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connielane at 04:32pm on 20/01/2015 under movies
connielane at 04:32pm on 20/01/2015 under moviesThis weekend I went to the Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers for their VAN DAMMAGE marathon - four Jean-Claude Van Damme movies in 35mm, with accompanying trailers and clips. I won't go full-on BNAT style memoir on this one, but I did want to chronicle it because it was a lot of fun. And I was glad I was not the only female in the room (but I very nearly was).
1. Sudden Death (1995) (preceded by trailers for TimeCop and Double Impact)
I'd actually seen this movie before, but all I remembered about it was hockey, terrorists, and Powers Boothe. This is the movie Andy Dwyer sings about in Parks and Recreation, and in it JCVD plays a fire marshall who used to be a "real" fireman, but he lost his nerve when a little girl died on his watch. He's working a hockey game - Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals - and he's managed to wrangle a couple of tickets for his kids. The Vice President is also at the game, and so are a shit-ton of terrorists -- back when terrorists used to be white dudes and all they wanted was money. Like all action movies of the 80s and 90s, this is wonderfully ridiculous and only gets increasingly more ridiculous toward the end. I found it especially hilarious that, even though the terrorists say they're going to blow up the stadium at the end of the third period, when the period ends in a tie and the game goes into "sudden death" overtime, they WAIT. The movie actually has some fairly good storytelling, though, with everything in the movie having a purpose, including a Chekov's Water Gun.
2. Lionheart (a.k.a. A.W.O.L.: Absent Without Leave) (1990) (preceded by trailers for Bloodsport and The Quest)
This print was on loan from the Academy (yes, the people who put on the Oscars), and I love the thought that someone saw this movie and said "we must protect this piece of art." JCVD plays Lyon, who's serving in Djibouti, North Africa in the French Foreign Legion. When his brother is burned alive in a drug deal gone wrong, he deserts the foreign legion (who've been withholding his letters and refuse to let him leave) and makes his way (with some obstacles) to Los Angeles. Along the way, he meets Joshua (Harrison Page, in a stunningly great performance for a film like this), who runs fights for money and the two of them get involved with Cynthia, who organizes underground fights for the rich elite. Since Lyon's brother died and failed to identify his murderers, Lyon can't avenge his brother's death, so he agrees to participate in brutal fights for Cynthia to get money to help his brother's family. Maybe the most ridiculous happy ending to any movie I've ever seen.
3. Knock Off (1998) (preceded by trailers for Universal Soldier and Double Team, along with the trailers that were originally attached to the film when it was released -- Urban Legend and John Carpenter's Vampires)
JCVD and Rob Schnieder play sleazy entrepeneurs in Hong Kong who get mixed up in a terrorist scheme in which micro-explosives are sewn into designer knock off jeans. This one was kind of painful. I mean, it was fun for about half an hour and then it I started getting really tired of it.
4. Hard Target (1993) (preceded by trailers for Death Warrant and No Retreat, No Surrender)
A John Woo classic in which JCVD helps Yancy Butler try to find her father who's gone missing. Turns out her dad had gotten involved with a "Most Dangerous Game" type situation where rich people paid a premium to hunt down-and-out former soldiers/cops. Set in New Orleans, with Lance Henricksen as the bad guy and Wilford Brimley as an unexpectedly badass Cajun moonshiner. It also features Kasi Lemmons, who is in my Favorite Movie Ever. This is arguably Van Damme's most famous role, and hoo boy is his greasy mullet something to behold.
Overall, a very fun day. There were food and drink specials, including Uncle Douvee's Moonshine (served in souvenir Mason jars). And we all received JCVD Splits pins (pictured below). I'm so glad there's a Drafthouse I can get to once in a while, even if it does take a while to get there (hopefully the Brooklyn location will be open soon).
1. Sudden Death (1995) (preceded by trailers for TimeCop and Double Impact)
I'd actually seen this movie before, but all I remembered about it was hockey, terrorists, and Powers Boothe. This is the movie Andy Dwyer sings about in Parks and Recreation, and in it JCVD plays a fire marshall who used to be a "real" fireman, but he lost his nerve when a little girl died on his watch. He's working a hockey game - Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals - and he's managed to wrangle a couple of tickets for his kids. The Vice President is also at the game, and so are a shit-ton of terrorists -- back when terrorists used to be white dudes and all they wanted was money. Like all action movies of the 80s and 90s, this is wonderfully ridiculous and only gets increasingly more ridiculous toward the end. I found it especially hilarious that, even though the terrorists say they're going to blow up the stadium at the end of the third period, when the period ends in a tie and the game goes into "sudden death" overtime, they WAIT. The movie actually has some fairly good storytelling, though, with everything in the movie having a purpose, including a Chekov's Water Gun.
2. Lionheart (a.k.a. A.W.O.L.: Absent Without Leave) (1990) (preceded by trailers for Bloodsport and The Quest)
This print was on loan from the Academy (yes, the people who put on the Oscars), and I love the thought that someone saw this movie and said "we must protect this piece of art." JCVD plays Lyon, who's serving in Djibouti, North Africa in the French Foreign Legion. When his brother is burned alive in a drug deal gone wrong, he deserts the foreign legion (who've been withholding his letters and refuse to let him leave) and makes his way (with some obstacles) to Los Angeles. Along the way, he meets Joshua (Harrison Page, in a stunningly great performance for a film like this), who runs fights for money and the two of them get involved with Cynthia, who organizes underground fights for the rich elite. Since Lyon's brother died and failed to identify his murderers, Lyon can't avenge his brother's death, so he agrees to participate in brutal fights for Cynthia to get money to help his brother's family. Maybe the most ridiculous happy ending to any movie I've ever seen.
3. Knock Off (1998) (preceded by trailers for Universal Soldier and Double Team, along with the trailers that were originally attached to the film when it was released -- Urban Legend and John Carpenter's Vampires)
JCVD and Rob Schnieder play sleazy entrepeneurs in Hong Kong who get mixed up in a terrorist scheme in which micro-explosives are sewn into designer knock off jeans. This one was kind of painful. I mean, it was fun for about half an hour and then it I started getting really tired of it.
4. Hard Target (1993) (preceded by trailers for Death Warrant and No Retreat, No Surrender)
A John Woo classic in which JCVD helps Yancy Butler try to find her father who's gone missing. Turns out her dad had gotten involved with a "Most Dangerous Game" type situation where rich people paid a premium to hunt down-and-out former soldiers/cops. Set in New Orleans, with Lance Henricksen as the bad guy and Wilford Brimley as an unexpectedly badass Cajun moonshiner. It also features Kasi Lemmons, who is in my Favorite Movie Ever. This is arguably Van Damme's most famous role, and hoo boy is his greasy mullet something to behold.
Overall, a very fun day. There were food and drink specials, including Uncle Douvee's Moonshine (served in souvenir Mason jars). And we all received JCVD Splits pins (pictured below). I'm so glad there's a Drafthouse I can get to once in a while, even if it does take a while to get there (hopefully the Brooklyn location will be open soon).
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