Another supporting characters blog here, this time focusing on two guys who have made Summer School into a favorite movie of mine. The cast had some good actors going for it, pre NCIS Mark Harmon and a pre Cheers Kristie Alley were the stars but it was none other then Chainsaw and Dave who made the movie for me.
Chainsaw and Dave: Dean Cameron who is sort a 1980's B star plays Francis 'Chainsaw' Gremp. Dave was played by Gary Riley. Why neither of the actors has made it big Cameron has had his fair share of movies, he was in the cult classic ski comedies Ski School 1 and 2 and has been in episodes of the following Tv shows: Mad About You, Party of Five, ER, Will and Grace, and Felicity.
Gary Riley aka Dave, also had his fair share of TV work, including: Amazing Stories, Airwolf, Growing Pains, Silver Spoons, Knots Landing and was in Stand By Me and played Guy #1 in Back to the Future, not a bad resume if you ask me.
But of course these two fine actors will always be Chainsaw and Dave, two guys who made school fun by pulling pranks and drinking while underage. I think Chainsaw and Dave could have always had their own spin off movie, or in the least be horror movie commentators on some all night horror channel. Here is a clip of how they get a substitute to leave by using their great make-up techniques.
This is a column about those actors who did a great job in some small role, but are people that I think really stand out when I see a movie. Todays supporting character comes the action defining movie, Die Hard.
Argyle:
De'voreaux White portrays what could be the coolest chauffeur in movie history. Argyle is a cool guy who loves big tips and rocking out to Christmas in Hollis my Run Dmc. He also happens to like chilling out in parking lots and tends to not notice buildings being taken over.
I think I recall Argyle so much because he is a cool cat and he and John McClane form an instant bond. Argyle just wants to chill and talk up some girls but when things go down he ends up using his limo as a tool for good and takes out some terrorists in the process.
Got to give it up for Argyle and De'voreux White's short yet memorable performance. White, really didn't blow up after his role he was mostly a TV show guy, and would go on to be in Frankenstein: The College Years in 1991 as well as playing Second Transvestite in the 2000 film Shadow Hours.
At least we all remember that cool and hip chauffeur who understood the problems between men and women in Die Hard, I salute you Argyle!
I did this column last year looking forward to such films as Watchmen, G.I. Joe, Inglourious Basterds, Fanboys, Public Enemies, Sherlock Holmes, and The Wolf Man. This year looks to have even more movies that make me excited, here are just a few of the movies I am eagerly awaiting in 2010:
Kick-Ass - Ever since I bought the first issue of this comic book while on vacation in Los Angeles I knew this would be something special. The movie version has come out really quickly but has a lot of talent in it, including director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake and Stardust) and Nicholas Cage. The movie simply shows what would happen if normal type people decided to be superheros. I think the movie will play for a lot of laughs but also kick major ass!
Clash of the Titans - This movie looks like a ton of fun, you get a lot of action and some good special effects. Any movie that has Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades cannot be all that bad. I think this will be a fun action/adventure flick, the preview makes me long to see the Kraken!
The Wolfman - Making its second appearance on my list, it was scheduled to be released in 2009 but was pushed back, not usually a great sign. This time the movie should come out in early 2010 and the good news I hear is that it's rated R. The previews they have released so far look pretty good, and I am still pretty stoked to see the movie.
Iron Man 2 - The first one was so much fun that how couldn't you be stoked to see Robert Downey Jr. come back?! The first preview released shows that they are sticking to the same fun loving type movie, and you get to see War Machine in action!!
Alice In Wonderland - Tim Burton directs and Johnny Depp is the mad hatter, need I say more? I am looking forward to seeing the world that Burton creates for Alice, the movie were always somewhat trippy as is/was. I always like Burton's take on classic stories, and this movie looks pretty fun and its in that disney 3-D so the visuals should look amazing, peep it here:
The A-Team - I remember having the toys of the A-Team as a kid, not to sure if I recall the show itself, but this movie looks pretty cool. I was a tad worried when I heard they were remaking the show into a movie but so far the preview looks cool. You have Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley (District 9), Jessica Biel, and a guy who looks a lot like Mr. T used to (Quintin Jackson). So for the movie looks fun, and I like the use of the old tv show theme in the trailer.
Toy Story 3 - I love most Pixar movies and since I am always a big kid i am really looking forward to Toy Story 3, this time the boy from the movie has grown up and no longer needs his toys. The gang of toys now find themselves being played with by all new kids and embark on some new adventures. Can't wait to see Toy Story 3!
Hot Tub Time Machine - How can't you look forward to a movie with that title? It has a good cast and the preview looks really funny, but I have this on my list for the title alone. Cant wait to see how these guys act and change things up when they are transported back to the 80's, the preview makes me laugh a lot. Cusak!
The Expendables - I mentioned this movie in an earlier post and the trailer confirms that this movie should be all action. You have this amazing cast all in one movie: Slyvester Stalone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, and cameos from Arnold and Bruce Willis have been confirmed. This movie just has too much muscle to let me down!
Inception - Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight) directs and Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard and Joesph Gordon Levitt star...I think thats about all I need to say. Easily one of the most anticipated movies for me in 2010.
The Green Hornet - You have Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) directing and a script from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad and Pineapple Express) and the movie stars Seth Rogen, cameron Diaz and Chritoph Waltz (in his follow up too Inglourious Basterds) and I do not see why this movie will look and be amazing. Cannot wait to see the trailer for this and see how they have a nice mix of serious action yet with a comedy twist.
Paul - Another film that has a good cast and director. Paul is a film by Greg Mottola (Superbad and Adventureland) and reuintes stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead & Hot Fuzz). This time the guys are two sci-fi geeks who head to Area 51 looking for aliens. I cant wait to see how this movie looks, the cast also includes Sigourney Weaver and Jane Lynch. This one should be a great comedy.
Predators - Predators is the long follow up to Preadtor II, I think. Any info about the movie is sketchy at this time but the cast is very intriguing for a movie like this. So far they have announced Lauernce Fishbourne, Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, and Danny Trejo. Quite the cast there...this one looks to be more of man v.s predator and should be a lot of fun to see what they do here.
Get Him to the Greek - This movie is a sort of sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall from what I am hearing. You have the same director of Sarah Marshall (Nicolas Stoller) and Rusell Brand is renewing his character Aldous Snow from Sarah Marshall. This movie also stars Jonah Hill as a record company intern in charge of getting Snow to a show at the Greek theatre in Los Angeles. I am eager to see how this movie looks, I hope it has the same humor from Sarah Marshall.
A few more...
Cop Out - Kevin Smith directs someone else's movie for the first time, and it has a pretty good cast in Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as two old partners on the case.
Due Date - The Hangover's Todd Phillphs follow up stars Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis, and is a road trip movie about Downey's character getting home to see his child being born.
Machete - It is awesome that they even making this movie, a movie that was made out of a fake trailer from the Grindhouse movies. Danny Trejo is back as Machete and rumors about the cast seem pretty awesome. Robert De Niro, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Steven Segal, Lindsay Lohan, Don Johson, and Rose McGowan all have parts in the movie.
#1 - Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and Return of the King (2003)
Not one movie.... THREE!!!!
There was no doubt in my mind that when I started writing this list that these movies would be #1. I just love what Peter Jackson did here with these movies, they are not only well acted and jaw dropping cool looking but they have some real intense action that keeps you glued to the screen the entire run time (which was pretty long). These movies also work out really well with the extended cuts on dvd, the dvds really add a lot to the movies and make them an overall better trilogy. Since the re-release of the Star Wars prequels LOTR is now tied with Star Wars as my favorite series of films ever. These movies were so good that each one was nominated for best picture, that alone is mind blowing! I loved just every movie the same, they all really are well done pictures, in reality they were all filmed at the same time so they play out well as one gigantic movie, but breaking them up also works well and just made me have to wait another year to see how the movie unfolded. If I had to say I had a favorite it would be ROTK, because the movie did not disappoint in giving me the climax I so desired, it fact I would say it was my favorite film ending of the decade. What happened here with all three movies will most likely never happen again, and not to honor these movies as #1 would be an injustice to movie making in general. So there ya go my #1 movie of the decade. I hope you enjoyed this list!
#2 - The Dark Knight (2008) Christopher Nolan creates the best comic book movie ever made in the stunning and brillant film The Dark Knight. With the origin story out of the way (this hinders most first time comic book movies) Nolan was able to get the plot started right away, this time the Joker is the bad guy and he sure is badass. Heath Ledger gave a perfect performance as the Joker. He is a villain that truly scares you because he is smart and yet unpredictable. The other villain of the film, is Two Face/ Harvey Dent and he is worked into the film really well, he starts off good but by the time his character is transformed it just works so well with the entire theme of the movie. You have some amazing shots here (I saw it on IMAX) and the film has a grit and makes Gotham a vital part to the movie. The moivie makes you look at what a real hero is, in this instance is taking the blame being a hero? You have Christian Bale as Batman, who almost takes a backseat to the viliians, but still gives life to the Bruce Wayne character. If you ever want to see how a comic book movie can become something bigger than no look for further than The Dark Knight.
#3 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Another movie that took a few viewing to grow on me. I will admit watching this movie after being dumped after a long term relationship really makes your eyes open to the real point and meaning of the movie, but the movie works no matter what. Michel Gondry directed and co-wrote the flick with Charlie Kaufman and you receive what I would call one of Jim Carrey's best dramatic performances (as well as Truman Show). He is Joel Barish a man who wants to remove all memories of his ex Clemetine (Kate Winslet). They both undergo procedures to remove the memories of their relationships and as his memories of their love fade away he starts to realize that he still loves her. The reason that I love this movie so much is that it paints a realistic question, even though you were in a relationship the ended would you do it all over again even if you knew it would end? I think this is just a visually stunning beautifully well done movie that will touch anyone who has thought they had found the "one" and would like to go back and try it again.
