Tag Archives: Mel Gibson

MOV090: “Two Men Enter, One Man Leave!”

We’re only 10 reels away from the 100th show…who knew? In this reel, the boys head back in time to check out Tina Turner and Mel Gibson in the 1980’s classic “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome”. In theaters, they check out the return of Selene in “Underworld Awakening”. Should they just have let her stay asleep? In trailer news, they check out “ParaNorman”, an animated comedic thriller from the makers of “Coraline”. It’s a slow news week, so we’ll just get to the point here… “Two Men Enter, One Man Leave!”

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News:

  • Nada this week!

The Past: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes: 81% Fresh, 50% Audience

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Director: George Miller, George Ogilvie

Starring: Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Bruce Spence

Trivia:

  • The script called for Aunt Entity (Tina Turner) to drive a vehicle. All of the vehicles were built using manual transmissions, which Turner couldn’t drive, so a car equipped with an automatic transmission had to be constructed.
  • Director/Co-Writer George Miller was given the rights to Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and this one to get him to step aside as the director of Contact.
  • Two directors were hired so that George Miller could concentrate on the stunts and action scenes, while George Ogilvie handled the performances of the large cast of actors.
  • Originally, the film was supposed to be about a group of children living without parents in the wild. They were trying to decide what adult character would find them, when someone thought of Max. After that suggestion, it became a “Mad Max” film.
  • The film references a novel by Russell Hoban called “Riddley Walker” about a hero traveling in post-apocalyptic England.
  • The possible outcomes on the Wheel are: – Death – Hard Labour – Acquittal – Gulag – Aunty’s Choice – Spin Again – Forfeit Goods – Underworld – Amputation – Life Imprisonment
  • Max’s eyes are different; the pupil in his left eye is permanently dilated. This is a nod to Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior: When his car is forced off the road by Wez and Max crashes, he suffers a severe injury to, among other body parts, his left eye. The disparity is easier to see in close-ups, and VERY easy to see in HD versions of the film. In the regular version, it’s most prominent when Max first looks down on the Thunderdome.
  • The poster art for this film was one of the last done by Richard Amsel.
  • Aunty Entity’s (Tina Turner) steel mail dress weighed more than 55 kilograms.
  • The sandstorm at the end of the film was real, and a camera plane actually did fly into it for some shots. The storm in its entirety hit the crew in the desert, forcing them to ride it out in their cars and wherever they could find cover.
  • Max’s shotgun differs in this movie from the one he used in Mad Max and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, which was his duty weapon. This one has exposed hammers and a different grip.
  • Jedidiah’s airplane is a Transavia PL-12 ‘Airtruk’, a single-engine agricultural biplane designed by Transavia in Australia. First flown in 1965, around 120 had been built by the time this movie was made.
  • All of the pigs in the film foreshadow George Miller’s involvement with Babe and directing its sequel ten years later.
  • The first of the series made with American financing. Which explains why American stars like Tina Turner crop up in the film.
  • The age certificates of each Mad Max picture have gone down from an 18, to a 15 and with Thunderdome a PG. Because the films mostly appeal to a teen demographic, George Miller may have been pushing the series towards a more mainstream audience. Which would explain why half the cast is made up of children.
  • George Miller lost interest in the project after his friend and producer Byron Kennedy was killed in a helicopter crash while location scouting. That may explain why Miller only handled the action scenes while George Ogilvie handled the rest. The film is dedicated to Byron Kennedy.
  • The music video for Tupac Shakur’s 1996 hit “California Love” was shot at the Thunderdome set and features vehicles and clothes inspired by the Mad Max series.
  • Bruce Spence, who played the Gyro Captain in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior plays Jedediah, a different character who robs Max at the start of the film. Confusingly, both characters use flying machines (in Mad Max 2 it was a ‘Gyrocopter’, in Mad Max 3 a Transavia PL-12 ‘Airtruk’) and little is done to differentiate the two different characters.
  • Max’s name is only spoken once in the movie. Just after he meets Master Blaster in underworld. Master says “Me Master” and introduces himself, then Max says “Me Max” and does the same.
  • In interviews about Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (a.k.a. “The Road Warrior”), George Miller said that while Max’s world was after the collapse of the social/political/economic system we know, it was not post-World War III. However, “Beyond Thunderdome” explicitly contradicts this.
  • This film is considered an “Ozploitation” (Australian exploitation) picture.
  • Tina Turner’s character is billed as Aunty Entity, but nowhere in the film does anyone call her that. She’s always referred to as just Aunty.

Talking Points:

  • Seeing old favorites again…
  • The Tone of the film
  • Steve’s story about this film… 😉

What We’ve Learned:

  • Surviving nuclear war gives the nobody’s a chance to be somebody
  • Death is listening, and apparently taking the first one that screams
  • Spider monkeys are excellent trackers.
  • Bust a deal..face the wheel.
  • Two men enter, one man leave.
  • We don’t need another hero. We don’t need to know the way home. All we want is life beyond Thunderdome.

Trailer:

Recommendations:
Jeff: First time viewer . . . I need to see it again. I’m kinda in a mixed bag on this movie. I kinda liked it but my attention wasn’t fully there. I think it might be worth at least a look see once.
Ray: This movie is an example of a film who when you were younger seemed a whole lot better than it actually was.
Steve: Always been one of my favorites, but seemed so much more epic as a child. I LIVED for this movie for a while…and Tina is the BEST!

The Present: Underworld: Awakening
Rotten Tomatoes: 28% Rotten; 74% Audience

Director: Måns Mårlind, Björn Stein

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy, India Eisley

Trivia:

  • Jalmari Helander was offered a chance to direct.
  • the first film in the series to be in real-d 3-d and Imax 3-d.
  • The film’s release date is on the same day as Underworld: Evolution’s, released six years earlier.
  • The first Underworld film not to feature Bill Nighy or Michael Sheen

Talking Points:

  • Live up to the other ones?
  • Do we like a kinder, gentler Selene?
  • Michael…
  • The Kid…
  • Lycans or Vampires?
  • Soundtrack

What We Learned:

  • When escaping from your enemies, getting your outfit on is way more important than feasting on fresh blood

Trailer:

Recommendations :
Jeff: It’s just another Underworld movie and not as good as the others. I was surprised to see JMS’s name on the screen at the end. I think this could have been pretty good but ended up lacking in . . . something.
Ray: ugh, I was hoping that J.Michael Strazynski was going to make this somewhat interesting. Unfortunately he disappointed me.
Steve: Personally didn’t think it lived up to the previous movies. I didn’t care for the “mystery child” and “let’s shoot ourselves up with werewolf blood” stuff. I was actually bored with the stories, but I did like the visuals.

The Future: ParaNorman

Release: August 17th, 2012

Director: Chris Butler, Sam Fell

Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Summary:

In this comedy thriller, a small town comes under siege by the undead. Only a misunderstood local boy Norman Babcock, who has the ability to speak with the dead, is able to prevent the destruction of his town from a centuries-old curse. He’ll also have to take on ghosts, witches, zombies and worst of all, the moronic grown-ups. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits

Trivia:

  • ParaNorman is an upcoming 3D stop-motion animated comedy thriller film produced by Laika, distributed by Focus Features and set for international release on August 17, 2012

Talking Points:

  • Whatcha think?

Trailer:
Official Teaser:

Trailer 2:

Excitement:
Jeff: Wow, what a teaser. The track used was perfect and the visuals were executed perfectly. Not telling you much of what it’s about but intriguing you to want to find out more. The second trailer gives a little more but not too much. Definitely want to see in 3D.
Ray: The Trailer had me at “From the creators of Coraline”
Steve: I totally enjoyed this trailer!! Totally looks like my kind of” just go and have a good time” kinda fun.

Coming Attractions

The Past:

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The Present:

The Future:

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