Living for the Cinema

Fifty years ago this month, most of the world was first introduced to a true legend of both cinema and martial arts with the release of this action thriller.  Of course that legend was the late, great Bruce Lee who tragically passed away just about a month before this movie was to hit theaters.  Needless to say, he left his mark playing Lee a Hong Kong spy/martial arts master who is tasked with infiltrating a mysterious island tournament being run by the nefarious Han played by Kien Shih.  Lee also has help from two American martial artists who have joined this tournament played by John Saxon and Jim Kelly.  Once on the island, they fight, they feast, and they.....interact with various elements (?) and what results is a rip-roaring kung fu classic.  Directed by Robert Clouse, it's time to ENTER...THE....DRAGON!

 Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

https://livingforthecinema.com/ 

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For the next couple of weeks, we will be taking a break to get our proverbial batteries recharged - we'll be back to releasing new episodes before the end of the month!  In the meantime, enjoy this special episode going back through our catalog of more than 220 episodes to rank THE TEN BEST ACTION SEQUENCES  so far!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon  Producer: Marlene Gershon

Link for full version of the extended "Terminator 2 Main Theme" by Joslin Music which plays at the end of this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba9AeUMjoBo

Links to Episodes Cited (alphabetical order by title):
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/12843457-aliens-1986-re-release
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/10078157-batman-begins-2005-living-for-the-batman-series
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/10415668-the-bourne-identity-2002
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/10655810-desperado-1995
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/10229596-the-fugitive-1993
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/12787966-iron-man-3-2013
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/12582081-john-wick-chapter-four-2023
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/11337393-the-last-of-the-mohicans-1992
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/11812829-the-long-kiss-goodnight-1996
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/13047970-mission-impossible-ghost-protocol-2011-living-for-the-cruise-series
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/10637657-predator-1987
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/8666399-raiders-of-the-lost-ark-1981
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/11039604-the-spy-who-loved-me-1977
https://livingforthecinema.buzzsprout.com/1764842/8718061-terminator-2-judgment-day-1991

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The Summer of 1988 was filled with BIG, seminal comedies (actually including the movie Big) which were sizeable hits and had long-lasting legacies including Bull Durham, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and previous episodes Midnight Run and A Fish Called Wanda.  Kind of lost in the shuffle was this small, quirky mob comedy directed by Jonathan Demme though it did feature a very promising cast including Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, Oliver Platt, Alec Baldwin, and Matthew Modine.  Leading this cast was the illustrious Michelle Pfeiffer kind of playing against type with BIG hair, a big attitude and a prominent New Yawk accent - she plays Angela, a Long Island housewife who is....you guessed it....married to a mobster played by Baldwin.  Things don't end well for her husband so Angela decides to try to start a fresh new life with her son AWAY from the Mob....but not every one is onboard with that including the FBI and local mob boss Tony played by Stockwell in a performance which earned him an Oscar nomination.  And hilarity ensues.....

 

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Have you heard of Blade? He's the scourge of the vampire world and is what they refer to as a "Daywalker" - he has all of their strengths....NONE of their weaknesses.

And he's played by Wesley Snipes, have you heard of him? He was one of the bigger action stars of the '90's back when action stars were actually a thing which would draw folks to go to the movies.  The lore of Blade and the charisma of Snipes seemed to be an ideal match at the time and twenty-five years ago this month, we saw the release of that first Blade movie (starring Snipes in the titular role) which was directed by Stephen Norrington.  It was not only a surprise hit at the box office but it also earned the distinction of being THE first successful feature film adapted by a Marvel Comics property.....and obviously was far from the last.  It co-starred Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, and N'Bushe Wright.  

Four years later came the release of its sequel directed by Oscar-winning genre legend Guillermo Del Toro - both Snipes and Kristofferson returned to be joined by a pretty impressive extended cast including Ron Pearlman, Leonor Varela, Norman Reedus, Luke Goss, and the legendary Donnie Yen.  In honor of the 25th Anniversary of this seminal cinema property, what better way to celebrate than a special DOUBLE-FEATURE review of those first two Blade movies! 

 Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Concluding NOLAN WEEK, it seemed best to follow up his latest big release with a review of what might be Christopher Nolan's most underappreciated directorial effort.  This was his follow-up to the ground-breaking Memento which was released just the year before and this time around, he was working with a major studio with a decent budget, along with several top-flight actors.  This is basically a crime procedural taking place in Alaska during a time of year when the sun never sets.  

Al Pacino stars as an LA cop who is sent out this way to investigate the murder of a teenage and he finds that because there is constant sunlight, he can't really sleep....hence the title. ;) Recent two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank co-stars as a local police detective who partners with him on the case and.....the late, great Robin Williams co-stars as a mysterious local writer who apparently had a questionable relationship with the recent murder victim.  And what results is a tense cat-and-mouse between cop and suspect.....

 

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." 

Those were the immortal words (quoting Hindu scripture) spoken by the late nuclear physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer on live television twenty years after he helped create the atomic bomb.  They have resonated for decades since and they are part of the focus of this large-scale biopic directed by Christopher Nolan.  Nolan directs an all-star cast lead by Cillian Murphy who plays the titular figure along with Robert Downey Jr, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Florence Pugh, along with several others of note.  The cast is expansive, the scope is expansive, and let's see if Nolan's adaptation of this tragic real-life story (based upon his biographical novel, "American Prometheus") does justice to its subject matter's importance. 

 

 Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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After decades of false starts and several months of building hype, we finally have a live action feature film focusing on Barbie, Mattel's long-running line of popular dolls!   And it has QUITE the pedigree: it's directed by Greta Gerwig as a follow-up to her last two films (Lady Bird, Little Women) which both received Oscar nominations for Best Picture.   Gerwig also co-wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach who himself has received multiple Oscar nominations for previous films including Marriage Story.  AND it also stars two actors who have received multiple Oscar nominations: Margot Robbie plays our eponymous heroine Barbie while Ryan Gosling plays Ken.  

The story follows Barbie living an idyllic life suddenly dealing with an existential crisis which turns everything upside down....and we'll leave it at that as things just get increasingly surreal.  The stacked cast also includes Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, America Ferrara, Will Ferrell, and Simi Liu among several others.  Let's head to Barbie World!    

  Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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It’s summer, it’s disgustingly hot outside, and the local beaches and pools are overcrowded.  So what better way to beat the heat during Shark Week than to kick back at home with this shlocky underwater thriller?  Well besides the original Jaws of course……

Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight) directed this and it features an extensive cast including Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, Stellan Skarsgard, and Samuel L. Jackson.....who has one VERY memorable scene which you might know about.  It all centers around a small band of scientists and technicians who are trapped within a very large aquatic facility which is slowly sinking into the ocean.  Only they're not alone.....there also happen to be three VERY smart genetically-enhanced sharks who are apparently trying to eat then. :o And water-soaked chaos ensues!

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

https://livingforthecinema.com/

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It has finally arrived!  Not the long-awaited latest entry in the long-running Mission Impossible franchise but the concluding episode of our ongoing series focusing on the filmography of Thomas Mapother III....otherwise known as Tom Cruise.  

Cruise has returned once again playing IMF super-agent Ethan Hunt and returning alongside him are his fellow team-members played by Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Rebecca Ferguson.   Also joining the series for the first time are new characters played by Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell, and Pom Kliementieff among others.  And the mission this time?  Hunt and crew have to take on a mysterious new global threat....known as The Entity.  You can also bet that there will plenty of exciting new action along the way....Expect The Impossible!

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
 Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

https://livingforthecinema.com/

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With her directorial debut, long-time screenwriter Adele Lim (Crazy Rich Asians) has delivered a raunchy comedy focusing on four Chinese-American friends as they traverse across China.  They are played by Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, and Sabrina Wu - they are on quest to find the birth mother of Audrey played by Park and needless to say, not everything goes as planned.  What results is a wild misadventure FILLED with sex, drugs, and rock & roll....actually K-Pop to be accurate!

 

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
 
Producer: Marlene Gershon

https://livingforthecinema.com/

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