Sunday, August 20, 2006

A Pleasant Surpise

So I'm flipping through the channels on Saturday night, licking my wounds from another Red Sox loss (yeah, and another loss tonight. If only Big Papi could pitch, too) and I come across Stander, starring Thomas Jane. It got good reviews when it "came out" last year, although it was nowhere to be seen around NJ and was quickly gone from any theaters in the US as far as I know.

What a great freakin' film. Damn. Thomas Jane was amazing, and the rest of the cast was equally as kick-ass. Go find this movie and see it. But there's an exchange between Thomas Jane and one of his partners-in-crime toward the end of the movie (Jane is a cop in South Africa but has been robbing banks) that blew me away. They're escaping from the police in this scene and are speeding down endless highways at dawn. The writing here, and their performances, made the movie for me. Seek it out if you haven't already seen it. Great stuff.

Ever come across a movie that you had little or no info. about it, and it just blew you away?

11 comments:

L.R. Williams said...

I'd like to say I feel sorry for you concerning your Red Sox, but being a Yankees fan, I just can't do it. As far as a movie with little or no info on, In My Country with Samuel L. Jackson. Terrific, passionate film.

Anonymous said...

St. Louis fan here, feel your pain.

About five years ago, one Saturday afternoon, a roommate and I were flipping through channels and came across a film we'd never heard of called TARGETS. If you've seen the film, we came into it when the guy goes a little nuts... talk about being floored.

Anonymous said...

Thomas Jane was in Dreamcatcher wasn't he? If so, cannot.forgive.him.EVER. If not, apologies.

Best film with no info? FINAL CUT starring Robin Williams. Fantastic idea, great execution, thought provoking, yet sunk without a trace. Watched it cos I got it out of a DVD bargain bin. Shame.

Thomas Crymes said...

One time I went to see a movie that I knew very little about. Something about baseball, and seeing that I wasn't a big baseball fan, I wasn't thrilled.

I sit down in the theater, and 5 minutes into the movie the corn starts talking and I'm instantly hooked. It was one of those "out of left field" (pun intended) movies that smacks you right in the face and leaves you stunned.

There is nothing like seeing a great movie for the first time, especially if you weren't prepared for it going in.

deepstructure said...

ah! thanks for reminding me about 'stander.' i don't know much about it, but i know i thought it looked interesting when it came out, but i never got to see it and forgot to put it on my netflix list. that's been remedied!

picking up on what thomas said, i've always wanted to know as little as possible about the films im seeing. just enough to feel they're interesting. that's why i hate so many trailers and marketing schemes now. they're so desperate to pull you in and so paranoid that you won't go because you don't know "what it's about," that they give it all away upfront.

Patrick J. Rodio said...

Dreamcatcher wasn't T. jane's fault. It was just a bad movie. He was great in Boogie Nights as well, and he played a superb mickey Mantle in *61.

Field Of Dreams, yes, that was a surprise.....(weeping). Great, great movie. Also, that same year, I walked into Glory not knowing much about this story of the Civil War (thought it looked like a cool war movie) and was floored.

"Give 'em hell, 54!"

Patrick J. Rodio said...

The Yanks, Lew? Cripes.

Oh, Phillies are my boys, too, and they're still in a wildcard races. As long as they don't fuck it up. Again.

Anonymous said...

free Cinimax preview weekend and saw Formula 51 with Sam Jackson, loved it...

L.R. Williams said...

I hear ya on the Phils! Tom brings up a great point about Field of Dreams. I had no expectations for it & I was in awe after watching it.

Thomas Crymes said...

What is this....

"base" "ball"

you speak of?

wcdixon said...

Seen Stander a couple of times the past few months on Movie Central (that's our HBO up here north of the border) - liked it a lot...reminded me a little of "Wonderland' with Val Kilmer.

Films I knew little about that I liked lately...'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' and 'Mamet's 'Spartan' - hmmm, both Kilmer films...hmmm