SJ, who has made a few contributions in the past, will now be specializing in reviews of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) episodes. Welcome aboard SJ and we all look forward to your choice reviews of the over 190 MST3K shows.
Author Archives: JPFmovies
Dr. H Gets Reprimanded for his lack of reviews.
As anyone who follows JPFmovies will have noticed that Dr. H, the once prolific review contributor, has been as scarce as support for Obama Care. Hopefully, this short will inspire him to rejoin the staff here at JPFmovies and make some real contributions again. Feel free to comment on his slacking off.
This country would go bananas if we had a unit like BOPE: Tropa de Elite (2007).
Several years ago a masterful Brazilian film Cidade de Deus (City of God) provided audiences with a rare and graphic insight into life in the favelas, the slums of Rio de Janeiro. Originally, the favelas were constructed by the city to isolate the poor. What should have been apparent in this stroke of urban planning genius is that these slums would be ruled by drug cartels with lethal and unrelenting turf wars. These criminals are not afraid to shoot back at the police, in fact the traditional city police rarely entered these territories for fear of getting shot and residents were considered lucky if they reached the age of twenty. The City of God is a truly innovative and highly stylized story told from the point of view of the young gangsters, which was totally convincing.
Enter Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad) a brutal film set in the same favelas but the story is told from the point of view of the police – or rather the BOPE, an elite unit of paramilitaries that is feared by the regular corrupt police and the criminals alike. This unit, known as the “skulls,” is a law unto itself and actually answers to no one outside of the BOPE organization. With set jaws and clenched teeth, these black-clad warriors deliver on-the-spot justice from the barrels of their weapons and have no problem gratuitously torturing hapless victims in broad daylight on the off-chance that they may have information they want. There is no element of boredom, humor or conventional film characterization as these men carry out their grim work. The men are driven and, unlike most of the traditional police force, totally incorruptible.
The plot is based on a pending the visit to Rio in 1997 by Pope John Paul II. The Holy Father has announced he wants to stay close to the favelas rather than stay at the bishop’s palace in the city, and it is BOPE’s mission to make the slums safe so the Pope can get some sleep. The stated mission appears to be irrelevant. The daily war with the gangs predates the Pope’s visit and will grind on with the same intensity after he leaves.
The Elite Squad follows hard-core Captain Nascimento as he prepares to choose his replacement because he is an expectant father and after being forced to confront the fallout caused by one of his squad’s actions, he starts to find himself unable to cope with the life-threatening nature of the job. Rookie cops Neto and Mathais are naïve new recruits to the regular police determined to stand against the corruption but trapped by its infection all the way to the top. One of the two will ultimately replace Nascimento and the movie follows their turbulent time in the regular force and then through to joining BOPE and its merciless training regime to decide who can make the grade.
Elite Squad is played straight down the line and it’s as tough and no-nonsense as the squad it represents. Tense gun-battles rage in the maze of the slums. Interrogations by BOPE are swift, brutal and bloody. Gang reprisals are just as swift and twice as unpleasant. BOPE training makes DELTA Force or SEAL training look like Disneyworld. For instance when a trainee falls asleep during a BOPE night class designed to put the students to sleep, Nascimento hands him a grenade and pulls the pin rather than a cup of coffee, instructing him that falling asleep again would kill everyone.
During the films shoots the crew was always working on the edge of danger. Dressed as cops inside the favelas, the crew had to wear bullet proof vests with ‘FILM CREW’ written on them over the uniforms while the cameras weren’t rolling. Apparently one day all of the weapons were stolen and some crew members were kidnapped. In terms of wishing for gritty realism the film makers got what they wished for in spades. One of the vans was appropriated, with crew members and most of the weapons that were used as props inside. Only after BOPE went on the hunt for several hours were the crew that had been taken forcibly by criminals armed with hand-grenades and AR-15 rifles returned unharmed. If that is not realism you tell me what is.
Both City of God and Elite Squad use a quasi-documentary filming technique that prevents the actors or actresses from knowing when they are on or off camera. The technique, in my opinion, is exceptional. It forces the actors to keep acting throughout the scene, go off script if necessary and do whatever it takes to keep them on their toes until the shot is finished.
All in all Elite Squad is the flip side to the coin portrayed in Fernando Meirelles’ City of God. Both are excellent films that use a not often spoken language (Portuguese) which is interesting to listen to as you follow the subtitles.
Next Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (Portuguese: Tropa de Elite 2 – O Inimigo Agora é Outro; Lit: Elite Troop 2: It’s Another Enemy Now; also known as Elite Squad 2) from 2010.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: Space Mutiny (1998) one of MST3k’s best watched bad movies in its 11 year history.
Those of you not familiar with Mystery Science Theater 3000 need to do some homework. The show ran for almost 11 seasons on several different networks which produced 197 episodes and one feature film. To this day it has a cult following having just released its 25th anniversary DVD. The show was created by Joel Hodgson (from the twin cities) and Mike Nelson (from northern Wisconsin). Anyone familiar with the show would be hard pressed to miss the jabs at the culture of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. We are not going to take on MST3k in any sort of marathon tribute as is JPFmovies typical style. Why? Because there are 197 episode’s sitting out there for examination that would drive on insane trying to review even the top 10% of the shows at a single time. So we will intersperse MST3k episodes over future reviews.
Basically the shows premise is simple, but brilliant. The show mainly features a man and his robot sidekicks who are imprisoned on a space station by an evil scientist and forced to watch a selection of really bad movies (according to the theme song “the worst they can find), as part of a psychological experiment, and sometimes preceded by short public-domain non-educational films. To stay sane, the man and his robots provide a running commentary on each film, making fun of its flaws, and wisecracking their way through each reel in the style of a movie-theater peanut gallery. Each film is presented with a superimposition of the man and robots’ silhouettes along the bottom of the screen. The film is interspersed with skits tied into the theme of the film being watched or the episode as a whole.
Joes Hodgson originally played the stranded man, Joel Robinson, for four and a half seasons. When Hodgson left in 1993, series head writer Michael J. Nelson replaced him as new victim Mike Nelson and continued in the role for the rest of the show’s run. The robots, Crow T. Robot (my favorite), Tom Servo, and Gypsy, are puppets created from a variety of household objects, manipulated and voiced by other cast members who rotated over the course of the show’s run.
Once of the most notorious MST3k episodes is about a film called Space Mutiny (1998). This film was so bad without the running commentary from Nelson and his robot friends it would be unbearable to watch without some serious prescription sedatives.
The budget of “Space Mutiny” was so insignificant that the exterior footage of spaceships and space battles is entirely made up of stock footage from the original “Battlestar Galactica” T.V. series starring Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict and others. Anyone growing up watching the original BSG show instantly recognizes it for what it is—a true case of copyright infringement. The interiors were filmed in the basement of a South African gambling resort—maybe they bet on black and lost at the roulette table forcing them to stay on the premises.
The film was released in 1988, long after everyone else had gotten over the craze of Star Wars clones. To cast it in its best light it is simply a bunch of guys that stand around in silver robes, look at really bad computer monitors, and talk about fighting for the freedom of people that don’t seem to exist. With rare exceptions, these folks are either graying, wise father figures (one looks like Santa Claus) or re-tread women in high-cut combination tunic-thongs who could not act to save their lives. I believe the movies sets the record for the number of “railing deaths” used to dispose of the extras and the films minor players.
Set sometime in the distant future the intra-galactic space-colony-ship Southern Sun is on a multi-generational trip to a new settlement. Tired of his fate to live and die on the ship, Kalgan (John Philip Law), the head of the Enforcers who are tasked with the ship’s security, causes an explosion in the Southern Sun’s docking bay just as a fighter is landing there. The decorated fighter pilot, Dave Ryder (Reb Brown) survives the crash via an emergency teleportation system, but his passenger, Professor Spooner is killed in the crash, which causes serious damage that puts the docking bay out of commission. Ryder is taken to see the Southern Sun’s commander, Alex Jansen (Cameron Mitchell), who accepts Ryder’s account of events, though his daughter Lea (Cisse Cameron) flies into a rage at Ryder and accuses him of abandoning the Professor to die. Despite this less than harmonious introduction, the two quickly become friends, and it becomes clear that Lea is strongly attracted to Ryder.
Just before the docking bay accident, a group of witchcraft-practicing female aliens named Bellerians are brought on-board. While they never interact with the main characters during the course of the film (aside from a brief scene in which their leader Jennera consults with Commander Jansen and their purchases of Spencer Gifts static electricity globes), it is implied that they influence the actions of the lead protagonists, and also covertly help them by seducing Enforcers, which causes Kalgan to execute them for their seeming incompetence, thinning out his own forces.
Shortly thereafter, a maintenance engineer named Codell discovers evidence that Kalgan caused the explosion in the docking bay, and after informing a bridge officer, Lt. Lamont of this, begins making his journey to the bridge to inform Jansen. Kalgan intercepts him on the way however, and offers him a choice – join the mutiny, or be put in the “deep freeze.” Codell instead chooses to commit suicide.
That night, Lea is flirting with Ryder in the ship’s disco, when a pair of Enforcers arrive and ask for Lamont, who is also at the disco. She leaves the disco and is immediately shot dead by Kalgan, who leaves the scene in an electric kart. Ryder and Lea both overhear the whole thing and chase Kalgan down in another kart, eventually arriving at the “deep freeze.” This turns out to be a room in which troublesome officers are stored in cryogenic suspension; when Kalgan takes over the Southern Sun they will be thawed out and given one further chance to join Kalgan’s forces, or be ejected into space. Kalgan and more Enforcers then arrive, and Ryder and Lea are heavily outnumbered and forced to flee, but now have solid evidence that there is a conspiracy and that Kalgan is the ringleader.
Ryder is thusly promoted to being the ship’s new security chief, just before the Southern Sun encounters the space pirates. Thanks to Ryder’s leadership, the Southern Sun easily defeats the pirate ships (which look uncannily like Cylon Basestars) without taking any serious damage. Knowing that he cannot now rely on outside help, Kalgan abducts Lea and threatens to kill her if Commander Jansen does not voluntarily give up control of the Southern Sun. Not wanting to rely on Jansen giving into his demands though, Kalgan begins torturing Lea for information by using a laser-like device on her teeth. During this MacPhearson arrives and gives Kalgan a progress report, causing Lea to realise that he too is a part of the conspiracy.
The mutiny begins in full, with both sides taking heavy losses – in particular, many officers fall to their deaths over the various railings dotted throughout the ship. Eventually Ryder sets off an explosion that traps most of the mutineers in that section of the Southern Sun, but both Kalgan and MacPhearson escape. MacPhearson isn’t able to get very far and resorts to hiding in a gas expulsion sump. Ryder (implied to be under the influence of the Bellerians) fills the sump with methane gas which he then ignites, causing a fire which burns MacPhearson to death.
With Kalgan the only mutineer still at large, Ryder and Lea pursue him into the ship’s bowels in an electric kart. Lea gets knocked out of Ryder’s kart, which she then accidentally disables by shooting it in an effort to take out Kalgan, who in turn rams Lea with his own kart, causing her a slight injury. After getting his kart working again, Ryder aims it at Kalgan’s kart and drives toward it at full speed, diving out of it at the last second. Kalgan is unable to dodge it, and is apparently consumed in a massive explosion.
The mutiny seemingly thwarted, Ryder and Lea apparently make preparations to get married. Later however, it turns out that Kalgan survived the explosion, ending the film on a “cliffhanger.”
No matter how benign this summary sounds it is impossible to convey the new low this “work” brought to the film genre. Only the MST3k running commentary can do it justice that is why this is a clip intensive video and I beg you to watch the clips to get a taste of the full Space Mutiny experience.
The Hunt For Red October (1990).
The third review in our Cold War trilogy couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time. Unfortunately, a few days ago, at age 66, author Tom Clancy passed away due to a massive heart attack. By 66 he had written the Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, the Sum of all Fears and others. Each book was made into a commercially successful film. Prior to writing The Hunt for Red October, Clancy apparently sold insurance. Well that was one hell of a first novel, being made into a block buster movie within a couple of years after publication and having a strong cast.
It is also interesting to note that the mutiny portrayed on the Red October was actually based on the mutiny of a Soviet frigate led by the ship’s political commissar, Captain of the Third Rank Valery Sablin, who wished to protest against the rampant corruption of the Leonid Brezhnev era. Though his aim was to seize the ship and steer it out of the Bay of Riga, to Leningrad and broadcast a nationwide address to the people, not turn the ship over to the enemy. In the planned address, Sablin was going to say what he believed people publicly wanted to say, but could only be said in private: that communism and the motherland were in danger; the ruling authorities were hip deep in corruption, demagoguery, graft, and lies, leading the country into an abyss; true communism had been discarded; and there was a need to revive the Leninist principles of “justice.” So while defection was not the ultimate goal of this mutineer, it was the genesis of the Hunt for Red October story.
Back to Red October: in the film Sean Connery plays the Russian Captain Marko Ramius, Sam Neill his executive officer, Alec Baldwin portrays CIA analyst Jack Ryan, James Earl Jones the well-respected Admiral Greere, Fred Thompson the commander of an aircraft carrier fleet and Scott Glen Commander Bart Mancuso, Commanding Officer of the USS Dallas. This is a pretty heavy cast for a first time novel turned movie—and it is well done I must say.
The movie starts a cold dreary port somewhere in northern Russia with Connery speaking to his executive officer (in Russian) Sam Neill about how cold it is and orders the ship to move on its way to start its mission. What no one but Soviet officials know is that this particular sub uses a new form of propulsion that is virtually undetectable by conventional sonar means. It is sort of described as the jet engine of the submarine world. Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) is called to his boss’ office (James Earls Jones as Admiral Greer) rather quickly as new photographs of the sub had been obtained showing unusual ports alongside of the sub. Ryan goes out on a limb and suggests that these photographs are evidence of a new propulsion system that would permit the sub to slip through all the US and NATO safeguards tracking traditional submarines. Alarmed by this potential weakness in US defenses, Greer arranges for an immediate briefing with the President’s national security advisor. Ryan gives the briefing but isn’t told until the last minute. After his summation to the powers that be, an NSA representative reveals that a phone call was made from a Russian Admiral (Ramius’ uncle) which resulted in the immediate dispatch of the entire Soviet Northern naval fleet with orders to pursue and hunt down The Red October.
Virtually all military personnel at the meeting immediately conclude that Ramius is a madman loose with 23 nuclear missiles in an undetectable submarine heading towards the coast of the United States. After a few minutes of deep thinking, Ryan starts laughing and claims “the son of a bitch is going to defect!”
Everyone in the room dismisses his comments, except for the national security advisor who says that he’s “a politician and when he’s not kissing babies he’s stealing their lollipops, but it also means he keeps his options open” and lets Jack explore the possibility of this Soviet defection.
While en route to the United States Ramius tells his men that in order to motivate them, much like Cortez did when he had his men burn his ships upon landing, he sent a letter to the powers that be that they intended to defect with the ship. Soon Soviet forces are dropping sonar buoys, torpedoes and other weapons at the Red October, scaring the crew who are unaware of his plans and begin to think something is very very wrong.
Ramius’ concerns are not the Soviets though but the Americans. He is afraid that if they encounter some “buckaroo” a/k/a cowboy all will be lost. Enter Jack Ryan, who is convinced that Ramius is ready to defect, the only problem is that the Capitan Bart Mancuso, Commanding Officer of the USS Dallas has already received his orders to destroy the Red October. Ryan convinves him that he knows Ramius so well that he predicted which way the Red October would pull a “crazy Ivan” to clear its baffles. Mancuso then ups his periscope to communicate with Ramius directly, but is worried that his Morse code is so rusty that he might be transmitting the “[playboy] playmate of the month’s measurements.” Stunned that the Americans have guessed his plan to defect, both subs move towards a very deep part of the ocean where no wreckage could be found in case they have to fake the Red October’s destruction.
There is one wrinkle; that is, one of Ramius’s former students Tupolev has been hot on his tail and begins to torpedo the Red October. After missing his first chance because the safety mechanisms were on, his second shot is with torpedoes with no safeties. Enter USS Dallas that in a daring move is somehow able to divert the torpedoes into chasing it rather than the Red October and circles around ultimately leading the torpedoes back to their original shooter and destroying the ship.
The game is not over yet though as there is a KGB agent on board disguised as a cook’s assistant who is trying to hotwire one of the nuclear missiles to destroy the Red October before she falls into enemy hands. Ryan is sent in to kill him but not before Ramius delivers a great line warning him to be careful what he shoots at because there are nuclear missiles in there. Naturally Ryan takes care of business and fools the Russians into thinking that the Red October has been destroyed.
Yes I know this has been a long review, but this is an action packed thriller. Its great cast and the film’s central fear of superpowers engaging in nuclear war, while seemingly quaint in light of today’s more insidious terrorist threats, has added resonance given recent revelations about the USSR’s Cold War designs to annihilate us. Politics aside, however, The Hunt for Red October is a thrilling edge-of-your-seat trifle that has admirably withstood the test of time. The film personifies the very real fears of the cold war era, but places itself outside of the dour the Spy Who Came in From Out of the Cold and the somewhat campy Ice Station Zebra. Proof of its resilience is seen in a 96% Rotten Tomato’s rating and the film that in my opinion all future Clancy novels-turned movies are judged against.
This film makes for excellent comfort viewing, hearkening back to an era when all that was American was right and just, Reagan was the father we could look up to, and only a Communist would dare question the inherent gift that God had given to America to rule the earth. All cinema has its agenda, and this film made little secret of it. The Cold War must go on, and justify those enormous ‘defense’ budgets, promote the ideology of the good guy. Though the Bush revolution has had its share of films attempting to pick up where this tradition had left off, they were largely miserable failures, insufficiently blinded by ideology. The days of the 80′s action hero are quite dead.
We here were graced with an actual cast member of a movie reviewed some time ago “King Rat” actually comment on the film.
I’ve never had that happen before–an actual cast member of a film comment on one of your reviews–check out the general comments to see what an actor in the film King Rat thought about the review and gives a little more history about the film.
J.P.'s I'm Outta Here Movie Thoughts 