Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and Bonnie Bedelia in the John McTiernan movie ‘Die Hard’

It’s not every day that an action and thriller movie is set against the backdrop of a holiday. It has become more common to see moves themed as romances or romantic comedies set against Christmas. The John McTiernan directed Die Hard (1988) managed to mix the action thriller against a Christmas gathering. Today, we look into the happenings at the fictional Nakatomi Plaza.

(Bruce Willis as John McClane, a New York City police detective in the John McTiernan movie Die Hard).

Die Hard is set in Los Angeles, where police officer John McClane hopes to reconcile with his wife during a holiday party hosted by the employer of his estranged wife, Holly Gennero-McClane. Bruce Willis portrayed John McClane opposite Bonnie Bedelia‘s portrayal of Holly Gennero-McClane. The employer is Nakatomi Corporation, which is due to be robbed during the very event where John hopes to reconcile with Holly.

(From left, Dennis Hayden as Eddie, Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber, the leader of the terrorists and Bonnie Bedelia as Holly Gennero-McClane, a Nakatomi executive and John’s estranged wife in the John McTiernan movie Die Hard).

The movie quickly turns from a from a romantic comedy staged against a Christmas backdrop when the robbers with a violent streak, led by Hans Gruber, present the Nakatomi Plaza with a terrorist plot to rob the Nakatomi Corporation at their plaza, triggering the action thriller that we come to see. Alan Rickman portrayed Hans Gruber. Dennis Hayden portrayed one of Gruber’s henchmen, Eddie.

(From left, Alexander Godunov as Karl, Gruber’s second-in-command and Clarence Gilyard Jr. as Theo, Gruber’s tech specialist in the John McTiernan movie Die Hard).

Clarence Gilyard Jr. and Alexander Godunov serve as a pair of Gruber’s henchmen, portrayed from early in the story of Die Hard in setting the thievery and underlying action in motion. The Los Angeles Police Department joins the response to the plot in motion, supported first by sergeant Al Powell and later by deputy chief Dwayne T. Robinson. Paul Gleason portrayed Robinson as Reginald VelJohnson portrayed Powell.

(From left, Reginald VelJohnson as Al Powell, an LAPD sergeant and Paul Gleason as Dwayne T. Robinson, the LAPD Deputy Chief in the John McTiernan movie Die Hard).

John McClane had arrived at Nakatomi Plaza in a limousine driven by a man named Argyle. Argyle, portrayed by De’voreaux White, agreed to wait for John as he went to reconcile with his wife Holly. He waits on scene as the events of the movie progress, offering humor through miscommunication with McClane accompanied by other opportunities to support the story.

(De’voreaux White as Argyle, John’s limousine driver in John McTiernan‘s Die Hard).

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) plays a part in seeking to respond to the terrorist robbery plot of the movie, offering a jurisdictional power play with the Los Angeles Police Department that was the first formally requested responding agency on scene. FBI actions geared at ending the plot actually advance the plot, with the actions of Argyle, Al Powell and John McClane each championing a decisive under current that is championed throughout Die Hard. Grand L. Bush portrayed FBI Special Agent Little Johnson as Robert Davi portrayed FBI Special Agent Big Johnson in the movie.

(From left, actor Grand L. Bush, Director John McTiernan and actor Robert Davi on the set of the John McTiernan movie Die Hard).

The central appeal for the movie Die Hard is first and foremost the action, intrigue and thriller qualities of the story. The compelling undercurrent of humor juxtaposed against incompetence as roadblocks to the central robbery succeeding or failing, both externally to stopping the robbery and internally to the stealing, add substantially to what works well. I grant Die Hard as directed by John McTiernan 4-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Sean Astin, Ned Beatty and the film ‘Rudy’

The University of Notre Dame has been a power player atop American collegiate football for much of the twentieth and twenty-first century. Having the skills and ability to dress for the team on Saturdays in the fall football season is the dream of many young men of skill, physical abilities, and grades commensurate with the reputation for the major academics and athletics program that exists at the university.

(Left to right – Mary Ann Thebus as Betty Ruettiger, Ned Beatty as Daniel Ruettiger Sr. and Scott Benjaminson as Frank Ruettiger).

The mythology of that dream is the subject matter of the film Rudy (1993), which has the basis in fact. Sean Astin stars in the feature role of Daniel E. ‘Rudy’ Ruettiger, an undersized, physically over-matched, academically struggling young man with the heart, determination and dream of proving to himself, his family and his community that he has the part of playing for the Notre Dame football team in a game.

(Robert Prosky as Father Cavanaugh, left, and Sean Astin as Daniel E. ‘Rudy’ Ruettiger in the film Rudy).

The young Daniel Ruettiger, or Rudy, was the product of the small Illinois steel town where he lived with his parents and brothers. Mary Ann Thebus as Betty Ruettiger and Ned Beatty as Daniel Ruettiger Sr. were Rudy’s parents. Scott Benjaminson as Frank Ruettiger was one of the brothers who joined the chorus of folks back home to see steel mill work as his brother’s future. This truth isn’t lost on Father Cavanaugh, a priest played by Robert Prosky serving at Notre Dame, who first aims to council Rudy to head back home yet comes around to help Rudy work for the dream that became the film of the same name.

(Sean Astin as Daniel E. ‘Rudy’ Ruettiger, left, and Charles S. Dutton as Fortune in the film Rudy).

Unlikely heart and unlikely help appear in the months and years for Rudy, who enrolls at Holy Cross College in the same town as the University of Notre Dame. That help comes through Father Cavanaugh. Rudy then approaches Fortune, the head groundskeeper for Notre Dame Stadium, gets a job, and surreptitiously sleeps on a cot in Fortune’s office due to having no funds to live on either campus. Charles S. Dutton plays Fortune in Rudy, later giving Rudy a key to the office, blankets, and emotional support in getting an education while Rudy keeps his dream, as unrealistic as everyone knows it to be, alive.

(Sean Astin as Daniel E. ‘Rudy’ Ruettiger, left, and Jon Favreau as Dennis ‘D-Bob’ McGowan in the film Rudy).

Educational support for Rudy comes in the form of socially awkward yet book smart Dennis ‘D-Bob’ McGowan, played by Jon Favreau in the film. The mutual relationship becomes a friendship that holds its own merits while also satisfying a dream for D-Bob. The support Rudy gets along the way from Fortune, in Fortune seeing Rudy rise, is an emotional win in the friendship won for these two as well.

(Writer Angelo Pizzo, left, and director David Anspaugh helped bring the film Rudy to the big screen).

David Anspaugh directed Rudy, which was written for film by Angelo Pizzo, who worked together on the film Hoosiers (1986). Rudy offers the emotional uplift that Hoosiers does while offering a similar origin story with a different feeling on the subject of redemption. The means of delivering an emotionally gratifying story that uses the sport of football to tell us something about the power of dreams, heart and determination, along with the costs of getting there in the face of pragmatism, are heartwarming. I give Rudy 4-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, February 19, 2020