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For the John Carpenter fans out there

Started by crimsonmoose3 · Oct 28, 2005 · 👁 5 views · 44 replies

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crimsonmoose3 RegularOP

310 messages
joined Jun 2006

#1 · Oct 28, 2005

I'm curious if there are any other true cinephiles out there who share my obsession with his work. I'm talking about the horror trilogy, Fog, Assault on Precinct 13, Elvis Presley, Creation, Christine, Escape from L.A., Big Trouble in Little China, Son of Darkness, Escape from New York City, Spirit of Mars, Vampire, and Halloween.
Critics can trash Los Angeles all they want, but to me, it's an absolute blast. You've got surfing, Kurt Russell, Bruce Campbell playing a total madman as a surgeon, and my personal favorite sequence: five enemies facing him down, like a classic Western standoff. He tosses a can, everyone waits, then Kurt Russell draws and clears them all out. The can hits the ground right as they do.
Which of his films do you guys actually enjoy?

Richard Howard2 Active Member

128 messages
joined Dec 2002

#2 · Oct 28, 2005

Well, truth be told, Escape from Los Angeles actually earned some pretty stellar reviews from most critics. Personally, I find the film to be nothing short of top-tier.

You failed to mention my absolute favorite of his early work, his debut Dark Star!

Does anyone happen to have any of his rarer films available for trade, specifically including Dark Star?

quietdriver3 Regular

290 messages
joined Mar 2005

#3 · Oct 28, 2005

I guess ABC 👍 😁

Jose Chase2 Active Member

196 messages
joined Sep 2008

#4 · Oct 28, 2005

Carpenter is a total legend🙏 👍

Jessica Nguyen85 Active Member

162 messages
joined Jul 2003

#5 · Oct 28, 2005

I'm wondering if there are any other true fans out there who actually love his movies as much as I do?

Not many of us, but man, we sure are loud when we do show up. 😬

Sandra King86 Active Member

79 messages
joined Sep 2004

#6 · Oct 28, 2005

crimsonmoose3 said:Just wondering if there are any other true fans out there who live for his movies like I do...

Signing in with respect... 😍

Dennis Martin6 Active Member

55 messages
joined Dec 2005

#7 · Oct 28, 2005

I've got Dark Star, but honestly, it’s not even up there for me.

The real heavy hitters would be The Thing, Assault on Precinct 13, and Son of Darkness.

nimblemarlin17 Regular

459 messages
joined Mar 2004

#8 · Oct 28, 2005

Richard Howard2 said:To be fair, Escape from Los Angeles actually earned its praise from most critics. I personally think it's a top-tier movie.

I tell people all the time that this is easily the coolest action flick ever made. It's over 90 minutes of pure, relentless chaos wrapped up in a genius finale. Too bad it’s basically just a carbon copy of Escape from New York. But honestly? In my book, the remake beats the original any day. 🙏

crimsonmoose3 RegularOP

310 messages
joined Jun 2006

#9 · Oct 29, 2005

Richard Howard2 says:
To be fair, Escape from Los Angeles actually earned some great reviews from the critics. I personally think it's a top-tier film.

You didn't mention my absolute favorite of his, his debut, Dark Star!

My bad. Sorry, Richard Howard2, 😵 😵 It’s easily one of his wildest films—that final scene where the astronaut is surfing back toward Earth is pretty unforgettable...

Richard Howard2 Active Member

128 messages
joined Dec 2002

#10 · Oct 29, 2005

crimsonmoose3 said:Good grief. My apologies, Richard Howard2, 😵 😵 It is one of the most insane films ever made—specifically that unforgettable final sequence where an astronaut ends up surfing his way back toward Earth.

Even though I found myself chuckling through nearly the entire runtime, my absolute favorite moment has to be when he's chasing that inflatable pumpkin-shaped alien, gets himself wedged under the elevator, and in a desperate attempt to call for help, manages to hit nothing but the button for the "Figaro" theme 🤣

Richard Howard2 Active Member

128 messages
joined Dec 2002

#11 · Oct 29, 2005

Dennis Martin6 said:I actually own Dark Star, but honestly, it’s probably one of my weaker picks.

Is there any way I could get a copy from you?

Richard Hernandez13 Regular

269 messages
joined May 2004

#12 · Oct 29, 2005

crimsonmoose3 said:I'm curious, what would you say are his absolute best movies?

Big Trouble in Little China is such a classic, especially with Russell playing that quintessential American hard-boiled, macho guy who somehow manages to miss every single obvious clue in the whole movie.

- What is that stuff?
- It is black blood of earth.
- You mean oil?
- No, I mean black blood of earth.

- What's in the flask, Egg? Magic potion?
- Yeah.
- Thought so, good. What do we do, drink it?
- Yeah!
- Good, thought so.

Richard Howard2 Active Member

128 messages
joined Dec 2002

#13 · Oct 30, 2005

Richard Hernandez13 said:Big Trouble in Little China features the incomparable Russell playing that classic American hard-boiled macho lug who somehow manages to miss every single shot in the entire movie.

- What is that stuff?
- It is black blood of earth.
- You mean oil?
- No, I mean black blood of earth.

- What's in the flask, Egg? Magic potion?
- Yeah.
- Thought so, good. What do we do, drink it?
- Yeah!
- Good, thought so.

🙏

A masterpiece. My favorite sequence? The finale. Russell, looking like an absolute idiot with roses smeared all over his face, hurls a knife at the sorcerer and misses by less than ten feet. The sorcerer picks up the knife from the floor—"nice try Mr. Tim Burton. Goodbye Mr. Tim Burton!"—and flings it back at Kurt, who catches it mid-air and sends it straight back into the guy's forehead in half a second.😁

Dennis Martin6 Active Member

55 messages
joined Dec 2005

#14 · Oct 30, 2005

Jango Fett said:Any way I can snag a copy from you?

Sure, let's trade. Hit me up in the DMs and drop a list of what you've got

Timothy Murphy7 Member

12 messages
joined Jun 2005

#15 · Oct 30, 2005

Good old Carpenter doesn't make bad movies, let alone boring ones. At least I've never run into one...

The Thing and They Live are among my favorites, and Dracula was actually pretty great too (among his recent stuff)😎

Ethan Perez97 Active Member

114 messages
joined Aug 2005

#16 · Oct 31, 2005

The Thing and They Live are my absolute favorites, though I’ve also given Escape from New York plenty of credit, which I actually covered in detail over on my blog...

Anonymous Veteran

3.6K messages
joined May 2005

#17 · Oct 31, 2005

crimsonmoose3 said:I'm curious—are there any other true fans out there who love his movies as much as I do?

But of course 😍

crimsonscout4 Newcomer

2 messages
joined Oct 2005

#18 · Oct 31, 2005

crimsonscout4 said:Big Trouble in Little China features the ultimate Jack Russell archetype—that classic, hard-boiled American macho meathead who somehow manages to miss every single obvious clue in the movie.

- What is that stuff?
- It is black blood of earth.
- You mean oil?
- No, I mean black blood of earth.

- What's in the flask, Egg? Magic potion?
- Yeah.
- Thought so, good. What do we do, drink it?
- Yeah!
- Good, thought so.

This was my absolute favorite growing up. Still holds up, but back when I was just a kid watching it on VHS every single day, the tape always used to glitch out right at the end during the elevator scene when they’re all running for it. 🙂

crimsonmoose3 RegularOP

310 messages
joined Jun 2006

#19 · Oct 31, 2005

Ethan Perez97 said:The Thing and They Live are my favorites, though Escape from New York is up there too—I actually wrote a piece about it on my blog.

Is that blog still live? I'd love to give it a read. 😁

As for this... if anyone has seen that horror trilogy (his only omnibus), I watched it ages ago and completely blanked on what those worms on the bald guy were actually doing, or how they related to his look. Could someone clarify...?🙏 🙏 🙏

Richard Hernandez13 Regular

269 messages
joined May 2004

#20 · Oct 31, 2005

Clint Eastwood said:This was hands down my absolute favorite movie growing up... I mean, it still holds up today, but back when I was just a little kid, I used to watch it on VHS practically every single day, and honestly, I still haven't actually seen that elevator scene at the end where the four of them are making their escape—my tape always seemed to glitch out right at that exact moment. 🙂

Yeah, it’s funny how that works because when you're a kid, you totally get sucked into the adventure side of things, but once you get a bit older, you start appreciating the parody elements way more... like that elevator scene (if I'm remembering it correctly) where Popeye drinks that invincibility potion. 🤣

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