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The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

post #1 of 19
12/5/10 at 6:57pm
Thread Starter 
Well, it's a Chud Essential: http://www.chud.com/articles/article...EEN/Page1.html

Within my own Renny Harlin ranking, it's nestled inbetween Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger. I vastly prefer it to Die Hard 2 but I don't think it comes together as nicely as Cliffhanger. It's easily one of the most ridiculously hilarious films of the 90s though, I kind of love films like this, where everyone is a razor witted smart ass. I also kind of admire how aggresively stupid and illogical it is.

Whilst I think there's a lot of value to the more grounded approach that action cinema took in the 90s and 00s sometimes it's nice to have a film where the bad guys can set up an ambush involving waiters, barmen, and a dozen other people, in a public place, purely on a whim. This is one of the many, many, films that Samuel L Jackson was in in the 1990s and it's one of his funner performances. He really makes Shane Black's dialogue sing, and his interplay with Geena Davis does a lot to cover up how bizarrely inappropriate a presence Geena Davis is in this movie.
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post #2 of 19
12/5/10 at 7:00pm
It's also one of the little anomalies where Sam Jackson's the underdog.

Also, am I really that much alone in thinking Davis was just perfect here? In a film with chasms of logic, she has an aloofness that just fits right in with how naturally quirky the whole thing is.
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post #3 of 19
12/5/10 at 7:05pm
Thread Starter 
There's just something utterly, hilariously, bizarre about the first appearances of 'Charlie' that it means I really can't take her seriously. She looks like something crossed a chipmunk and Sid Vicious together. Which is a shame because she is great in parts of the film, she doesn't 'gel' with me as an action star.
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post #4 of 19
12/5/10 at 7:07pm
He said he saw something that quote-unquote "disturbed him."

I saw it too, it's called Baywatch Nights. Want to get to the fucking point?
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post #5 of 19
12/5/10 at 7:07pm
I think Davis is kind of terrible in it, and I'm a fan of hers. Having watched the film recently, I realized that the only thing I actually like about it are the performances from Jackson and Bierko.
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post #6 of 19
12/5/10 at 7:26pm
Yeah, her snarling "LIFE IS PAIN" is pretty awful, but surprisingly she kinda works.
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post #7 of 19
12/5/10 at 7:32pm
Not to mention Jackson manages to get an interview with Larry King in the end.
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post #8 of 19
12/5/10 at 7:33pm
I don't think her "bad girl" personality was all that believable. Still, I liked the movie.
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post #9 of 19
12/5/10 at 8:10pm
The thing is that Shane Black plots are, on their own, almost never that interesting, they're always an excuse to force two characters of opposing personalities and viewpoints to interact and work their way out of the same predicament, becoming unlikely friends in the process.

This works in Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout, because the chemistry is there, and though Davis and Jackson aren't exactly bad together, they're simply not playing at the same level. I don't feel that they compliment each other, and that leaves me to concentrate on Black's plot, which, as I mentioned, is not terribly compelling.
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post #10 of 19
12/5/10 at 8:15pm
No, I sock 'em in the mouth and yell "Pop goes the weasel!"

On Blu-Ray on January 11th!
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post #11 of 19
12/5/10 at 8:23pm
The scenes with Sam Jackson and Brian Cox are the highlight of the film.
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post #12 of 19
12/5/10 at 8:33pm


"Die screaming, motherfucker!"

A classic "non-comic" comic book movie & Geena Davis' greatest role.
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post #13 of 19
12/5/10 at 9:44pm
"Last time I got blown, candy bars cost a nickel."

I love this movie. Kinda screwed up my parents took me along to see it when I was only 8, in retrospect.
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post #14 of 19
12/5/10 at 9:49pm
"That's a duck not a dick". I'm not sure Jackson has ever been as funny as he is here.
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post #15 of 19
12/5/10 at 10:25pm
I wanted to like this movie, but I never bought what Geena was selling.

Also, it comes to netflix streaming on 12/26/10.
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post #16 of 19
12/5/10 at 10:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JacknifeJohnny View Post
The thing is that Shane Black plots are, on their own, almost never that interesting, they're always an excuse to force two characters of opposing personalities and viewpoints to interact and work their way out of the same predicament, becoming unlikely friends in the process.

This works in Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout, because the chemistry is there, and though Davis and Jackson aren't exactly bad together, they're simply not playing at the same level. I don't feel that they compliment each other, and that leaves me to concentrate on Black's plot, which, as I mentioned, is not terribly compelling.
I think I would have liked it better had it been more Sam Jackson's movie as he plays a P.I. that stumbles upon this weird conspiracy involving Geena Davis's house-wife character.
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post #17 of 19
12/5/10 at 10:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
Also, am I really that much alone in thinking Davis was just perfect here? In a film with chasms of logic, she has an aloofness that just fits right in with how naturally quirky the whole thing is.
No, I think she is awesome in this. It's rare to see a female lead kick so much ass, and I left the theater standing a little bit taller than day. I haven't seen this in over a decade so I don't how ell it holds up, but I remember loving it back then.
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post #18 of 19
12/6/10 at 9:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyler Foster View Post
On Blu-Ray on January 11th!
Nope unfortunately it was postponed. Yeah im pissed too.
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post #19 of 19
12/6/10 at 10:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cameron Hughes View Post
I think I would have liked it better had it been more Sam Jackson's movie as he plays a P.I. that stumbles upon this weird conspiracy involving Geena Davis's house-wife character.
Yeah, that's immediately more appealing to me.
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