Comments on: Movies Seen Recently: Escape From New York, Oblivion, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

By: RK

RK — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 18:22:31 +0000

Funny thing: I haven't seen Escape From New York either; well, I'll get to it one of these days. I do remember reading that one of the makers of Cloverfield was inspired by a picture on the VHS cover for Escape From New York showing the head of the Statue of Liberty lying in the streets, and how cheated he felt when he didn't see that in the actual movie. Hence the brief shot in Cloverfield of the Statue of Liberty's head lying in the middle of the street after the monster ripped it off; he finally showed those false advertisers how awesome the real thing would be.

By: DED

DED — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:49:46 +0000

I loved Escape from New York when I saw it, which was some time in the 80's on HBO. Don't think I've seen it in at least a couple decades. I'm siding with Ben. While it certainly doesn't have the intensity of other Carpenter works like Halloween, They Live!, or The Thing, I still think it works for the time period it was written in. Never saw Oblivion because I can't in good conscience contribute money to any Tom Cruise vehicle. However, it's on (extended) basic cable now. Still, not sure I want to invest the time in it. I agree with Nathan on Thunderdome. Haven't seen the new Gibson-less Mad Max flick, but I heard it was good. Still, some of the previews made me think that Road Warrior climax chase was being done yet again.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 02:27:43 +0000

In reply to Ben Lane Hodson. I think instead that John Carpenter directs very deliberately, and for some movies (Halloween, They Live, The Thing), it works very well... but not as much with an action movie with an over-the-top premise.

By: Ben Lane Hodson

Ben Lane Hodson — Fri, 14 Aug 2015 04:52:10 +0000

Escape from New York: Really sad to hear you didn’t love Escape from New York as much as I do. I could go on and on about all of the memorable scenes, dialogue, and set pieces. I’ve seen this movie easily 20+ times and it’s still great. In response to your criticisms, I think the main issue is that you may be judging the film based on today’s MTV-influenced over-stimulation cinema as opposed to 1981’s movie-going standards and in that context, yes, the film probably is a letdown but judged on its own merits (and especially it’s reactions to the political climate of the early 1980’s, it’s excellent social commentary with a lead who perfectly captures the sentiment of the time).

Oblivion: I didn’t dislike this as much as you did but I also saw many flaws that you had pointed out. I still thought it had enough new ideas to be interesting but I generally agree with you on this one.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome: The worst of the Mad Max films. The first half is actually pretty awesome but second half with the children is what really kills it. That being said, Master Blaster is one of the best characters in the entire series so it has a few things going for it.