Days of Thunder

Days of Thunder (1990)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Directed by: Tony Scott

Starring: Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, Nicole Kidman, Michael Rooker, Randy Quaid

From: Paramount

Half paying attention to the World Cup match last night between the United States and Paraguay-where Paraguay got its ass kicked!-was the main inspiration for me to see a Tom Cruise film; he was there at the match in the Los Angeles suburbs, sitting next to David Beckham and his wife. No comment on Beckham or his wife!

My reason for selecting Day of Thunder: recently, elsewhere there was discussion over the blatant homage to Top Gun in The Mandalorian & Grogu. Unfortunately, it wasn't until after Tony Scott passed away that I better appreciated his talents. That's even on a troubled production like this, where Don Simpson & Jerry Bruckheimer were out of control, spending millions of dollars frivolously & partying all the time like they were Eddie Murphy.

The plot itself: standard sports story where Cruise (named COLE TRICKLE as there was once a driver in the sport named DICK TRICKLE, no lie) is a hotshot racer in another level of auto racing who wishes to join NASCAR. There are rivals, a crew chief who is the source of occasional friction, a team owner responsible for more friction, a love interest, crashes, some laughs, an amusing freeze-frame ending... what is an asset is that according to Wiki, several incidents in the film actually occurred w/ real-life NASCAR drivers, as many characters were based on figures in the sport. Thankfully, Trickle wasn't an unstoppable hero; rather, he had many flaws.

Additional assets included appearances from those involved w/ the sport (including driver turned announcer Ned Jarrett, who just passed on the 4th of this month), races filmed well, entertaining characters, a great cast full of familiar faces, and the thankful decision to have Nicole Kidman be more than just a love interest by her delivering a fiery promo over how dumb Cruise was as a macho man who believed he could control fate, especially in an auto race with “other infantile egomaniacs.” In addition, there's a nice score from a young Hans Zimmer, collaborating w/ the forever-underrated Jeff Beck.

Days of Thunder is silly yet especially now, I appreciate a big motion picture that doesn't wink at the camera and takes the subject matter seriously. While I don't watch NASCAR, some races were viewed when I was a kid in the 80's and 90's. As the movie accurately portrayed, it was still a Southern phenomenon, thus hotshot Cruise from California would ruffle feathers, and I'm sure there were teams that drank moonshine while on the road. That is a memorable milieu I'm sure is a bygone era long-gone from NASCAR. There is but one reason why there was no regrets in discussing the film here.

The Last Voyage

The Last Voyage (1960)

Runtime: 91 minutes

Directed by: Andrew L. Stone

Starring: Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, George Sanders, Edmond O'Brien, Woody Strode

From: MGM 

For those that love obscure old aquatic disaster movies… late Wednesday night, I DVR’ed this film from a Turner Classic Movies screening; that night they played a few films in that category, most prominently The Poseidon Adventure. I have viewed & reviewed that but not The Last Voyage. The cast is what intrigued: Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone (yes, a reunion of a pair who were in a pair of Sirk films; they didn’t just do Written in the Wind. There’s also The Tarnished Angels), George Sanders, Edmond O’Brien, and Woody Strode.

The action began immediately after the MGM logo. A fire in the boiler room would soon lead to a massive explosion. Captain Sanders was way too reluctant to admit this was an issue and they should evacuate. Much of the drama was Malone being trapped by debris due to the explosion. They have a young daughter best described as “cherubic” who cries often. I was reminded why disaster films tended to have more characters-even at only 91 minutes there is still a time or two where the momentum seemed stalled.

There’s a continuity issue or two and I was always amused when the occasional random monotone narration from disembodied voice would appear. Otherwise, The Last Voyage was a pretty good time. The performances are all satisfactory + there are plenty of suspenseful scenes/setpieces during the runtime, some of which were appropriately sweaty. The key asset of the production was the usage of the French luxury liner SS Ile de France, a ship about to be scrapped. The filmmakers were able to wreck that ship, adding plenty of authenticity to the proceedings.

A nice detail is that Strode-always shirtless due to the part but I’m sure he didn’t complain as he was in tremendous shape-had a heroic role larger than you’d first suspect. In this era, that was nice to see a Black person play such a character.

For those that like at least some of the disaster flicks from the heyday of the 70’s & wish for more, The Last Voyage might be a trip worth embarking on.

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: William Asher

Starring: Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell, Bo Svenson, Julia Dufy, Marcia Lewis

From: Royal American Pictures

What a movie to watch during Pride Month!

I’ve known of this movie for years, that there are incestuous overtones, that this was one of Bill Paxton’s first roles-back then, he was known as William Paxton-that there was a twist. Well, I was unaware that homosexuality was a plot point, that negative stereotypes are mentioned and that Bo Svenson’s police detective is incredibly homophobic, uttering a certain slur often.

Poor Jimmy McNichol-no, not because he had the same hairstyle as his sister Kristy had at the time, to steal a line. Rather, he’s a 17-year-old who lost his parents as a toddler due to a car wreck. I’ve never seen Final Destination 2 but know its most famous death due to cultural osmosis-well, it was that kind of car wreck-that opening was shot by Jan de Bont, of all people. Jimmy’s aunt Cheryl is insane, and not just because she has “feelings” for her own nephew. She is mentally ill. Mix that with the vile character Sevenson portrayed and the movie is not the most comfortable watch.

Be that as it may, the movie is still perversely entertaining, especially if you enjoy watching trashy pictures. It is critical to note: the movie is NOT homophobic; in fact, the movie demonizes homophobia, portrays homosexual characters rather positively-especially for the era + presenting bad behavior from the cops-I know many will appreciate the film for those details alone. What I’ll remember most about this motion picture is the unsettling vibes throughout, some gory deaths, and especially the performance from Tyrrell.

Susan Tyrrell was tasked with delivering a BIG, BOLD performance, and this she did superbly. This went a key component of making Butcher a dark delight. The rest of the cast was fine (including Julia Duffy as Jimmy’s girlfriend & “That Guy” actor Britt Leach) and the direction from veteran William Asher was decent-much of his work was in television, including I Love Lucy and Bewitched! 

Whether you call it Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker or Night Watcher-an even more nonsensical title-this stands out as something different in the slasher era and for certain tastes, the picture will be a masterwork.

The Bowery

In the first of two posts I'll make tonight, here's an interesting Pre-Code picture I recently peeped: 

The Bowery (1933)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Raoul Walsh

Starring: Wallace Beery, George Raft, Fay Wray, Jackie Cooper, Pert Kelton

From: 20th Century Pictures 

I’ll apologize for not “being myself” a few times in June already; in fact, as the kids would say, I “crashed out” at least once! It’s best for me to forget about outside factors that have resulted in a lousy June so far. As I’m still hoping for a nice variety this month, the way I’ll return to normal is by viewing something old & obscure but the Pre-Code fans will at least find this interesting. A mutual’s rave review in the past put this on my radar; finally, I gave this a shot-I made the right decision w/ this Raoul Walsh effort.

This effort from 20th Century Pictures (as it was known then before they merged with Fox) couldn’t have been made once the Hays Code was a thing; I heard that a place name in 1890’s New York featured the N-word… that is correct. Well, that word is also said aloud, along with other racial slurs that won’t be repeated. That is only one of many wild moments-this was quite entertaining, even if Wallace Beery-in a totally Wallace Beery role-hits an annoying woman from behind w/ a slapjack, knocking him out! BTW, Beery is named CHUCK CONNORS.

Beery owns a saloon; George Raft-as STEVE BRODIE-is a rival. A unique conceit is that both lead volunteer fire brigades, although they move on from that plot point as their feud escalates once Fay Wray enters the picture. Little Jackie Cooper is also around-his character was SWIPES MCGURK-as a scamp who has Beery as a father figure. This balances different genres rather well: comedy, drama, romance, action, and there’s even a few songs. The film is a lot of fun-salacious moments aside-even if the two stars did not get along during filming-allegedly because Raft started getting cast in roles that Beery would have had before. Spoiler, but the two characters fight each other and well, it apparently got out of hand.

The pace is fast, the cast full of familiar faces-there’s small parts for Charles Middleton, “That Guy” actor Irving Bacon, Paulette Goddard, Heinie Conklin (he of many movies & many Three Stooges shorts) and in an important historical note, The Bowery was Lucille Ball’s first role. Pert Kelton was a performer unknown to me yet she was utterly delightful in her few scenes.

The Bowery was a rather good tonic that brightened my mood; hopefully there will be no further hiccups in the month of June.

An Update

Here's what I posted yesterday on Letterboxd instead of a film review due to massive site issues which involved me posting the same review twice Don't worry, I'm back to normal now... well, as normal as I'll ever be: 

For those wondering why I posted two reviews of the same movie yesterday that were identical except for the second review including an opening blurb bemoaning how horrible the Letterboxd site is… that’s because the Letterboxd site is horrible, barely functional in general to the point it’s like everything is held together by chewed gum and chicken wire but was nonfunctional for a long period yesterday, while attempting to post a review. June still hasn’t been a great month so far and at the time this kerfuffle was occurring, the idea of taking a sabbatical from a site that's inexcusably bad for the amount of years this platform has existed was a strong one.

Today, I don’t feel that way; however, I still am miffed at how bad the site is, at least on desktop-the app has its own bugaboos. Don’t you just love it that for YEARS, when you attempt to follow someone, on almost every occasion you have to press the “follow” button like a DOZEN times before the action finally occurs?

If I continue to experience massive issues in simply attempting to post a review, then yes expect a sabbatical from me that’ll last who knows how long. For now, though, expect business as usual starting tomorrow. No way did I feel like checking out any films last night.

Brigade of Death

Brigade of Death (Brigade Des Moeurs) (1985)

Runtime: 96 minutes 

Directed by: Max Pecas

Starring: Thierry de Carbonnieres, Jean-Marc Maurel, Lillemour Jonsson, Bernard Rosselli, Gabrielle Forest

From: A collection of different French companies 

The sleaziest movie I’ve ever seen! This infamous French effort has been known by me for ages; it likely was first discovered via a mention on the Rupert Pupkin Speaks blog, it was that long ago. A streaming copy w/ English subtitles wasn’t available, legal or otherwise. In the midst of discovering another way of finding movies in the wilderness that is the Bowels of the Internet (long story) the inspiration was had to finally find a copy and add English subtitles-again, long story.

Brigade sets the tone immediately w/ its opening. Trans prostitutes are shown speaking to potential customers one night. A group of rowdies say the expected offensive comments to them, before a quartet of men in black leather & helmets on a pair of motorcycles guns them down, enormous squibs on their bodies producing plenty of carnage. 

The police are caught in the middle as a gang of rogues are targeting the empire of a drug czar known as The Greek. The storytelling comes across as fuzzy at times but that’s the gist. Gerard is a Vice Squad cop who is a loose cannon & this increases to an amazing degree after his sister is killed then other women he knows are targeted.

Let’s see, this has:
* Gruesome deaths. The finale includes a few that are wild.
* Homophobia. Besides the trans moments, the lead bad guy is a homosexual. You can guess which slur is bandied about more than a few times.
* Innocent people are killed
* Sex/nudity is ever-constant. This includes a threesome of naked people at a club and a literal orgy at a fancy soiree.
* The most noteworthy detail that will make people upset; the vibes of misogyny. Bad things happen to most of the women you see on screen: sexual assault, men beat them up, dudes make offensive comments towards them, and of course, some of them die.

The content of the movie is shocking by 2026 standards. However, those that enjoy trashy movies and are like me and are OK with seeing ultra-sleaze at least once in a blue moon… I never want a steady diet of such pictures but I wasn’t let down after not only viewing a few bad movies in a row, but in addition waiting for years to experience this insanity that made many Italian poliziotteschi flicks look restrained in comparison. Mondo Macabro released Brigade of Death on Blu so thankfully there is an option to legally see the movie-

BTW, the English dub is purportedly putrid so I’m relieved that wasn’t the version I tracked down.

Alone in the Dark

Alone in the Dark (2005)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Uwe Boll

Starring: Christian Slater, Tara Reid, Stephen Dorff, Frank C. Turner, Will Sanderson

From: Several different companies in the United States, Canada, & Germany

It was not the intention to watch another poorly-rated movie; starting tomorrow, I’ll return to a more cheerful disposition & see cinema I actually like. However, a mutual recently mentioned that I should watch “bad movies” more often. Well, I haven’t done this as often in recent years but in the past I once in awhile would watch such tripe as bad old B-movies, more than one effort from the notorious Uwe Boll and even in this decade, I’ve partaken in Madame Web, Cats, and the Ice Cube War of the Worlds-all are indeed rancid.

Unlike my last two reviews, I don’t foresee anyone becoming extraordinarily angry or befuddled why I found Alone in the Dark to be a disaster. Not only do most find the movie terrible, I actually did watch this before, like 20 years ago! So little was retained from the initial viewing, this might as well have been a first-time-watch. Boy, is this barely-based on a videogame picture incredibly bad. It’s irrelevant that none of those games in the franchise have been played, or that I know nothing about the franchise.

The film opens w/ a hilarious, rambling, massive infodump attempting to explain this nonsense plot. Frankly, the details aren’t important; this involves a vanished civilization, the paranormal, portals… things happen, but the viewer won’t give a darn about the scenarios or the characters, unless you get offended at the blatant ripoff of scenes from Aliens like I did. It’s all poorly told, utterly bewildering; I haven’t hated every Boll that’s been tackled but he’s tremendously flawed and most are pretty bad. It was clear why most of the details were long-forgotten.

There’s also an elephant in the room; it’s nice seeing the lead players & I can’t complain about the performances of Christian Slater or Stephen Dorff; I’m glad that both are still acting in films that at least get some sort of theatrical release. However, the decision to cast TARA REID as an archaeologist/museum curator was as absurd as described. That performance wasn’t great and she’ll never be a master thespian but I hate to eviscerate her. I’ve never hated Ms. Reid as there’s been no reason to & I feel bad that she’s had those “personal demons” for years. It was only unintended irony that the CG resembles a 2005 videogame, which is not a compliment.

I’ll be happy to soon forget most of Alone in the Dark again. This does not even have the temerity to be funny-bad like The House of the Dead with all its astounding creative choices. Alone is simply a mind-numbing, unenjoyable experience. Boy, am I now anxious to start watching good cinema again!