DVD Review: Diehard (B+)

Die Hard (1988)
Directed by John McTiernan
Starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and Bonnie Bedelia
MPAA: R
Grade: B+

Review by Bobby Nashville

A review of Die Hard? In 2002? I know, I know. But there is a reason for everything folks so let me explain. Me and some buddies were having lunch recently when the topic of "Best Christmas Movies" came up. Somebody volunteered Die Hard and this, dear friends is where they got me: I admitted that I didn't know that Die Hard took place over Christmas and furthermore that I hadn't seen any of the Die Hard films.

Well, you can imagine the ridicule my buddies gave me for not having viewed any of the Bruce Willis series. It got ugly. They called me "un-American", "sheltered" and for some odd reason "totally ambidextrous". That seemed off point to me but I tried to explain that I don't have anything against the series, I just always seemed to find something more interesting to see. That just dug the hole deeper.

The following day, someone I had never even seen before dropped of a copy of Die Hard on my desk, shook his head in disgust and walked away. Normally I don't give in to such bullying tactics but frankly I actually like Bruce Willis. He's an underrated actor in my book. So last night I cracked open a brew, popped the Die Hard DVD into my player and decided to find out what all the fuss is about.

What else can I say other than "Welcome to the party pal!" This movie rocks. And that's the extent of my professional critical analysis here folks. Look, Die Hard is not trying to be Citizen Kane, its just trying to provide over the top entertainment and take people on a little joy ride along the way. This movie has all the essentials necessary for a good action thriller. Guns? Check. Terrorists? Mess them suckers up. Explosions? Hell yes. Memorable quotes? "Yippe-ki-yay motherfucker!"

Now that we've seen the Con Airs and the Under Seiges of the world, it's obvious that my friends were right: most contemporary action movies of that genre owe a ton to the Die Hard blue print. My friends described Speed as Die Hard on a bus and Under Seige as Die Hard on a sub. Its good to finally be able to make that connection and honestly I think that's right on target.

But is Die Hard really a Christmas movie? Well, the action all takes place at a corporate Christmas party in a huge sky scraper. There are lots of Christmas jokes. For example at one point a terrorist is returned (dead, of course) to the evil leader (played perfectly by Alan Rickman) with the message "Now I have a machine gun. Ho Ho Ho" written on his chest. Heck, the Run DMC classic "Christmas In Hollis" is played over the credits. Sure, it's not It's A Wonderful Life, but it has enough holiday flair to qualify in my book. So does it belong on the list of "Best Christmas Movies?" I guess it depends on how big your list is but it certainly would be on mine.

Now that that is over, I can't wait to see my friend's faces when I admit that I haven't seen any Superman films.

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DVD Review: An American Werewolf In Paris (D-)

An American Werewolf In Paris (1997)
Directed By Anthony Waller
Grade: D-

Wow. Its hard to believe how bad this film really is.

Someone somewhere down the line really should have stopped this film from going forward. Just in the name of good taste.

What's wrong with American Werewolf in Paris? Well, the acting stinks, the story is stupid, the attempts at humor are downright embarassing and the effects don't work. Other than that, its great.

Based on the very funny (and scary) classic horror/comedy American Werewolf In London, directed by John Landis, this shameless sequel has none of the wit that made the original film so great. The jokes are stale, the werewolfs are computer generated, and although they look cool, they don't seem to merge well with the live action, so it looks, well... fake. Skip this clunker, rent the original, and move on.

Review by Scott Standish

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