Samuel L. Jackson Cop Actioners & Buddy Romps (9 Pack Movie Review)

[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. Hello all, here we are. So, another Star Wars franchise actor who's done plenty of other stuff besides George Lucas' epic franchise and that is Samuel L. Jackson.

[00:00:26] So, we're going to be diving into his police corruption and buddy movies. Plenty of action, plenty of lowbrow comedy. Does he shine even with bad scripts or is he actually doing pretty well? But either way, just mainly just the theme is just movies where he's playing a cop. Sometimes he's the bad cop. We shall see. So yeah, we're gonna go with first off with the spoof.

[00:00:52] National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1, followed by Amos and Andrew. 1998's The Classic, The Negotiator, The Infamous, The Man, The also rather infamous but pretty popular Snakes on a Plane, and the like it or hate it, memorable thanks to him, Lakeview Terrace. So, strap in guys. It's gonna be big. Get the fuck out my face with that shit.

[00:01:19] Did you come across Mr. Mofo Jackson?

[00:02:11] Um, probably my earliest memory with him would have to be Jurassic Park. Okay, perfect. Oh. Yeah, when he was Mr. Arnold. Same thing. Hold on to your butt. Hold on to your butts, unless you're Nia Jax. But anyway, uh... Yep. But, um, actually I also didn't realize until later, I saw him all the time on TV in Loaded Weapon 1. Oh, yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes. Nice.

[00:02:39] And see, that, that was good timing there too, because I mean he really, just like how Spielberg would like produce two movies a year, direct two movies a year, Jackson was like starring in like three to five movies a year, you know, just like Ernie Hudson and just staying relevant. He was definitely one of those actors, I, you know, I just liked his hip energy, you know, he'd be serious in one movie and then he'd be all over the top and a jokester in the next movie.

[00:03:05] You know, much like Danny Trejo and all these other guys, he might not win awards, but he might as well, because he's just a general likable. You know, come to think of it, how was Samuel L. Jackson not in Con Air? Right? That was a part of that too. Ving Rhames and MC Gainey are in it, but he's not in it. So once again, gang, we're just going to get into the thick of it. You know, again, we love Sam Jackson's persona.

[00:03:31] We just will be so sad when he inevitably leaves this world, but he's in such great health. And he looks ageless some days, depending on the movie, but he just always is essentially recognizable where he's wearing a fedora or got the smart guy glasses on and you never know what you're going to get. And sometimes he's bearded, other times he's completely bald and just brings a voice to all sorts of different personas.

[00:04:00] And so, yeah, you're going to hear all plenty of other just stuff from the archives that James, John, Daniel and I were all discussing. And you'll hear some later stuff from Tom and Gil, but Formula 51 and the infamous monster movies next time I'm playing.

[00:04:19] But yeah, I just before we get into some of these other just unique, atypical, unpredictable and even some places comedies from Amos and Andrew, which is basically making about the working class bigotry using a defined ones format to other random indie talkie comedies like the search for one eye Jimmy. And the movie making fun of boxing promoter, Don King, the great white hype and boxing movies in general.

[00:04:48] I got to say, you know, even though we touched on loading weapon briefly is like, yeah, we talked about it even coincidentally in other episodes. You're later going to hear it discussed again in the Sam Jackson episode, not the Sam Jackson, the William Shatner episode special for for the September. But yeah, load weapon is. It's so criminally underrated. I'm surprised it's even known better now. Like it was a national lampoon co-production, but.

[00:05:19] It would not be unwelcome in a Zucker Brothers, you know, airplane or naked gun kind of film. Like again, Emilio Estevez, you know, was fresh off young guns and the Mighty Duck films at this time. And yes, Jackson's star is just about to rise. But this is before he does. Coincidentally, the third diehard. But it's so funny how you do get a John McClane cameo. You get freaking Bruce Willis playing John McClane, whose house keeps getting blown up lethal weapon style. It's like Riggs.

[00:05:49] And yeah, I. There's some. Schlocky elements that are just a result of it being dated and having too much fun making fun of. The different action comedies. It's kind of stupid to even call it an action movie when it's a spoof, but it's also making fun of those movies. So yeah, it's at its best when Jackson and Emilio play off each other and just again played straight face while all the ridiculous dialogue comes up.

[00:06:18] It's unfortunately not going to make the top parody movies. It's not Black Dynamite or Mel Brooks level, but you should still see it. It's basically leftovers and it will entertain a lot of people. It was so wild, though, how for some like music rights issue or some other bullshit, it just wasn't widely available on VHS and took years to get a DVD release. I saw it in college and I did like it, but I was a little let down by parts of it because it felt like Emilio was still in stakeout mode.

[00:06:50] Deep cut for buddy cop for movie fans, but I do like it. OK, and Shatner is amazing as the villain. So for what it feels a little uninspired by, it still is one of the better National Lampoon produced films. And you will remember some of the just wacky moments like they just deliver. I guess my issue is they do it sometimes too well to where kind of takes away from the whole playing it straight. I went to where I wish it was just a little zanier.

[00:07:19] It would have just made the cut, but it's still a slight seven out of 10 for that kind of movie. It, you know, realistically at the time they're giving it like a two out or free. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, it's not that bad. If anything, it would probably be a five or six for most audiences. But for people who really like it, you're going to probably give it a light seven, which be a three and a half out of five on a five star scale.

[00:07:45] But yeah, it got the job done and was pretty solid. It just had some missed opportunities, shall I say. But that's all we'll discuss for now. So on to the next one. I'll say this about another movie that Samuel L. Jackson did that kind of was, uh, man wouldn't fly today. But Amos and Andrew, if anybody remembers that.

[00:08:15] I love that movie. Oh, my God. I thought I put it on the list, but I, lo and behold, I didn't somehow. It was, it was a good, it's a good movie to watch because it's the premise is funny. And the way they handle it is. Yeah. It's so funny. Was in that, that I. Brad, you're a member. Yeah. As a psychologist.

[00:08:45] And here Jackson's playing a established author who, you know, he's in Mississippi at a new house. And everyone's like, oh, he's just another guy who we're going to, you know, light up on the news. He's in Massachusetts. That's what it was. Yes. A new house. And the neighbors think he's breaking in. And then what they do is. So, so to save face, Dami Coleman gets, uh, Nicholas Cage's character.

[00:09:15] He's like his nephew. He's like in prison. Yeah. Says, look, uh, listen, we want you to go into this house and hold this guy hostage. Because it looks like we arrest, we're going to be racist, bigoted assholes. So you're going to go in and they, they developed this like friendly, friendly bond with each other while all this is going on. It's like you say, it's a good, it's a good parody of both the desperate hours and the defiant ones. They did it.

[00:09:42] They were appeared in this two years before they were in kiss of death. And it's just funny because there's not much language, but when there is some profanity, it is pretty funny for a PG 13 movie. It doesn't feel restricted like other nineties movies where they just relied on Jim Carrey or Dana Carvey to carry the whole thing. And I'm drawing blanks, but there's plenty of other people who were, who were playing deputies and it was pretty wild. And there's Sir Mix-a-Lot's Suburbian Nightmare plays in the end credits, which just is icing on the cake.

[00:10:14] It just ends in the most unwacky thing. It's just a wacky satire. And I wish they would make more movies like this. Now, if they did it, it would be probably too heavy handed or just unpleasant. This one was just pretty wild because having it in Massachusetts, you know, just not much has changed. So it's endlessly going to be funny from that point on, but you know, and it keeps it pretty basic. And I've always been inconsistent on whether or not I would call it an action movie, but

[00:10:42] some sites have listed it as action just because of the car chase at the end. That's pretty, that's also in the trailer. Man, does that car get shot up good. Oh, good, good call in there. That is a outrageous movie. So has anyone seen the indie comedy, which he did the same year as Pulp Fiction, called The Search for One-Eyed Jimmy? Can't say I have. I think you can find this on YouTube. He plays off of both Nick and John Turturro and Steve Buscemi.

[00:11:12] He plays this weird, it's basically a bunch of homeless losers just going after this guy who they think has been murdered by this other crime guy. And it's just, it's just this total just camp fest. It's very quirky. I think I have the Region 2 DVD somewhere. It's actually region free, but it has, it claimed it was in PAL format. It's just a very wacky movie. And it goes by at the speed of light. It's one of those you never hear of, but you always see it at the $5 Walmart bin. And it's actually not half bad.

[00:11:41] And it creates its own just outrageous mystery as it just keeps going on and on and on. Let's go with The Great White Hype. I've actually not watched this one. This is another comedy. It depends on your mileage. There's plenty of movies which I'll watch and it is R-rated but not helping it. And then there's other movies where it's like, okay, this is just a long-ass stretch in between laughs. So it's not, it's a pretty mediocre abyss.

[00:12:11] This one, whatever you do, don't watch it on regular TV. But it's got an all-star cast that includes, you know, Jeff Goldblum, Corbin Bernson, Peter Berg. And I really did have a fun time with it because even though the director, Ron Shelton, disowned it, I'm surprised he didn't disown Hollywood Homicide. There's worse movies on your fucking resume, dude.

[00:12:33] But on this one, I think what this one gets right is just making fun of just the toxic culture of, you know, athletes and boxing people. And you got Jamie Foxx as the rival champ. And Damon Wayans in a funny one. John Lovitz in there as a guy, as a businessman betting on the team. And just an outrageous movie altogether. I can't recommend it enough. Yeah, definitely got to check that one out.

[00:13:04] Did anyone else see this one or catch it on TV at one point? I remember seeing it and they actually did, I mean, they did it where Jackson's character is almost like a Don King kind of character. That's totally what they based him off as. And the thing I love about it is they do the one scene where they're doing the weigh-in and Damon Wayans like has that thing where like, you know, the fighters have the bloated gut a little bit. Right.

[00:13:32] And it's like, it was like, I remember watching weigh-ins and like that actually would happen. You know, the guy would show up and he'd have like a belly on him and you'd be like, is this guy really freaking fighting? Exactly. It's just showing you how the whole just, oh, you're good enough to fight. It's like, no, you're not good enough to fight. This person is going to cost you more money over time because they're not ready to fight. Yeah. And when did that come out?

[00:14:01] That came out in 96. 96. It got overshadowed by a Goldblum's other hit movie, you know, Independence Day. But it's also funny seeing him in this because, you know, out of all the people who you can easily imitate, you know, because of their larger than life persona, seeing him here as a guy who's having to play opposite of Jackson and maybe even try buying, you know, into his, you know, gambling ring. It is pretty wild how that goes.

[00:14:28] Peter Berg is hysterical as the guys in the locker room getting blowjobs. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Before he was, you know, he was just off of Chicago when he was doing this. So it is a fun, but it is kind of a funny early film appearance for him. John Rhys Davies. That's right. Indeed. Nice. He's here. Cheech Marin is there. Sully Richardson. Definitely the best movie Jamie Foxx ever made. So I'll just put it there.

[00:14:57] He's done some stankers. On to the next one. And I know this is John's favorite. The Negotiator. Yeah. Every Saturday. On TV. Yeah. And just who'd have thought is like, usually is, you know, good or bad. We'd already had movies like he and everything, two actors playing against one another. And it's like, at this point it's like, okay, so we're going to do a dog day afternoon diehard type scenario.

[00:15:26] But the guy who takes over the building isn't a terrorist, isn't a bad guy. It's an anti-hero who's trying to figure out who framed him. It's a fugitive. Instead of Tommy Lee Jones telling the SWAT team to hold their fire, it's, you know, Kevin Spacey. But to make up for it, Jackson does call around multiple times during the movie. So there's that. Well, unique bit of role reversal.

[00:15:54] But Samuel L. Jackson, him playing like a Hans Gruber type character would be so brilliant. You know, I'm surprised he hasn't. I guess as close as he got was the spirit. I should love to see that. Please let's not mention the spirit. No. What about that movie? Let's not. No. You're killing John, guys. Don't do it. Don't do it.

[00:16:22] I think the negotiator was interesting because basically, you know, it was, you know, we were so used to people doing kind of knockoffs and rival twin movies at that time. And this movie just took the best elements of heat and the fugitive and diehard and then kind of just put it an extra step further. And you had a big all star cast. And even when you know the mystery, it's still got a few other extra layers to it.

[00:16:49] So it doesn't feel like it's just a happy ending or last minute resort is like, OK, but this person got killed because of this and did the framing because of that. And there's plenty of other people who you think, well, you know, because they're cops and they're union, maybe they're partial to it or possibly knew about it. So it really does, you know, pretty impressive by F. Gary Gray to try going up a step notch further and try and be kind of like a sold on precinct 13 or Serpico.

[00:17:17] And I think that's why it's often held as one of the best, you know, crooked cop, you know, action dramas. So before we move on to the next one, just a little more on The Negotiator. Once again, as you're listening to this song, as we're talking, yes, it's it's a dope movie. It's such a dope movie. And in my case, I'm just like, yeah, see, this is what you do. It's like it's often cited as another.

[00:17:47] And director F. Gary Gray, who's done everything, you know, A Man Apart, Friday. They set it off. You know, he was in the beginning of his career going from being an MTV music video director to a movie director and producer. And this was just one of the big highlighted Warner Brothers movies that was co-produced with Mandeville, Taurus Films by Arnold Milchin.

[00:18:12] And just looking at the making of it, I'm like, holy shit, this almost starred Stallone. This barely broke even at the box office, but was kind of eighth, you know, from cinema scores. So everyone loved it. And JT Walsh's final role. He's been a go to. But man, what a stacked cast. And one of the best, much like Speed, it was one of the best SWAT team movies.

[00:18:41] And again, it's also often compared to The Fugitive and Assault on Precinct 13. Just like, again, what happens when you can't trust your entire police department? Someone has set you up for your partner's death. And it's just, again, nitty and gritty. There's good reviews for it. But so often I'll see many of them going, oh, it's just the acting. Oh, it's just the style.

[00:19:09] It's like, no, no, complete disagree. There is just something very thrilling about it. In my opinion, growing up, I was just reminded of just a lot of NYPD-based procedurals like suspense books. And the Chicago setting is well utilized. But man, let's look at that cast for a minute. Obviously, Kevin Spacey, terrible person, good actor. It was cool seeing both him and Jackson play lieutenants.

[00:19:38] You can still watch this movie, even though one of them is not a well-liked person nowadays. And for good reason, he sucks. But I mean, you had, it was kind of a copy and paste at first of The Rock and LA Confidential. It was like, you got Ron Rifkin, another guy who we may or may not trust as the commander. You got John Spencer, or he ends up on the West Wing the following year.

[00:20:04] He's already best known for LA Law, but he's just a go-to veteran character actor. And you got Regina Taylor. She's already been in I'll Fly Away and Courage Under Fire. And just a very reliable actress who just shows up. And I probably knew her best growing up for the unit where she was one of the army wives who got the other army wives together. Still working. And the last thing I saw around was Lovecraft Country for HBO.

[00:20:34] But I mean, let's look at those other supporting people. Paul Giamatti, you know, this is years before CSI. And at this point, he's also been in as one of the poster boys in LA Confidential. Yeah. He's just always a reliable veteran character actor who, when he shows up, I'm like, man, what a powerful person. Paul Giamatti.

[00:20:59] One of the first movies I ever saw him in is one of the office workers who, again, like he does in every role, brings some levity by using some mild everyday humor. And then the rest of the SWAT guys and snipers, you know, with Michael Kudlitz before he was in Band of Brothers and Walking Dead and Southland. And we have Carlos Gomez, who, you know, he'd already been one of the paramedics on ER. And anytime I see him in a movie, I'm like, I love that guy.

[00:21:27] He's so much like Edward James Olmos. He's one of those Latino actors. He's not going to be a ghetto or schlocky role. He's going to be a very respectable character actor and role. But you've seen him in The Peacemaker, Desperado, Enemy of the State later on the same year. He's one of the FBI agents.

[00:21:50] So since then, he's had recurring roles on Madam Secretary as one of the senators. The Glades is one of the scientist doctors. So, yeah, he's never not working. Then we had Dean Norris. That's right. Before Breaking Bad. I keep forgetting he's in this movie, but he does his part pretty well, especially out of all his earlier roles. And you had Tim Keller, who's another solid character actor.

[00:22:19] You've seen him appear in virtually everything. He just kind of had that kind of drone kind of face where like, whoa, what's up? It's like, but he's been used a lot by Spike Lee and Malcolm X and Clockers, as well as plays the club waiter in the birdcage and then play one of the other special ops guys in executive decision and a technician in Independence Day. So it's the same year he does Desperate Measures with Michael Keaton.

[00:22:49] Then we get Nestor Serrano, who's another very cool New York actor who has played it all. He almost always has played a Middle Eastern, Hispanic or different kind of Italian role.

[00:23:01] And you've seen him pop up in everything from Bad Boys to Lethal Weapon 2 to Banshee and Guest Star on the X-Files, the Equalizer, Criminal Minds. And then just other recurring stuff like Revenge and The Last Ship. Anytime I see him pop up, like, yep, there's another great character actor who earns his keep.

[00:23:30] And then Robert David Hall, who again is the main coroner guy on CSI and is like one of his first movie roles. I think the biggest underdog actually is the uncredited last minute role of Tom Bauer that you've seen in everything. The Bad Lieutenant remake, Nixon, and just one of those other go-to character actors you've seen in his face.

[00:23:56] You're always surprised if he's going to play a mentally handicapped guy or a likable guy or an intense person. You never know. But yeah, I think this movie is just always rewatchable because it takes a blockbuster premise and it just amps it up by peppering it with just making all the details interesting.

[00:24:18] And I kid you not, like, any time it's on, any friend, family, or just casual peer who I've mentioned this to, they've been like, man, I need to watch that movie this week. It is that kind of movie where you're just like, you can watch it if you're a big genre fan and really want to watch something very entertaining. Or you can watch it if you just want to go to unwind and relax and then go to sleep kind of movie. It is perfect for any of the occasions.

[00:24:47] I think that is more invaluable for any movie when you can take it for any kind of crowd instead of just a passive aggressive, turn your brain off shit fest. I did forget to mention David Morris as the SWAT commander. He, this is a career best by him. And so anytime I saw him and something, it's like, yeah, well, this is a whole different job. Your parents know him from St. Elsewhere. And this generation in the nineties and two thousands, we knew him from the green mile contact.

[00:25:16] This was one of his bigger ones. And then before appearing in other stuff like the TV show hack and outsiders, and then other stuff like hurt blocker and the rock 12 monkeys, even 16 blocks. And just in valuable character actor. So yes, career best by everybody. And I mean, this is definitely the turning point where Jackson were taken way more seriously.

[00:25:44] He's like, okay, he's done being the humorous guy in Jurassic Park. He's done being it. It's just before he's a Jedi master. And this is before he becomes Mr. Go to guy, you know, Nick Fury and the adventures. So in between all the popcorn stuff, you know, he's already getting away from some of the Spike Lee and just. Scorsese and Tarantino supporting roles. It's like, yeah, no, he's standing his own ground and making us respect him even more as an actor.

[00:26:13] And this was just on every weekend on TNT and I was or FX. And I was always just blown away. I was like, whoa, hey, that's that's a movie. And even when I know the plot twists, I do forget it and want to watch it again because it's just very dense. It's very complex. And I want to keep it fresh and new. So it's every five, maybe. Seven years kind of movie.

[00:26:41] But if you want, you can also watch it once a week and it's still be entertained. But I had no idea it was remade as Crisis Negotiators. I just thought that was a separate Andy Lau Hong Kong film, but it's apparently a one on one remake. But let's look at the Acolytes. It won, you know, Black Film Award for Best Film and Directors. So producers and director and F. Gary Gray share that. Nominated for Black Film Award for Best Actor. Sam Jackson gets.

[00:27:11] A Blockbuster Entertainment Award. Favorite actor in an NAACP. It's a big deal. Saturn Award for Best Action or Adventure Film. They often nominate sci-fi horror fantasy films, but it's cool to see them get in on other genres. Let's look at those screenwriters, though. James D. Monaco is the best one known for this. Like, I knew him growing up for doing the Assault on Precinct 13 remake, which was pretty likable.

[00:27:40] And then, you know, he constantly worked with his partner, Kevin Fox. They were working on a canceled cop show, Ryan Caulfield, that barely lasted a season. And I'm surprised James was given another shot, considering he wrote the worst Francis Ford Coppola film that is Jack. But, hey, you know, we all got to get our start somewhere. But, yeah, Kevin Fox, I had no idea.

[00:28:08] He's written 26 episodes of Law & Order SVU. Two episodes of Lie to Me. He was briefly involved with the Oliver Platt show Queen Supreme, which is so currently underrated. That should have been on for years. He's produced some other just low-budget B-movies that don't appear to be that great. And then has been working on Power Book Free of the Power franchise.

[00:28:37] And, yeah, that's a good show. So, yeah, still working. And, hey, he got money when his best-known movie, The Negotiator, got remade in Hong Kong. But, yeah, James DeMonaco, I definitely love. He is best known as the creator and craftsman of the Purge film franchise. I haven't liked everything he's done. I'm half and half on Skinwalkers, which is a wild horror comedy.

[00:29:03] And Staten Island, which is kind of an average Luc Besson-produced crime thriller about a mob bus being robbed by a tank cleaner. It's kind of another Tarantino wannabe with great actors, including Seymour Castle, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Ethan Hawke. So I might give another take this one day. But now, DeMonaco, if I didn't love the Purge franchise, probably I would love him the most from The Kill Point, which was a very similar.

[00:29:32] That was like Negotiator 2.0. Another awesome robbery takeover with Marines being on balance. It was a big deal. It was showing how cable could have suspenseful stuff. And it was on Spike TV, all places, and pretty high brow for a lowbrow channel. He also worked on free episodes of the Crash TV show. So that was the final season. So definitely some of the best stuff.

[00:29:58] And, yeah, I was a spinoff of the Oscar-winning movie, which everyone will really like the show, even if you didn't like the movie. It really is pretty compelling. But, yeah, I'll hand it over to others as we proceed to the next one. Formula 51. Has anyone ever seen this show? I've never seen this one. Okay. It's also known as The 51st State. So basically, long story short, Robert Carl and Jackson play drug dealers who go on wacky car rides.

[00:30:27] It was by Ronnie Yu of, you know, Freddy vs. Jason fame. And it's definitely an interesting kind of – it definitely will remind people of those kind of, you know, Snatch and those other Tarantino kind of movies. The British twist to it isn't half bad. I just remember seeing endless trailers for it. And that was – you know, 2002 was definitely a big year for Jackson. He was in fucking everything at that time. And I was like, oh, yeah, okay.

[00:30:56] Interesting seeing all these, you know, tanks and, you know, drug explosions and everything. Yeah, once again, if you like just outrageous action crime comedies, I think you might find this to be an interesting music video-styled movie. There is a gory explosion at the end, so it's definitely up your alley. It not makes much money, but it had a high user score. And, of course, I think even Roger Ebert even liked it. So there you go.

[00:31:25] Yeah, there are so many movies out there that kind of skirt the line between the heist movie and something else. I thought of a couple of Samuel L. Jackson movies. Oh, yes. And also it's called a couple of different things. Sometimes it's called the 51st State. Other times I prefer Formula 51. I love that one a lot because in that one, Jackson just really gets – you brought it up before many a time.

[00:31:50] And I always commend you on it because it really is – it kind of just is comfortable doing its own thing. You know, Ronnie Yu really knows how to blend music video editing without making it only feel like a music video. And he just gives them some very wacky stuff to do with stealing the drugs. And Robert Carl and Jackson played off each other perfectly in that. And it was just very hard to promote because when you see the trailers, you're like, I don't really know what that is. I just see a lot of cars blowing up.

[00:32:19] And Meatloaf was a fun bad guy. And they find a creative way to blow him up, if I remember correctly. Yes, they do. And so, yeah, it earns the R rating on that alone. I'm like, Jesus, that's a big-ass explosion. Yeah, I mean, that's just it. When you do a heist movie, you know, you just kind of have actors who are up to the task. Jackson, to this day, will still do a heist movie. I mean, he was recently in a miniseries that was about kind of the guys who stole money during a Muhammad Ali fight from some gangsters.

[00:32:49] So it's like he's always the go-to for these kinds of crime movies. But, I mean, then it even blows your mind when half the time you realize some movies that are about hustling or just utter scandals is like they had a heist, but it was mostly off screen. So, like, Goodfellas, for instance, is like we see the beginning and we see the aftermath. We don't really see the actual heist. And I'm okay if you don't want to call it a heist movie. I get that.

[00:33:11] It's just interesting how there's still about the whole just guys just stealing money and never having to answer for their crime. And that's kind of the half the fun, too, because you're switching out the audience expectation. You're supposed to root for the good guys. But in these movies, the bad guys are the good guys. Right. Which is why the people they're fighting are always worse. And that's the fun of it. Just always make it, you know, you don't have to hit the point home.

[00:33:41] You know, anyone with any morality knows what they're in for. But you also have to make it fun when shit starts to hit the fan. And you have to also just kind of like you say, it's always so funny when you see these unethical types saying such ironic lines like, oh, why did you kill me? I'm like, because you're doing something bad. But it's always just fun seeing them have a moment of truth in their voice before they meet their makers.

[00:34:08] The Man is a 2005 New Line Cinema film starring Sam Jackson as a hardballed cop and Eugene Levy as comedic relief. It's not a well-liked movie. I did, however, laugh at it a lot growing up in high school because I just liked rude comedies. Not so much frat boy or sex comedy stuff.

[00:34:36] It has a questionable production. It also is one of those where it was kind of the early days where you're just like, I just want to watch all the funny stuff. You know, on YouTube. Les Mayfield has a very mixed career. He's best known for doing the OK Miracle on 34th Street remake. Infamous stuff like the crappy Flubber from 97.

[00:35:07] And decent action comedies like American Outlaws and Blue Streak and the cult movie Encino Man. So off to a questionable start. He apparently has taught. Well, not taught, but he was graduated from USC and he apparently is listed as retired on Wikipedia. Basically, what finally did him in was the mediocre codename The Cleaner film.

[00:35:33] And I knew it wasn't going to be good just based off the production quality and just schlocky. The toxic male model attitude. Just a very crappy assassin comedy. And so, yeah, New Line Cinema was just always doing that. He just. And despite. Working with Coppola's production company in a few hundred places. Yeah, it just.

[00:36:01] Hasn't had a big career, but yeah, the man is always just been a fun movie for me. I've just been like, yeah, anytime it comes on Comedy Central, I'm going to watch it and have fun with it. It's fun seeing future adventure. Anthony Mackie is a gangbanger. They interrogate. I mean, one of the FBI agents is played by Miguel Farrar. It's basically another done to death. Lethal weapon. 48 hours movie. It's not really diehardish. Probably until the ending. Really. Really.

[00:36:30] People probably know this movie the most just because they would use the poster of Sam Jackson with the braided back, slick hair and just in fake movie posters just because he's talking into a walkie talkie while holding a gun. So he's fine. I always just dug this movie because for. For his lack of imagination, just the laughs delivered. That being said, I'm a little let down again by the production design. So it is definitely a C grade movie. It is a.

[00:37:00] B minus if you really want to be nice, but it is interesting seeing brief parts by Arashio Sanz from SNL. Susie Essman was the lieutenant. She's been in everything. Broad City. Susie Green on Curb Your Enthusiasm. So it was an interesting cast. I guess it just needed some better star power. But yeah, no, I would never. Set the plot makes no sense. It's pretty straightforward.

[00:37:30] Capture a kingpin using a snitch and unlikely witness to the crime. Eugene Levy made plenty of Jewish humor. And set in Detroit. So I guess that's it. The movie's budget was as cheap as the city. Oh, but yeah, it was a 20 million dollar budget and it only grossed 10.3 and it was on DVD pretty quickly. I guess the compared to other movies, it didn't feel like a toned down R rated movie. And it's definitely leagues better than any Brett Ratner garbage.

[00:38:00] I like the first two rush hours, but I will admit, you know, they're not original or perfect. And this is better than those, although it's definitely catering to that same kind of crowd. And yeah, despite the lack of originality, I've just always just found it just a fun, just chill movie. And Jackson does get to shoot someone at the end.

[00:38:27] But yeah, for the lack of originality and imagination, just the jokes were just quick. Like there's all kinds of different stuff. Jackson played an ETF agent, Derek Vaughn. And yeah, Luke Goss is probably one of the few movies I saw him in where he wasn't wearing makeup.

[00:38:53] You know him from talking, you know him from Blade 2 and Hellboy 2. And this is before he becomes a directed video kind of guy, appearing in stuff like Interview with the Hitman. I thought he did fun. He was just being another just foreign villain on American soil. So there's some of that 80s bait and conquer kind of cliche.

[00:39:15] But yeah, I will take this and Renegades leads over, say, just garbage like Collision Course with Jay Leno and Pat Morita. Yeah. And before you say Sackledge, I like that movie. Trust me, you like it, but you know it's not good. This one, I hate using the term guilty pleasure. It's just a laid back, quick and to the point, just extended comedy sketch.

[00:39:44] At least the movie is lively in between the lack of just perfect jokes. What jokes are there, though, do suffice and they do get it done. And Jim Paddock, I'm not familiar with, but he's done all kinds of just obscure films. He's best known for creating the Christopher Guest produced show Family Tree. This is better than other stuff he's done.

[00:40:13] Like he's done boring political tours like A Different Loyalty and the awful The Rock comedy, The Tooth Fairy. Seems like he has an interesting kind of scenes career. But yeah, I didn't mind it. I just was like, hey, it is junk food. It's never going to make top 10 buddy movies and that's okay. But if you want it obscure or just want to complete the Jackson movies, you won't be disappointed.

[00:40:41] You'll just be like, yeah, Jackson's a badass motherfucker. And Eugene Lubby always delivers. If anything, I just could have used a little more of Miguel Farrar and some of the others. And it definitely didn't look direct-to-video. I guess my other issue is, even though it's PG-13 and it didn't feel watered down, and there was surprisingly about free F-bombs.

[00:41:08] It's one of the rap songs and two different ones just exploded by Jackson. Like, what the fuck? I guess the main issue was, it's kind of like Showtime with Eddie Murphy, where it's just blurring that line between a reasonable movie. I mean, and even a similar to Tommy Lee Jones' Man of the House, if you think about it. It's like, yeah, it's getting what you want done. And it's classier than the Bad Boys films.

[00:41:36] Obviously, it's not a classic like the 48 Hours and Lethal Weapon movies. But, you know, this would make a solid, actually surprisingly solid double feature if you wanted to do Die Hard Free with a Vengeance. And then have this afterwards if you needed more Jackson. So, here's that. So, hey, super prop.

[00:41:59] Not bad, but I'm going to play the wacky DVD spot for this because I can't believe they included this in the New Line Cinema DVD ad. But, yeah, after this we'll get on with the rest of the reviews. So, enjoy. He's been a killer, a renegade cop, and a Jedi Knight. He's always been the man. Excuse me. Until now. The sooner you start treating me like a partner. Hey! We are not partners.

[00:42:29] Samuel L. Jackson. Eugene Levy. You shot me. You dragged me all over town. Hey, I've got news for you, homie. I'm now calling the shots. So, you're the man. Yes, I am the man. The Man. Rated PG-13. Enough is enough. I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane. Hey! Everybody strap in! I'm about to open some fucking windows. How about snakes on a plane?

[00:42:59] Oh. Knew that was coming up. Monkey fighting snakes on a Monday to Friday plane. Oh. That's a great movie to watch. I got to watch it with my ex-wife when we were still married. Oh, God. Don't tell me this was a date night movie. Oh, no. This is one of the... No, this is one of the... No wonder if she's his ex. No. This is one of those movies, like, she picked up, she said, hey, let's watch snakes on a plane. And I'm like, okay.

[00:43:28] Like, you know... Okay. Okay. And I started watching it and I got... I was getting into it because it was like... It was just such a far-fetched idea for a movie. A guy who's a witness to a crime is going to be killed when a guy puts a whole shitload of snakes on a plane and Samuel L. Jackson has to freaking protect him. And he says one of the best lines...

[00:43:57] You know, all these motherf... I'm going to say... All these motherfucking snakes on my plane. It's just that line. It's just like... Boom. And to me, it's a fun... It's a big, stupid movie to watch. It really is. Yeah. You know, David Arnolis, who had actually... Who had worked previously with Jackson as the second unit director on those Jack Ryan adaptations as well as Final Destination 2 and 5.

[00:44:23] You know, it made sense that this was just a very lowbrow, campy action horror movie. People were going to be squiggling in their seats and then losing their breath. And, you know, I did see a bootleg of it at the time. Didn't care for it. But then, you know, I just... I eventually kind of, you know, as my love of just so bad they're good or just outrageous party movies increased, I just started saying, okay, you know, this movie might have an identity crisis. And the studio...

[00:44:50] This was before you had Red Band trailers where they would show, you know, the explicit R-rated content on the... Before it came out. But what was interesting about this movie is it was just so hyped up. People were doing fan art for it, using other moments of Jackson's likeness. And people didn't care that it wasn't in on the joke or it was just an outrageous, you know, 80s type of crazy, you know, zany kind of movie.

[00:45:16] It's like, well, regardless, now we got, again, all the channels had their work cut out for it on how they choose to censor it when they air it. And then, like you say, there's so many people just quoting the line. And... This one was made with the intent of it being slaughtered on network TV. It was like, yeah, it was an internet meme before it was even an it. That was even a thing. It was just like...

[00:45:43] Well, the thing is, I gotta say with that is you've got Julianna Margulies, who I think had just left ER. And Go Ship. Oh. And then... See what I did there? And then you've got... Then you've got a lot of people, Eden Thompson. Yeah, that's an L and David Postman. Yeah. And then you've got all these CGI snakes. And then... You know, he's like, I don't know how to fly a plane. He's like, wait, I thought you knew how to fly a plane.

[00:46:12] I just play it on the... He says something, I play it on the Xbox on my computer. Right, right, right. I'm like, oh, great. This is like one of these movies where it's gonna be like... It's gonna be like a bad episode of Laverne and Shirley where they're gonna learn how to fly the plane. Right. You thought MacGyver was campy. This is for real and yet so fucking ridiculous. Yeah. But this was the movie, I think, Mystery Science... I think that when Mystery Science Theater or...

[00:46:41] Was starting out, they were like, do you want to riff it? And I think they, like, probably not because it's too over the top. But they're definitely gonna take on other movies. What gets me is David Kochner is in it. He was on the SNL for like one or two seasons. Yep. And he, you know, I was like, what's he doing here? You know. But the premise of it, the premise of it being, you know, these snakes and you can tell they're CGI. Yeah.

[00:47:09] You know, you CGI. And you're watching it and he's like, at that point where he's like at the breaking point. And then all of a sudden he's like, no, wait a minute, hold on. I gotta do this. I gotta do this. I gotta do this. And it's a fun movie to watch. I don't know why people were like, people were so... I thought it was funny. I thought it was a great movie. You know. It is kind of outrageous. It's also one of those, depending on your mood. I mean, most people are not going to even check it out just because it's just such an outrageous premise.

[00:47:37] But for those of us who just like just wacky movies, I mean, I would be surprised if anyone hasn't seen it. It is interesting in Jackson kind of having to realize he must anchor the movie by act two. After what starts out as a witness protection movie and then becomes a creature feature. And they're setting all these snakes on fire.

[00:48:00] And, you know, the guy in witness protection ends up accidentally getting shot by him because there's a snake coming out of him like alien. Possibly his greatest performance of all time in one of the greatest movies of all times. Snakes on a plane. Yes. I have not yet watched that movie. I keep meaning to. Every time he's on Colbert, I kid you not.

[00:48:29] Like he will always introduce him. The star of Die Hard with a Vengeance, Pulp Fiction, Star Wars and Snakes on a Plane. Like he will always end it. It's always the one, two, three gotcha. Like he will always introduce him and incorporate it. And there was one time where he was on Graham Norton. I want to say 2015. And he actually threw some snakes at the camera as he was introducing himself. So, yeah. Yeah. He'll go there. He will go there. Hopefully they were rubber snakes.

[00:49:00] Well, as far as we know. They were hooded for his pleasure. Oh, my God. Oh, ooh. Ugh. Thanks, Tom. You went there. Of course I went there. What do you expect? But would they fit? They fit every time. I better stop before we go all blue.

[00:49:32] We got to clear the snakes out of the cockpit. Yeah, yeah. Clear the snakes out of the cockpit. Enough is enough. I have had it with these monkey fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday play. Everybody strap in. About to open some freaking windows.

[00:49:55] Years ago, Matt Damon and Jackson were actually considered for the roles in Training Day. With Damon as the good cop Jake. Jackson in Denzel's role of Alonzo, the bad cop. And that did not happen. But what did happen was Jackson got to play an evil cop in Lakeview Terrace. Remember that one? Yeah. Yeah, I remember that one. It was definitely kind of a slow burn, iffy kind of movie.

[00:50:25] I don't think Patrick Wilson is much of an actor. But I do recall it being pretty watchable when it kind of ran out of ideas. It felt like it was a 90s movie that somehow got delayed and finally pushed back to finally here. And it's like, well, why didn't this come out around the same time as Unlawful Entry, Pacific Heights, all those kinds of movies? Yeah. I was about to say. They almost got lost in the shuffle, you know. When you think about it that whole time.

[00:50:55] You didn't know what to expect from screen jams. Because they were doing so many crappy action and horror movies at that time. And lo and behold, here's a mystery movie. It was like, okay, well, is it going to be any good? And it was also just one of those, depending on the audience or critic, it had like a 60 to 70%. So based on who you asked, determined who actually recommended it. So it is one of those I can't full-heartedly recommend.

[00:51:22] But it's definitely an atypical Jackson bad guy role in Home Invasion type movie. But at the same time, it doesn't really make good on its ideas. So if you see it on TV, you might give it a watch. Otherwise, you're also... I mean, it really just depends on how big a fan of Jackson you are. Yeah, that's my opinion as well on that one. Pretty much. It's a fun movie. Just, I don't think it's aged well.

[00:51:50] It feels, particularly with events in the last several years, that whole concept just won't stem the test of time. That is also a good point, too. And Kerry Washington also pretty much has a nothing role. It's like, seriously, why did every female role... I saw a correlation in the 2000s where it's like, they got nothing to do except say, oh, honey, I hope you're okay. Pretty much, yeah.

[00:52:15] And this is like, then why even cast it if you're not going to make use of the actor or the actress is stupid. But whatever. Shut up! Follow us on the web on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The podcast is available on Podbean, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Anchor, Apple, and anywhere else podcasts are available.

[00:52:44] Feel free to review our show and leave comments on any of those sites. Thanks a million for listening. It's a jacked up review show. It's...