Monday 28 May 2018

Consider the Reagan, Episode 4 - Die Hard (1988)

Daniel the barefoot American must battle a team of eurotrash terrorists (i.e. Jack and Kit) in order to restore proper US values (but definitely no Japanese ones) in this, the latest in our series of commentaries on the Reganite cinema that shaped a generation or two.

Also, we're joined (briefly) by a very special guest.

Download here.

 


*

Show Notes

Main Topic: Die Hard (1988), with special guest Sharon, Kit's wife. Introductions. Dogme 95. Oscar talk. Has Sharon seen Robocop? Logos. Aspect ratio talk. Daniel gets things wrong. Establishments. White dudes talkin' about race awkwardly. John McTiernan is a creep? Touchscreen technology. Not Bruce Willis and the sequel to Commando. Cocaine. Trumpism metaphor. Sartorial talk. Passage of time. Recommending Wikipedia. Alan Rickman. Heist movie. Character development through action. Kit laughs at Preacher Rickman. Mitt Romney. "I read the article in Forbes." Sympathy for the capitalist. The threat of Japan. Filthy Jack. Playback settings. Genghis Khan tortures Mel Gibson. United Colors of Terrorism. Glasses and handball. Bruce Willis's Voyage of Pain. Manliness and Personal Protective Equipment. No PTSD. Not ripped. Everything is a satire. Rae Dawn Chong reference. Not by the book. Property rights. Miserable. Escalation, literally and figuratively. The black characters live. Doctor Who and Tango and Cash. Confined spaces. Just impossible enough. Air vents. Peter Weir tangent. Official shitkickers. Arnie's not funny. McClaine would have the best Twitter ever. Meeting. Media. Spousal abuse and fashion. McClaine needs a friend. Ready for prime time. Chicken Run reference. "I think we've found Donald Trump in this story." Vast audience. Not a cop, but a Man. Glib Theo, murderer. Is that Viggo the Carpathian? Opening an elevator with a fire axe. Terminator 2 reference. Howie Mandel reference. More cocaine. "I can handle this Eurotrash." Hans Gruber is not the greatest villain. "You know they'll kill you, right?" Ticking all the boxes. Galactica reference, Bane reference. Tucker. Bill O'Reilly hair. Johnson and Johnson, no relation. Robert Davi. Bill Clay and hypercompetence. Pre-VHS editing. Male bondage. Brokeback Mountain reference. Physically versus socially possible. "No, the other one." Sam Harris reference. "You mercilessly accept your wife's career!" Vietnam. Collateral damage. Mythbusters. Aesthetic shift. Cellophane. Al Powell's viagra. Worldbuilding. Lost Daniel. Wrapping Up.

4 comments:

  1. is this the live commentary one or the talking about it after you've seen it one?
    i want to get the movie first if im supposed to watch it while i listen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Consider the Reagan is always live commentary.

    ReplyDelete