Cinematic Throwbacks: May 1982/1992/2002/2012

1982:

Rocky 3 was the first time the franchise kind of left the grittiness behind. 1 and 2 are very down to earth dramas. 3 is heightened. It's got some of that 80s cheesiness. 

So Rocky 3 finds Rocky in his prime as a champion. He's rolling through fight after fight. He's doing a silly charity fight with a wrestler (Hulk Hogan). But then he faces off against Clubber Lang (Mr. T) and gets his ass handed to him, plus his trainer Mickey dies. It takes Apollo Creed to bring Rocky back from the depths, to train him for the rematch.

Of the good Rocky movies this has always been my least favorite. It's not anything in particular, just prefer 1, 2 and 4 more. I don't think the fight with Clubber at the end (where, spoiler, Rocky triumphs) is as good as others.

But this entry brought us "Eye Of The Tiger", the Rocky-Apollo bromance, the series best moment for Adrian, and Mr. T's bravado. 

1992:

Lethal Weapon 1 is a fairly serious cop action drama with some traces of dark humor. 2 is a bit more of a comedy-action mix.

Lethal Weapon 3 is pretty much a comedy. I think this might have actually been the first movie of the series that I saw.

Back before he became supremely problematic, Mel Gibson had developed into a hell of a comedic actor. I think even by Lethal Weapon 4 he had gotten a little weary, but LW3 has him in peak comedic form. He is hysterically funny at times in this movie, and his chemistry with Danny Glover was already well established as one of the best pairings ever. 

The movie also brings back the Joe Pesci character from 2, and to pretty good effect. And most memorably this movie gives Gibson one hell of a love interest in Rene Russo, who kicks ass and looks hot while doing it, and is very funny herself. She was a known commodity a little bit before this, but this really kickstarted her 90s run.

Notice no mention yet of the plot or the villain? That's cause both are about as generic as they come. Doesn't matter though. Lethal Weapon 3 is massively entertaining and a sterling example of some of the best of the cop buddy genre. 

2002:

Following his breakthrough film Memento, Christopher Nolan was well on his way to being one of the very best directors on the planet. His Batman movies cemented this, but in between Memento and Batman he also made a film that isn't quite as known or as celebrated, but is also a stone cold classic.

Insomnia is a remake of a Norwegian film (which wasn't bad itself), both about a cop chasing down a killer. This one takes place in Alaska, during a time in the year the sun never sets (a great setting for a thriller). A young girl has been murdered, and Al Pacino and his partner have been brought to town to investigate.

There is no mystery here that Robin Williams plays the murder suspect. He's right there on the poster. He was in all the marketing. But the film teases his arrival. He doesn't actually show up until well into the film, isn't heard til even later, and it's still later til he interacts with anyone else on screen. 

By 2002 the idea of a cop and a killer having a sort of cat and mouse thing going was old hat. Here there is the wrinkle that during a pursuit of Williams in a thick fog, Pacino accidentally shot and killed his own partner. Williams knows this. And was it really an accident, or payback to keep Pacino's partner from ratting on him to internal affairs? Much of the last half of the film involves Pacino trying to make sure the shooting gets pinned on Williams, while also trying to ensure the inciting murder does as well.

The Pacino-Williams dynamic is riveting. This is one of Pacino's last truly great performances, and Williams is as great here as he ever was. That neither one was Oscar nominated for this is an all time travesty.

Hilary Swank is also excellent as an idealistic local cop who really looks up to Pacino.

They don't make these kinds of films anymore. It's a certainty that if this property were made today it would be a series, and probably lesser for it. Nothing beats the tension and forward momentum of a well made 2 hour film. 

What a weird movie this is.

The New Guy came in as the high school movie boom had faded. It had even sat on the shelf for a while before getting released. I knew of it cause back then I followed movies through production a lot and if something had Eliza Dushku in it it was on my radar. 

It eventually got dumped into theaters right between Spiderman and Star Wars. Naturally it didn't make a lot of money.

The early 2000s were a strange time. It was a time where, albeit briefly, Hollywood tried to turn DJ Qualls into a movie star. He plays a high school geek who goes to another school and re-invents himself as a cool badass.

Decent enough hook for a high school comedy. What transpires in the movie is just pure chaos. Things happen in the story that make no sense.

Why is Eddie Griffin in this movie? Why does Dushku almost immediately go for Qualls? Why does Qualls influence all the girls in school to hook up with other geeks? Why is there a Patton parody? 

I liked that even though this was another of those teen movies centered around a big lie (when they were harmless), once the lie is revealed it doesn't really change much.

The movie is pretty funny and likable. Qualls is a consistently fun guy. Dushku is just at the peak of her powers here (and whoever thought of the bikini modeling montage deserved an honorary Oscar). There are weird cameos. It's not a comedy classic or anything, but as a fun little artifact I still enjoy it. 

It's not hard to see where the genesis of Undercover Brother came from. This film wanted to be Austin Powers, but for blaxsploitation instead of Bond.

And it worked. This movie was not the hit that even the slow burn first Powers was, but it was arguably even funnier, and if there were justice this would have spawned its own franchise.

The movie is packed with funny jokes and world building, dealing with the fight against The Man, the secret organization devoted to destroying black people (so, basically the GOP). Yeah there's some dated stuff in there, but most of it holds up. And the movie does make fun of everybody. But it's all pretty goofy and good natured. 

Now, I don't think Eddie Griffin is anywhere close to the comedic star that Mike Myers was, and his filmography after this movie is quite awful, but this was a great star turn for him. And most importantly, Undercover Brother has one of the absolute best ensembles of any comedy maybe ever. Dave Chappelle, Chi McBride, Aunjanue Ellis (who is now an Oscar nominee but to me is forever Sista Girl), and Neil Patrick Harris (and this is the movie that kicked off his 2nd career act as a comic star). Even Denise Richards isn't that bad in this. And while Billy Dee Williams isn't really funny in this, his role is a lot of fun too. *reflexively sings General's Fried Chicken song*

Now, this movie doesn't have a good villain. Chris Kattan is the main bad guy here and he is frankly pretty grating. But he gets eaten by a shark, so had the franchise happened he would not have been back anyway. 

And yeah, they did make a sequel a couple years ago but it had no returning actors and also had no laughs and in general was one of the worst comedy sequels of all time. 

2012:

Certainly in the running for my favorite live action Wes Anderson film, Moonrise Kingdom is about a boy scout who runs away with the girl he loves. The adults in town give chase.

This is just a hugely charming and enjoyable little movie. It has all the Anderson trademarks, but this one has more sincerity than anything he has ever done. It's a genuine feel good movie.

The two kids are likable. Neither have gone on to do anything but they work in this. The star adult cast is great. On my rewatch this time I particularly enjoyed what will now be one of Bruce Willis's last great performances. He's a local sheriff and is such a nice guy in this. Willis was always such an underrated actor.

Edward Norton is also hugely entertaining in this as the scout leader. Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, and Tilda Swinton as a character literally named "Social Services" are also all terrific. 

I've retroactively softened up to Borat, but the first time I ever really found Sacha Baron Cohen to be funny was in The Dictator, his first stab at a more mainstream comedy...even if it's about a murderous middle eastern dictator. 

Sometimes I rewatch something for this blog that I haven't seen for years and am blown away by how good it is. That's the case with The Dictator, maybe because a lot of the political humor in it hasn't aged a day.

I don't think this movie would have had a chance at being made now. There are a lot of jokes that, even though they are meant to be offensive coming from an offensive character, would be seen as over the line now.

It's just a really damn funny movie though. Cohen is great. Anna Faris is pretty funny as well. Cohen has a self aware speech at the end of the movie that is all too real about America ten years later. 

Other non-deep dive flicks:

1992:

-Encino Man: I'm actually kind of surprised I don't own this movie considering how many times I used to watch it. 

-Alien 3: The much reviled David Fincher entry in the franchise. I only saw it once a loooong time ago. 

-Poison Ivy: The peak of the Drew Barrymore as jailbait phase. 

-Far and Away: This was a fairly notorious Cruise/Kidman bomb at the time. I do think this kind of sweeping epic was a weird match for Ron Howard, as was a thick Irish accent for Cruise. But it's not awful. Cruise and Kidman, who I liked here, have easily their most engaging chemistry of their 3 films they did together. 

-Sister Act: I think I saw this in theaters. I know I didn't like it. 

2002:

-Unfaithful: One of the last films of this type that were any good.

-About A Boy: I kind of liked this Hugh Grant dramedy. I was actually very fond of the TV show version they did a few years back with Minnie Driver. 

-Hollywood Ending: Woody Allen flick. I know I saw it but remember nothing about it. 

-The Sum of All Fears: The time that Ben Affleck took over the Jack Ryan role. This got delayed after 9/11 cause of the scene of a bomb being detonated at the super bowl (which will probably happen if the Vikings ever hold a 4th quarter lead in one). 

-Enough: This was kind of where Jennifer Lopez's movie career began to implode. A terrible domestic abuse thriller, although the scene at the end where she beats up her abusive ex was kind of fun. 

2012:

-Men In Black 3: Wow do I not remember a thing about this, other than Josh Brolin playing the younger Tommy Lee Jones. 

-Battleship: This board game turned action movie leaned into the joke and actually wasn't that bad as I recall. 

-What To Expect When You're Expecting: A bunch of big name actresses get pregnant. Not by me. 

-Dark Shadows: A very bad Tim Burton movie. 

Coming in June...

The best Star Trek movie, The Wrath of Khan, turns the big 4-0.

The best pre-Nolan Batman movie, Batman Returns, turns the big 3-0.

Minority Report turns 20, as predicted.

And some other stuff. Tbh I'm glad there are no more major ones.