One more left in this weeks 6 pack but still one more nomination for Best Picture of sequels.
From 1976 James Fargo's The Enforcer
Harry Callahan is back once again & this time he's up again terrorist formation of Vietnam Veterans who are holding the Mayor ransom. This time he has a rookie partner who is of all things a woman. Can Dirty Harry clean up the scum & succumb to the changing social times?
Wrap it all up in a moment but first some shameless self-promotion & pandering. Im on Twitter @Blaxunshine so if you care to see what is being watched during the week or whatever is being burped into cyberspace follow me..I'll try to make nice & follow you back.
As well a few of people who I follow on Twitter who I haven't mentioned yet that you should check out.. Goregirl , FuriousCinema & MrSatanism . Sure there's more but I want to get to some serious drinking here soon & have a hungering for Sloppy Joes.
As I said @ the beginning of this show 19 films were watched this week. Here's what didn't make the cut for best picture... The Four Musketeers, Alien Resurrection, Cannonball Run II, Chained Heat II, Deathstalker II, Escape From The Bronx, Escape From LA, Ilsa the Tigress of Siberia, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Missing in Action III & Oh God You Devil.
So let's serve up that last can of golden amber for this week of sequels. Best Picture– The Pabst Blue Ribbon
Again the nominations were Django Strikes Again, Return of the Street Fighter, Dawn of the Dead, The Color of Money, Shaft in Africa & The Enforcer
..And the winner is
Dawn of the Dead
Believe it or not when I originally saw Dawn of the Dead in my early teens I didn't like it. I found it boring & overlong. No where near the original Night of the Living Dead that I loved. I didn't watch it for years finding new appreciation for it some time later. It grows on me more & more every time I watch it (this time included) which is probably why it took the best picture award this week. It truly is landmark for the genre. Many think it's the best but I might have to argue that because of the pie fight but I won't split hairs..I'd rather split skulls.
Well that will do it for the week of sequel & I'll be back w/ another instalment of beer drinking & cinema watching.
One more round from the house before
getting to the Blue Ribbon but before that the next nomination for
Best Picture of the week of sequels.
From 1973 John Guillermin's Shaft in
Africa
John Shaft goes under cover to Africa
to infiltrate a slave ring where natives are taken to Paris to work
for cut rate pay & live in over crowded boarding house. He
learns how to master a stick to bust some heads & takes time out
to shag some tail proving that he more then deserves the name of
Shaft.
Onto the next award..Best Male
Performance – The Bud
Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson in The
Color of Money
After unceremoniously being retired
from pool playing in The Hustler some 25 years later Newman is back
in this fantastic role. Older, wiser & hungry again Newman is
now the teacher of the hustle only he ends up teaching his pupil a
little too well & just when he thinks he has found some character
in his last run is played himself.
Sonny China as Terry Tsurugi in
Return of the Street Fighter
Chiba isn't so much of an actor as he
is mad powerhouse of badass bone crushing kung fu. When he breaks
loose he is a mesmerizing trill to watch. His role of Tsurugi has
cult written all over it that I have more then willingly bit into.
Some may call Bruce Lee The Master but Sonny Chiba is brilliant
controlled mayhem.
Richard Roundtree as John Shaft in Shaft in Africa
Roundtree as Shaft the epitome of black
machismo. He jive talkin, take no bullshit, bed the ladies
mother-fuckin cool ass. Moving this series from the inner-city to
Africa may seem sorta jump the shark but Roundtree's mastery of this
role makes the character work..even more then in Shaft's Big Score.
Christopher Lee as Dracula in Dracula
Has Risen From the Grave Christopher Lee as Dracula
Lee's 4th go around as
Dracula for Hammer I love him in this role. He exudes evil by sheer
presence & his blood soaked eyes makes the hair on my arms stand
up. Everyone else who tries to take on the role of Dracula can suck
my dick w/ fanged teeth..Lee is The Master.
Clint Eastwood as Harry Callahan in The
Enforcer
Although Eastwood isn't as dirty in the
role he is famous for in The Enforcer he gives something else in this
move...he's funny w/out deliberately trying to be. His original
disdain for woman on the force is hilarious & his investigation
after he's suspended is quite entertaining proving he doesn't need
high calibre artillery to pull off this role..even if there is some
of that. He doesn't always need to be dirty but he's loved even more
when he is.
Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken in
Escape From LA
Escape From LA was one of the last
movies that I watched this week & I almost didn't take it in
because I didn't like it when I originally saw it. Im glad I did
because I found it worlds better mostly for seeing Russell in another
outing as Plissken. Sure it can't hold a candle to the original but
Russell makes it more then watchable as the iconic character that I
fucking love.
..And the winner is
Paul Newman in The Color of Money
Newman is a legend w/ so many great
roles to his resume but w/ The Color of Money he does something
magical. He takes a fantastic character of his & brings him full
circle w/ what appears to be such ease & elegance. It's like
drinking a perfectly aged wine w/ a excellent cut of meat w/ just
the right amount of marble. Just may be one of his finest moments &
that is saying a fuck of a lot considering what he had accomplished.
Reaching back into the cooler for the
last cold one.
Half way through this 6 pack & I'll crack into the 2nd part in a moment but first another nomination for Best Picture for the week of sequels.
From 1986 Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money
The long belated sequel to Robert Rossen's The Hustler Fast Eddie Felson returned to the world of pool hustling only this time he takes a cocky protege under his wing stake horsing him on the way to Las Vegas. Along the way Felson finds some gas still in the tank & mounts a comeback of his own.
Onto the next golden amber award..The Good, the Bad & the Ugly of the week. The award for the moment that is so fucking good, so bad that it's awesome or just so ugly that it sicks out more then anything else – The Colt 45
From Ilsa the Tigress of Siberia – Chainsaw Arm Wrestling
After one inmate accuses another of stealing his bread Ilsa settles the score in a sadistic way that only she would know how..by having the two men arm wrestling w/ the losers arm being driven into the blade of a chainsaw. So fucking badass that this should be a national sport available on PPV.
From Shaft in Africa – Shaft's Dog Is Killed
While going to sign up to be a slave someone beats Shaft's dog w/ a stick killing him. Oh you should know better then to fuck w/ Shaft's dog. Pissed as hell he does battle to avenge his pooches demise taking his own stick & caving the mother-fuckers cranium in.
From Cannonball Run II – Conway & Knotts Get Bitch Slapped By An Orangutan
Entered in the Cannonball Run Tony Danza's car has an Orangutan posing as the driver. Cops Tim Conway & Don Knotts pull him over only to have the shit smacked out of them from the hairy monkey. Cannonball Run might be a bit of a turd burger but I could watch this kind of abuse to two comic legends all day long.
From Return of the Street Fighter – Chiba Busts Some Skull
@ any moment Sonny Chiba can bust your ass 4 ways to next Sunday. Sometimes he takes it to the extreme like when he cracks some poor fucker in the back of the head so hard his eyes explode out of his head. Chiba is a mother-fucking bad-ass.
From Escape From the Bronx – Sugar in Henry Silva's Coffee
How many times have I fucking told you? Don't put sugar in Henry Silva's coffee. It makes him crazy!!..Like you need Henry Silva any more crazy.
From Deathstalker II – Midget w/ A Lute
Musical entertainment was hard to come by back in Mid-evil Times. Monique Gabrielle had the cutting edge in audio entertainment – a midget that played a lute..as I always say 'you know it's a good movie if it has a midget in it'.
..And the winner is
From Return of the Street Fighter – Chiba Busts Some Skull
One thing that I truly love about The Street Fighter series aside of Chiba's excessive ass kicking is there is always a moment or two when things are taken to the extreme. This is that moment & it is a thing of fucking beauty..Viva Chiba.
Time for a tuna melt to soak up some of this booze..& another beer
Before the next award let's serve up
another nomination for Best Picture for the week of sequels.
From 1978 George A Romero's Dawn of the
Dead
The living dead are back & they're
fucking hungry. A traffic reporter, a television-exect & 2 SWAT
team members set to the sky to escape the onslaught & happen
across a shopping mall where they take refuge in Romero's
continuation to the film that rewrote the zombie genre & the
world of cinematic horror.
Time to serve up the next award. Best
Female Performance – The C.L.I.T.
Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in
Alien Resurrection
Weaver returns once again for the 4th
time as she is resurrected but she is more alien then the Ripley we
once knew who battled the terror from a distant planet. In fact
she's the mother. Weaver has a great time w/ the role even poking a
little fun @ times w/ the character that keep this franchise afloat.
Tina Turner as Aunty Entity in Mad Max
Beyond Thunderdome
Turner is one of the saving graces in
this Mad Max entry that just can't compare to the legendary first
two. For her sheer presence & sense of style she helps you
forget just how weak this 3rd PG-13 trip to the well
actually is.
Tyne Daly as Kate Moore in The Enforcer
The 70s were a hard time for women who
were trying to fit into professions originally intended for men.
Just imaging how hard it would be to try to get the job as a police
inspector when you have no experience & to be partnered up w/
Dirty Harry Callahan. Daly holds her own quite well as a fish out of
water trying to play w/ the big boy & in the end proves that
anything men can do women can do just as well..well maybe not because
she does get blown away but that's just sorta par for the course
being Callahan's partner.
Dyanne Thorne as Ilsa in Ilsa the
Tigress of Siberia
Not really sure how they can keep
making Ilsa movies when she dies @ the end of each of them but Im
glad they do. Thorne is back for a 4th time as film's
most diabolical female characters & she's an Grindhouse icon in
this role. Torture is her pleasure but not as much as having her
sandwich stuffed w/ meat.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Carmen
in The Color of Money
Some may argue this when she was in
Scarface but in The Color of Money Mastrantonio gives the best
performance of her career. She exudes a very sexy quality quite
easily. Together w/ Newman she plays Cruise perfectly that it's magic
to watch. Leaning the ropes of the hustle she never keeps her eye
off the payoff.
Jennifer Tilly as Tiffany in Bride of
Chucky
Tilly is a sex vixen nimp. Ive always
thought so. Although she is only in Bride of Chucky physically for
the first half of an hour she oozes the part w/ evil intentions. She
carries on proving that she's not just a pretty face once she's
possesses the body of a doll & helps breath some much needed life
into a waning franchise...In fact it's the best of the lot mostly
because of her.
..And the winner is
Tina Turner in Mad Max Beyond
Thunderdome
Sure just on franchise status alone
this could have gone to Weaver or Thorne but Turner does something
very special in Mad Max Beyond Thurderdome. She saves a movie that
isn't really all that good & a little long in the tooth. If
producer were smart they should have made a prequel (or sequel) to
this based on her Aunty Entity character alone.
Crack into the 2nd half of
this 6 pack in a moment. Plenty more on tap.
1 down 5 to go & I'll get to more
brews in a moment but first the next nomination for Best Picture for
the week of sequels.
From 1974 Shigehiro Ozawa's Return of
the Street Fighter
Terry Tsurugi is back this time to take
on the Yakuza who have been embezzling money from charities for their
own financial gain. It's time for Tsurugi to kick some ass w/ the
mad skills that only he possesses & to once again take on his
returning revival Tateki Shikenbaru.
Time for the next golden award..Best
Soundtrack or Score – The Rolling Rock
The Color of Money
The music to The Color of Money is
often bluesy smooth as a finely distilled bourbon & packs the
wallop as sinking the 9 off a break so often seen in Martin Scorsese
films w/ the likes of Eric Clapton, Willie Dixon, BB King, Robert
Palmer & Warren Zevon.
Shaft in Africa
You can't not have a funky badass
soundtrack for the blackest Shaft of them all. Once again like Issac
Hayes in the original Shaft has another fitting theme song for that
bad mother in Are You Man Enough by The Four Tops.
Escape From LA
John Carpenter always has the best
synth scores to his films & the theme from the original classic
is back. The remainder of the soundtrack is a powerhouse & is
probably twice as good as the return of Snake Plissken w/ the likes
of Tool, White Zombie, Gravity Kills & The Butthole Surfers
Dawn of the Dead
Goblin create some of the greatest film
scores ever. Their work on Dawn of the Dead is legendary. So
mother-fucking badass that it would be used again in Hell of the
Living Dead.
Bride of Chucky
Although it sometimes it feels like the
songs in Bride of Chucky are just there to add tracks to a soundtrack
you have to admit that those involved is an impressive list in The
Screamin Cheetah Wheelies, Rob Zombie, Monster Magnet, Judas Priest &
Slayer.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Although not overtly a fan of the
actual score of this 3rd Mad Max outing you can't deny
Tina Turner's involvement. We Don't Need Another Hero is a fucking
80s classic.
...And the winner is
Escape From LA
I used to fucking love the soundtrack
to this film. It's actually sorta an extension containing songs
inspired by as well so there isn't actually any of Carpenter's synth
score on the disc itself. I won it from out local newspaper when
they had a contest during Escape From LA's release if you could name
all the films starring Kurt Russell directed by John Carpenter.
Personally I don't think anyone else entered the contest so I lucked
out. I used to play it in heavy fucking rotation when I go it &
the song The One by White Zombie was my lead during my radio shows in
college.
Going to get to the first award of the
show in a moment but let's serve up the first nomination for the
coveted Blue Ribbon for Best Picture to get things rolling.
From 1987 Nello Rossati's Django
Strikes Again
It had been 21 years since Franco Nero
appeared on screen as Django & after countless unofficial sequels
he steps back into the role of the character that spawned a genre.
Django has long since put the violence behind him & has joined a
monastery. After he is informed that his daughter has been kidnapped
by the diabolical 'El Diablo' Orlowsky to be sold to a brothel Django
must once again adorn the machine gun that has made him a legend
Time for the first award..The Life of
Influence Under the Influence – The 40
This week's recipient is none other
then the Bearded Warrior himself - Chuck Norris
Like many kids (although no very PC
now) I used to have toy guns & my friends & I used to play
Missing In Action in the woods in my neighbourhood. Sure Rambo may
have a bigger icon for the genre but I saw MIA first so James
Braddock was my hero to save the POWs. Even when I lost my gun &
had to battle the enemy I refused to die kung fuing the shit out of
them to save my prisoners. I should have wore a fake beard just to
complete the role.
Later in life in grade 7 & 8 I had
a teacher that drew an uncanny resemblance to Norris. I used to have
a paperback of Invasion USA that he looked just fucking like him on
the cover.
One time when I was in French class we
spotted him on the roof of the school getting down dodge balls &
we all cheered for him because there was no doubt that he used his
mad skills to get up there. To us he was the incarnation of the
Bearded Warrior..only in a suede suit.
This week I watched Braddock:Missing
In Action III (which I had never seen) & truthfully the movie
won't win Norris any awards but that's besides the point. Not all
his movies are good. Actually he sorta has hit a shit skid after
Delta Force but he has many that I absolutely love like Code of
Silence, Lone Wolf McQuade, Forced Vengeance & of course the
first 2 MIAs..& he is one of the baddest mother-fuckers on the
planet.
Well this first cold one is done like a
dead Vietcong solider.
Hey Hey Hey..Welcome to Blaxunshine 6 Pack Cinema
vol III.
It's been a full week of brew &
film.
Since this show was getting some Roman
Numeral behind it this week was nothing but sequels & 19 movies
watched for this edition. Unfortunately as the case w/ most sequels
they aren't as good as the original so some things were a vast dip in
quality & didn't make the cut..for anything.
Lots of beautiful golden amber to give
away over the next chapters but going to start things off like I
usually like to..w/ a music number.
Sadly this week we lost another
performer in the music industry & to cancer yet again. Robin
Gibb has left us for that great disco in the sky @ 62.
Here's a little Bee Gees from last
week's winner of The Rolling Rock for Best Soundtrack Carlito's Way &
You Should Be Dancing.
Well now that I have a little boogie in
my butt gonna hustle shuffle to the fridge for a cold one.
