for his raw quality but does anyone think that he chronically overacts?
Now you're on my ignore list LOL
Everytime I see a Dennis Quaid film I just have this urge to jump in the screen and pull his cheeks Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
It's an amazing documentary! Clips were from the usual good stuff like "Mad Max," "Road Games," "Turkey Shoot," and "Patrick" to "Barry McKenzie," "Eliza Fraser," "Mad Dog Morgan," and "Lady Stay Dead" (What the heck is that? An Aussie film that to this day has never been released in the U.S.) And a lot of crazy porn!
Aussies do great art films (Peter Weir's early stuff, in particular, is superb by me), and the exploitation films are unique. Quentin Tarantino makes an outstanding observation in the film that NOBODY films cars like Aussies. I never noticed it before, but he's right. The angles, the editing--perfect. The shots of vehicles flying along in the Mad Max films are not CGI. They are real, and when you see a car do six barrel rolls, you gasp, "My gosh, how many stuntmen did they kill for that shot?" ROFL
[ 18. November 2011, 13:15: Message edited by: Crash ]
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
Halloween 3 and Jingle All The Way are starting to grow on me Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
quote:Originally posted by Crash: It's an amazing documentary! Clips were from the usual good stuff like "Mad Max," "Road Games," "Turkey Shoot," and "Patrick" to "Barry MacKenzie," "Eliza Fraser," "Mad Dog Morgan," and "Lady Stay Dead" (what the heck is that?) And a lot of crazy porn!
Aussies do great art films (Peter Weir's early stuff, in particular, is superb by me), and the exploitation films are unique. Quentin Tarantino makes an outstanding observation in the film that NOBODY films cars like Aussies. I never noticed it before, but he's right. The angles, the editing--perfect. The shots of vehicles flying along in the Mad Max films are not CGI. They are real, and when you see a car do six barrel rolls, you gasp, "My gosh, how many stuntmen did they kill for that shot?" ROFL
I'm gonna watch it for sure. For all those out there who are getting a bit stale in their movie collecting please look to some great Aussi films. I believe myself and Lover With Cassie and probably Oneeyewilly will be able to poit you in the right direction.
I agree about the cars but I think that the original gone in 60 seconds done extremely well. That chase goes for like half the movie. It's awesome.
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
Romper Stomper Malcolm Gallipoli Two Hands Shine Mad Max Picnic at hanging rock Chopper Snowtown Storm Boy Last Wave Phar Lap Rabbit Proof Fence Blue Murder - 2 part mini series
There's a few great aussie flicks for anyone who's interested.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Those are some great, great films, Bernie. I saw Rabbit-Proof Fence at its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival with director Philip Noyce standing right next to me. He was very nervous about the film's reception (he didn't have to be; it's outstanding) and was pacing the aisles. (I think "The Last Wave" is my favorite on your list.)
The original "Gone in 60 Seconds" has the great car chase. The Nic Cage remake was so boring because nothing really happens, even at the climax. This was a case where the cheaper original wins out.
Posted by Helen_S (Member # 5804) on :
My faves are Razorback, Picnic At Hanging Rock, A Cry In The Dark, Walkabout, Mad Max, The Proposition and Japanese Story. I wanna see a really goofy one I seen in the pictures in the 90's again, The Castle.
Posted by Helen_S (Member # 5804) on :
This thread has took some interesting turns Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
There are many more. I don't understand why Australia does not have a bigger film industry. Money I guess. I mean when they do it right they make some unbelievably good films.
I have never been to a film festival but it sounds like it would be fun.
The original gone in 60 seconds for me wins hands down for best car chase scene ever.
Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
Ah, we got ourselves a heckler ey Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
quote:Originally posted by Helen_S: My faves are Razorback, Picnic At Hanging Rock, A Cry In The Dark, Walkabout, Mad Max, The Proposition and Japanese Story. I wanna see a really goofy one I seen in the pictures in the 90's again, The Castle.
You should check out Malcolm 1986. A little silly but a great movie.
Posted by Crash (Member # 7484) on :
Helen, Razorback is featured prominently in the documentary. Tarantino calls Russell Mulcahy the "poor man's Ridley Scott" for making a stylish film about a giant pig. They inteviewed Mulcahy, and he says that the oroducers kept saying that they were going to make the pig bigger and bigger. ROFL
Posted by Helen_S (Member # 5804) on :
LOL Good, looking forward to seeing the doco.
Bernie I put Malcolm in my rental queue. For some reason when I first saw it in your list I thought it was the Mel Gibson film Tim, haha
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
quote:Originally posted by Crash: It's an amazing documentary! Clips were from the usual good stuff like "Mad Max," "Road Games," "Turkey Shoot," and "Patrick" to "Barry McKenzie," "Eliza Fraser," "Mad Dog Morgan," and "Lady Stay Dead" (What the heck is that? An Aussie film that to this day has never been released in the U.S.) And a lot of crazy porn!
Aussies do great art films (Peter Weir's early stuff, in particular, is superb by me), and the exploitation films are unique. Quentin Tarantino makes an outstanding observation in the film that NOBODY films cars like Aussies. I never noticed it before, but he's right. The angles, the editing--perfect. The shots of vehicles flying along in the Mad Max films are not CGI. They are real, and when you see a car do six barrel rolls, you gasp, "My gosh, how many stuntmen did they kill for that shot?" ROFL
I own the Mad Max trilogy, Road Games, Turkey Shoot, Patrick and Razorback. Excellent stuff and i have to add BMX Bandits and Dead End Dive-In to the list. I also have a ´79 horror movie Thirst starring Henry Silva and David Hemmings, anyone seen it? Just bought Breaking Loose which, i hope, will be a good low-budget fun.
I own Malcolm too, i think i´m gonna check it out next.
Lady, Stay Dead was one of the first VHS movies i saw. My neighbor bought a VHS machine back in the mid-80s and we got to watch some movies from the store. So, we watched all kinds of stuff and Lady, Stay Dead was one of them. Starts like a drama and then takes evil turn to exploitation thriller. We were shocked Never seen the movie since. The tape is on sale here every now and then but it´s always too darn expensive. Get the movie if you can find it!
Posted by Helen_S (Member # 5804) on :
Yeah, Thirst is a good odd film Posted by The Good Package (Member # 9492) on :
i only know the mad max trilogy, but i really like it.
mad max beyond thunderdome has to be the coolest movie title in history
this lady stay dead looks like one of the cannon group films of the 80's to me
Posted by Dutch Gannon (Member # 10167) on :
Alright these Australian films sound awesome, you had me especially at "Mad Dog Morgan", don't know what it is but I'm watching it.
Lomax, Dennis Quaid Movies: “Enemy Mine”, one of my personal favorites of his, he and Louis Gossit are terrific. “Suspect” not bad, “Dreamscape” decent, “Frequency” good. “Flight of the phoenix” not too bad. And surprisingly “Vantage Point”, didn’t expect to like it. But My ultimate Quaid Favorite “Innerspace” takes the taco. Hilarious in my book Kevin McCarthy always good, Martin Short funny and it also stars Vernon Wells.
…. Wendy Schaal …. Lost my train of thought there for a moment.
Also another good Jimmy Woods one that I liked that others may not agree with “The Hard Way”
“Against All Odds” this one and "Cop" got me into the whole Neo Noir. I never wanted to be a shady character or cop in the 80’s L.A/Miami more in my life, than after having watched these films. Which led me to Roy Scheider 52 Pickup, Still of the Night, Blue Steel.
Speaking of Henry Silva, I just watched what is in my opinion Chuck Norris’s best film. “The Code of Silence” this was a surprise. Having only watched the “Octagon”, “Lone Wolf McQuade”, “Invasion USA” and “Firewalker” I thought that this would be another hammed up semi corny action flick. Instead what I got was a lot of beautiful night shots of Chicago, several great character actors playing some likable parts and Chuck Norris playing a bit more of a human hero. It had it’s moments but this was surprisingly solid in my book. Henry Silva was great as the bad guy too, I’ll have to check out the “Thirst”.
[ 20. November 2011, 09:31: Message edited by: Dutch Gannon ]
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
The Hard Way rocks and 52 Pick up is a Cannon classic!
Never actually seen The Code of Silence but i have the dvd. I´m gonna check it out next. It´s Norris time!
Posted by Dutch Gannon (Member # 10167) on :
He's good in it, I love it when he talks trash to bad guys.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Second thought, i´m gonna make it a Norris triple treat: First Forced Vengeance, then Lone Wolf McQuade and The Code of Silence. Looking for to see it!
Posted by Dutch Gannon (Member # 10167) on :
I've Never seen Forced Vengeance, i'll have to check that one as well.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
