THE RAMBO DECADE

It says a lot about 1980s America that Rambo became a cultural signpost of the decade – the fantasy of a one-man All-American army making up for the shame of Vietnam by going back to the jungle to kick some Commie ass and rescue all the POW-MIAs left behind in 1973.

Even pinball games weren’t immune.



According to Internet Pinball Database, the name comes from Rambo’s code name in the first two Rambo films. Of course, the ad tagline is a reference to Chuck Norris, not Sylvester Stallone. But then Norris jumped on that bandwagon as soon as R:FB2 became a hit.

As did Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose line at the end of Commando pretty much sums up America’s attitude to foreign policy in the 80s.

""LEAVE ANYTHING FOR US?" "JUST BODIES" - Arnold Schwarzenegger" (Watch on YouTube)

Okay, that was South America, not Vietnam. But you see what I’m saying.

Right. Anyway …

The IPDB doesn’t explain why “Raven” is a babe. Probably because Raven sounds more like a girl’s name. Plus it appeals to Rambo fans for whom the ideal girlfriend is a heavily armed hot babe who enjoys killing Commies and drinking beer as much as they do.

Or something.

Kill ‘em all,

This is dF

 

LAWYERS, GUNS AND MACHETES

Look kids: hack movie reviews!

The Counselor

A lawyer in El Paso decides to take advantage of his underworld contacts to cash in on a drug deal – only the deal goes wrong, and the drug cartel holds him and his associates responsible. Screenplay by Cormac McCarthy, directed by Ridley Scott, and a cast that includes Michael Fassbinder, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt – what could go wrong?

Depends who you ask. The reviews for The Counselor have been more negative than positive, with most complaining that it’s (1) too wordy, (2) too depressing, and (3) too light on the kind of thrills you expect from a drug-deal-gone-wrong film, especially one directed by Ridley Scott. Also, there’s the windshield scene. Reviewers who have praised the film have done so for pretty much the same reasons (except maybe the windshield scene).

I’m siding with the latter camp. I don’t mind films with people talking for longer than two minutes at a time, so long as they have something to say. Here you get discussions about women, sex, greed, and the consequences of making choices you can’t take back – the kind of stuff you’d expect from McCarthy. And sure, it’s grim, but no more so than No Country For Old Men or The Road. I suspect most reviewers put this film down because it goes against genre expectations. That’s a point in its favor, as far as I’m concerned.

It’s not perfect, of course – a couple of scenes seem to exist for the sake of it, and McCarthy plays the film’s skullduggery a little too close to the vest at times, making it a challenge to follow, especially when it comes to who some of the minor characters are and where their allegiances lie. But it’s one of the more daring films to come out of Hollywood this year.

Also – and I’m kind of joking here, but not entirely – any film that opens with a cunnilingus scene before the opening credits can’t be all bad.


Machete Kills

Given than Machete started as a joke (albeit one that Robert Rodriguez actually had an idea for), it’s amazing that Rodriguez has managed to milk two feature films out of it – with possibly a third waiting in the wings, even though the cracks are already starting to show a little. I like Rodriguez a lot, but his sequels do generally follow the law of diminishing returns. Machete Kills is no exception – but that’s not to say it’s not a good time.

Indeed, two things it has going for it are (1) Rodriguez’s casting choices (Lady Gaga as an assassin, Charlie Sheen as the President, Mel Gibson as a demented weapons CEO with a Star Wars fetish) and (2) his philosophy that when it comes to grindhouse action, no idea is too ludicrous. The first film dialed action silliness up to 11. Machete Kills dials it up to 12 with a plot in which Mendez, an insane Mexican revolutionary with a nuclear missile, demands that Washington invade Mexico to overthrow the drug cartels. Machete is tasked by President Rathcock to enter Mexico and kill Mendez.

It doesn’t work as well as the first one, mainly because the surprise/novelty factor isn't as high, and the fanboy jokes are a little too obvious. On the other hand, Rodriguez has so much damn fun with it that it’s hard not to appreciate it for what he arguably intended it to be – a fun, batshit film that’s not meant to be taken seriously.

Machete don’t tweet,

This is dF