There are only 148 days left in the year (which includes today) to try and see movies that I have always wanted to see. So, that is why I took the opportunity to see the film Deliverance for today’s film. The Cahulawassee River in Georgia is about to be flooded to create one big lake and before that can happen, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock (Burt Reynolds) wants to canoe down the river. So, he brings along three of his closest friends in Ed (Jon Voight), Bobby (Ned Beatty), and Drew (Ronny Cox) along for the ride. Unfortunately for them while on the canoeing trip, they run into a little trouble that ends up being more than they ever bargained for in the backwoods of Georgia. The film also stars Billy Redden (Big Fish) as Lonnie, Bill McKinney (Back To The Future Part III) as Mountain Man, Herbert ‘Cowboy’ Coward (Ghost Town: The Movie) as Toothless Man, Lewis Crone as First Deputy, Ken Keener as Second Deputy, Ed Ramey as Old Man, James Dickey (To The White Sea) as Sheriff Bullard, Macon McCalman (Smokey And The Bandit) as Deputy Queen, Belinda Beatty (Exorcist II: The Heretic) as Marta Gentry, and the film was directed by John Boorman (Excalibur).
If there was ever a movie in the world that should make you scared of the backwoods of the south, then this is definitely it. I always remember the references to the film that people would make, but I had to finally see it for myself. There is one scene in the film that is just very uncomfortable to watch and luckily you don’t see much of it, but the sodomy scene is very unnerving to watch. The film kind of has three different tones to it as far as the story is concerned where it starts as an adventure film before it becomes a dark survival film which is then followed a game of mystery as to a whodunit and who will falter and screw up. For most of the film, you believe that Burt Reynolds is going to be the leading man of the film until Jon Voight comes in and steals the show. He took the ball and he absolutely ran with it giving us an excellent performance. The cinematography for the most part is very good and I really loved the scenic shots and the mountain climb scenes that Voight does. One of the cool sequences as well as the dueling banjo scene between Ronnie Cox’s character and Billy Redden’s. That was a very cool sequence to see in the film and an iconic scene. Some of the people in the film, you wonder where they found them in the first place because they do look odd as hell. Check it out on Encore Play as we speak. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
Without looking at a synopsis for a film, I honestly thought when I saw the title Mystery, Alaska that we were going to get a film like Fargo for example. I thought maybe it would be a town with a dark secret, but that is definitely not the case. In Mystery, Alaska, they pride themselves on their ability to play hockey in a town that has sub zero temps almost all year round. One day a former townee (Hank Azaria) returns from New York with news that NHL hockey powers the New York Rangers want to challenge the team to a traditional pond hockey game. The town accepts the challenge with some doubters, but they’ll soon have to realize that there are a lot more internal problems they’ll need to solve before they take on the hockey power. The film stars Russell Crowe (Robin Hood) as John Biebe, Burt Reynolds (Smokey And The Bandit) as Judge Burns, Mary McCormack (Private Parts) as Donna Biebe, Colm Meaney (Con Air) as Mayor Pitcher, Lolita Davidovich (Gods And Monsters) as Mary Jane Pitcher, Maury Chaykin (Entrapment) as Bailey Pruitt, Ron Eldard (Sleepers) as Skank Marden, Kevin Durand (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) as Tree, Scott Grimes (Robin Hood) as Birdie Burns, Rachel Wilson (The Glass House) as Marla Burns, Adam Beach (Flags Of Our Fathers) as Galin Winetka, and the film was directed by Jay Roach (Trumbo).
This was actually a very good film that has the feel of The Mighty Ducks and the look of every other sports film released in that time frame. It’s the true underdog story of a small Alaskan hockey team that does the impossible by playing a pro team. The thing that is unique about this film is the challenges a lot of the actors face in the film like infidelity, corporate takeover, as well as other social issues. Russell Crowe was great, Burt Reynolds was very good, and just about everybody in the film did a great job. I loved the cinematography in the film especially during the big hockey game. These kinds of ideas make you wonder if a game like this would be possible, but I honestly doubt it. The players union would probably never approve of it in the first place. The idea of a spot uniting a town is not so far fetched as sports is a common thread for people and various towns all over America. One of my favorite things about the film is the cameo from Mike Myers (Shrek) who plays a character that is a parody of hockey commentating legend Don Cherry. That was definitely a highlight for me to see him in this film. I know Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 38% rating, but I really enjoyed the film because it was more than just a hockey film. That is why I have decided to give the film an B+ for a final grade.
For today’s film, I had been holding on to a DVD from a film that I am surprised I never watched back in the day. I waited 20 years to watch the film Striptease, but as they say better late than never. Striptease stars Demi Moore (One Crazy Summer) as a former FBI agent turned stripper Erin Grant. Erin has lost custody of her daughter to her no good pill pooping husband Darrell Grant (Robert Patrick) only because she didn’t have a job. Erin turns to dancing to try and raise money for her appeal hearing when a crazy congressman named David Dilbeck (Burt Reynolds) becomes obsessed with her. Erin has to try and battle Dilbeck’s man holding her custody of her daughter over her head while also trying to battle her ex-husband in this crime drama. The film also stars Armand Assante (Fatal Instinct) as Lt. Al Garcia, Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible) as Shad, Paul Guilfoyle (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) as Malcolm Moldovsky, Rumer Willis (The House Bunny) as Angela Grant, Dina Spybey Waters (Six Feet Under) as Monique Jr., Robert Stanton (Mercury Rising) as Erb Crandal, William Hill (Gran Torino) as Jerry, PaSean Wilson (Scary Or Die) as Sabrina, Stuart Pankin (Fatal Attraction) as Alan Mordecai. and the film was directed by Andrew Bergman (Honeymoon In Vegas).
Like I said in the above paragraph, I can’t believe I waited 20 years to watch Striptease which features the beautiful Demi Moore topless. It features her topless in several different scenes throughout the film which was just awesome (if you want to see it then watch the movie for yourself). Besides that fact, the story isn’t that bad because the film is much more than just a film about an angry stripper who wants her daughter back while trying to help a cop solve a murder case. Burt Reynolds is absolutely hilarious in his pre-Boogie Nights role as a severely perverted congressman who will stop at nothing to get Demi Moore despite the fact that it’s election time. I thought his character though was a little over the top and to be honest what was up with that hairdo? I couldn’t help, but laugh at a poor old Burt Reynolds with that awful hairstyle. He still was the perfect man to play the role I will add as I couldn’t see anyone else do that. Armand Assante was well Armand Assante, but the real credit to the film was Ving Rhames and Robert Patrick. Ving Rhames was so enjoyable to watch as the over protective always scheming bouncer while Patrick did a good job as the sleazeball, pill popping jerk off husband. Without those two in the film, I think this would have been an OK movie that you watched just to see Demi’s assets. While the film is certified rotten on rotten tomatoes (it has a 12%), I think that is a little unfair cause it wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t the greatest movie ever, but it was OK. That is why I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 