Stealers Wheel

Okay, let’s set the scene: it is the early 1990s, and conflict is afoot in Somalia. The Barre government continues to be in power, but a well armed rebel force is slowly encroaching on the capital city of Mogadishu. It is in this jarring upheaval that both the South and North Korean governments have turned to Somalia for assistance with entry into the United Nations. This is the harrowing subject of the 2021 historical action drama, Escape from Mogadishu. Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, he expertly paints a vivid picture – stunning locales (mostly Morocco – a striking stand-in that feels wholly alive), politically savvy and inexperienced characters, as well as very real civil unrest litter this narrative. The South Korean embassy is led by ambassador Han Shin-sung (Kim Yoon-seok), while its Northern counterparts follow ambassador Rim Yong-su (Joon-ho Huh).

There is no denying that I went into 2022's Uncharted, directed by Ruben Fleischer, with rather low expectations... let’s face it, there isn’t a great track record for film adaptations of video games, but somehow this one felt surprisingly enjoyable. Clearly in the vein of many a classic adventure film – think the Indiana Jones franchise, The Mummy (but not the 1930s or Tom Cruise iterations), the original Pirates of the Caribbean, Treasure Island and National Treasure, there is no chance that this will ever reach those sky-high heights, but it does entertainingly fill the gap while we wait for next great adventure flick.

Like a big old slice of Americana, Top Gun: Maverick throttles us back onto the ‘highway to the danger zone’ a whopping thirty six years after the original was released in 1986. Helmed by Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion), it harkens to a time when men were men, box office success screamed for pro-American storylines (for example, Rocky IV – which was released just a year earlier in 1985), and Tom Cruise was a bankable movie star (I guess some things haven’t changed). Oozing a most unique brand of joyous buoyancy, this sequel will likely find you grinning from ear to ear through large portions of the action seen onscreen. Following the titular Maverick (Cruise), not much has changed for the talented pilot. Never having progressed past the ranking of Capt., his call sign is aptly given... as his maverick ways have always hindered him from moving up the ranks.

Coming off as a low grade imitation of a Steven Seagal style movie... but without the flair, 1989's Red Surf, co-written and directed by H. Gordon Boos, is perhaps most intriguing for featuring George Clooney in one of his first cinematic starring roles, and Gene Simmons as his demented moral compass and kick-ass compatriot (or maybe it should be kiss-ass). Beating Point Break to the surfer storyline by a full two years, Clooney plays former hang ten icon Remar, who, after some knee issues, has decided to get his highs from smuggling and using drugs instead. Surrounded by a team of just as impressive low lifes, including number two Attila (Doug Savant) – funnily enough, ‘hun’ works quite well to describe him

Back in the late 1970s, then first time co-writer/co-director Kathryn Bigelow, along with Monty Montgomery, were fortunate enough to have spotted one Willem Dafoe on the stage – a member of the Wooster Group experimental theater company. Asking him to be a part of their movie, it would also become the actor’s first credited role. That film would eventually be called The Loveless (1981)... prior to that, it was known as US 17 and Breakdown. Set in the 1950s and infused with a post-punk flair, the narrative follows Vance (Dafoe), an enigmatic nihilist with an intoxicating allure. A quiet biker wearing black leather and equally as dark Brylcreem’d back hair, he oozes an indifferent quality of danger and sexuality. Living on the edge of life (or perhaps more accurately, a knife), he’s the type of conundrum that stops to help a lady with a flat tire, only to nab a controversial kiss and then take the money from her wallet for payment as he departs... leaving her all shook up in more ways than one.

An intriguing reworking of Daniel Defoe’s classic 1719 novel “Robinson Crusoe”, director Byron Haskin, who in 1953 brought aliens from Mars to Earth with the epic The War of the Worlds, this time flips the script and takes us to the red planet with the sci-fi cult classic Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964). Though falling comfortably within the sci-fi genre, Paramount’s promotional team clearly reveled in the movie’s attempted accuracy – the trailer and advertising posters reading: “This film is scientifically authentic. It is only one step ahead of present reality”. And, in many ways, it was impressively accurate for what was known at that moment. Released at the perfect time in history, 1964 was just one year prior to the first spacecraft fly by of Mars... before that, all that we knew was by way of observation through telescope.