Semaj's Blog your Blog: Total Recall

Friday, April 13, 2007

Total Recall

Total Recall was one of those movies that people either hate or really love. I personally love the film. Arnold Schwarzenegger back in the 80s and 90s knew how to pick interesting sci-fi scripts; he was much better at it than Sly. Recall was one of those interesting scripts. Helmed by Paul Verhoeven, we get a violent and cynical future where people use VR machines to implant stories into their minds. Once we get Arnold into the Recall center, the movie moves along at a break-neck speed. We get countless sight gags and some thoughtful takes on what is real and what is fake.

Verhoeven brings his insanely violent scenes to life with every scene, as well as bringing nudity and bad jokes to life. When going into a Verhoeven movie, you are fully aware what you’re going to get. Jerry Goldsmith’s score is top quality. The main theme is a very unconventional take on a hero theme. While Arnold was at the top of his game in the movie, other better actors brought this movie up to a higher standard. You can’t go wrong with Ronny Cox and Michael Ironside, some of the best Sci-fi villain actors in Hollywood. I found Sharon Stone’s performance in this movie more convincing and fun than many of her other roles during this time period. Plus, she was way sexier in this movie than Basic Instinct.

For the sheer camp-ness of the flick, I’m giving it a…

Grade B+

Here are a few other things I enjoyed…

Johnnycab: Voiced by Robert Picardo, you have to wonder if the cab got pissed with Arnold after he ripped it out of the driver’s seat. The JohnnyCab actually goes after Arnold once he says, “Sue me, dickhead.” Or did he just malfunction?

Three Breasts are better than two: You know, the woman that played this part pretty much disappeared from Hollywood altogether. I guess there wasn’t much work out there for three-breasted women in Hollywood. She’s finally showed up on an episode of Without a Trace this year after disappearing in 91. Lycia Naff: I have a big crush on her, but because of her role on Star Trek: TNG.

Arnold’s Nose Picking: Only Arnold could pick the worlds biggest chunk out of his nose.

Arnold’s One-liners: He picks up a two-handed drill and says, “Benny, screw YOU!”

Lori: No wonder you're having nightmares, you're always watching the news: If I was forced to watch FOX News all the time, I’d have nightmares too.

Using Holo-technology in a gunfight: That was just neat.

Ripping someone’s arms off, and throwing them away: Poor Richter…

Ever notice all the actors that ended up on episodes of various Star Trek show are from this movie?: Ronny Cox, Robert Picardo, Marc Alaimo, Robert Costanzo, Roy Brocksmith and Lycia Naff.