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‘Cobra’ With Bill Simmons and Kyle Brandt

October 12, 2021 · Cobra (1986) · Action · Crime · Thriller · 1:20:46

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

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Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 7:21Extensive trivia including: Stallone rewrote Beverly Hills Cop script but it was rejected; cinematographer Rick Waite called out Stallone for delays due to 'fooling around with Brigitte Nielsen'; supporting cast and extras were forbidden to talk to Stallone on set; Brian Thompson (Night Slasher) was told by Stallone the character backstory was just 'the guy's just evil'; rough cut was over 2 hours long with 40 minutes of additional footage; movie was edited to under 90 minutes to compete with Top Gun at box office
Kyle Brandt▶ 9:09Added commentary and reactions to another host's research, including jokes about Peter Schrager, comparisons to bachelor party excess, sympathy for Brian Thompson's lack of character development, and observations about Western movie influences and 1980s cop movie tropes

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 26:24The supermarket scene where Cobra confronts the gunman
Kyle Brandt▶ 28:06Agrees the supermarket scene is entertaining and discusses why Stallone's dialogue is hard to hear

Apex Mountain

Kyle Brandt▶ 28:21Cobra — Suggests this might be apex mountain for product placement, specifically citing the extreme Coors banquet beer placement scene

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 55:09No casting what-ifs - not enough research about alternate casting decisions for this movie

Picking Nits

Bill Simmons▶ 1:10:23Brigitte Nielsen being cast as a fashion model is a stretch - she had the height but it's not believable
Bill Simmons▶ 1:10:32Cobretti takes Brigitte to a safe house even though he knows there's a mole, but then lots of police know where the safe house is, defeating the purpose of protection

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:12:39Six questions: How did you join the axe-clanging serial killer cult? Did this movie invent the nitrous boost? Did it invent Hero Ball? Did it foreshadow evil LA cops? Has any movie star been shot at more by people with terrible aim than Stallone? Does the Night Slasher check the most boxes as a horror villain?
Kyle Brandt▶ 1:10:47Is there anything less safe than a safe house? - noting it's a classic genre trope where safe houses always become slaughterhouses

Who Won the Movie

Kyle Brandt▶ 1:19:21Sylvester Stallone — Sly Stallone, but offers curveball pick of 'the knife' as what won the movie, calling it the indelible image and star of the movie

Movies Referenced (29)

Rocky (1976)

15 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt▶ 2:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dirty Harry (1971)

10 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt▶ 3:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Safe House (2012)

9 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt▶ 14:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Halloween (1978)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt▶ 34:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rambo (2008)

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt▶ 2:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rocky IV (1985)

5 mentions · Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons▶ 58:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 7:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Death Wish (2018)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 11:44IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Field of Dreams (1989)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt▶ 56:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Nightcrawler (2014)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 32:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Back to the Future (1985)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 1:08:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Citizen Kane (1941)

2 mentions · Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons▶ 4:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (1)

Sean Penn

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Mystic River, 21 Grams, Dead Man Walking▶ 55:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (41)

Sylvester Stallone

49 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt · Known for Rocky, Rocky IV, Creed▶ 3:30IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bill Belichick

25 mentions · Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons▶ 1:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Brian Thompson

7 mentions · Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons · Known for The Terminator, Cobra▶ 9:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Brigitte Nielsen

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt · Known for Red Sonja▶ 6:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dolph Lundgren

3 mentions · Kyle Brandt, Bill Simmons · Known for Rocky IV, Masters of the Universe▶ 1:03:46IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Norm MacDonald

3 mentions · Kyle Brandt · Known for Dirty Work, Billy Madison▶ 17:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Robert Tepper

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Cobra, Get Hard▶ 48:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Art LaFleur

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Kyle Brandt · Known for The Sandlot, Cobra, Field of Dreams▶ 56:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Eddie Murphy

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Harlem Nights, The Nutty Professor▶ 7:49IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Eli Manning

2 mentions · Kyle Brandt▶ 1:27IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Flavor Flav

2 mentions · Kyle Brandt · Known for End of Watch, Three Kings, Friday Night Lights▶ 1:07:35IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fred Savage

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Princess Bride▶ 56:17IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (2)

George Lucas

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, THX 1138, American Graffiti▶ 8:29IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Paula Gosling

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Cobra▶ 1:04:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗