BLUE THUNDER

(May 1983, U.S.)

When I was in high school, I would have told you that BLUE THUNDER was one of my favorite thrillers. Twenty-seven years later, I am likely to tell you the same thing. I have always enjoyed thrillers that feature helicopters and helicopter chases. This film features one of the most high-tech machines you're ever likely to see on film. And when you have Roy Scheider as the hero, you can't go wrong.

Scheider plays Frank Murphy, an LAPD helicopter pilot officer. He's selected to pilot the world's most advanced helicopter prototype, nicknamed "Blue Thunder," which is essentially a military-style combat helicopter intended for police use in surveillance, large-scale civic disobedience and terrorist situations. With powerful armament, stealth technology that allows it to fly virtually undetected, and other accoutrements (such as infrared scanners, powerful microphones and cameras, and a U-Matic VCR), Blue Thunder appears to be a formidable tool in the war on crime. But like anything else that sounds like it might be too good to be true, there are flaws that also involve human corruption and criminal intent. Their are those who intend to use Blue Thunder to carry out an evil mission of their own that involves the secret elimination of political undesirables. At the head of this involvement lies Malcom McDowell, in one of his best roles since A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.

Then, of course, there is the spectacular helicopter chase, battle and showdown over the city of Los Angeles; a feast for the eyes and the senses that greatly surpasses an air battle that Clint Eastwood had tried to pull off (unsuccessfully) a year before with FIREFOX (1982) . In the end, by achieving a spectacular 360° loop (primarily through use of Blue Thunder's turbine boost function and extremely painful effort on his own part), Frank Murphy shoots down his enemy. He then destroys Blue Thunder by landing it in front of an approaching freight train, having deemed the tactical helicopter too dangerous to be used by anyone else. You go, Murphy!

I still miss Roy Scheider!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Jack Braddock: "I've been trying to get you all night. Why don't you answer your fucking beeper?"
Frank Murphy: "I just wanna tell you, Jack, that the next time I'm suspended, so is my FUCKING BEEPER!"

BLUES BROTHERS, THE

(June 1980, U.S.)

How many films have they made based on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE skits or characters? Too many? Yes, too fucking many! THE BLUES BROTHERS is the one and only film of that genre that I own. And why not? John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were an incredible team together, and the best of friends when Belushi was alive. This film has the kind of comedy, action, and even music that only director John Landis could once provide. I say "once" because their was a time when he was the king of comedy, with not only THE BLUES BROTHERS, but ANIMAL HOUSE (1978), TRADING PLACES (1983) and COMING TO AMERICA (1988). Sometime after that, his career died, in my opinion.

I was 13 years old when I saw THE BLUES BROTHERS on screen (only my third R-rated movie, by the way). When you're that age, it's like a rite of passage when you can occassionally see a movie with some added raunch and nastiness to it. Part of the comedy of Belushi and Aykroyd playing Jake and Elwood Blues is the subtlty of their actions. Not just in the way they calmly tear up the city of Chicago in their Mount Prospect police car when being chased by the cops (Hey, they HAVE to! They're on a misson from God!), but also in their facial gestures (check out the way they slowly look at each other whenever something out of the ordinary happens to them) and their bodily mannerisms. The two of them can dance, too, but it's still funny to watch even THAT (check out their outrageous moves in the baptist church as James Brown sings his lungs out). Oh, and Carrie Fisher is in this movie, too, as Jake Blues' vengeful ex-girlfriend, in a performance that I have found far more enjoyable than anything she ever did in her three STAR WARS films. Check her out! The girl does wonders with a blow torch and an M16 rifle! Oh, and by the way, just in case you never realized it; the man playing the county clerk at the end of the film is none other than the great Steven Spielberg himself!

It's impossible not to wonder how much more John Belushi could have given us had he not died from a drug overdose in 1982. The man WAS funny!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Elwood Blues: "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses."
Jake Blues: "Hit it."

BLOWN AWAY

(July 1994, U.S.)

During a period of one year, from the Summer of 1994 to 1995, there were four action films that focussed on bombers. They were SPEED, THE SPECIALIST, DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE and BLOWN AWAY. For the pure action adrenalin rush that so many people love, SPEED is probably the film of choice - I would choose it, too, for the same reason. For story and performance, as well as action, BLOWN AWAY stands out, thanks primarily to its two stars, Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones.

Thinking back to the 1990's, it seems that I recall many terrorist enemies in films just happened to be Irish; IRA or some outside radicalist organization. This observation is not meant to be sterotypical. Just look at the film examples; PATRIOT GAMES (1992), Irish terrorists. THE CRYING GAME (1992), Irish terrorists. THE DEVIL'S OWN (1997), Irish terrorist played badly by Brad Pitt. And finally, BLOWN AWAY, Irish terrorist played very well by Jones. This is, I suppose, how moviemakers saw terrorist before Al Qaeda and Islamic extremists became a part of our 21st Century lives.

From a purely cinematic perspective, BLOWN AWAY is a spectacular action film with a reasonably intellignet, viable story to boot. Bridges plays Lt. Jimmy Dove, a veteran disposal technician for the Boston police bomb squad who knows his enemy, Ryan Gaerity (played by Jones), an Irish terrorist (with a rather sick sense of humor) who's recently escaped from a prison in Northern Ireland. Dove knows Gaerity's tactics well because he used to be with him in Ireland before he came to Boston to escape his violent past. So basically, you have a story about the good guy who was once a bad guy, but he's not bad anymore and now he has to stop the bad guy from taking personal revenge against the good guy by blowing up Boston and killing its cops. Understand?

Favorite line or dialogue:

Ryan Gaerity: "I've come here to create a new country for you called chaos, and a new government called anarchy."

BLOOD SIMPLE

(January 1985, U.S.)

I love the Coen Brothers! Mind you, that doesn't mean I've loved EVERY film they've ever made. BARTON FINK (1991) was only okay. I didn't like BURN AFTER READING (2008) and I couldn't even get past the first 30 minutes of A SERIOUS MAN (2009); way too Jewish for my taste and my patience. I mean, I know their last name is COHEN, but...damn!

Except perhaps for the late Stanley Kubrick, there are virtually no directors who can call themselves totally original; everybody copies from someone else. Watching a neo-noir crime film like BLOOD SIMPLE means experiencing many twisted plot elements (the love triangle, the jealous husband, a brutal murder and the clean-up process afterwards, etc.) that the great Alfred Hitchcock used many times in many films. What you hope, though, is that perhaps new filmmakers can add something new and something different that will make their own film stand out. In BLOOD SIMPLE, what stands out is how violent murder is filmed as an art. Let me try to explain...

In my opinion, there are three types of murder on film that can bring about three different types of reactions from a viewer. The first is the typical Bruce Willis/Sylvester Stallone-type action hero who shoots down his enemy like it was merely target practice. This kind of murder usually causes a reaction of enthusiastic excitement. The second would be a gory slaying from any number of horror film seial killers like Michael Myers (HALLOWEEN) or Jason Voorhees (FRIDAY THE 13TH). This kind of murder serves to playfully scare and shock us, which is why most people would watch a horror movie in the first place. The third type of murder is played out in BLOOD SIMPLE; it is murder that takes its time and succumbs to the the virtuosity of the camerawork. Take a long good look at the face of the private investigator (played chillingly by M. Emmet Walsh) as he shoots the jealous, vengeful, husband (played by Dan Hedaya) in the chest only one time, but then proceeds to just keep his gun pointed at his victim and stare at him, as if making a serious and valid point about what he's just done. The scene takes its time, murder takes its time, and death takes its time.

This film can be called a murder mystery, but not in the old fashioned "who done it" way. We know who done it! We've been watching it all along. The mystery lies in watching and wondering what's going to happen in the aftermath to those that were involved in murder. And in keeping with just a little bit of Hollywood happy ending tradition, the bad guy IS killed by the good guy (or woman, in this case) in the end.

BLOOD SIMPLE was the Coen Brothers directorial debut, and in my opinion, one of the best films of the 1980's.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Marty; "You think I'm funny, I'm an asshole? No no no... what's funny is HER... what's funny is, I had you two followed, because if it's not you she's sleeping with, it's someone else... what's funny is, when she gives you that LOOK, and says, 'I don't know what you're talkin' about, Ray, I ain't done nothin' funny'... but the funniest thing to ME is... you think SHE came back HERE for YOU... THAT'S what's FUCKIN' FUNNY!!!"

BLAZING SADDLES

(February 1974, U.S.)

In my humble opinion, comic director Mel Brooks has produced three categories of films. There's the great; THE PRODUCERS, BLAZING SADDLES and YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN. There's the reasonably decent; HIGH ANXIETY, HISTORY OF THE WORLD-PART I and SPACEBALLS. Finally, there's the downright fucking awful; LIFE STINKS and DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT (it's such a shame that THIS was Brooks' film swan song). So I'm pleased to be able to focus on the great with BLAZING SADDLES.

It surprises me that many would credit AIRPLANE (1980) with creating the genre of the outrageous, spoof comedy that spawned other franchises like THE NAKED GUN and SCARY MOVIE. Really, it was this satirical western that started it all. Among other things, the film exposes the racism obscured by myth-making Hollywood accounts of the American West, but in a highly satirical way, with the film's hero, Sheriff Bart (played by Clevon Little) being black. The film is also full of anachronisms, from a Jazz band in the Wild West to a rustler referring to the Wide World of Sports to Nazis and a camel waiting in the line for villains to a Yiddish-speaking Indian chief (played hilariously by Brooks). Seriously, what's not to laugh at?

Now, once and for all, let's me clear up a common misconception that I've been hearing from fans of this film. The line that goes, "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!" did not, I repeat DID NOT originate from BLAZING SADDLES. A variation of it was spoken in the Humphrey Bogart classic, THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) and it goes like this, "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges." BLAZING SADDLES is spoofing the line! Understand?

Favorite line or dialogue:

Gabby Johnson: "I wash born here, an I wash raished here, and dad gum it, I am gonna die here, an no sidewindin' bushwackin', hornswagglin' cracker croaker is gonna rouin me bishen cutter!"
Olson Johnson: "Now who can argue with that?"

BLADE RUNNER

(June 1982, U.S.)

I am writing this post on Ridley Scott's 1982 original release of the film...

Do you know what a "Blade Runner Minority" is? No, of course you don't. You've never heard it before because it's a term that I invented. It's how I've referred to myself in relation to Ridley Scott's science fiction masterpiece, BLADE RUNNER, for over twenty-five years. I was one of the few who saw the film when it was orginally released in the Summer of 1982; that makes me a "Blade Runner Minority". I was one of the few who loved the film from the time of its original release; that makes me a "Blade Runner Minority". Finally, I'm one of the few who actually prefers the original 1982 version with the Harrison Ford voice-over narration and so-called happy Hollywood ending over the re-worked 1992 "Director's Cut" and the 2007 re-worked "Final Cut" versions; THAT, my friends, makes me a "Blade Runner Minority".

The first time I ever saw it in a small movie theater in Westhampton Beach, Long Island, when the opening credits began to the intense themes of Vangelis and the film opened with the awesome visual effects of a complex, dystopian Los Angeles in the year 2019, I knew I was in for something special and something significantly different from the years of special effects I had seen in STAR WARS films, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and the like. In this bleak and grim version of the future, engineered organic robots called replicants—visually indistinguishable from adult humans—are manufactured by the all-powerful Tyrell Corporation. Their use on Earth is declared illegal. Replicants who defy the ban and return to Earth are hunted down and "retired" by police special operatives known as "blade runners". Enter Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford). Through his eyes and ivestigation, we not only see the future for what it is, but we're also taken to the edge of human distinction. What makes us human? What makes us artificial? Can we tell the difference? Can we control our emotional responses and actions even when we discover the difference? Can we prevent falling in love against our better judgement? These are question only the appreciative viewer can answer for themselves.

Although BLADE RUNNER is a futuristic film thriller, it operates on multiple dramatic and narrative levels; it's greatly indebted to classic film noir conventions: the femme fatale, protagonist-narration, dark and shadowy cinematography, and the questionable moral outlook of the hero. BLADE RUNNER is also a prime example where time has miraculously improved a film. Primarily disregarded and pull quickly from theaters in 1982, it's gained a worldwide cult popularity ever since. Today, many consider it a spectacular and intelligent film achievement. They're not wrong.

BLADE RUNNER - in my opinion, is the best film of Ridley Scott's career, one of the best science fiction films ever made and also one of the top ten films of the 1980's.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Roy Batty: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain...time to die."
Rick Deckard (voice-over narration): "I don't know why he saved my life. Maybe in those last moments he loved life more than he ever had before. Not just his life - anybody's life; my life. All he'd wanted were the same answers the rest of us want. Where did I come from? Where am I going? How long have I got? All I could do was sit there and watch him die."

BLACK SUNDAY

(March 1977, U.S.)

Here's something you may have forgotten (or possibly never knew) about BLACK SUNDAY. The original 1975 novel was written by Thomas Harris, the same man who created the character of Hannibal Lecter. It's also the only story he's ever written that DIDN'T involve Hannibal Lecter. It's a story of terrorism that was inspired by the Munich massacre, a Black September attack on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Michael Lander (played by Bruce Dern) is an American blimp pilot deranged by years of torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, a failed marriage, and a bitter military court martial. He longs to commit suicide and take as many people as possible with him. So he conspires with Dahlia Iyad (played by Marthe Keller), an operative from a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September, to launch a massive suicide bombing on American soil. They plan to detonate a flechette-based bomb, housed on the underside of the Goodyear blimp, over the Miami Orange Bowl during the Super Bowl between Pittsburgh and Dallas. American and Israeli intelligence agencies, led by a Mossad agent (played by Robert Shaw) and an FBI agent (played by Fritz Weaver), race to prevent the horrific catastrophe. It's a Hollywood film, of course, so the good guys prevent the disaster, kill the bad guys and all is right with the world. It's a film that still holds up well today because when you watch it, your mind drifts back to September 11, 2001. You wish with all your heart that there might have been a touch of Hollywood storytelling in that event. In that story, our American government would have stopped Al-Qaeda, the Twin Towers and the Pentagon Building wouldn't have been attacked and thousands of lives would have been spared. All I can say about that, is that like it or not, Hollywood movies are not real life.

BLACK SUNDAY has been and remains my all time favorite film thriller.

Favorite line of dialogue:

Michael Lander: "My last Christmas in captivity, they allowed me one letter, from Margret, and in it was a photograph of Margret and the kids standing in front of the house, and the shadow of the person that took the picture was in the foreground, and it was wide and it fell on their legs, and all I could think about was who took the picture? I spent more time looking at the shadow than I did at my own wife or kids. I was just gonna give Margret and the kids somethin' to remember me by. I was just gonna give the guy that took the picture somethin' to remember me by. I was just gonna give this whole son-of-a-bitching country somethin' to remember me by! If they can do it to me, why shouldn't I be able to do it to them???"