Friday, 15 November 2019
Episode 177: The second film in our pairing of modern war movies is from 1998, and may very well be the finest, most honest, most horror-filled, and most accurate war film in the history of cinema. "Saving Private Ryan" was directed by modern master Steven Spielberg, and features an amazing cast of talented actors including Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Matt Damon, Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti, and Dennis Farina, to name but a few! The first 30 minutes of the movie takes you to the invasion of Normandy in a way no film has ever even attempted, let alone succeeded this well! Brutal, bloody, and brilliant, this film (like "Full Metal Jacket") doesn't shy away from showing the horrors of war, but being set in World War Two, it doesn't take quite as pessimistic an approach as the previous film. And then, find out what director (enjoyed by two of the three hosts) will be the focus of the next pairing, and which host isn't looking forward to it at all!
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Episode 176: We turn to modern war films for this pairing, starting with legendary director Stanley Kubrick's last good film, 1987's "Full Metal Jacket." Starring Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, Arliss Howard, and the premiere of the incredible R. Lee Ermey as Gny. Sgt. Hartman, turning in a performance that actually caused Stanley to allow him to improvise, something Kubrick was famous for prohibiting in his actors! This film is a no-holds-barred look at the true horrors of war and the toll it takes on those who enlist during wartime. Set in the Vietnam War, this film is a two-part story: The first follows the squad through the hell that is basic training for the Marines, while the second part shows some of them out in the wilds of Vietnam, coping with the moral ambiguity that comes on a battlefield. And while this film is difficult to watch, it's a movie everyone should see at least once!
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Episode 175: Romero waited 10 years to release a sequel to "Night of the Living Dead," but when he did, he had the support of fans across the world as well as other filmmakers! Italian horror-master Dario Argento offered up his house so Romero could write undisturbed, acted as script supervisor, and even wrote and performed the score (with his band "The Goblins"), all in exchange for the editing rights to the European release. This film solidified Romero's rules for zombie films, rules he would follow in every other "Dead" film he'd ever make. This one, in color, was going to be assigned an "X" rating by the MPAA due to violence alone, so Romero released it unrated. Were it any other filmmaker, and any other film, this would have spelled disaster, but everyone wanted to see this film, so distributors actually sent it to theatres unrated. The end result is the 2nd seminal zombie film, this time taking place in an early fully-enclosed shopping environment we would come to know as a "mall." Plus, the trio reveal which first-time (for them) genre they'll be tackling for the next pairing!
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Episode 174: It's the first of our Halloween episodes, this time focusing on the father of the modern Zombie genre, George Romero! Written and directed by Romero (co-written by John Russo), the film was shot on a shoe-string budget, with a lot of barter being done for set elements, props, and make-up, in exchange for the business owners getting to be zombies in the film! But what came out of it is a frightening film that set the tone for decades of zombie cinema to come! Starring a cast of unknowns, this is truly the independent film that becomes known all over the world, but perhaps not exactly for the reason you might think. The trio talk about how a mistake just before release was bad news for Romero, but it turns out to be wonderful news for this film and the burgeoning zombie genre! High marks from every member of the trio too!
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