Celebrate violence during Dead Week
April 30, 1998
By now you’ve certainly heard the saying about Dead Week that goes “they call it Dead Week ’cause you’ll wish you were dead before it’s over.”
I now see the truth behind that statement. This week has almost killed me.
Maybe you’re feeling the pressure too. Are you stressed out? Stretched too thin? Like you might lose it if you have one more paper or project or presentation?
What you need is a healthy dose of violence.
You need to watch a movie with a high body count and a plot that depends on blowing lots of stuff up which requires no thinking whatsoever.
Yes, a good violencefest on video will help relieve your stress. So kick back, relax and enjoy the carnage as I give you my picks for great violent movies:
“Commando”
Starring the king of the action genre, Arnold. (No last name needed. Besides, who can spell Schwarzenegger? Hey, I just did!) A young Alyssa Milano plays his kidnapped daughter who Arnold will do anything to rescue.
Not only do we get to see guys killed with table legs, saw blades, and rocket launchers, but Arnold utters some of his best one-liners ever.
After dropping some guy off a cliff, he responds by saying “I let him go” when asked what happened.
When he kills the head bad guy by driving a pipe through his chest into a boiler and steam starts coming out, Arnold says “Let off some steam, Bennett.” Those are just a couple of at least a dozen great lines.
“Total Recall”
Another Arnold action opus, this time a crazy, wacked-out, science fiction extravaganza. This one will really mess up your brain, too. Plenty of action and plenty of violence abound. Remember the guy getting his arms ripped off by the elevator? Wasn’t that cool?
Sharon Stone plays Arnold’s fake wife in the movie, and there’s a nice cat fight scene as an added bonus. And the inevitable, great Arnold one-liner after shooting her in the head; “Consider that a divorce.”
“Aliens”
This is the one movie that still has the power to freak me out no matter how many times I see it. It scares the crap out of me.
So naturally, I make myself watch it all alone, at night, with the lights off.
Sigourney Weaver actually got an Oscar nomination for her role as Ripley. Who could ever forget the line; “Get away from her, you bitch!” Gooey and scary, “Aliens” makes a great study break.
“Die Hard Trilogy”
Hans Gruber made the perfect villain in the first “Die Hard,” didn’t he?
And the second one had possibly the highest body count of any movie I’ve ever seen, thanks to blowing up that plane load of people. I once tried to count all the dead in “Die Hard 2” but lost track around 250. I’d never seen a guy killed by an icicle before.
As John McClane, Bruce Willis was pretty good with the one liners, too. But the big appeal of these three films are explosions, explosions and explosions.
“Scream” and “Scream 2”
Slice and dice entertainment at its best.
Even though I’ve never been a fan of slasher flicks, I loved these movies. Both are cleverly written by Kevin Williamson, full of pop cultural references.
These movies are both extremely fun with a high body count. Just mentally picture any professor giving you a hard time as one of the sliced up victims for added enjoyment.
Also, after watching either of the “Scream” movies, you’ll be leery of answering your phone for days afterwards. Or a few weeks, depending on how big of a weenie you are.
All these movies are very therapeutic for the stressed out. Just try to avoid any “smart” movies that make you think. Save those for after finals.
If you have any functioning brain cells left, that is.
Mike Milik is a senior in advertising from West Des Moines.