We’ve been having a good time with the shelves on the Wall O’ Cool lately, devoting space to Steve Martin, Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen, Tim Burton (which morphed into a Johnny Depp shelf), Bruce Willis and John Cusack, to name just a handful. It’s always interesting to sort through the various titles we have on hand to try to put one of these shelves together as sometimes there’s only about enough to fill the shelf (like in the case of Tim Burton) and other times there’s way too much to choose from (in the case of Woody Allen).
Today’s featured artist on the Wall O’ Cool falls somewhere in the middle, with several choices to be made without being completely overwhelming. Of course, there are always titles we want to use but are currently out of stock, but that’s a different story. Anyhow, enough of my yakkin’, let’s boogie.
Ladies and gentlemen, Jackie Chan. Martial arts, slapstick comedy and at well over 3000 years old, he does his own stunts! He’s like a cross between Bruce Lee and Harold Lloyd!
First Strike is the fourth installment in Jackie Chan’s Police Story series, in which Jackie is a cop hot on the trail of stolen nukes!
In Mr. Nice Guy, Chan is a well-known TV chef who also happens to be a martial arts expert (weird, right?). He becomes involved with a news reporter who has a video tape of a shady deal involving a local drug lord and now the two of them are on the run. This is not Iron Chef!
In Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3, Chan teams up with the ever-annoying Chris Tucker (maybe it’s just me, but as funny as he is, I just can’t take his voice) in this trilogy of buddy cop films. The first is clearly the best of the bunch, but they are all pretty enjoyable for the action and comedy, both of which are served up in heaping helpings.
In The Tuxedo, Chan is a hapless chauffeur for a suave millionaire who has suffered and accident and lays in a hospital bed. Sent to retrieve some items from his bosses home, Chan tries on a special tuxedo that gives him super-spy powers, sending him into a world of intrigue and danger. Go go gadget tuxedo!
The Forbidden Kingdom pairs Jackie Chan and Jet Li for the first time. A young man in Boston, obsessed with kung-fu movies and Chinese culture, discovers an ancient staff in a pawn shop. After local thugs attempt to rob the pawn shop, our young hero finds himself in possession of the staff and mysteriously transported to ancient China where he embarks on a mythical quest to save the Monkey King. Not as ridiculous as it sounds, actually.
Shanghai Knights is the sequel to Shanghai Noon, which we sadly do not currently have in stock. Chan teams up with Owen Wilson in these East-meets-Old-West action comedies. In this sequel, they find themselves in England chasing after the man who murdered Chan’s father. Hilarity and wild martial arts stunts ensue!
Whatever you’re after, whether it’s laughs or martial arts wizardry, Jackie Chan delivers. And so do we! Come check us out.
I noticed we had four Tim Burton films on the Wall O’ Cool and wondered why the guy did not have a whole shelf to himself. So I perused the store and made it so!
8 films directed by the super strange Burton and several featuring his go-to actor, Johnny Depp.
Beetlejuice (1988) – The story of a couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who want to start a life together in their new home, and instead must start their afterlife together following a car accident. They learn that most of the world beyond is a lot like the DMV and that dealing with the living sucks. Michael Keaton plays the title character as a super creep that causes havoc for the dead and the living.
Batman (1989) – Michael Keaton plays the dark knight in this version. The Joker being played by Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale, the most annoying reporter ever. I understand she is pretty, but her screams in this movie drive me INSANE. I like Keaton’s Batman though. He plays him with humor and reluctant heroism. It always worked for me.
Edward Scissorhands (1990) – One of Burton’s best. This twisted fairy tale is reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast, with Johnny Depp playing the title character of a patched together man with scissors for hands. He is sweet, naive and brought into the home of a wholesome suburban family (Dianne Wiest and Alan Arkin as the folks are wonderful) to change their lives. Edward falls for their beautiful daughter (Winona Ryder) and finds he has too many sharp edges to truly fit in.
Sleepy Hollow (1999) – Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, the classic coward who encounters the Headless Horseman in the tiny town of Sleepy Hollow. Christina Ricci also stars.
Planet of the Apes (2001) – I think the title pretty much says it all about this sci-fi retake of the 1968 film of the same name. The ape make-up is cooler, the action is more packed and it has Tim Roth in it…..I like Tim Roth and so should you. Also during this film, Tim Burton became romantically involved with his current sweetie, Helena Bonham Carter. Who now apparently has to be in all his movies.
Big Fish (2003) – One of my absolute favorite Burton films, although some fans think it strays too far from his usual touch. It is the tale of Will Bloom (Billy Crudup) who goes to visit his dying father, Ed Bloom (Albert Finney), and listen to the collection of seemingly tall tales of his life that Ed insists are all true. The film flashes back to all the stories with Ewan McGregor playing a young Bloom to perfection. This movie is sweet and original.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) – Another film remake that, while good in some ways, does not begin to touch the original 1971 musical. I like that Burton stayed true to the Roald Dahl story, but I think he fell flat with his Oompa Loompas (Deep Roy….he played ALL of them) and let Depp go too far with his interpretation of the eccentric candyman, Willy Wonka. The kids were all good though.
Corpse Bride (2005) – A stop-motion animated feature with Johnny Depp voicing the character of Victor Van Dort, a young man nervous about his wedding vows, so he decides to practice them to a grave. When he slips the ring onto what he believes is a stick, an energetic dead women (Helena Bonham Carter) comes to life thinking they are married. It is dark, funny and a great little love story.
These just in!
Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez goodies galore; Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2, Sin City, Reservoir Dogs, El Mariachi, Desperado, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. You will be blown away by all the gore and gun violence. 
Four flicks from quirky Tim Burton; Beetlejuice, Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands and Batman (as much as I adore Heath Ledger’s Joker, Jack Nicholson’s grin was pretty frickin’ sweet… Kim Basinger’s screams make my ears bleed though).
How about violence and British humor? We have both flicks from writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
Other dark and unsettling choices? Donnie Darko, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, V for Vendetta, and a great Darren Aronofsky double feature, Requiem for a Dream and Pi.
Two flicks for our biopic shelf; Domino, starring Keira Knightly as Domino Harvey, the real life model turned bounty hunter and Wonderland, the story of a grisly murder in L.A. and the events leading up to it, involving porn star John Holmes (Val Kilmer).
Finally, to lighten the mood we have Big Trouble in Little China, starring Kurt Russell and Kim Cattrall in this corny cult classic and Who’s Harry Crumb?, starring the incredibly awesome John Candy who I have a feeling will be getting a shelf to himself in the near future on the Wall O’ Cool……
Cause who is cooler than John Candy?!?