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There was a SIEGE preview and our spy was there.
SPOILER ALERT !!
Segal was under SIEGE, but he still managed to file this report with Geek Headquarters. He had to fight his way through 100's of EMAIL's with questions about LOTR addressed to Peter Jackson, but he was spotted by Father Geek and has made his way from the front to this update.
Hello Harry
Here is a review of a sneak I went to recently for the upcoming
"thriller" The Siege. The most interesting thing about it was watching
the film makers stress out and discuss what worked and what didn't...I
think they will need some reshooting!
Ripped out of today's headlines comes Fox's The Siege. This "reality"
flick stars Denzel Washington, Annette Benning and an over inflated
cameo by Bruce Willis.
Denzel stars as a stiff FBI agent tracking down terrorist attacks in New
York City. The terrorists bomb buses and Broadway(I think a bomb goes
off during a performance of Cats-which may actually have been a good
thing…). As the violence escalates Benning rears her head as a supposed
CIA operative with her an unknown agenda. Is she working for or against
the terrorists ?
There is some chemistry between Denzel and Annette, however she has her
eyes on a possible accomplice to the terrorists. As the attacks continue
Willis steps in as a jaded by the books Army General who declares
martial law in New York.
Bruce and Denzel butt heads, but Bruce burrows his tanks and troops into
the Big Apple. Denzel and Bening team up to try to find the head
terrorist in what will go down as one of the most underwhelming climaxes
in film history. (My guess is that the ending will be reshot!)
Overall the film wanted to be "serious" film in the vein of Courage
Under Fire(also directed by Edward Zwick and also featuring Denzel).
However the film pretty much fails on all levels. There is not enough
action to satisfy hardcore Bruce Willis action fans, and the film fails
as a drama dealing with a city on the edge being invaded by the US Army.
The film also struck me as being a bit racist. The villains were Arabs,
and the characterizations were pretty one-dimensional. They were
portrayed as bomb wielding suicide bombers. Of course the filmmakers had
one Arab as one of the "good guys", at least he got all of the funny
lines in the script.
In light of current headlines it will be interesting how Fox will handle
this one. In theory it is a very hot topic and its pro American tone
makes it controversial from a global standpoint. However, the film is a
yawner. Bruce Willis looks like he was sleepwalking. He is getting a bit
old to be running around with guns blazing, but he was unconvincing as a
General. Denzel tried to carry the film, but it is difficult to do in a
film when the film makers are not always clear as to what kind of film
they are making. Some scenes have him playing a stiff by the book FBI
agent, then there are scenes torn right out of a John Woo flick. And
Annette Bening was just dull, but at least she was in a sex scene. So
maybe there may be something exciting in this flick if you are into
older women.
Even "B" Movies like Red Dawn are more interesting accounts of a "home
invasion" on American soil. View The Siege at your own risk.
agent Segal signing out...
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Hey, I'll be there! Its Bruce Willis, he doesn't make bad movies!
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Four Rooms, anyone?..... Bombing "Cats" sounds like a fucking marvellous plan though. Forget subways, banks and so forth, Lloyd Webber pyrotechnics is the way of the future. I claim responsibility for any future West End/Broadway musicals blowing up. Evil laughter.
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Pro-American, in the face of fundamentalist terrorists, is globally controversial? Controversial with who, the terrorists?
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Bruce doesn't make bad movies?? Um, ever seen "Blind Date," "Hudson Hawk," "Armageddon?" Noooooo, Bruce is really able to make bad movies.
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Hopefully the screener you saw will have some improvements when the movie comes out. I really like Bruce, and i think he can pull action togeather... it is his element.
Mecury Rising was a 'calm' Bruce, but he positively kicked ass in four rooms. So don't get down on him. Thanks. -
I agree that this is going to be yet another racist blockbuster (there are tons of doofuses willing to watch a bruce willis flick, quality notwithstanding). A good test of whether a movie is offensive or not is too switch your bad guy (white south africa, latin drug lord, arab terrorist, teutonic ice man, etc) to an evil conniving jew. If that makes the movie anti-semitic, then the movie is no good. Thankfully, Hollywood rarely produces anti semitic flicks (one or too come to mind, but they are anomolous). Villians do have to be unpleasant fellows, but why can't they ever be Americans (Star Wars, Spartacus, come to mind--Brits always get the short end of the stick). Or maybe they should be real characters,and get their say in as well (like shylock did). But asking for the villian to be a real character and not a stereotype maybe be too much when the protagonist isn't often a real character in these type of movies. And I find it interesting that the producers/writers are aware that the movie is offensive and stick in a token Arab to attempt to balance it out. The token is usually the funnyman (or clown), see True Lies.
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Now I'll admit, I don't know how old Benning is; but she's a very attractive woman. If she's still 'stooping' to doing sex scenes at this point in her career; good for her! Further, if you'll excuse the male fantasy ego for a moment; good for us to!
She was completely beautiful in "An American President"; that blue dress at the State Dinner... wow.
:) -
Mr. Grant:
While I would hardly characterize myself as a "doophus willing to
watch a Bruce willis Flick, quality notwithstanding," I must take exception with your placing our beloved "Hudson Hawk" in the same category as "Blind Date." Formulaic and crude, BD had the gaul to show the movie-going public John Laroquette and tell us he was a big screen quality second banana. HH, in contrast, offered Danny Aiello. Though admitting the film is not without flaws, I, as the self-appointed head of the AICN Hudson Hawk Caucus, request an apology for your slander against a movie that dared to be "something totally different" in the Monty Python tradition. All of us in the movie-going public need to make a decision. Either recognize those instances when filmmakers take a chance at something new (This includes HH and everything Terry Gilliam has ever done) or stop bemoaning the studios for their recycling tendencies. At this point on, let us forget discussion of "Siege" and offer some examples of filmmakers who took a chance. Those who wish to clog AICN with HH propoganda...do it. For those that resist either call...well, you ain't nothing but a bunch of damn photomat assholes!
LONG LIVE THE HAWK! E_GADFLY IS OUT! -
Hudson Hawk sucked ass. 'nuff said.
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Notice how terse the statements are that find fault with Hudson Hawk. They're emblematic of the same knee-jerk reactions that greeted the film upon its initial release in 1991. I agree that, through the continued derision of HH, and other quirky films that can't be made with the usual mid-level budget, the message sent to the studios is that we prefer tripe such as Godzilla to more imaginative films like The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen, or The Frighteners. I guess if the studio, or media, doesn't hype it enough for you (as they did with Men In Black, a rare subversive blockbuster, but one I don't enjoy nearly as much as HH) then it can't be any good.
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Pretty much an example of the Hollywood mentality, and media images the moviegoing public has grown accustomed to. To quote from an amusing list entitled "18 things I learned from action movies":
2. To be truly attractive, a woman must wear high heels and an outfit so tight you can tell whether she's cold or not from across the room.
3. There are two kinds of women in the world: The type that want to go to bed with you, and the type want to kill you. Both types are physically attractive and under 25 years old.
All too common attitudes in big flicks. That's where that "older women" comment came from. -
Aug 28, 1998 12:11:13 AM CDT
*NEWS FLASH*!Arab villians ARE bomb wielding suicide bombers.
by john mclame
What other kind of bomb wielding suicide bombers are there??
You never hear about a black guy strapped with dynamite walking into 7-11 and blowing the place up! -
Don't forget, you don't hear of many Irish people doing the suicide bomb thing. Fanatical Arabs would be willing to die for cause, where would this go against type? Stereotype my ass.
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After stinkers like Mercury Rising, The Jackal, The Fifth Element, Last Man Standing, Striking Distance, Hudson Hawk, and Bonfire of the Vanities. It is not a matter of whether it will be good or crappy but how much it will stink.
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Why do we bother? Those who know have copies of Hudson Hawk sitting proudly on their shelves next to Raging Bull and Brazil. Those who don't own Mission: Impossible and Bio-Dome. In fact, I'd like to take this opportunity to laud Michael Lehmann's entire early filmography. Heathers, HH and Meet the Applegates are all depressingly underappreciated (you'll notice nobody talks about Heathers anymore as a great '80s teen movie just 'cause John Cusack isn't in it) and its heartless bastards like you all that have driven him to take jobs like My Giant. You have ruined the poor man's career and I for one would like an apology on his behalf.
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OK, so he's not exactly Rock Hudson or Cary Grant or even Ahnuld, but he's alright. YES, he has made a nice line of cinematic dogs, but everyone gets their day - and remember, this was *one* review. Personally, Denzel and Annette would be the reasons for me to see it and a minor role by an actor of Willis' recognition is a nice change of pace from the ego-driven blockbusters that have been saturating cinema for years. (And I'm in the minority, but I find HUDSON HAWK a hell of a lot more tolerable than DIE HARDs 2 or 3, and that piece of shit ISHTAR with Beatty and Hoffman).
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Mission Impossible was a bit muddled but a lot more satisfying than 90% of the other Hollywood "blockbusters," at least until the cliched action ending....
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I'm sorry, but Red Dawn kicked ass... I don't know how young you are or were when that movie came out, but if you weren't old enough to appreciate how cool that movie was - I'm sorry. Ok, that's enough nostalgia. Bruce Willis is kewl, but what the hell is he doing in some of these movies? Jackal anyone? I saw the preview for this Siege movie and I think it's gonna be ok - well it looked ok anyway... I think I was kinda "eh.. whatever" on the subject. Anyway... Blah.
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