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Crimsondude 2.0
I'm also particularly fond of the original version of The Manchurian Candidate, and pretty much anything Frankenheimer did.

To Live and Die in L.A., even though I generally think William Friedkin's movies are crap (The Hunted and The French Connection being the exceptions) and he sucks.

And as much as I am a great fan of The Godfather Trilogy, I find it remarkable that anyone would refer to The Sopranos in the same line and yet omit Goodfellas, which is just a rip-roaring good time of a flick.
kevyn668
Phoenix!! How could I have forgot it?! Shame on me. frown.gif

No Escape..pretty good. It could have been grittier. The same with Fortress. (and the even worse Fortress II)

The dot thing, I don't remember the movie but I know I've seen it. What was it?

Crimsondude 2.0
Logan's Run?

Anyway, No Escape is ridiculous (Well, anything with Lance Henricksen is, except for The Terminator). I just mentioned it to drive WWT insane.

vvvvv
kevyn668
"Logan's Run" was the dot thing? Either way, great movie!!

"Aliens" was great as well as long as you have the version with the sentry guns.

Good point about "Goodfellas"
Crimsondude 2.0
Well, "the dot thing" is pretty vague, so I'm just guessing, and Logan's Run was the first one to come to mind.

If you're referring to the quote, "Would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving - forever?..." that's from The Third Man. 1949. Starring Orson Welles, set in post-war Vienna. Cool flick. The scene takes place on a rather famous Ferris Wheel in Vienna that's been the setting for quite a few other films since, including Before Sunrise, and the park was a setting in The Living Daylights.

Aliens is overrated.
Kagetenshi
Another good one: Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure. Social adept gone mad, anyone?

~J
Arethusa
I'll probably draw flak for this, but I really felt Goodfellas was overrated. It was good, but after all the hype, it just didn't live up. And after seeing Gangs of New York, it really became obvious that Scorsese can only make about one and a half films total.
Crimsondude 2.0
I didn't say it was good. I just think it's a fun movie to watch, like watching the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and rooting for Leatherface.
lorthazar
For a "megacorporations trying to control the world" movie try Paycheck. It's also good for the excellent examples of minderasing.

Escape form New York and Escape from LA should be how we all view the barrens.

FreeJack has a very ShadowRun feel, including an awesome bar.
Crimsondude 2.0
Escape from New York, sure. The sequel so thoroughly sucked though that it should be physically burned out of the collective memories of everyone who ever knew it existed.
Ol' Scratch
Payback is one of my favorite inspiration flicks whenever I'm designing a "street adept." Now with Social Skills (namely Intimidation) available as Improved Ability, it's even better.
Arethusa
QUOTE (lorthazar @ Nov 19 2004, 12:43 AM)
FreeJack has a very ShadowRun feel, including an awesome bar.

Speaking of awesome bars, that reminds me: very tongue in cheek, but also visually fucking astounding, stylish beyond reason, and loads of fun, everyone should check out Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. They're flawed film's with Rodriguez' blind focus on the moment, and in terms of narrative and drama, aren't really meant to be taken seriously, but the cinamtography, style, and fun by the buckets make them worth seeing.

QUOTE (Crimsondude 2.0)
I didn't say it was good. I just think it's a fun movie to watch, like watching the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and rooting for Leatherface.

Now, that's a bit harsh. Even if I ultimately felt it was ultimately disappointing, it's a bit better as a film than Texas Chainsaw Massacre. More to the point, though, personally, I didn't really find Goodfellas that entertaining, actually. I certainly wouldn't call it a fun movie.

Also, since they haven't been brought up, I'm going to mention the two Bourne films (Identity and Supremacy). There was a time when Identity was a niche film without much of a following, but I guess word got out. If you're one of the few people who has yet to see these, though, do so. The first was not perfect, but it was unusually brilliant, and what it lacked in narrative tension it made up for in exceedingly good performances and directing. For a film billed as an action movie, the action was always character driven. Supremacy was a bit of a let down in that department for various reasons, but certainly still worth seeing.
Chance359
Not sure if it got mentioned already, but Carlito's Way. It has lessons on working the streets with a "code", being double crossed, and not to mention probably the best use of reputation and intimidation ever.

trapped in a room and out of ammo

"Comeon in here motherfuckers, comeon I'm waitin for you.... What!?!? You aint comin in? Okay I'm comin out. Oh you up against it now motherfucker, I'm gonna blow your fuckin brains. You think you're big time??? You gonna fucking die big time. You ready?? Here come the pain!!!

Kicks open the door to see all the gang members have run
Ed Simons
QUOTE (BumsofTacoma)

Take out the space travel and you get COWBOY BEBOP!!!


Agreed.

QUOTE (BumsofTacoma)

Jet: Cyber arm with strength mods, smart link, he is a rigger i guess.

Faye: the face......okay a very bad one, but she has a high charisma


No, Jet is the face. He's also a bit of a street sam, and a bit of a decker, and has some B/R skills.

Faye's another physad, just not as good as Spike.

Connor
QUOTE (Chance359)
trapped in a room and out of ammo

"Comeon in here motherfuckers, comeon I'm waitin for you....  What!?!? You aint comin in? Okay I'm comin out.  Oh you up against it now motherfucker, I'm gonna blow your fuckin brains.  You think you're big time??? You gonna fucking die big time.  You ready?? Here come the pain!!! 

Kicks open the door to see all the gang members have run

I'm going to have to see Carlito's Way again now just to watch that scene again. Damn you!
spotlite
QUOTE (Arethusa @ Nov 19 2004, 06:05 AM)
QUOTE (lorthazar @ Nov 19 2004, 12:43 AM)
FreeJack has a very ShadowRun feel, including an awesome bar.

Speaking of awesome bars, that reminds me: very tongue in cheek, but also visually fucking astounding, stylish beyond reason, and loads of fun, everyone should check out Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. They're flawed film's with Rodriguez' blind focus on the moment, and in terms of narrative and drama, aren't really meant to be taken seriously, but the cinamtography, style, and fun by the buckets make them worth seeing.

Totally agree with you. If you're into the cinematic style of play, then you can do absolutely no better than Desperado (not seen OUATIM) for ideas for small arms gun fights. If Antonio Banderas' character doesn't have enhanced articulation and move by wire then he's some kind of uberphysad. That film ROCKS, I don't care what anyone thinks about the narrative or drama. You won't care about the narrative and drama while you're watching Antiono strut down a bar moving like a ballet dancer and firing his guns like he's throwing the bullets himself... that bit where the guy jumps on him from on top of the bar, and the desperado kicks him off with both feet, unloads two fresh clips from his pistols into him and then reloads before he's hit the ground is just awesome.

On a much sillier note, the original ninja turtles movie has some very nice touches as well, so long as you can get over the five foot turtles, and cheesy dialogue (s'one of my favorite entertaining films, but I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea). Good use of scenery as a weapon (trash truck compactor), almost a built in 'use of banter in melee combat 101' course, how NOT to attack a single really tough target you stupid, stupid turtles (yeah, lets all attack the guy with the cheese graters and snap blades who leads the evil ninja clan one by one... muppets), organised crime and how it operates, media interest... its all good. You just have to substitute Yakuza for the Foot, KSAF for channel 6, and a secretive physad group for the turtles+splinter. Everything else can remain - except of course that if anyone is begging for the cyberzombie treatment it has to be The Shredder....

Having now exposed my appalling taste in films I'm going to say this - nyah nyah nya nya nyah, I don't care if I'm a sad bastard, I go to movies for escapism not gritty realism. I live in inner city England. I can look outside my damn window for gritty!
Prospero
Add in most stuff by Takeshi Kitano. So good. And so good for you. You get a real feel for the Yakuza in his films. And one of the coolest writer/directors ever, just as a little bonus feature.

And I'm not sure I'm remembering the title exactly right, but Fulltime Killer (I think that's the title) was cool. A Hong Kong flick about two guys, one Japanese and one Chinese, duelling it out to see who becomes the #1 assassin in the world. A little cheezy, but kick-ass action fun all the way through.

For the Humanis angle, or just a really gritty Australian setting, check out Romper Stomper, one of Russel Crowe's first films. Wow. Also, while I'm on Aussie films, Chopper is a worth the watch. I think Chopper himself would be a psycho physad, or you could even use the concept as a ghoul character. Yup, he's just that crazy.

I also don't think anybody's mentioned Long Kiss Goodnight. Secret organizations, mental screw-jobs, sleazy detectives for hire, and big guns.
Fortune
In real life Chopper is just a nut case thug who got lucky a few times by ambushing people whi somewhat trusted him. In jail he was regularly beaten, which is what he mutilated himself to get away from.
Arethusa
Speaking of movies about two hitmen intent on killing eachother and being number one in the world, there is Assassins. It's a 95 film written by a certain pair of notable Wachowskis. Complete crap, too, though Banderas carries the film (if it's carried at all) on force of charisma, and it's got fun moments and some good action ideas that are executed admirably on occasion. Far, far from brilliant, but if you run across a copy and are willing to watch a fairly mediocre film, there's worthwhile stuff in there in terms of style.

Also, spotlite, if you really loved Desperado that much, just buy Once Upon a Time on faith. I'm pretty sure there's exactly one thing you'll be disappointed with, and you will probably have a heart attack of happiness from the rest. As for film/art snob types snubbing something like Desperado or Once Upon a Time, well, I just dont' accept that. I imagine most people would say I fall in that category, and if you can snub either of those films, you are absolutely dead inside.

Also, Long Kiss Goodnight was an unofficial film adaptation of the Bourne Identity, and unlike the movie of that name, it follows the book very closely. I have yet to see it, but from my knowledge of Ludlum, this can be nothing but bad.
Fortune
Considering the extremely limited budget of Desperado, and its even smaller-budgeted predecesor, El Mariachi, they should qualifiy as classics.

... even with 'art snobs'! biggrin.gif
Fortune
QUOTE (Arethusa @ Nov 19 2004, 09:18 PM)
Also, Long Kiss Goodnight was an unofficial film adaptation of the Bourne Identity, and unlike the movie of that name, it follows the book very closely.  I have yet to see it, but from my knowledge of Ludlum, this can be nothing but bad.

Long Kiss Goodnight does not follow the book closely in anything but the amnesia premise.

The Bourne Identity was mostly staged in Paris, and other parts of Europe to a lesser extent. It's main plotline is for Bourne to find his identity and prevent his former employers from assasinating him.

The Long Kiss Goodnight is set in Niagara Falls. It's main plotline is for Gina Davis to prevent the terrorist bombing of an international bridge while saving her daughter and remembering a past lost 8 years (or so?) ago.

Pretty close! eek.gif
Arethusa
Hm. That's very much not what I read. I'd have to see it and read the book to say anything definite, however, and I'm not willing to read a Ludlum novel for anything short of saving thousands of lives.
Fortune
Well, take it from me, who has seen both movies and read the Ludlum novel The Bourne Identity. The movie of the same name is very close to the book, while the Long Kiss Goodnight holds only a few similarities in premise in common with the novel, and nothing else.
Patrick Goodman
The Long Kiss Goodnight is also just a fun ride. I mean, come on...Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson in the same movie, with lots of stuff blowing up?

Speaking of Samuel L. Jackson: Another fun ride, and good SR training IMHO, is The Negotiator. Jackson and Kevin Spacey star as competing hostage negotiators, one of whom (Jackson) is framed and decides to go on the other side of the equation to solve the crime. Plot's a little thin in places, but most shadowrunners should plan as well as Jackson's character improvises in this movie.
Birdy
QUOTE (Patrick Goodman)
The Long Kiss Goodnight is also just a fun ride. I mean, come on...Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson in the same movie, with lots of stuff blowing up?

Speaking of Samuel L. Jackson: Another fun ride, and good SR training IMHO, is The Negotiator. Jackson and Kevin Spacey star as competing hostage negotiators, one of whom (Jackson) is framed and decides to go on the other side of the equation to solve the crime. Plot's a little thin in places, but most shadowrunners should plan as well as Jackson's character improvises in this movie.

Not to mention:

+ Jackson is the "bumbling sidekick" to be rescued by our heroine

+ The film came out shortly after "Under Siege" and has more than one "cook" reference

+ The film lives from the "I am a peaceful teacher / Rambo with boobs" split in Davis character


Great one (seen it only six times so far)!
Nikoli
For me:
City of Lost Children, great Dystopic feel
Dark City, again Dystopic with some awakening
The Indiana Jones collection, Jones is so a phys ad with Cursed Karma
Predator, for that Merc feel
Farscape, Law enforcement run amok
Babylon 5, goverment and corps run amok
The Mission, one mans journey of redemption through blood shed
Shawshank redemption, a good dystopic study of cause and effect in a closed system

(and for the record, while Jet knows everybody, he fits the Detective template moreso. Faye is the Face as she tries to sweet talk her way in. Ein and Ed are otaku, and well Spike is Spike)
Tanka
Well, considering how much Faye sucks at negotiations, I highly doubt she's the Face. Maybe Face-on-the-side, but not Face.
Nikoli
I didn't say she was good.
Garland
QUOTE (sidartha)
As far as the whole Blade Runner debate goes, I liked the original version for the narrative. It gave the movie more of that noir feel.

Agreed. The voice-overs did a lot to build the movie up, I feel.
Black Isis
No one has menitoned Big Trouble In Little China, which, while silly, is an amusing blend of crazy kungfu and fantasy.

Escape from New York is specifically noted in Bug City as the atmosphere for the setting.
Crimsondude 2.0
Really? It has before, although maybe not in this thread.

QUOTE (Arethusa)
QUOTE (Crimsondude 2.0)
I didn't say it was good. I just think it's a fun movie to watch, like watching the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and rooting for Leatherface.

Now, that's a bit harsh. Even if I ultimately felt it was ultimately disappointing, it's a bit better as a film than Texas Chainsaw Massacre. More to the point, though, personally, I didn't really find Goodfellas that entertaining, actually. I certainly wouldn't call it a fun movie.

Meh. There is a certain amount of whimsy in the film I appreciate as far as just how absurd real life can be some times. And you can't tell me the scene in the Copa was not amusing...

As for TCM, I spent the entire movie hoping that the kids would get killed for being so fucking stupid, but alas the person most deserving of death (Jessica Biel's character) just wouldn't die.

QUOTE (Patrick Goodman)
Speaking of Samuel L. Jackson: Another fun ride, and good SR training IMHO, is The Negotiator. Jackson and Kevin Spacey star as competing hostage negotiators, one of whom (Jackson) is framed and decides to go on the other side of the equation to solve the crime. Plot's a little thin in places, but most shadowrunners should plan as well as Jackson's character improvises in this movie.

I like that fact that it's loosely based on a real event in St. Louis.
Ol' Scratch
I always thought that the European ending for Army of Darkness was a great set-up for Bug City, too. I even used it in a Halloween game where we all got to design movie characters for a mindless bug splattering session, and I chose Ash. biggrin.gif
Toxic_Waste
Anyone mention the A-Team yet?
Prospero
I love it when a plan comes together! cool.gif
Nikoli
Not to mention, the true archetypical "Face"
PBTHHHHT
What else needs to be mentioned...

Anyone seen the movie 'The Perfect Score'?
High schoolers learning the basics of Shadowrun while trying to steal the SAT's!

Also there's that other movie
Foolproof. I saw that on dvd last year and was pleasantly surprised.

Oh, another recommendation... Safehouse starring patrick stewart.
Here, he's an ex-operative who's past is coming back to haunt him. All the while he's dealing with his grown daughter and the progression of alzheimers. I think this is a great little story for maybe an ex-runner who's really getting long in the tooth and is trying to live the quiet life, but alas the past does not want to stay buried... or is he just getting delusional?
Nikoli
That was a great movie, loved the ending.
FSBO
I am surprised that "Once upon a time in the West.", "The professionals", "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.", "A fist full of Dollars", "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "The Seven Samurai/The magnificent seven". Didn't make the lists. Granted mostly westerns but the situations and the feel all reek of Shadowrun.
Nikoli
as do the remakes
Also:
The Last Boyscout
Diehard
The Whole 9 yards
Tanka
QUOTE (Doctor Funkenstein)
I always thought that the European ending for Army of Darkness was a great set-up for Bug City, too.  I even used it in a Halloween game where we all got to design movie characters for a mindless bug splattering session, and I chose Ash. biggrin.gif

I assume it isn't the same as the ending provided in the "Boomstick Edition" double-disc set?

[ Spoiler ]

That one?
DeadNeon
QUOTE (Kagetenshi @ Nov 18 2004, 09:19 PM)
Anyone know of good black-and-white Shadowrun films other than the Keystone Kops?

~J

This Gun for Hire, starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. A hitman is hung out to dry by his employer, escapes cops, then goes for some payback.

Its not black and white, but The Wild Bunch is good inpiration for an "aging runner looking for one last big score" kind of deal.
kevyn668
What about "The Golden Child"?
Arethusa
QUOTE (Nikoli)
as do the remakes
Also:
The Last Boyscout
Diehard
The Whole 9 yards

Are you serious?
Patrick Goodman
QUOTE (Arethusa)
QUOTE (Nikoli @ Nov 19 2004, 03:40 PM)
as do the remakes
Also:
The Last Boyscout
Diehard
The Whole 9 yards

Are you serious?

Aging runner wanting to retire, while voices from his past conspire to keep him from doing so. Mistaken identity. Just because the movie's done for laughs doesn't mean that it doesn't have appropriate material in it. You can play Shadowrun for laughs, too, and still have a serious campaign going.
Foreigner
Greetings, all.

I personally prefer action flicks, or the occasional film about assassins.

I've seen both versions (in fact, I own them on VHS tape) of THE DAY OF THE JACKAL--the 1973 original (starring Edward Fox and Michel Lonsdale), as well as the 1997 remake (called simply THE JACKAL) starring Bruce Willis, Sidney Poitier, and Richard Gere.

I've also seen RONIN, and I have a VHS tape of it, as well as others, such as THE EIGER SANCTION, which I've also seen--although it isn't really a Shadowrun-type movie, there isn't a much better example of "the reluctant spy-assassin working for a faceless secret government agency" genre than this mid-1970's Clint Eastwood film; the only other example that comes to mind is the mid-1980's action/comedy film REMO WILLIAMS--THE ADVENTURE BEGINS, starring Fred Ward, Joel Gray, and Wilford Brimley, and based upon THE DESTROYER series of novels created by Richard Sapir and Warren Murphy.

I also own a VHS copy of THE PROFESSIONAL, although I haven't managed to find the time to watch it yet.

A couple of less-well-known examples, which I also own VHS copies of, are the Bridget Fonda star vehicle POINT OF NO RETURN, which is a remake of the more well-known--and better-made, according to most people who've seen both films-- foreign film LA FEMME NIKITA, and CODENAME: JAGUAR (released to cable under the title SUBLET, although most video stores probably have it under the first title), starring David Carradine (although he has a minor role, he's the most-well-known member of the cast).

Another film which might fit into the SR genre (at least as far as the basic plot is concerned--a professional criminal, victim of a double-cross-- returns (after being shot and left for dead) for revenge upon his betrayers, is PAYBACK, starring Mel Gibson and Kris Kristofferson, a remake of the classic Lee Marvin film POINT BLANK.

Another couple which might fit (although the first is essentially a made-for-cable remake of the aforementioned Arnold Schwarzenegger film THE RUNNING MAN), are the 1997 Rutger Hauer star vehicles WEDLOCK (a/k/a DEADLOCK)and 1989's BLIND FURY, a blind-swordsman flick which may have been inspired by the classic 1963 version of the Japanese film Zatoichi kenka-tabe (released in 1968 in the U.S. under the title ZATOICHI'S FIGHTING JOURNEY (I'm not certain of this, as I've only seen the Rutger Hauer film)).

The basic plot of Robert A. Heinlein's STARSHIP TROOPERS would also work--set it inside the Chicago Containment Zone instead of on an alien planet, substitute UCAS Special Forces or Marines in powered (or unpowered) Mil-Spec armor for the Troopers, and Bug Spirits for the insectoid alien Bugs in the original book, or the 1997 film loosely based upon it. The same idea would also work for the ALIEN series, although the second film, ALIENS, would most likely be the easiest to adapt.

Also, at least five of the films in the James Bond series would work as SR plots, with minor revisions--GOLDFINGER, its remake A VIEW TO A KILL, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, and MOONRAKER (all three of which deal with a megalomaniacal industrialist intent on some form of world control (cornering some sort of world market in the first two--gold in GOLDFINGER, the market in computer chips in A VIEW TO A KILL), or total control over the Earth itself by destroying existing civilization and replacing it with a better one (THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, MOONRAKER). Although it's a little *TOO* campy for my tastes, Christopher Lee's character, "Francisco Scaramanga", in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, is another film example of "the world's best assassin"--in this case, an "independent contractor" working only for money, and for anyone who can afford his services ($1,000,000 U.S.; it doesn't sound like much today, but at the time the film was released (1974), that was a fortune). [Although I suppose you could recreate the character for SR, using such stuff as a Zoe` Futura suit (white linen, of course smile.gif), and either a Shiawase Puzzler LP (closest in design to the original "Golden Gun", except that it's a semiautomatic repeater and the original was a single-shot) , or a Weapons World Infiltrator HP, loaded with Hi-C ammunition.]

End rant. biggrin.gif

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

I now return you to your regularly-scheduled Dumpshock Forums. wink.gif

--Foreigner
Tanka
Augh, Remo Williams, augh!

Good movie, but horribly cheesy.
Necro Tech
I scrolled through and don't know if it got a mention but I just saw a movie called Series 7. It takes the form of a reality television show that I can imagine being very popular in 2064. Its got manufactured drama, cheesey heartfelt moments, serious propaganda and a bunch of wackos, just like regular reality TV. It was fun and seriously disturbing to watch.
Shadow
QUOTE (tanka)
QUOTE (Doctor Funkenstein)
I always thought that the European ending for Army of Darkness was a great set-up for Bug City, too.  I even used it in a Halloween game where we all got to design movie characters for a mindless bug splattering session, and I chose Ash. biggrin.gif

I assume it isn't the same as the ending provided in the "Boomstick Edition" double-disc set?

[ Spoiler ]

That one?

Yeah he is talking about that ending. Some people refer to it as the 'European'. I liked the 'American' ending better.

"Hail to the king baby."
Ol' Scratch
I preferred the "American" ending, too. But the European one fit the Bug City scenario better.
kevyn668
Here's two more that I don't think have been said:

Cloak and Dagger, starring Dabney Coleman and Grosse Pointe Blank with John Cusak and Minni Driver.

Good flicks.
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