Thanks for sitting down with me Mr. Willis, I appreciate.
So, what do you want?
Right to business, huh?
It was always about playing by the rules with you.
Not rules.
Right and wrong.
I realize that, but unfortunately, I have my orders.
Orders?
I've been tasked with reviewing three more of your action films.
I can't let that happen.
Sorry Bruno, but I'm afraid you don't have a choice.
I can't feel my arms.
Check please!
This is Movie Night!
Hello and welcome to Movie Night, in-depth reviews in less than five minutes.
I'm your host, Jonathan Paula.
"Action Movie Month" enters its third week tonight as we take a look at Mr. Die Hard
himself... actor and musician Bruce Willis.
Believe it or not, we've already discussed NINE of his films on the show, but there's
still a few more worth reviewing, so let's begin with "Striking Distance".
Although it failed to break even with its $30 million dollar budget, this Rowdy Herrington
action thriller from September of 1993 is much better than its box office receipts may
indicate.
Bruce Willis stars in the R-rated plot as a disgraced police officer forced to patrol
Pittsburgh's three rivers with a rookie partner played in an early outing by Sarah Jessica
Parker.
Ousted from the force for ratting on fellow cops, Willis is eager to solve an on-going
serial murder case which inexpiably seems connected to his own life.
Remarking on his string of bad fortune, he confides, "All the women in my life keep turning
up dead."
Bruce is as good as can be expected with the confines of the story, but a romantic subplot
with Parker feels particularly forced, and just plain gross.
The "police procedural" seems to be a requisite for any action star, and while Willis has
done his fair share, this lesser-known effort is surprisingly good.
The 101-minute story opens with an incredible car chase up and over the hills of Pittsburgh,
all filmed with long wideshots that frame the spectacular stunt work from the cast and
crew.
A shot where a hubcab breaks off and rolls towards a low-angle camera is a very cool
moment, and makes this police pursuit one of my all-time favorites.
The supporting cast includes great turns from plenty of recognizable, if not quite A-list
talent; from Dennis Farina, Tom Sizemore, Robert Pastorelli, Brion James, Timothy Busfield,
John Mahoney, and Andre Braugher.
Of particular note is the late Farina, who basically built his career on playing hardnosed
cops, and as expected, excels at this role here, playing a conservative police chief
with a few secrets of his own.
"Striking Distance" smartly plays into its limitations wells; even though our heroes
are stuck patrolling the river, all the crimes involve their jurisdiction in a believable
way.
Which allows for a great scene where Willis disables a car on a parallel roadway with
boat flares.
This is a well-paced picture with a decently sharp script, and a tense score from Brad
Fiedel.
After a few great plot developments late, the high-speed climax uses the formulaic elements
of its genre to provide some really effective misdirection.
When the camera narrows on the support column of a bridge, you totally expect the boat chase
to reach its explosive finish at its base, but Herrington has something else in store.
Although the underlying concept of a river-patrolmen is hardly interesting, this movie manages
to delight with a few standout moments and a solid cast.
Despite being cited as a very troubled production, this is one picture action fans definitely
should check it out at least once.
"Striking Distance" may seem familiar or boring, but it surprises with real excitement, I thought
it was a GOOD movie.
For tonight's poll question, what's your favorite Bruce Willis film?
Leave your response as a comment below.
Next up tonight, "The Fifth Element".
For better or worse, this film is the end result of throwing $90 million dollars at
French director Luc Besson and telling him to make an epic sci-fi adventure.
And although it earned back almost three-times that amount, it was the most-expensive European
film ever made when it was released in May of 1997.
When I first saw this picture that summer at the Weirs Beach drive-in, I really had
no idea what to really make of this movie, but I was totally wowed by its visuals and
scope; which spans three-hundred years, two solar systems, and a host of interesting characters.
Sometime in the 23rd century, when Earth is overpopulated to the tune of some 200 billion
individuals, life is threatened by evil incarnate.
Bruce Willis stars as an ex-special forces major / cab driver who unwittingly becomes
allies with a sexy superweapon creature that is mankind's only defense against the planetkiller.
The totally bizarre 126-minute plot may have tons of moving parts, but it flies along so
fast, you rarely have time to dwell on its plot holes and contrivances.
Willis is his usual smart-alecy self, confidently disarming bad-guys with both his guns and
intelligence.
As the titular entity, 21-year-old Milla Jovovich is obviously stunning, but her playful curiosity
and overall innocence makes her an extremely compelling and interesting character to root
for.
When Willis misjudges their relationship and goes in for an early kiss, the ensuing standoff
is both cute and tense.
Ian Holm is a wise, but nervous Priest, and Chris Tucker is a completely obnoxious radio
host who wears some of the most bizarre costumes and hairstyles I've ever seen.
Speaking of weird headgear, Gary Oldman is a fast-talking villian who has no problem
killing his own customers.
It a brazenly unique move though, Willis and Oldman don't share a single scene together.
Their characters remain oblivious to the other's involvement - and are actually only on camera
together for a single shot.
Fortunately, the PG-13 rated picture remains decidedly entertaining without conforming
to traditional conventions.
The visual effects work by Digital Domain, especially during an early hover-car chase
through the congested skyways of future New York, are impeccably done, and paint a vivid
and realistic portrayal of the distance future.
The anamorphic frame adeptly shows-off the retro-60s costumes and fabulously inventive
set designs as well.
Later, a massive fight breaks out onboard a stellar cruise, culminating with the largest
indoor explosion ever filmed, which coincidentally, is also totally awesome.
Éric Serra's score mixes romantic strings and paino with some funkier beats, but a fist-fight
intercut with live opera is edited particularly well.
The film's climax overtly suggests that love conquers all; with Jovovich criticizing humanity's
lust for war by admonishing, "Everything you create, you use to destroy."
Willis can only respond, "Yeah, we call it human nature."
Despite its lasting cult-appeal, the movie still has its share of flaws: from the convoluted
plot to the almost nauseating amount of things happening on screen at any one time.
But, if you're able to look past all that, and Tucker's annoying character, this is one
adventure that will have you invested in its vibrant universe on multiple viewings.
"The Fifth Element" is a colorful frenzy of unique ideas and tense action.
And here's what you had to say in the YouTube comments.
Although many held-off on the top score, you applauded this film's visuals and action,
scoring it a GREAT.
Despite some of its issues, this is a memorable experience, which I'll rate an EIGHT as well.
Before we get to tonight's third review, a quick word on my Patreon campaign.
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considering to help.
Back to the reviews, let's discuss "RED 2".
Yet another follow-up that no one asked for, this action comedy film from director Dean
Parisot somehow managed to gross $148 million when it was released on July 19, 2013.
Produced on a budget of $84 million, this PG-13 rated film reunites most of the cast
of the 2010 original in an even more swollen and self-serving plot.
We pick up the story three years later, where retired CIA agent Bruce Willis and his weirdo
friends are called back into action to track down a missing portable nuclear device hidden
inside Russia.
The 116-minute film has no carry-over from the first installment, without so much of
a mention about Ernest Borgnine or Morgan Freeman.
The laboriously paced experience is convoluted and boring, often with repetitious dialogue....
in fact, the exact same line of exposition is uttered twice in a three minute span.
Besides the sloppily edited and uninspired action sequences, the main draw here is clearly
the A-list cast, led by Willis.
Once a capable and charismatic action star, he's been reduced to a sarcastic and bullet-proof
caricature in recent years.
When reminded that he hasn't killed anybody in months, Willis quickly retorts, "That is
not a bad thing.
Okay?
That's a positive thing for a lot of people."
At 50 years old, Mary-Louise Parker is absolutely stunning, and definitely the picture's lone
highlight in terms of comedic relief, but she's sadly given little to do, except make-out
with numerous ugly people.
John Malkovich and Helen Mirren return with similar, if even more exaggerated performances,
but are also relegated to mugging for the camera and making dumb, inappropriately timed
jokes.
The forced narrative literally spends the entire first hour introducing us to - and
I'm not even joking here - eleven separate characters in one lame scene after another.
Once the aforementioned core players are established, we also meet Neal McDonough, Catherine Zeta-Jones,
David Thewlis, Titus Welliver, Brian Cox, and Anthony Hopkins.
McDonough is great as one of the picture's three (!) bad guys, executing a Military General
with his bare hands while holding a normal conversation - but everyone else in this bloated
cast of geriatrics is utterly wasted.
By the time they're all introduced, there's only 40 minutes left to actually do anything,
and by then, it's far too late to unravel the messy story.
The rag-tag group of heroes globetrot around poorly-utilized European locations in the
blink-of-an-eye, and with little purpose.
Lee enjoys one of the more exciting action-oriented scenes, when he takes out a store full of
cops with a glass door handcuffed to his wrist... but unbelievably, the Asian assassin is unable
to kill some old guy collecting social security.
The minimalist and light-hearted score from accomplished composer Alan Silvestri sounds
like a low-rent discotheque, but thankfully, isn't featured much.
The widescreen cinematography manages to keep all the players in focus, but is rather inconsistent,
cutting away to disorienting wide-shots, and back to stylized close-ups that feel out of
place.
Between the infrequently used scene-transitions that remind us , that yes, this was originally
an adaptation of a comic book - the visual effects and bloodless gunplay are rarely realistic.
Although never stylized as one, the title is an acronym for "Retired, extremely dangerous"...
but this tepid experience is anything but, and is one sequel that should never have come
out of retirement.
"RED 2" has a detrimentally undernourished cast with awful action.
Here's what you had to say about it.
Far less harsh than I was, you criticized the unoriginal story, but still had fun, scoring
this a FIVE out of ten.
With this group of people, a movie this unenjoyable and disjointed is inexcusable.
I thought it was BAD.
Finally tonight, let's see what you're saying about films currently playing in theaters.
If you see a new movie in theaters, Tweet your review with the #JPMN hashtag.
Next week we'll be reviewing Keanu Reeves movies.
The bank-robbing surfer film, "Point Break", 1996's "Chain Reaction", and his latest action
film, "John Wick", which is new on DVD this week.
Once you've seen these films, share your opinions by voting in the polls below, or by leaving
a comment review.
If you'd like to watch more Movie Night reviews, check out the "related videos" on the right,
or click SUBSCRIBE to be notified of future uploads.
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episodes.
Once again, my name is Jonathan Paula, thank you for watching and listening.
Until next time, have a good Movie Night!