*Blog posted started on April 17, 2020.
Four
hours and 10 minutes left in the shift and I foolishly thought writing a
movie review would get me through the rest of the day. Stimulus fever
seemingly lasted for 48 hours. If you got they got their check, they
cashed it out before the government knew it was gone. That had been the
only story in the news, so I am back to needing to blog on and on and
on.
For
a second there, I thought I was in trouble. Fortunately, my Domo-kun
messenger bag did make the trip from the car to the breakroom. It would
be really awkward to ask the manager if I could run out to the car for
my comic books.
This
might be my biggest complaint about the COVID-19 lockdown that I cannot
go troll hunting to cope. For printed media, it is probably a plus for
print and bookstores. Comixology has not been sending the bi-weekly
worthwhile email about what graphic novels and comic book releases. No
brick and mortar, no new releases. I definitely prefer the paper and the
collectability despite my not owning sleeves and cardboard backs (What
else do you expect me to use my Pro Wrestling Crate boxes for?). Still,
with movies soon to be a digital only medium, I am willing for comics to
be the same.
As
long as there are Funko Pop! collectables when we get out, we can stay
locked up till 2021. The strike-shortened NHL 2013 season was a lot of
fun in my opinion.
With all that said, I do have to thank the heroes at Netflix DVD.com warehouses.
It is great to have the assurance that I will not pay an extra $2 to
see a Rutger Hauer movie that has yet to be converted to HD.
Of
course, people are surprised when they find out that I still have a
DVD-rental subscription service. I may have just overblown the noble
nature of this essential job. Are they having any issues social
distancing in those distribution centers if 1 in 22,500 (population of
Champaign divided by two) are requesting discs via mail?
I
should not mock them when there are plenty of assholes who troll people
just to say "Fuck you! Your wrong!" on Twitter and Facebook. They are
just trying to survive, like Ice T in Ernest Dickerson's follow up to
"Juice" (Please pardon that tacky transition.).
Surviving the Game - Why Can't F. Murray Abraham be Properly Billed?
Jack
Mason has been down on his luck since his family died. He is homeless
and both of his best friends have just joined his family. Wanting to
take control of some aspect of his life, walking into an oncoming
Peterbilt seemed to be a wise decision. Serendipitously, a volunteer at a
food bank pushes him out of the way in time. This man wants to give
Mason a reason to keep on living, so he directs him to Thomas Burn of
Hell's Canyon Outfitters. Mason being able to survive the concrete
jungle, surely he can be shaped into a hunting guide in the Pacific
Northwest. At least, that is what Burns is selling him.
After
an evening of libations with the psychiatrist, oil baron, and stock
broker and son that he is to lead on a hunt, Burns and the good
Samaritan awaken Mason with a .45 caliber pistol pressed against his
temple. Mason will be leading these men out on a hunting trip, he just
did not realize that he is the hunted. The hunters do give him a head
start to get to civilization as they partake in a hardy lunch, but Mason
quickly determines the best thing to do is to turn this anger
management retreat back on his pursuers. Who is meant to survive this
most dangerous of games?
As
a child of the eighties, for some reason I think I was made aware of
Richard Connell's short story "The Most Dangerous Game" during one of my
lit or language arts classes in high school. Perhaps my overread sister
told me about it. Maybe I was familiar with the concept because of
Arnold Schwarzenegger films ("Predator", "The Running Man"). Regardless
of how I was introduced to hunting man for sport, Ice T as a movie star
was not going to sell me on checking out "Surviving the Game" when there
were Jean-Claude Van Damme and action films with Keith David to watch.
Fortunately,
HBO is free for a year with most cable TV packages, and it needed
content. It is always easier to run ninety minute features when you are a
programmer, so their Newline subsidiary came through with this stacked
cast (It is short of a shame that F. Murray Abraham is never the true
antagonist.). I am just curious how the studio were able to get this
cast in the early 90's, a time when they were not known for trying.
And
that is what you get from this feature, a lack of effort from those
handling the money. Was it a subliminal message? You will cheer for Ice T
killing off the one percentile because they are not trying to help
amuse you thoroughly.
The
generic and overdone soundtrack style and John C. McGinley's presence
gave me a flashback to "Highlander 2: The Quickening". There are very
few opportunities for the accomplished cinematographer to shine as a
director. If you are a fan of "The Walking Dead" (There are just too
many episodes in my opinion.) you can see what Dickerson had taken away
from this film which is good, because otherwise you feel this is just a
quickly produced knock off of John Woo's "Hard Target".
It
is a tough task to approach a concept (JVCD versus Hunters led by Lance
Henriksen) that Woo had tackled, but the action in "Surviving the Game"
holds up pretty well. If "Judo" Gene LeBell is on your stunt team, the
hand-to-hand will look intense. Even with that style of combat, you
cannot compete with a Woo's film set pieces, so the script wisely takes
time to focus on each antagonist.
All
of the performers deliver when it comes to their roles with the
exception of Ice T. In Ice T's defense, we want him to be Ice T. As long
as he does that, you cannot be dissatisfied. Because the supporting
cast delivers, you do invest in their plights as well. It is enough to
make for a fun way to kill 90 minutes, and you do not have to worry
about loud explosions to bother the neighbors.
"Surviving
the Game" is a fun action flick that which makes me miss the time where
live TV was all there was. This is a fun way to kill 90-minutes or at
least serves as great ambience noise wise. Seeking out a quick take on
John Woo is not something that most will partake in, but if it pops up
on Tubi or Pluto, it might be that throwback you need in the time of
pandemics.
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WarnerBros - Blade Runner
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