Holy Hell! Who would of thought that a movie with Treat Williams and Joe Piscopo was something I never knew that I truly wanted. It’s the ultimate buddy duo horror, action, comedy movie that I never realized existed until Netflix recommend that I check this out cause apparently I was watching a lot of bad movies and this is right up there with it. Don’t get me wrong, this is a bad movie, but shit man I loved watching this terrible movie about a cop named Roger Mortis, basically stopping undead criminals by becoming undead himself. Oh yeah, Roger Mortis, Rigor mortis, fucking awesome.
I fucking love this movie. One of Stallone’s finer films from the 80s, Cobra is the encapsulation of what 80s action, no filler, all killer films were all about. Who goes to see Stallone act? I sure as shit don’t as I am more interested in what watching him shoot a lot of people, all bad guys mind you. Cobra is just as cheesy as it can get with the one liners, empty dialogue and a whole metric ton of killing. If you are a red blooded American male, get your cockles ready for Cobra action while you down a King Cobra Malt Liquor bottle and feed your pet Cobra some leftovers. COBRA!
Oh Eddie Murphy…what happened? I mean, honestly, what happened? I realize that the family friendly movie genre is keeping you well off financially, but man, your films used to be amazing. You were the edgy comedian that was charismatic on screen, able to chuckle and kick ass in some dynamite films. I try and remember those halcyon days of the 80s where you were the man and I looked forwarded to your “R” rated films cause my parents didn’t really care what we watched. Thanks mom and dad! Today, I try and remember the good old days, so today is a day for Beverly Hills Cop.
Boy am I happy to be talking about these two trailers this week. Frankly I can never get enough of western films and Blackthorn looks to brings back Butch Cassidy in an interesting way with Blackthorn. Last is a trailer from the Tsui Harks latest creation starring Andy “Motherfucking” Lau as a Sherlock Holmes style detective in Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame.
Blackthorn:
If you have never seen Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, you are missing out on of the best western films out there. So if you have a little knowledge about the legend of Butch and Sundance, you know that they were supposedly killed in a standoff with the Bolivian army. Blackthorn tells the story of how Butch Cassidy survived the standoff and is living out his old days under the name of James Blackthorn. Sam Shepard (awesome) plays Blackthorn as he sets out on one last journey to to America to see his family before he dies. Along the way home he gets himself mixed up with a young criminal and has to embark on one last gunfight. I am stoked for this movie to make its way to my neck of the woods. As much as I loved Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, having a continuing story about Butch is a great plot device and story to be told. The film looks gorgeous and the pace of the trailer has a nice mix between gun play action and some long stretches of Butch reflecting on his life. If you like westerns, this is going to be your kind of movie.
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame:
So ignore the dubstep soundtrack for a second, while cool and paced well with the trailer, focus on what you just saw. If you aren’t familiar with Tsui Hark’s work, well let me tell you that this looks like one of his most ambitious and visually stunning movies to date. Mixing mind bending action scenes and unique, over the top visual style, and great story about a Sherlock Holmes style character and you got an exciting film on your hands. Tsui Hark is bringing the big guns with Detective Dee and it seems like it will be an incredible ride with Andy Lau playing the decorated detective trying to solve the mystery behind 7 murders for the empress. High-wire kung fu, fast pacing and unique flair not seen in a lot of Chinese films, means Nick is going to chomp at the bit when this comes anywhere close to my theater area.
Well, time for a few more trailers to round out the weeks worth of articles. I decided to post two more mainstream trailers rather than a couple of trailers for movies that probably wouldn’t make their way to the major theatrical releases. This week, two new trailers were released for a sequel to Guy Ritchies take on Sherlock Holmes and Martin Scorsese’s interesting family film Hugo.
Hugo:
A family adventure film from the man who has made Shutter Island, Gangs of New York and a host of other adult themed movies, I am in. Heck I was intrigued that he was taking a stab at a suspense, horror film like Shutter Island, but I know better than to doubt any of Scorsese’s work. Based on the Brian Selznick book “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” we get a whimsical tale about a young boy and his fathers automaton. The pictures boasts some impressive casting with Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lee, Chloe Moretz and Asa Butterfield, the movie is sure to have fantastic acting. I am not overly familiar with the story of the movie, but the film looks fantastic and engaging, minus the choice of trailer music.
Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows
Whew, I am not sure there is going to much detective work in the sequel to the first Guy Ritchie directed Sherlock Holmes movie. This is an action packed trailer and while cool to look at, I hope that there will be more detective insight into Holmes work. Now I loved the first one that came out. It was a fresh start to the stuffy British version we all know where Holmes sits in a study, sipping on tea and bemusing about how he foiled Moriarty once again. It was interesting to see Holmes as a more proactive character, fisticuffs and all, some people found that be a bit off putting. Again we are used to seeing and remembering about a Sherlock Holmes that is more insightful than action based. But there are stories in the Sherlock Holmes cannon that indicated that he can handle himself in a fight, maybe not with the slow downed, zen like foresight to disable his opponents. I enjoyed the bromance between Holmes and Watson as it was entertaining and brought us closer to the characters. This will be a definite see once it is released in theaters.
A little change of pace from today as we shift from a cult classic movie, to a send up of the noir, detective genre, but with some interesting touches. If you aren’t familiar with the director Shane Black’s directing work, well this is his first movie that he has both written and directed. You may already be familiar with some of his contributions to film as he was rather prolific in late 80s and mid 90s action movies. He has written scripts for Lethal Weapon 1 & 2, The Monster Squad, The Long Kiss Good Night, and even getting an opportunity to direct Iron Man 3. He has been responsible for some memorable films, so it is exciting to see what he is able to do with a dark comedy script he wrote and has Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer acting together in throwback to pulp detective books that are every bit trashy and intriguing. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a stylish and slick paced movie with sardonic wit coming from both Kilmer and Downey as a detective and criminal/actor solving an ever entangled conspiracy.
