Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Alfred P. Pseudonym
May 29, 2006

And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss goes 8-8

Megaman's Jockstrap posted:

John Woo suffers a bit from William Gibson Syndrome in that his brilliant original stuff seems less good because it so thoroughly got copied into the zeitgeist. It holds up tho. Hard Boiled, especially, has a ferocious intensity and action-framing that will simply never be anything less than amazing.

Yeah I watched Hard Boiled for the first time recently and it loving ruled.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

SimonCat
Aug 12, 2016

by Nyc_Tattoo
College Slice
Hard Target remains the best Van Damme movie.

GoodyTwoShoes
Oct 26, 2013
Hard Target 2 (Scott Adkins) is good because everyone involved loved the original. They even included some "John Woo Doves." Unfortunately, it takes place in Myanmar, so there is no warehouse full of Mardi Gras floats.

Megaman's Jockstrap
Jul 16, 2000

What a horrible thread to have a post.

SimonCat posted:

Hard Target remains the best Van Damme movie.

It's not only a great action movie, the politics of the movie are extremely good. Just an extra bonus.

Neo Rasa
Mar 8, 2007
Everyone should play DUKE games.

:dukedog:

Alfred P. Pseudonym posted:

Yeah I watched Hard Boiled for the first time recently and it loving ruled.

The pacing and editing of that movie really is fuckin' incredible.

WeedlordGoku69
Feb 12, 2015

by Cyrano4747

Megaman's Jockstrap posted:

It's not only a great action movie, the politics of the movie are extremely good. Just an extra bonus.

Also, y'know, Wilford Brimley riding a horse away from an explosion while hooting in Cajun, aka the greatest image in cinematic history.

Big Bob Pataki
Jan 23, 2009

The Bob that Refreshes

GoodyTwoShoes posted:

Hard Target 2 (Scott Adkins) is good because everyone involved loved the original. They even included some "John Woo Doves." Unfortunately, it takes place in Myanmar, so there is no warehouse full of Mardi Gras floats.

I forgot this existed and I've been on a heavy Adkins kick. Bless you.

Narzack
Sep 15, 2008

Alfred P. Pseudonym posted:

Yeah I watched Hard Boiled for the first time recently and it loving ruled.

Hard Boiled is still pretty much the best gun-based action movie ever made

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

Narzack posted:

Hard Boiled is still pretty much the best gun-based action movie ever made

For me personally John Wick 2 took the crown recently, but it's not like I can really argue with you if Hard Boiled is your #1.

Narzack
Sep 15, 2008

Basebf555 posted:

For me personally John Wick 2 took the crown recently, but it's not like I can really argue with you if Hard Boiled is your #1.

Ditto, amigo. Ditto. Love John Wick.

Tart Kitty
Dec 17, 2016

Oh, well, that's all water under the bridge, as I always say. Water under the bridge!

SimonCat posted:

Hard Target remains the best Van Damme movie.

It’s hard to say its a “perfect” movie in a general sense, but it is absolutely a perfect action film, and the supporting cast elevates it to one of the most rewatchable of the genre.

Lumbermouth
Mar 6, 2008

GREG IS BIG NOW


LORD OF BOOTY posted:

Also, y'know, Wilford Brimley riding a horse away from an explosion while hooting in Cajun, aka the greatest image in cinematic history.

Van Damme PUNCHES A SNAKE OUT and then turns its unconscious body into a booby trap.

God, Hard Target rules.

Megaman's Jockstrap
Jul 16, 2000

What a horrible thread to have a post.
There was a 10 year period from 93 - 2003 where I was kinda down on Hard Target and honestly it's proof that someone can become a better person as they age.

Tart Kitty
Dec 17, 2016

Oh, well, that's all water under the bridge, as I always say. Water under the bridge!

Lance Henrikson doesn’t get the credit for that movie he deserves. He plays an absolute capital-A Archvillain, and it rules.

Olympic Mathlete
Feb 25, 2011

:h:

aight so I'm gonna re-watch Hard Boiled and watch Hard Target which I missed growing up. I'm looking forward to this, thank you thread!

thrawn527
Mar 27, 2004

Thrawn/Pellaeon
Studying the art of terrorists
To keep you safe

Tart Kitty posted:

Lance Henrikson doesn’t get the credit for that movie he deserves. He plays an absolute capital-A Archvillain, and it rules.

I mean, he didn't stop acting when he literally caught on fire. He's amazing in that movie.

Narzack
Sep 15, 2008
I don't know, man. Like, it's a top tier Van Damme movie ( probably up there with Bloodsport and Kickboxer), but I don't think it's very good Woo.

Narzack
Sep 15, 2008
Did anyone else watch Triple Frontier? It was okay, I guess. I feel like it should have been much better, though. Especially with how cool and bombastic the beginning was. The robbery was cool enough, some tension, some baffling decisions. Stuff like no silencers or suppressors on their weapons? Redflly just shrugging off his SUPER CONCRETE timeline. The bad dude waiting until the room was full of dudes with guns to come out of his safe room.

And it felt like a lot of the plot threads didn't seem to go anywhere, like Ironhead's wound and the bit about the money not being just one dude's money and everyone coming after them. And then the big climax being a bunch of lovely teenagers in a pickup. Maybe I just went into it with the wrong expectations, but I wasn't blown away. Good cinematography, though, and I liked the characters.

Narzack fucked around with this message at 15:12 on May 3, 2019

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

Narzack posted:

Did anyone else watch Triple Frontier? It was okay, I guess. I feel like it should have been much better, though. Especially with how cool and bombastic the beginning was. The robbery was cool enough, some tension, some baffling decisions. Stuff like no silencers or suppressors on their weapons? Redflly just shrugging off his SUPER CONCRETE timeline. The bad dude waiting until the room was full of dudes with guns to come out of his safe room.

And it felt like a lot of the plot threads didn't seem to go anywhere, like Ironhead's wound and the bit about the money not being just one dude's money and everyone coming after them. And then the big climax being a bunch of lovely teenagers in a pickup. Maybe I just went into it with the wrong expectations, but I wasn't blown away. Good cinematography, though.

I think it definitely diverges from expectations on purpose, Affleck's turn into a money-crazed psychopath was an interesting idea but they didn't quite pull it off imo.

It was decent but mostly carried by a few solid actors and like you said, it's pretty good looking. In the end though I have to consider it a missed opportunity for something even better.

Narzack
Sep 15, 2008
For sure. I'll definitely check out the next thing the director does.

pospysyl
Nov 10, 2012



I thought there were a couple of interesting subtleties to it, like Charlie Hunnam's character constantly lecturing the other teammates, but only after indulging their worst impulses. You basically have six flavors of rear end in a top hat on the same team, and that's kind of neat. It probably makes for a better screenplay than movie, though.

sean10mm
Jun 29, 2005

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, MAD-2R World

Narzack posted:

I don't know, man. Like, it's a top tier Van Damme movie ( probably up there with Bloodsport and Kickboxer), but I don't think it's very good Woo.

Yeah it's not so much Woo-y as craz-y IMO.

Narzack
Sep 15, 2008
I just rewatched the masterpiece that is Police Story and I'm struck by how vicious the final fight is between Jackie and Hark-On(Danny Foo). It's bloody wild. Really, Jackie is totally insane in the entire finale. Just an absolute madman. It's interesting, because the entire movie, Hong Kong tonal shifts aside, isn't really as lighthearted as I remember. But, then again, for years, I'd only seen the New Line dub/edit.

Lobok
Jul 13, 2006

Say Watt?

Narzack posted:

I just rewatched the masterpiece that is Police Story and I'm struck by how vicious the final fight is between Jackie and Hark-On(Danny Foo). It's bloody wild. Really, Jackie is totally insane in the entire finale. Just an absolute madman. It's interesting, because the entire movie, Hong Kong tonal shifts aside, isn't really as lighthearted as I remember. But, then again, for years, I'd only seen the New Line dub/edit.

So much glass. So, so much.

This is one of my favourite moves of all time. Not just out of Jackie Chan films. Just one of the best moves from anything. The move by itself deserves an Oscar. And I can watch it a thousand times and still not totally remember the proper sequence of how he gets a guy to go from standing up to being wheelbarrow-swung face first through a loving display case.

brocked
Oct 25, 2005

All shall love me and despair!
Is this the one with the drive down the hill through shanty town?

I love the second one for the tiny, deaf, bomb-throwing Kung Fu villain

Narzack
Sep 15, 2008

brocked posted:

Is this the one with the drive down the hill through shanty town?

I love the second one for the tiny, deaf, bomb-throwing Kung Fu villain

It is. And the scene where he points a gun at the double decker full of bad guys, who then slam the brakes, sending three of said bad guys flying through the windshield and hitting cement.

Snowman_McK
Jan 31, 2010

Lobok posted:

So much glass. So, so much.

This is one of my favourite moves of all time. Not just out of Jackie Chan films. Just one of the best moves from anything. The move by itself deserves an Oscar. And I can watch it a thousand times and still not totally remember the proper sequence of how he gets a guy to go from standing up to being wheelbarrow-swung face first through a loving display case.



It is, for my money, Jackie Chan's best work. It might not have his best fight scenes (that's Drunken Master) or his best stuntwork (that's probably Project A 2) but it's the best encapsulation and summary of what made him different from his contemparies, predecessors and the ones who came after.

And that mall fight is the best microcosm, how you feel his desperation and pent up frustration coming out. After being neutralised and framed for much of the movie, finally he can let loose. It's a loving amazing 10 minutes. The best gag for me was the guy getting hit into the air, landing between the two escalators, and sliding all the way down.

Lobok
Jul 13, 2006

Say Watt?

Snowman_McK posted:

It is, for my money, Jackie Chan's best work. It might not have his best fight scenes (that's Drunken Master) or his best stuntwork (that's probably Project A 2) but it's the best encapsulation and summary of what made him different from his contemparies, predecessors and the ones who came after.

And that mall fight is the best microcosm, how you feel his desperation and pent up frustration coming out. After being neutralised and framed for much of the movie, finally he can let loose. It's a loving amazing 10 minutes. The best gag for me was the guy getting hit into the air, landing between the two escalators, and sliding all the way down.

And also getting him up off the ground just to kick him into the air towards the escalators.

Wazzit
Jul 16, 2004

Who wants to play video games?

Snowman_McK posted:

While I'm getting far too excited about John Wick 3, especially the scene with the SWAT team, it seems like visible armour in films rarely, if ever, does anything. It seems like body armour worn under clothes, no matter how thin, will do a lot more than a full body armour suit. I'm keen to see what JW3 does with that idea, with him having to shoot the enemies dozens of times.

Was able to see an early screening of John Wick 3 yesterday. I think you're gonna love it.

Basebf555 posted:

I was having a hard time keeping my John Wick 3 hype in check so I did a Letterboxed list yesterday: https://www.letterboxd.com/basebf555/list/15-movies-to-watch-before-john-wick-chapter/

Great list. I'd also say that The Good The Bad And The Ugly might belong on there.

Narzack
Sep 15, 2008

Snowman_McK posted:

ecessors and the ones who came after.

And that mall fight is the best microcosm, how you feel his desperation and pent up frustration coming out. After being neutralised and framed for much of the movie, finally he can let loose. It's a loving amazing 10 minutes.

Yeah. He's this insane lunatic rage monster just laying waste to bad guys. But he's not invincible- he gets plenty tore up. He's just unrelenting.

Snowman_McK
Jan 31, 2010

Wazzit posted:

Was able to see an early screening of John Wick 3 yesterday. I think you're gonna love it.

Do the dogs make it? If not, I need to brace myself.


Narzack posted:

Yeah. He's this insane lunatic rage monster just laying waste to bad guys. But he's not invincible- he gets plenty tore up. He's just unrelenting.

Speaking of, this is kind of the same deal for Wick. He's this invincible dude, but the actor and film work hard to help you understand how he's doing this. By the end of it, you look back on the small army of dudes he beat the poo poo out of, but each one, at the time, felt...plausible isn't quite the right word, but it's something like that. Earned, maybe. It's a very fine line that Chan was able to walk perfectly.

Narzack
Sep 15, 2008
One of the reasons why Die Hard is so legendary.

Snowman_McK
Jan 31, 2010

Narzack posted:

One of the reasons why Die Hard is so legendary.

Die Hard owns because everything every character does has a clear reason for happening. It's full of characters who respond to their circumstances and make decisions. Villains don't just appear and throw themselves in front of a gunsight. It's an exceptional, really intricate action film.

Delzuma
Dec 4, 2004

LORD OF BOOTY posted:

Also, y'know, Wilford Brimley riding a horse away from an explosion while hooting in Cajun, aka the greatest image in cinematic history.

I made a printout of this scene and got it autographed by Wilford Brimley about 12 years ago. It’s one of my favorite possessions.

got any sevens
Feb 9, 2013

by Cyrano4747
I just saw Hard Ticket to Hawaii in the 4k restoration and that is almost as fun as Hard Target, but obviously not as overall competent. drat fun though

Wazzit
Jul 16, 2004

Who wants to play video games?

Snowman_McK posted:

Do the dogs make it? If not, I need to brace myself.

The dogs make it out fine with a small scare, and the action sequence with them is incredible.

Snowman_McK
Jan 31, 2010

Wazzit posted:

The dogs make it out fine with a small scare, and the action sequence with them is incredible.

That's a relief. I've finally convinced my wife to give them a go, and I think she'd lose it if some woofers got hurt, again, in the third one.

Obviously the dog from the first one is fine. He was hurt a little bit, but now he lives on a farm and he's fine. They pet him a lot.

muscles like this!
Jan 17, 2005


LesterGroans posted:

Hell yeah. That's Koba from the Planet of the Apes movies.

He also did the mocap for Kong.

Narzack
Sep 15, 2008
It's the yearly time for us to take a few moments, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5VSi7YNr4Y, and discuss the great tragedy that is Eric Jacobus not being a leading man.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Al Cu Ad Solte
Nov 30, 2005
Searching for
a righteous cause
Eric Jacobus kicks rear end. I've been following him since his Stunt People days and Contour, which has some incredible fight choreography to this day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZp8j6xoDeg

Watching this again I dig how fun the camera work and editing is.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply