We're focusing on Dutch director Paul Verhoeven for the next two films, starting with his first U.S. blockbuster, 1987's "Robocop." Verhoeven, and writers Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, took what was basically a rip-off of the movie "Terminator" and turned it into a satire of corporate America. Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is a cop in future Detroit. He's just been transferred to a precinct deep in the crime-ridden "Old Detroit," and assigned as partner to Officer Lewis (Nancy Allen). On their first day out, Murphy is essentially killed, only to re-awaken in a laboratory of sorts. It turns out that OCP, the company who has privatized the police force, has plans for what's left of Murphy. Through a lengthy transformation, they replace much of his body with robotic and computer components and turn him into the one-man police force equivalent known as Robocop. But is Murphy really gone, or is he still in there somewhere? And can be bring down both the criminals who did this to him and the evil corporation that turned him into his metallic self?
The second film in our pairing focusing on the work of Willem Dafoe resulted in one of his two Academy Award nominations. The year is 1922, and acclaimed director F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich) is shooting what he hopes will be the ultimate Vampire film! Unfortunately, he was unable to get the right to "Dracula" from Bram Stoker's widow, so the names are changed, including calling the vampire "Count Orlok" and retitling the film "Nosferatu." His leading man, Gustav von Wangenheim (Eddie Izzard) and lady, Greta Schroder, have already started filming, and Murnau has his producer Albin Grau (the great Udo Kier) and the writer of the screenplay Henrik Galeen (Aden Gillett) at his side when they move the shoot to Czechoslovakia. There, the production meets up with Murnau's secret weapon: A German method actor named Max Schreck, who is protraying Count Orlok. But as the shoot continues, strange events begin to unfold, and one by one, the crew begin to suspect that, perhaps, Schreck isn't just playing a vampire... he IS a vampire! Dafoe demonstrates exactly how a great actor can truly disappear into a role, so much so that you forget it's him portraying that character! A true chameleon performance and one that netted him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, from an Academy that doesn't like or respect horror films! Plus, the trio reveal which director they're focusing on for the next pairing!
This pairing is dedicated to one of the most prolific and talented character actors working: Willem Dafoe. The trio chose two films that they believe demonstrate the versatility that makes this gentlemen one of the great character actors of our time! First up: It's writer/director Troy Duffy's brainchild that almost didn't end up seeing the light of day, but ultimately created a film that is beloved of many around the world. Two Irish-Catholic brothers, Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) MacManus believe themselves to be the hand of God, and that He has chosen them to rid Boston of evil men. Their first task is to save their neighborhood pub from Russian mobsters. This, however, draws the attention of FBI Agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe) who begins to hunt the brothers as they continue to try to clean up their Boston neighborhood. This is a tour de force for Dafoe as perhaps one of the most entertaining FBI agents ever put on film!
The second documentary in the pairing resulted in as wide a split amongst the hosts as any film reviewed thus far! Thierry Guetta moved from France to the United States in the early 1980s. He believed that every moment should be recorded because we just don't know when moments will stop being made by certain people, so he began filming everything in his life, to the point where he was never seen without a camera. Thanks to a relative, he began filming the world of street art, and slowly became known to the community. But it was a chance meeting with the famous artist Banksy that changed his life, although some would say not for the better. Initially, Guetta was the filmmaker the Banksy the subject, but partway through the story, they exchange roles, with Banksy documenting the rise of Guetta's art-making alter-ego, "Mr. Brainwash." A documentary unlike any other made, at least when this came out, and to this day no one really knows if it's a legitimate documentary or another of Banksy's statements on the hypocrisy of the world! And the trio reveal which amazing (and still alive) character actor they're dedicating their next pairing to!
It is to documentaries that we go for this pairing, starting with a favorite of all three hosts! Kirby Dick, two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature, turned to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the organization that provides the ratings for all films released in the United States, at least those that want to be shown in established theater chains. He attempted to discover how the ratings system works, but found out so much more! He discovered that the MPAA is, essentially, a private clandestine organization whose membership is kept a closely-guarded secret, and that there is no one on the ratings board, or the ratings appeals board, who has any education in film! In fact, all but one person on the ratings board is in violation of even the MPAA's own rules on who can be a rater! But to find all of this out, he turned to a private investigator in Los Angeles who helped him discover who the secret raters actually are, and revealed the one-sided application of Christian dogma to the ratings board as well! The film includes interviews with many famous directors, including John Waters, Kevin Smith, Kimberly Peirce, Darren Aronofsky, Atom Egoyan, Wayne Kramer, and Matt Stone! If you're a fan of films, this is a must-see!
We're focusing on Dutch director Paul Verhoeven for the next two films, starting with his first U.S. blockbuster, 1987's "Robocop." Verhoeven, and writers Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, took what was basically a rip-off of the movie "Terminator" and turned it into a satire of corporate America. Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is a cop in future Detroit. He's just been transferred to a precinct deep in the crime-ridden "Old Detroit," and assigned as partner to Officer Lewis (Nancy Allen). On their first day out, Murphy is essentially killed, only to re-awaken in a laboratory of sorts. It turns out that OCP, the company who has privatized the police force, has plans for what's left of Murphy. Through a lengthy transformation, they replace much of his body with robotic and computer components and turn him into the one-man police force equivalent known as Robocop. But is Murphy really gone, or is he still in there somewhere? And can be bring down both the criminals who did this to him and the evil corporation that turned him into his metallic self?
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