It’s time for mid-’90s domination this week.
While I didn’t originally intend to serve everything up from the decade that was grunge, movie magic, and Windows 95/AOL combinations FTW (for the win), it turned out that way.
While they may all be from the ’90s, they are a diverse group. Action popcorn flick — check. Classic horror — check. An Arnold movie — check (which isn’t actually from the ’90s, but whatever).
How about a movie with the tagline “Boot Up or Shut Up” — double check.
Interested? If not, check you pulse, you might be watching Montel.
It’s pick ‘em six time!
Popcorn Movie of the Week
Broken Arrow
When I say popcorn movie of the week, I mean it. Broken Arrow is pure popcorn. It’s not much else either. Which, can’t really be a huge slight against it — do you really expect a Christian Slater movie directed by John Woo to win an Oscar? The historical significance to Broken Arrow probably lies in it being one of Travolta’s first roles as a bad guy, along with another John Woo classic, Face/Off. There’s only one reason you watch Broken Arrow, and that’s for the action, which it delivers. Enjoy a nice cameo from Howie Long as Bad Guy #4 (he’s not actually credited as that, but you get the idea) and Broken Arrow really rounds out the ’90s action experience nicely. One word of caution — If you don’t know what a music video is, then you may not “get” Broken Arrow. Post-Jersey Shore MTV’ers need not apply.
Scream
Timing is everything. Scream has been out for a few weeks now, but with the release of My Soul to Take, Wes Craven’s first writing/directing effort since New Nightmare in 1994, it seems appropriate to revisit the Craven classic. Not to mention the buzz on Scream IV is about to heat up soon, so it’ll be a nice little warm up to what Wes has in store for us over the next two years. In terms of Scream, the movie itself, it really was groundbreaking. It spawned a successful spoof series (Scary Movie), and really eliminated a lot of complete horror crap that was being tossed America’s way over the previous decade. Maybe this was a bad thing though, because when you consciously identify and point out all the ludicrous things about a genre, you take the converstation from a joke between fans, to an artist mocking, or burning all his previoius work. With Craven’s high-profile in the genre it seemed the master was ready to put all his work to bed. The ironic thing about it all was Scream managed to actually mock itself, yet follow a lot of the rules it was mocking. It’s an anomaly in the horror genre, and it should be watched again, with it’s wake now prologue to the future or the horror genre.
The One That Got Away
The Negotiator
One of my favorite movies that never seems to get its due is The Negotiator. Nestled tightly between a slew of other ’90s action/thrillers, The Negotiator got a bit lost in the shuffle. Well, it’s a stand out on Netflix. Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson face off in a high-risk hostage takeover. The twist? Jackson himself is a hostage negotiator, and Kevin Spacey is out of his jurisdiction, requested specifically by Jackson. The doesn’t have any major holes, and the story is moved along at a just-right pace. Spacey even has a few tricks up his sleeve that the audience probably won’t see coming, but he can’t get to Samuel L. that easily. The play between these two top-notch actors, set in a framework of a high-tense situation really pushes The Negotiator into a rare territory of suspense. It’s a must watch for those who haven’t seen it.
In & Out
Kevin Kline isn’t a favorite of mine. Don’t ask me why… okay, go ahead and ask me. Answer: I just don’t see the appeal. He seems like the type that makes really intelligent jokes, but no one around is laughing, which doesn’t seem to phase him. The problem is, I get those intelligent jokes, and they aren’t intelligent. Kline just seems to think they are. So, there’s a bit of snobbery that I always associate with Kline’s performances. In & Out in a glaring departure from that framework. In fact, Kline plays a guy who actually doesn’t have a clue about a lot of things — mainly his sexuality. In a tale of self-discovery filled with Barbara Streisand reference, Joan Cusack, and of course, Matt Dillion as an Oscar-winning actor, In & Out really covers a lot of ground. Then, just when you think it can’t get any funnier, the moustache’d man himself, Tom Selleck, steals the entire movie.
For the Movie Buff
Hackers
Angelina Jolie was quite a handful a few years ago. Before Billy Bob and that whole Brad Pitt thing, she had found a niche as the hot-yet-crazy girl in a lot of films. She won an Oscar for that type of role in Girl, Interrupted actually. Then, with her Oscar in tow, she decided to save Africa. I guess that makes sense. Maybe I’m being too hard on Angelina… back to the point. Hackers is a cool little movie. Jolie is in it, and just watching it makes you consistently double-take to make sure that is in fact Angelina Jolie. Thankfully the movie is good enough to distract you from that constent double-takes, and really plays as an amazing time capsule into computers, the internet, and technology in general just two decades ago. This movie was cutting edge when it came out, man. Now, it seems so out-dated. I mean, they didn’t even have Google, let alone Chrome back in the day. For a serious refresher course of where the internet spawned from, and the Hollywood-version of the cool Hackers of the day, check this one out.
The Running Man
Snuck in all the way down at #6 on the list is a cult classic that should be forever preserved in the vaults of cinematic history, wherever those are. Arnold Schwarzenegger is put in the middle of a deadly game — The Running Man. He and his fellow contestants must battle their way through a group of trained killers that seem to have been ripped right out of Tim Burton’s dreams. All of this is, of course, set in the future. After Arnold loses a few of his teammates (not the hot chick he will score with, though) he discovers that this “game” is really a lot more than meets the eye. See how Arnold gets his vengeance, and delivers those one-liner like no one else can.
Sweet Streams. See You Next Week!
All movies this week are available on Netflix.
Past Weeks of Flicks to Steam
Week 27 – XXX, Ransom, The Professional, World Trade Center
Week 26 – The Goods, Defiance, Sphere, The Haunting in Connecticut
Week 25 – Star Trek, Iron Man, The Cove, Super Size Me, She’s The One
Week 24 – Did You Hear About the Morgans?, How to Lose Your Lover, Kicking and Screaming
Week 23 – Fired Up!, White Squall, The International, The Answer Man, Wonder Boys
Week 22 – The Men Who Stare At Goats, The Hunted, One Last Thing…, Teeth
Week 21 – Dude, Where’s My Car?, Sex and Breakfast, Never Back Down, Multiplicity
Article written by Lee C. Jaster on GotchaMovies.com. Reposted with permission.
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