Die Hard On A Blank

It’s Die Hard in Mother Russia!

Well pals, it’s finally here…the final episode! We started with the original DIE HARD, we’ve covered 80 subsequent films that were influenced by it in some way, and so it only seems fitting to booked this project with the fifth and final DIE HARD film that we’ll be covering in this episode. But…we’re also going a step further than that. Because to honor the culmination of the show we have a very special guest…a multi-talented director, producer and screenwriter, whose extensive credits include such films as 48 HRS, COMMANDO, THE RUNNING MAN, RICOCHET, DIE HARD 2 and of course the original DIE HARD…Mr. Steven E De Souza!

Aging New York cop John McClane travels to Russia in search of his estranged son Jack (Jai Courtenay) only to discover that Jack is entangled with a complex espionage plot, wherein corrupt politician Viktor Chagarin (Sergei Koslesnikov) plains to railroad imprisoned billionaire and whistleblower Yuri Komarov (Sebastian Koch) in a rigged trial, unless Komarov turns over a mysterious file. When Komarov refuses to give up said file, the courthouse is attacked and blown up by well-armed mercenaries. Jack escapes with Komarov in tow, only to encounter his dad – John McClane himself - during the apparent extraction attempt, which is soon revealed to be a clandestine CIA operation. With the delicate mission now in jeopardy, father and son must team up to fight the bad guys who are now after them both, working through their estrangement issues in the process.

The guys talk about the original DIE HARD film, the series as a whole, and where and how it may have gone astray as a franchise. Steven provides his unique opinions about what makes a good sequel versus a bad one, and regales the boys with stories of his work on DIE HARD and DIE HARD 2. Their wide-ranging discussion encompasses all manner of topics relating to the DIE HARD films, his career as a whole, and action cinema in general. As always the show ends with the final editions of the Die Hard Oscars and the Double Jeopardy Trivia Quiz, before the boys sign off with an emotional mailbag section, where they read a variety of the best letters sent in by listeners of the show, from all around the world.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SQ0IzY0YrY

At the time of release, A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV/iTunes, YouTube, Fandango and all the usual platforms! It is also available on physical media!

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It’s Die Hard in a dystopia! For our penultimate episode, this week we’re hopping on our lawmasters and cruising into Mega City One, as we discuss the 2012 version of DREDD aka DREDD 3-D!

In the futuristic crime-ridden dystopia of Mega City One, roving patrols of ‘Judges’ are permitted to dispense on-the-spot justice with the power of judge, jury and executioner. In this context, the hard-bitten, highly experienced Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is reluctantly partnered with rookie candidate Judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), who has psychic abilities due to a genetic mutation. In the process of investigating a triple homicide in the towering high-rise building known as Peach Trees, the two Judges incur the wrath of the culprit – ferocious and powerful local gangster MaMa (Lena Headey) – who seals off the building and declares war on the pair of them, meaning that the two vastly outnumbered Judges must use all their skills and guile to survive an onslaught of attacks from the building’s seemingly infinite number of marauding criminals.

The boys put this awesome movie in its full context by discussing the entire history of the Dredd character and it’s life across popular culture (including the 1995 Stallone movie version). They go deep on this icon figure’s complex appeal, and what this adaptation got so right, and what the distributors got so wrong (remember the 3-D craze?! Ah…good times) in translating this challenging source material to the silver screen at the second attempt. The guys hand out awards in a hotly contested edition of the ‘Die Hard Oscars’ and wrap things up with a challenging edition of the ‘Double Jeopardy’ Trivia Quiz. But will Liam pass or fail?!

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqqgrUna28w

At the time of release, DREDD is streaming on Tubi and Vix and is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV/iTunes, YouTube, Fandango and all the usual platforms! It is also available on physical media!

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It’s Die Hard in a tower block! Yep things really are coming full circle now as this time the Die Hard-esque mayhem takes place in…a tall building…as we discuss Gareth Evans' furiously intense game-changer THE RAID (aka THE RAID: REDEMPTION) with special guest Jason Kleeburg!

Rama (Iko Uwais) is a young police officer in the Mobile Brigade Corps, Indonesia’s spec-ops paramilitary tactical unit. Rama is part of an small MBC squad who are tasked with assaulting an impenetrable Jakarta slum ruled by the notorious gangster Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy). The goal is to extract and arrest Tama, but the bungled operation quickly goes to hell, and soon Rama and what’s left of his unit find themselves trapped inside the building, facing overwhelming opposition from Tama’s seemingly endless hordes of henchmen.

So, are the DHOAB boys ready for a bit of the old ultraviolence? Well, opinions vary. The lads fiercely debate this divisive film’s merits…just like many of the prominent critics did at the time of its release. Is this, as Jason suggests, simply one of the best fight films ever made? Or is it, as Roger Ebert argued, “a visualized video game that spares the audience the inconvenience of playing it”? Perhaps it’s both, and the guys chew it all over, discussing its relevance as a paradigm-shifter for the entire action genre, its influences (and influence) across Asian, American, and indeed world cinema, and its potency, originality, and inventiveness with no recognizable stars, a fixed location, and an extremely limited budget. As always the fellas wrap things up with the Die Hard Oscars, followed by the Double Jeopardy Trivia Quiz…while still searching valiantly for the titular “redemption”! Raid Riders rise up!

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Q7KnXpNOg

At the time of release, THE RAID: REDEMPTION is streaming on AMC+, Sundance Now, and Philo and is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV/iTunes, YouTube, Fandango and all the usual platforms! It is also available on physical media!

Click here to subscribe to our Patreon feed 48 HOURS OF BUDDY MOVIES!
www.patreon.com/48hoursofbuddymovies
NO ESCAPE on 4K (featuring our commentary track) is OUT NOW! Order here!
https://shop.umbrellaent.com.au/products/no-escape-1994-4k-blu-ray?srsltid=AfmBOoqnRCaCPMg02WCWvNPTkK_8_fwYeelYFr90HpRlEuQQZ0025adT
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It’s Die Hard on a runaway train! With the last stop now in sight, it’s full steam ahead on the show this week as the boys attempt “to run this bitch down” (in the nicest possible way of course) by discussing Tony Scott’s swaggering swansong UNSTOPPABLE (2010) in the context of disaster movies, Die Hard, and the action genre in general!

When a massive freight train designated 777 accidentally escapes a Pennsylvania railyard under its own power, the authorities scramble to find a solution as the driverless locomotive increases its speed. This highly dangerous situation is yet further complicated when they become aware of 777’s volatile chemical cargo, that effectively turns the runaway train into “a missile the size of the Chrysler building”…a missile that’s now heading into inexorably into a heavily populated area. Fate and circumstances mean that two unlikely heroes – veteran train driver Frank Barnes (Denzel Washington) and rookie conductor Will Colson (Chris Pine) – find themselves on a collision course with the errant vehicle – and with the help of canny yardmaster Connie Hooper (Rosario Dawson), they hatch an audacious plan to try and stop this metallic monster from causing mass destruction in the area they all call home.

In this thoughtful and emotive conversation, Phil and Liam discuss the film’s importance both as the last film of an iconic artist, and as arguably the last pure action movie ever made…before the entire genre changed forever. They muse on its standing as one of the greatest working class pictures of all time, discuss the potential for it being the best disaster movie ever committed to celluloid, and elaborate further on the idea of the “competency porn” that’s writ large throughout Tony Scott’s filmography. As always there’s detailed analysis of UNSTOPPABLE’s bountiful “Die Hard DNA”, before the lads trade their yellow vests for tuxedos to hand out the “Die Hard Oscars”, and finally the guys bring this beast to a halt with the ever-popular “Double Jeopardy” trivia quiz!

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l__gGyq21U8

At the time of release, UNSTOPPABLE is streaming on Fubo, Starz, and Philo and is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV/iTunes, YouTube, Fandango and all the usual platforms! It is also available on physical media!

Click here to subscribe to our Patreon feed 48 HOURS OF BUDDY MOVIES!
www.patreon.com/48hoursofbuddymovies
NO ESCAPE on 4K (featuring our commentary track) is OUT NOW! Order here!
https://shop.umbrellaent.com.au/products/no-escape-1994-4k-blu-ray?srsltid=AfmBOoqnRCaCPMg02WCWvNPTkK_8_fwYeelYFr90HpRlEuQQZ0025adT

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It’s DIE HARD on the New York subway! This week we welcome back special guest Jason Bailey (who completes his hat trick of appearances) to discuss THE TAKING OF PELHAM123 (2009)!

When a ruthless thief who calls himself Ryder (John Travolta) takes over a New York city subway train and demands a $10 million ransom for the hostages, disgraced MTA official Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) finds himself in the middle of the crisis. Garber must now somehow attempt to negotiate his way through this high stakes situation, which soon becomes even more perilous and political when a suspicious NYPD hostage negotiator (John Turturro) and the slippery Mayor of New York (James Gandolfini) both get personally involved. As the body count rises and tensions increase, Garber finds himself drawn into a strange, almost symbiotic relationship with the unhinged hijacker…and ultimately has to go into the lion’s den to confront him personally.

While the bulk of this episode is focused on the 2009 Tony Scott remake, inevitably the guys talk extensively about the 1974 original (and even the 1998 TV movie version). Things are starting to come full circle now, as a seventies film that influenced the original 1988 Die Hard is then remade for a post 9/11 landscape…with new Die Hard DNA inevitably added to the mix. The chaps talk about the story’s themes (particularly the astute and incisive examination of big city politics), the inherent challenges of remakes, and the excellent, layered acting performances. As always the guys hand out ‘Die Hard Oscars’ and wrap things up with a challenging edition of the ‘Double Jeopardy’ trivia quiz.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8TtjRlX_3E

At the time of release, THE TAKING OF PELHAM 123 is streaming on Philo and is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV/iTunes, Fandango and all the usual platforms! Both versions of the film are also available on physical media!

Click here to subscribe to our Patreon feed 48 HOURS OF BUDDY MOVIES!
www.patreon.com/48hoursofbuddymovies
Pre-order NO ESCAPE on 4K (featuring our commentary track) here:
https://shop.umbrellaent.com.au/products/no-escape-1994-4k-blu-ray?srsltid=AfmBOoqnRCaCPMg02WCWvNPTkK_8_fwYeelYFr90HpRlEuQQZ0025adT

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