This page is dedicated to bringing you the latest in movie news hosted by the best character on SCTV (in this fan's opinion), played by the excellent Joe Flaherty.
AAAaaawwoooo! I bid you ....welcome to issue #9 of Count Floyd's Movie News. I hope you had a scary scary New Year. Did you watch the ball drop in New York or the car fall in Las Vegas? I chose the car falling in Las Vegas. Some stuntman was hoisted 150 feet in the air in the driver's seat and at the stroke of midnight was dropped nose first onto a pile of old vans. No not the shoes, real vans. Then he was engulfed in a huge fireball. I love the smell of burning stuntman at the stroke of midnight. He survived but he was shaken not stirred. (Walk,walk, walk, walk, turn and shoot)
My name's Floyd, Count Floyd. If you haven't guessed by now I've just seen the latest installment of the world's most famous superspy, James Bond. Pierce Brosnan is back once again as agent 007 in "Tomorrow Never Dies". If the world needs saving he's the man to call. This time he is up against a media mogul played by Jonathan Pryce. This Ted Turner/Rupert Murdoch type character is just getting ready to debut his 24 hour news channel. Just to be sure there is news available he has diverted a British naval vessel into Chinese territorial waters using stolen satellite technology. Of course the Chinese don't take too kindly to unannounced callers. This causes tension between the two nations which is just what this arch villain wants. James Bond is put on the case and the rest you'll have to see for yourself. Michelle Yeoh plays James Bond's Chinese counterpart who has been sent by her government to look into the case also. They team up to do battle with the enemy. Michelle Yeoh was excellent however the one good fight scene she had was in cramped quarters. I feel her talents would have been best explored by giving her more room to show off her fighting skills. Jonathan Pryce was good as the evil media mogul but years from now he will be little remembered as a major Bond villain. However, this would not be because of his acting skills but rather from the nature of his character as written. Pierce Brosnan brings youth back to the series although for me Sean Connery is still the best Bond. I felt Roger Moore was a little too stuffy and aristocratic to pull it off and he never got beat up. Brosnan can take a punch and also dish it out. He plays Bond with the kind of ruthlessness that Connery brought to the table. For Bond fans this is a must see. I'm hoping for more with perhaps a more colorful villain next time. And now it's time for the movie news.
First off I'd like to recommend a movie that may be a little harder to find than most films. It's called El Mariachi, directed by Robert Rodriguez. This film was originally intended to go straight to the Spanish video market but a studio exec. saw it first and liked it enough to commission Rodriguez to do an updated version of the film which became the movie "Desperado" which starred Antonio Banderas. El Mariachi was made for a measly $7,000 but every dollar is up on the screen. It is the tale of a traveling mariachi who goes from city to city singing in cantinas to make a living. He always carries his guitar case with him. One day a bad hombre enters the bar with a similar guitar case and accidentally switches them. The bad guys are looking for the bad hombre and the only description they have is he is carrying a guitar case and wearing black pants. Now our hero is being chased instead. Inside the case our hero finds mucho weapons and he finds he needs to use them to survive the ordeal. This is Robert Rodriguez's first film and definitely worth viewing. If you can't find it, look in the foreign film section where you may find a subtitled copy. Good hunting.
Next is Con Air starring Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich. Cage is a highly trained Army Ranger who must defend himself from some beer soaked trailer trash outside of a bar just after his wife has informed him that she is pregnant with their first child. One of his attackers dies from a blow to the head and the next thing we know Cage is in prison where he is just completing a 5 year sentence. He just received a letter from his daughter who is now 5 years old saying how she can't wait to see him. They have never met because Cage didn't want her to see him in prison. Cage is put on a flight with other prisoners being transferred to another facility where he will be released upon arrival although for now he is shackled like the other prisoners on the flight. Several of the baddest criminals escape their restraints and overpower the guards. They then release the worst criminal of them all played by John Malkovich. He leads the hijacking group and there is only one man on board that can save the day. I enjoyed this movie but I don't think it lived up to its hype of the previous summer. Cage's accent was a little distracting and was a cross between Clint Eastwood and Elvis Presley. Having said that it does fit the mold of an action flick and carries it off fairly well. If you're into action then it is a must see. Nicolas Cage fans will like it also. All others beware.
Congratulations goes to Robert M. who becomes the new Triviameister of Mellonville for being the first person to answer the trivia question correctly. A bunch of you thought David Niven might have been the first James Bond ever. Sorry no. The first James Bond ever was played by American actor Barry Nelson in a television production of "Casino Royale". His archenemy was Le Chiffre played by Peter Lorre circa 1954. I've actually seen a kinescope of it (which was a method of filming a live show off of a television monitor as it was being broadcast) and it's kind of cool. James Bond had a crew cut. The following people deserve an honorary bite on the neck for correctly answering the question also: Jim A., Irene P., Kevin J., Charles D., Carlene N., Glen B., Dan, Russ B. and Dennis H." The Triviameister of Mellonville asks: What was the name of the organization that Derek Flint worked for?". The first person to answer the trivia question correctly will become the new Triviameister and will be given the option of asking the trivia question in the next issue. Please click here to answer the question and good luck.
The survey question was: "What movie theater do you remember the most and what city was it in?". The survey SAYS:
AAAaaawwooo! Count Floyd will return in issue #10 titled "Live and Let Dye My Toupee" due out on 2-14-98 or so.
