Leaderboard

So at the end of the film when Megaforce is escaping via the cargo plane, everyone leaves their deadly and secretive equipment behind enemy lines?! Wait, What?! In fact I would love a scene at the end of the film when they return to base and Egg is just standing there, looking at an empty plane. We have an extreme close up on his face and you can see Egg contemplating suicide, because the only other option is to rebuild all the vehicles AND ensure they are superior to the ones that were left behind in enemy hands. Also can we not talk about the fine dining restaurant at Megaforce?! I'm sorry, but why do these Mercs for hire deserve eating at The Four Seasons? If they are spending $30K on brooms and mops, this restaurant must have set them back by $5 Million! Also what a bunch of pampered divas these hired killers are! And yes, I'll buy that the soldiers and elite scientists can keep this base under wraps, but what about a possibly underpaid wait staff? Surely one will grow tired of the gold latex assholes complaining about their ceviche not tasking fresh and sell them out to the highest bidder! (also love that all the extras were directed to sit there and not act like they are actually eating dinner)

So according to the wiki page for this movie, all of the vehicles have a self destruct ability that can be activated if it's clear that the rider needs to abandon it or they are killed. I can't remember if that was shown in this movie since it's a blur of total nonsense, but that's the given reason for why they so quickly leave their murder vehicles.

Barry Bostwick and Michael Beck were interviewed at a Florida comic book convention last year and Bostwick claims that he got the part because of Pirates of Penzance. He said during that performance he would wear a blue bandana that he would throw out to a lady in the crowd. One night the recipient of that bandana was Hal Needham’s wife who then recommended that he be cast as Hunter. The full interview can be seen here.

1) F-Baranski, M-Walters (she’s solid and successful on her own), K-Streep (too serious and bland) 2) F-Skateboard, M-Firth, K-Brosnan I realize this makes me mortal enemies with Cameron H. Crap.

1) F—Baranski; M—Streep; K—Walters (sorry) 2) F—Brosnan; M—Firth; K—Skateboard These answers are the only correct answers.

The pacing of this movie was very stilted in spots. It felt like some scenes and cuts were just allowed to linger a little too long and it undercut the momentum of the film. It felt like Barry Bostwick would say a line of quippy dialog and then the cut would linger long enough so that his smug grin would eventually flatten out. Like Jason, Megaforce also reminded me of the toy and cartoon series from the 1980's like G.I. Joe (which premiered in it's 3 & 3/4" version the same year Megaforce came out), M.A.S.K., Centurions, Captain Power, Chuck Norris and His Karate Commandos, Rambo (yes, that Rambo!), and every other property wherein a specialized, state sanctioned militaristic force for freedom is designated specifically to take on their centralized polar-opposite evil adversary. The opening info dump at the beginning of Megaforce even sounds like the voice-over from the G.I. Joe cartoon: "G.I. Joe is the codename for America's highly trained special mission force. Its purpose: to defend human freedom against COBRA; a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world." More to Jason's point, "Ace" and "Duke" are also G.I. Joe code names (Ace piloted the Skystriker jet, and Duke was G.I. Joe's second in command). To further tie this movie in with children's toy and entertainment properties, The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers also had a Super "Megaforce" designation at some point during their run. The Power Rangers, like Megaforce, also had a member named Zachary "Zach" Taylor (according to the movie's IMDB page, Megaforce's Zac Taylor forewent the "h" at the end of his name, however). Speaking of Zac Taylor, when Punky Brewster's Dad (PBD) first meets him, Zac is wearing a pair of headphones to which PBD asks him if he's listening to Gladys Night and the Pips, even though he and we can clearly hear the classical music coming Zac's headphones. Zac replies that he's actually listening to Vivaldi, to which PBD then asks which season Zac is listening to: "Winter?" "Spring," Zac clarifies. Soon after, Zac quotes Macbeth, which PBD keys into. Yet, instead of finding commonality, PBD bristles with resentment, doubling down on his simmering colonial-ish racism. Here PBD is, a stranger in a strange land, and he's alienating the one person he has any kind of cultural relationship with because they're black. After the mission goes south (somehow), PBD and Zara fly in to the war zone (in a helicopter Ace destroys at the end of the film for no inexplicable reason, yet everyone seems cool with, nonetheless) and tells Ace and his team that they can't cross the border for risk of igniting a full-scale war. Okay, so why not fly all--or at least some--of the team out in the very long, two-prop helicopter PBD and Zara just flew in on? We see at the end of the ensuing battle that Megaforce's equipment is essentially disposable anyway, so why risk the lives of his crew when Ace can load up as many Megaforcees as he can on the PBD's helicopter instead?

We should not be giving in to terrorists.

Ugh.

This movie is fucking bonkers and this episode is hilarious. The movie joyfully encapsulates all the cheesy 80s action cliches plus it has set design and dialogue that have to be seen/heard to be believed. Other elements include: Stallone as a “smart” cop who plays the stock market. A cross-dressing Kurt Russell Teri Hatcher in a terrible dance sequence with drums in a strip Club (?) An actor who is not British doing a terrible accent as one of the villains A weird rip-off of Q from James Bond Clint Howard Jack Palance giving an insane performance in which he appears to have a sexual fetish for mice! And more! On STARZ now! WORTH IT!!!!!!!! And the HDTGM episode with Nick Kroll is super awesome. here’s the trailer:

I feel like there are a lot of movies in this vein that could be done on the podcast - buddy cop, 48 hours wannabe films like so many that got made with an asian martial arts star and an african-american comedian or rapper. And Steven Seagal films, how have we not done EVERY STEVEN SEAGAL film? Also, Heartbeeps.

I noticed this and loved it. I get how retakes on that scene would have been particularly time-consuming and expensive, but there's those kind of flubs all over the movie. My favorite was when Ace obviously biffs the top of his flying motorcycle and gets twisted halfway around on the wires while executing his superhero dismount.

To all of you, friends:

Hey, all, I’m worried about Megaforce. Does it have a charismatic leader, bordering on being an object of worship by the group? Ace Hunter, check. Does it have a process of indoctrination that includes some kind of thought reform? Ace Hunter talks about year-long intensive training to be able to think like “one man.” Does it require you to leave your family and take on a new identity under the guise of freedom and equality but leads to exploitation of its group members? Hunter, Dallas, and etc. sure aren’t their real names. And they're one and all ready to ride into very dubious battlefield tactics. I think Megaforce might be a cult.

Figured this was a solid line for this GIF I created.

When Amy said that there was an 80's movie that made the Colonel Bogey March popular for our generation this was my first thought:

Sorry to involve my Metal Nonsense in an ABBA thread, but I figured this would be the best place to share music/HDTGM crossover content. So if you are into the anachronistic swords-and-magic aesthetic of the 2011 film SEASON OF THE WITCH, then may I suggest... Wolftooth - Season of the Witch (Sorry, for some reason, Youtube absolutely refuses to allow this video to be embedded). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2En3oxF3mk

Back to favorite song, my ultimate is Voulez Vous, with Does Your Mother Know? a close second. Voulez Vous is the song that taught me how bands know when to stop repeating a chorus. At some point I noticed a guitar playing a short beat and the repeats ended. Since then I have listened to songs differently, listening for the “signal”. Since everyone knows my favorites I will share the song that strikes me the most, Like an Angel Passing Through My Room, the last song on the album The Vistors. (The album is ABBA’s last studio album so the song is almost the last of their career.) The song itself is spare and unsettles me, but the ending breaks me up. The clock ticking just seems to go on and when it stops, whew. I don’t know whether to be glad or scared.

235 Great Wall

F, marry, kill: Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skateboard

If you have access to them on BBC America or some similar network, I highly recommend everything to do with Inspector Morse, which at this point encompasses three TV series (Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis, and Endeavour) and hours of excellent acting. Also enjoy the Miss Fisher mysteries from Australia (two TV series and a film, so far) and a series called Fortitude starring Stanley Tucci, Michael Gambon and a bunch of other ppl. Hot Ones on Youtube is weirdly fun. Masterchef Australia, again if you have access to it, is surprisingly compelling and structured quite differently from the American version.

So did anyone else notice in the first scene the Megaforce is revealed that one of the stunt drivers almost completely bites ass on his bike and crashes? It looks like his front tire hits one of the blown up bits of those balls they were shooting and lost traction to where he almost wiped out on the desert terrain. Also, there is probably now worse way for a weaponized vehicle to have a main attack than by forcing the riders to have to be in a wheelie for their main action of shooting machine guns and missles.Not only is it incredibly inaccurate to fire, but the rider is already doing a bit of work to keep themselves level on a single wheel, so why not make their vehicle more unstable by having the front end of said vehicle launching all types of high velocity projectiles from it. The movie did have some success though as inspiration for such things like Team America: World Police after Trey Parker showcased his knowledge of the film during a DVD commentary, and the flying bike would later become a vehicle that could be purchased in Grand Theft Auto 5 Online.

If you thought the film's confusing central premise was the result of bad filmmaking, you're wrong - it is the fault of the US government. The original version of this film centered around a private army who went to war to defend Western democracy and protect US interests in the Gulf of Oman. However, when the filmmakers wanted to use military vehicles for the film, the Pentagon expressed their reservations with the film's message and use of real countries. A letter written by USMC Colonel Michael Sheridan states, "The basic storyline that a private army exists in the US, available as “the court of final appeal” to besiege free world governments, is rather incredible. The United States Government(USG) has clearly demonstrated that such organizations are illegal and subject to prosecution. However, should an agency of the USG support the film production by providing military equipment, such support might be construed as tacit acceptance of the concept, at least by those who wish to embarrass the USG. Furthermore, when the storyline includes employment of the private army in support of the “only country standing between hostile forces and the straits through which the world’s oil supplies pass” (a relatively clear reference to Oman), the sensitivity of this incredible story is raised. Countries in that region are sufficiently xenophobic and suspicious of US intentions with regard to oil in the region that we would not want to provide even a gratuitous basis for reinforcing their concerns. Therefore, it would not be in the best interests of the USG to support the production of this film." After several negotiations, the film was changed to have the conflict be between two fictional countries - the peaceful Republic of Sardun and their aggressive neighbor Gamibia. In exchange, both the Air Force and the National Guard ended up supporting the film, renting out men and vehicles on a ‘courtesy’ basis and charging full rates (the Air Force alone charging nearly $167,000). Images of all of the official correspondence between the filmmakers and the government can be seen in this article from SpyCulture.

Am I the only one who thought they were going to go to the bone zone in the middle of the skydive?

Dr. James L. Gelvin is a Professor of Islamic Studies at UCLA. He holds his B.A. and M.A. from Columbia University and his Ph.D. from Harvard. He’s also taught at Harvard, Boston College and MIT. His most recent book is titled “The New Middle East: What Everyone Needs to Know” where he covers the social, political and economic landscape of the New Middle east. In December of 2015 he joined Jonathan in the studio to discuss the relationship between Shia and Sunni Islam and to record the very first episode of Getting Curious…the rest is history! To find out more about Dr. Gelvin’s work visit www.newsroom.ucla.edu