Spun (2002)

There are countless films that I had been meaning to watch for a very long time, but I never got around to it. An old friend of mine recommended the film back when he worked at Hollywood Video (a video rental store) and Amazon Prime has it. So for today's film, we are checking out 2002's Spun which was directed by Jonas Åkerlund (Lords Of Chaos) and it stars Jason Schwartzman (Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World) as speed freak Ross who one day decides to visit his dealer who in turn introduces to the man who cooks the stuff and thus begins a crazy three day binge filled wacky adventure that you have to see to believe. The film also stars John Leguizamo (What's The Worst That Could Happen?) as Spider, Mickey Rourke (Buffalo '66) as The Cook, Brittany Murphy (Riding in Cars with Boys) as Nikki, Patrick Fugit (Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant) as Frisbee, Mena Suvari (The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson) as Cookie,  Debbie Harry (Tales From The Darkside) as Neighbor, Rob Halford (Judas Priest) as Porn store clerk, Eric Roberts (The Best Of The Best) as The Man, Peter Stormare (John Wick: Chapter 2) as Mullet Cop, the late Alexis Arquette (Bride Of Chucky) as Moustache Cop, Josh Peck (Drake & Josh) as Fat Boy, and the late Larry Drake (Desert Heat a.k.a. Inferno) as Dr. K.

As soon as you begin watching this film, you can instantly tell who it was directed by especially if you had seen Lords Of Chaos before this film. Jonas applies a lot of the same techniques in both films from the look and feel of it to some of the aesthetics throughout the whole film like the way it's edited and some of the animation that is mixed in with the film. One thing is for sure and that is this is one hell of a ride as you follow Ross and his drug fueled adventures that includes leaving a girl tied up and handcuffed to his bed to his adventures with Nikki and The Cook. I absolutely loved Mickey Rourke in this film because he was just so out there in his look that it actually worked for me like yes that guy could be cooking crank all the time. One thing is for sure and that is that it's hard to just pick one person as an MVP because everyone from Leguizamo to Murphy to Fugit to Scwartzman all did an amazing job in the film because I was convinced they were all speed freak junkies. One of the other things Jonas does well with the film was the choice of who to handle the music for the film (Billy Corgan) and some of the songs that were included in the film like Junkie by Ozzy Osbourne is playing when Brittany dances at the club. This was a really good film that if you want something surreal and different then give this one a watch. I am going to go ahead and give the film an A- for a final grade.

Inferno (1999)

When I was growing up, action films were at an all time high as action stars were being created left and right with guys like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, and so many more. However, my favorite Martial Arts/action star was none other than the "Muscles From Brussels" Jean-Claude Van Damme (Bloodsport) who starred in a ton of films from the late 80's to the early 90's. Much like other action stars, they starred in so many films that it was easy to lose track of some and I have one for you guys today in Inferno which at one time was known as Desert Heat. The film stars Van Damme as Eddie Lomax, a man drifting through the desert with no purpose in life other than dying. All of that changes for him when he is jumped by a local gang that runs a desert town. After being left for dead, Eddie now has a purpose and that is revenge and getting his motorcycle back while also saving the town. The film also stars Pat Morita (The Karate Kid) as Jubal Early,  Danny Trejo (Bubble Boy) as Johnny Sixtoes, Gabrielle Fitzpatrick (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie) as Rhonda, Larry Drake (Darkman) as Ramsey Hogan, Vincent Schiavelli (Fast Times At Ridgemont High) as Mr. Singh, Bill Erwin (Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead) as Eli Hamilton, Jaime Pressly (Joe Dirt) as Dottie Matthews, Kevin West (Bio-Dome) as Vern, Priscilla Pointer (Blue Velvet) as Mrs. Henry Howard, David 'Shark' Fralick (The One) as Matt Hogan, and the film was directed by John G. Avildsen (Rocky).

Now this is definitely not the best Van Damme film I have ever seen, but it wasn't all bad or was it? The villains in the film are kind of uninteresting because the acting was kind of terrible and the action was a little terrible too from them. These were guys in my opinion who didn't belong in the same stratosphere as Van Damme, but they were bad enough that you couldn't wait for Van Damme to kick their ass. I am not so sure how I felt about the comedy in this film because it felt a little too over the top and forced. These people have no idea who Van Damme's character is, but one is falling in love with him (naturally!), one is willing to dump bodies off of a cliff for him, and the other one has given him free reign over the weapons in his shop while a bible thumper is OK with him having a threesome with two girls he just saved. The funny thing too is that there are two gangs who are rivals for a desert town in the middle of nowhere which makes no sense to me. This was also not my favorite Danny Trejo film, but I enjoyed the presence he had in the film even though I could figure out at times if he was alive or dead or an illusion which I believe he was all three at one time or another in the film. So as I said, the film has it all from action, explosions, fights, guns, sex scene, and more so what else could you be possibly looking for? Well, better acting for one, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it too because I like things that land on the cheesy side of life like Pat Morita as a southern man. That is why I am going to give the film an C+ for a final grade.