My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: The Rock, 1996

This could be the only time I praise Michael Bay in this blog, like ever. It also might be one of the few times I praise Jerry Bruckheimer, you see, Jerry, I just don't need multiple films about pirates from a theme park ride. Anyway, the film in question is The Rock, and it's an action film but what distinguishes it from the rot that characterizes the genre today is that it's not about franchises or robots blowing up, there's an actual script and that script has something called a story, not just an excuse for explosions. Also, it's before Nicolas Cage started making a lot of crap.

The idea is this: some Marines have taken over Alcatraz led by Ed Harris, joined by David Morse and Tony Todd. I only mention Tony Todd because he played Old Jake Sisko in the saddest, greatest Deep Space Nine EVER, The Visitor and this is my blog so I can mention stuff like that if I want. I'll even show a clip if I want.



In this movie though, Captain Sisko would not be proud of him. They holding the leaders of the US hostage with VX Poison Gas, which looks like green bath pearls but will kill you and melt your skin. They want to get money for the families of Marines who go on secret illegal missions and get disavowed by the government. I think they should have had a bake sale. Anyway, so they take Alcatraz in this scene and threaten to gas San Francisco.



See? Ed Harris has a heart. So, they call in chemical expert Nicolas Cage, a scientist more comfortable with his Beatles LPs than fighting terrorists and Sean Connery, who is an MI6 agent that's been imprisoned by the US, disavowed by his own government and is basically leading the life James Bond would lead if he ever got caught. See, he's the only man who's ever escaped Alcatraz, so naturally they need him. This leads to trouble as he attempts to escape on the streets of San Francisco in an amazing car chase sequence and oh, yeah when all the Navy SEALS get killed and Connery and Cage are forced to work together to save San Francisco. Naturally, hijinx ensue.

There's great chemistry in this film, it's brilliantly cast. I love the Cage-Connery teaming up, I even love the hero villain face off between Connery and Harris as follows:


Also, I love this scene towards the end of the film. It really shows how good Nicolas Cage was before he started making crap and not paying the IRS.


Oh, as a tip of you go to Alcatraz and love this movie, try to go with someone who will know what you're referencing when you stand by the cell (they don't let you go in like in the movie) and start doing the speech from that film. Did I go to Alcatraz because of this movie? Yes. Yes, I did. There's a place by the boat dock that makes a breakfast pizza if you're interested. The audio tour also does not feature film clips like it should. Just a suggestion to the Park Service. That's all.

My Life In Movies Flashes Before My Eyes: The Hunt for Red October, 1990

This is seriously one of my favorite movies. I love it, I feel compelled to watch it in its entirety whenever it pops up on TV. I have tried to learn the Soviet National Anthem because of it and I have only made it through the first few lines. Probably something about not speaking Russian, not reading the Cyrillic alphabet and not being able to find a phonetic translation of it anywhere. The loss of the DVD to this film results in panic on my part and eventually led to my buying it on Amazon, where I wouldn't lose it. It is in my opinion the greatest submarine film ever made.

The film is directed by John McTiernan and is a taut thriller about a Soviet naval captain, Marko Ramius, played by Sean Connery who decides to defect with a new submarine that can run almost silently. Trouble is, the whole of the soviet and American navies and the North Atlantic are between him and his goal. The only man who's worked this out is Jack Ryan, played in this film by Alec Baldwin, who does a really good job with this. While I love Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan, I can't picture anyone but Baldwin in this film. The cast is rounded out with the greatest group of actors. Sam Neill is Ramius' first officer, Tim Curry is the Soviet physician who is hopelessly befuddled by the events of the film. On the American side, we have James Earl Jones as Ryan's CIA boss. Scott Glenn plays Bart Mancuso, the captain of the submarine that finds the Red October and Courtney B. Vance is great as his eccentric, but skilled Sonar technician. In there you also have Fred Thompson, Stellan Skarsgard and Gates McFadden (Doctor Crusher) as Ryan's wife. It is so cool.

Everything about this movie is great. The actors. The intertwining of Ryan and Ramius' stories as the plot heightens. The tension that still exists every time I watch it even though I clearly know what's going to happen. The music is great, heavily influenced by Soviet music. They manage to keep the look of the film dynamic even though about eighty percent of it takes place inside a boat. And they do something different with the language issue. Usually when you watch a movie like this, what you get is one cast speaking with Russian accents (I'm looking at you K-19). In this film, we start out with the actors speaking Russian and through the use of a character reading a passage from a book, they switch to English. When the Soviets meet up with the Americans, they speak Russian again. It's brilliant. I also love the way that no scene is one dimensional and usually have some layer of humor with them. I particularly love the scenes in the White House with the Soviet ambassador as they play a chess game of diplomacy.

Part of the brilliance of this film is in keeping the audience out of the loop on the conclusion and not telling us anything, letting us go along for the ride. apparently, studios had a hard time imagining the original Tom Clancy novel as a film, they thought it would be too complicated for audiences to figure out. Luckily, somebody at Paramount understood its potential. I also love the authenticity of the film, with real naval officers playing small parts and even Scott Glenn spent some time on a submarine learning how to command from a real naval captain. Also, I love the way this film isn't just a thriller, it involves you emotionally in the characters. The finale of this film is always such an intense ride for me, taking you from moments of humor to tears, all the while maintaining the intensity you need to deliver an ending that's worthy of the rest of this film.

Okay, comments, what is the greatest submarine film of all time if not this one? And did that film have its own video game? Also, does it seem short-sighted of the Soviets to have given James Bond his own submarine?