Do you like George Wendt? Do you like beans? Would you like to see a movie about George Wendt eating beans?
You make a great point about blue collar work in space. That’s part of why I loved the book Orbital Decay so much: it was about space iron workers. Well, at least on the surface. But still, the idea of juxtopositioning the glamor of space with the hum-drum of the blue collar dudes who make it work is a lot of fun.
I’d actually never heard of this until now, but it looks like a really fun movie and would have been a blast in the theaters. I still remember seeing Grindhouse in a mostly empty theater, but we all still had a lot of fun.
Orbital Decay? Sounds interesting, I just added it to my Amazon wish list.
The movie is a lot of fun. You can tell they were enjoying themselves while making this, especially Dance. Always great to see a serious actor play something so off the wall.
Poor Grindhouse. The studio had gold on their hands and had no idea how the hell to market it to the public. I knew people that didn’t go because they thought they had to pay for 2 movies. People can be so dumb sometimes.
Square Pigs? Sounds like the greatest storage saving achievement in human history!
Its funny seeing Dennis Hopper in this role, if only because I’m so used to him playing the villain. He handles the part of seasoned blue collar trucker flawlessly. I was taken aback at how well the effects hold up even after more than a decade has passed.
Also, why don’t we have more movies that employ six foot tall female models?
To be perfectly honest, I’m surprised square pigs aren’t a thing yet, especially with this overwhelming obsession with bacon.
Hopper is one of those guy who can just slide into any role. He can be serious, funny, campy, you name it. One of the most consistently solid across the board actors.
Funny thing you mention that. I think the effects still look great but on some places, namely the IMDB, there is nothing but people complaining about how terrible the effects are. A shame. I think CGI is warping people’s perception of what good effects are.
Well, the Species series employed a few tall girls. Natasha Henstridge, Sunny Mabrey, and Helena Mattsson. Aside from that I can’t think of any others off the top of my head. I don’t want to do a google search because if I do I’ll just be looking up hot, tall girls for the rest of the evening and I have other stuff I need to do!
My last comment about six foot girls was something of an inside joke as one of my best friends during college was a six foot woman (Or “ceiling scraper” as I always called her) who currently works as a video game designer.
Take note entertainment industry, if you don’t give six foot women work in the movin’ picture business than the gaming industry will have the monopoly on them!
Woa…. I completely forgot this movie. It’s strange, I remember watching it (now). Some things flashed back at me while watching your review:
1. Stephen Dorff and Timothy Olyphant were once one and the same person…. don’t look at me…. they were… in my head. I guess Timothy Olyphant won the battle of who is the best fucking newcomer since Deadwood & Justified!
A PS on Tim –> Saw Scream 2 some days ago. It was back than one of my favourite movies…. I feel dirty and stupid. It’s still entertaining, but for all the wrong reasons. If they made it as an intentional bad movie/sequel it would have been perfect. But I guess they didn’t… or have I misread them?
2. Anthony Hopkins is a badass…. well he just is.
3. Debi Mazar…. the eyes wow. Eyes + the uniform….*melts*
4. Is the design of the Robots that unique? Or iconic? I somehow have this desing in my head when it comes to awesome fighting machines.
1 – I can see that. Honestly, I never even knew about Olyphant until The Girl Next Door.
Scream 2 was a part of the original trilogy and I think they went a little over on the camp while trying to stay true to the first. The first was lightning in a bottle and I don’t think they quite captured it again in 2. I enjoyed it but the first one was amazing.
2 – I think you mean Dennis Hopper but Hopkins is also badass
3 – I was always bummed when Mazar was in Batman Forever. She was so much hotter than stupid Drew Barrymore and yet Barrymore had the bigger role.
4 – I think its just a cool design that has been copied. It reminded me of a few things like the robot comic ROM.
Damn… yes Dennis Hopper 🙁 . Funny, it’s the same problem I have with him and Timothy Olyphant vs. Stephen Dorff. Not that I can’t tell them apart…more I somehow mix their names ;P
I’ve never seen Scream as a Trilogie. It’s similar to the Matrix Sequals. I think they are a there for one reason: “Hey we’ve struck gold, let’s continue to mine this. Has there ever been a satisfying thrilogy except the original Star Wars?
THANK YOU! I love this movie. Saw it as a kid and then saw it again, and again, and again. This is exactly what we miss today – great crew doing a fun, memorable adventurous plot driven movie! I have nothing but praise for this flick. It’s too bad it never got a sequel (or made money, for that matter) but to all the fans of it I wholeheartedly recommend a 3d scroll action adventure SF puzzle platform game with a few tongue in cheek moments called Rochard. It’s about a good ol’ boy space miner with a heart of gold and a Texan(?) accent who gets stuck on a mining station after a group of space pirates who want to get their hands on a hidden artifact attack. It’s short, fun and has a cool atmosphere that is somewhat reminiscent of this movie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochard
Man, I bet you’re the life of a party when it comes to arranging home movie marathons for your friends.
LOL!
The only thing I remember about this movie as a kid was “Cotton Eyed Joe”. Must have seen it at least twice, falling asleep late at night… “where’d you come from, where’d you go… where’d you come from cotton eyed joe!” zzZZzz
Surprised you didn’t even mention it.
Thanks for the refresher. Now I don’t have to watch it again. Tho, the renewed memory of Charles Dance is gonna ruin my viewing experience for Game of Thrones now.
Could I make a request? Rutger Hauer’s Omega Doom. It gets a universally bad rap. But it was a guilty pleasure as a kid, before I could even appreciate it as a sci-fi adaptation of Yojimbo. Or a homage to the director’s former teacher.
I have to wonder if the mechanical designer for the anime series Cowboy Bebop saw this movie because the space trucks in the episode Heavy Metal Queen look just like those in this film.
I love this movie. I’m Irish, and I know it isn’t the first major sf movie made here. Zardoz and Excalibur were made here, and there was also filming for the Pink Panther Strikes Again, which has a laser gun as its mcguffin. I actually live in the same town, Bray as Ireland’s onlymajor film studios, Ardmore, where all the above bar Pink Panther have been made, inc. SpaceTruckers, as well as the 1967 AIP Jules Verne comedy Rocket to the Moon starring Burl Ives, but that’s about a failed mission, and the rocket never actually goes to the moon. But my grandad worked at Ardmore as animal trainer, and my dad’s workshop has a bin with the words “Space Truckers” on it, used in the film’s behind the scenes. I once rang Ardmore (which I have visited several times, once during the making of Reign of Fire, I didn’t meet CHristian Bale or Matthew Mahogany but I did get a gun prop) to ask where the square pigs went, as I personally wanted one. They told me they didn’t have one, and I realised that they were probably decomposed, as they were probably latex over a frame.
You also forgot to say that EJ Skaggs was played by Shane Rimmer, who has had an awesome, long career. He’s Canadian based in the UK, so has played Americans in everything from Dr Who – The Gunfighters, to three Bond films inc. The Spy Who Loved Me as the US sub captain, Thunderbirds as the voice of Scott Tracy, Warlords of Atlantis,the People thatTime Forgot, various US miniseries eg Lace, thee 2 Mrs. Grenvilles, Mistral’s Daughter, the film of Dark Shadows, Rollerball, Batman Begins, Superman II/III, Dr. Strangelove, The Hunger, and the Pia Zadora film The Lonely Lady
Yeah, a lot of the old Latex props have decomposed badly over the years. I saw a mechanical Yoshi and Goomba from Super Mario Brothers that both were falling apart. That’s the thing with most of these. They are often only made to last through the production and many of the items are either thrown out or destroyed so they don’t end up on ebay. They aren’t built to last unfortunately.
I am trying to ascertain what sequence(s) from THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN were filmed at Ardmore Studios. I wonder if perhaps the house that served as the Fassbender home is there.
follow:
Do you like George Wendt? Do you like beans? Would you like to see a movie about George Wendt eating beans?
You make a great point about blue collar work in space. That’s part of why I loved the book Orbital Decay so much: it was about space iron workers. Well, at least on the surface. But still, the idea of juxtopositioning the glamor of space with the hum-drum of the blue collar dudes who make it work is a lot of fun.
I’d actually never heard of this until now, but it looks like a really fun movie and would have been a blast in the theaters. I still remember seeing Grindhouse in a mostly empty theater, but we all still had a lot of fun.
Orbital Decay? Sounds interesting, I just added it to my Amazon wish list.
The movie is a lot of fun. You can tell they were enjoying themselves while making this, especially Dance. Always great to see a serious actor play something so off the wall.
Poor Grindhouse. The studio had gold on their hands and had no idea how the hell to market it to the public. I knew people that didn’t go because they thought they had to pay for 2 movies. People can be so dumb sometimes.
There is a serious lack of Deep Purple in this review. I am disappoint. 😛
Would you believe I thought it would be too obvious?
Square Pigs? Sounds like the greatest storage saving achievement in human history!
Its funny seeing Dennis Hopper in this role, if only because I’m so used to him playing the villain. He handles the part of seasoned blue collar trucker flawlessly. I was taken aback at how well the effects hold up even after more than a decade has passed.
Also, why don’t we have more movies that employ six foot tall female models?
To be perfectly honest, I’m surprised square pigs aren’t a thing yet, especially with this overwhelming obsession with bacon.
Hopper is one of those guy who can just slide into any role. He can be serious, funny, campy, you name it. One of the most consistently solid across the board actors.
Funny thing you mention that. I think the effects still look great but on some places, namely the IMDB, there is nothing but people complaining about how terrible the effects are. A shame. I think CGI is warping people’s perception of what good effects are.
Well, the Species series employed a few tall girls. Natasha Henstridge, Sunny Mabrey, and Helena Mattsson. Aside from that I can’t think of any others off the top of my head. I don’t want to do a google search because if I do I’ll just be looking up hot, tall girls for the rest of the evening and I have other stuff I need to do!
My last comment about six foot girls was something of an inside joke as one of my best friends during college was a six foot woman (Or “ceiling scraper” as I always called her) who currently works as a video game designer.
Take note entertainment industry, if you don’t give six foot women work in the movin’ picture business than the gaming industry will have the monopoly on them!
Sold! I have to watch this movie. As always, great review. Thank you so munch.
Thank you! You won’t be disappointed, this flick delivers.
Woa…. I completely forgot this movie. It’s strange, I remember watching it (now). Some things flashed back at me while watching your review:
1. Stephen Dorff and Timothy Olyphant were once one and the same person…. don’t look at me…. they were… in my head. I guess Timothy Olyphant won the battle of who is the best fucking newcomer since Deadwood & Justified!
A PS on Tim –> Saw Scream 2 some days ago. It was back than one of my favourite movies…. I feel dirty and stupid. It’s still entertaining, but for all the wrong reasons. If they made it as an intentional bad movie/sequel it would have been perfect. But I guess they didn’t… or have I misread them?
2. Anthony Hopkins is a badass…. well he just is.
3. Debi Mazar…. the eyes wow. Eyes + the uniform….*melts*
4. Is the design of the Robots that unique? Or iconic? I somehow have this desing in my head when it comes to awesome fighting machines.
PS to point 4:
What I mean is: This design was always there in my head. Like from the alien movies… the same awesome and iconic design.
1 – I can see that. Honestly, I never even knew about Olyphant until The Girl Next Door.
Scream 2 was a part of the original trilogy and I think they went a little over on the camp while trying to stay true to the first. The first was lightning in a bottle and I don’t think they quite captured it again in 2. I enjoyed it but the first one was amazing.
2 – I think you mean Dennis Hopper but Hopkins is also badass
3 – I was always bummed when Mazar was in Batman Forever. She was so much hotter than stupid Drew Barrymore and yet Barrymore had the bigger role.
4 – I think its just a cool design that has been copied. It reminded me of a few things like the robot comic ROM.
Damn… yes Dennis Hopper 🙁 . Funny, it’s the same problem I have with him and Timothy Olyphant vs. Stephen Dorff. Not that I can’t tell them apart…more I somehow mix their names ;P
Mrph…again a Ps:
I’ve never seen Scream as a Trilogie. It’s similar to the Matrix Sequals. I think they are a there for one reason: “Hey we’ve struck gold, let’s continue to mine this. Has there ever been a satisfying thrilogy except the original Star Wars?
THANK YOU! I love this movie. Saw it as a kid and then saw it again, and again, and again. This is exactly what we miss today – great crew doing a fun, memorable adventurous plot driven movie! I have nothing but praise for this flick. It’s too bad it never got a sequel (or made money, for that matter) but to all the fans of it I wholeheartedly recommend a 3d scroll action adventure SF puzzle platform game with a few tongue in cheek moments called Rochard. It’s about a good ol’ boy space miner with a heart of gold and a Texan(?) accent who gets stuck on a mining station after a group of space pirates who want to get their hands on a hidden artifact attack. It’s short, fun and has a cool atmosphere that is somewhat reminiscent of this movie.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochard
Man, I bet you’re the life of a party when it comes to arranging home movie marathons for your friends.
LOL!
The only thing I remember about this movie as a kid was “Cotton Eyed Joe”. Must have seen it at least twice, falling asleep late at night… “where’d you come from, where’d you go… where’d you come from cotton eyed joe!” zzZZzz
Surprised you didn’t even mention it.
Thanks for the refresher. Now I don’t have to watch it again. Tho, the renewed memory of Charles Dance is gonna ruin my viewing experience for Game of Thrones now.
Could I make a request? Rutger Hauer’s Omega Doom. It gets a universally bad rap. But it was a guilty pleasure as a kid, before I could even appreciate it as a sci-fi adaptation of Yojimbo. Or a homage to the director’s former teacher.
I’m kind of surprised at the amount of people who said this. Didn’t know there were so many Rednex fans out there. lol
Omega Doom, I know it well. It is on the list.
I don’t even know the original artist. I knew the song as “That theme from Space Truckers” lol
I have to wonder if the mechanical designer for the anime series Cowboy Bebop saw this movie because the space trucks in the episode Heavy Metal Queen look just like those in this film.
I have a feeling this movie influenced more than a few things. The creativity was well beyond what a lot expected.
Oh god that Debi Mazar mmmm…huh?…uh i mean, great review!
I love this movie. I’m Irish, and I know it isn’t the first major sf movie made here. Zardoz and Excalibur were made here, and there was also filming for the Pink Panther Strikes Again, which has a laser gun as its mcguffin. I actually live in the same town, Bray as Ireland’s onlymajor film studios, Ardmore, where all the above bar Pink Panther have been made, inc. SpaceTruckers, as well as the 1967 AIP Jules Verne comedy Rocket to the Moon starring Burl Ives, but that’s about a failed mission, and the rocket never actually goes to the moon. But my grandad worked at Ardmore as animal trainer, and my dad’s workshop has a bin with the words “Space Truckers” on it, used in the film’s behind the scenes. I once rang Ardmore (which I have visited several times, once during the making of Reign of Fire, I didn’t meet CHristian Bale or Matthew Mahogany but I did get a gun prop) to ask where the square pigs went, as I personally wanted one. They told me they didn’t have one, and I realised that they were probably decomposed, as they were probably latex over a frame.
You also forgot to say that EJ Skaggs was played by Shane Rimmer, who has had an awesome, long career. He’s Canadian based in the UK, so has played Americans in everything from Dr Who – The Gunfighters, to three Bond films inc. The Spy Who Loved Me as the US sub captain, Thunderbirds as the voice of Scott Tracy, Warlords of Atlantis,the People thatTime Forgot, various US miniseries eg Lace, thee 2 Mrs. Grenvilles, Mistral’s Daughter, the film of Dark Shadows, Rollerball, Batman Begins, Superman II/III, Dr. Strangelove, The Hunger, and the Pia Zadora film The Lonely Lady
Yeah, a lot of the old Latex props have decomposed badly over the years. I saw a mechanical Yoshi and Goomba from Super Mario Brothers that both were falling apart. That’s the thing with most of these. They are often only made to last through the production and many of the items are either thrown out or destroyed so they don’t end up on ebay. They aren’t built to last unfortunately.
Hi-
I am trying to ascertain what sequence(s) from THE PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN were filmed at Ardmore Studios. I wonder if perhaps the house that served as the Fassbender home is there.
Thanks for any information you may have.
It seems the train sequence was shot near Ardmore, on The Boyne Valley Rail Road.
The video is missing can you please tell me why ?
The studio blocked it in some countries.
Yeah canada being one of them who the hell is CPRagency anyways.
Actually, it’s blocked in all countries as far as I can tell https://polsy.org.uk/stuff/ytrestrict.cgi?ytid=9U50G4Eto40
Unfortunate. Can’t even be viewed with a VPN (blocked in all 37 countries I have exit nodes in).
Sadly, Lionsgate doesn’t want anyone to see a video on a 20 year old movie. They hate free advertising.