Episode 134 - A Burt in the Hand

Our goal this time was to bid farewell to a legend. The world recently lost the ground-breaking Burt Reynolds and we could not let that moment pass without honoring him. We decided to celebrate Burt by focusing on two films where he was both the director AND the lead. We start off with 1985's Stick, which is based on a novel by another legend, Mr. Elmore Leonard. It's a tale of an ex-con, trying to get back on his feet after being released from prison. He gets wrapped up with some illegal goings-on that ends the life of his good friend and sets him on a circuitous path for revenge. With a great cast playing great characters, there are a lot of things to enjoy here. Even though the film is VERY far from perfect, we do recommend it with a few caveats. We follow that up with a movie that really made a splash when it was released in 1981, Sharky's Machine. Featuring a truly stellar cast and with some really impressive dialogue, this movie should've been much more satisfying than it was. We talk at length about the sexual politics of the movie and how it really makes it hard for the audience to pull for Sharky and we wish it had taken a different direction in certain areas. Overall, we still enjoyed it, but it feels like it was just slightly off the mark from being a masterpiece of police cinema.  Let us know your favorite Burt Reynolds movie by writing to flickersfrom@yahoo.com or flickersfrom@gmail.com. You can also leave us a message on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram...get in touch with us, even if it's just to say hello!