Harrison Ford & Treat Williams Terrorism/Disaster Movie Pack

[00:00:00] This podcast is a production of Unfiltered Studios. If you would like to know more about joining Unfiltered Studios, please visit our website at unfpod.com for more information. What is the riskiest position you put yourself in? This. Right here. What's the risk of doing that? I don't know. I just don't. You recognize that I'm not especially comfortable with it.

[00:00:25] I don't feel, you know, the risk is that you'll be asked things that you don't want to deal with. You mean personal? Yeah. I don't like doing personal publicity. I am by nature a private person and also I don't think it has any practical value. I think you become either, you become an object of fashion which then is replaced by another object of fashion.

[00:00:50] You're in and out of fashion. If you are, if you're a celebrity, that's what happens to you. Why not let people know who Harrison Ford is? I mean, I think of polls that were done a couple of years ago. I think people did a poll and nobody, very few people knew who you were despite the fact that you've been in the business 20 years. And directors have been asked to list the 10 top dramatic actors very often don't put your name down.

[00:01:20] Are you trying to make me feel good? No, I'm saying those are facts that you know. You know, maybe the fact that you've stayed away from all that kind of publicity has hurt you. Is that possible? Do I look hurt? No, I'm perfectly satisfied with the way things have gone.

[00:01:41] Some people have compared you to some of the stars like Humphrey Bogart. Do you see any of that? You don't see it at all? They've compared me to everybody but Dorothy L'Amour. Well, you're used to playing heroes. No, I'm not used to playing heroes. I'm used to playing characters and if they happen to behave heroically, you can't play a hero. A hero is a guy with a cape, you know.

[00:02:08] But what's interesting is to see a person that's ordinary behave in heroic way. Well, when I think of somebody like Han Solo or even Indiana Jones, you ask the average person what those characters are, I think they'd say they were heroes. Yeah, but those are only two characters, Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Right. Out of a range of what, 14 or 15 that I've played. So I don't feel that I'm stuck in a position of playing heroes.

[00:02:37] The image of you on the screen, I think, that a lot of people have is that you play tough guys, really tough guys who actually have very soft hearts. Well, if that's the image, I mean, sure. Fair enough to say that that's the image that I have. But I also want to go out of my way not to do the same thing over and over again. So, I mean, I have some stake in believing that I've been successful in that.

[00:03:03] Why then do you think the public has the impression that you keep playing very similar characters? Do you want me to give the money back? I mean, what are you... No, no, I... You're saying that I failed in my job. No, I'm not. What would you suggest that I do? Give the money back? I'm not saying you failed in your job. I'm saying maybe the characters are similar. I've played a lot of different kinds of characters. The fact that I'm not as well known for the ones that are less successful commercially doesn't surprise me.

[00:03:32] I shouldn't think that it should surprise you. What didn't you like about Ally Fox, your performance? No, I mean, you know, it's just not... It's just not done to criticize your hero and work that way, is it? I mean, I'm not about to do it. When it's a flop, Harrison, do you blame yourself? The hope is predominantly for its artistic success, not its commercial success. I mean that sincerely.

[00:03:57] I mean, I'm insulated enough by the films that I have done that are successful. Not to really care that much about that. I know you don't want to talk about your personal life and I haven't asked you anything, but... Everything you've asked me has been personal. That's not true! I want... Everybody wants... I mean, people like you, Harrison. People want to know something about you. Well, we'll put an end to that.

[00:04:26] I want to read a quote from you. It says, I'm probably impossible for me to live with. I get along much better with other people than I do with myself. I do not consider myself fun at a party. I don't know what you mean. I meant to indicate that I'm in conflict with myself on a regular basis. That I have long talks with myself about what I'm doing and how I'm reacting.

[00:04:52] And I think that's common to most people, isn't it? Well, yeah, you're not talking out loud when you have any talk. No, no, no. Not in the back of buses sort of talking to myself. Well, then I think it's probably common. Yeah, yeah. Right. If you don't actually carry shopping bags, I think it's alright. What's the conflict that's going on in your head all the time? Well, I don't know that it's anybody's business. That's why I don't talk out loud about it. I'm talking to myself. Leave me a little privacy here.

[00:05:22] How about one thing? One personal thing that people will leave the interview and they'll go, Isn't that nice that I learned that? One thing. Ask me a question. One free question. One free question that you'll answer? A specific question. I'll give you an answer. Shoot. See? No, the pressure's going on. Now let's give it much dead time for you. And I'll just look at you like I'm an interviewer.

[00:05:48] You say that you're not like any of your characters on the one hand, yet there's a part of you in each one of them. If I look at those characters, which parts of them can I pull out that reflect you? American graffiti, I think, you know, there's a bit of smart ass in me. And I think that that's the smart ass. Star Wars Han Solo is a cynical kind of guy with a heart of gold, if you will.

[00:06:18] There's a little of that in me. The character in Hanover Street, I played a real romantic. And there's a touch of that in me. The Frisco kid was basically a person that couldn't turn somebody down. He's a guy who just wasn't too smart, but was generous of heart. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Is that sort of like you? Not too smart, but generous of heart? Well, then you did it. No, I'm just taking notes here.

[00:06:49] Let's just stick with the generous of heart part. Okay. Okay. Raiders of the Lost Ark. One thing that I think that was most prominent in the character of Indiana Jones was his tenaciousness. His unwillingness to give up. And I am tenacious. Witness, he's again a sentimental person who wants very much to be a part of life, a part of a community. But he's an outsider, a loner, as cops often feel themselves.

[00:07:21] And that brings us... Are you part loner? Yep. Are you saying that? Yep. And then the last one is Mosquito Coast. He's so fraught with contradiction that his mental balance is questionable. So I'll take a little tiny touch of... Of... Not mental unbalance, but... Um...

[00:07:51] There's sort of a... A constant gnashing of the psychological gears. Well, I would say if you take away the part where he goes crazy, you certainly appear to be a man of contradiction. I can live with that. Hello all, hello all. Hello all. So once again, we're going in another actor retrospect special. And in this case, you know, it's for Star Wars themed week. So, you know, gotta do something to appease everybody.

[00:08:19] And in that case, just... I decided to take, again, stuff to exclusively record for this, as well as stuff from the archives. So, if you hear some going back and forth, no need to adjust your speakers. We're going... I'm taking you through various chats, all re-edited exclusively for this. So... And once again, enjoy the rest of this Star Wars themed week.

[00:08:43] Lo and behold, we gotta do another tribute to some Harrison Ford terrorism and disaster themed movies. As well as some of them that feature Treat Williams, who's basically... Was the go-to actor for a while where... Much like Dennis Quaid, if Harrison Ford passed on it, you give it to him. It's a similar kind of everyday, beloved, leading actor. Coincidentally enough, Treat Williams was an extra on Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back.

[00:09:13] And so I was like, yeah, it's only appropriate. They're in a lot of each other's movies. So, yeah, we're gonna give some reviews for Air Force One, The Devil's Own, Deep Rising, Critical Mass, and Crash Point Zero. Enjoy. But, yeah, if you hear us going back and forth, no need to adjust your speakers. That is deliberate. We are taking you through various chats, just giving... Spending a reasonable amount of time on each movie reviewed tonight. So, enjoy.

[00:09:41] There's plenty of laughs to be had. As well as some fun, serious comments. And other commentary relating to how these Hollywood blockbusters were made back in this timeframe. So, enjoy.

[00:09:53] A lot of people we've really covered where they mostly had a pretty straightforward, pretty cool resume.

[00:10:46] He, what blunders he's had have either gone on to be unintentionally funny or just not so bad that they just literally destroy him for the rest of the decade, you know? That's true. Like in the 90s, he fortunately again, yeah, he had Fugitive. He had a few other lesser seen movies that like Devil's Own where you got to play opposite Brad Pitt and Random Hearts. But like, those kind of make up for, you know, six days, seven nights. And what lies beneath.

[00:11:16] Yeah, and what lies beneath. So there you go. It's like... All right, welcome all. So once again, when we do a themed month, we love just diving into the actors and other talents who make it what it is. And the other ones in this case is like, yeah, we're not going to talk just about Star Wars. We're also going to talk about the talents, other work and just come up with a theme.

[00:11:39] So for this one, it was like, yeah, let's have two Star Wars actors, you know, as well as people who've kind of been offered each other's roles. You know, in this case, Treat Williams and Harrison Ford. And yeah, they coincidentally are both in the Devil's Own. Treat plays a weapons dealer and purchaser who's trying to buy bombs from Brad Pitt's IRA terrorist.

[00:12:08] And I know everyone's mixed on this and everything, but you can't convince me otherwise. This is one of Harrison's top 10 roles. He is against just so much pressure and he gave it his all considering how the script kept going for changes. And both he and lead star Pitt were just really angry with the producers and almost tempted to disown the movie.

[00:12:33] But he has since recanted that statement and more recent interviews. But it's just wild how, you know, this movie could have been way much worser. But I think Alan J. Pacula, who's, you know, you know, from other fillers like all the presidents, man, you know, absolute classic presumed innocent. He'd already worked with Ford on and he's done the Pelican brief. So he's still in filler territory and this is his final movie.

[00:13:03] I think it's well shot. I think it's dramatically rewarding. I also like how it's a lighter are. It's not our because it's trying to be ours. Just it got that because it was a little intense and a few segments and some brief language discourse. I love when Harrison goes up to the one other. Another culprit who knows where Brad Pitt's terrorist character might be is like, I don't give a shit if you did it or not. I just want to know where he is. I'm like, that's classic Harrison.

[00:13:33] That's as classic as it gets. But I do agree with others. It does kind of try to follow the grit of a Sidney LeMay, LeMet crime film like Serpico, especially with how Harrison's character is on a crappy police force and totally anti-violence, you know, unless absolutely necessary. But despite not giving much motivation for Brad Pitt's terrorist character, I'm OK with that underwritten portion.

[00:14:02] Yes, the accent does stick out when it doesn't need to, but he's at least given his all. He's still in California mode. And those who know, no. We can say we can talk all day about Brad's unfortunately colorful tabloid filled lifestyle, and I would rather not. Let's just talk about what he does in the movie, which is pretty solid. Would Gabe it as all? Would I like a different actor in the movie? Sure.

[00:14:28] But I love these kinds of movies where two famous actors faced off against each other. And I just dug that whole betrayal, you know, and remember, this was before other similar movies like Prisoners and Arlington Road. But I dug that whole just kind of, you know, he poses as a foreign exchange student and just got to stay with him. And he actually struck up a friendship and then having that betrayal. And I like how the wife and kid are out of the picture.

[00:14:57] They're not used as ransom. There's Fred of violence at first, but I just like how it's just kind of just. It's been compared to Westerns. The director Paculous said he was inspired by Red River. That's honestly the best way to say state it just two unofficial brothers. You know, one who has some Irish heritage, you know, here in the state and the other who's from, you know, the infamous.

[00:15:26] Troubles and who's come to America to just continue the reign of terror for his own and a good supporting role by Natasha McElhone. You know, she's already been in similar stuff like. At this point, like she's in Ronan a year later, and you would know her also from Truman Show and Solaris and Designated Survivor, but pretty good role for. And let's continue on with the rest of the lectures. It's not a dud.

[00:15:56] I know my pal John does not like it. I think everyone should give it one more go. It might be even more fun when you look at it from a psychological perspective. All right, on to the next one. Harrison Ford. That sounds like a presidential name to Harrison Ford. Because I saw you in the cop. Here you are in George magazine as Abraham Lincoln. Yeah. Good shot. You make a good uncanny resemblance.

[00:16:26] That was their idea. Because you know, he was considered one of our most unattractive presidents. So I think I must say it's a... Yeah. Let's talk about the movie. We'll talk about the movie. Yeah, let's talk about the movie. We'll talk about the movie. Do we need to describe anything? Do the people sort of get the idea? Well, I think so. You know, the president finds himself in a ticklish situation.

[00:16:49] He goes to Moscow to be congratulated for America's part in capturing a general who's trying to unseat the elected government of the new Republic of Kazakhstan. And he makes this statement about not dealing with terrorists. First of all, he takes blame for not having intervened quicker.

[00:17:15] He says that while 200,000 people died, we watched it on TV. It's much like this show. Right. And he says... He vows never to let that happen again. He said he never will allow American foreign policy to be dictated by political constituency. And he makes a very firm pledge that he won't deal with terrorists.

[00:17:41] And then he goes and gets on his plane, and sure enough, his plane is captured by the same terrorists. Because it seems inconceivable to people to think... Because if you haven't seen the movie, you see the edge of the plane. Well, how could the president's plane be hijacked? But actually, when you see the film, it's quite believable. Yeah, I think it all hangs together very well. One of the things that's best about this film is that it does feel like a real situation. I'm really pleased with the film, and I think it's great entertainment.

[00:18:09] But there's a fantasy element to it. I mean, the president takes things into his own hands. It's all covered. The president has a military background, and he runs out of options, and pretty soon he's... But people like to see that, though. That's what I mentioned earlier. People do like to see a hero. Because as I said, you've had the murderer in the White House, the president's killing a hooker in the White House. I mean, these movies do okay, but I think ultimately people want to see, you know, the leader of the country be a hero.

[00:18:37] Well, I think they want to see a guy with determination, with some moral point of view, with something to offer. And I think they're... prevail against difficult circumstances. Now, President Clinton, did he give you a tour of the actual Air Force One? Not himself. No. He was kind of busy that day, so... Oh, yeah. He apologized. But, uh... No, we did. I ran into the... I ran into the president. You don't run into the president. You just bumped into him down at the...

[00:19:05] I was invited to a birthday party for the president in Jackson, Wyoming, and he was seated there with Glenn Close, who I wanted to be the vice president, and turned out to be our vice president in the film. So I went over and I asked the president if we could get a tour of Air Force One, which he very kindly consented to arrange. And I asked Glenn if she would be my vice president. And, uh... Well, see, I like that part of it. I like the fact that she was vice president, that's it. Rather than explain why the woman is vice...

[00:19:35] Yeah. You just, here's the vice president, and you go from there. And a great vice president she made. Now, let me ask you about Air Force One. Is it like... Yeah. Like a big heart-shaped bed? I mean, what is it like on the... I mean, you just... Mirror on the ceiling? Mirror on the ceiling, yeah. Like Vegas, you got the lava lamps doing this and all that. Did you see the private... Is there a private bedroom on Air Force One? Yeah. Yeah, there's a state room. It's not especially luxurious, you know. It's not... But it's very well appointed. It's very nicely made, put together.

[00:20:06] It's got an incredibly sophisticated communications network so that the business of government can be conducted from anywhere. The... It looks much like what we built. Yeah. But you can't, you know, you can't go to the library and get a floor plan of Air Force One. No, no. So it was really important for us to be able to see it. But it's a huge plane, isn't it? It is kind of interesting though, as an activist, he's pretty quiet as...

[00:20:34] He's kind of softly smoking about politics and everything, let alone about kind of social stuff. So it is kind of interesting how he eventually just played a president who's kind of like part John McCain, part Bill Clinton or something. But it's just weird, a weird mixture. Very true. Diffusing all these Russian criminals and everything.

[00:20:57] I remember seeing various trivia over the years how like Gary Oldman found him a great actor to work with and yet at the same time was just like, Harrison, I don't actually want to go all method acting and like actually hit you with the prop gun. And he's like, no, it's all good. We got to sell it. So I guess you could say that tells me that he's basically has kind of a go getter attitude. Yeah.

[00:21:20] And I think that's why, I mean, just even seeing him in various other interviews, working with various people, he just, I guess, you just never really got as much of a prima donna like attitude from him as you do some of these other guys where it's like, oh, I would hate to have to cater and bring food to their trailer. Right, right, right. Mostly just avoided being the over exerting sequel guy, I guess.

[00:21:47] I mean, I don't even find him too bad in some of those Star Wars recent movies, I guess you could say, because I mean, he just, he really just has like three different emotions. He has just kind of silent breakdown, he has, you know, snarky amusement, amusing board, and then he has, you know, intense, you know, running around, you know, action mode. Mm hmm.

[00:22:14] I guess you could also say he's one of the many actors he was always amusing to see in blooper reels. Yep. I guess, I guess the only regret is you didn't see more of it. This is wild. Yeah, you would think some of his movies, he there'd be at least like a Air Force One, like blooper reel. Yes. I would love to see that. Yes. Throwing a detonator at someone.

[00:22:44] Okay, continuing the Harrison Ford and Treat Williams movies. Let's go with a movie that was meant for Harrison, but he passed on after being unimpressed by the script. And it was a Treat Williams film. So, again, Treat has done all kinds of stuff. Rest in peace. Dead Heat. The Eagle has landed. Duds, like 1941. But hey, he was in Hair. It was Foreman's take on that beloved musical. So, I've always dug him as a B-movie actor.

[00:23:14] You know, people have joked about him for years. Like, yeah, that's the guy who's the dad on Everwood. But yeah, he's Kelly's dad on Chicago Fire. That was kind of his last big, big Jermaine role. And he's done some utter stuff. And I just always knew him as, yeah, he's an established character actor. And he's in stuff like Deep Rising. And then he's in the Substitute movies. But I knew he had a pretty just action-packed and mystery career.

[00:23:43] Thanks to doing Denver when you're dead, he's fantastic. And as the Unstable War vet, he's part of a heist. But he always gives it his all. And he has definitely missed. But yeah, this is one of his top favorite movies. Because it was kind of one of his last big mainstream films before he kind of resorted to TV and B-movies. But yeah, it gets the job done. It's not perfect.

[00:24:11] I've always been meh and iffy on it in the past. I just always knew it as, yeah, it was a diehard on a boat type movie with some aliens and predator type marines. The all-star cast is pretty good. When I look back at it now, the final plot twist by the villain, who you actually don't know is a villain at the time, isn't actually half bad. I kind of like that kind of career criminal kind of thinking and thought that was put into it for the scripts.

[00:24:39] And I don't know what really happened to Stephen Summers. He just kind of stopped doing as many big movies. But this is kind of one of his bigger ones. He's already done a remake of The Jungle Book with Jason Scott Lane, Sam Neill at this point. And this is probably where he first really just, you know, took over the box office and home video market and then did the first two mummies. And after that, he just kind of said bye-bye to Hollywood. But yeah, I think this is the blueprint for The Mummy.

[00:25:08] I think it's way more enjoyable, though, when you see his later movies and then you come back to this one. And it's a little overlong, but there is some solid, fully editing and just moody lighting. It's a bit of a style over substance movie. But as you heard in the clip earlier from John, he swears by this and many podcasters do. And I can totally understand. It gets the job done. Has an all-star cast. It's great.

[00:25:37] Even though the CGI is outdated, it tells the story. There's some solid pyrotechnics. And Famke Jansen gets to play a strong role. So there's that. So check it out, Kang, if you haven't already. Chances are your dad or your uncle probably owns this movie. And get them the Blu-ray for Christmas. That might be a good idea. I know Austin has to defend us, but I want to keep defending this one. And I talked about it on here before when we did our creature episode.

[00:26:04] But Deep Rising is one I've always defended to this day. Just adore that movie so much. And the thing that people don't realize about that is that it's very tongue-in-cheek. I don't think people grasp that at all. They think it's entirely serious. Trust me, I've met people like this. Like, they think it's incredibly serious. No, it's not. It's really not. It's baffling.

[00:26:30] I try to introduce somebody to this and they take it extremely seriously. I'm like, no. It's a tongue-in-cheek movie. I mean, especially with Treat Williams' character. I mean, come on now. Has Han Solo type of character, which is ironic since Harrison Ford was supposed to play that role. Jeez. It was playing a bigger budget. Yep. But he didn't want to do it, so. More people would have seen it, probably. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, some of the CG is dated. But you know what?

[00:26:59] I can deal with that more than some. That was from the 90s. It's just fun. That's what I always loved about that. I mean, not only with the cast, but also, I mean, Jared Goldsmith's score, which I always go back to and listen to all the time. And I don't know what else I can say about that. Although, I will say, the poster that they released for that is terrible. Which is the one with the woman on the cover. Oh, yeah. The posters are bad. I'm like, the DVD cover is much better.

[00:27:29] That should have been a poster, honestly. But didn't want to bother. Jeez. And plus, releasing it in January was also a dumb idea. That should have been a solid movie, to be honest. Just, that's just baffling. So, closing thoughts on Deep Rising. How does it handle, you know, it's been called all kinds of things. Like a Sierra Madre, Indiana Jones movie, Alien and Die Hard movie. It's a creature feature.

[00:27:57] It's, I actually don't mind the final plot twist as to the main bad guy pulling the strings. But it's basically just a claustrophobic, easy come, easy go movie. And it is still, keeps finding an audience. I know people who hate CGI-ridden blockbusters who love it. I don't think Kevin J. O'Connor is as well used here. But it's so much fun to seeing him be a recurring face. In the Mummy director's later movies.

[00:28:26] That's true. Although, like I said, this is one that I wish did better. Because... Freaking Disney produced this. Which is so weird to think about now. Considering what they've become. But... We have such a terrific cast involved. Yep. And... I mean, it's just... Like, I'm sorry. It's just so much fucking fun.

[00:28:57] Particularly... Treat Williams in this. We just don't want to get introduced to him, actually. At the time. Yeah. It was weird. Like, I would see this on cable TV. And growing up, like, is that the same guy who's in all those Hallmark movies? And who was in Hair? And he's now the substitute? He's blurring that line between working character actor and B-movie guy. I love him. Yeah, no. He's got... Rest in peace. Yeah, definitely.

[00:29:27] The funny part is when you know about trivia for this, is that Harrison Ford was originally supposed to play that character. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And... Treat Williams is unfortunately kind of... In that category or was. Kind of like Dennis Quaid and Scott Bakula. He's kind of the discount Harrison Ford. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just that's who we got. The similar kind of sarcastic, heroic characters. But he does it so well. That's why.

[00:29:57] Yeah. He always gets it. And I don't ever have anything bad to say about Famke Janssen. And she is always on. She is always intense. So... He also got a score too by Jerry Goldsmith. It is very playful. Kind of like his Planet of the Apes movies and some of his other... Not really as much like his noir-ish films. But he still kind of loves to have his trumpets come in and go... Just be working overtime.

[00:30:25] Boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop. Yeah. Like with CG. Like... I'm actually different to... At least some films that I need with the CG. But this to me actually... Still holds up to this day for the most part. It uses it minusculely. There's still some other creature stuff. Or just... They kind of do a Star Trek where sometimes they'll just... Mildly tip the camera over and the actors go in that direction. Or just... You see something...

[00:30:54] The wall cave in. And that leaves it to your imagination. And it's like... Oh, someone just got stumped by the monster. And... Definitely one of the earliest movies for Juman Hanzhou. And you're like... What? Who? I should have been watching this... You know, so many years ago. Going... Is that him? Oh my god. He just... He went from being a... Escaped slave in Amistad to... A pirate? What?

[00:31:24] Yeah. Yep, yep. He's good. West Studi. We see him be a bad guy for once. You're like... You're the... Crooked Merc leader? Wow. Okay. Yeah. I mean, he was technically bad. But he was a more nuanced villain in Mohican. So it's interesting. He's like... Here we're not seeing him be a hippie or a cop or a Navajo. And now this time we're just flat out just seeing him be... I'm bad. Like he's basically evil Hicks from Alien.

[00:31:55] Pretty much. Yeah. I think it could have probably... I don't think it would have actually done any better had it come outside the 90s. Because the 90s were just kind of... Playing around with formulas that already worked. So, I mean... Now when I see a movie that's... Doing a throwback, very rarely do I get anything that's like a different side of the coin. It's just kind of like, hey, let's take that shot from Night of the Living Dead or Alien again.

[00:32:24] Then I'm like, please don't. I just think if it had a better poster, it would have helped. The poster that did release was pretty bad. Yeah. You mentioned it earlier in the chat. And I was like, yeah, it's looking like a Six Flags Riot. That doesn't look like a movie poster. Yeah. It's sad when the DVD comes actually much better than the poster. Yeah. Right? It was like, let's take literally the final frame of him jumping out on a...

[00:32:55] On a motor speedboat. Yep. Humvees are a lot of... It makes me want to see the movie. It's great. Yeah. And it's also rare to see a hero use it as an escape. Usually I expect Humvees. I think of just pirate characters using that. That's true. Yeah. God. It checks the boxes. It's really fun. It's exactly what I need. That's all he wants. That's all we want.

[00:33:25] All right, gang. We got another Treat Williams film. Again, he's kind of still in deep rising, dead heat mode. He worked a few different times on it, just with all kinds of producers. He's been in some sci-fi channel, straight to HBO, cinemax-type movies for a while. And again, this is when he was going back in between just recurring TV roles. He was like on a doctor show on TNT that lasted one summer.

[00:33:56] And he's had so many great TV guest spots. He's wonderful as that football player who's suffering from memory loss on that Law & Order SVU episode. But I mean, he's always good. He's legit, like always been good. And even when it was just crappy Hallmark stuff, you'll never forget this. The guy who worked with Sidney LeMay on Prince of the City.

[00:34:25] He and Michelle Pfeiffer are terrific in the soapy, otherwise soapy, dead end of the ocean. But he's not bad, ever. He's having fun as the over-the-top campy villain in The Phantom. So he's really good in the stalker film Smooth Talk with Laura Dern. And had recurring stuff on Blue Bloods.

[00:34:49] My uncle, when he used to live with us, would watch that Hallmark miniseries Journey to the Center of the Earth with him quite a lot. So, I mean, he found ways to constantly stay busy. But yeah, so at this time, you know, he's done foreign and Italian stuff and USA Network TV movies. He's in a really good indie film called Skeletons in the Closet with Linda Hamilton around this time.

[00:35:17] And then, you know, he's already remade A Streetcar Named Desire. He's always a reliable actor. He's in the HBO film Flashpoint and the D.B. Cooper mystery film. So, by this point, he's getting into Hallmark Channel territory. Which, hey, you know, whatever you're known for, glad he stayed relevant in some way, shape, or form. But yeah, he starts working with the B movie. He got connoisseurs who are Jim Minorski and Fred Olin-Rey.

[00:35:47] So he does a Killer Snake movie that's a takeoff on Outbreak called Venomous. He pretty much just gives it more levity in between the stock footage. And this was one of them. It is none other than Crash Point Zero, also known as Extreme Limits. And I kid you not, like, this was just on TV a lot back in the 2000s. And it was known for having...

[00:36:16] It's coming out around the same time as bigger movies like Vertical Limit. It has stock footage from Cliffhanger, a movie I'm not crazy about, but I totally understand. And, you know, Jim Minorski, much like, you know, Fred Olin-Rey, he knows how to use a lot of reliable B movie actors. In this case, they're using Susan Blakely and John Beck, who've seen Better Days. Julie St. Clair, and just all these other people.

[00:36:45] But yeah, it's another kind of diehard and cliffhanger type movie. Some special agent, you know, archaeologists who must be rescued. And they're in the Canadian Rockies. But yeah, let's have a wisecracking CIA agent played by Treat Williams. And there's surprisingly some bigger star power. Richard Ryle, who you guys would know from Office Space, who's still working to this day, is in here.

[00:37:15] There's a guy in a suit trying to look like a bear. They do their best. But it is just interesting seeing Jim Minorski for once not do a movie involving killer robots or softcore porn. Instead, he's like, no, I'm going to take stock footage from The Long Kiss Goodnight, the remake of Neuro Margin with Gene Hackman and Ann Archer, and use it where I need to use it. And I have a lot of fun with this one. It's way better than you would actually expect.

[00:37:42] Now, obviously, if you are not tolerable of any B-movie, don't even fucking bother. But Treat keeps it alive. And there's a fun scene at the end where he's telling the one gal to just speed away in the cars. Everything's blown up at the one factory they've been at. And he's like, fucking punch it. And one of the other female stars and Jim Minorski did have a hysterical director's commentary, as was common.

[00:38:10] This was distributed for Fox's home video market. And, of course, you know, just would play on stuff like Spike TV or USA. But it surprisingly got the job done. Steve Blatch has a straightforward plot. He's, again, another B-lister who you'll see listed for various Andrew Stevens or Dolph Lundgren movies. But it got to the point and it gave me what you need for this kind of thing.

[00:38:37] But, yeah, Jim Minorski makes it a habit, especially for his fans, to always have different commentaries. And sometimes he's self-deprecating. This one, you know, he's already done, among other stock footage written movies. So he's making a name for himself on that. But it's surprisingly reasonable, well shot. And if you just want to see a bunch of friends making their own just easygoing spy adventure film, just have fun with it.

[00:39:09] And it got to the point. Now, at the end of this, yeah, for this final part of the disaster movies, I'm going to go with Critical Mass. Now, this one. Oh, boy, this is stinking hot garbage. I think Jim Minorski would have done a way better job, which says a lot for a guy known for making schlock, than what Fred Olin Ray did here. He is so bored with this outing.

[00:39:33] It's just, even though their names are both on it, he's the one in the chair and he's writing it. It's just a very unengaging. Again, yet another just disaster film, you know, Towering Inferno, Die Hard, Dog Day Afternoon, whatever you want to call it. It's got a huge cast and I constantly see this playing on just HBO or Showtime.

[00:40:02] It's not a good movie. This is by Sean McGinley, who's done some reasonable indie films like Two Days and The Great Buck Howard. But again, he used to write for Roger Corman and Andrew Stevens, so he made a name for himself. Just, you know, often writing psycho thrillers or softcore porn for Lifetime and Cinemax.

[00:40:25] And this is yet another just direct-to-video action film by, for Andrew Stevens' production company. Lionsgate produces it and releases it. It got, like, maybe a mild theatrical release in Argentina. But yeah, at this point, Jim has produced it and provided the stock footage and it's everything. The bus chase from Universal Soldiers in here at the very end.

[00:40:57] But this is my problem. Like, Jim really has a lot of fun and will change up or digitally alter stuff with his stock footage. And at least just kind of have a little fun from it. Like, it'll be from lesser-known movies like Delta Force 2 or another Canon Films piece of shit. In this case, it's the opening of Terminator 2. There's no getting around that. But everyone knows that movie frame by frame. And we have Udu Kerr as the main evil scientist.

[00:41:25] We never know why he wants to take over a nuclear power plant. We don't know how Treat Williams became an off-duty security guard. We don't know why other reliable people are in this movie. We got Andrew Pryne as the senator. We got Lori Loughlin, you know, fresh off sitcom territories and doing serious stuff. We got TJ Thine as a likable hacker guy. You know, he'd already... This is years before he's Jack on Bones. And then we have other guys.

[00:41:54] Speaking of Jack, we got another stage actor, Jack Betts. So you guys would know from various... You know, he's been in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man. And you've seen him do soap opera stuff. He was a very comedic guy behind the scenes. But you would probably know him from some other bit parts in Joel Schumacher's films. But yeah, we got even Blake Clark, who's a stand-up comedian and actor.

[00:42:19] Who you would know from just taking over the voice over Roll Up Slinky Dog and the Toy Story films. And various Adam Sandler films like The Waterboy. Anyway, he's fine. He's always got that kind of southern twang. So he's perfect for playing what he's basically playing here. A sheriff friend. But yeah, you know, Fred, I never know.

[00:42:45] And I've seen people joke before that we don't really know just what he's in for. Because depending on the movie, he likes to go for camp. And then there's other times where it just seems like he's just trying to get it done way too fast and doesn't give a fuck. And you just never know. Because he gives different stories. You know, sometimes say, yeah, I got people who are past their prime being divas on my set. And other times he's like, yeah, I had fun.

[00:43:14] We shared wrestling and boobs. What else do you want? And then other times he's like, I hate doing these movies. The monster effects aren't where they need to be. Or I have to tell the actress to take your clothes off. It's like, you know what you signed up for, dude. I think he just likes to just cause drama or be chaotic for the sake of chaos.

[00:43:37] But yeah, despite the giant reasonable cast of long-time movie and TV actors in this, this fucking sucks. And I've seen some people say it's not half bad. No, it is absolute garbage. It, I love me a good B movie. There's plenty of movies that are rated a 2 to 4 out of 10 IMDb that are easily engaging. But this is not one of them. Not at all.

[00:44:05] It, very unconvincing stunt double for Treat when he's fighting some of the terrorists. Just callous. Everybody who even has a remote, like, they're all underdeveloped. But just as they're trying to make them be likable, like they just get killed. And it's just like, come on. I'm trying to root for somebody. And it just felt like Fred is so busy trying to get to the end of the tunnel that he can't bother to actually just make anything interesting. He's too busy getting it done.

[00:44:35] And unfortunately, the production just so apparently just shows in this one. And all the henchmen are forgettables. You know, they're all like uncredited and just played by stuntmen. But yeah, I just... And the more they show the stock footage for like longer periods of time, the more it gets very dull. And you're just flipping off every frame of the movie saying, fuck you. And I don't think he even did a commentary for this one.

[00:45:04] So that shows you how quickly he wanted to just get it out there. But despite some okay camera work by Theo Angel, it just does not merit anything. And Udo Kerr is no stranger to B-movies either. But yeah, they give his villain just nothing. Like, I guess the best thing I can say is at least he's not a rapist or genocider. But yeah, we don't even know what he wants to do once he gets to the factory. Who he's exchanging it with.

[00:45:34] It's just callous violence. It's like Fred Olin Ray went complete Michael Bay. And that is not a good thing. And on a budget. So yeah, avoid, avoid, avoid. But thanks for listening to these fun just get-togethers. And we love your treat. We miss you. And Harrison, you're a legend. Now let's continue on with the rest of the Star Wars-themed actors. Breakdowns. Till then, enjoy.

[00:46:02] We'll return after these messages. on Mondays.

[00:46:31] Then catch the Encore on Thursdays at 5 p.m. Central Time, 6 p.m. Eastern. Then catch it Wednesday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern Time, 10 a.m. Central, 1077 K-Twins. Then hang out with us Wednesday afternoons on MXTR and House Shack Radio, 3 p.m. Eastern Time.

[00:46:52] Then Thursday, get up bright and early with us on 95.7 Web Radio at 6 a.m. Pacific Time, 9 a.m. Eastern Time. And of course, we've got your Friday covered as well. 12 p.m. Eastern Time on MXTR FM and 10 p.m. Eastern Time, 9 p.m. Central, 1077 K-Twins. Find everything on HouseShack.com. HouseShack.

[00:47:22] If you like small-town mystery, crazy news, and wild history, then the Florida Men on Florida Man podcast is for you. Each week, Josh Mills and Wayne McCarty bring you the absolute best Florida has to offer. So if you're looking for a show that's safe for the family but funny enough to help you escape everyday life, then listen to the Florida Men on Florida Man podcast. That's Florida Men, plural, on Florida Man podcast.

[00:47:49] Do you ever find yourself thinking about who would win in a fight between Goku and Superman? Hi, I'm James Gavsey, and on the Who Would Win Show, me and my co-host Ray ignore anything important happening in the outside world and debate fictional battles between characters from comics, movies, and video games. We got a new show every week, and almost always am I the winner. Yeah, not true, Ray. In the past, we've discussed such matches as Captain America vs. Darth Vader, Solid Snake vs. The Iron Giant,

[00:48:15] classic matchups like RoboCop vs. Terminator, and even The Muppets vs. Sesame Street. That one was crazy. So if you're a fan of geek culture and love a spirited debate, check out the Who Would Win Show wherever you get your podcasts, or check us out at whowouldwinshow.com.

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[00:49:02] Igam.