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3 O'Clock High is one of my favorites. It's a Guy Ritchie movie before Guy Ritchie was making movies.
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I watched THEY LIVE
It's about aliens invading earth
Next up...1989!!!!Comment
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THEY LIVE (1988)
d. John Carpenter
Starring: Roddy "Rowdy" Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George "Buck" Flower, Peter Jason
Drifter Roddy Piper comes to LA in search of work (I don't think they give him a name in the entire film, but he's known as "Nada" in the credits). He finds work at a construction site and makes friends with Frank (Keith David) who takes him to a homeless camp near a church. Within hours, Nada notices something weird going on at the church and discovers that there's some sort of resistance group meeting there and they've manufactured a bunch of sunglasses...
This is genuinely my first time watching They Live but I've had the plot spoiled for me for a decade plus. Hard to avoid if you enjoy the cult/B-movie scene. It is really, really a fun watch. I think the social/political commentary is a little heavy-handed but it can be applied to almost any political persuasion you want. Carpenter was obviously commenting on the consumerism of the 80's, but hell, apply it to wokeism, Trumpism, anything you want nowadays.
This is the best role Piper would ever get and I think he's really good...but I also can't help but think that if Carpenter had gotten Kurt Russell again the movie would've been better regarded in its time.
I do love the aliens, the look of whom has become iconic over time. And the final seconds are pretty funny.
Oh and a shout out to the music. It's repetitive as hell but it's one of those electronic, synth Carpenter scores that gets in your head.
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Piper is legend. He deserved better from Hollywood.Dan Patrick: What was your reaction to [Urban Meyer being hired]?
Brady Hoke: You know.....not....good.Comment
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There's a cheesy action flick he made around 1993 with Billy Blanks (of Tae Bo fame) called "Back in Action" that actually could've been a great watch if it hadn't been filmed on an 1987 RCA CamcorderOriginally posted by iam416 View PostComment
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Ran across this today...when Cannon was trying to sell its upcoming "Masters of the Universe" flick (which turned out to be a total bomb), they didn't actually have any footage filmed. So they threw together some clips of toy commercials and a few Dolph Lundgren headshots instead.
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Sold!Comment
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Carpenter has publicly said that They Live is satire about the Reagan years, but there are a lot of people who have speculated since then that it is about something else. Namely, Jews. The theory has some legs. Carpenter famously hated the institution of Hollywood and the power brokers there, and he disappeared from the scene in his prime.
Food for thought.Comment
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From Halloween until They Live I think nearly every one of his films has a strong to terrific reputation. Since then, not so much.Originally posted by Hannibal View Post
That'd be sad to me if he genuinely meant it to apply to "Hollywood Jews" but I do think the film allows itself to be adapted by anyone who has a conspiratorial viewpoint. Bad people secretly run the world. You fill in the blank.Comment
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Carpenter didn't really disappear though, his commercial success waned. His shelf life was not going to be like a Scorcese or Spielberg. He specialized in low budget flicks that perfected the exploitation films of the 70s. And while his scores were certainly great in his movies(they were a big part of the attraction) they had an expiration date. Synth heavy scores were gone by the 90s. Also by the time They Live came out, he really wasn't working with Debra Hill like he was though the 80s. She made a lot of things happen for his movies. They reunited to work together for Escape From LA, but that was about it and it was a disappoinment considering the big budget.
He was most comfortable making high end B movies, he was never going to make the big jump like a James Cameron did.
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TBF the film's allegories make a lot more sense if they are being directed at specific people, so it's easy to read Group A or Group B into it. The film's message just being about consumerism is less poignant because it's not really a dangerous or a taboo truth to discover. I enjoy They Live tremendously but I have never really thought much of its anti-consumerism message, if that's what it really is. Either way, Carpenter never made anything approaching a commercially successful movie after They Live. His movies were marketed so shittily and that had to be frustrating. Just about every movie of his is more popular today than when it came out. There are a few people who enjoy In the Mouth of Madness but if you ask me, the director known as John Carpenter ceased to exist sometime around 1988.Originally posted by Dr. Strangelove View PostLast edited by Hannibal; June 30, 2021, 08:10 AM.Comment
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Also -- John Carpenter's films had the greatest endings.Comment
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Noticed the critically acclaimed forum film "Congo" is now TRENDING on Netlix. No surprise there. Netflix viewers are a little slow to the trend to be honest.
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Not much when it comes to new films recently... couple of short summaries:
"Mare of Easttown" is an excellent mini-series on HBO. Just finished that. Highly recommend. Won't say much to avoid spoiling it.
"Loki" is entertaining. Quality series for Marvel fans.
"The Tomorrow War" was recently added on Amazon Prime. Action/Sci-Fi film with Chris Pratt. It's OK. Probably worth a watch if you want to shut your brain off and relax for two hours. Popcorn entertainment.
AAL 2023 - Alim McNeillComment
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I've enjoyed Loki more than the other two Marvel Disney+ seriesOriginally posted by Cody_Russell View Post
Congo is, quite obviously, a masterpiece.Comment
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