Someday I won’t be writing these posts months after the fact, but, for now, we press on.
‘Big Trouble in Little China’ (1986)
Sure, technically speaking, ‘Ghostbusters 2′ is the sequel to ‘Ghost Busters‘, but ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ isn’t exactly far off. The tone is similar, the stakes are about the same, and the proportion of comedy to horror is almost equal. The one major difference is John Carpenter was moving from horror into comedy whereas Ivan Reitman was moving from comedy into horror.
Point is, you’ve got Awesome Mode Kurt Russell as a fish-out-of-water on a great adventure against some dark Chinese magic. Throw in a diverse supporting cast (including, but not limited to, the ever-wonderful James Hong, as well as Kim Cattrall at peak loveliness) and some classic 80s special effects (led by Richard Edlund, whose team also did ‘Ghost Busters’), and you’ve got a recipe for a good time. I also think it might be the first Western production to make use of Chinese wire-fighting techniques, but I can’t confirm that.
If you still haven’t seen this one, I understand your trepidation. It took me a while to take the plunge on it, but, trust me, it’s more than worth your time.
Rating: ★★★★☆
‘Vigilante’ (1983)
I have to admit, I’m not sure how highly I’d rate this one if I hadn’t seen it complete with a Q&A session with both the director “Bill” Lustig and former NYPD detective turned all-around movie guy Randy Jurgensen, but they helped me put the film in its proper context, and hopefully I can do the same for you.
On the surface, William Lustig’s ‘Vigilante’ is a poor man’s ‘Death Wish‘, as evidenced by the inexplicably multi-racial gang members, but, more than that, it’s essentially a cinematic cartoon of New York Post headlines from the late-70s and early-80s. Many events and characters have some basis in reality (including the judge, who was based on Bruce McMarion Wright, aka “Turn ‘Em Loose Bruce”).
Just as a movie though, ‘Vigilante’ is a solid enough exploitation revenge film. Robert Forster brings his unique everyman quality to a character pushed to the limit by violence against his family, and Fred Williamson brings his imposing screen presence (and perfectly manicured beard, of which I am jealous) as a man who’s long decided he’s not going to take it anymore.
Perhaps what’s most interesting about ‘Vigilante’, like many movies of its era, is simply New York City as a location. It really is like another character on screen.
Other than that, it’s pretty standard fare.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
P.S.
One note of particular interest from Bill Lustig was that when the film got distribution in countries with oppressive governments (including Brazil and the Philippines, which were under dictatorships at the time), there had to be a title card inserted at the end of the film stating that the vigilante was brought to justice himself. This reminded me of the end of ‘Blood Debts‘, famously highlighted by Red Letter Media, in which a similar title card exists, no doubt because it was a 1985 Filipino production.
‘Alien’ (1979) + ‘Aliens’ (1986)
I’ve heard people accuse me of not being very festive, and I don’t know where they get the notion; you have to be pretty festive to go see ‘Back to the Future 2‘ on October 21, 2015, or go to an ‘Alien’ double feature on 4/26 while sitting in seat 426, but I digress.
I’ve been familiar with ‘Alien’ at minimum since I watched it to prepare myself for ‘Prometheus’, but obviously it’s a different animal on the big screen As I’ve said on many occasions, I’m not a big horror guy, but ‘Alien’ is transcendent, thanks largely to its hard sci-fi base. To say it’s a great looking movie is an understatement; everything has substance, everything feels lived-in, and it’s all in service of what is essentially a blue collar sci-fi story, which is rather uncommon.
What also helps ‘Alien’ in its effectiveness is its small cast (not unlike ‘Predator‘ in that regard). The low number of space truckers and focus on their daily grind ensures we get to know them all pretty well, not to mention a good bit of improvised dialogue in group settings. Sure, it becomes a bit of a haunted house movie in the final act, but between the limitations they had in 1979 and the groundbreaking design of the alien monster, I’m not taking points off for that.
All-in-all, the movie is a timeless classic.
Now, ‘Aliens’ I had never seen before, on any sort of screen. We can debate til the end of time which movie of the two is better, but one thing for certain is that they are different.
‘Aliens’, like most great sequels, builds upon and expands the world we already know, and in this case switches up the genre as well, adding in a whole mess load of action thanks to our friendly neighborhood space marines. James Cameron was correct in keeping the visual aesthetics of the first movie while also adding his own signature touches and new bits of lore (like the M41A Pulse Rifle and the Alien Queen). It’s a fairly unique watch in terms of the simultaneous level of action and terror.
Of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the true thread holding these films together, that being Sigourney Weaver. Her portrayal of Ripley is nearly flawless (although I like her hair better in ‘Alien’, but that’s superficial).
Ultimately, both ‘Alien’ and ‘Aliens’ are must-see, Whether you prefer more slow-moving hard sci-fi or futuristic action will likely determine which you think is better, but, personally, I don’t feel compelled to choose.
Ratings:
‘Alien’ ★★★★☆
‘Aliens’ ★★★★☆
P.S.
Shout out to NECA Toys for showing off some wares and doing some giveaways before each movie.
