The Wheel of Movie Wonder Spin #15 “Ronin” (1998) watch along
Added 2024-07-24 16:00:18 +0000 UTCYAY! Congrats to the winner!!! This was one I was always so curious about!! What a ride!
xx
ames
Comments
Hey Ames, just got done watching this one with you and I enjoyed your reaction very much. You are entirely correct about the very sparse nature of the info that the movie dispenses. I agree that the lack of info actually contributes to the VALUE of the tension and drama. One thing I would like to mention is the ice skater was played by Katerina Witt, an olympic gold medalist for east germany both in '84 and '88, right before the iron curtain fell. After retiring from skating, she has had a few TV and film roles. While I enjoy this movie immensely (it reminds me of Robert Ludlum's books, not just the Bourne Trilogy {which, if you haven't watched it, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND doing so} but The Holcroft Covenant and several other books that I have read: the action, the sometimes slow, sometimes nonexistent release of information the reader WANTS to know), it DOES contain one of THE MOST EGREGIOUS examples of Hollywood military horseshittery: The scene where Sam saves Vincent is absolute nonsense: FIRST of all: there is NO WAY for a person to tell by visual inspection that a bullet has a teflon coating. Second of all: EVEN IF such a coating was present, that doesn't automatically mean that the bullet penetrates a ballistic vest. The factor that governs that in real life is velocity. A bullet moving fast enough will penetrate a kevlar vest (rifle resistant plates for such vests were not common when this movie was made, they did exist but it would have been difficult and highly expensive to obtain) no matter the outer coating on the bullet itself. Third of all (and very importantly), Sam caught a ricochet, which means the speed of the round was substantially reduced. If that HAD been a rifle round going fast enough in open air to penetrate the vest, it absolutely would be TOO SLOW after bouncing off the wall to have injured same THROUGH the vest he wore. In summary, sometimes hollywood people think up stupid shit..... I'm glad you enjoyed the film and I'm looking forward to watching quite a few full lengths from your patreon catalog AND looking forward to whatever is on the horizon.
David Bennett
2024-11-23 22:14:37 +0000 UTCinteresting take!
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-25 04:02:08 +0000 UTCI always thought the movie would have done better with a different name.
Brian
2024-07-25 03:47:11 +0000 UTCGreat pick! I've loved this movie since I saw in the theater! It also has more than a little in common with my own WOW pick, too! I think it could be argued it's De Niro's last great leading man film--the Irishman is shall we say, polarizing. Also, I hope this paves the way for more Frankenheimer around here--Seven Days in May, Grand Prix, Black Sunday, Seconds are all great along with The Train and the masterful Manchurian Candidate (original 1962). When he was on his game, he was tremendous. BTW, what IS the color of the boathouse at Hereford?
Robert Livingood
2024-07-25 00:33:14 +0000 UTCSome cut and paste info :) Directed by John Frankenheimer and starring an ensemble cast including Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, and Sean Bean. Ronin is visually stunning, thanks to the exceptional cinematography by Robert Fraisse. Editing by Tony Gibbs enhances the pace and intensity of the action sequences. Ronin performed well at the box office, grossing over $70 million worldwide. The movie utilized innovative camera techniques to capture the high-speed car chases, adding to the excitement. Ronin received nominations for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing at the Academy Awards. was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography in 1999. Draws influences from and has influenced films like “The Italian Job,” “Heat,” “Bullitt,” and “The Bourne Identity."
Samuraibry1
2024-07-24 22:31:27 +0000 UTCSo fun!!
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-24 16:37:42 +0000 UTCNice 👍
Samuraibry1
2024-07-24 16:29:02 +0000 UTCSo fun!!!
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-24 16:28:51 +0000 UTCALSO TRUE I forgot to think of that !
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-24 16:28:45 +0000 UTCDEN CONGRATS MY FRIEND! So glad to see ya pop up here! Put another pick on the wheel!
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-24 16:28:33 +0000 UTCLove this!
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-24 16:27:48 +0000 UTCSuch a babe!
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-24 16:27:42 +0000 UTCSo many great bits of David Mamet dialogue in this: "Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt. That's the first thing they teach you." "Who taught you?" "I don't remember. That's the second thing they teach you." Whenever I see the name Hereford I always think about the colour of the boat house too.
Henry Graham
2024-07-24 16:24:36 +0000 UTCIt’s a great movie, looking forward to not only the watchalong but also seeing Natascha McElhone again. She’s just…….me-owwwww
Catchermag
2024-07-24 16:23:34 +0000 UTCAyyyy! I saw it by pure chance at a small cinema in the mid 2000's and it's just a film that stuck with me since. It's a level of stuntwork and tight cinematography for action that seems to have given way to the CGI era. Personally I feel that you get shades of this movie with the first Bourne movie. Glad you enjoyed it!
Den
2024-07-24 16:15:21 +0000 UTCRandomly got our Fench set movie. What a crazy world!
AJ
2024-07-24 16:12:15 +0000 UTCSo out of pocket of my themes song hahahah
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-24 16:07:11 +0000 UTCGreat Movie
christopher brown
2024-07-24 16:07:01 +0000 UTCRight LOLOLOL wow
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-24 16:06:45 +0000 UTCWheel of wonder spin, spin, spin tell us the movie that we should binge watch
Teyon Alexander
2024-07-24 16:05:45 +0000 UTCCongrats Den!! It's quite the Deniro-a-Thon this week ❤️❤️❤️
RFK Fan
2024-07-24 16:03:26 +0000 UTC
