Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Kurt Russell is King


In the lapse of anything decent to watch on tv I am introducing my son to the man who made movies worth watching in the 1980's. KURT RUSSELL. Russell is my King of the ridiculous but classic cult films and absolutely my favorite 80's actor. We started with the cherry on the sundae of Russell's 80's films, Escape from New York. My son was very skeptical at first but Snake Plissken is now one of our favorite movie references. We then moved on to the campy combination of Asian street gangs, monsters, 200 year old horny ghosts, Chinese girls with green eyes, truckers (my heroes), Kim Cattrall, and a floating head with dozens of eyes, the excellent Big Trouble in Little China. Really I don't think there is a better campy director than the brilliant John Carpenter who directs Russell in both. Next on the film review list are Overboard with Russell and real life love Goldie Hawn and one of my favorite romances EVER Tequila Sunrise. We will then work our way into Russell's 90's films including the absolutely excellent Tombstone and the sequel to Escape from New York, Escape from LA.
Looking for something to watch? Netflix a Russell/Carpenter film and relive the days when there were no rules in film making and actors still said quotable lines.

From Escape from New York
Hauk: "Plissken? Plissken, what are you doing?"
Snake Plissken: "Playing with myself! I'm going in."

From Big Trouble in Little China
Jack Burton: "When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: "Have ya paid your dues, Jack?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

And where, my friend, is the award-winning Tango and Cash?

Anonymous said...

Ugh I hated that movie but may add it to the list simply because of Kurt.

Anonymous said...

Teri Hatcher...Kurt and Sly...come one now.