THE DANMAN CAN

It's interesting how "hot button" films like this age—how you process and reevaluate them at certain points in your life, based on the zeitgeist and politics of the time.  Falling Down  (1993) is a film that I've seen numerous times and one that I've always liked a lot. As a character study and a modern day odyssey, it's top notch.  Michael Douglas ' performance is perfect. As a tense piece of entertainment, it's really good. ( James Newton Howard 's propulsive score is also particularly great.) It feels realistic, for the most part, and seems to want to comment on mental illness, domestic/gun violence, capitalism, racism, and inequality ("not economically viable") in a broad sort of way. A key question, though, is how much are we supposed to sympathize with our protagonist—he who terrorizes innocent people due to his own breakdown? Just how bad should we feel for our white middle class hero who goes on a rampage in L.A.? The film makes t...

"Die someplace else." Released in the middle of a stretch of excellent crime dramas,  The Outfit  (1973) is a lean and mean, no frills thriller with economic direction by  John Flynn  (of  Rolling Thunder   (1977) [ review ] fame). Populated by a stellar cast of character actors, the film contains biting dialogue and a funky/jazzy score by the underrated  Jerry Fielding . It beautifully captures the tone of  Donald E. Westlake 's (writing as Richard Stark)  Parker  character, also adapted in films such as  Point Blank   (1967) [ review ] and  Payback   (1999). "You send a guy out to kill somebody, maybe his feelings get hurt." Recommended for fans of  The Mechanic  (1972) [ review ],  Prime Cut  (1972) [ review ], and  Charley Varrick   (1973). John Flynn Films Ranked

"Friends don't have a pecking order." John Woo 's Bullet In The Head (1990) is a very good film overall, but I found it overlong, repetitive, and I wasn't in love with large swaths of the score. It's perhaps Woo's darkest and most downbeat (and certainly most pessimistic) picture. There are some truly affecting moments, with some expertly shot sequences, but it's also haphazard in its construction (kinda feels like three different movies mashed into one). The drama in BITH worked better for me than the action. John Woo Feature Films   Ranked

"Everyone in Japan is lonely." More than a quarter century on,  Audition   (1999) doesn't pack quite the same punch that it did when I first saw it, but it's still a very good film with a level of reserve and depth—touching upon loss, longing, the Japanese patriarchy, and child abuse—lacking from some of director  Takashi Miike 's other work. While I understand it's intentional (in order to lull the audience), barring a few jarring scenes starting at the 43-minute mark,  Audition  is a very slow, ordinary drama (in both look and tone) until its final, unforgettable act. I get that the build-up approach is necessary and makes the ending that much more shocking (at least the first time), but I think there are other films that do the "slow burn to a crazy climax" thing just a bit better. However, those last 35 minutes really are something—hallucinatory, revolting, disturbing, but, at times, beautifully and dramatically shot. "To live means to appro...

Despite obvious faults (and perhaps partially influenced by nostalgia), Kevin Reynolds '  Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (1991) is a charming, fun, and earnest action adventure film with an MVP performance by Alan Rickman , beautiful cinematography by Douglas Milsome , and a rousing score by Michael Kamen .

👍 👍     Stuart Gordon Films Ranked

"I'm trying. I've only got four hands."

"To contemplate evil is to ask evil home."

"What do you want from me? I'm seven years old." Stuart Gordon Films Ranked

"Talk about frightening experiences, you ever tried slam dancing?" "I'm in a strange man, surrounded by strangers in a strange room." "Demons talk through you, not to you." With innovative (Oscar-winning) effects by Dennis Murren  (plus some wonderful makeup via Rob Bottin ), hilarious physical gags and dialogue, a great (as always) Jerry Goldsmith score, and an excellent cast (including lots of Robert Picardo ; always welcome), Joe Dante 's Innerspace (1987) is a Hitchcock ian sci-fi comedy that holds up incredibly well almost 40 years on. Joe Dante Feature Films Ranked

I'd seen  Lucio Fulci 's Demonia (1990) before, more than 20 years ago, but I didn't remember much about it. I can see why—other than a few memorable gore scenes (one in particular is quite gnarly), the film is slow-moving and mostly mediocre. With more care put into the production, this one could have been great, but, as it is, it's clumsy, the acting isn't great, and the score is chintzy. Lucio Fulci Feature Films Ranked

Mel Brooks ' Spaceballs (1987) is easily one of the three films I can quote most, behind only my favorite, Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) [ review ] and The Big Lebowski   (1998) [ review ]. It's not Brooks' best film, but it's a classic nonetheless. Mel Brooks Films Ranked

It's hard to believe that  Salem's Lot  (1979) was only the second adaptation of a  Stephen King  story. It's also hard to believe that I somehow only managed to watch it for the first time in 2018. King had only written six books by the time that  SL  started filming, so it makes sense (and I say  only  six because he's been incredibly prolific over the course of his career). It's just I sometimes forget that "King Fever" didn't truly ramp up until the '80s (with three feature films based on his works released in 1983 alone). Speaking of the '80s, just six months after  Lot  aired,  Stanley Kubrick 's vastly superior  The Shining   (1980) [ review ] was unleashed—still one of the best King adaptations (and I don't care what the man himself thinks about it). Salem's Lot  aired as a miniseries on CBS over two nights, totaling just over 3 hours in runtime. There was also a theatrical cut (released in Europe and air...

While it certainly can't compare to 1982's  Conan The Barbarian   [ review ] and it's even a step below 1984's  Conan The Destroyer  [ review ], Red Sonja (1985) is still a fun film, which I think gets a bit of a bad rep. I love '80s fantasy/sword and sorcery pictures and I hadn't seen RS since I was a teenager, so this was an enjoyable revisit. Though the story is lacking, Brigitte Nielsen is good in the lead role, and the production design and practical effects are easy to appreciate. Richard Fleischer Feature Films Ranked

 "Peking duck or Kung Pao chicken?" Tsui Hark 's revolutionary sisterhood action comedy,  Peking Opera Blues (1986), is a wild genre-mashing ride featuring frenetic energy, genuinely surprising tonal shifts, and a whopper of a finale. Bonus points for using songs from Peter Gabriel 's 1985 Birdy soundtrack , which I recognized before confirming on Wikipedia .

Slays. John Boorman Feature Films Ranked

And ya don't stop

"Sloppy with your drink." Michael Crichton Films Ranked

"My colors... They're beautiful, my colors." A malevolent and surrealist folk horror-giallo full of collusion and secrets. Recommended for fans of  Don’t Look Now  (1973) [ review ] ,  The Wicker Man  (1973) [ review ], and  The Perfume Of The Lady In Black  (1974) [ review ]. Giallo Feature Films   Ranked

"No, not the cheese ! The keys !"   Chuck Russell Films Ranked