Cinematic Throwbacks: January 1996

1996:

For many of us burgeoning film fanatics in the 90s, Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction was a core text. It made him our idol. 

But there was another movie, one not directed by Tarantino, that was almost as big a deal to me, and that was From Dusk Til Dawn.

This movie was a collaboration between Tarantino and fellow up and coming director Robert Rodriguez. Tarantino had just appeared in Rodriguez's Desperado, and done a little script work, too. Desperado was cool, so it was clear Rodriguez was on his way, too.

FDTD was a very highly anticipated movie for me. I actually saw this twice in theaters. First, I convinced my mom to take me. That, uh, got a little awkward. Then I saw it with a couple similarly film geeky friends. I technically wasn't even 17 yet, so I don't know how I got in.

This is a film that any 16 or 17 year old is certain to be intoxicated by. Violence, gore, nudity, it's all there. 

The trailer made no secret that this becomes a vampire movie halfway through. In retrospect, that's a major spoiler, but it is what it is. If you go in cold, you were just watching a great, grimy crime movie about a pair of criminal brothers (George Clooney, and Tarantino, who of course look nothing like brothers) taking a family hostage to try to sneak into Mexico without getting buster. And that's a great movie. Cool plot, fantastic dialogue in every scene, entertaining performances. If it stayed that, it would still have been a classic.

But it doesn't. Everyone ends up at the seediest of seedy bars, hilariously called the Titty Twister, and soon the workers there reveal themselves to be vampires. Then all hell breaks loose, and Rodriguez is unleashed to have all the crazy gore and makeup he could fit in. Some of it looked cheap even then, but it's fun.

Kind of the sub headline for this movie was that it was the first starring role for Clooney, then attempting the still rare TV to film crossover. Dare I say this is still arguably my favorite performance he's ever given? He's just tough guy charisma incarnate. I can't believe he's never done another Tarantino project.

Tarantino himself is decent enough in the movie. Give him credit for playing a character who is this much of a creepy psychopath. More of an acting match for Clooney is the excellent Harvey Keitel, who's the head of the family the brothers kidnap. Daughter is the very fun Juliette Lewis, and son is Ernest Liu, who has no other credits, and tbh you can see why.

Rodriguez corralled a few of his Desperado cast for this, most memorably Salma Hayek, who did a sexy dance number with a snake years before Britney, in a scene where Tarantino's foot fetish reached its zenith. Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin also pop up during the bar scenes, as do former blaxsploitation star Fred Williamson, and cult fx wiz Tom Savini as, of course, Sex Machine. 

The movie also starts with a great pre-credit sequence featuring then-unknown John Hawkes, and Michael Parks doing his Texas lawman character who would pop up in later Tarantino work. 

This movie is just a blast. It was one of my favorite movies of all time for a while. It did fine at the box office, but critics weren't so kind. They seemed pissed that Tarantino didn't just do another Pulp Fiction for them. 

I wish Tarantino had mixed in a few more movies like this, but after this movie he has only written films he has directed (this will change with David Fincher's upcoming Once Upon A Time In Hollywood sequel). The film was more important ultimately for Rodriguez.

Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys is a profoundly strange time travel sci-fi film in which a man played by Bruce Willis is sent back in time to try to help discover the origins of a deadly virus that wiped out most of humanity.

This was a 1995 release, but, you know, it wasn't widely released until January, and that's when I saw it. It got this release because it was positioned for awards. That was an unusual approach for anything in the genre back then, cause as genre-averse as the Oscars still are now, they REALLY were back then. That didn't really work out, as 12 Monkeys was a commercial success but only had one notable Oscar nomination, Brad Pitt as supporting actor.

This film could have received more awards. It was an impressive production even then, but as so often happens these days, I watch one of these older movies from the days before CGI really took over and just marvel at how great all the sets and costumes and locations, and even the fx look. There is such art on display, and it was all handcrafted. 

This was a big film for Willis, who had pulled out of his early 90s slump both critically and commercially, but who hadn't led a film like this with this type of dramatic performance. A case could be made this was his best performance. 

Pitt got the notice for his showy, manic work as a mysterious character who is in a mental institution when we first see him, but who might also be connected to the virus. The audience surrogate role in all the craziness falls to Madeleine Stowe, as a psychiatrist who at first thinks Willis is crazy, but who comes to believe him. Stowe, one of the most stunning women who has ever been, was one of those 90s actresses who was a big deal at the time, then just vanished.

The story here isn't just an excuse to have weird shit happen. It's very well put together and compelling throughout, up through a terrific downer ending.

My early days as a movie fan were highlighted by some of the great parody films. My early 90s were often defined but the, for lack of a vetter term, hood movies. Those two genres, which couldn't be more different on their own, got mashed together for, well, you see the title. Most people just call it Don't Be A Menace anyway.

This movie shares a lot in common with the next big Wayans family spoof project, Scary Movie, chiefly an uncanny attention to detail that takes a joke and makes it extra funny. You can tell the Wayans didn't just casually watch the movies they target, but really caught the details. The movie is cheap as hell, for sure, but not cheaply done.

I was so familiar with many of the movies this flick really focuses in on, primarily done as a mix of Boyz N The Hood and Menace II Society. But you got jokes in here related to Poetic Justice, Higher Learning, Juice, South Central, and even the recently released Dead Presidents.

Shawn and Marlon Wayans are the stars, modeled on Boyz's Tre and Menace's O-Dog. Marlon, in particular, is just out of his mind, with wild hair and always trying to shoot everybody.

What little plot there is involves Shawn moving to the hood and getting involved with a local girl with "more kids than Miss Wayans." But there's enough to hang a speedy 90 minute movie on. 

There's some stuff here that hasn't aged well at all, and a handful of gags that didn't even work in 1996. But most of this stuff is still very funny. "Message" worls every time. I love that they got a couple of the same minor actors from a couple of the original movies.

This spoof was so effective that it kind of ended the genre it was spoofing. You didn't see many hood movies after this. 

Other non-deep dive flicks....

1986:

-The Best Of Times: Comedy where Robin Williams and Kurt Russell re-play an old high school football game. Pretty mediocre. 

1996:

-Bio Dome: I saw this in theaters, and kind of liked it, but we were getting to the end of the Pauly Shore era. 

-Two If By Sea: In the middle of Sandra Bullock's great 90s run, we got this very forgettable romcom with Denis Leary. 

-Eye For An Eye: Sally Field wants revenge. 100% this would be a Lifetime movie today. 

2006:

-Glory Road: Solid true story sports movie about the first all black starting 5 in major college basketball. 

-Underworld: Evolution: The 2nd, and best, of the Underworld franchise. 

-Grandma's Boy: Lame Sandler produced comedy. A girl I dated made me watch this and got mad at me when I didn't like it. 

-Big Momma's House 2: I don't think I ever bothered with this one. 

-Hostel: Grotesque Eli Roth torture porn. 

2016:

-Jane Got A Gun: This Natalie Portman western was a troubled production, with director and cast changes midstream. Natalie is good, thought not one of her great works, and the film is kind of just a long setup for a finale shootout. 

-The 5th Wave: One of the many failed would-be YA franchises of the 2010s, this one was about an alien invasion and was led by Chloe Moretz, whose presence held this together. 

-13 Hours: Michael Bay's Benghazi movie could have been a political hack job, but stayed largely apolitical and was just an intense on the  ground war movie. 

-Ride Along 2: I *think* I  saw this sequel. 

-Dirty Grandpa: Robert Deniro as the titular gramps. Still traumatized from watching Aubrey Plaza jump his bones. 

Coming in February...

Well, Beautiful Girls turns 30, but I already did a 25th anniversary post on that. 

As for previously uncovered movies, Taxi Driver turns 50, Happy Gilmore and Broken Arrow join BG in the 30 club, and Deadpool turns 10. Amongst other goodies.