Episode 250 - Chucking Hazard

After a career filled with punching and kicking, Chuck Norris finally was taken down. We celebrate his career, while still remembering that he was not a perfect person, and that his politics were regretably FAR removed from our own. Still though, he brought us a lot of entertainment over the years, and at least one of the movies we chose for the podcast reminded us of just how entertaining he COULD be in the hands of the right director. We start off with the disappointing "Firewalker" from 1986. In an attempt to cash in on the success of movies like "Romancing the Stone" they team Chuck up with the legendary Louis Gossett Jr. and Melody Anderson. Despite his long career of true masterpieces, director J. Lee Thompson was probably NOT the right choice for this one. There were highlights but the movie relied on humor that largely fell flat and a budget that was insufficient to sell the idea of globetrotting adventurers. Our second movie REALLY blew us away, 1991's "The Hitman" directed by his brother Aaron Norris. This is a rough mob story with a standout performance by Michael Parks as the villain. By turns violent and then funny, with moments of humanity included for good measure, this is a real winner!Send us your thoughts on the show and recommendations for future episodes to [email protected] or [email protected]. You can also reach us on Facebook, Instagram, Letterboxd. YouTube.