10 Kurt Russell Movies Everyone Should See

It's been quite awhile since my last 10 Movies Everyone Should See entry. For anyone who is unfamiliar, this is an ongoing (although sporadic) series highlighting some of the notable movies of a person's career. The reason the series is called 10 Movies Everyone Should See rather than a "Best of" or "Top 10" is because a lot of those types of lists are usually based on box office numbers or critical acclaim. I wanted to take a more comprehensive approach when looking at a film career; combining the good, the bad, the most financially successful, the breakout films, the iconic roles, and the forgotten gems. Previous entries have taken a look at the careers of Sean Connery, Tom Cruise, Alfred Hitchcock, Sylvester Stallone, John Travolta, Tom Hanks, Chuck Norris, Steven Spielberg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Stewart, and Burt Reynolds. 

This time, as the title of this post indicates, I'll be giving you 10 Kurt Russell movies that I think everyone should see.

#10 Death Proof (2007)

"...Alcohol is just a lubricant for all the individual encounters that a bar offers."

Kurt Russell plays 'Stuntman' Mike in this Tarantino directed peddle-to-the-metal grindhouse film. Whether he's playing a good guy or a bad guy Russell always has a degree of likeability. Stuntman Mike is a murderous psychopath but, he's also charismatic and the best part of the film.

#9 Tombstone (1993)

“You tell 'em I'm coming! And Hell's coming with me”

The golden age of the Hollywood Western has long since past but, we do get a few good ones from time to time. One of the best that the genre had to offer in the 1990's was Tombstone. The film has a really solid cast lead by Russell, and I consider it a must-see for those who enjoy films about the old west.

#8 Escape from New York (1981)

“ I don't give a f*** about your war... or your president."

Kurt Russell has teamed up with Director John Carpenter several times over the course of his career, with Escape from New York being the first. It's a really good movie, just be sure to steer clear of 1996's Escape from L.A.

#7 Dark Blue (2003)

“I may be a goddamn alcoholic but that doesn't mean I can't tell the truth - and I've got all the deep deep dirt right here. Somebody put the cufs on me - let me start talking!”

Set in Los Angeles in 1992, during the days leading up to the verdict in the Rodney King trial, the movie is a thriller about corruption at every level of the L.A.P.D. Kurt Russell is fantastic in the film as Sergeant Eldon Perry, a seasoned officer who is teaching his young partner Bobby (played by Scott Speedman) how to plant evidence, lie on reports, and cover up cold-blooded murders.

#6 Backdraft (1991)

"How do you do it, man? How do you come up with new and amazing ways to f*** up?"

I really like this movie. It's not the best film Russell has starred in and it isn't without its shortcomings. However, when you add in the impressive effects, the solid supporting cast, and the Hans Zimmer score, there was no way I was going to leave it off this list.

#5 The Hateful Eight (2015)

“You only need to hang mean bastards, but mean bastards you need to hang.”

 Featured alongside other Tarantino favorites like Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, and Michael Madsen, Kurt Russell plays John "The Hangman' Ruth in this wintery Western set almost entirely in a secluded haberdashery. It's a Tarantino movie and those are always good and, as for Russell...

… C'mon, it's worth watching just based on that image.

#4 The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)

"You know... everyone's just out for himself. It was like that everywhere I went. Everyone's just... out for himself."

I was born in the 80's, so to me Kurt Russell is Jack Burton, Snake Plissken, a bit later Wyatt Earp etc. However his career goes all the way back to the 1960's and I wanted to include on this list at least one of his early films. The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes is cheesy and dated but, it's wholesome, harmless fun too.

#3 Miracle (2004)

“When you pull on that jersey, you represent yourself and your teammates; and the name on the front, is a hell of a lot more important, than the one on the back.”

This film about the 1980 'Miracle on Ice' sees Kurt Russell playing Herb Brooks, the coach of the men's hockey team that, against all odds, won the gold medal. It is the Disney-fied version of the actual events but a pretty good sports movie nonetheless. 

#2 Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

"Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, 'give me your best shot, pal. I can take it'"

Big Trouble in Little China has become something of a cult classic over the years. It's a weird but entertaining film. It isn't my favorite Kurt Russell movie, but Jack Burton might just be the best Kurt Russell character.

#1 Bone Tomahawk (2015)

“Pain is how your body talks to you. You'd do well to listen to it.”

This movie is great. I actually reviewed this one earlier this year and, if you want, you can check out that post out HERE. In short, Kurt Russell turns in a solid performance and I highly recommend the film, I think it's one of his best.




Honorable Mentions: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), The Thing (1982), Tango & Cash (1989), The Barefoot Executive (1971), Overboard (1987)

Transcendence

Released in 2014, Transcendence is 20 minutes worth of plot that meanders it's way to a 2 hour runtime. Despite boasting a fairly impressive cast and a halfway decent sci-fi premise, first time Director Wally Pfister was unable to pull it all together in my opinion.

So, what is the plot of this film? Johnny Depp (in probably the most phoned-in performance of his career) plays Dr. Will Caster. A brilliant mind in the world of artificial intelligence technology, Dr. Caster becomes the target of an assassination attempt by an anti-technology terrorist group lead by Kate Mara. After being shot, Will's wife Evelyn (played by Rebecca Hall) and his colleague Max (played by Paul Bettany) decide to upload his consciousness to a super computer. Like in Avengers: Age of Ultron (I didn't think that movie would come up when I popped in Transcendence) things quickly get out of control, and you soon have and A.I. system that has access to every computer in the world and needs to be stopped. However, where as Ultron had to deal with the likes of Captain America, Thor, and Ironman, Dr. Caster's opposition is an FBI agent played by Cillian Murphy, a horribly miscast Kate Mara, and Morgan Freeman.

Overall, I didn't think this movie was very good. I like the basic premise and there are some good scenes and moments sprinkled throughout but, for everything I liked in the film there were at least two things that I didn't. It's not an unwatchable movie, just a bit underwhelming and not one I'd recommend. 

1.5 out of 5.

Into the Storm

Into the storm is a 2014 film about a team of tornado chasers/documentary filmmakers who are about to come across the storm of the century. It's a lot like 1996's Twister except with none of the charm, a bad script, and worse actors.

The film takes place out in Silverton, Oklahoma. The first characters introduced are a single father named Gary and his two sons Trey and Donnie. The sons are supposed to be filming a "video time capsule" as a school project, which is a lazy way to make sure some of the characters have cameras on them for the found-footage sections of the movie. The second group of characters are the storm chasers. They consist of a meteorologist, a documentary filmmaker and some camera operators. It may seem like I'm breezing past all of the characters but, the film doesn't seem too concerned with giving them any depth so there isn't much to say. 

The first 25 minutes of this movie is a slog to get through, but once some tornadoes start touching down it does pick up the pace. Of course the Silverton High School graduation happens to fall on the same day that massive F5 tornadoes hit the small Oklahoma town, thus bringing all of the actors to the same location. After that, it hits all of the usual disaster movie beats you'd expect. Before the first twister had even touched down I had correctly predicted every character who was going to live to the end of the film. That's not to say many other disaster flicks aren't predictable but, nothing in this one felt original. As for some positives, despite the stilted acting and formulaic plot, the visual effects were a bit better than I expected. The CGI wasn't amazing but it was good enough that I could still get drawn into the latter half of the film.

Overall, I didn't really like this movie but it wasn't frustratingly bad either. 

I'll give Into the Storm a 1.5 out of 5.

The Hollow Point

The Hollow Point stars Patrick Wilson, Lynn Collins, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, and Jim Belushi. It was released back in 2016 and was directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego who has a very limited filmography, but is probably best know for directing the 2011 sci-fi/ horror film Apollo 18.

The premise of this movie is that hollow point bullets are being smuggled into Mexico from the United States, by way of a desolate road out of a small border town. When the town's Sheriff (played by Patrick Wilson) starts to investigate he quickly finds himself in over his head. It turns out that the bullets are being sold to drug cartels and there is a relentless hitman (played by John Leguizamo) with a list of targets. 

I'm not going to say that is a great movie by any stretch but, I was fully engaged while watching it. I like a lot of the actors involved, and the story is a serviceable thriller. I do think that the first half of the film is a bit better than the second. As it went along it seemed to lose focus and it all lead to a lackluster conclusion. The film looks good and there is some slick cinematography but, the writing in my opinion is where this film suffers. The characters all felt pretty one dimensional and there's this odd recurring thing where anytime Patrick Wilson's character leaves a room, whoever he was talking to calls him an 'asshole'. Not to his face or in a confrontational way, they just kind of murmur it to themselves. Likewise, everyone keeps calling Ian McShane a 'dinosaur'. Sure, the man's in his 70's but, it just seems like lazy writing.

Overall, I thought The Hollow Point was pretty entertaining. It has it's problems and I wouldn't call it a 'must-see' but, it's alright.
2.5 out of 5.

Starsky & Hutch

After my recent post about the Charlie's Angels films of the early 2000's, I decided it was time to take a look back at another movie based on a 1970's T.V. show. Starsky & Hutch is a 2004 comedy starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson as the lead characters David Starsky and Ken Hutchinson. Just like those Charlie's Angels movies, I hadn't seen this movie since it's initial release and was wondering how it's held up over the years.

Unlike many adaptations of older T.V. shows, this movie doesn't update the setting to the present day and instead sets the film sometime in the 1970's. We are quickly introduced to two very different detectives who, like in virtually all buddy-cop comedies, are assigned to be partners. The big case that the two need to crack involves taking down a drug kingpin named Reese Feldman (played by Vince Vaughn). Feldman and his partner in crime Kevin (played by Jason Bateman) have developed a new kind of cocaine that isn't detectable to drug sniffing dogs and seems to be nothing but an artificial sweetener when subjected to crime-lab tests. With some help from a street-smart informant named Huggy Bear (played by Snoop Dogg), Starsky and Hutch eventually learn that a massive amount of this new cocaine is about to be sold. Of course this is a comedy so, while the end goal is as simple as stopping the bad guy, the duo finds themselves in more than their fair share of wacky scenarios along the way.

There aren't a ton of jokes that I thought were great while rewatching it but I felt that the combination of solid chemistry between Stiller and Wilson, along with a good supporting cast was enough to carry the movie. In fact, it's those supporting characters (mainly Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear and Fred Williamson as the police chief) that provided me with the biggest laughs. I don't think this is one of the all-time great comedies and I don't think it's a movie that begs to be revisited if you've already seen it. 

Good for a few laughs but overall, it's just ok.

2.5 out of 5

Charlie's Angels

With a reboot of the Charlie's Angels franchise hitting theaters recently and performing pretty poorly (at the time I'm writing this the film currently holds a 3.9/10 on the IMDb and likely won't turn a profit), it got me thinking about the two previous films that were released in the early 2000's. Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle were released in 2000 and 2003 respectively, and starred Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu as the titular 'Angels'. Now, I hadn't seen either one of those films in over a decade but, they were box-office successes and I remember thinking that they were fun action flicks. So, I decided to rewatch them both and see if they hold up...

They do not.

Let's start off with 2000's Charlie's Angels. This one is probably the better of the two, but not by much and some of that is just because it's about 10 minutes shorter. The basic premise of this first film involves the Angels being hired to rescue a computer software genius named Eric Knox who has been kidnapped. Along the way they encounter a strange and mysterious assassin they call the "Thin Man" (played by Crispin Glover). Of course, in a twist anyone could see a mile away, Knox and his business partner who hired the Angels are in cahoots with the "Thin Man". It's a pretty funny movie, although I think most of the things that had me cracking up were not intended to do so. One thing that I had forgotten over the years was the stellar cast that was assembled for this film. Starring along side the Angels are the likes of Bill Murray, Tim Curry, and Sam Rockwell who just the year before was in The Green Mile. Unfortunately, the film is poorly written and the plot seems to only serve as a means to get the three attractive leads from one scenario in which they wear sexy outfits to another. Additionally, most of the stunts are beyond ridiculous and it's directed by McG, who has never directed a good movie. 

Moving on to 2003, and we got the sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. This one is also directed by McG and, much like the first film, is mostly eye-candy with very little plot. Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Crispin Glover, Matt LeBlanc and Luke Wilson all reprise their roles from the previous film. However, interestingly enough, Bosley (played in the first film by Bill Murray) was recast with Bernie Mac taking over the role. The Angels' mission in this film is to recover two titanium rings that, when put together, reveal a list of people in protective custody. The rings are eventually acquired by former Angel Madison Lee (played by Demi Moore). Madison's plan is to gather several different criminal organizations and sell the rings to the highest bidder. 'Full Throttle' is a great way to describe this movie, as the unconvincing special effects and impossible stunts have definitely been kicked up to another level in this entry. Likewise, the plot is just a bit dumber, the acting is just a bit more over-the-top, and the musical selection is just a bit more on the nose. 

Overall, these movies are kind of fun, the characters seem to exist in an absurd world that is completely free of logic, and I laughed a lot rewatching both of them. That being said, I think they are bad films. I'm glad I sat down and rewatched them but, I don't think it's something i'll be doing again anytime soon. 

I give both Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle a 1.5 out of 5

Today's Movie: Casino Jack

Casino Jack was released in 2010, and it tells the story of the lead-up-to and eventual fall of former Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Directed by George Hinkenlooper (who died before the film's release) the movie stars Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper, Jon Lovitz, Kelly Preston. and Rachelle Lefevre.

For anyone already familiar with the story, this is a comedic-dramatization of events. One of the problems that sometimes arises when making a Hollywood version of a story like that of Abramoff is that there is no good guy to root for. While Spacey (his own future scandals aside) plays Abramoff as likeable as possible, everyone related to this story is at fault. The lobbyist, the Senators who take money from the lobbyist, the people paying the lobbyists to sway the Senator's vote in their favor... it's a story of fraud, greed and corruption and leads to the movie being a bit of a mess tonally. That being said, I do like the film overall. I think that the acting is pretty solid throughout, and I'm a bit of a sucker for true crime stories. It's also not a particularly long movie, only about 1hr 45mins, but it packs a lot into that time and keeps the story moving. 

Casino Jack wasn't a critical or box-office hit but, I think there is enough good stuff in the film to make it worthwhile. 

I give it a 3 out of 5.

The Irishman

Now available on Netflix, The Irishman is the latest film by Martin Scorsese. The movie is based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses which is about the life of mafia hitman Frank Sheeran. It's also is a reteaming of Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci who had previously starred in two other Scorsese crime films (which happen to be two of my favorite movies); Goodfellas in 1990 and Casino in 1995.

This is a good movie. A very good movie in fact, although that shouldn't be much of a surprise as Scorsese is one of the all-time great filmmakers and mafia stories are kind of his sweet spot. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Goodfellas or Casino but, it did surpass my expectations. I guess because it was a Netflix movie I thought it might be a lesser Scorsese film and also, to be fair, Pesci was retired and De Niro has been phoning it in the past few years. Alongside those two, the film also features the likes of Al Pacino, Bobby Cannavale, Harvey Keitel, and Ray Ramano who's surprisingly really in good in this movie. 

One thing that may turn a few people away is the runtime. It's long, like three and half hours long. However, I think it earns just about every minute of that runtime. I didn't read the Charles Brandt book I Heard You Paint Houses but, I did read up a bit on Frank Sheeran in the lead up to this movie's release. This is a lot of story to condense, and I think the film nailed it. It's well-written, expertly directed, and all of the actors brought their A-game. I highly recommend checking this one out, especially if you're a fan of films about organized crime. 

It's easily one of my favorites of 2019, and I give it 4.5 out of 5.

Today's Movie: Hot Pursuit

2015's Hot Pursuit is a cop and crook on-the-run comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara. In the film Witherspoon plays the part of Rose Cooper, a by-the-book, yet bumbling police officer assigned to transport the wife of a drug dealer to Dallas so she and her husband can testify against the leader of a cartel. After the husband is ambushed and murdered, Cooper and the wife Daniella Riva (played by Sofia Vergara) flee. With them on the run, and two dirty police officers on their tail, Cooper and Riva must get to Dallas in time for the trial and to clear Copper's name.

Now, I like Reese Witherspoon and I like odd-couple comedies, but I found this movie to be surprisingly unfunny. I'd say a good 95% of the comedy relates to one of following gags: 1) Reese Witherspoon is short. 2) The character of Cooper is uptight. 3) Mrs. Riva is a shrill, overdramatic, caricature of a Latina woman. There is no subtlety to either lead performance, and pretty much none of it landed for me. The basic police officer and criminal having to work together premise has been done a million times but, I think with these two actresses there was the potential here to make a fun comedy. Unfortunately, whether it was Director Anne Fletcher (who is known for making lackluster-at-best films), or a bad screenplay, or likely both, Hot Pursuit just isn't a good movie. As for a few positives; I think the total runtime is less than 90 minutes, and there is a cameo by Mike Birbiglia.

Overall, I'm going to give this one a 1 out of 5.

The Hawk is Dying

Starring Paul Giamatti, Michael Pitt, and Michelle Williams, The Hawk is Dying is a 2006 drama directed by Julian Goldberger. In the film, Paul Giamatti plays a vehical upholster named George whos true passion and obsession is falconry. His goal is to train a hawk with the help of his autistic nephew Fred (played by Michael Pitt). Although all of their attempts thus far have failed, they capture a red-tailed hawk and George thinks that this is going to be the one. Unfortunatly, after Fred drowns in a freak accident, George starts to spiral out of control becoming more obsessed with training the new hawk.

Giamatti is one of my favorite actors working today, so the movie gets a little extra bump in my book for simply having him in it. With that being said, it's not a great movie. I found it fairly interesting and didn't once consider switching to something else but, it's really only worth checking out for the lead performance. It's a slow paced and morose film, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just falls a little flat. 

Overall, not bad. Not great. Just an OK movie. 
2.5 out of 5

Midway (2019)

Last night my wife and I went to see the new Roland Emmerich film Midway. Now, Emmerich doesn't have the best track record as a director but, this one looked pretty good from the trailers. The film, as the title would suggest, is about the Battle of Midway in 1942 and it stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, and Tadanobu Asano.

The movie covers a lot of ground: It starts out before the United States got involved in WWII, takes us through the attack on Pearl Harbor, and of course the lead-up to and eventual Battle of Midway. The movie crams a lot into it's 2hr and 18min runtime which means it was never boring but, by contrast, it did feel a bit clunky at times. However, even with the occasionally odd pacing I feel that, outside of 1996's Independence Day, this is probably Emmerich's best film. It's a slick production and, although none of the acting is great but, its good enough.

I'm generally a fan of war movies and I think if given the choice between the two, I prefer the 1976 Midway film starring Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda over this one. That being said, I still had a pretty good time watching this film. Overall, I liked it but didn't love it. So consider this a light-recommend.

3 out of 5

Beat the Devil

Beat the Devil is a 1953 adventure-comedy directed by John Huston. The film stars Humphrey Bogart, who had previously starred in a number of notable Huston films like 1941's The Maltese Falcon, 1948's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and 1951's The African Queen. Alongside Bogart is a pretty solid cast of  Jennifer Jones and Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley, Peter Lorre and Bernard Lee. 

The plot involves a group of questionable characters who are all headed to Africa and looking to acquire some valuable, uranium-rich land. Along the way thier boat sinks and, upon reaching shore, they are taken captive suspected of being spies. Story-wise it's nothing special for a movie like this, with many of the characters trying to smooth-talk their way out of situations and willing to doublecross each other if it means advancing their own self-interest. Where the film shines is with the cast, and the bander between the characters is really the main selling point here. Overall, It's not a great movie but, it's fun and good for a couple of laughs.

I give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Today's Movie: Moon

Released in 2009 and directed by Duncan Jones, Moon is easily one of my all-time favorite sci-fi films.

In the movie Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell) works alone at a mining station on the far side of the moon, with only the station's artificial intelligence system named GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey) to keep him company. The station exists as a way to mine a fuel source known as helium-3 from the moon's soil by Lunar Industries. Sam is nearing the end of his three-year contract with Lunar and is all set to return home to his wife and daughter back on Earth. One day when making a routine visit to one of the remote helium-3 harvesters, Sam becomes distracted and crashes his rover. He wakes up in the stations infirmary unclear as to how he got there. Curious to find some answers, Sam eventually decides to head back to the crash site. When he opens up the rover and climbs inside, he finds that there is someone inside... himself!

Without giving away the other twists and turns of the plot, I'll just say this; I think Moon is a fantastic movie and I and even placed it on my Top 100 Favorite Films list. Sam Rockwell, who I think is a phenomenal actor, turns in one of the best performances of his career in this one. It's also a very well written, well directed, and engaging film. I'm a bit surprised that I never hear anyone talk about it, as it currently holds a score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.9/10 on the IMDb. If you've never seen Moon, I highly recommend checking it out. 

5 out of 5.