THE BIG CHILLS
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
(1987): When you’re out there shovelling in -40, just think — it could be worse: You could be stuck in the cold with a complete stranger with no hopes of getting home to your family, as was the case with Steve Martin’s character in this John Hughes classic. Canadian comedic icon John Candy is at his finest as a travelling shower-curtain-ring salesman — an overly optimistic foil to Martin’s f-bombing ad exec. Still, you’re in for a warmed heart by the end.
Cliffhanger (1993): One movie of too-many-to-count by ’80s action star Sly Stallone. This time, the Rocky Mountains are the backdrop as good old Sly plays a disgruntled rock climber who confronts his ultimate test in the always wonderful John Lithgow. The cold doesn’t seem to bother Stallone as he actually takes his shirt off after a dip in a near-frozen river to escape an almost-fatal attack by one of the bad guys. Misery (1990): Based on a Stephen King novel — but has there ever been a more aptly titled movie? Kathy Bates deservedly won an Oscar for her portrayal of obsessive fan Annie Wilkes, who “cares for” her favourite writer Paul Sheldon (James Caan) after he’s injured in a wintry car crash near her home. She’s not thrilled with his latest storyline and lets him know about it — unforgettably. The Shining (1980): Jack Nicholson stars as author Jack Torrence, who is suffering from a bad case of writer’s block. He decides to take a job at what will become a snowed-in Overlook Hotel in the Colorado mountains. Then the fun begins ... Here’s Johnny! Meanwhile, his son struggles with the Shining, and who can forget that snowmachine ride at the end? Fargo (1996): In what many think is the best Coen brothers movie, Fargo follows Frances McDormand’s Marge Gunderson as she tries to solve a kidnappingturned-murder case. It looked cold on screen and according to the Internet Movie Database, it was so cold that when McDormand left her pregnancy suit in her trailer overnight, the silicone breasts in the suit froze. One of them exploded the next day on set.