A Century of Movies
Johnny and Chris alternate between reviewing movies pre 1980 and post 1980.
A Century of Movies
Predator - 1987
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We go back to the 80's for this one. Does it hold up? Is it a classic? How was Arnold? We answer all those questions and more.
And we are recording. Hey, welcome to a Century of Movies Podcast. I'm one of your hosts, Johnny Cardinelli, and my co-host Chris Weivel.
SPEAKER_01How are we doing, brother?
SPEAKER_02Uh good. My question is, how are you doing this? Because this was your movie. Oh, yeah. Uh, as you sayed last time, uh, for those of you know who haven't been following along with our podcast, uh Chris and I are both lovers of movies. We met doing stand-up comedy out here in LA, and uh I happen to just be a lover of old films, 1940s, 50s, especially, into the 60s. Chris, not a big fan, not a big black market. So I'm saying I'm not saying you don't like them, but just in the context of this podcast, we decided, okay, every month we'll switch around. I'll pick a movie before 1980, you'll pick a movie 1980 or and after, and we'll discuss. And that'll force me to watch movies maybe I haven't seen in a while or just been avoiding, and then you and also same for you. And you didn't know until recently that you actually had you could pick movies in the 80s, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yep. I I thought I was 90s and a and newer, so that's my fault.
SPEAKER_02One year into the pod, you finally figured out how the pod works.
SPEAKER_01That's pretty good time for me, to be honest. It could have gone the entire time.
SPEAKER_02Um, so anyhow, you got the 80s, and the first movie from the 80s that you pick is Predator. Any particular reason?
SPEAKER_01No, it. Um, well, because last time we did uh Dracula, um and uh I thought it would be fun to go from one iconic monster to another. Predator is a movie I've seen many, many times, but not in a very, very long time.
SPEAKER_02Um obviously you went in being a huge fan of this movie, though.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, but I haven't I hadn't seen it in 15 years at least. Um quite a long time, maybe 20. Um, so it's been it's one of those ones that's been on my I gotta I gotta rewatch that, I gotta rewatch that. Never really got around to it. Um, and I figured this would be a perfect uh foray into the 80s.
SPEAKER_02Did you see it as a kid in the theaters?
SPEAKER_01Uh no, I was seven. So no, okay.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, a little, just a little bit too young for this particular style of movie.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I wish I would love to see this in like uh you know, uh an art house movie or something, one of those uh old school theaters, but no, haven't seen this one in the theater.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I can't not remember the first time I saw it. Uh I remember liking it, of course, you know, just you know, the big budget, you know, blow them up, shoot 'em up, movies of the 80s, you know, it fit right in. Frit fit right in with all those Rambo and everything. And I for some reason I I thought this was a movie that I just had watched many times over and over again, too, because I feel like I've seen parts of it. Plus, just certain scenes are so iconic. Uh you know, certain uh imitations of Arnold come straight from this here.
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, we got a meme, a meme out of this one.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, the handshake meme. Yeah, and so for some reason I thought I've seen this movie, and when I'm watching it going, I don't remember this, I don't remember this. Yeah you know, and so I don't I this might be the second time ever I've actually sat through the entire movie. And I was uh I was kind of shocked by that, but uh and glad too, because I just I didn't remember a lot of it. That's you know, certainly the way it started. I don't I didn't remember scenes like that at all, and uh right, so it was good. I I was just it's just surprising when you think you know a movie and you start watching like what how do I not know this? You know, yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I was the same way because I watched it a lot as a kid. This was like one of those movies that was on like USA Saturday evening, you know, my parents are out, and I would me and my kid brother would just be oh, predators on, you know, like oh my god. But as an adult, just haven't seen it, like I said, in probably 20-25 years. So there was a lot I didn't remember either. So it was cool to go back.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, did you uh yeah, you know, did you look up this uh director at all, John McTiernan?
SPEAKER_01I did, and that was cool too, because I didn't know um that this was what his second, like real movie.
SPEAKER_02Uh um according to him, this was his first big studio movie, with like real studio. I don't know technically, but I I listened to him uh uh talking and he goes, This was my first uh he did one called Nomads a year before. I don't I don't I don't know anything about it, never heard of it, but this was his first studio film, and uh according to him, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I know I was reading earlier that there was a uh a bunch of other uh directors that were attached at first, and they all said no, because they're like, We're not shooting in the jungles of Mexico, like you know, we're not dealing with any of this stuff. So I don't know if this became like uh scramble drill, shit. We gotta get somebody in here, and and they picked him or how that all went to be. Um, but man, goes from this in 87 to die hard in 88, hunt for red October in 90. I mean, for uh a guy coming out of left field really uh really nailed it.
SPEAKER_02Dude, I mean you could put that three in a row up against anybody, literally anybody, especially in that sort of trip. What's amazing is and then you know, the last action hero again with Arnold, uh, which I actually have not seen, I don't think. Thomas Cronafair, and then the 13th warrior, which I don't know. And then, dude, his career just fell off the his life and his career just went to shambles. I'm just gonna read it from Wikipedia. This is after after those movies. His career was hamstrung in the midnight in the mid-2000s, after unknowingly lying to an FBI investigator, a crime he pleaded guilty for in 2006. The judgment was vacated, after which he pleaded guilty in 2007 to the original charge and an additional charge of perjury in regard to his hiring of the private investigator, Anthony Pelicano. I remember when that guy's name was all over the news about people and wiretapping in late 2000 to illegally wiretap the phone calls of two people, one of whom was Charles Rovin, a co-producer of his action film remake of rollerball. And dude, he was in he was in jail for like almost a year, and then he went bankrupt. He lost, he was living in a like a seven-acre uh farm up in Wyoming. He lost that, and he was sort of blackballed. After that run of movies, you're and then you're literally done, and rollerball was like rollerball, I guess, was just critically panned. And like, how do you fall off like that hard?
SPEAKER_01Dude, crazy. I will also say, and this is something I was gonna bring up uh at some point during the pod, early 2000s. I can't think of a like the action movies kind of really waned for a while, you know what I mean? Like the 80s, I mean, it was like I mean, you're getting two or three banging action movies a year, you know, and then so I think all the personal stuff coinciding with a shift in what kind of movies people were watching didn't help.
SPEAKER_02That's a good point. Yeah, if you think about it, even music-wise, the 80s were just big, overblown, and all of a sudden 90s was uh uh you know, if you think about the 70s, you know, disco aside, but a lot of the 70s coming out of uh oh Watergate, Vietnam, very the the the economy, very depressed, early 70s, the whole nation. And the mute movies were reflected by that, you know, French connection, movies like that, and um, and then as things started lightening up towards the end of the 70s, disco and everything started getting the economy started getting ready. Steve Martin is the biggest comedian, all of a sudden the 80s, everything's fun and like you said, big, bombastic, also and then the 90s, yeah, and then the 90s come and and and even like music, like hair metal bands and big videos, 90s come, grunge, uh, just you know, more serious, and and like I think that that's a good point, man. Maybe he just didn't catch on with the times or something, but wow, what a falloff! Yeah, mind-boggling.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and then his last one, 2017. Uh looks like a music video or a video of some kind, and I mean that's a gap 2003 to 2017.
SPEAKER_02Like, I I would love to see a documentary on this guy interviewing him, talking about him, where his life has gone, what he's done. Like, it just it's mind-boggling to me that that no matter what this guy did, why you're tapping his up, people wouldn't take a chance on him. All you know, after that run of movies, you know. I mean, jeez.
SPEAKER_01I know. And then one that we we kind of skipped Die Hard with a Vengeance.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_01Yep. He did the original smart man, skip the sequel. Not great. Die Hard with a Vengeance. Solid, solid uh entry in that uh I honestly say I've never seen it.
SPEAKER_02I never I for some reason that one passed me by, so I'll have to try that one out again.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's like for you know, the third movie in a trilogy, generally not very good, right? Right, that one it's up there in terms of best third movies.
SPEAKER_02This is gonna sound crazy. You know, a movie I want to see of his more than anything next rollerball. Yes, if this thing's a train wreck, lad, let's go. Uh yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Sign the L for the worst.
SPEAKER_02Fucking go, man. Yeah, because you go in knowing this is gonna be fun, yeah. Yeah, uh, so anyhow, it's kind of depressing about uh um about uh John McTearn, but you know, who hopefully the guy's doing something with his life right now because this guy this guy should have been on the pantheon of modern directors, he should have been right up there with all the best, you know, looking at how he got going. Um, but he gave us Predator and then um written by Jim and John Thomas, which again did you have you ever heard of them as a writer? Were they ever like on your no radar? I was gonna say, I'm looking at them going okay, Predator Wild, Wild West, behind enemy lines, uh executive decision, and then the TV series. Not a lot of you know, just not a lot. They're they're predator 1987 and their last credit 2001. I mean, where do they go? What happened to them? You know, it's just kind of interesting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they really stuck with the the predator theme. I mean, they wrote predators, alien versus predators, alien versus predators two. I mean, predator two. Uh like they just I don't know if they got sort of typecast or whatever the writing term for that is, or sounds like they went where the money was. Yeah, that's I mean, hey, they were this is what they want us to do. We're just gonna do this until we retire or whatever.
SPEAKER_02So interesting, just like a pair of brothers that write together. I don't know, I just find that interesting. Yeah, you know, it's I you know, like I don't know, because writing is such an individual sport. I I know people collaborate, but just to write together, it's always kind of kind of uh interesting to me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I definitely could not write a movie with either one of my brothers, I don't think.
SPEAKER_02So that's what I'm saying, man. You know, okay, so we got the director, the writer. I'm just saying, considering this movie, and you know, it was you know, it's it I don't want to say it launched Schwarzenegger because obviously it didn't, but I think this was peak, peak Schwarzenegger, peak. Yeah, I'm I mean yeah, I'm just surprised that the writing, directing crew behind this. I when I went to look them up, I was just surprised that that I didn't see that this launched them into the stratosphere and kind of didn't. Either one of them.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the writers know. I mean McTiernan, yeah, but um, but um, yeah, dude. We're I mean, and just another incredible run uh from Schwarzenegger here. Uh yeah, Terminator, Command Command. Remember Commando? Did you ever see that one?
SPEAKER_02Dude, that's a thing. I've just realized I've never seen Commando.
SPEAKER_01Oh man, it's was it good? I mean, in terms of like an 80s action Arnold movie, hell yeah. But like, I mean, it's just I mean tongue in cheek. Oh, yeah. I mean, he's going, it's just a one-man wrecking crew taking out whole armies and just crazy shit, you know.
SPEAKER_02It's Rambo, all that stuff, man. You know, and by the way, sign me up, I'll go, I'll go watch that too.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I one of these things that this yeah, this like really was like, damn, these were they don't make movies like this anymore, you know. Like, uh, and if you haven't seen any of these, uh, strongly recommend go cherry pick some uh 80s action movies because they are pretty incredible.
SPEAKER_02Bigger than life, you know, and let's be honest, especially at this point, he was bigger than life. I mean, there's been there have been action heroes before, obviously, but because he was Mr. Olympia, he yeah, I mean he was just so big with the act with the accent, he was just he was so unique, especially at this time right here. Like ever the stars just aligned for this this movie, uh, you know, with him. Uh Carl Weathers. And in the I listened to an interview with McTierney, uh McTierny, and he said that one of the reasons they got Carl Weathers is because he was oh an actor of note. He was a you know an established actor, which Schwarzenegger kind of wasn't as an actor. And they go, we wanted somebody that that could bring out the best in Schwarzenegger as an actor, and and also, you know, he's also Carl Weathers is bigger than life, too. You know, it he he could look him eye to eye, kind of you know, he's a compar comparative, but he goes, he goes, Carl Weathers was the guy that they sort of all looked up to on set, uh because he he was the actor most experienced. And he goes, Carl Weathers is the one who made everybody better as actors on set. That's what McTiernan even said.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, and it's also you know, he's no gym slouch either. You know, they had to have the dude. Everybody in this movie is like James, except except for Shane Black. Shane Black. Well, well, I'm sure we'll get to him, but uh yeah, I mean that's a great point because he's like sort of the uh the opposition of Schwarzenegger, so you're not gonna have Shane Black talking shit to Schwarzenegger. Nobody's gonna buy it, you know. So you gotta have somebody, you know, exactly.
SPEAKER_02Nobody's gonna think they're gonna heat when I first saw this again just now. I'm like, who's this guy? Okay, again, okay, they have to have the brainiac guy who's not all built up. Then I find out it's Shane Black. I'm like, oh, and then I listened to McTiernan again. He said he wanted a writer on set, so he hired Shane Black. Case they need a little bit of this, or blah blah blah. And Shane Black ended up, I think, writing and directing The Predator, or one of the ones. And I haven't seen it, but I heard it's pretty terrible. But Shane Black, obviously a very noted writer and you know, oh my god, yeah, director. Yeah, what a I remember years ago hearing his name, uh because he was young when he uh sold um Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon, yeah. And they're like, this guy like in his early 20s, and he's a multi-million dollar like what it was big, it was way back in the day, yeah. Yep, I remember that. And then Bill Duke, Bill Billy Duke, um a very noted actor, they call him the godfather of African American cinema. Uh 83 now, still around. Okay, didn't a been a did it wasn't a bunch of things. Uh, they uh according to McKernan again, he saw Billy in American Gigolo and thought he was so good that he wanted him for this movie. Yeah, and so uh he was great, he got those eyes and just that presence.
SPEAKER_01Uh and and does such a great job of slowly going insane throughout the like just saying weird lines of dialogue. It's like this dude's losing it, and I believe, you know, like I thought he was outstanding, yeah.
SPEAKER_02And also, again, and he wasn't he didn't have to have his he didn't have to show his biceps everything, too. He's not like all jacked up like everybody, like it was a nice bound. He got those killer looks looking off into the distance, you know. Like he was great. Jesse Ventura, you know, not much. He had a couple lines, he's got the good look, and you know, yeah, he fit he fit the part uh perfectly Sonny Landom. What are your thoughts on Sonny Landom?
SPEAKER_01Um probably maybe my favorite line in the movie and part in the movie are both involved this dude, um, who I don't know much about. I looked into him, or I didn't know much about. I looked into him and just uh from what I heard, just an absolute maniac. Just an absolute nut job. I'm sure you got to the part where the the production would only ensure the movie if they had a bodyguard for him to keep him away from the rest of the cast, which includes nothing but bodybuilders, absolute maniacs, but he was so crazy, I guess, he had to just be separated with a babysitter, which is astounding.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, they said that they didn't want him getting in fights, yeah. Like, like my god. Uh, I first saw him and his first big role, which was in 48 hours. You obviously you saw 40 hours, and I remember thinking, I remember thinking, God, this guy's pretty unique because he's an African American, but he's got that deep voice that I just thought this guy's awesome. He was awesome in 48 hours. Yeah, and I just I just thought after that movie, this guy's gonna go on to a huge career because I thought he was so memorable in that movie, and then it's and then he's in this, and I'm like, this guy is awesome, and then maybe oh maybe his own personal demons or something, but it just you know who who knows, maybe he was his own worst enemy. But uh, you know, I guess he wanted to be known for more than just you know Native American Indian roles, but you know, everything you know, how Hollywood typecast, especially back then.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god, shameless, shameless. He he does have a movie called Guns and Lipstick, which I might put on the list just out of curiosity, uh, see what's going on there. But uh, I thought it was great. I really did.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's funny. I'm looking at his Wikipedia page. He's got a bunch of movies that don't even have a Wikipedia page, like you know, they're not even of note of that note. He had kind of a sad life too. I he ran for uh governor of Kentucky, which were he was the third guy from this cast to you know, obviously Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura both became governors. He ran, I think he had some problems, and he was you know asked to leave or he stepped down. And then in 2000, I remember reading this a long time ago, by the way, not just for this, but uh, but I remember years ago he had some major personal struggles. Uh and he like health, I think he had a heart problem. He had to have both legs amputated in 2016, one in 2016, one in 2017. I remember there was a website set up to like help fund him, like almost like a I don't I don't know if this was before GoFundMe, but I remember thinking I remember this guy that I remember from 48 hours and predator has been reduced. It was just really sad, really sad. And then you know, he ended up he he he made you know he and he oh he had a second leg um appetite in 2017 and he actually died in 2017 as well. 76 though, you know. I mean, it's you know, there's younger guys, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um I mean, maybe they take that second leg and you're like, I'm out, I'm just done, dude.
SPEAKER_02You know, yeah, like how much more you want to do it in your in your 70s at that point, yeah. Uh we don't have to spend to spend a lot of time on Richard Chavez because he doesn't really have a giant career, but I actually really like this guy. Yeah, I really liked uh uh um uh him. I just thought he was kind of he wasn't as big as everybody else, but I don't know. I thought he was just a really good actor. I don't know. He that he did some uh apparently he was in uh he was in uh um oh what am I because War of the World, but he also I guess he started off in uh soap operas and stuff. I just he didn't really have much of a career of note, but I just thought he was really good in this movie.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean I'm looking at it now. What I like about this is like this is like the classic, seemingly like old school way to make it as an actor in Hollywood. One episode on this show, then one episode on a bigger show, one episode on a huge show, and he's just climbing the the ladder.
SPEAKER_02Until you get series regular or something, yeah, and then bang, predator.
SPEAKER_01Like that's that's like the traditional actor ladder, you know, bad show, bad show, better show, good show, movie. Um, but yeah, I agree. I thought he was great. I thought he was really good.
SPEAKER_02Uh yeah, and then Shane Black. Um again, it fit it was it was a nice little role for him. Notice he was the first one killed off.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02All right, we we've enjoyed you, and then kid Kevin Peter Hall, um, who was the Predator inside the suit, seven foot two. Did you read up on him and all?
SPEAKER_01A little bit, yeah. Um, what I they had Van Dam cast first, I believe.
SPEAKER_02Oh, dude. Well, you can go look at him in the costume online. It's kind of funny, bro. I mean, I'm not saying the costume is not kind of cool, but not for this movie against these big guys because he's a small dude.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he's like I think he's shorter than I am. He's like 5'3 or something.
SPEAKER_02So I was like, Yeah, if you look, go online. Anyone who's listening to this, go online, just Google Jean-Claude Van Damme Predator, and it'll come up. And it's dude, did you ever see the old TV show from the 70s, Land of the Lost? Nah, old TV show. Well, he looks like it is, but no, he looks like a slea stack, dude. These giant bug eyes, it was a more of a bug, it wasn't quite as menacing as that's what I heard. Yeah, it's kind of funny, man.
SPEAKER_01Um, but apparently, when they redid the suit and casted this big fella, uh, who was also in Harry and the Henderson's as Bigfoot, so that makes sense. Um, the suit weighed 200 pounds.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, man. I saw a little I saw a video of that of them putting it on and pulling a mask over his face and just like wow. Uh again, he was from Pittsburgh, by the way. Uh good dude. Good perfect. And uh, you know, he just just really I I saw an interview with him. Just looked like a really everybody said he's just the nicest guy in the world, seven foot two, but like really athletic and in just look like a great in shape. Dude, guy died five years after the filming. He caught up HIV, yeah, from a blood transition. It was sad, man. Just Jesus, man. Just bro, every day. Enjoy every day. We were talking about this before we logged on. Time flies, enjoy every day. Well, let's get to the movie, then. Yeah. All right, tell me your first thoughts when this movie started.
SPEAKER_01Um, what I I what I love about it is like the shell, like the opening scene, you're like, oh, okay, that classic going into the jungle, you know, like you they set it up as one thing, and then it becomes something totally different. Um and I just love it. I love that that style. Um, and I thought this one really, really nailed it uh just right out of the gate. You know, we meet everybody, it's it's happy times, we get the the meme, everything's good, and then it just wait, let me stop you.
SPEAKER_02Just just before they even get to that. What's the very opening scene?
SPEAKER_01The helicopter?
SPEAKER_02No, the spaceship.
SPEAKER_01Oh, the spaceship, right, right, right.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I'm not gonna lie, I McTiernan said that there was a budget, and it was his first one, so he didn't really have a lot to say. That opening scene, that spaceship looks especially considering after this is after Star Wars, it looks pretty chintzy. I'm not gonna lie. There's no there's no stars, it's just black. This thing's just going, you can just almost feel the camera panic back, not the spaceship actually moving, or or like just the you can see the wire as somebody's carrying it across, you know. Like it wasn't that far removed for a movie of this ilk, I guess. I was like a little underwhelmed, but then you know, then the boom shoots off down into the earth. No explanation why, which I'm glad we don't need a backstory. Let's get started, and then like like you said, now here we are in the jungle, choppers coming down, fucking badass. The head we're establishing everybody right off the bat. Everybody gets off, everybody gets out of the helicopter. Who comes last in the shadow with the hat on and the stogie? Schwarzenegger, what a fucking entrance, man. Oh, yeah, wearing the red shirt.
SPEAKER_01Yep. Look, I mean, jacked, he lost 25 pounds for this. So he was lean, you know. I mean, you're just like, Jesus, dude, this whole squad is here. Like, you're immediately like, whoever these dudes are after, they're these guys are in trouble. Like, these guys are bringing the the pain here, you know.
SPEAKER_02That's what I mean, man. You're like, oh shit, this is a bunch of superhumans, right?
SPEAKER_01This is the A team coming to Wreckshop.
SPEAKER_02Legit, man. Uh which just makes it all the more they just really set it up nice for this movie. They this this this crew, and I forget exactly when. I don't want to get out of order here, but there's that scene where uh well it's actually after he confronts well, after he confronts um after Schwarzenegger figures out Carl's weather set them up.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_02And uh I read that initially in the script, Carl Weather's character is supposed to be just an all-out bad guy, just bad guy. And then McTiernan didn't want him to be that way, he just wanted him to be a guy who was just given different orders, you know. He's just following his orders, but he himself is you know not a bad guy, and that's kind of how they ended up playing it. And he he goes, McTiernan goes, Carl was angry about that. He wanted to be a bad guy, and I kind of you know, but it didn't quite it wouldn't have fit really the movie, I don't think. Yeah, just to have him be an all-out bad guy and screw everybody over. So I thought I think that the decision was smart.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the other thing I love about the opening too. I've we've done a lot of movies, I'm not gonna say what what ones they were, where the opening credits are 20 minutes long, this one just predator, and that's it. And then we're just up and running. I was like, oh geez, here we go.
SPEAKER_02Let's run, and you know me, dude. Those 40s and 50s movies, we see five minutes of credits before we even get to the opening scene.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. And this was just spaceship, predator, jungle. Let's fucking go.
SPEAKER_02And bro, imagine in the theater that you're fucking, we're in, you know. We are going. Hey, dude, this thing just starts, like you said, it is just phenomenal. The you know, choppers and the jungle setting, shot in Porter Puerto Puerto Vallarta, and I forget the other part in Mexico, but some other they they crossed, they did them in two different areas. But uh funny because I've been to Puerto Vallarta many times and uh never up in the jungle like that, but that's interesting because it looks like it was it looks like it was shot in the Congo or something for sure, something way in the or the rainforest down in Amazon or something like that.
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, I I read a lot about the shooting conditions were were unpleasant.
SPEAKER_02I could imagine just you know, and plus you think about that, you're in the jungle in Mexico. What is in the jungle? Are there snakes, bugs, just you know, what is rats or something? Who knows?
SPEAKER_01You know, well, they said the other big problem is it was so hot, and none of the you couldn't drink any of the water, obviously. So, like they were really struggling. They like every everything I saw, people were like, I wouldn't redo that movie for 10 times the money now. Like, it was so grueling, and that's why McTiernan got the role as director because every other director was like, Where the fuck are you shooting this? Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_02And Schwarzenegger isn't even big enough at this point to go, nah, mm-mm. Right. He's trying to establish himself as the superstar. Uh yeah, dude. I've heard this is an old movie, but it's called The African Queen, Humphrey Bogart. The one he actually won his uh Academy Award for. They shot that in the Congo in Africa in the 50s. And they said every Catherine Heppard was there, and everybody, they said everybody got sick, like on the crew and stuff, except for Humphrey Bogart and um oh, who's the who's the director? The director from Maltese Falcon, same oh Houston, John Houston. He goes, because those guys, all they would do is eat canned beans that they brought from the United States and drink whiskey. And he goes, They were the only two, those the only two that never got sick. Like that's me, man. That's what I would have done.
SPEAKER_01Dude, Breakfast of Champions, beans and whiskey. Dude, serious.
SPEAKER_02Fuck yeah. Uh so anyhow, but but like you said, dude, we are just boom, we're here, we're in the jungle right off the bat. Let's go. Uh, and the jungle. When I was watching it this time, I go, the because you know, this movie is kind of comparable to you know Alien. Uh in my opinion, is also kind of comparable comparable to Jaws. And in Alien, the ship was the there's trapped in this ship. And Jaws, the ocean, they're trapped in the ocean where the predator has the advantage. Here they're trapped in the jungle where the predator has an advantage, you know, where they're in their territory territory, um, more than their territory is kind of what I I was going. Okay, the jungle is is the ocean, essentially.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, it's a good way to look at it. Yeah, exactly. Um, and then what I like is they're super confident, and little do they have any idea about what's coming.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah. I mean, and then like you said, man, they get they they find that they find they find those skin dead bodies, yeah. And then they find he finds the dog tags, and they're like, what the and dude, they they go in and blow the shit out of that uh village. What was that? What was the village? But what was it? They they could they I guess supposedly it was a um rival faction, something like that there, yeah. But dude, that was like 20 minutes or 25 minutes of just non-stop people getting blown the fuck up.
SPEAKER_01Oh, dude, that's the 80s, baby. I mean, just like they just like hire extras, like just we're just gonna mow all of you down. Just everybody here is getting killed, blowing shit up. Oh, it's that was great.
SPEAKER_02It it was great because it you you're watching, you could just you can no CGI, these are stunt guys doing somersaults in the air after getting blown up with real fire behind them. Oh, yeah, dude, it was so well shot, man. Yeah, his first big studio shoot shooting this, he's doing this shit.
SPEAKER_01I was blown away, dude. Yeah, and Schwarzenegger goes and like puts the uh explosive in the back of the truck, and then they actually yeah, and then they actually blow up the truck. It's like this is how you make a movie. This is so good.
SPEAKER_02I mean, there's times I'll watch it and going, okay, we get the picture, but yeah, it went on so fucking long. Uh that that I but I was enjoying, but I'm like, okay, guys, well, I get it, it's the 80s, but gosh damn, this is going on for a long time.
SPEAKER_01You just killed 400 people in this village.
SPEAKER_02Like, okay, yeah, but it just you know, just everybody uh I get they they wanted every not everybody, but you know how uh Jesse Ventura had that big gun with the minigun. Yeah, they said they said they they wanted like to give each guy sort of their own weapon as almost part of their personality. So uh that was kind of cool, you know. Yeah, uh uh that gun was just really cool looking.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. And then Arnold used it in Terminator 2 a couple years later. It became like uh, oh shit, he's got the minigun.
SPEAKER_02Like, oh uh what you hold it like this and all that shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Crazy. That was badass. Uh and then it did, you know, let's just cut through. I know it's almost I think we're almost 30 minutes into the movie now, and we're still just they just got done. They finally blown up this place. Yeah, they captured the they captured the girl, um, who I think was just thrown in there because, well, we gotta have a girl. I swear to God. Yeah. I I don't know if I'm not saying she wasn't great. I don't know if we really needed her for this for the movie. Yeah. Um, but she she was great in her role. And uh otherwise it's just a bunch of dudes shooting.
SPEAKER_01So that that was kind of, of course, I thought her and Schwarzenegger were going to, you know, yeah, because yeah, another thing that I had written down, um, a lot of movies would have done that, you know, and they were like, nah, we're not having them get together, we're not have showing them on the you know, flying off together. Like, no, that's we're this is just we're here to fuck, dude.
SPEAKER_02But even though I'd seen it before, when they got in the chopper at the very end, well, which we'll get to, I thought for sure they were gonna cuddle and fly off. Like, no man, come on, yeah, don't do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So then finally with it strung up to then boom. I forget exactly where we see that the the infrared, whatever predator's vision, and you're like, what the hell is this? Yeah, dude. I don't and I swear to god, dude. The sound effects, not not the score, by the way. The guy did a great job of the score, I forget his name now, but the sound effects in this movie were fucking awesome. Yeah, I mean, they really did it with the and all of a sudden it's it his it's his vision, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And it's all what disorienting, and then the little triangle comes out, yeah, and then back.
SPEAKER_02I just thought the sound effects really, really made such an impact on this thing. And then the guy kills the scorpion on his shoulder, yeah, and then they you know, and then he stamps in it, and then uh the Shane Black tells that joke, which was a pretty good joke, I must say. And I guess it was Shane Black's actual joke. He okay made it up. He either he wrote it on the screenplay or he already had it, but and then Billy does that laugh, yeah, and then you hear the predator hearing it, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And it's he's like processing it, like it's like he's the predator. This monster is like learning, which is even way more terrifying, like oh shit, exactly.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, hearing that laugh also that laugh because his voice is unique no matter what, right? I don't even know how to explain it. It's and then hearing it processed, like you said, in the in the terminators, the way the terminator hears it, the terminator, the way the predator hears it, yeah, fucking scary as shit, dude.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I know this obviously comes up. We're doing older movies, you know, for the most part. Again, I would love to know audience reaction seeing this in the theater. I people must have been like, Holy shit, like, what is going on here? You know, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02This it's it's just gripping. It you're you just gripping it, and then Billy. I must say, uh, we can talk about it later, but might as well get to it. Billy, I just thought they set up Billy's character to be more than what it ended up being. All of a sudden he sees something, touches his necklace. He's got that Native American Indian thing, a shaman, a man, a guy who knows who sees more and knows more, is one with the jungle. That's kind of where I thought they were going with this guy, you know. Um, and he and he sees something and he just stares, you know, and you're like, what the fuck does he see? What does he know? What does this necklace mean? And unfortunately, they didn't really pay any of that off, but whatever.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Um, but yeah, we'll get to uh what happens to him for sure.
SPEAKER_02Oh, for sure, yeah. And then the first kill is finally uh Shane. How do they kill him? I forget now. They've killed Shane.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's that's the dude that they uh when she's like the jungle took came alive and ate him and just took him, and they find him like liquefied, like they just find like a rib cage and like all the like just a pile of mass, and they're that's when they're like, What could have even done this, you know?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and again, she doesn't speak English or hardly, uh, so she can't really state, you know. I mean, I know they have the translator there, but yeah, that that that I thought that was a nice touch, too, not having her speak English, you know. So you don't you don't know. She does she know what this is, yeah, exactly. You're not sure what her is she have an angle here? What's happening?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Because also it didn't kill her. So what's you know, you don't know what's going on, which is what's it's a cool touch. And we'll talk about we'll talk about her not speaking English like uh down the way a little bit. Uh right. Another another therapy. I a thing I learned about McTiernan which I thought was insanely interesting, and I completely agree with him on. Um, this was my favorite shot in the whole movie, by the way. Uh, of so many great shots. When I just go, I can't wait to look up this director after Shane and after some more stuff. You know, we can just go on and on about how many shots they have of them walking through the jungle or looking, but anyhow, they come to that point where they just pan up the tree, they just slow pan all the way, and they just keep going, and it just keeps going, and it just keeps going. And I'm like, this is a fucking great shot, yeah. Yeah, you know, great shot, and then they and then finally the body's way, way up there. Yeah, that was my favorite shot in the whole movie, man. I just thought yeah, that was super cool.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that was that was awesome, and he's hanging upside down, and and you're yeah, like obviously, if you know what's going on, you know, but for the first time, you're like, What the fuck is this? What can do these things? Like, what the hell is going on here?
SPEAKER_02Have we? I can't remember now. Have we seen the predator? I don't mean it the costume, but the the the movement shit with the you know the leaves and the the the invisible predator. Have we seen even a glimpse of it yet? I don't think we have. I don't think so. Okay, we have, yeah, yeah. So we don't know what the hell is going on. Yeah, oh, we that's right. The one thing we did we haven't talked about, which was a great shot, was when we see the hand pick up the scorpion. Oh, right, yeah, and you see that hand, you're like, oh shit, the fuck is this? Right. That was that was a great, really, really cool scene. Yeah, really cool scene to just get to just get us like what's happening here? Who is what is this? Uh okay, so then a number two kill is Jesse, and he just gets right. Yeah, but he but he did turn and he did nail the predator, right? Because this is when the predator bleeds, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yep. Um, and then this is uh well, we'll get to quotes later, but uh this leads to one of the best quotes. My one of my favorite quotes. Uh, they see the blood uh on the leaves, which I read they did with glow sticks and ky jelly to get the blood. Isn't that cool? Which I yeah, I thought it was also super cool looking. Um and it Schwarzenegger just stogie, if it bleeds, we can kill it, and then they just charge more into the jungle, like just fuck it, we're going after them.
SPEAKER_02I was like, all right, cool. But but also it did let even those viewers know, oh, this thing is woundable, at least. Right, it's you know, it's not just impenetrable, it bleeds. So that is that is a great quote. Oh, so good. It's funny, we forgot to talk about some of the uh them trying to, you know, knock knock, you know, stick around. You know, it's like okay, they were cute, and and he did it. He, you know, he's uh Schwarzenegger's becoming Schwarzenegger, the actor who can get away with this stuff, yeah. And and which was really kind of nice to see because he didn't oversell it, he didn't cornball it up, he just it was fun, you know, those lines, even though you're kind of rolling your eyes now, going, okay, bro.
SPEAKER_01Well, like the fourth time you're like, all right, knock, knock, knock.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, stick around. It's like, dude, what? Uh, so then they just open fire on the jungle, and you see all these trees, just just fall.
SPEAKER_01That was such a great scene, an incredible scene, dude.
SPEAKER_02I mean branches falling, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Shoot launching grenades, the minigun, everything was like, holy shit.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, McTernan said the studios they told him we we want lots of gunfire, and and you know, he wasn't like completely on board with that because you know, does it fit the story? Does it make sense? You know, I don't want to just be shooting for no real reason, but he said I gave him that scene, even though they didn't shoot anything, they just shot trees and branches. But I gave him I overdid that with all the shooting just as a sort, just as a sort of screw you to the studio, yeah. You know, that's why that's one of the reasons, and I but it's still it's a great scene.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god, yeah. Annihilate, annihilate everything, or so they think, yeah, yeah, and then that leads to one of the I think the like the next like uh oh kind of moment because you go from what the hell is this to it it it's bleed, it it's bleeding, so we can kill it, probably. And then that scene where they just eviscerate everything, and the dude comes back and he's just like, We hit nothing, yeah. And they're like, everybody's like, Oh my god, how what do you mean? Like, nothing could have survived that.
SPEAKER_02And by the way, just in order, now it's after this that she sees the blood, she sees that yellow blood right after this. So now we know, and and this is when we finally see the predator. We must have seen the invisible predator because this is at the 53-minute mark where we see the predator, like the just just the hand like fixing its wound. Yeah, it's and uh those those tools. If you go back and look at the tools, basically they were they were basically just um dentist tools, dental tools.
SPEAKER_01Oh, interesting.
SPEAKER_02Okay, yeah, they said, you know, it's obviously from outer space, but it has to use tools that look normal enough that people can understand what they are and what they're doing, yeah. So I mean, they look literally just like if you watch it knowing that you're like, Oh, that is like that dentist drill right there. So, but anyhow, we see we see the hand just and you're like, Oh shit, you know, you still don't know what what exactly it is, and then they try to talk to the girl, Arnold does, and she's and then they the guy translates. And this is something interesting. I heard McTiernan say in uh in a in an interview. He said in a lot of his movies, he has somebody who speaks a foreign language who doesn't speak another language, and he and he goes, Because he goes, I like that. He goes, because I used to watch a lot of foreign films, and I would never read the subtitles. He goes, I didn't need them. He goes, I like watching people just the way they talked, how what they looked like when they were saying it. I didn't need to hear what they said, I got it. And there's been times when I have watched foreign films without watching them too, just because you kind of know. And I remember did you ever see The Passion of the Christ? Mel Gibson?
SPEAKER_01Probably. I I don't remember it at all, though.
SPEAKER_02Well that you know they spoke in the the the native tongue of way back when uh Judaism and um the studio said we need subtitles, and he didn't want to. Uh Mel Gibson didn't want to have subtitles. He goes, No, I don't want to have subtitles, but he goes, nope, nobody's gonna understand if you don't have subtitles. I and I watched it, I've only seen it one time, but I remember watching it going, Mel Gibson was 100% correct. Yeah, we did not need the subtitles, we got it. We got it, and so anyhow, that's what McTiernan said. He goes, I I like just watching I think I know what's going on. I like the I like watching the way they say it. And and and what they look like when they're saying it. He goes, That tells me what their character is. I just thought that was kind of interesting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's a wild way to watch it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I kind of because I kind of agree with him. You know, maybe not a hundred percent, but I I just thought that was interesting that he's put that he's kind of used that to some degree in in like a lot of his films. Um and then what's his face? Is it I forget the guy's name, the character name. He gets attacked and kills the pig.
SPEAKER_01Oh, Mac. Yeah, yeah, Mac Mac, dude. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02What'd you think of that scene?
SPEAKER_01Uh I I mean, what was great is obviously you don't know what the hell it is. Um, and I thought it like everybody's so on edge at this point, right? Um, and that's what I was saying. Yeah, but it's also showing him he like his boy just got killed, like he's slowly losing.
SPEAKER_02Right, right. He's going fucking berserk.
SPEAKER_01Oh, he's talking about the moon and the jungle, and he's killing boars and shaving his head.
SPEAKER_02I just killed him with a fucking knife, Mac.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and Schwarzenegger's like, all right, you take first watch and you need some fucking sleep, dude. You are coming unglued. Um, so great. Um, but yeah, I mean, it was probably not needed, but I also thought it was a cool, like, oh, is this is this gonna be like, did they catch it or whatever? And then, oh no, it's just a pig. Okay.
SPEAKER_02Well, it's interesting because I was thinking it completely was unnecessary. Going, why is this here? Until you just basically point out, no, you're right. He's losing his fucking mind.
SPEAKER_01Big time.
SPEAKER_02He's lost his friend, and he literally is going absolutely insane. This is showing that to us. Uh right. That pig, by the way, could not have looked more fake.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god, it was that was that was a bad pig.
SPEAKER_02The the boar, yeah. It could not have looked more fake. And by the way, I kind of like that because uh I don't want to see any animal, actual animal, get injured. So I'd rather see a completely fake looking boar than whatever. But that that thing was about as fake as the the the wild animal in um a princess of bride.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_01Oh, the rodents of unusual size.
unknownYeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's a tough rebound. Yeah, with that.
SPEAKER_02Oh damn. Yeah, rodents of unusual size, yeah.
SPEAKER_01The uh the other thing that's cool too is like so you got these dudes, they seem invincible. Then you have this thing hunting them that also sees invincible, and then oh, the predator can bleed. Oh, oh, okay. And then these guys are coming apart at the seams. A couple have been picked off, so it's kind of like I mean, in in some ways, it's like, okay, is it evening the score a little bit? You know, like are they lining it up? Turns out no, but um, not yeah, not necessary, but I thought it was a cool scene.
SPEAKER_02But you're right, they go in and they demolish that fucking village, they are the kings, and all of a sudden, they're all sudden they're on the opposite, they're on the other side now, going, What the fuck?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, which they've never been in. Yeah, wouldn't it be crazy?
SPEAKER_02Like, what oh, by the way, I was gonna bring this up, but back when when he first confronts uh when uh when when Dutch Schwarzenegger realizes that uh um Carl Weathers set them up and and then he explains to me, go man, we're all expendable. They use expendables twice, yeah. And I'm like, oh man, dude. This is Stallone going, Oh, I like that word. I guarantee you he saw this going boom. Yep, I've got a I've got a great idea.
SPEAKER_01He just goes right to the typewriter and he's like, Here we go.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, yep.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, good point.
SPEAKER_02And then they go into that montage of them building traps, cutting vines, you know, bending trees, tossing a rope, really cool stuff. In other words, using the jungle itself, not the guns. They are they are getting nitty greeter, and then uh then what's his face, Mac with the shaving, dude.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. And it starts like he starts to cut himself.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um there's also somewhere, I think it's around here, when um Sonny is uh the you know the tracker guy. Yeah, he he they turn to him. One of my favorite lines is uh they turn to him and he's just staring out into the jungle, and they're like, What do you think? And he's like, I'm scared, and they're like, Bullshit, you ain't scared of no man. And he goes, There's something out there, and it ain't no man. Yeah, we're all gonna die.
SPEAKER_02And dude, that's what I'm saying. That guy was so perfect in that role. Yeah, you're like, you're like, he's fucking right. Oh, yeah. I didn't, I just yeah, I just man, I was hoping that guy would just have more this would pay off more because I was so into his character. Like this guy knows something more than we do, than we do. His native, his tribal experience is he's got a whatever, you know, uh I don't know, yeah, the shaman mind or something. Yeah, but yeah, it was really cool. And then they all now the they wait for the predator, and then the predator it they catch it in the bag, they go up, yeah, and they and they shoot, and they finally see it. And we at the what I'd marked it down the one hour and five minute mark, we finally see the predator. We get a look at the actual face of the predator. That's an hour and five, man.
SPEAKER_01I love it. I thought it was great.
SPEAKER_02Me too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and then you see it, and you're like, uh, that's way scarier than I thought it was gonna be. Oh, that thing is really just looks like a real pain in the ass, you know. Uh and it's a it's great too, because like what is scarier than that thing? That thing being invisible, you know, like Jesus Christ. You didn't even need to make him invisible, and it's horrifying. Yeah, um, but yeah, I thought it was great.
SPEAKER_02Did you look up uh the the Stan Win? They had some other people, of course. They had the Jean-Claude Bad Damp thing, which by the way was a very cool looking outfit, very cool looking suit. It's just what once you once once you compare it with the actual predator that they ended up with, it looks a little silly. Um but they they called in Stan Winston. Man, you go look at this guy's career. Oh my god, yeah, everything, right? Yeah, yeah. Just aliens, the terminator. I mean, and they said he was uh sitting, he had was working with uh Terminator. I think he was oh wait, he was on a plane ride uh to Fox Studios alongside James Cameron because they worked on the Terminator together and Aliens, and he was sketching the monster for this movie. And Cameron is the one who suggested the mandibles. He goes, I've always wanted to see one with mandibles. So Cameron had a little bit of a say in helping out with the effects, but uh just yeah, just fucking badass that we finally get to see it after all this time, and it's worth the wait.
SPEAKER_01Oh my god, yeah. Like that's like even I obviously we know what it looks like now, but I just re-watching this, like I was like, that's if you're seeing it for the first time, you have to be like, that's worse than what I whatever I was imagining. This thing is fucking scarier than what I had in my head. Like exactly, man.
SPEAKER_02Imagine I can't remember. I wish I could remember seeing this for the first time, having never seen that before. Yeah, you know, I don't remember the first time either, but uh uh, and then they the what's his name gets hit with the log, they gotta drag him out of there. Okay, basically, we need to get rid of his character. Yeah, uh Bill Bill gets his machine gun and goes after. Wait, wait, who does who get a machine gun? No, no, who is it? Mac this is what this is when they this is basically when okay. Wait, this next 10 minutes, let's get rid of everybody so we can get to Schwarzenegger in the final you know chapter. That's basically what's happening. It's basically what's happening right here.
SPEAKER_01Uh Carl Weber loses his arm, Mac gets killed. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So Mac gets killed first. So remember, Mac calls him over and they're looking, it's up there, and they see it. Such a cool shot. Yeah, and in the dark, they're looking. And uh and McKernan said, God, these actors are so good because they're looking at nothing, there's nothing there, but he guys they did it. They just really bought into it, yeah. And uh, and then so Mac gets his machine gun, goes after it. Carl has two guns, one in each arm. Classic 80s. They exactly they split up after it, and then what's his name? Mac, the three dots on his arm. He looks up the three dots on his head, boom!
SPEAKER_01Boom, yeah. Oh, dude.
SPEAKER_02Damn, dude.
SPEAKER_01That was such a cool shot, too. It's on his arm, and then he's like, What the hell is that?
SPEAKER_02And then it's just boom, you're out, but the three dots on his forehead and then gone, and then uh Carl Weather said the arm goes flying off and it's still shooting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, what the yeah, still just shooting at the ground.
SPEAKER_02Oh my god, still still flexing, yeah, just doing curls, still doing curls on the ground. Gotta fucking love it, man. Only in the 80s. Not buying that shit today.
SPEAKER_01Oh, god, no. Um, I do have one thought though. So he loses his arm, right? And the gun is still going off on the ground, and it's running after him on this side. I understand it's invisible, but he and he's probably completely in shock because he just lost his arm. But he, instead of just turning and shooting with the left, he makes this big motion to try to get it off the gun, like the other gun. He's got to get the clip and everything. And then by the time he gets to be able to shoot, the thing's on him and kills me. I mean, it wouldn't have mattered anyway, but like I was like, I feel like you would have just turned and started shooting, and he does this whole like thing. I mean, it's completely irrelevant. For some reason, that just stuck out to me. I was like, wouldn't wouldn't you just turn and shoot there? But I don't know, you just lost your arm, you're not thinking straight. All right, all right.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, guys gonna say, Hey, give the guy a break, okay, bro.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he's chasing an invisible alien through the fucking jungle, all his friends are dead, you know, and I'm just getting real nitpicky with that.
SPEAKER_02I I I I will say when it finally came and picked him up, that's the first time we got to look at the size of this thing compared to a human. You're like, oh shit, man. Yeah, you know, because we just saw it in the distance, but this is like picking this guy up, you know, just you know, holy like it's nothing, like like an afterthought, just yeah. Oh, and then now we got the the uh Billy, uh Billy's character, uh Billy's soul. This is the again again. This is the scene. This was a letdown for me. This scene when they're running, get to the chopper, they're running, and he turns, yeah, throws his gun down, yeah, pulls his necklet off, necklace off. I'm done with this, pulls out his machete, cuts himself. Mano, emano. Like this is I'm like, okay, something heavy's going on here. Yeah, this is this, and then nothing, it's just done, you know.
SPEAKER_01That's maybe my favorite little it's not shot or the sequence, whatever. His him, fuck this, I'm over it. Like, it's him or me, it's that thing or me at this point, yeah. And he does it, and he the way cut and like the look on his face. I just like you, like, holy shit. And then the predator in the predator vision, they could see just the blood mark. And I'm I was like, even this time, I was like, Oh, this is gonna be so great, and then nothing scream.
SPEAKER_00You just hear him scream in the background.
SPEAKER_02I was like, Oh, they should have given him they they should have given him a great ending, man.
SPEAKER_00A great death scene, like I get it. Like, uh yeah, that was that was a flat down for me.
SPEAKER_02That that was the best build-up scene, man. I was all into that. Plus, plus, it just slowed everything down.
SPEAKER_01Okay, yeah, let's go, you know. Oh man, but that just the way he cuts his job. I'm like, there's no need to do that. You're an absolute psychopath, like that. And then just yeah, I I couldn't agree more with that part.
SPEAKER_02Like, I would have loved to have seen the predator running towards him, yeah. You know, and maybe he gets one, maybe he gets one cut, and then the predator takes his face and just rips off his head or something at this point, you know. Something like that, just something big. He deserved a big ending, man.
SPEAKER_01I agree, I agree. Him and Mac were my two favorite characters, and they both kind of got not great that a whole hum, yeah. Yeah, kind of kind of got the ho-hum.
SPEAKER_02Well, at this point, we're like, let's get to Arnold. So, yeah, so now we now we are literally at Arnold. The girl's golf, she's running to the chopper, and then uh, I mean, this this is just one great elongated scene for the rest of the movie, basically. And uh, and so that he's crawling and all of a sudden he slides, goes through and he falls off the cliff. Such a cool waterfall. Oh my god, yeah, and uh apparently his uh body double blew out his knee when he landed in the water. Did you read that?
SPEAKER_01I saw that, yeah. And I believe it because I'm like, dude, that looks like an incredibly high fall, dude.
SPEAKER_02Like, they don't know swimming pool. Who knows what's underneath there, you know? Yeah, yeah, rock or stone or something. Oh, but what a just great action scene. In no CGI they're there. Yeah, it was you know, you're just like, man, this is this is just awesome. So bro, yeah. And then he's and then he's swimming, and then they they and then you know he crawls out that big tree, by the way, with all the roots. They built that tree, you know, not a natural tree. So they built that giant tree. He crawls up into the mud, yeah, just looking just Schwarzenegger looking badass-you know as as you possibly can look. Yeah, um, and then the murder comes out of the water with the and then now it this is the hour 20 minute mark. We finally see the full predator in full body, so with a clear view. Hour 20 in, man.
SPEAKER_01Perfect. The other the other beat that I love too, right before that, is he's swimming and he's done all this crazy shit, and he pulls himself up on the shore or on the tree or whatever, and he has a moment where you can see he's just exhausted, and he's just like and he just kind of chills, and then you hear the splash of the predator hitting the water, and he's like, Fuck, god damn it! This thing can swim too, Jesus. Like, yeah, uh, yeah, but yeah, the mud, the great equalizer. Who would have known?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and it it's it is really kind of cool because it's not technology, it's it's literally planet earth, it's back to the basics, and that's when that's when he's like, This is how I do this, you know. I'm not gonna beat this thing with a gun, you know. Uh uh, I it this you know, back to the basics, um, using Mother Nature, uh, you know, a plan on planet earth, exactly using Earth itself to you know, this thing that's not from Earth, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, Earth against an alien. Yeah, it was yeah, so cool.
SPEAKER_02And then the montage building traps using the jungle, the basics pulls up, pulls the log up, you know, ties that pull that damn log up, and then we see the predator running, our predator running, Arnold applying the makeup, yeah.
SPEAKER_01The mud the mud scene, dude, when he's like the war paint.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah, dude, and his eyes look kind of reddish, it's just like this is it now. Uh and then and then he you know, he pulls the thing, he yells, uh, all through the jungle. It's on, it's on now. Me and you, baby. Let's go.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're we're we're figuring this out tonight. And he's got like weird weird grenades, and he's made out of banana leaves and strange spears and arrows. I'm like, uh holy shit, what is going on?
SPEAKER_02And by the way, it probably would have taken about a week and a half to make all this, but somehow in the movie, I think an hour or so, yeah.
SPEAKER_01He's got yeah, he's got spikes strips everywhere, he's got all these detailed things, exactly. Yeah, and he's like, All right, are you ready to do this?
SPEAKER_02And then just like hey, thanks for giving me the time. I'm all set now. Let's go. Come on.
SPEAKER_01It's like a TV time out. He had the whole jungle ring.
SPEAKER_02What was the predator doing while he's doing all this? Just kicking back, waiting. Yeah, so it nails it, nails it with the bow and arrow, it falls off. It's now it's injured. Yeah, it's injured, and then he hurts it, nails it now, then he nails it with the spear, blood. He sees the blood everywhere. Now he realizes okay, this might be a little more even than I initially thought. Yeah. Oh, and then he, you know, the thing, Chase him, he then he you know jumps up, grabs that stick, goes into the water, muds off. What happened when you what happened when you knew the mud came off?
SPEAKER_01Dude, it's immediately like exactly what I thought. Oh dude, like the word that is the worst case scenario.
SPEAKER_02Besides, like you imagine everybody in the the everybody in the theater for the first time, and the hook is in the water and all the mud's gone.
SPEAKER_00You're like, oh my god, oh shit, you were winning, you were winning. Oh my god, you were right there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. But then we get the next super cool scene where he's out of the water, and then the predator is like, dude, you have been like a worthy adversary, yeah. But you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00Respect, respect, yep.
SPEAKER_01He takes the shoulder rocket off, which I would love to have one of those. That thing's just like just blowing everything up. He takes that off, he takes it like he's like, We're gonna finish this, like you know, no weapons, basically.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well, first of all, he does a thing with the him on the neck, and then he like you said, yeah, then he pushes, throws him over there, and then the mask comes off.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Oh they uh listening to McTernan again, he said that he well, first of all, when they when he when he when it drops into the water, the mask before you see the face. I thought that was such a cool shot. Yeah, yeah. And then they pull up, and then the whole face with all the uh just a such a great uh McTernan said the reason one of the practical reasons they had a mask in the first place is because that face moving it required so many technicians all working at once, moving every little flap that it just wasn't practical. So a mask you could run around with and all that kind of stuff.
SPEAKER_01And the mask made sense too, like more for like the atmosphere, like it's an alien, is it able to breathe, you know?
SPEAKER_02So at first, at first I kept going, why is it even taking it off? It's so good, but then fucking great, yeah, just really just just up the ante even one more.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's like, dude, this thing keeps getting worse, like it keeps getting scarier. What the fuck, dude? Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, going going back a ways, there's one scene where the predator like runs through the jungle. When remember when when he doesn't see it in the mud? Yeah, before this, when he's lying against a tree, when he realizes the mud is his and the predator looks around, then the predator they show a predator like sort of jumping from rock to rock. That, like you said, that alpha 200 pounds, and the geese seven foot two. They hire they had him attached to bungee cord.
SPEAKER_01I saw that. Yeah, did you?
SPEAKER_02Okay, so he just kind of and it looks so cool. I mean, bungee cord, so so simple and basic and just just genius, man. You know, again, uh give me this over CGI. I don't want to be one of those I hey, get off my lawn, but give me this over CGI any day of the week.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02Um, but yeah, it gave him a look like like he was almost like gliding, you know, it was like a really cool, like yeah, like an eight, like an alien would, you know, like light, light on its feet, even though it's this massive hulking thing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. I noticed that too. That was so I had looked that up and I was like, oh, bungee cords. Of all the things, dude. Oh my god, so good.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Uh so then the helmet comes off, and then and then come get me. I'm right here. And then kicks the stick, the log comes down, and then again, he lies back, closes his eyes. We all know what's happening next.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. No way it's over that easy, not with this fucking thing.
SPEAKER_02Exactly. Uh, and then again, it rises up, and uh then he comes with the what the hell are you? And he's gonna kill it, and then and then Arnold has respect. Yeah, and now for I mean, I dude all of a sudden, somehow they created sympathy, sympathy for the predator. Yeah, don't ask me how, but I just wiped out all these people in a vicious manner. Oh, and not to mention, we forgot to talk about it's literally just a predator, it's up there, they don't, it's just up there with its skulls, like collecting skulls.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02There, there's there's no rhyme or reason, they don't give us any explanation. This thing just wants to fucking kill. That's it, you know, which I don't I don't need an explanation.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, the skulls. Uh I think it was explained in another movie or something, but the skulls were the trophies. Um, and how about the scene where he rips the guy's spine out?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, dude, just tosses it, and you're like, oh god.
SPEAKER_01But apparently, yeah, the skulls were like, I mean, this is like you know, going to Alaska to hunt, you're gonna bring back, you know, a trophy. So the reason he had that is all the yeah, but um, but yeah, Arnold.
SPEAKER_02That's what I mean. No, there's there's no heart, there's no this is a sport to this thing, that's all. Nothing, just enjoying killing people. That's it. But and uh, you know, uh, I'm sure they created a backstory after this movie, but for this movie, none.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I love even better.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, exactly. And that's why I'm saying that wait, I actually feel bad for the Predator now. Yeah, just take the rock, fucking finish the job, buddy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, what are you doing, dude?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, what the hell are you? And then so what did you think of the final scene where it starts that that that that that that the on the on the what'd you think of that scene?
SPEAKER_01So I thought it was cool, and what I like, I mean, I thought it was great actually. But I thought it was really cool, A, like how they it's obviously enough alien like uh language or whatever. So you don't know what what's going on at first. It's just beep, it's just flashing and everything. And then when you s see the oh, that little node is now blank, and then this one's doing it, it's like, oh, this is some kind of fucking timer or whatever. Um, I thought that was cool, but my the coolest was when it replays the laugh. It's like laying there playing the guy's laugh. And Billy, Billy's laugh. Yeah, from the yeah, from earlier.
SPEAKER_02That's the thing I I'm I I'm not positive. That's why I wanted to ask you because when I first saw it, I watched it basically twice for before this before this pod. First time I first time I go, Oh, that's awesome. It's bringing back Billy's laugh because it has it stored, it's learning. Because before this, what the hell are you? And the it goes, what the hell? It repeats what he's saying. So you're like, oh, it's processing, it's here. But the second time I watch that scene again, and the laugh kind of turns into maybe it starts off that way, but it doesn't it sounds like it's honestly it doesn't even sound like an alien laugh, it sounds like a human laugh, but not Billy's towards you. It's like ha ha ha. I don't know, man.
SPEAKER_00I was like, interesting.
SPEAKER_02Okay, like, is it because it doesn't have the mask on anymore? It doesn't sound quite as I I don't know, but I wish they would have just made it absolutely certain for us that that was Billy's laugh.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it definitely starts off that way.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I thought so too, but then it gets kind of high pitchy, and I'm like, well, that doesn't exactly fit. So, but still, I mean it's still cool, and it is the 80s, so things are gonna be a little corny because also why why is the predator showing respect and then cracking up?
SPEAKER_01No, well, he's laughing because he's about to kill him anyway. He's like, I'm gonna kill you anyway by blowing us both up, you know. But no, I get it, I get it. I I'd love to do that.
SPEAKER_02The predator has a sense of humor, a human side, a human-style sense of humor.
SPEAKER_01It's just you know, maybe he's the funniest predator on his planet, and he's just that bro.
SPEAKER_02You know what? That's probably why they sent him down to Earth. You know what I mean? He's the bad kid in class, yeah. And by the way, when Arnold starts running, and right as it blows up, and then he jumps, and it kind of like a shadow, just a fucking great visual, man. Yeah, just they did so many things right on this movie, and it's mind-boggling to me. How many things they just said so perfectly that could that could have gone up, they could have done it a million ways, and it just went great, and they just perfect.
SPEAKER_01I mean, it's so many iconic scenes. I mean, it's like, holy shit. Oh, that is from this movie. Holy shit. Um, and then um, and then we go to the chopper, uh, which the helicopter pilot was actually the guy who played Predator. I forget his name now. Oh, that was yeah, McTiernan wanted to give him um a little screen time. Yeah, face roll, yeah, for all his hard work. Um, but dude, when they when they show the the was that a fucking nuke that went off, like did they show like the mushroom cloud? I was like, what the hell was that? Not great special effects. Obviously, it's you know 50 years old or whatever, but um but uh very very cool. Yeah, and then obviously just choppers out, and then and then yeah, like you said earlier, no big to-do, yeah, fade out, movie's over, fuck off, go home.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but also just seeing Arnold just wiped out, and that's exactly what he would have been. It was it was like it was like it was like real, it was like a cool, just a cool ending, not Hollywood cheese ball stuff, like you know, there's because it's you know, it's nice to see the she's okay, but you know, pretty much a downer of a movie, you know. I mean, so to have like a phony romance at the end would have just been like, oh come on, guys.
SPEAKER_01Oh, what have ruined the whole thing, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So you know, I I I was I was glad to see the way they ended it. Um, did you go back and look at the reviews by the way, or read up on any sort of reviews?
SPEAKER_01Um, I did not. I did not check out any reviews afterwards.
SPEAKER_02It was it was mixed reviews when it came out, which uh which I'm I I I guess you'd have to put yourself in the the critic's mind at that time, and maybe they were comparing it to other movies of that time. Uh Gene Sissel said the film was a stale mix of Rambo and Alien commenting, I'm personally tired of seeing a commando armed to the teeth, battling a slimy extraterrestrial creature with a horrendous overbite. Okay, uh, I mean, alien and and predator. They're I mean, let's be honest, there's definitely similarities, but hey, it who cares, you know. Who cares? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Was it awesome? Yes, that's all we care about.
SPEAKER_02Oh, seriously, yeah, and end of critique.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and there's your review. Was it awesome? Fuck yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, after watching it this time, I just expected this thing to be like honestly super well reviewed. I was like, really? Mixed, yeah. I guess in contemporary reviews, they've they've they've um it's been it'd been reviewed, been critiqued much better, you know, as it's going on. But but back then, I was like, really? Uh so anyhow, do you have anything more to add about the story or what went on? Or but what was your favorite quotes? Did you have any?
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah. I mean, yeah, the one um early Jesse Ventura, um, you're bleeding, and he's like, I ain't got time to bleed.
SPEAKER_02She cheese with a capital C oh, you know what I mean.
SPEAKER_01I mean, that was the 80s, just in every not just movies, but just everything, right?
SPEAKER_02But also looking at him, you're like, I believe this guy would actually say something like that in real life. 100%. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. That guy could get away with that. So yep.
SPEAKER_01And then the other one, um, I really like whenever uh Arnold sees the sees him take the the mask off and it's uh the crab, whatever the fuck it is, and he's just like, you're one ugly motherfucker. You know, again, super cheesy. Are you saying that in that moment?
SPEAKER_02Probably not, but um, I remember that line because but he also he didn't oversell it. He didn't bother he just said it kind of to himself, and I thought it was actually really good acting for that. Yeah, I did too, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because it's again, it's yeah, it's like we're we're all thinking the same thing, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, but uh yeah, so there's a lot of good ones, but I'll just stick with those ones.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, 65% on 119 119 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. I that seems insanely low to me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 17 critics. Like, what? Uh audiences polled by cinema score gave the film an average grade of B plus. No, okay, that seems about fair. Which I guess let's get us to our grades unless you have anything else to add, which I don't think I do at this poem.
SPEAKER_01No, I think we covered it. I think we're good.
SPEAKER_02All right, so what do you well it was your movie, so I'll go first, I guess. Uh letter grade. Uh I there's there's a few things it was well, it was like an hour, almost an hour and 50 minutes. Yeah, and there wasn't really hardly any moment when I was looking at my watch. I mean, I was engrossed. However, I think they could have trimmed a little bit off this. It just we there was a couple times you're like, I got the picture, man. Let's, you know, because there was also much time blowing up, you know, just so they could show all the special effects, blowing up, you know, that that village, and then so such little time given to each individual death of the actual guys. Yeah, yeah. That that especially, like I said, Billy, that was a huge disappointment that they didn't because he, like you said, he was my favorite character, other than Arnold. I was just I was just enamored with that guy. I thought his character was so interesting and it was going somewhere, leading somewhere, and that was just such a cop-out ending. But at the end of this movie, I just go, I'm gonna be watching this for the rest of my life on a periodic. I mean, it was just so enjoyable. Yeah, and the the effects, the sound effect mixed with the visual effects were so perfect. Uh, it and I just this over CGI any day of the week. Yeah, uh, I I'm gonna just give this a solid A, man.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I love it. I mean, you basically nailed all the things that I was gonna say that like the disappointing deaths, like surprisingly, or really kind of agitating. It's like, ah, dude, you've done a such a great job of building these these men up, and like, oh my god, they're and then it's just like, oh, like so people getting killed off screen, and you know, like I get it. You know, the original story idea was just Schwarzenegger vs. Predator in the jungle. There was no team, and I think it was Schwarzenegger's I think it was Schwarzenegger's idea, like, uh no, let's you know, we gotta what are we gonna do this for two hours?
SPEAKER_02Like, come on, um which does make sense, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, um, but yeah, overall, I mean it's so iconic. I would argue this is top three action movie of all time. Um, certainly top five for me personally. Um, maybe top three. I'd have to go through and really, really look.
SPEAKER_02I'm not saying I can disagree, man.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I mean it's an absolute A for me. I was like even trying to find like, is there like because I didn't seen it in so long, and I was like, all right, is this gonna hold up? Is this as great as I really remember?
SPEAKER_02That's exactly how I went in thinking, going, okay, let's see if you know. Yeah, it was better than I thought.
SPEAKER_01Dude, yeah, blown away. So yeah, absolute A for me. Um, um, I think it was also a great first 80s movie. Not a lot of people probably uh picking Predator for their first 80s movie, but uh I'm glad we did. I'm glad we did.
SPEAKER_02This is uh thoroughly like you said, you can nitpick here. I can say, Oh, I could they could have caught 10 minutes at the end of the movie. I go, that was awesome. That's my review. That's really my review. I enjoyed that entire experience.
SPEAKER_01Yes, would definitely watch again for sure.
SPEAKER_02Yep, yep. That the cast was perfect. That director just man, so many scenes. I was going, they're in the jungle. How is he filming this? This looks fantastic. I mean, just yeah, that pan up the tree, just such you know, the the waterfall, jumping down the waterfall, sort of in slow motion, everything worked, everything worked.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I agree, man. Absolute A for me. Um, and and top certainly top five favorite action movie, maybe higher.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, all right. Well, perfect. So we got that. Uh, I guess before we get out of here, I guess it's my turn. This is the by the way, this is the end of season one. So we started this podcast off as a little hobby for ourselves, and here we are a year later. So thanks for listening. If you're out there, a century movies podcast. Now it's my turn to choose a movie for our next month, and nothing to do with Dracula or Predator or Monsters. I am gonna go with, and I'll be interested to see if you've ever seen this movie. I'm sure you've heard of it, but Bad News Bears. Oh the original bad news bears.
SPEAKER_00Um, to be honest, I don't know if I've seen it or if I've just seen so many clips. That's what I feel like.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I don't, I don't know. And if I have, I certainly don't remember it. So we'll just say kind of what I thought.
SPEAKER_02I think 1976, I think it was. Yeah, all right. Well, cool. Bad news bears then, completely shift gears.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02All right, man.
SPEAKER_01Well, first sports movie. Yeah, that'll be good.
SPEAKER_02Oh, that's true. That's right. First sports movie. Uh, please like, subscribe, tell your friends a Century Movies podcast. We try to do one pretty much every month on the dot with our travel schedule. Sometimes we're off by a day or two, but here we are, one year later. Uh, Chris Waddle, do you have anything else to say?
SPEAKER_01Otherwise, yeah, been a hell of a year. Looking forward to uh to the next season, man. It's been fun.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. All right, till next time. Goodbye.