Walker - 1987 - Dir. Cox

All right, so I wasn't terrifically blown away by Repo Man BUT DAMN, Walker sure was bitchin'. I think probably a great deal of my love for the film stems from Joe Strummer's score. I know as soon as the movie began with a ton of Mexican soldiers running to his almost Carribbean-y score, I knew I was in for a treat. It so perfectly illustrated the lightness in tone but severity of the subject matter especially back in 87. I dunno, where Repo Man seemed terribly confused and aimless, Walker feels WAY tighter. Even as the film falls apart in violence and anachronism, it falls apart in a much tighter manner, with an organized message. The film isn't shy about going over-the-top especially with Peter Boyle as some kind a maniacal Vanderbilt, the camera rarely backing up from his giant mug. There's plenty of men walking around in posses firing randomly to awesome music. The end sequence all with the fire and slow-mo, I had to watch it twice. Ed Harris as the title role plays the madman fairly quietly. Even considering how quickly he goes nuts, he just seems fairly reasonable the whole time. I guess that's the thing about Ed Harris, he just doesn't ever really seem all the insane. It worked really well, because the world around him is exploding at the seems with madness, Ed Harris seems to be the calm center... except he's kind of the craziest fuck of them all (OH MAN! There's definitely a shot where he looks BATSHIT insane though). And Tim Allen's Little Brother from Home Improvement is Ed Harris's little Brother, and man, I love watching small TV actors be all large in movies. When he runs around, shooting people looking cool, I COULDN'T stop thinking about home improvement. Actually the film has a lot of neat actors in it, not really name actors but like... the guy who plays GEORGE MASON and Richard Edson! I mean, the movie is silly, violent, over-the-top, brimming with style, and you know, it still has a lot to say. It may not be the smartest film around (certainly not subtle) but I can't say I've seen a movie like this and enjoyed it in a long time. I wish I hadn't known so much about the film before I watched it though, there were some things I would have loved to be a surprise.

What's cooler than Ed Harris standing around wearing that? Ed Harris STRUTTING around wearing that!