Twister (1996) Can hardly believe it......we've been doing this blog since 2016 and yet it took us this long to catch up with one of our favorite 90's Multiplex popcorn gobblers. Really?
How is that possible? We watch the damn thing every summer, cause we've always considered it one our go-to hot weather movies.
Maybe it's just as well that we finally celebrate it this summer on its 25th anniversary.
So let us now praise, remember and reminisce about:
The late Bill Paxton...........perfectly cast as the Texas-twanged, pure Americana storm chaser trying to shoehorn himself into a more staid, traditional life as a TV weatherman. All it takes to turn him back into "The Extreme" (as he's known by his tornado Scooby-gang) is a cluster of twisters and incendiary chemistry between him and his estranged twister-obsessed wife....played by:
Helen Hunt .....the genuine beating heart of the film, with the ability to become realistically endearing and annoying all at the same time.
Jamie Gertz......stuck with the most thankless role any actress can be burdened with.....the out-of-her-element fiance who's obviously destined to bow out. Yet this 1980's starlet spins gold from it, both comedic and dramatic. An unsung gem.
The late Seymour Phillip Hoffman......playing a Belushi-like 'Animal House' storm chaser, he finds a way to turn this this stock, manic comic relief stereotype into real human being.
Cary Elwes In true 90's blockbuster style, his fate is pre-ordained from the beginning, but we're always still impressed with spectacular finality of it......
The CGI tornadoes.....all of you special effects purists may scoff at us, but they still look well done and effectively scary to us. And the unearthly choral music that accompanies some of them still makes our hair stand on end.
The flying cow Forever airborne and forever in our hearts.
The twister dismantling the drive-in showing of "The Shining" We can imagine Stephen King, who despises the Kubrick film, watching this and chuckling with glee.
Lois Smith God bless her, still with us and still acting as we write this post.....a touchstone through decades of cinema ("East Of Eden", "Five Easy Pieces", "Fried Green Tomatoes") and in this movie, literally an island of grandmotherly love and care amidst the howling storms.
Mark Mancina's music score......wildly eclectic, racing back and forth between rock guitar riffs and the sweeping expansive main theme that follows the storm crew as they race across the heartland for their recklessly brave encounters with the primal elements.
The unseen farm family with all the sharp implements in their barn.....maybe it's for the best we don't see them.....
What all of this adds up to.....what else but a perennial 5 star (*****) FIND OF FINDS.
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