Menahem Golan – People Talking

Good lord, it’s been way too long!

Let’s get back to cleaning out this old backlog.

‘Goon’ (2011)

When it comes to comedy films, I’m like Batman, I have one rule: make me laugh.

That’s not to say I’ll put up with anything for the sake of laughter, I can only take so much pure, unfiltered stupidity, but I’ll give a good bit of leeway if I feel like the comedy is succeeding.

‘Goon’ made me laugh, and in that sense, it passed the test. It’s not perfect, I wish a couple of key roles had different actors, but Seann William Scott and Liev Schreiber really make the movie in the end, and, for a low-budget comedy, the hockey scenes are done surprisingly well.

It’ll get compared to ‘Slap Shot’, and that’s fine, although they are very different stories; both have a crass, brutal (and bloody, in the case of ‘Goon’) minor league charm to them.

Remember, fighting solves everything.

Rating: ★★★½

‘Tremors’ (1990)

I’m disappointed to say this, but, ‘Tremors’ has not held up to what I remember from watching it on cable many, many times as a child, despite now having seen it on the big screen.

That said, it still commands quite a bit of respect.

I guess you could call it a horror-comedy, but the comedy doesn’t come though quite as much now. As a creature feature though, it’s pretty top notch. The practical effects still look great, and, as pointed out by our special guest, for a “scary movie” that takes place almost entirely during daylight, it’ll creep you out.

Speaking of special guests, Kevin Bacon dropped in after the movie for a Q&A. For someone of his celebrity, I found him to be most gracious and humble, as he answered every question genuinely and politely (even when some goofball suggested he should start a brand called “Kevin’s Bacon” *GROAN*). What stuck out to me most is when he stated that at a certain point in his career he made a decision that three factors would no longer affect his decision whether or not to take a part: the size of the paycheck, the size of the role, and the size of the budget for the movie. I’m not sure when exactly he made this decision, but if you look at his body of work the past 25 years, it certainly rings true.

Rating: ★★★½

The man himself:

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of 80s cinema has most likely run into a Cannon picture at some point in their life, even if by complete accident. I know I had seen my fair share even before Alamo Drafthouse took a month to celebrate them, but to get a glimpse behind the schlock and into the madness of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus was truly revealing as well as entertaining. Frankly, I wish ‘Electric Boogaloo’ was a TV miniseries, because after a hundred minutes, I still wanted to know so much more.

Like many Cannon films themselves, this is not one to watch with children present (NSFW, as they say), but whether you have memories to revisit (fond or otherwise), or are just looking for a documentary that’ll keep your interest, I highly recommend this one.

Rating: ★★★★☆

‘The Third Man’ (1949)

This is a movie I watched a handful of years ago and definitely did not fully appreciate. Maybe my exceptions weren’t probably calibrated, but I just didn’t get it.

Having seen it again, and in the proper setting, I now understand why ‘The Third Man’ is considered an all-time great.

For one thing, and this was pointed out to me before seeing it again, it’s funnier than most people seem to realize (like, actually laugh out loud funny). In addition to its film noir hallmarks, I’d classify ‘The Third Man’ as a black comedy; call it proto-Coen Brothers, if you will (not that Joseph Cotten would ever be mistaken for “The Dude”)

If I have one negative thing to say about it, I think the climax goes on for a bit to long, but it’s a small price to pay for a classic piece of cinema history. If you’ve not seen it already, check it out, and if you think it’s overrated, give it a second chance.

Rating: ★★★★½

Breakin’ (1984)

In all honestly, this is more interesting as a cultural artifact than as an actual movie, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t recommend it. If you’re interested in breakdancing, the early days of hip hop (a young Ice-T is featured throughout), Christopher McDonald (aka Shooter McGavin) in a non-antagonist role, or uncredited Jean-Claude Van Damme cameos, then you’ll definitely want to check this out.

It’s fun, it’s only ninety minutes, and it’s got the low budget Cannon charm.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Continued from Part 2…

‘Over the Top’ (1987)

Schlock producer extraordinaire Menahem Golan didn’t direct too many movies in the Eighties, but he did direct this one, and it may be responsible for changing the structure of Hollywood, for better or worse. You see, Golan really, REALLY wanted Stallone for this, but Stallone wasn’t interested, so Golan just kept offering him more and more money until Stallone finally said yes. You can bet the eyes of many movie stars and agents went wide after that coup.

Anyway, what do we have here? Quite simply, it’s Sylvester Stallone having to arm wrestle his way to getting custody of his annoying son. Oh, and he’s a truck driver; and you’ll definitely want to go buy some Brut afterwards.

It’s not my favorite film of Sly’s by a long shot, but it’s entertaining enough to get your Stallone (or Kenny Loggins) fix, if that’s what you’re looking for.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ (1954)

I never expected my first thought after leaving the theater to be, “I can’t believe how smart that movie was.”

Yes, sure, the science probably doesn’t hold up well by 2015 standards, but I think they earnestly tried to be serious about it, which is the mark of good science fiction; and there’s some interesting subtext in the ideological conflict between two of the scientists (One of them’s like, “I just want to science,” and the the other one’s like, “We can science a whole lot more if we can get more money.”).

The creature still looks great, the underwater photography is still captivating, and the story is much more than dumb B-movie monster trash.

Perfectly entertaining Halloween fare.

Rating: ★★★★☆

‘Back to the Future’ (1985)

When I was a kid, I always thought I liked ‘Part II’ better, because of all the future stuff, but now that I’m older (and have seen it theatrically), I realize just how incredible this movie is.

Like so many ideas “The Two Bobs” (Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale) came up with, this is one that really should have never worked, or gotten off the ground in the first place.

Thank God they had an advocate in Steven Spielberg to help bring it to fruition, and the rest is history: two sequels and an untold amount of cultural influence (“You like ‘Huey Lewis and the News‘?).

Much like ‘Ghostbusters’ (another 5-star movie), ‘Back to the Future’ is a blend of two genres, in this case comedy and sci-fi, that works well in both areas. You could say it’s as if somebody wrote a really lighthearted and funny episode of “The Twilight Zone”. Also, like Ghostbusters, the casting is pitch perfect from top to bottom, and everybody gets a chance to put a stamp on their performance.

If you’ve somehow never seen it, get on that. October 21st is right around the corner…

Rating: ★★★★★

‘Mako: The Jaws of Death’ (1976)

Believe it or not, this is not a ‘Jaws’ ripoff.

Other than the presence of sharks, and the word ‘Jaws’ in the title, there’s pretty much nothing to link this film to Steven Spielberg’s epic.

‘Mako’, rather, is another one in the line of “Man with psychic connection to animals exacts revenge and/or murder on people” movies, that I guess started with ‘Willard’ (1971) and ended with ‘Willard’ (2003).

This is not what I’d call a legitimately good movie, but it at least manages to keep your interest for ninety minutes with some entertaining sequences (like Harold “Odd Job” Sakata getting towed into port by a runaway boat), and some general funny-bad moments; and, like ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ and ‘Thunderball’, the underwater shots still look great.

For a mid-70s Cannon release, this is perfectly acceptable.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

‘The Hustler’ (1961)

I went into this thinking it would just be a cool movie about a pool shark hustling people, but it turned out to be so much more than that. I realize how pretentious this will sound, but ‘The Hustler’ is among the most existential films I’ve ever seen. because while it is a story about “Fast Eddie” the pool hall hustler, it’s really about Eddie Felson learning to be truly human, experience love and loss and all that comes with it; and also there are amazing scenes of pool playing.

My main criticism is that it’s a bit long, and certain things are dragged out more than necessary, but it’s not enough to quench all of the great performances.

Paul Newman is as you’d expect, Piper Laurie is amazingly vulnerable, George C. Scott is deliciously nefarious, and Jackie Gleason is cooler than you could have ever imagined him to be (and, I believe, does all of his pool shots himself); and Murray Hamilton shows up to do Murray Hamilton things.

It’ll unfortunately probably bore much of today’s audience, but, for me, it’s easy to see why this one is considered such a classic.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Tag: Menahem Golan

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