ken@ihuxq.UUCP (ken perlow) (03/05/84)
"Repo Man" is a film that combines the weirdest of punk and ET with
a script that is a cross between Firesign Theater and Zippy. It is
made by and stars total unknowns (though the hero is Martin Sheen's
son). I'm told that it's being test-marketed in Chicago only, and
if the audience I was in is any indication, it won't get much wider
distibution, but it *MUST BE SEEN*, or at least heard for a sound
track that includes "I was a Teen-age Dinosaur" and other more
bizarre post-rationalist favorites.
--
*** ***
JE MAINTIENDRAI ***** *****
****** ****** 05 Mar 84 [15 Ventose An CXCII]
ken perlow ***** *****
(312)979-7261 ** ** ** **
..ihnp4!ihuxq!ken *** ***moriarty@uw-june (Jeff Meyer) (06/03/84)
Amazing.... all this year, I have seen movie after movie that never appeared
over a B or B+ grading (I qualify that A movies are movies I'd like to go
see for a second time)... about the best was "Moscow on the Hudson". Now,
in a night of each other, I see two A movies! One is (reviewed elsewhere)
"The Search for Spock"; the other is a new film called "Repo Man", which I
can only describe as a cult film, and one that reminds me as a type of
new-wave "Airplane" (hope I haven't offended anyone... I don't have much
experience with new wave). If you saw & liked "Strange Invaders" last year,
you're gonna LOVE this movie! Basically it has two plots... one is that of
a kid who is tricked into being a repo man (by Harry Dean Stanton, no less;
if a movie has Harry in it, it can't be all bad), and comes to like it. The
other is that a car has 4 dead alien bodies in the trunk which everyone
wishes to get. Guess what happens from there on in. Loads of good writing
and wonderful characters (never much depth, but their meant to be humourous
throughout); I particularly like the three punks who are always holding up
stores (one of them runs off humming "Ride of the Valrykies"). I can't give
away much more, except to say that unless you are turned off by savage humor
at everything (the sight gags are amazing) or new wave music, you will
really enjoy this movie. I've got to see this again, to see what I missed
last time.
By the way, for anyone who has seen it... is the person who plays the you
lead (the neophyte repo man) the son of Martin Sheen? The resemblance is
uncanny, and I heard Sheen's son was getting into acting (and I believe both
of their "real" names are Hispanic).
"Wow... this is intense."
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
UUCP: {ihnp4,cornell,decvax,tektronix}!uw-beaver!uw-june!moriarty
ARPANET: moriarty@washingtoncitrin@ucbvax.UUCP (Wayne Citrin) (06/27/84)
Repo Man may not be going into general release. If not,
it's a pity, because the film is quite good. The film stars Emilio
Estevez (Martin Sheen's son) as Otto, a self-described "white suburban
punk." Otto joins an automobile reposession company in Los Angeles,
becoming a "repo man." Superficially the film is a new wave-style
comedy about the lives of the repo men, who are really car thieves with
a legal sanction. There are subplots concerning a gang of punks (Otto's
old friends) who rob small groceries, and a car with something mysterious
in the trunk and the various government agencies, crazies, and repo men
who are after it. The film is more than this, though,; it's also a very
witty satire. Everything's a bit surreal, down to the closing credits
which run from the top of the screen down. The apocalyptic ending
seemed a bit excessive, but upon reflection afterwards, it was quite
appropriate.
Also starring in the film is Harry Dean Stanton as Otto's mentor who
espouses the Code of the Repo Men ("Ain't many people got a code to
live by anymore," he says.)
In all, the performances were quite good, the production was well done,
and the whole film was satisfyingly off the wall. If you can find it,
go see it. Rating: *** (out of ****).
Wayne Citrin
(ucbvax!citrin)dyer@wivax.UUCP (Stephen Dyer) (07/15/84)
"Repo Man" is a rather self-consciously offbeat movie which satirizes the L.A. heat-and-dust scene: the nihilist punk kids, the cult of the automobile, and the pervasive pop/consumer culture. "Repo Men" repossess cars, and Emilio Estevez (Martin Sheen's son) stars as an ex-punk teenager drawn into their strange society. Oh, too, there's this bit about a Chevy Malibu which fries anyone who opens its trunk filled with dead aliens, and some CIA-like organization which is also trying to get its hands on the Chevy. The repo men, the Chevy, and the CIA finally meet in a kind of apotheosis. This is fertile ground for satire, but I felt that this movie barely scratched the topsoil. L.A. is just too EASY to put down, and most of its comments were barely SNL (or, better, "Fridays") material. I mean, how many times do we need to laugh at punk mores, radio and TV evangelists and generic groceries? In its attitudes, style, and even in its plot, "Repo Man" is bound to be compared with last summer's "Liquid Sky." Yet, I found that movie's insights brilliant and unexpected, seen through the eyes of its director, a recent Soviet emigre. Here, we smirk knowingly, confident that we are far above the antics on the screen. "Repo Man" is a facile, preconceived "cult film", easy enough to watch, but with little to say, and nothing to teach us. -- /Steve Dyer decvax!bbncca!sdyer sdyer@bbncca.ARPA
keithl@vice.UUCP (Keith Lofstrom) (09/22/84)
REPO MAN reaches Portland, Oregon! GONZO CINEMA strikes again!
If you are the type of person that enjoyed Buckaroo Bonzai or
Liquid Sky, you'll probably like REPO MAN. This is mostly the
story of Otto, a new wave young man who learns to repossess cars,
a Repo Man. It is also the story of a battered brown Chevy, with
radioactive dead aliens in the trunk, and the legion of blond government
agents trying to capture it. The film has TV evangelists, car chases in
the Los Angeles river, armed robberies, punks, and odd coincidences. All
the food and drink shown (including 3 different stores) is generic "FOOD",
"BEER", and "DRINK". Fast paced, weird, and funny. Violence.
Rated PS - for partially sane people only.
--
Keith Lofstrom
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