Tag Archives: Richard Donner

A Sequel in Earnest: Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon 2

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There are very few movies that deserved a sequel as much as Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon; not because it was set up that way, but because of the potential of the movie’s narrative and the ever-burgeoning relationship of its characters.

Although sequels had long been established, it was the 1980’s that saw them grow into an essential component of the marketing beast. The 1970’s had witnessed the dawn of the numbered sequel, but those movies were few and far between, productions such as The French Connection II and The Godfather Part II hardly the products of premeditated money-spinning campaigns […]

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This Month In April 1985 featured

This Month In . . . 1985 (April)

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April was a month packed with frat pack comedy, but the box office would throw up some memorable sleepers as we approached the busy summer season.

One of those was tongue-in-cheek horror compendium Cat’s Eye. Based on short stories by a red hot Stephen King, the film would throw up a mixed bag backed by a plethora of notable stars including E.T.’s Drew Barrymore as a cutesy infant confronting a troublesome demon in ‘The General’ […]

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This Month In . . . 1988 (March)

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Storming the box office charts for March was Mike Nichols’ comedy-drama Biloxi Blues. Adapted from a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon, the movie would star Ferris Bueller’s Matthew Broderick as a young army recruit attending boot camp during the Second World War.

Broderick would create the role of Eugene on Broadway, a character with three goals in life: to become a writer, lose his virginity and fall in love. It would also explore bigotry and racial segregation […]

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Lethal Weapon

Never Too Old For This Shit: The Enduring Charm of Lethal Weapon

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Lethal Weapon is the pinnacle of the buddy cop picture.

It is also one of the finest action movies ever put to celluloid, and is perhaps the only production to rival Die Hard as the genre’s high point. The two films have many elements in common. Both movies feature black and white partners, both are set during the Christmas period, and both feature heroes who are much more relatable than characters who have appeared in the vast majority of action vehicles. It is this relatability that is key to both movies […]

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This Month in . . .1985 (December)

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The first week of December would see a limited theatrical release for Golan-Globus thriller Runaway Train. Based on a screenplay by innovative Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, the movie is also notable for the debuts of Heat’s Danny Trejo and Tommy “Tiny” Lister, who would become a professional wrestler for a brief time in the late 1980’s after starring alongside Hulk Hogan in infamous WWF stinker No Holds Barred (1989). So badly received was the World Wrestling Federation’s first foray into the movie business that CEO Vince McMahon . . .

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This Month in . . .1987 (November)

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The Cannon Group releases its fourth instalment of the Charles Bronson-led Death Wish series. Titled Death Wish 4: The Crackdown, the movie would lose original trilogy director Michael Winner along with a chunk of its usual budget, resulting in a much more limited release. Winner would refuse to return for the sequel after clashing with Bronson during the filming of Death Wish 3. Cannon had also begun belt-tightening thanks to […]

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