Tagarchief: Double Bill

Double Bill #13: Double Impact & Hard Target

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

The eighties and nineties, the decades in which I grew up in, was the era of the action movie. And one of its main heroes was Jean-Claude Van Damme (real name: Jean-Claude Van Varenberg). For this Double Bill, I rewatched two of his most enjoyable and nostalgic movies of this period: Double Impact (1991) and Hard Target (1993). In the first one he plays a set of twin brothers, so it has double the Van Damage. The brothers go after a bunch of gangsters in Hong Kong who murdered their parents when they were babies. It has great bad guys, who are stylishly dispatched by the two Van Damme characters using both martial arts and a variety of firearms. The greatest threat is the triad member played by Bolo Yeung, a legendary Chinese martial arts expert who is also in Enter the Dragon and Van Damme’s Bloodsport. The final duel with him is one of the highlights of the movie. The film’s director Sheldon Lettich also directed Wrong Bet in 1990, another Van Damme classic. He is no John Woo, but skillful enough to give the audience what it wants: violent, bloody action and some humor on the side. Hard Target has plenty of this as well, but the choreography of the action scenes is of a whole different level. Van Damme takes on a gang of despicable white men, led by Lance Henriksen, who organize manhunts for the rich and bored. Van Damme’s character Chance grew up in the New Orleans Bayou and knows a thing or two about survival and asskicking. When he becomes the quarry of their next hunt, the roles are quickly reversed and we get to witness some of the most satisfying kills of Van Damme’s career. Hong Kong director John Woo’s American debut was produced by Robert Tappert and Sam Raimi (of Evil Dead fame). It is easy to see why they liked this project: Woo’s visual style is so immensely cool it matches Raimi’s. His action is an art form, a ballet of blood, bullets, explosions, falling bodies and flying kicks in slow motion. These are two classics of the era and highly enjoyable as a Double Bill.

Double Bill #12: The Big Lebowski & The Jesus Rolls

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

In the nineties the Coen Brothers rolled two strikes in a row with Fargo (1996) and The Big Lebowski (1998), two instant classics that both feature a kidnapping. Fargo is a bloody North Dakota-set crime story with humor that is darker than a black steer’s tookus on a moonless prairie night. The Big Lebowski is a Raymond Chandler-style mystery featuring a valued rug, bowling balls, white Russians and the question of what it means to be a man. I considered coupling them for this feature; in terms of bizarre characters, endlessly quotable dialogues and outrageous situations these movies certainly match, but for some reason I chose The Jesus Rolls (2019, dir: John Turturro) instead. Jesus Quintana (played by John Turturro) was one of the many memorable characters from The Big Lebowski and even though he was only in two scenes totaling less than six minutes in screen-time, he got his own movie. It’s as if Ned Ryerson would get his own flick two decades after Groundhog Day (Ned Ryerson Insures!). The Coens had nothing to do with it: but they gave John Turturrro permission to run with the character. It is both a spinoff and a remake of the French movie Going Places (1974), which was very controversial at the time for its vulgarity, depiction of sexual acts and amorality. The story revolves around a road trip taken by Quintana, Petey (Bobby Cannavale) and Marie (Audrey Tautou) during which they engage in sex and petty crime. Petey is an ex-convict like Jesus and Marie is what Maud Lebowski would call a nymphomaniac: a woman who engages in sex compulsively and without joy. The movie has one bowling scene and Jesus repeats some of his Lebowski lines, but the movie has nothing to do whatsoever with the events of The Big Lebowski (it even turns out that Jesus is not a pederast, he was only falsely accused of exposing himself to an eight year old). For a comedy it is not funny enough, and for a road movie it is too strange. But as a dessert after watching the masterpiece The Big Lebowski for the hundredth time, it is alright.

Double Bill #11: The Truman Show & The Matrix

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Two masterpieces from the late ’90s, The Truman Show (1998) and The Matrix (1999), both revolve around protagonists who discover they’ve been living in an artificial reality. In The Truman Show, Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) realizes that his entire life has been a carefully orchestrated television show, where everyone around him – his wife, parents, and best friend – is merely an actor. Similarly, in The Matrix, Neo (Keanu Reeves) learns that humanity is trapped in a simulated reality controlled by artificial intelligence, with people’s minds imprisoned while their bodies serve as mere power sources. In Truman’s case, the man behind his imprisonment is Christof (brilliantly portrayed by Ed Harris), a visionary television producer who will stop at nothing to maintain control over Truman’s life, ensuring the continued success of his wildly successful show. Neo, on the other hand, faces a more intangible and insidious enemy, namely rogue artificial intelligence. In the first film, this AI is represented through sinister agents, with Hugo Weaving delivering an unforgettable performance as Agent Smith. Both films captivate as they depict the journey of discovery – watching Truman and Neo slowly unravel the truth about their worlds is nothing short of enthralling. The moment of revelation in each film remains awe-inspiring, evoking goosebumps even after repeated viewings. Truman’s world, we learn, is enclosed in an enormous dome, a massive set visible from space, while Neo’s reality reveals him as a human battery in a sprawling field of organic towers, where infants are cultivated as power sources for the AI’s machinery. Interestingly, both films imbue the protagonists’ names with deeper significance. Truman is the only ‘true man’ in his artificial world, while Neo is an anagram of ‘ONE’, symbolizing his status as the singular anomaly within the Matrix, with the potential to bend its rules. Neo’s discovery of his unique abilities leads to some of the most iconic moments in cinematic history. In the end, both The Truman Show and The Matrix conclude with their heroes breaking free from their respective confinements, delivering an exhilarating sense of liberation. It’s a triumphant and cathartic experience for the audience, as well – leaving us with the best feeling in the world.

Read also: The Matrix And The Awakening To True Reality

Double Bill #10: Dune: Part Two & Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

The two major blockbusters of 2024 have a lot in common: They are both sequels/prequels, are epic in scope, have huge ideas, and take place (almost) completely in deserts. Storywise, they are about the hero’s journey. In Dune: Part Two, we witness how the chosen one Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) develops his powers and fulfills his destiny as savior of the Fremen on Arrakis, while in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga we see how Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) became the legendary, one-armed warrior she is in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). Furthermore, both sci-fi epics are directed by visionary directors that don’t appear to have had any studio interference. They made the films they wanted to make and both are – well there’s that word again – epic. Both movies also have fantastic villains for the heroes to stand up against. Dune: Part Two has the Harkonnens, with the psychopathic Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) as their latest addition. Furiosa sees the return of the cult leader Immortan Joe with his memorable skull mask and breathing tubes, but also introduces a new bad boy: Dementus (played by a hard to recognize Chris Hemsworth), who’s a depraved sort of father figure for the fiery Furiosa. The henchmen are similar as well: the Harkonnen’s soldiers and the War Boys are both white, bald and loyal without questioning. The production design is in both cases absolutely stunning and must be seen on cinema screens. Highlights: I thought the first showdown between Dementus and Immortan Joe at the Citadel and the attack on the war rig are Furiosa’s most mind-blowing sequences. In Dune: Part Two, Paul’s sandworm ride, Feyd-Rautha’s memorable introduction on the Harkonnen planet of Giedi Prime, and his ritualistic knife fight with Paul are my favorite moments. And there’s good news for the fans: Both movies clearly leave a door open for another sequel. In Furiosa’s case, this would be The Wasteland, another origin story about what happened to Max before we meet him at the beginning of Mad Max: Fury Road. Director George Miller is now 79, but he might still be up for it. It is already confirmed that Denis Villeneuve will return to wrap up his Dune trilogy by adapting Frank Herbert’s book sequel ‘Dune Messiah’. In both cases I say: Bring them on!