AbeFroman

One more comment on Escape From LA itself: Carpenter's output in the 90s (except for Invisible Man) suffered from really crappy cinematography. All of his films looked insanely cheap, whereas in the 70s and 80s, the films looked like 10 times their actual cost. Without his go-to DP from the 80s (Dean Cundey), Carpenter's films look cheap and flat, especially LA. Again, this is a master filmmaker whose earlier films actually pushed visual effects forward (The Thing, Starman). I think many of his missteps in the 90s were beyond his control.

As Bloodsport was my favorite episode ever and the Nicholas Cage double feature (Con Air/ Face Off) being a huge highlight of 2015, I was wondering if over the top action films are the genre best suited for HDTGM treatment. The Fast films have also made some for some of the best episodes over the history of the podcast, while the rom-com episodes this year (Simply Irresistible, Mannequin 2) were a slog to get through. Is there a genre (action, horror, sci fi) that HDTGM should lean on more than others?

Bumping this again as it was brought up during the Escape From LA podcast. Far and away a low point for the mighty Carpenter, but also a very fun watch. Henstridge? Grier? Statham? Music by Anthrax? Overweight Ice Cube? What's not to love? And it's not as depressing to watch as Village of the Damned, which is Carpenter's true nadir.

Just watched it again last week on Netflix. Falls into the Crank/Face Off/Con Air camp. Ludricrous but incredibly watchable. Also Michael Bay's best film by a long shot. One thing that stood out: the biggest set piece in this action film (Connery's chase through San Fran) comes before they ever get to Alcatraz!

Bumping this one as I caught last night for the first time in years and.....wow. Checks the box on so many genres: teen comedy, coming of age film, werewolf film and 80s sports flick. Similar to Teen Witch, this is classic 80s cheese that only could have been made in that decade. Also, the coach of Fox's basketball team is one of the most quotable characters of the 80s: "There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese"

1. The Thing, which is also the greatest the horror film of all time. Just a perfect film. 2. BTILC 3. Escape From NY 4. Elvis 5. Escape from LA. I pray they make one more film together, preferably a straight action film or western, before we lose one of them. While we are ranking films, here are my Carpenter rankings ( he is my favorite director of all time as well): 1. The Thing 2. Halloween 3. Assault on Precinct 13 4. They Live 5. Starman 6. BTILC 7. Escape from NY 8. Christine 9. The Fog 10. In the Mouth of Madness 11. Prince of Darkness 12. Memoirs of an Invisible Man 13. The Ward 14. Escape from LA 15. Vampires 16. Ghosts of Mars 17. Village of the Damned (Never saw Elvis, Dark Star or Body Bags)

The film was a passion project for Russell as Snake was favorite character. He brought Carpenter and Debra Hill to the project and it was greenlit as he had a decent streak going: Backdraft, Unlawful Entry, Tombstone, Stagate and Executive Decision. I also read somewhere that Sherry Lansing, head of Paramount at the time, was a big Escape From NY fan.

It is fairly well known that the budget on LA was cut from 75 million to 50 right before filming began. Of that 50 million, over to 15 went to Russell and Carpenter alone. So now you're making a sci-if action film for 30 million or so, hence the cheap effects. Also, Carpenter was just burnt out in the 90s. The twin failures of The Thing and Big Trouble at the box office took years off his fast ball.

This movie is not bad at all. In fact, I would dare say it is Carpenter's best of the 90s, right after Mouth of Madness. This film's failure can be attributed solely to Chase, whose career had been in decline and was coming off the disastrous Nothing But Trouble. If another Carpenter film is covered, it has to be Village of the Damned. Or Ghosts of Mars. Those are his true low points.

Loved this movie as a kid. Walter Hill trying to recreate that "48 Hours" magic with Schwarzenegger and Belushi. As far as Arnold movies go, they would need to get through Commando (Crank level awesomeness), Raw Deal (Arnold as small time sherrif that infiltrates the Chicago mob) and Running Man (Hello 1980s!!!!) before this fairly decent action flick.

Bumping this one as the AV Club is running a series on action films called "A History of Violence." The author just got to 1991 and of course, "Stone Cold" was highlighted as the masterpiece of early 90s excess that it is. Could be a double feature with "I Come in Peace" as they were both directed by the same ex-stuntman, Craig Baxley. Also from 1991: Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Toy Soldiers, Last Boy Scout, Out for Justice, Point Break, Lionheart, Ricochet, The Perfect Weapon and Double Impact! They could do a few months of podcasts on '91 alone.

I've heard several references on the show to the year 1999 as one of the greatest in cinema history. Well it's time for the Canon to tackle the greatest film of that year, Three Kings. - still David O. Russel's best film - incredible work by the entire cast (which includes two rappers!) - more relevant today than the year it came out - does not get mentioned enough as one of the truly great films of the past 20 years.

There is very little to defend with regards to the Friday the 13th films. Halloween would walk it in virtually every horror match up. Halloween vs. Psycho would be very interesting though. The original slasher film vs. what many consider the definitive slasher film. Both are iconic, vastly influential and transcend their own genre.

This might be the best crime film off the 1980s. It out Manns Michael Mann in its presentation of the criminal underworld. It also has one of the top 5 car chases of all time, early John Tuturro and a dated but still awesome soundtrack by Wang Chung. Friendkin's appearance on WTF is a must listen.

Deadly Friend is long overdue. Make it a double feature live show with an another Wes Craven shit show (take your pick: Swamp Thing, People Under the Stairs, Shocker, Cursed).

Caaaaan yoooou diiiiig ittttttt?

Bumping this recommendation. Best film of the aughts (00-10). Harvey Weinstein kept this in theatres for almost an entire year to ensue it received the audience and acclaim it deserved.

Slam dunk for The Canon. One of the best films of the 1990s, but for some reason not recognized nearly enough as the masterpiece it is. I guess Titanic steamrolled everything else in 1997. Also, this is a master class in adapting an unwieldy novel into a perfect film without losing the soul of its source material.

LW vs. 48 Hrs would be amazing. The best buddy cop films ever made pitted against each other. Beverly Hills Cop vs. Trading Places would be great to hear. Or better yet, Coming to America vs. Trading Places for best Murphy comedy of all time.

How about a versus episode between some of the past winners March Madness style and streamline the list a little bit? Alien vs. The Thing, for example? (The Thing blows Alien out of the water, BTW)

Glad to see McTiernan get some recognition here. Despite his legal troubles, he remains one of the greatest action directors of all time. His late 80s/early 90s run (Predator, Die Hard, Red October) was not only amazing but kick started multiple franchises that are still going today. McTiernan is long overdue for a re-evaluation and would love to hear D and A discuss one of his films.

The first ten minutes of Up are devastating. My wife and I could not believe this was a kids film. Up all the way or Inside Out. Both films transcend animation.

Saw this in the theatre as a freshman in high school. Remains one of the best movie going experiences I have ever had. Saw it opening night with packed house that went full MST3K on it. This would make for an excellent live episode and a great Halloween episode.

After listening to all the 80s films covered, would love to hear D & A tackle a Hughes film. His work in this era pretty much all defined all teenage/high school films going forward. Even if his films are not typical "Canon" fodder, his influence is undeniable and would make for a great episode. My vote is for Ferris, but I'm sure you can make a case for Breakfast Club.

I read somewhere that Ghosts of Mars, another HDTGM contender, was originally the proposed third Escape From... film. After Escape From LA bombed, the third film was scrapped but Carpenter took the bones of that film and made Ghosts. Snake Plissken was changed to Desolation Williams. Needless to say, Ice Cube is no Kurt Russell.