tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post2197058287194310111..comments2024-03-27T09:00:32.195-05:00Comments on The Signal Watch: Arnie Watch: The Last Action Hero (1993)The Leaguehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04836241071795980225noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-37267522111384710392018-02-15T13:51:19.138-06:002018-02-15T13:51:19.138-06:00Yeah, I wonder if the desire to push the envelope ...Yeah, I wonder if the desire to push the envelope and go totally PoMo on his own career was just something Arnie wasn't quite ready for. And given the star system of the 90's, I assume he had some pull in how everything went. It's hard to say. But, yeah, it absolutely just feels like something that would have gotten the greenlight in 2004, not a decade earlier. But would have been a straight up silly movie then, more of a spoof. Using Arnie himself is kind of insane.<br /><br />Sometime I'll take a picture of the "Houdini Hole" in the ceiling at our grand old theater in Austin. They've never repaired this one spot in this 1900-era ceiling because its supposedly where Houdini had to knock a hole in the ceiling to suspend himself for one of his stunts. As in all things Houdini, no one knows if the story is accurate or apocryphal.<br /><br />Watching this, it made me really wonder why Charles Dance is such an underutilized feature for American film. I mean, he shows up a lot as "that guy", but he should have been in *everything* from 1990 - 2005, at least.<br />The Leaguehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04836241071795980225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294499213897153104.post-27915785239705297482018-02-15T13:01:59.303-06:002018-02-15T13:01:59.303-06:00This movie has aged exceptionally well. It feels a...This movie has aged exceptionally well. It feels ahead of its time (in that occurred before “meta” was a thing) and a throwback all at once. I love the reverent portrayal of the rundown old movie palace, the clear lines the movie draws between the showmanship of old-fashioned stage magic and big-budget Hollywood escapism, and the unironic adoration that shines through for the experience of going to the movies – even while cynically lampooning them.<br /> <br />**Also Charles Dance, man. Charles Dance is a goddamn treasure.<br />Stuarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16334865373173505274noreply@blogger.com