Today’s scene that I love is a little scene from 1995’s Heat.
This isn’t a scene that regularly gets mentioned when it comes to discussing the many iconic scenes in this film but I picked it because it features good work from two actors who are no longer with us, Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore. Add to that, Danny Trejo’s pithy comment at the end — after all the discussion that’s happened before it — is simply perfect.
In 1985’s Runaway Train, Eric Roberts plays Buck McGeehy, a prisoner at Stonehaven Maximum Security Prison in Alaska.
Like the majority of the prisoners, Buck looks up to Manny (Jon Voight), a bank robber who has just been released from spending three years in solitary confinement. Manny is a tough guy who refuses to allow the prison system to beat him down. Warden Ranken (John P. Ryan) views Manny as being a threat to his authority and he’s especially angry that it was the courts that ordered that Manny finally be released from solitary. When Ranken tries to arrange for Manny to be assassinated at a prison boxing match, it’s Buck who saves Manny’s life. When Manny later manages to escape from the prison, Buck tags along.
Manny and Buck are a study in contrasts. Manny is as cold as the Alaskan landscape. He’s ruthless and doesn’t allow himself to get too close to anyone but, at the same time, he does live by a definite code. Buck is simple-minded, an earnest guy who talks too much and who probably wouldn’t have survived a day in prison if it wasn’t for his skill as a boxer. Buck and Manny manage to make their way across the frozen wilderness but, when they hop on a train, they soon find themselves trapped on the out-of-control locomotive, along with a railroad engineer named Sara (Rebecca De Mornay). The three of them have to find a way to either escape from or stop the train. At the same time, the obsessed Warden Ranken is determined to recapture Manny and, if that means flying a helicopter over the train so that Ranken can lower himself onto it, so be it.
Runway Train, which was based on a script by Akira Kurosawa, was one of the few Cannon films to find success with not just critics but also audiences and the industry. The Golden Globes nominated it for Best Film. The Academy didn’t go quite that far but they did nominate the film for Best Editing, along with also nominating Jon Voight for Best Actor and Eric Roberts for Best Supporting Actor. While Voight is a multiple-Oscar nominee (and one-time winner for Coming Home), Runaway Train is, so far, the only film for which Eric Roberts has been nominated. (He should have been nominated for Star 80 but his character in that film was a bit too realistically sleazy for the Academy to honor.) Roberts has described Runaway Train as being one of his favorite films and he even used the title for his autobiography. It was on this film that he met Danny Trejo, who not only trained Roberts for the boxing scenes but also helped Roberts kick his addiction to cocaine.
And Roberts has every reason to be proud. Runaway Train is a fast-moving, visually stunning thrill ride, a masterpiece of the pulp imagination. Yes, the symbolism of the runaway train is a bit obvious. Yes, the philosophical edge of the film’s dialogue can sometimes feel a bit out-of-place. Who cares? John Voight and Eric Roberts sell their characters with such skill that you don’t care that they’re both criminals who have done terrible things. From the minute we see that frozen jail and the prisoners tossing burning pieces of paper at the guards, we know why both Manny and Buck have to escape. John P. Ryan turns the warden into everyone’s worst nightmare of a small, pretty man with power, an authoritarian who uses the system to control the lives of others and who resents anyone who does not bow down before him. Even though her role is largely limited to reacting to what everyone else does around her, Rebecca de Mornay still turns Sara into a compelling character and never allows her to become merely a damsel in distress. Runaway Train is a heart-pounding action film and one that still holds up today.
Previous Eric Roberts Films That We Have Reviewed:
The 2011 film, Reach Me, opens with a rapper named E-Ruption (Nelly) appearing on a morning show and talking about how, while he was serving a prison sentence, he read a self-help book called Reach Me. It asked him to consider whether or not his childhood self would be happy with his adult self. The book was written by a mysterious man named Teddy Raymond. No one knows who this Teddy Raymond is. He’s never appeared in public. People film themselves reading the book online and then upload to YouTube as a way of sharing Teddy’s wisdom. I honestly can think of nothing more annoying and boring than watching someone else read a self-help book but whatever. I live in Texas. The movie takes place in California.
Tabloid editor Gerald (Sylvester Stallone) takes a break from action painting to order one of his reporters, Roger King (Kevin Connolly), to track down Teddy Raymond. Roger wants to write the great American novel. He doesn’t care about self-help. He meets Teddy’s associates, Wilson (Terry Crews) and Kate (Lauren Cohan) and Wilson talks about how Teddy magically cured Kate’s stutter. Roger then wanders around the beach, asking random people, “Teddy Raymond? Are you Teddy Raymond?” Oh look! There’s a guy named Teddy (Tom Berenger) who reluctantly cures Roger of his smoking addiction by ordering Roger to yell at the ocean …. over and over and over again.
Collette (Kyra Segdwick) has just been released from prison. Reading Teddy’s book has inspired her to try to become a fashion designer. Collette’s daughter, Eve (Elizabeth Henstridge), is an aspiring actress who was earlier groped by a sleazy star named Keating (Cary Elwes). Collette and Eve literally crash their car into a car being driven by Wolfie (Thomas Jane), a sociopathic undercover cop who enjoys killing people and who goes to confession after every shooting. (At the start of the movie, he guns down Danny Trejo.) The alcoholic priest, Father Paul (Danny Aiello), refuses to hear any more of his confessions.
Meanwhile, wannabe mob boss Frank (Tom Sizemore) is upset because another mob boss, Aldo (Kelsey Grammer), doesn’t treat him with any respect. Frank sends two of his hitmen, Thumper (David O’Hara) and Dominic (Omari Hardwick), to kill a man who owes him money and to also shoot the man’s dog. Thumper has been reading Teddy Raymond’s book and doesn’t want to shoot the dog. Dominic realizes that his heart isn’t into the mob life so, taking the book’s message to heart, he calls Frank and says, “My heart’s not in it.”
(Don’t try that with any real mobsters.)
Eventually, all of the characters do come together. They don’t exactly come together in a plausible manner but they do all end up at the same location so let’s give the film credit for that. Let’s also give this film credit for leaving me seriously confused. I have no idea whether this film was meant to a parody or a celebration of the self-help industry. At first, I suspected that it meant to be a parody because all of Teddy Raymond’s advice was painfully shallow and the type of basic crap that anyone could come up with. I actually found myself losing respect for the people who claimed that Teddy had changed their lives. But at the movie progressed, I realized that I was supposed to take Teddy and his advice seriously. This was a film that I guess was meant to have something to say but who knows what exactly that was.
That said — hey, everyone’s in this movie! Director John Herzfeld was a former college roommate of Sylvester Stallone’s and, once Stallone agreed to appear, that apparently convinced a lot of other “name” actors to take the risk as well. There’s a lot of talent in this film but little of it is used correctly. Kelsey Grammer as an Italian mobster instead of the editor? Sylvester Stallone as the editor instead of the Italian mobster? Thomas Jane as a sociopath who has a girlfriend by the end of the movie, one who smiles and tells him, “Try not to shoot anyone?” Kyra Sedgwick as an ex-con? These are all good actors but just about everyone, with the exception of the much-missed Danny Aiello, is miscast.
It’s a true Icarus File. It was a just a little more self-aware, this would have been a Guilty Pleasure. But, in the end, self-help cannot help itself.
Previous Icarus Files:
Every Monday night at 9:00 Central Time, my wife Sierra and I host a “Live Movie Tweet” event on X using the hashtag #MondayMuggers. We rotate movie picks each week, and our tastes are quite different. Tonight, Monday February 10th, we’re watching KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS starring Charles Bronson!
Back when I was a teenager, I would always get the entertainment section out of dad’s Sunday paper so I could check out the movie listings and see if there was a new movie I wanted to see. I would also look for information about my favorite movie star, Charles Bronson. Nowadays, we know about new movies months, even years, in advance, but back then I would first learn about them from the entertainment section of dad’s paper. I remember one Sunday in early 1989, seeing an advertisement for a new Charles Bronson film called KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS. It was the first time I had ever heard of the film. I knew I wasn’t going to get to see it at the movies because it was only playing in Little Rock, and it was rated R, but I was excited anyway because I knew it would be on its way to video pretty soon!
In KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS, Charles Bronson plays police lieutenant Crowe. He deals with the sleaziest criminals in Los Angeles on a daily basis and it’s starting to take a toll on his personal life. He’s currently personally invested in bringing down an underage prostitution ring led by Duke (Juan Fernandez) and Lavonne (Sy Richardson). When a Japanese businessman’s young daughter is kidnapped by Duke, Crowe decides he must do everything in his power to get her back to her family.
Here is some interesting trivia about the film:
So join us tonight to for #MondayMuggers and watch KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS! It’s on Amazon Prime.
I’ve included the trailer below:
As with so many stories, it all starts with Vietnam.
In 1969, soldier Billy Thomas (Lou Ferrigno) heroically saves the life of his captain, Scott Monroe (Reb Brown). Unfortunately, while their helicopter is taking off, Billy takes a bullet to the head. While he survives the wound, he is left with the mind of a child. Scott dedicates his life to taking care of Billy and, after the war, they open a bar together. However, mobster Tony Baccola (Michael Dante) feels that Billy would be the perfect contestant for a series of fight-to-death cage matches that have been set up by Chinese gangster Tin Lum Yin (James Shigeta). In desperate need of money, Tony kidnaps Billy and forces him to fight, telling him that it’s what Scott needs him to do. Billy doesn’t want to fight and, when he first enters the cage, he says, “Hi, how are you?” and tries to shake his opponent’s hand. But when his opponents try to hit Billy, he has no choice but to defend himself. It’s up to Scott to rescue his friend.
The plot of this movie is pretty dumb but I’m not embarrassed to say that the film itself won me over. The fights were decent but the main reason why the movie works is because of Lou Ferrigno and Reb Brown, who made their friendship and their bond feel very real. Ferrigno was especially good in this film. How can you not root for a guy who just wants to be everyone’s friend and who, even after his twelfth cage match, still gets upset over having to hit people?
A pure B-movie all the way, Cage also features familiar faces like Branscombe Richmond, Al Leong, and Danny Trejo. Most of the critics may not have liked it but Ferrigno has described Cage as being his his favorite film performance and I agree.
Since Sunday is a day of rest for a lot of people, I present #SundayShorts, a weekly mini review of a movie I’ve recently watched.
Master diamond thief Frank Warren (Rutger Hauer) pulls off a big job with the help of his fiancé Noelle (Joan Chen) and his best friend Sam (James Remar). Unfortunately, after the job is finished, Noelle unceremoniously ends her courtship with Frank when she shoots him multiple times because she’s now hooked up with Sam. The next time we see Frank, who somehow survived the close-range shootings, he’s on a bus to a prison called Camp Holliday, which is run by Warden Holliday (Stephen Tobolowsky). Camp Holliday is a high-tech prison where each inmate is gifted a collar containing an explosive device that also happens to be electronically connected to another inmate. As long as the two prisoners are within 100 yards from each other, it’s all good. If they are separated by more than 100 yards, their collars will explode leaving a bloody nub where their head used to be. And since nobody knows who their “wedlock partner” is, trying to escape is not a strong option. One day fellow prisoner Tracy Riggs (Mimi Rogers) comes to Frank and tells him that she’s his wedlock partner. Through a variety of circumstances, the two are able to escape, but they still must maintain their 100-yard proximity as the authorities try to track them down. Meanwhile, Sam and Noelle, and even Warden Holliday, have all teamed up to try to find where Frank stashed the diamonds prior to heading to prison. And what about Tracy, who’s side is she really on?
I didn’t have the Home Box Office channel when I was growing up, so I wasn’t aware of this film until it premiered on home video as “DEADLOCK.” Of course, being a huge fan of Rutger Hauer, I rented it as soon as possible. The key to lower budget, made-for TV movies working will always be tied to three things: an entertaining premise, a game cast, and a director who can put the movie together. I’m happy to report that WEDLOCK has each of these things. Even though we had seen exploding neck collars in prison before in THE RUNNING MAN (1987), I like the way this film ties one prisoner’s fate to another’s. That extra dimension makes for some exciting moments in the film. Rutger Hauer is especially good in WEDLOCK. If any other actor was in the lead, I honestly doubt I would have enjoyed it as much, but with him it becomes a fun movie. And the fact that he’s tied to the beautiful Mimi Rogers for most of the movie makes it that much more fun. The remainder of the cast goes pretty far over the top, but that’s okay because subtle character portrayals are not part of the equation in these types of movies. James Remar and Joan Chen are fun as the initial betrayers and current pursuers, Basil Wallace is effectively evil as a bully and fellow inmate, and Stephen Tobolowsky is his usual fun self as Warden Holliday. Director Lewis Teague has a pretty nice resume of interesting films leading up to WEDLOCK, including ALLIGATOR (1980), FIGHTING BACK (1982), CUJO (1983), CAT’S EYE (1985), and NAVY SEALS (1990). He does a fine job here, as the movie has many well executed scenes that play out at a nice pace. Overall, I’ve always been a fan of low budget action movies that are done well. This one fits the bill for me.
Five Fast Facts:
When I rented the film in the early 90’s, it was called DEADLOCK. I’m sure I owned it on VHS at one point in my life.
Check out the trailer below:
Emilio Manrique (Alvaro Orlando) was born in the part of Miami that is never featured in any tourism commercials. With an absentee father (Steven Bauer) and an addict mother (Yennifer Behrens), Emilio struggled while growing up, getting in trouble and spending time in a mental hospital before he was given a good home by his uncle (Oscar Torre) and grandmother (Ivonne Coll). Boxing provides an escape for Enrique, a chance to make something out of himself. But few promoters are willing to take a chance on him, not with his criminal background and rumored mental health woes. Only Talia Portillo (Camila Banus), who is eager to prove herself as Miami’s first female boxing promoter, is willing to support Emilio but can even she get him a fight against the champion (Jilon VanOver).
From what I understand, Counterpunch was inspired by Alvaro Orlando’s actual life story. (Along with director Kenneth Castillo, he’s credited with writing the film’s screenplay.) Almost every boxing cliche is present in Counterpunch but I appreciated that the film took a look at not just how Emilio’s childhood set him on the path to becoming a boxer but also at what it did to him mentally. As fearsome as Emilio’s opponents are in the ring, the greatest threat to his success of a boxer comes from his own inner demons. Alvaro Orlando is believable as Emilio, which makes sense since it’s his story! Danny Trejo and Steven Bauer both show up in small roles. Trejo plays Emilio’s counselor and he gives a heartfelt performance, playing a character who doesn’t seem like he’s too far off from who Trejo actually is.
Counterpunch is a good boxing movie, even if it doesn’t exactly rewrite the rules of the genre.
I’m on Day 4 of my discussion of Charles Bronson’s DEATH WISH series in chronological order. This series has brought me countless hours of entertainment over the last 40 years, so enjoy and let me know your thoughts!
DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN was a bit of a missed opportunity in my early years of Bronson fandom. Let me explain. In the mid-80’s I became Charles Bronson’s biggest fan, an honor I possibly share with a few others. As a part of that fandom, a 14-year-old Brad would scour every available source for information about my hero, which at that time was mainly the entertainment section of the Arkansas Democrat, my grandma’s tabloids, and, when I could get a ride, the magazine rack at the Hastings Entertainment Superstore. This in-depth search for information eventually lead to me discovering that DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN would be playing at the movie theater in Conway, AR in November of 1987. I was so excited that I might actually get to see Charles Bronson on the big screen for the first time ever. Unfortunately, there were several factors working against me. First, it was rated R, so I was completely dependent on an adult taking me. Second, it was released in November which was in the heart of basketball season, and the only thing that was above Bronson in my life was the basketball court, especially since my dad was my coach. And third, my parents would only consider taking me to the movies on “dollar night,” which was Tuesday and almost always conflicted with my basketball game schedule. I remember driving by the theater and seeing DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN listed on the marquee and longing to go see it. Alas, the stars, and the factors above, all aligned against me, and I would not be able to watch the film during its 2-week run in Conway, Arkansas. At this point in his career, Cannon would give Bronson’s films a short theatrical release and then release them to the home video market where Bronson was still a true moneymaking superstar. DEATH WISH 4 earned the equivalent in today’s dollars of around $20,000,000 at the box office before going on to sale over 100,000 VHS cassettes to rental stores. It was Bronson’s most successful rental release of the franchise.
DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN opens with Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) having nightmares about the man he has become after a decade of meting out vigilante justice. He has moved back to Los Angeles where he keeps himself busy with his work as an architect, as well as his relationship with his new lady friend, Karen (Kay Lenz). When Karen’s daughter Erica dies of a drug overdose, Kersey immediately finds the drug dealer who sold her the stuff and shoots him dead. Unfortunately, soon after it seems that someone has pictures of Kersey doing his vigilante deeds, and he finds himself being coerced by millionaire Nathan White (John P. Ryan) into pitting the two primary criminal drug organizations against each other in a turf war in an attempt to get them to take each other out. Nathan White’s own granddaughter had been destroyed by drugs, and this is his way of getting back at the criminals responsible for her death. Kersey begins killing drug dealers, suppliers, day laborers, security detail, you name it; if you’re associated with drugs in any way, whether it be at a video store, fish packing plant, fine restaurant, or skyscraping apartment complex, you are fair game for death. Kersey is able to sufficiently convince the heads of the competing drug organizations that they are at war with each other. This all culminates at the oil fields, where Kersey, armed with a high-powered rifle, is perched above the meeting of the two gangs. With one fateful shot, he is able to ignite the all-out war he and Nathan White have been looking for. Finally, the streets of Los Angeles are free from the drugs that are sucking the life out of its citizens, right. Or are they?
It was on VHS in April of 1988 that I finally got to see DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN. It’s the first movie in the series not directed by Michael Winner. J. Lee Thompson took over the reins and created a slick action film that lacked the odd, but interesting touches that Winner provided, but made up for it with stronger craftmanship. DEATH WISH 4 is a balls to the wall action extravaganza that barely rests long enough for the audience to catch their breath. My personal favorite scene of the film is the oil field shootout that produced some really cool, iconic images of Bronson walking with his rifle as he was finishing off the bad guys. I’ve heard DEATH WISH 4 referred to as the “lost Death Wish” film because it is spoken of less than parts 1, 2, or 3, and that may even be true, but it’s actually a very strong entry in the series.
As Paul Harvey might say, this is the “rest of the story” of me finally getting to see Charles Bronson on the big screen. After DEATH WISH 4 ended its run, I don’t know of another Bronson film playing at my local theater from that point forward, and I would have to settle to watch MESSENGER OF DEATH, KINJITE, THE INDIAN RUNNER, and DEATH WISH V all on home video. Then, in the summer of 2022, I became aware that the Mahoning Drive-In in Lehighton, PA was programming a Charles Bronson night featuring THE MECHANIC, MR. MAJESTYK and DEATH WISH 3. My wife and I drove 17 hours from our home in Arkansas to watch those three movies on the big screen. It was the greatest “movie-night” of my life and something I’ll never forget. So, all’s well that ends well!
BONUS: Jesse Dabson had a part in DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN. Jesse was interviewed on the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON PODCAST, where he told my partner Eric Todd, and fellow Buchinsky Boys Chris Manson and Ryan Voss, about his experiences working on DEATH WISH 4, as well as other projects like PLATOON LEADER and ONE FALSE MOVE. Give it a listen if you get a chance!
Every Monday night at 9:00 Central Time, my wife Sierra and I host a “Live Movie Tweet” event on X using the hashtag #MondayMuggers. We rotate movie picks each week, and our tastes are quite different. I decided early on that I would only program movies that have meant something to me over the years. Tonight, Monday November 18th, we’re watching THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS starring Chow Yun-fat, Mira Sorvino and Michael Rooker.
So why does THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS mean something to me, you might ask?! The main reason is a matter of timing and its star, Chow Yun-fat. I personally discovered Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat in the late spring of 1997 and was in full obsession mode when I read that he was making his American film debut with THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS in early 1998. To say I was pumped about this movie would be quite the understatement, and I was at a theater in Conway, Arkansas the very day of its wide release on February 6, 1998. Director Antoine Fuqua, making his directorial debut, tried to make a stylish film that would appeal to fans of John Woo, who served as Executive Producer on THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS. It worked on me, and over the next few years I purchased the movie in every format imaginable. I’ve owned it on bootleg VHS, regular VHS, DVD, and special edition blu ray. Looking back on the film now, I realize that it’s an exercise in style over substance, but that’s certainly okay. It doesn’t take away the fact that it came out at a time in my life when I was primed for maximum movie impact. You can never go back and replicate those times in your life, but you can celebrate them. Sierra and I will be doing just that tonight on #MondayMuggers at 9:00 CST. THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS is available for streaming on Amazon Prime. Join us if you’d like!
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, the Shattered Len wishes a happy 80th birthday to the man and the legend, Danny Trejo! Trejo’s journey from being a gang member to an ex-con to a drug counselor to a pop cultural institution is an inspiring one, all the more so because Danny Trejo is so candid about both his past struggles and his present successes.
It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Danny Trejo Films
Runaway Train (1985, dir by Andrei Konchalovsky, DP: Alan Hume)
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987, dir by J. Lee Thompson, DP: Gideon Porath)
Heat (1995, dir by Michael Mann, DP: Dante Spinotti)
Machete Kills (2013, dir by Robert Rodriguez, DP: Robert Rodriguez)
Through the Shattered Lens 