The Milagro Beafield War. He dressed normal, looked normal, talked normal and scared the hell out of me. You were looking at the devil the eyes.
In Man On Fire, he played human and sensitive.... and that was 37 to the 10th power scary...You don't see it coming.
"A man can be an artist... in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasey's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece."
Agreed. He's been in a lot of terrible movies, but his acting ability and performance skills have been the only things that saved them from being horrible movies. When he gets turned loose with a good script he can be amazing. Pulp Fiction, Blast from the Past, Biloxi Blues, Brainstorm, Suicide Kings, his appearances on Saturday Night Live, and even the Weapons of Choice music video were all improved enormously by his participation. I can't think of any other actor that could have given all of those the boost that he did.
The interrogation scene between Walken and Dennis Hopper in True Romance is one of the best scenes ever captured on film. I pull it up at least once a month on YouTube.
The first movie to jump into my head reading this was "A View to A Kill."
This was at the height of the Cheesy Roger Moore Bond era, and some things in this movie are beyond preposterous, beyond campy. But to the extent that what makes a Bond movie is a Really Creepy Villian... well, old Christopher Walken kind of nails it.
There's this one scene where he's gunning down his employees for no good reason, laughing gleefully, shoots the last one and looks at his watch and says "right on schedule." And somehow this campy absurdist movie suddenly has the real actual Devil in it. It is a phenomenally creepy scene.
Somehow View to a Kill winds up being at the same time the best and the worst Bond movie. Without Walken, it would have been not just bad, but Moonraker bad.
You are up way too early. Of course I still haven't been to bed yet, no room to talk.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Walken made "Puss in Boots" 37x more awesome, Tam.
ReplyDeleteIt was starting from an awfully low baseline...
ReplyDeleteThen explain "Joe Dirt". :)
ReplyDeleteDoes that go for awful music as well? Or does the qualifier "Only if he's dancing" need inclusion?
ReplyDeleteThe Milagro Beafield War. He dressed normal, looked normal, talked normal and scared the hell out of me. You were looking at the devil the eyes.
ReplyDeleteIn Man On Fire, he played human and sensitive.... and that was 37 to the 10th power scary...You don't see it coming.
"A man can be an artist... in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasey's art is death. He's about to paint his masterpiece."
Agreed. He's been in a lot of terrible movies, but his acting ability and performance skills have been the only things that saved them from being horrible movies. When he gets turned loose with a good script he can be amazing. Pulp Fiction, Blast from the Past, Biloxi Blues, Brainstorm, Suicide Kings, his appearances on Saturday Night Live, and even the Weapons of Choice music video were all improved enormously by his participation. I can't think of any other actor that could have given all of those the boost that he did.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't another actor who could have played Walken's part in Suicide Kings, period.
ReplyDeleteThe movie was entirely a Christopher Walken vehicle, with a special awesome guest appearance by Dennis Leary.
Oh my God, how could I have forgotten to include "I've gotta fever, and the prescription is More Cowbell!"
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you didn't include his latest demotivational poster.
ReplyDeleteEven "The Country Bears" from Disney? I'm not even sure that Christopher Walken could make that movie vaguely watchable.
ReplyDeleteThe interrogation scene between Walken and Dennis Hopper in True Romance is one of the best scenes ever captured on film. I pull it up at least once a month on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteFor the doubters among you:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMZwZiU0kKs
At Close Range.
ReplyDeleteMaybe...
ReplyDeleteBut GENE HACKMAN takes this prize!
"Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead".
ReplyDeleteI generally liked it because of the rest of the cast. I loved it because of Walken.
But remember 37 x 0 is still ……………….. Gigli
ReplyDeleteyes CW was in Gigli……… :-(
I'm not so sure about the Midori in that concoction...
ReplyDeleteBy that reason, 'Brainstorm" was insufferably lame, because it was lame WITH walken.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I watch it over and over again anyway.
The first movie to jump into my head reading this was "A View to A Kill."
ReplyDeleteThis was at the height of the Cheesy Roger Moore Bond era, and some things in this movie are beyond preposterous, beyond campy. But to the extent that what makes a Bond movie is a Really Creepy Villian... well, old Christopher Walken kind of nails it.
There's this one scene where he's gunning down his employees for no good reason, laughing gleefully, shoots the last one and looks at his watch and says "right on schedule." And somehow this campy absurdist movie suddenly has the real actual Devil in it. It is a phenomenally creepy scene.
Somehow View to a Kill winds up being at the same time the best and the worst Bond movie. Without Walken, it would have been not just bad, but Moonraker bad.
Who else but Walken could dance with John Travolta performing in fat-suit drag in "Hairspray."
ReplyDeleteTry to burn that image o_0 out.
"Uncomfortable hunk of metal"
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Walken movie will always be "DOGS OF WAR"...
ReplyDeleteAll The Best,
Frank W. James
Alath,
ReplyDeleteThere was no Moonraker.
Just as the entire Star Wars film franchise ended with the destruction of the Death Star over Endor -- no party, no prequels, nothing.
Moonraker does not exist. It cannot exist, even in from the era of technoBond Roger Moore films. (Roger Moore was so much better in ffolkes anyway.)
"There was no Moonraker."
ReplyDeleteThis.
So very, very This.