You come into the room and see the New Line Cinema title card gracing the television screen. There’s no theme like before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or a horror movie, but in its place remains a voice over instead. You know the voice, you know the quote, and you know the movie.
The 80’s and 90’s saw a seemingly endless release of buddy cop films. The approach was almost always formulaic. One officer is by the books and straight laced, and the other one is a renegade with more property damage than arrests. However, despite their differences, both officers wind up overcoming whatever problem that was thrown their way, and learning the importance of utilizing teamwork rather than working alone. In 2001, Antoine Fuqua directed a film written by David Ayer that would take that formula, turn it inside out, and gut it in a title called Training Day. Continue reading
I opened my Die Hard review with an apology to Bruce Willis for my unwavering belief that the film itself is a Christmas movie. That time comes once again. If Bruce didn’t think Die Hard was a holiday flick, then I can’t imagine he’d think any differently about 1990’s Die Hard 2. However, just like the original, we find our setting taking place during the holiday season, complete with decorations, music, and a snow storm. The movie even wraps up just as the first did, with “Let It Snow” playing over the credits. I’m sorry, Bruce, but this is another holiday action-thriller, and that’s all there is to it.
All apologies to Bruce Willis for what I’m about to write. Despite his firm stance on the matter, I can’t help but classify Die Hard as a Christmas movie. It takes place at a company holiday party, features festive music, and has Bruce Willis himself whistling “Jingle Bells” in the opening act. The end credits roll to “Let it Snow”, bookending the film in festive music. That checks all the boxes I need to justify putting on this classic action-thriller during the season.
It’s the holiday break in the 90’s. Your family turns on the TV in the evening, and change the channel to TNT. There’s now a 50 / 50 chance you’re watching A Christmas Story. On the off chance it isn’t on, a commercial is. This was tradition at the time. It became a part of the cacophony of festive background sounds. The movie was just as much a part of the holiday as a decorated tree, or vibrant colored lights being strewn across the house.
If you were tuned into TNT on television during the holiday seasons of the 1990’s, there was a significant chance that A Christmas Story was playing. Bob Clark’s holiday classic showcased the exploits of a young boy, his comedic family, a passionate pursuit for a “Red Ryder” air rifle, and an iconic leg lamp that was sure to put a smile on any father’s face. If Bob Clark was good at anything, it was catching the spirit of the season. And if there was anything else he was good at, it was turning it upside down to make it feel cold, isolating, and foreboding. Nearly a full decade before Bob Clark would showcase a charming winter vacation, he would terrorize a sorority of young women in his holiday horror hit, Black Christmas.