Movie of the Day – Die Hard

by • Animated Gif, Awesome Stuff, Movie of the Day, Movies • Tags: 80's movies, action, alan rickman, bruce willis, die hard, don't, ellis, glass, hans gruber, john mcclane, paul gleason, shoot, william atherton

DON'T BE LIKE ELLIS

From Die Hard – Buy it here

Remember when Bruce Willis wasn’t phoning in every single performance?  I do.  He used to be quite the actor.  Now his films reek of someone bored and just collecting a paycheck.  People tend forget that before Die Hard no one ever thought of Willis as an action star.  He was synonymous with David Addison Jr. from Moonlighting.  People were shocked to see him blowing shit up and being a badass.  The first Die Hard is the best entry in the series in my opinion and it’s time for some “mother falcon” bullet points to explain why:

  • “…take off your shoes and your socks then walk around on the rug bare foot and make fists with your toes. “
  • Argyle jamming to Christmas in Hollis.  Argyle is great.
  • Ellis making a “phone call” when meeting John for the first time and then his annoying cokehead laugh after John mentions he missed a bit.
  • “It’s a Rolex…“
  • The use of Christmas music in the soundtrack.  This automatically makes it a Christmas movie and allows me to use that excuse to watch it on Christmas Eve every year.
  • “So Kareem rebounds, right? Feeds Worthy on the break, over to A.C., to Magic, then back to Worthy! Right?  ”  *gunshots* “Boom! Two points!“
  • Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber.  One of the best villains ever.
  • Being a nerdy computer kid, I really liked Theo and his knowledge of computers.
  • Tony’s fashion choice of donning sweatpants during a “terrorist attack”.
  • Both Ghengis Khan and Vigo the Carpathian being a part of  Hans’s group.
  • John’s mini freakout: “Why the fuck didn’t you stop them John?!?!  Because you’d be dead too, asshole..“
  • The fight between Tony and John.  John is still a normal human being in this movie and not a superhero.  It makes all the difference in caring about the character.
  • “Who said we were terrorists?”
  • “9 million terrorists in the world and I gotta kill one with feet smaller than my sister….”
  • “Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs…“
  • The introduction to Sgt. Al Powell.  True story: When the show Family Matters first aired I thought it was a spin off of Die Hard that was following Al’s home life.  I was a dumb kid.
  • John versus Marco. “Thanks for the advice”
  • The banter between Hans and John over the walkie talkies.  “Yippy Ki Yay Motherfucker..“
  • William “This Man Has No Dick” Atherton as Richard Thornberg.  He rivals Ellis for being the biggest asshole in the movie.
  • Paul Gleason as Deputy Police Chief Dwayne T. Robinson.  “Jesus Christ, Powell, he could be a fucking bartender for all we know. “
  • Al Leong sneaking a candy bar while waiting for the SWAT team to break into the building.
  • “Oh my God, the quarterback is TOAST!
  • Ellis’s “great” negotiation tactics. “Hans, babe put away the gun.  This is radio, not television…“
  • Hans’s fantastic American accent he uses when he runs into John the first time.
  • “Shoot the glass!”
  • Robert Davi.
  • The scene where the vault is finally opened.  The look on Hans’s face is great.
  • John vs. Karl.  This fight is brutal.
  • The rooftop scene.  John jumping off the roof is an amazing action sequence.
  • And of course: