FIRST TIME WATCHING: Total Recall

Man this brought back memories. I remember seeing this at a drive in theater in Kenosha WI as the movie one of my friends picked for us to watch as a group for his birthday party. We went around school after that saying "See you at the party Rickter" for ages lol Also "Open your mind" while grabbing their hands. Dumb kids lol I agree with people above Robocop is another good one. The world building in that movie is even better than this one.

Now the only big Paul Verhoeven as Sci-fi films Nat has left to watch Are Robocop and Hollowman (both films I saw while my uncle was babysitting me at an age I probably shouldn’t have been watching them even if they were edited for TV) but hey I turned out okay. Actually now I’m thinking about it I saw Star Ship Troopers on tv with him too.

Oh my gosh, I had an awesome time watching this one with you Natalie! I've been a big fan of Total Recall since I was a youngster. Yup, you read that right - I first watched this when I was a kiddo. xD While not nearly as violent as many of Arnold's other movies it was still pretty graphic. Definitely a fun ride though! It's been so long since I last watched this - I was still quoting the entire movie as it played but eh - whatever. xD

The “how’s he going to activate the reactor? You need an alien hand” reminds me of a fun Doctor Who bit: “I can’t open the door, it’s alien, you need three fingers!” “Donna, you’ve got three fingers.”

Fuck me I LOVE an 80s squib!! Another classic sci-fi film I’ve never seen! Always meant to get around to it but never did, and I can gladly say I enjoyed it! I was led to believe it was more ambiguous whether or not this was really happening or if he was really just in a simulation, but it seems pretty straightforward for the most part that it’s all real. Though, that middle of the movie switcheroo where they try to convince him was pretty good. AND the “Blue skys on Mars ending” being referenced at the Rekall centre 👀 Some top notch practical VFX here, I loved every single one! This should’ve won the Oscar back in the day (idk if it did)! Also THAT’S KUATU?? I’ve seen the gif of that thing on twitter but it had no idea that was from this movie 😭 “don’t be up set when you see him.” I’m sorry I would be very upset

Cannot believe after all these years Nat has not watched ROBOCOP!

I love when people say "See you at the party Richter" to me...

This movie is so good, glad you liked it.

Vol 2 for Stranger Things dropped

Ya did Total Recall AND True Lies? Heck yeah I'll watch those!

While we're doing older movies, idk if this has ever been suggested but Reign of Fire I just re-watched recently and it's holding up pretty good!

I feel like Benny kinda broke Nat's heart a little. 😊 And at last Nat knows the action/sci-fi lore of the three-boobed chick!

Hey Nat, did you recognize Dean Norris? He was under a lot of makeup! I love this movie, just really well made all around, peak Verhoeven (VER-HOO-VEN). Other Paul Verhoeven classics are RoboCop (this is a must, possibly his best) and Basic Instinct (good, but might be hard to put on Youtube) . Other than that, Black Book & Soldier of Orange are also really good WW2 thriller/spy movies but they are in Dutch so that might be an issue. Showgirls is trashy fun and Hollow Man is...mediocre.

There is a lot of ambiguity in this film about whether or not it's "real" or a dream. It has a lot in common with Inception in that regard. Consider how in the scene where the guy from Recall tries to get him to take the red pill. His wife's demeanor is consistent with someone trying to help him and then when Quaid shoots the guy her demeanor changes which could be because the connection with his actual wife is broken and now there only exists the dream version. Of course, it's not real at all, it's a movie. Movies are just creations of the mind the same as dreams are which is why both this movie and Inception are emotionally satisfying despite their ambiguities. There are still some really good Arnold films left: The Running Man, Last Action Hero, Eraser, Commando. As for Paul Verhoeven, Robocop is pretty good and if you want sleazy, campy fun there's Basic Instinct and Showgirls.

It is not so clear if everthing is a dream or not. Spoilers from the imdb trivia page: "On three separate occasions, if you pay close attention, various characters give the ending of the movie away: 1) When Bob McClane pitches the Secret Agent Ego Trip to Quaid, he tells him that by the time his trip is over he'll "get the girl, kill the bad guys, and save the entire planet!" 2) When Dr. Lull tosses Ernie a computer chip, he looks at it and says "That's a new one! 'Blue Sky on Mars'." 3) When Quaid threatens to shoot Dr. Edgemar in the Hilton suite, Edgemar describes the events that will happen almost verbatim throughout the rest of the movie."

Aw crap, I forgot to grab a drink and grab a snack before I got into the movie.

If you liked comedy with Arnold you shuld check Twins, it's really fun and campy movie with Arnie and Danny Devito.

Glad you liked it, Nat. It's a silly film, but it's really fun and the effects were amazing for its time, hell a lot of them hold up today. If you’re going to venture into more Verhoeven films in the future, RoboCop or Hollow Man should be next. Both social commentaries that could feel relevant today, particularly RoboCop. His other famous films are a bit more... nuanced. Not sure if you’d want to venture into a Showgirls or Basic Instinct reaction. Perhaps in a strictly Patreon exclusive avenue. But yeah... nah.

Nat loved the show so much, she broke out singing Mulan in the middle!

"Get your ass to MarsGet your ass to MarsGet your ass to MarsGet your ass to Mars..."

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas if you celebrate it! Some mood music for today. Warning: LOUD music, so make sure your volume isn't all the way up! https://youtu.be/aVp5ZSQA_f0 Warning: LOUD music, so make sure your volume isn't all the way up!

My friends and I once had a friend who had an "outtie" belly button so big, we used to say all the time it was whispering, "Freeee Maaarrrs!"

Cool. The old fart stuff. I’m not kidding. This is what I’m here for. How about The Last Detail next?

Happy Boxing Day Feature Friday Nat. Hope everyone enjoyed their day yesterday, whatever you were doing 😊 Today is the day that we finally get our asses to Mars 😄 Been excited to watch this epic movie with you Nat 😊 This was a real fun reaction today Nat. We need more Arnie and 90s action movies. There's so many to watch. And also Robocop is a must for next year 😄 Screw you Benny. You always fall for the bad guy in these movies Nat 😆😅 My favourite composer Jerry Goldsmith wrote the score for this one, definitely one of his best action scores. He wrote so many notes for this movie though that he took a hiatus from action movies for around 4 years and came back with a different way of composing action with longer, more sustained notes haha Thanks for an awesome reaction today Nat. Looking forward to watching Stranger Things with you next week. Trying to avoid any spoilers over the weekend 😅💛