I watched this a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Re-watched it last night, hoping for b-movie lolz ala Darkman or various similarly campy 88-92 fare, and was surprised to discover that it wasn't "fun" bad like I'd remembered, just bad. The fight scenes were entertaining, but the rest of the movie was absurdly tedious.
I did like that the Big American Star was transformed into the hapless sidekick, but Kim Catrall's character was an obnoxious idiot and there was this sensation throughout the movie that the audience wasn't being let in on significant elements of the plot. Eh.
So is it a camp classic? Am I spoiled by amazingly fun terrible stuff like The Car?
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 07:06 (fifteen years ago) link
Russell is pretty funny is this movie, tho.
― Michael Servetus, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 07:14 (fifteen years ago) link
is = in obv.
what?? this movie rules. total classic.
― chaki, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 07:38 (fifteen years ago) link
How can anyone not like this film?
― not_goodwin, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 07:44 (fifteen years ago) link
by being Hoos
― chaki, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 07:45 (fifteen years ago) link
I guess it helps to be w/an audience that laughs at the jokes. My audience didn't.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 07:59 (fifteen years ago) link
you're nuts. this is one of the best movies of all time. this thread needs to be overrun with great quotes from this great movie.
― f. hazel, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 09:44 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah movie basically is the best
― thorn, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 10:10 (fifteen years ago) link
never seen it but good title innit.
― ken c, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 10:12 (fifteen years ago) link
I love it but don't think it's as great as I used to. I think a lot of that is several years of watching genuine HK gonzo fantasy (ZU WARRIORS to thread.)
― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 13:01 (fifteen years ago) link
this movie was so much better on re-viewing it than i thought it would be! the whole premise that the sidekick is the actual hero is so great and something i probably was completely oblivious to when i saw it as a kid!
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 13:05 (fifteen years ago) link
there was this sensation throughout the movie that the audience wasn't being let in on significant elements of the plot
??
also i recommend the commentary.
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 13:06 (fifteen years ago) link
"We may be trapped."
― Euler, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 13:18 (fifteen years ago) link
was this Carpenter?
― Ste, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 13:37 (fifteen years ago) link
it was
― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 13:45 (fifteen years ago) link
love this flick!
― carne asada, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 13:45 (fifteen years ago) link
great film ruined a little by constantly being on Five for about 3 months.
― Jarlrmai, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 13:57 (fifteen years ago) link
Seriously, Hoos. You have lost much credit with this iLxor.
this thread needs to be overrun with great quotes from this great movie. Alright...my personal favorite from the movie...
Like I told my last wife, I said, "Honey, I never drive faster than I can see, and besides... it's all in the reflexes."
― B.L.A.M., Tuesday, 27 May 2008 14:25 (fifteen years ago) link
dull kidstuff for the Carpenter-deluded
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 14:26 (fifteen years ago) link
I remember the trailer for this more than I recall anything else in the actual film.
― Ste, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 14:28 (fifteen years ago) link
Seconded.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 14:29 (fifteen years ago) link
to the hataz i quote jack burton:
"are you crazy? is that your problem?"
― andrew m., Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:21 (fifteen years ago) link
from the imdb memorable quotes comes this:
Jack Burton: Have you paid your dues Jack? Yessir, the cheque is in the mail.
"cheque"?!! not how all american hero jack burton would ever spell it! haha
― andrew m., Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:22 (fifteen years ago) link
http://pjw.planetquake.gamespy.com/grafix/getit.jpg
― rogermexico., Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:24 (fifteen years ago) link
this wall hollow? fuckit!
― sexyDancer, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:24 (fifteen years ago) link
INDEED!
― andrew m., Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:25 (fifteen years ago) link
http://www.lib.clemson.edu/images/copyright/bigC.gif
― Roberto Spiralli, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:28 (fifteen years ago) link
man carpenter went downhill... but in his prime he was such a great director.
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:34 (fifteen years ago) link
this is a guy who's rep outside film nerd circles has probably been really hurt by later work.
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:36 (fifteen years ago) link
wait, there's a concept of "rep" beyond nerd circles?
― sexyDancer, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:36 (fifteen years ago) link
Kim Catrall's character was an obnoxious idiot CRUSADING REPORTER
fixed
― rogermexico., Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:42 (fifteen years ago) link
I saw this a few years ago, and it wasn't quite as good as I remembered it (or wanted it to be) -- some of the actions sequences toward the end really aren't that thrilling -- but it's still a pretty fine piece of trash. Kurt Russell: is he Hollywood's most likable Republican?
Also classic: 80s rock movie themes that involve the title of the film being sung over and over again.
― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:43 (fifteen years ago) link
he's a libertarian.
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:45 (fifteen years ago) link
he posts on ilx as "dandy don weiner."
Also classic: 80s rock movie themes that involve the title of the film being sung over and over again
So many kilos of blow and ferraris were purchased with songs of this very type.
Goddamnit, why wasn't I born a decade earlier?
― B.L.A.M., Tuesday, 27 May 2008 16:49 (fifteen years ago) link
I blame the parents
― Jarlrmai, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 17:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Kurt Russell: is he Hollywood's most likable Libertarian?
― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 17:09 (fifteen years ago) link
dang, someone already did "you were not put on this world to "get it"!
how about, "what?! what'll come out no more?!"
― Ai Lien, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 18:29 (fifteen years ago) link
John Carpenter wrote and performed the theme song!
― f. hazel, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 20:01 (fifteen years ago) link
80s rock movie themes that involve the title of the film being sung over and over again.
agreed that theme is a beautiful thing, and knowing that carpenter wrote/song it only makes it better.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 21:12 (fifteen years ago) link
I have also always liked this exchange:
Eddie:Well sure it was a war. And anybody that showed up was gonna join Lem Lee in the Hell of Being Cut to Pieces. Jack Burton: Hell of being what? Eddie: Chinese have a lot of Hells.
― B.L.A.M., Tuesday, 27 May 2008 21:14 (fifteen years ago) link
Oh, wow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D03E9kUTTtQ&hl=en
― Chuck_Tatum, Tuesday, 27 May 2008 21:23 (fifteen years ago) link
The many moods of Jack Burton.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 25 August 2008 14:44 (fifteen years ago) link
Ha!
I have not seen this movie in probably fifteen years!
― RabiesAngentleman, Monday, 25 August 2008 14:52 (fifteen years ago) link
I SUGGEST YOU FIX THAT PROBLEM.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 25 August 2008 14:54 (fifteen years ago) link
Oh man!! My roommate used to work at this theater with a DVD projector and we would break in after hours to watch whatever movies we wanted (and DRINK) with the theater all to our selves...ah but no longer. BTILC would be so perfect.
― RabiesAngentleman, Monday, 25 August 2008 14:56 (fifteen years ago) link
Though if you ever have the chance, really drunk + empty movie theater + Over The Top is a pretty good time.
― RabiesAngentleman, Monday, 25 August 2008 14:57 (fifteen years ago) link
Highly recommended.
Chanting USA is key.
― RabiesAngentleman, Monday, 25 August 2008 14:58 (fifteen years ago) link
Hahahaha, Jeff Treppel to thread. (Drinking + his apartment + that film = a mini-LA FAP last December.)
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 25 August 2008 14:58 (fifteen years ago) link
"What does that say?"
"Hell of Boiling Oil."
"You're kidding."
"Yeah, I am. It says Keep Out."
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 16 November 2008 04:51 (fifteen years ago) link
ilx0rs got a lot of hells
― mookieproof, Sunday, 16 November 2008 04:58 (fifteen years ago) link
This really pisses me off to no end!
― More Butty In Your Pants (Telephone thing), Monday, 31 August 2009 07:41 (fourteen years ago) link
I'm a reasonable guy. But, I've just experienced some very unreasonable things.
― Adam Bruneau, Monday, 31 August 2009 15:14 (fourteen years ago) link
Just re-watched last night for the first time since childhood. Great monsters, hilarious fights, horrible screenplay/editing/direction/acting.
Must hear commentary.
― Nate Carson, Thursday, 7 January 2010 23:52 (fourteen years ago) link
This movie rules.
― Clerk all KNOWIN (B.L.A.M.), Friday, 8 January 2010 00:35 (fourteen years ago) link
forever and all time classichttp://i49.tinypic.com/1zr2tft.gif
― Dinosauciers (los blue jeans), Friday, 8 January 2010 00:53 (fourteen years ago) link
I wholeheartedly endorse this as a classic. Hilarious garbage, from start to finish.
― winnebago taco, Friday, 8 January 2010 03:26 (fourteen years ago) link
I really feel like BTiLC deserves respect as a genuinely good film! There's probably some really good detailed defense of the Carpenter aesthetic out there, but it seems to me that a lot of what could be perceived as bad about this and other films of his is really in the service of art. I don't know if it's Camp, but it's something akin to it, right?
― Dan I., Friday, 8 January 2010 03:56 (fourteen years ago) link
james hong has 345 credits on imdb
― mookieproof, Friday, 8 January 2010 04:16 (fourteen years ago) link
big trouble is one of a short list of things i will defend to the end on the internet with a bunch of strangers.
*does the hand sign thing*!
― andrew m., Friday, 8 January 2010 04:21 (fourteen years ago) link
Must hear commentary.― Nate Carson, Thursday, January 7, 2010 3:52 PM (4 hours ago)
― Nate Carson, Thursday, January 7, 2010 3:52 PM (4 hours ago)
holds true for all JC movies!
― ┌∩┐(◕_◕)┌∩┐ (Steve Shasta), Friday, 8 January 2010 04:22 (fourteen years ago) link
Mrs. Kongvs and I agree that if we can't agree on a movie to watch at night, we are both perfectly happy with this one.Plus, everytime we get in an elevator together, she says "What's this - ChiNEESE or something?"
― kingkongvsgodzilla, Friday, 8 January 2010 11:16 (fourteen years ago) link
stone cold classic <3
― t(o_o)t (ENBB), Friday, 8 January 2010 12:09 (fourteen years ago) link
ned to watch this again.
― Not a reactionary git, just an idiot. (darraghmac), Friday, 8 January 2010 12:18 (fourteen years ago) link
uh, need to watch this again. i wasn't offering bets on ned watching it again.
Plus, everytime we get in an elevator together, she says "What's this - ChiNEESE or something?"
haha! sometimes we go, "i feel pretty good. invincible or something."*
*warning: may be a slight misquote
― andrew m., Friday, 8 January 2010 14:43 (fourteen years ago) link
love this, movie is perfect
― sir ilx-a-lot (cutty), Friday, 8 January 2010 15:01 (fourteen years ago) link
should be another jack burton film, his legacy was meant to go on
― sir ilx-a-lot (cutty), Friday, 8 January 2010 15:02 (fourteen years ago) link
the beast WAS hanging onto the porkchop express at the end, setting it up for the sequal
― andrew m., Friday, 8 January 2010 15:03 (fourteen years ago) link
This is still Momus' best nickname.
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 8 January 2010 15:04 (fourteen years ago) link
― andrew m., Friday, January 8, 2010 9:43 AM (32 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Me too! I got a very positive attitude about all this.
― kingkongvsgodzilla, Friday, 8 January 2010 15:19 (fourteen years ago) link
But at some point, I will.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 8 January 2010 16:47 (fourteen years ago) link
Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it."
― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 8 January 2010 19:25 (fourteen years ago) link
Just saw a screening of this at the Alamo... oh, I love this movie.
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Wednesday, 16 February 2011 03:53 (thirteen years ago) link
Film 4 now :)
― not_goodwin, Sunday, 1 May 2011 20:06 (twelve years ago) link
Such a good film!
― Evil Eau (dog latin), Sunday, 1 May 2011 20:26 (twelve years ago) link
awesome for all time, no question
― VegemiteGrrl, Sunday, 1 May 2011 20:32 (twelve years ago) link
"if we're not back by dawn, call the president"
― not_goodwin, Sunday, 1 May 2011 20:41 (twelve years ago) link
my mind and spirit are also going north and south tbh
― mookieproof, Monday, 2 May 2011 02:05 (twelve years ago) link
So good. It's this batshit supernatural martial arts action film that gallops along with the cadences of a classic screwball comedy. Such on odd one-off hybrid. No coincidence that it was supposedly entirely rewritten from the original script by W.D. Richter.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 2 May 2011 02:22 (twelve years ago) link
I mean, it's not tax deductible.
― David Allah Coal (sexyDancer), Monday, 2 May 2011 02:38 (twelve years ago) link
we take what we want and leave the rest, much like your American salad bar
― David Allah Coal (sexyDancer), Monday, 2 May 2011 02:39 (twelve years ago) link
this is just so shocking. i mean i must just be so monumentally naive.
― mookieproof, Monday, 2 May 2011 02:47 (twelve years ago) link
Also the song: "Biiiig trouble! (In little China!!)"
― VegemiteGrrl, Monday, 2 May 2011 04:17 (twelve years ago) link
Just watched this for the first time, on the urging of the ILX ACTION POLL and it was totally awesome. Really not at all what I'd expected somehow - - - I think I've gone through life with this impression that Kurt Russell is some kind of generic tough guy actor (like a Seagal or a Van Damme), but he's actually doing this awesome lovable buffoon thing with huge doses of Harrison Ford and Jack Nicholson or something rolled in there. He's hilarious! And the fights were all pretty awesome too.
I mainly just love how the story barely makes any sense for the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the movie, which doesn't impact the characters whatsoever - and then anytime anyone opens their mouth it's to just spew out this rapid-fire exposition of everything but what would be immediately useful for anyone to know.
Also, Kim Cattrall.
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 26 February 2012 01:45 (twelve years ago) link
Wisdom on all fronts, sir.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 26 February 2012 02:04 (twelve years ago) link
Doctor Casino otm
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 26 February 2012 02:15 (twelve years ago) link
Doctor Casino, welcome.
― andrew m., Sunday, 26 February 2012 03:31 (twelve years ago) link
*throws Doctor Casino the Chang Sings' "L" gang sign*
― Stockhausen's Ekranoplan Quartet (Elvis Telecom), Sunday, 26 February 2012 03:37 (twelve years ago) link
Also: http://www.wingkong.net/
― Stockhausen's Ekranoplan Quartet (Elvis Telecom), Sunday, 26 February 2012 03:38 (twelve years ago) link
LOL
https://loader.quebec-team.net/index.php?img=http://images.fan-de-cinema.com/affiches/fantastique/les_aventures_de_jack_burton_dans_les_griffes_du_mandarin,0.jpg
― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 26 February 2012 03:55 (twelve years ago) link
I think I would have seen this movie before now if it'd been called that!
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 26 February 2012 04:00 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nix_PID3oiA&feature=related
you guys have probably seen this, but check it. It's no "Tom Selleck auditioning for Indiana Jones" but still.
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 26 February 2012 17:05 (twelve years ago) link
Love all the "you are" jokes. There have to be a few others.
Jack: I'm starting to feel like an outsider here.Gracie: You are.
Margo: This is just so shocking. I mean I must just be so monumentally naive. Eddie: You are.
― beachville, Monday, 27 February 2012 17:59 (twelve years ago) link
I think I've gone through life with this impression that Kurt Russell is some kind of generic tough guy actor (like a Seagal or a Van Damme),
I envy your being disabused of this notion
― Artful Dodderer (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 27 February 2012 18:03 (twelve years ago) link
Have we done a Kurt Russell poll? Dude is solid IMO
― dollar eye twinkling (admrl), Monday, 27 February 2012 18:07 (twelve years ago) link
ah search function
Kurt Russell
WD Richter is some kind of genius.
― WARS OF ARMAGEDDON (Karaoke Version) (Sparkle Motion), Monday, 27 February 2012 18:10 (twelve years ago) link
Stealth was on TV at one point over the weekend too. I caught about 20 minutes of it.
― beachville, Monday, 27 February 2012 18:11 (twelve years ago) link
he's pretty fun in Sky High
― Artful Dodderer (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 27 February 2012 18:12 (twelve years ago) link
Russell that is
― Artful Dodderer (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 27 February 2012 18:14 (twelve years ago) link
I even watched Tango and Cash this weekend because meh Kurt Russell is still better than anything else on tv.
― Nicole, Monday, 27 February 2012 18:40 (twelve years ago) link
Plus, Teri Hatcher's crazy dancing (and hair).
― Nicole, Monday, 27 February 2012 18:41 (twelve years ago) link
BIG HOOS in little china
― flagp∞st (dayo), Sunday, 11 March 2012 14:19 (twelve years ago) link
http://io9.com/5953874/big-trouble-in-little-china-%252B-gangnam-style-john-carpenter-approves
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 22 October 2012 19:34 (eleven years ago) link
Nerd nirvana! Loved it.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 23 October 2012 00:20 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvYEdmW47gQ
― how's life, Friday, 30 May 2014 11:03 (nine years ago) link
Also, there's a Big Trouble in Little China comic coming out, with input from Carpenter. First issue comes out next week:
http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3292934/big-trouble-little-china-returns-john-carpenter-eric-powell/
― how's life, Friday, 30 May 2014 11:15 (nine years ago) link
Don't think I liked that particularly much. The art is incredibly cheesy and the pacing was very whiz-bang without a the tension and atmosphere that made the movie great. I plan on keeping up with the issues to see where it goes, but I'll be surprised if I end up enjoying it.
― how's life, Thursday, 5 June 2014 17:26 (nine years ago) link
So racist, this movie
― Kornblud (admrl), Thursday, 5 June 2014 21:27 (nine years ago) link
one of the few American movies of the 1980s overtly influenced by Hong Kong -- I think a major reference point is Tsui Hark's "Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain." I don't that exactly mitigates what you might feel is the film's "racism," but I think it explains a lot of Carpenter's film's zaniness and outrageousness. of course the movie kind of pales in comparison to Tsui's, and I think there's a tendency to overrate the movie (at least by people who give a shit) because of today's pervasive "LOL randomness" taste culture. but it's a pretty fun movie, russell is fantastic as always, it's never boring....
― display name changed. (amateurist), Thursday, 5 June 2014 21:31 (nine years ago) link
Compared with a lot of other movies from this era, I'll take it xp
― 龜, Thursday, 5 June 2014 21:33 (nine years ago) link
i liked this movie a lot from the moment i saw it in 1986 or 1987 (on VHS)
when I caught up with "Zu Warriors" (and other '80s Tsui Hark + Hong Kong ghost movies) around 2000 a lightbulb went off
that didn't really diminish my appreciation of Carpenter's film but it suddenly seems pretty clear where it's coming from.
aside from parts of they live, did carpenter ever return to the tone of this film again?
― display name changed. (amateurist), Thursday, 5 June 2014 21:34 (nine years ago) link
For a while Carpenter had the kind of golden b-movie writer's touch I would kill for. Some of his movies are One-Liner Paradise. I loved this movie so much as a kid because every character has great lines, and it helps the whole film be so memorable. Plus the special effects/post-Ghostbusters mysticism (which is probably a main reason why I also liked Mortal Kombat the first time I saw it).
"Zu Warriors" is AMAZING but yeah two totally different movies. Love the pervading sense of fantasy in that one.
― ▴▲ ▴TH3CR()$BY$H()W▴▲ ▴ (Adam Bruneau), Thursday, 5 June 2014 21:35 (nine years ago) link
well overall two different movies, but you can't see the connection in terms of the zany humor, the overall manner of plot construction, the nature of the fights and their use of wires and FX etc.?
i mean big trouble is like strong doses of HK fantasy/mythology/martial arts self-consciously filtered through wisecracking '80s american action cinema.
― display name changed. (amateurist), Thursday, 5 June 2014 21:42 (nine years ago) link
did carpenter ever return to the tone of this film again?
not really, unfortunately
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 5 June 2014 21:43 (nine years ago) link
william friedkin was a huge fan of asian genre cinema, including HK martial arts and Japanese yakuza films. but with a few exception moments or set pieces I don't see much of that fandom in his films. esp. not the HK-style action aesthetics.
american genre cinema of the 70s and 80s might have been more interesting had more directors taken cues from HK cinema.
― display name changed. (amateurist), Thursday, 5 June 2014 21:44 (nine years ago) link
Big Trouble harkens back to the good old days when John Carpenter movies were fun
sometimes parts of the movie blend with Golden Child in my head which makes a p awesome mashup
Big Trouble in Little Golden Child
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 6 June 2014 01:13 (nine years ago) link
Golden Child has been sitting on our shelf for ages, tempting us but never looking THAT good. Should we watch it?
― Doctor Casino, Friday, 6 June 2014 01:30 (nine years ago) link
i am kinda partial to it, but that is fuelled by childhood nostalgia so ymmv :)
― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 6 June 2014 01:33 (nine years ago) link
Huh.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/01/the-rock-to-star-in-big-trouble-in-little-china-remake
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 1 June 2015 23:10 (eight years ago) link
I just don't understand why. This film isn't even that good.
― Drop soap, not bombs (Ste), Monday, 1 June 2015 23:24 (eight years ago) link
after three or so viewings i feel comfortable reiterating that this film is pretty awesome but not in a single way that any remake would possibly capture. i mean this is true of most remakes but this one in particular is just baffling.
― Doctor Casino, Monday, 1 June 2015 23:28 (eight years ago) link
Yeah, it's a good film but I agree just not worth remaking. Also without Russell's humour I just don't see any point.
― Drop soap, not bombs (Ste), Monday, 1 June 2015 23:44 (eight years ago) link
(that's what I meant by 'not that good', not that its shit, just not really great)
― Drop soap, not bombs (Ste), Monday, 1 June 2015 23:45 (eight years ago) link
yeah i imagine they would retain the plot, but who cares about the plot?
not really a "good movie" IMO but interesting as a suggestion of where US genre cinema might have gone had it borrowed more heavily from contemporaneous HK stuff.
― he quipped with heat (amateurist), Monday, 1 June 2015 23:52 (eight years ago) link
Awesome? That seems to be rating it on the high side. Obviously, the film is about as deep as a saucer and not meant as anything more than a good way to waste a couple of hours. It certainly succeeds on those terms.
― Aimless, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:00 (eight years ago) link
What the fuck? I watch this film every night. FPd all of you.
― what sounds 'cutting cheese' in 2015? (how's life), Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:08 (eight years ago) link
the remake of btilc was p much "the mummy" tbh
― thoughts you made second posts about (darraghmac), Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:13 (eight years ago) link
Russell was great at balancing dumb action movie swagger with self-aware dorkiness. I like the Rock as a choice, but it will be a totally different film.
I thought it was really great because it was a post-Ghostbusters/Star Wars take on b-movies, with all the special effects and cool supernatural stuff. It was like a Kung Fu mix of Indiana Jones and Rambo.
― ©Oz Quiz© (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:15 (eight years ago) link
So much of what's lovable about the film is Russell's goofery and John Wayne impression, the way everybody is really emphatically talking past/at each other in this absurd situation, and the generally gleeful ridiculousness of the script, set amidst lots of charming practical effects and sets and stuff. The story is just a dumb setting for that, it's not like it's a classic tale that you can sorta imagine maybe being good brought up to date with a new cast. Or could have sorta imagined, once, but no longer can after the past eons of terrible generic remakes.
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:27 (eight years ago) link
i enjoy this movie, but i also enjoy gunga din and i that would be a really fucking stupid movie to remake as well
― da croupier, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:32 (eight years ago) link
feel like the original has a "just hangs together, barely" aspect to it that a remake will surely crush
― 龜, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:33 (eight years ago) link
dude is already doing a jack burton imitation in a lot of movies anyway
― da croupier, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:34 (eight years ago) link
also this movie wasn't remotely a hit when it came out - is the rock dying? is this his make-a-wish foundation request?
― da croupier, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:38 (eight years ago) link
you'd think the smarter road if you want to make a nu-carpenter remake with the rock would be snake plissken
― da croupier, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:42 (eight years ago) link
Escape From Witch Mountain
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:45 (eight years ago) link
haha yeah i did realize after the fact he's already done some VERB FROM A PLACE movies. But still, remaking a cult dystopia hit makes a lot more sense today than remaking a cult camp kung fu flop
― da croupier, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 00:50 (eight years ago) link
Dr. Casino otm, loveable goofery and gleeful ridiculousness are v apt.
― Aimless, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 01:02 (eight years ago) link
the key to the movie is that wang rules and if they miscast him/diminish his importance nothing else will matter
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 01:04 (eight years ago) link
When is the buckaroo banzai remake happening
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 01:11 (eight years ago) link
The thing is, an an Escape to Witch Mountain reboot hardly makes a ton of commercial sense either! Though apparently it did pretty good. Maybe the rock has just committed himself to using his stardom to force forgotten properties of his youth back onto the American public. Buckaroo Banzai not so unlikely really.
The lamest thing about remake-topia is that it never actually enables a proper do-over a movie to bring out its best ideas. Like, I just watched D.A.R.Y.L. recently (dunno why I'm picking that, maybe witch mountain made me think of it), and it's got many charms but many faults, and I just caught myself thinking "why can't the Rock remake D.A.R.Y.L. instead?" which is crazy because obviously it would just be awful and certainly missing everything I found really lovable out it (mainly: gentle early 80s woodsy suburban milieu, kids dressed exactly like me at that age).
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 01:15 (eight years ago) link
otm about Wang. Also Egg.
― ©Oz Quiz© (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 2 June 2015 01:18 (eight years ago) link
also lo pan
i dunno, seems kind of like trying to remake rocky horror (which it seems is also happening)
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 01:33 (eight years ago) link
maybe they can make it funny and exciting this time
― the increasing costive borborygmi (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 2 June 2015 01:37 (eight years ago) link
Dr c, the original escape to witch mountain was a hit with two sequels. Remaking that makes a lot more commercial sense than this.
― da croupier, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 02:17 (eight years ago) link
Second sequel was direct-to-TV, but yeah, true, hit. But it still has to be one of the more obscure big-studio properties to get a remake in the last decade, right? Up there with Dark Shadows at least - I can't recall one time in my adult life that anybody has ever brought up the original films to me or anything, they had basically zero pop-cultural presence when The Rock's movie was greenlit. Darby O'Gill, your number's gotta come up soon!
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 02:47 (eight years ago) link
Excuse me; I am of course thinking of Merlin Jones.
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 02:50 (eight years ago) link
Well dark shadows was 100% a makeawish foundation movie the Depp burton brand spent some cred on, but Disney is always looking to revive kiddy properties. Escape from witch totally fit in with their steez.
― da croupier, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 03:18 (eight years ago) link
Disney also made a witch mountain TV movie in the 90s
― da croupier, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 03:19 (eight years ago) link
all the more argument for corporate synergy to bend The Rock's revival of Snake Plissken into a Witch Mountain followup, is all I'm saying
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 03:22 (eight years ago) link
I hope Carpenter and W.D. Richter get as much money as they can from this and release their own Rifftrax-style alternate commentary track.
― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 2 June 2015 05:21 (eight years ago) link
the dark shadows thing was kind of out of nowhere. the last time that show had much currency was when, well, it was briefly (unsuccessfully) revived in the post-twin peaks era. i guess they thought "vampires! twilight!" a greenlit it? the tone of the film had basically nothing to do with the old TV show, anyway.
― he quipped with heat (amateurist), Tuesday, 2 June 2015 23:11 (eight years ago) link
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/08/dwayne-johnson-john-carpenter-big-trouble-remake
“I loved reading the reactions from the fans, that they were so polarized – I’m the same way,” the star told EW at Saturday night’s taping of the Spike TV Guys Choice Awards. “My response is: know that I come to the project with nothing but love and respect for the original, which is why we want to bring on John Carpenter.”
...“I loved the original when I was younger and I loved the main character – all the characters,” said Johnson, who will fill the role Kurt Russell played in the earlier film. “It felt like if we surrounded ourselves with the right group of people, the right writers who loved the movie too and wanted to honor it, bring on John Carpenter in some capacity … If we did that, then we have a shot at hopefully making something good.”
“Let’s see what feels good, what we can come up with and then go from there,” Johnson said. “And as we write it, if the whole thing starts to stink up, then we thank everybody for their efforts and accept this just couldn’t make it.”
― da croupier, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 00:47 (eight years ago) link
points for admitting the possibility of this stinking up
― da croupier, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 00:48 (eight years ago) link
chris pratt would be a better choice for jack burton
― jbn, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 02:03 (eight years ago) link
nah too obviously a doofus
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 9 June 2015 02:22 (eight years ago) link
i mean chris pratt basically ~is~ jack burton
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 9 June 2015 02:23 (eight years ago) link
Trade paperback of the boom studios comic is coming out today. Has anybody kept up with it? I only read the first issue and wasn't into it at all.
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Trouble-Little-China-Vol/dp/1608867161
― how's life, Tuesday, 9 June 2015 08:52 (eight years ago) link
I know, there's a problem with your face
― deejerk reactions (darraghmac), Monday, 28 September 2015 11:52 (eight years ago) link
The thing is to make them drop their guard.I'll TryThe thing is to look stupid.He does!
― how's life, Monday, 28 September 2015 14:13 (eight years ago) link
Boring
― flappy bird, Thursday, 23 June 2016 02:35 (seven years ago) link
This perfectly illustrates the problem with overly abbreviated communication. Yes, it may save time and keystrokes to say "Boring", but more accurately, what you meant to say was, "Personally I found this to be boring." This kind of amplification and expansion, while time consuming, also has the effect of removing the idiocy from what you said and replacing it with a measured and true statement of fact.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Thursday, 23 June 2016 02:42 (seven years ago) link
oh
― flappy bird, Thursday, 23 June 2016 05:38 (seven years ago) link
Maybe they found the BIG TROUBLE part to be boring, because yeah, the BIG TROUBLE is maybe a little boring, but the rest of the movie rules.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 23 June 2016 12:14 (seven years ago) link
We gotta runRun into the mystic nightRun until they take us awayTake us away!Taaaake us awaaaaaay!
― forksdippedmayo (how's life), Thursday, 23 June 2016 12:40 (seven years ago) link
Yup. Love ILX most when it's a discussion board, not Comic Book Guy terse opinions.
This movie's a regular rewatch for me, and I still laugh/marvel at bits I've seen a dozen times before: Jack shooting the ceiling in the big fight and knocking himself out, lipsticked while facing Lo Pan, Egg at the opening when lightning travels around his hands, etc.
Re: the first comic trade, I liked it a lot, once I got used to the exaggerated art. BTiLC ending with the beast clinging to the truck always bothered me, preferring resolution, so it was nice to have that settled. There are 3-4 later trades listed on Amazon. I'll be buying those eventually.
Thought I found about the Funko Pop BTiLC figures here, but didn't run across a mention, rereading this thread. So FYI. There's a glow-in-the-dark Lo Pan that's not shown on that page, but might still be available elsewhere.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Thursday, 23 June 2016 14:12 (seven years ago) link
It played last night at the Senator theater in Baltimore. I didn't find out about it until too late.
― forksdippedmayo (how's life), Thursday, 23 June 2016 14:13 (seven years ago) link
https://media.giphy.com/media/hUgYyZwFNvr4A/giphy.gif
― mookieproof, Friday, 7 February 2020 00:28 (four years ago) link
OTM
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 7 February 2020 00:39 (four years ago) link
I take every evocation as an invitation, and you're welcomehttps://youtu.be/D03E9kUTTtQ
― Sammo Hazuki's Tago Mago Cantina (Old Lunch), Friday, 7 February 2020 01:11 (four years ago) link
lol i knew exactly what that was gonna be before i clicked the link
― Homegrown Georgia speedster Ladd McConkey (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 7 February 2020 08:11 (four years ago) link
Here's some good news: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-05-10/james-hong-star-hollywood-walk-of-fame-ceremony
His "Indeed!" is one of my favorite sound bites from this film.
― the body of a spider... (scampering alpaca), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 12:47 (one year ago) link
So happy to see him recognized. I'll have to check out that Everything Everywhere All at Once movie. I think the last thing I "saw" him in was Kung Fu Panda.
― peace, man, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 12:59 (one year ago) link
Love that he has a prominent and very memorable supporting part in a successful, buzzy film at this same moment. Dude is a living legend.
― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, 11 May 2022 13:35 (one year ago) link
As soon as I heard his voice at the beginning of Everything Everywhere All at Once I knew it was him... he pops up in so much of the schlock that I enjoy watching. Look at his IMDB credits, dude has been in everything. Most underrated role: the Jeweler in Diablo III (a video game).
― Jaime Pressly and America (f. hazel), Wednesday, 11 May 2022 14:59 (one year ago) link
James Hong with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA costars is all I care about today, and always. pic.twitter.com/KFKiSipZdr— Jon Abrams (@RealJonAbrams) May 12, 2022
― mookieproof, Thursday, 12 May 2022 21:57 (one year ago) link