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The Warriors (1979)
Coney Island's BEST
If you're talking cult movies from the 1970s then The Warriors is seminal to that conversation. The mood and atmosphere and visual-style of this movie encapsulates the crime-ridden city that was New York in the 70s. Today when people discuss the movies of the grind-house era, The Warriors is the pinnacle of that. For this little time capsule alone you can enjoy this movie since 99% of the film was shot on location.
This movie is a freight-train of momentum that doesn't let dialogue slow it down. The plot is bare bones and characterization is kept to a minimum but very thing works. Before Mad Max: Fury Road, there was The Warriors and both movies share many similarities in their general approach to pace and world-building. I won't slow things down by discussing the storyline or characters, because you need to enter this movie and experience it for yourself.
Recently the pod-cast Don and his Amazing Friend did a thorough discussion of the movie where the covered everything from the original scripts to all the minor items to look for throughout the movie. It's worth a listen...but only after you take the time to watch or re-watch this classic movie.
Check out the review at - www.donandhisamazingfriend.com
Bloodsport (1988)
Good Fun! Van Damme's Best?
Recently I revisited Bloodsport for the first time since my initial viewing at the theater in 1988. Surprisingly, the movie holds up well...far better than I was expecting...and probably better than the dubious history of real-life fighter(?) Fred Dux.
Upon my initial viewing one of my problems with Bloodsport was the lack of flashy fighting sequences. But, in today's MMA world the fights look pretty darn good and with the exception of the bouncy-guy and the finale with the over-the-top acting, the rest of the fighting rings surprisingly realistic.
Bloodsport was VanDamme's first movie and it still holds up as one of his best. I have a soft-spot in my heart for Timecop as well. If you're in the mood for a simple bubblegum movie on a Friday night, then this is a great flashback to the hey-day of 1980s action movies. The pod-cast Don and his Amazing Friend recently did an episode reviewing the movie which is worth listening to (www.donandhisamazingfriend.com).
The Octagon (1980)
NOT Prime Chuck
This movie should be the easiest sell for a movie ever...
NORRIS V. NINJAS The problem is the concept makes for an exciting movie but the execution is lacking as the movie meanders all over the place never settling on the one area we want to see - NORRIS V. NINJAS! It literally takes 90-minutes to get to the actual Octagon and then when the fights start they are choreographed in a fairly dull manner (as is common when Chuck and Aaron handled all the fight scene choreography). A movie with ninjas needs more flash and better use of weapons and...well...ninja skills.
Still, this is Chuck Norris so if I complain too much he'll find me.
The podcast Don and his Amazing Friend (www.donandhisamazingfriend.com) just did a thorough review of this movie...so thorough their podcast is almost longer than the actual movie. Give it a listen!
Mad Max 2 (1981)
One of the All Time Best!
The Road Warrior (a.k.a. Mad Max 2) is one of the seminal action movies to come out of the 1980s. It singlehandedly created the post-apocalypse genre and the look of said genre that still remains to this day.
George Miller's direction in this sequel to Mad Max is of the highest caliber and the movie never even slows down to catch its breath. The greatest pleasure with a movie like this is that it's done in a pre-CGI world so the stunt work and chases are practical and as real as you can get for a movie. Show any fan of action the 18-minute finale and they'll be sold.
The podcast Don and his Amazing Friend just released an audio commentary for this episode which is pretty great. You can find it on You Tube or on their website (www.donandhisamazingfriend.com). They have some great information and the episode can be watched with or without viewing the movie at the same time.
And obviously...if you loved The Road Warrior be sure to see Mad Max: Fury Road to witness what George Miller is still capable of creating with a massive budget behind him.