larry bishop Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The Women Film Critics Circle have handed out their 2008 awards (with top honors -- Best Movie About Women -- going to Clint Eastwood's Changeling), and one of the more fascinating categories on their list is Most Offensive Male Characters. And ... who do the women film critics of 2008 find to be the most offensive male characters of the year? Aaron Eckhart (Towelhead), Sam Rockwell (Choke), Larry Bishop (Hell Ride), Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott (Role Models) and Jason Mewes (Zack and Miri Make a Porno). I'm actually surprised that Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) didn't make this list, what with his fairly obnoxious (but comedic) womanizing ways, and I'm sure there are several other offensive male characters spread across the films of 2008 that coulda shoulda been mentioned, but weren't.

This, however, brings up an interesting topic: Who were the most offensive movie characters of 2008? Could be male, female, talking animal (or robot) -- were there any characters that just rubbed you the wrong way? Any characters who deserved to be sent straight to human resources? Furthermore, were there any films in general that were so offensive, you either considered leaving halfway through or did, in fact, bolt out the door before the end credits rolled? Sound off below ...

I like naked women, but that's not why I saw Hell Ride. Honestly, I had forgotten that naked women might be featured prominently. It was the motorcycles and the negative reviews from Sundance that hooked me (I'm a contrary fellow). I like 60s biker flicks, and because writer / director / co-star / Quentin Tarantino's friend Larry Bishop had been in some of them, I figured he could make an affectionate homage. Alas, while Bishop can indeed shoot the hell out of the motorcycle footage, it's the other 95% of the movie that's lazy and boring. What I learned: Bare breasts, slit throats, and roaring motorcycles do not a movie make, as I wrote elsewhere (in German). Also, I hate when critics are right.

Hoping to elevate my thinking, I happily joined friends for an afternoon screening of Love and Honor, a stately, well-composed drama that follows the plight of a samurai food-taster who goes blind. I never knew a samurai could be a food-taster, so that was educational, and I appreciated the (presumably) faithful historical depiction of a samurai marriage, which involves -- you guessed it! -- plenty of love and honor. Unfortunately, the combination of a turtle-like pace and too many beers the night before resulted in sonorous slumber (i.e. I was snoring like a Mack truck). What I learned: Don't see any movie described as "deliberately paced" unless you've ingested copious amounts of caffeine.

Later that night, horror flick The Signal definitely kept me awake with its razor-edged jumble of thrills, chills, and laughs. Despite a disappointing final 10 minutes, I really wish I'd listened to Scott and Eric D., who urged seeing this sick puppy in theaters. What I learned: Always keep a huge metal canister of bug spray handy.

Hell Ride is a deliberate, calculated throwback, referencing and recycling the cheapie bike-sploitation flicks of the '60s and early '70s as a band of burly brothers roar, rage and ride their way through the American Southwest on a rampage of revenge. Written by, directed by and starring Larry Bishop, Hell Ride thrums and roars with attitude; problem is, the drive shaft components of plot and character and logic just aren't there, meaning that even when Bishop hits the throttle, the roar and rattle can't hide the fact nothing's really happening.

Hell Ride revolves around a cycle gang known as The Victors, led by Pistolero (Bishop), with the tuxedo-shirt clad The Gent (Michael Madsen) riding on his right and recent inductee Comanche (Eric Balfour) an up-and-coming lieutenant in the organization, on his left. The Victors are trying to take care of business -- although what business it is they're in is never quite explained -- and the only thing interfering with that is Pistolero's obsession with righting the wrong done decades ago to Cherokee Kisum (Julia Jones), slain on the 4th of July in 1976. The Gent and Comanche are rubbed the wrong way by Pistolero's campaign of retribution, especially with the Six-Six-Six'ers and their kill-crazy leader Billy Wings (Vinnie Jones) edging in on Victors turf. ...

Very few actors in the history of the world have been in as many rotten movies as Dennis Hopper -- and yet the guy still keeps popping up in studio fare AND good films. Plus his good work definitely outweighs his bad work ... mainly because everybody remembers Easy Rider, Hoosiers, Blue Velvet and Speed and nobody remembers Super Mario Bros., Meet the Deedles and Waterworld. (OK, yes we do.)

Bottom line is that Hopper's a very talented guy who's still a lot of fun to visit with (even when he's chomping through scenery like it was made of chocolate). And it looks like we'll soon be seeing him in a Quentin Tarantino production (I said "production," not "film") called Hell Ride (which we first told you about here). The MTV Movies Blog is reporting that Mr. Hopper will join Michael Madsen, Eric Balfour and actor/writer/director Larry Bishop in a chopper flick that's being described as a modern-day take on The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Ahem. That's some pretty lofty comparisons there, fellas.

Son of old-school comedian Joey Bishop, Larry's last feature was the barely-released Mad Dog Time (aka Trigger Happy), which had a fantastic ensemble cast but very little else. It looks like Larry and Q.T. hooked up when Bishop played "Larry Gomez" in Kill Bill Vol. 2, but Quentin must have really dug the Hell Ride screenplay if he decided to lend his name/money to the project. Plus, hell, one of Hopper's all-time best moments came while expelling Tarantino's dialogue. Yeah, that classic True Romance confrontation between Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken. Damn I love that scene.

Actor Larry Bishop, who has floated between television and minor films roles since the 60s, has made a good friend in Quentin Tarantino. After appearing in the director's Kill Bill: Vol. 2 as Larry Gomez -- I can't remember who that was -- it's been reported today that the previously-announced, Tarantino-produced vehicle for Bishop called Hell Ride is gearing up for a quick filming start next month. The film, described as a "chopper opera" and a "blood and sex-soaked tale of motorcycle revenge and retribution," will star Bishop as Pistolero, which was the original title of Robert Rodriguez's Desperado. Along with his brothers, The Gent and Comanche, Pistolero rides to avenge the murder of Cherokee Kisum at the hands of the '666ers', a rival gang. Yes, you read all that correctly.

Hell Ride will film in Los Angeles, and few details are available right now as to how Tarantino-esque the film will be. It is known, however, that Bishop is handling starring, writing, directing and producing duties, so it's safe to say this is probably a project he's been carrying in his back pocket for the last thirty years, and Tarantino just happened to flip over it. Meanwhile, Tarantino's primary focus -- Grindhouse -- is fast approaching, scheduled to open in theaters on April 6.