If any of you out there have a sleeping problem (I'm convinced I go through spurts of insomnia) then perhaps you remedy that the same way I do: by watching lots of bad late night action film on TV. These usually end up being the same movies over and over, and I've come to realize that I have a certain "go-to" set of movies, that whenever they're on TV, I get sucked into watching. Now, this happens just as frequently with legitimate movies, but more often than not, when I'm at home decompressing after work, I'll find myself looking for the lamest action movie on TV. Case in point: late last night I couldn't sleep, I turn on the TV and had a choice between Tango & Cash or Showdown in Little Tokyo. Decisions, decisions. One one hand Tango & Cash is Tango & Cash, but on the other Showdown in Little Tokyo has Dolph Lundgren, and it was directed by Mark Lester, the brilliant mind who gave us Commando. More thoughts on why I chose what I chose after the jump, with a clip you won't want to miss...
Anyway, I went with Tango & Cash, even if I have seen it about ten times already, because it has all the cliches of 80's buddy cop films...and Jack Palance as the villain. How can one go wrong there? Oh, plus it has this as its opening:
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Man I love Stallone's STIFF line reads, the generic 80's cop dialogue ("I want your badge!", "You're out of your jurisdiction!") and the even more generic 80's cop moments like tasting the cocaine to see if it's real. Also, the line about Rambo is brilliant.
So, this got me thinking about bad action movies that I always watch on TV, no matter how many time I've seen them or how familiar I am with the film's rhythms. Once you see the movies on this list you may think to yourself: "but Kevin, life is too short to be wasting your time watching THOSE movies over and over, watch something better." But, the truth is I don't watch TV all that much, I still watch re-runs of "Seinfeld" and "The Simpson's" and some DVD episodes of "The West Wing" and "Deadwood", but I never really got into TV, and so my way of decompressing or "trash" TV is to watch 30 minutes here, 20 minutes there of the following movies (converted to a top 5 list for convenience):
1. The Rock - no matter how much I hate Michael Bay I have to hand it to him...this movie is an amazing exercise in the action genre. My fiance can attest to the fact that whenever this is on TV (which is a lot) I will always stop the channel surfing and take a nostalgia trip to when I was in 10th grade when The Rock came out. In fact, she's probably seen the film in its entirety, just out of order. But still, I can quote this movie pretty much word for word when I'm watching it -- and yes, I know how sad and pathetic that it.
2. Robocop - Another movie that is on free TV and IFC all the time. I never get tired of this one, either. Especially the ED-209 scene and the Benny Hill parody with the guy that says "I'll buy that for a dollar!" Plus the film is just a masterpiece of violence and has the greatest villain in 80's action cinema: Clarence Boddicker.
3. Lethal Weapon 1 and 2 - Nothing brings me more joy than watching Danny Glover and Mel Gibson play their most famous movie roles to 80's action perfection. These are the epitome of the action film in the 80's: their well acted, well crafted, and never grow tiresome. The first film has amazing scene after amazing scene, in fact you kind of feel like the movie gives you the best value for your time (when it comes to action films)...plus it has Garey Busey as the psychotic (shock!) mercenary Mr. Joshua. Also, Danny Glover's favorite line "go spit!" The second film, amazingly, is just as good as the first one. It's one of the rare occurrences where the films sequel either surpasses or lives up to the original (T2, Spider-Man 2, and Gremlins 2 are the only other sequels I can think of off the top of my head that do this) as it matches the originals energy. Plus Joe Pesci getting "effed" in the drive-thru and a house on stilts -- can't go wrong there.
4. Cliffhanger - Say what you want about Sly and director Renny Harlin (the fact that they don't have the greatest resumes is certainly true), but this early '90's action film is pretty spectacular, and always catches my attention when it's on TV. It has one of the most intense (I'm being serious, because I'm afraid of heights) opening sequences I've seen in any action movie. Plus, it has Michael Rooker in it, and John Lithgow as the villain. It's just your classic Die Hard formula, only on a mountain!
5. Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Another film that I can quote all the way through when I watch it. I never get tired of this movie, and surprisingly, the effects still hold up, and it serves as a reminder how brilliant James Cameron was at making intense action pictures. Totally different than the first Terminator, the sequel upped the ante big time and cam off more an all-out action film than a sci-fi/horror film. Robert Patrick made a name for himself as T1000, the creepy evil terminator, and who can forget Linda Hamilton looking all scary throughout the movie, ready to shoot anything metallic? It's the perfect example of a movie, that no matter when I happen upon it, will always suck me in because it was such a huge part of my childhood. This was one of the first movies I watched religiously so that I could know everything about it.
Anyway -- there are of course really good movies I choose to watch multiple times on TV (and to be truthful some of those action films above are some of the most brilliant of their genre) or on DVD. Whenever I see 8 1/2 or Fargo or Quiz Show, I immediately set the remote down and just drink in familiar scene after familiar scene, because there's just something comforting about the familiarity I have with those movies. And the same goes for the list above: those films calm me down at night or just put a smile on my face that few things can. I have an affinity for watching bad action films because that's what I grew up with. Sadly, I could probably tell you everything that happened in Van Damme's Double Impact or Seagal's Out for Justice (another movie I stop for a lot when it's on TV), because I prefer bad action films in order to help me decompress, or simply entertain me in my sleep deprived state when I'm having a fit of insomnia.
So, my question to all of you: what movies do you have trouble resisting whenever they're on TV? They can be good movies or "bad" movies like my list above. I'm just curious to see what some of your steady, fall-back films are when you've had a rough day or just need to decompress...you're flippin' through the channels, what is it that you stop on?
So, this got me thinking about bad action movies that I always watch on TV, no matter how many time I've seen them or how familiar I am with the film's rhythms. Once you see the movies on this list you may think to yourself: "but Kevin, life is too short to be wasting your time watching THOSE movies over and over, watch something better." But, the truth is I don't watch TV all that much, I still watch re-runs of "Seinfeld" and "The Simpson's" and some DVD episodes of "The West Wing" and "Deadwood", but I never really got into TV, and so my way of decompressing or "trash" TV is to watch 30 minutes here, 20 minutes there of the following movies (converted to a top 5 list for convenience):
1. The Rock - no matter how much I hate Michael Bay I have to hand it to him...this movie is an amazing exercise in the action genre. My fiance can attest to the fact that whenever this is on TV (which is a lot) I will always stop the channel surfing and take a nostalgia trip to when I was in 10th grade when The Rock came out. In fact, she's probably seen the film in its entirety, just out of order. But still, I can quote this movie pretty much word for word when I'm watching it -- and yes, I know how sad and pathetic that it.
2. Robocop - Another movie that is on free TV and IFC all the time. I never get tired of this one, either. Especially the ED-209 scene and the Benny Hill parody with the guy that says "I'll buy that for a dollar!" Plus the film is just a masterpiece of violence and has the greatest villain in 80's action cinema: Clarence Boddicker.
3. Lethal Weapon 1 and 2 - Nothing brings me more joy than watching Danny Glover and Mel Gibson play their most famous movie roles to 80's action perfection. These are the epitome of the action film in the 80's: their well acted, well crafted, and never grow tiresome. The first film has amazing scene after amazing scene, in fact you kind of feel like the movie gives you the best value for your time (when it comes to action films)...plus it has Garey Busey as the psychotic (shock!) mercenary Mr. Joshua. Also, Danny Glover's favorite line "go spit!" The second film, amazingly, is just as good as the first one. It's one of the rare occurrences where the films sequel either surpasses or lives up to the original (T2, Spider-Man 2, and Gremlins 2 are the only other sequels I can think of off the top of my head that do this) as it matches the originals energy. Plus Joe Pesci getting "effed" in the drive-thru and a house on stilts -- can't go wrong there.
4. Cliffhanger - Say what you want about Sly and director Renny Harlin (the fact that they don't have the greatest resumes is certainly true), but this early '90's action film is pretty spectacular, and always catches my attention when it's on TV. It has one of the most intense (I'm being serious, because I'm afraid of heights) opening sequences I've seen in any action movie. Plus, it has Michael Rooker in it, and John Lithgow as the villain. It's just your classic Die Hard formula, only on a mountain!
5. Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Another film that I can quote all the way through when I watch it. I never get tired of this movie, and surprisingly, the effects still hold up, and it serves as a reminder how brilliant James Cameron was at making intense action pictures. Totally different than the first Terminator, the sequel upped the ante big time and cam off more an all-out action film than a sci-fi/horror film. Robert Patrick made a name for himself as T1000, the creepy evil terminator, and who can forget Linda Hamilton looking all scary throughout the movie, ready to shoot anything metallic? It's the perfect example of a movie, that no matter when I happen upon it, will always suck me in because it was such a huge part of my childhood. This was one of the first movies I watched religiously so that I could know everything about it.
Anyway -- there are of course really good movies I choose to watch multiple times on TV (and to be truthful some of those action films above are some of the most brilliant of their genre) or on DVD. Whenever I see 8 1/2 or Fargo or Quiz Show, I immediately set the remote down and just drink in familiar scene after familiar scene, because there's just something comforting about the familiarity I have with those movies. And the same goes for the list above: those films calm me down at night or just put a smile on my face that few things can. I have an affinity for watching bad action films because that's what I grew up with. Sadly, I could probably tell you everything that happened in Van Damme's Double Impact or Seagal's Out for Justice (another movie I stop for a lot when it's on TV), because I prefer bad action films in order to help me decompress, or simply entertain me in my sleep deprived state when I'm having a fit of insomnia.
So, my question to all of you: what movies do you have trouble resisting whenever they're on TV? They can be good movies or "bad" movies like my list above. I'm just curious to see what some of your steady, fall-back films are when you've had a rough day or just need to decompress...you're flippin' through the channels, what is it that you stop on?
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