The Land Before Time

Following the release of An American Tail in 1986, Don Bluth’s follow-up feature film would be The Land Before Time in 1988 in a continued partnership with Stephen Spielberg. This time, however, the film was further co-produced by George Lucas, in notably his only collaboration with Spielberg outside of the Indiana Jones series. The Land Before Time has since notoriously spawned a long-running franchise of direct-to-video sequels (13 as of this writing) and a short-lived TV series, all of which are inexplicably musicals in stark contrast to the original film. While I was aware of this franchise as a kid, the only one I wanted to see above all the others was the original The Land Before Time, which I finally got the chance to see for myself after receiving a Blu-ray copy as a Christmas gift. While the film is really good on its own merits, I found it to be an improvement over An American Tail in many areas.

Oliver & Company

 

Following the financial failure of The Black Cauldron, Disney CEO Michael Eisner and Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg invited Disney animators to pitch ideas for future animated features. Among the many pitches, story artist Pete Young suggested “Oliver Twist with dogs”, which manifested in 1988 as Oliver & Company, the final film in Disney’s “Dark Age” of animation. Although critics had a divisive reaction on release, it still did very well enough at the box office, making an estimated $121 million against a budget of $31 million, enough that justified Katzenberg’s mandated yearly release schedule.

In the years since its original release, Oliver & Company has also gained a cult following, much like other overlooked Disney films like Treasure Planet or Atlantis: The Lost Empire. One key factor in this film receiving comparatively little attention, however, may be that it came out only one year before Disney’s take on The Little Mermaid, which kicked off the Disney Renaissance. Regardless, there are plenty of things to like about Oliver & Company that make it worth watching it today, even if the finished product is far from perfect.

Stubs - Bull Durham

Bull Durham (1988) Starring: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson, Robert Wuhl. Directed by Ron Shelton. Screenplay by Ron Shelton. Produced by Thom Mount, Mark Burg. Run time: 108 minutes. USA. Color. Romantic Comedy, Sports

Sometimes you see a movie a second time and it is not as quite as good as you remember. Thirty-four years ago, I went to see Bull Durham on the first date with my wife and on our anniversary, we decided to watch it again. I’m happy to report that the film is as funny and as romantic as it was the first time.

Stubs - Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) Starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye, Kathleen Turner. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Ian Sharp, Frank Marshall, Max Kleven. Screenplay by Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman. Based on the book Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf (New York, 1981). Produced by Robert Watts, Frank Marshall. Run time: 107 minutes. USA Color Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy.

The Disney that we know today, the large conglomerate that seems to own a lot of everything, owes its origins to what happened under Michael Eisner’s tenure. It was then that the company utilized its theme park profits to buy into sports, bought the ABC network and started a new label for more adult films, Touchstone. Things have only gotten bigger from there but that’s a topic for another blog.

One of Eisner’s hopes was to start a new legacy in animation by introducing new characters that he hoped would be loved alongside company staple and mascot, Mickey Mouse. This hope starts with Who Framed Roger Rabbit, known for introducing the title character and his wife Jessica Rabbit. Eisner envisioned them as new perennial characters for the studio and would march next to Mickey in the Disney parades down Main Street in Disneyland.

Stubs - Twins (1988)

Twins (1988) Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston, Chloe Webb, Bonnie Bartlett, Tony Jay. Directed by Ivan Reitman. Screenplay by William Davies, Timothy Harris, William Osborne, Herschel Weingrod. Produced by Ivan Reitman. Run Time: 107 minutes.  USA. Color. Comedy, Crime

By 1988, Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the world’s top action heroes. The Austrian-born bodybuilder turned actor had his big breakthrough as the title character in Conan the Barbarian (1982). He would go on to a string of films including Conan the Destroyer (1984); The Terminator (1984); Red Sonja (1985); Commando (1985); Raw Deal (1986); The Running Man (1987); Predator (1987); and Red Heat (1988).

Perhaps as unlikely as Schwarzenegger’s stardom might seem, was Danny DeVito, a four-foot ten-inch actor from Neptune Township, New Jersey. Best known for his role as Louie De Palma on the television show Taxi (1978-1983), Devito had also appeared in films, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975); Terms of Endearment (1983); Romancing the Stone (1984); The Jewel of the Nile (1985); Ruthless People (1986); Tin Men (1987) and Throw Momma from the Train (1987) to name a few.

The idea of matching these total opposites was the brainchild of Ivan Reitman, a Slovakian-born director and producer of such films as National Lampoon's Animal House (1978); Meatballs (1979); Stripes (1981) and Ghostbusters (1984).

Twins is the story of mismatched fraternal twins separated at birth. Julius Benedict (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Vincent Benedict (Danny DeVito) were born as part of a secret U.S. government project to develop a perfect child. A single woman, Mary Ann Benedict (Heather Graham) was fertilized by a mix of sperm from six distinguished men, who were either brilliant or athletic. But the experiment went awry and the embryo split in two, resulting in two not so equal boys.

Twins at birth and quickly separated.

One, Julius has been whisked away and raised on a tropical island by Professor Werner where he’s learned science, literature and multiple languages as he assists with the doctor’s research. He also developed muscles to spare.

On his 35^th birthday, Julius is informed by Werner that Vincent exists. Excited that he has a brother, and thinking he is like him, Julius can’t wait and rows himself to the nearest island with an airport for a flight to the U.S.

He goes to the orphanage and quickly learns that his brother is not like him at all. Not only did Vincent start the only fire they’d ever had at the orphanage, but he also was kicked out after having had sex with one of the nuns. Vincent’s file is empty, but the Mother Superior (Frances Bay) tells Julius that Vincent is most likely in jail.

And that’s where Julius finds him. Vincent, a small-time crook, has been arrested for unpaid parking tickets. But Vincent doesn’t believe Julius at first but he lets Julius bail him out and get his car released. But that’s where Vincent leaves Julius.

Julius (Arnold Schwarzenegger) saves his twin brother
 Vincent (Danny DeVito) from a loan shark enforcer.

Julius, though, is undeterred and follows Vincent to his place of business, an office where he runs a shady operation by an aware Secretary (Elizabeth Kaitan). But after she’s gone, Vincent is visited by Morris Klane (David Efron), a loan shark enforcer intent on making Vincent pay for being behind on his loan. Julius arrives just in time to save Vincent’s life and subdues Klane. Now Vincent likes Julius and brings him into his inner circle.

Julius helps his brother by unwittingly helping to steal a car.

He uses Julius, who is quite naïve about the real world, to help him steal a car from a garage at the airport. Vincent has a contact, Al Greco (David Caruso), who lets him know that an expensive late-model Cadillac Sedan de Ville has been left. Vincent needs the money he can get for selling the car to a chop shop to help pay off his loans. Telling Julius that he’s there to pick up a car for a friend that’s going to be auctioned to help children, Vincent innocently breaks in, since the keys weren’t left like they were supposed to be. When the car alarm goes off, Julius lifts the car to the right angle to turn it off and then drives Vincent’s car out, his first time to ever drive a car.

Vincent introduces Julius to his girlfriend Linda (Chloe Webb) and her much hotter sister Marnie (Kelly Preston).

Using car phones, Vincent calls Julius and instructs him to stop at a grocery store. Pulling into the parking lot, Julius manages to get the car up onto two wheels before parking. In the store, Vincent runs into his long-suffering girlfriend Linda Mason (Chloe Webb) and her sister Marnie (Kelly Preston). Marnie dislikes Vincent but is taken by muscle-bound Julius.

Over a microwave dinner at home, Vincent shows Julius a document he stole from the orphanage, showing that their mother was alive when he entered the orphanage, but believing that she abandoned him, Vincent has no interest in finding her.

Julius finds one of their possible fathers, Granger (Hugh O'Brien), at an address he had for their mother.

Later, jogging to the address on the document for their mother, Julius finds instead that one of their six fathers Granger (Hugh O’Brien) lives there. He directs Julius to Professor Mitchell Traven (Nehemiah Persoff) at the White Sands lab where the experiment took place.

Meanwhile, Vincent steals a late-model Cadillac Sedan de Ville from airport parking for his chop shop contact. While driving, he plays a cassette tape that is in the player and learns that he has a prototype fuel injector in the trunk that was to be delivered to an industrialist, Beetroot McKinley (Trey Wilson), in Houston. When Vincent calls pretending to be the deliveryman, trying to sweeten, he finds out that the deal is worth five million dollars. Vincent is headed to Houston.

However, the real deliveryman, a mercenary known as Mr. Webster (Marshall Bell), starts looking for Vincent. Webster doesn’t like anyone to have seen his face, so he offs his original employers and Al at the parking garage. Webster pursues Vincent.

Finding out that Vincent is going to Texas, Julius decides that he will go right by Traven’s lab, so he invites himself along on the trip. Then Linda and Marnie arrive with a belated birthday cake for the twins. Linda insists to go along and Marnie wants to go if Julius is going.

Professor Mitchell Traven (Nehemiah Persoff) initially lies to the boys.

When they get to New Mexico, Traven originally lies to the boys, but when Julius gets mad and knocks down the door, Traven changes his tune. He tells them that their mother is alive and living in an art colony outside of Santa Fe.

Finally, with matching outfits, Vincent and Julius are indistinguishable.

Before they leave town, Vincent gets Julius something better than shorts and a t-shirt to wear. They end up in matching outfits, but they are still easily told apart.

The Klane brothers catch up to them, but it doesn't end well.

En route, they stop at a nightclub. On stage is a band which includes Nicolette Larson as the singer and Jeff Beck on guitar. There the Klane brothers, who are already walking wounded after their own encounter with Webster, try again to collect their money from Vincent. And once again, they don’t account for Julius.

Julius is a changed man after one night with Marnie.

That night, while Linda and Vincent get better acquainted, Marnie seeks refuge in Julius’ motel room. Julius starts out on the floor but Marnie joins him and the 35-year-old virgin is no more.

The brothers come to an art colony looking for their mother.

The next morning, they end up at the art colony, where a painter informs them that their mother had died. She leads them back out of the complex and they leave, not realizing that the painter, was, in fact, their mother, Mary Ann (Bonnie Bartlett), who doesn’t believe their story, believing instead that her child died at birth.

Their mother, Mary Ann (Bonnie Bartlett), doesn't believe their story.

When they stop on the road, Vincent decides that the others would be in danger, so he leaves them at the gas station and drives off to Houston. But, of course, Julius has to take chase, catching the first plane he can. In Houston, Julius co-opts a stereotypical Texan car, with longhorns on the grill. He uses his twin ESP, something they haven’t had until now, to find Vincent.

The original deliveryman, Mr. Webster (Marshall Bell), is waiting in Houston.

Vincent is, meanwhile, on his way to make the delivery to McKinley, who gives him the $5 million for the prototype. But moments later, Webster kills McKinley and demands the money from Vincent. Julius arrives in time to thwart Webster and let Vincent escape, but he returns and agrees to give the money to Webster to save his brother’s life.

Julius saves Vincent who, in turn, returns to save him, but Webster decides to kill them both.

But Webster doesn’t like to let people live who have seen his face and decides to kill them. But Julius outsmarts him and buries Webster under a long and heavy chain, apparently killing him.

Mr. Webster is about to get it good.

Fast forward and Vincent has returned the prototype to the rightful owner as well as the $4 million he was paid. Using that money as well as a reward, the brothers start a consulting firm.

At the art colony, Mary Ann is shown a newspaper story about the twins and then suddenly believes they are her sons. She visits Traven and is violent with him for concealing the truth from her.

Next, she tracks her sons down at their workplace and the family is reunited.

At the end, the family is reunited, the boys are married and both couples have twins.

The film ends with Mary Ann with Professor Werner on an outing with her sons and their wives, the Mason sisters. Both couples have had their own sets of twins.

Released on December 9, 1988, Twins would receive mixed to negative reviews on its way to making $216.6 million at the box-office. The film was enough of a success to warrant a reunion of its main stars in Junior (1994) another comedy directed by Reitman.

Schwarzenegger shows that he’s a more versatile actor, but comedy is really not his calling. Twins is sort of like a Saturday Night Live sketch that gets stretched out to a full-length movie. The initial premise is funny, Schwarzenegger and DeVito as twins, but it is the stretching it out to full-length film where the stretch marks show.

The subplot with the stolen prototype helps make this premise feature-length, but the twin ESP seems like a bit of a stretch. It’s not supposed to be a location finder as it is sometimes used here. And if it was truly as strong as the film makes it out to be, then Julius and Vincent would have realized the other existed before now. I’m not saying twins, especially identical, might not have something like ESP, but it’s not something that can be turned on like a light switch. You either have it or you don’t.

The characters do go through changes, no more so that DeVito’s Vincent who not only discovers the strength of family but eventually thrives in it. His cynical approach to the sudden appearance of Julius seems somewhat genuine, as would most anyone if someone like Schwarzenegger showed up at your doorstep claiming to be your long lost never-knew-you-existed sibling.

This is not to say there are not some funny moments, but there are also several murders by a psychopath which seem like an odd element for what is supposed to be a laugh-out-loud comedy. It can be done, I’m thinking Keanu (2016), but it is still a risk that doesn’t always pay off.

While there are some funny moments in Twins, the film has not aged all that well. There is an 80’s vibe to the film, including a rather forgettable theme song, that scream that this is a film from another time. If you’re a die-hard fan of Schwarzenegger’s or DeVito’s, then you will want to see Twins. Otherwise, this may not be the film for you.

If you like Twins, then you might also like Powers Squared, a comic book about college-age twins who were granted awesome powers when they were young. Written by the writers of Trophy Unlocked and available through our website's store in print and digital.

Stubs - My Neighbor Totoro

My Neighbor Totoro aka Tonari no Totoro (1988; version viewed 2005) Voice Acting: Tim Daly, Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Lea Salonga, Frank Welker. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki. Produced by Toru Hara. Color. Japan. Animated, Fantasy, Foreign

Hayao Miyazaki is one of the great Japanese anime film directors of all-time, reaching International acclaim with films like Spirted Away (2001), Howl's Moving Castle (2004) and The Wind Rises (2013). A gifted storyteller, Miyazaki got his start as an in-between artist at Toei Animation in 1963 working on the theatrical feature anime Watchdog Bow Wow (1963) and the TV anime Wolf Boy Ken.

By 1968, Miyazaki was the chief animator on Hols: Prince of the Sun, though the film was directed by Isao Takahata. This would begin a collaboration between the two filmmakers that would eventually lead to their founding Studio Ghibli in 1985. It is at this studio where Miyazaki would direct his best-known films.

One of the studio’s early films was My Neighbor Totoro, released on the same day in 1988 as Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies. The production was influenced greatly by the Art Director, Kazuo Oga, who had previously worked on such films as Barefoot Gen (1983) and Wicked City (1987). My Neighbor Totoro would take his career to a new level and would begin his continued relationship with Studio Ghibli.

The film was originally released in Japan with Noriko Hidaka as Satsuki Kusakabe, Chika Sakamoto as Mei Kusakabe, Shigesato Itoi as Tatsuo Kusakabe and Sumi Shimamoto voicing Yasuko Kusakabe. The film’s U.S. release came via Fox home video, which released the film on home video in 1993 under the title My Friend Totoro. Miyazaki, who had previously been disappointed in how his films were transitioned into English, would not allow Fox to make any edits and they had to stay as close to the original screenplay as possible.

This release dubbed the film into English with Lisa Michelson voicing Satsuki Kusakabe, Cheryl Chase as Mei Kusakabe, Greg Snegoff as Tatsuo Kusakabe and Alexandra Kenworthy as Yasuko Kusakabe. If the first American cast doesn’t sound familiar, you are not alone.

When Fox’s rights lapsed, Disney picked them up. Why not, they have practically everything else? For their home video release, they re-cast the dubbed voices, bringing more recognizable actors to the lead roles. For Satsuki, they cast Dakota Fanning, at the time all of 11, but already an acclaimed actress. For the younger sister, they kept it in the family, casting Dakota’s younger sister Elle. The role of the father went to Tim Daly, who at the time was best known for his long-running role on TV’s Wings series.

While Lea Salonga, who was cast as the mother, might not be a household name in the US, the Filipina singer’s voice had already been used in Disney’s Mulan (1998) and its direct-to-video follow-up Mulan II (2005). The voice cast also featured Pat Carroll, Ursula from The Little Mermaid (1989), and the great Frank Welker, who has voiced just about everything but may be best known in some circles for his work on the Transformers franchise.

Satsuki (Dakota Fanning) and Mei (Elle Fanning) are excited about their new home in the country.

The film takes place in rural Japan and at a time that feels like the late 1950s. By then, a lot of wounds from World War II had healed or were healing. University professor Tatsuo Kusakabe (Tim Daly) and this two daughters, Satsuki (Dakota Fanning) and Mei (Elle Fanning), are moving out to the country. We don’t know from where, but judging by everyone’s reaction to their new surroundings, it must have been from a city.

Granny (Pat Carroll) has been the caretaker of their house and watches after the girls as well.

Their closest neighbors run a rice farm and have a boy about the girls’ age, Kanta (Paul Butcher). The matriarch of the family, whom everyone calls Granny (Pat Carroll), has also been the caretaker of the Kusakabe’s house. She comes by soon after they move in.

The girls' father, Tatsuo Kusakabe (Tim Daly), bathes with them and their laughter rids the house of soot spirits.

But almost immediately, as the sisters explore the house, they become aware of dust creatures called susuwatari. They are for the most part harmless, but their presence sort of bothers the girls. That is until one evening while bathing with their father, they laugh so hard that the soot spirits leave the house, drifting in the wind looking for a new empty house to call home.

Tatsuo takes his girls on a bike ride to visit their mother in the hospital.

The three go to the hospital to visit the mother, Yasuko (Lea Salonga), who is still recuperating from some unknown malady.

The girls' mother, Yasuko (Lea Salonga), is happy to see them.

One day, Satsuki goes to school and father has some work to do. This leaves Mei on her own. While playing, she sees two rabbit-like ears in the tall grass and follows them. Under the house, she discovers two of the creatures and they lead her through a briar patch and into the hollow under a large camphor tree.

Left on her own, Mei follows after two rabbit-like creatures.

Under the tree, she discovers a much larger version of the same kind of magical spirit, which she identifies as “Totoro” based on the sounds it makes. Even though she falls asleep on the large Totoro’s belly, Satsuki finds her on the ground in a briar clearing. Try as she might, Mei can never find the hollow part of the trunk to show her family. But her father seems to already know about the Totoro, telling Mei that he is the keeper of the forest and only reveals himself when he wants to.

Mei meets Totoro, a large magical creature.

One rainy night, the girls go to wait for their father’s bus because they realize he’s forgotten his umbrella. But the bus is late and the girls grow worried when he’s not on the one they’re expecting him to be on. While they wait, Mei falls asleep, so Satsuki carries her sister on her back. Soon after, the Totoro appears, the first time Satsuki has been allowed to see him. Because he only has a leaf to use to shelter him from the rain, Satsuki offers him the umbrella they’d brought for their father.

Totoro shows up while the girls wait for their father's bus.

The creature enjoys not only the shelter the umbrella provides but also the sound of the raindrops hitting it. To show his appreciation, he gives Satsuki a bag with nuts and seeds inside. Not long after, a Catbus (Frank Welker) shows up and the Totoro boards, taking the umbrella with him. Soon afterward, the bus with their father arrives. He apologizes for being late and they leave.

The girls plant the seeds. A few days later, they awaken at midnight to find Totoro and his two miniature colleagues engaged in a ceremonial dance around the planted nuts and seeds. The girls join in, whereupon the seeds sprout, and then grow, eventually combining into a single enormous tree. Totoro, along with his colleagues, take the girls for a ride on a magical flying top. In the morning, the giant tree is gone, but the seeds have indeed sprouted.

The girls help perform a ceremony to get the seeds to grow.

A planned visit by their mother gets postponed because of an undisclosed setback with her health. Disappointed, Satsuki tells Mei the bad news, but Mei does not take the news well. The two sisters get into an argument, ending with Satsuki storming off. Mei decides to take her mom some fresh corn and decides to walk to the hospital by herself.

Mei runs away to give her mother fresh corn.

Satsuki and the neighbors search for Mei, but to no avail. Desperate, Satsuki goes to the camphor tree and asks for Totoro’s help. Totoro is delighted to be asked and summons the Catbus, which takes Satsuki to where Mei is. After the sisters are reunited, the Catbus takes them to the hospital where their father is visiting their mother.

The girls take the Catbus (Frank Welker) to visit their mother.

Sitting perched in the tree, the sisters eavesdrop on their parents’ conversation and hear their mother had been kept from visiting them by a minor cold, rather than something worse like they had feared. Their parents hear something outside her hospital room, but all they find is the ear of corn that Mei had brought for her mother. Meanwhile, the girls are taken back home by the Catbus, which disappears from sight as soon as they get off.

The parents find the ear of corn Mei left, but don't see the girls.

During the end credits, Yasuko returns home and the sisters are shown playing with other children. Totoro and his friends are shown as unseen observers.

This is a gentle film and I mean that in more ways than one. The story is more a slice of life for the Kusakabe family. Mom is in the hospital and the father and the children move to be closer to her. The big difference between their life and anyone else’s is that the Kusakabes lives in a forest with a giant magical spirit.

There does not seem to be much going on in the film. The biggest event in the film is really Mei running away from home, but she’s only gone for a matter of hours and she’s found safe and sound. The Totoro serves more like a Deus Ex Machina, sort of lying around waiting to be called upon to do good and give the story a happy ending.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you’re looking for something along the lines of American animated films, where there has to be some sense of the characters in danger, then you need to look elsewhere. Mei is really never in harm’s way and how bad can a situation be if a Catbus is what saves you?

While the film wasn’t colored with these, I came away thinking of it more like water colors than the computerized CGI that dominates modern animation. The color palette is nice, but the colors are never too vivid or wild, which seems to suit the story very well.

Obviously, the story takes place in Japan, but the characters are drawn with a certain universality that defies racial categorization. There are no ceremonial robes or “native” dress in the film, as there are no cultural roadblocks that might separate us from them. While I have a limited exposure to Japanese animation, this sort of style seems to permeate throughout what I have seen.

My Neighbor Totoro was very accessible and rather easy to watch. While I doubt very much that this is Miyazaki’s best work, it does seem to have many of the characteristics that have made him an Internationally acclaimed story-teller. While I’m not sure if these films stand up to repeated viewings, the way some of the best Walt Disney and Pixar films do, I would definitely recommend this film to anyone interested in or, like me, was interested in Hayao Miyazaki’s work.

Stubs – Die Hard

Die Hard (1988) Starring: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Gudonov, Bonnie Bedelia. Directed by John McTiernan. Screenplay by Steve E. de Souza and Jeb Stuart. Based on the novel. Nothing Lasts Forever Produced by Lawrence Gordon, Joel Silver. Executive Producer: Charles Gordon. Run Time: 131 minutes. U.S.  Color.  Action.

As everyone’s thoughts turn to the holidays, it’s good to look back on the old classics that have come to mean so much to so many of us. This holiday season, Trophy Unlocked is going to concentrate on one actor who has made as many films centered around Christmas as Jimmy Stewart: Bruce Willis. Welcome to the first and only installment of A BRUCE WILLIS CHRISTMAS. 

For the next three weeks, we’ll be watching three films that show Christmas would not be the same without Die Hard, Die Hard 2: Die Harder or RED . While none of these have the same Christmas spirit as say It’s A Wonderful Life or A Christmas Story, the holiday is a setting for all three films. And while it might be a little unorthodox, they are all fun movies, so sit back and try not to worry about it too much.

Back in 1988, Bruce Willis was best known as David Addison, Jr. opposite Cybil Shepherd’s Maddie Hayes on TV’s popular, but bumpy Moonlighting. He had appeared in Blake Edwards Blind Date (1987) opposite Kim Basinger and John Larroquette and the same director’s Sunset (1988). But he didn’t reach star status until Die Hard. The role of John McClane is one that Willis has returned to four more times. Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990), Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995), Live Free or Die Hard (2007) and the upcoming A Good Day to Die Hard coming Valentine’s Day 2013. Throughout his career, Willis has shown himself to be a solid actor.

It’s easy to see why Willis keeps coming back to the role, even when he might seem past the age of most action heroes, though The Expendables (2010) and The Expendables 2 (2012) has pushed that age out by several decades. Die Hard is both a cash cow for all concerned and it is a part that Willis seemed destined to play. It takes his comedic timing, showcased on Moonlighting and combines it with his affinity for action. While the franchise may have dipped a little over time, Live Free or Die Hard showed that there is still fire in his belly and quick wit on the tip of his tongue.

But it all starts back on a Los Angeles Christmas Eve. McClane, a New York policeman, has flown into town to spend the holiday with his estranged wife Holly Gennaro-McClane (Bonnie Bedelia) and his largely unseen children. John is picked up by Argyle (DeVoreaux White), a limo driver sent by Joseph Yoshimodo Takagi (James Shigeta), Holly’s boss at Nakatomi. John arrives with the company’s Christmas party in full swing (What company has its Christmas party on Christmas Eve?).

But right behind him are a truckload of terrorists, led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). Amongst his strong men are Karl (Alexander Godunov) and Theo (Clarence Gilyard), the computer genius. While John has his shoes off, Hans’ crew invade the party. John manages to escape and spends the rest of the movie playing cat and mouse with Hans and doing his best to mess up his plans. When Takagi won’t give up his passwords, he’s killed, no questions asked. Theo will just have to try harder to break the locks on the Nakatomi safe.

John tries to get the police involved by setting off the fire alarm, but the terrorists call in a retraction and the fire trucks make a u-turn. Hans sends Tony (Andreas Wisniewski), Karl’s brother, to find John. But instead John kills Tony in a fist fight. John takes his machine gun and radio, the latter which he uses to call the police. But in what is the beginning of a series of police errors and mistakes, dispatch doesn’t believe him. When he refuses to get off the air and there are gunshots, the police send a black and white, Sgt. Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson) to check. After only a cursory look, Al starts to leave, but John kills two more terrorists, Heinrich (Gary Roberts) and Marco (Lorenzo Cacciatanza), and throws one down on top of Al’s car.

Al gets the hint and calls for back up and soon the streets of Century City are full of police cars. Dwayne T. Robinson (Paul Gleason), the Deputy Chief of Police, takes charge and starts to make a mess of things. SWAT attempts an assault, but the terrorists can see them coming and, using anti-tank missiles, obliterate the tank they’re driving and the crew inside. McClane attempts to get some revenge by killing two more terrorists, James (Wilhelm von Hornburg) and Alexander (Joey Piewa), with C-4 he’d taken off of Heinrich.

Harry Ellis (Hart Bochner), a wise-ass company executive, tries to negotiate John’s surrender for Hans. Luckily for McClane, Ellis never says how he knows John, which is barely. But Hans, believing Ellis is an old friend, kills him. Next, Hans sends Karl to get John while he goes upstairs to check on the explosives attached to the roof. John gets curious about what Fritz was doing on the roof and goes up to investigate himself. Hans and John meet for the first and only time. Hans pretends to be a scared Nakatomi employee, Bill Clay, a name he pulls off the directory (that happens to be on the top floor?). While Hans thinks John has played into his hand by giving him a handgun, John has seen through his disguise and given him an empty gun.

But Karl, Fritz (Hans Buhringer) and Franco (Bruno Doyon) arrive on the scene and while John kills Fritz and Franco, he is forced to flee. Hans and Karl chase him into a glass enclosed office. While John proves elusive, Hans suggests they shoot out the glass, trying to trap our barefooted hero. But John escapes, leaving a bloody trail behind him and the detonators which fall back into Hans’ possession.

The police keep making stupid mistakes until the FBI arrives in the form of two idiotic agents, Johnson (Robert Davi) and Johnson (Grand L. Bush). Once there, the stupidity comes fast and often. First, Johnson and Johnson order the electricity to the building to be cut off. They think they’re taking the upper hand, but in reality, this is what Hans wanted. No power means the electro-magnetic lock on the vault is disarmed. The terrorists now have unfettered access to Nakatomi’s $640 million dollars of U.S. bearer bonds. This is not a terrorist act, despite the demands Hans makes to relieve his imprisoned brethren around the world. This is a robbery.

Gruber demands a helicopter and the FBI bring it, with Johnson and Johnson coming along. But Hans’ intention is to blow the roof with the hostages on it, allowing his gang to escape. But McClane knows the plan and tries to get the hostages off the roof. On the way, he runs into Karl, who wants to settle the score man to man. Even though Karl is bigger than John, McClane manages to wrap a convenient chain around Karl’s neck and hang him. He then rushes to the roof to get the hostages off. But Johnson and Johnson peg him as one of the terrorists and try to kill him.

Meanwhile, Richard Thornburg (Wiliam Atherton), a local newsman, oversteps himself and goes to Holly’s house and puts their children, Lucy and John Jr., on the air. Gruber, who has the TV on, sees Thornburg’s report and takes Holly as a hostage. Hans blows the roof, ironically saving John from the FBI agents, who presumably die when the explosion engulfs their helicopter. This sets up the final confrontation between McClane and Hans. McClane, down to only two bullets, makes them each count, taking out the last terrorist, Eddie (Dennis Hayden), before shooting Hans in the shoulder. Hans falls out the window, but grabs Holly by the arm and tries to pull her out with him. John pries Han’s grip off of Holly’s wrist and he falls to his death.

But while the ordeal seems to be over, Karl is not really dead and comes after John. Al, who had up until then been unable to shoot a gun after accidentally shooting a thirteen year-old armed with a toy gun, shoots Karl until he drops dead. Argyle, who has subdued a disguised Theo, preventing him from escaping, arrives and whisks John and Holly away to a Merry Christmas and a reunion. Do they reconcile? We’ll have to wait and find that out.

Watching this movie, I’m reminded just how long ago 1988 seems now. Back then a policeman could carry a gun on an airplane. You could smoke in public, and buy Hostess Twinkies at a convenience store. Illegal aliens were afraid of being reported to INS (the forerunner to ICE). There were no CDs or iPods, no cell phones. Back then terrorists didn’t have to be Islamic extremists. Japan, not China was our economic rival. Bruce Willis had hair. Essentially the world as we know it didn’t exist way back then.

Besides Willis, the cast features Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber, the villain behind the tower heist. Rickman is perhaps better known these days for playing Severus Snape in the eight Harry Potter films. He also has shown himself to be a versatile actor, playing comedy as Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus in the Star Trek send up, Galaxy Quest (1999). Here, he is cold and calculating and wonderfully evil.

Despite the heroics of her cinema-husband, Bonnie Bedelia gets to deliver what might be the most crowd-pleasing punch in the film, when she cold cocks Thornburg immediately after the ordeal and on live TV to boot. Bedelia doesn’t really have that much to do in the movie, except make a few side comments about her husband to the other captors. This is really Bruce Willis’ film.

However, this film seems to endure because John McClane is an everyman hero who fights against long odds to do the right thing. An appealing character who cracks wise and shoots to kill. Willis, who has gone on to appear in over 60 films, will always be remembered for his portrayal of John McClane and for that character’s catch phrase: Yippee Ki-yay Motherf@#!er. It’ll probably be his epitaph.

It should be obvious that this is not a Christmas film for children, but rather one for adults. But it is a fun diversion from the usual holiday fare.

While Die Hard seems to tie things up quite nicely, we had to know then that there would be a sequel. Come back next week for Die Hard 2: Die Harder and more Christmas cheer.

To read reviews of other Christmas films, please see our Christmas Review Hub.

Stubs - Beetlejuice

BEETLEJUICE (1988) Starring: Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones, Glenn Shadix, Sylvia Sidney  Directed by Tim Burton. Produced by Larry Wilson, Michael Bender, Richard Hashimoto. Screenplay: Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson, Warren Skaaren. Music by Danny Elfman Run Time: 92. Color. USA. Comedy, Horror

It may be hard to believe, but there was once a time when Tim Burton made movies that weren’t based on comic books, children’s stories, or weren’t remakes of other movies  or television shows. And there was a time before he worked, exclusively it seems, with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.

Apparently, 1988 was that time. Fresh off the success of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Burton chose this off kilter comedy as his next project. While the film was a success it really isn’t all that scary, it is usually, but not always funny.

A happily married, calypso-loving, but childless couple, Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) are on a staycation in their home in rural New England. Adam, whose hobby is making a model replica of the small town where they live, needs a few supplies and the couple rush off to town for what should be a short shopping trip. However, on the way back, Barbara swerves to avoid hitting a dog in one of New England’s classic covered bridges and the couple fall to their deaths.

Only, they don’t know they’re actually dead. That is until Adam leaves the house and just outside is a hellish desert with sand worms that scour the sands for food. Adam narrowly avoids being food. A strange book has also shown up, a Handbook for the Recently Deceased, which is a puzzling guide to the afterlife. But while they intended on spending their next 125 years on earth in their idyllic home, they are not allowed to rest in peace.

The village real estate agent, who had tried unsuccessfully to get the Maitland’s to sell, gets her chance and sells the home to Charles (Jeffrey Jones) and Delia Deetze (Catherine O’Hara), who have a daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder). Charles is a former real estate developer who wants nothing more than to relax in the Maitland’s house. However, his wannabe artist wife, can’t wait to change things. She brings Otho (Glenn Shadix), an interior designer hyphen ad nauseam to help redecorate. He transforms the farm house into a gaudy structure.

The Maitland’s turn to help from their afterlife caseworker Juno (Sylvia Sidney), who informs them that they will have to scare the Deetze’s out of the house. However, that attempt only makes the Deetze’s want to stay with thoughts of turning the house and surrounding village into a paranormal exhibit.

While the Deetze’s can’t see the Maitlands, Lydia can and they become friends. However, the Maitlands are determined to get rid of Lydia’s parents. Even though Juno had warned them against using him, the Maitlands call for Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) who advertises himself as a bio-exorcist, which means he gets rid of humans. However, he turns the couple off with his crude behavior and they decide not to use him after all. The Deetze’s continue with their plans to make the house into a tourist attraction and Charles invites his boss Maxie Dean (Robert Goulet) to their house for a presentation and a meet and greet with the ghosts. Though Lydia asks, the Maitlands refuse to participate. However, Otho, who claims to be a paranormal expert, armed with a stolen copy of the Handbook for the Recently Deceased, knows just enough to summon the Maitlands against their will in a séance. But he doesn’t know enough to stop things before he starts destroying them.

Lydia, in an effort to save her friends, makes a deal with Betelgeuse. She agrees to marry him in exchange for his help. After successfully chasing Dean and Otho away, Betelgeuse expects Lydia to keep her end of the bargain. While he manages to thwart the Maitlands attempts to stop the ceremony, he goes too far, banishing Barbara to the sands. This allows Barbara to commandeer one of the Sand worms which she rides back into the house to devour Betelgeuse.

Betelgeuse ends up in the afterlife waiting room where he angers a witchdoctor, who shrinks his head.

In the end, we’re shown that the Maitland’s and Deetze’s have found a happy way to coexist.

Despite its subject matter of the afterlife, the movie manages to be funny. The funniest moments belong to Michael Keaton, who was just coming into his own as a film actor. He supposedly ad libs a lot of his dialogue and delivers it like a standup comic. The film deals with some pretty gruesome ways to die: being burned to a crisp, bus crashes, being cut in half, being run over with a steam roller, etc., with a certain amount of humor. How this film deals with the macabre could be seen as a precursor to future films like A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), which Burton would produce, but not direct; and Corpse Bride.

While Keaton deserves a lot of the credit for the humor, the supporting cast is strong. The Alec Baldwin we see here is the way you think he’d want to be remembered. Thin and good-looking, Alec manages to show that he is more than just a pretty face. Geena Davis, who had made her mark in the off-beat TV sitcom Buffalo Bill, was also on her way to becoming a movie actress. She had appeared in Tootsie (1982) and The Fly (1985), but was still evolving as an actress. Her Barbara was what people liked about Geena Davis: quirky, pretty and funny, a combination that would suit her well throughout most of her film career.

Burton at this time was at the beginning of his career. Beetlejuice was only his second feature film. This would lead to Batman (1989) also with Michael Keaton as the lead. The next year, Burton would join forces for the first time with Johnny Depp with Edward Scissorhands (1990) and the rest they say is history.

Also notable, is the music of Danny Elfman, former leader of the rock band Oingo Boingo. The music sometimes sounds derivative of Bernard Hermann’s work on Psycho (1960), but Elfman was truly at the beginning of a career that has seen him become one of the most sought after film composers in Hollywood.

I have to admit that the first time I saw Beetlejuice I really liked it. A second viewing and the story was starting to age almost as badly as the special effects, which look downright primitive. The sandworm is almost laughable by today’s standards.

Beetlejuice is one of those films that you should see, like Caddyshack (1980) and Stripes (1981), not because they’re great films, but because they are films that you’re going to hear about over and over again. You have to see them to see what all the fuss is about. While they might not make your list of all-time favorites, they are at least worth a viewing.