I agree.  He's been doing this stuff for a long time even without Beta managing him.  The infamous not knowing a tour was booked was in the early 2000s w/ Goldstein still managing, I think.  They deserve flack for the shitty merch designs.  But as far as the big picture/major decisions, that's all on him and always will be.  They (the Lebesis') probably don't do anything without his ok.

That being said, I listened to the live YCBM version and it was killer.

Extreme Measures... I think this tanked because it looked like a "hospital thriller" and that audiences probably didn't like Hugh Grant straying from his rom com stuff.  But  he's fine here.  And this is an interesting conspiracy thriller from the 90s.  Hackman doesn't get as much screen time as one would think but he does provide the film with it's main dilmena. 

True Believer..  another conspiracy thriller.  This one has James Woods chewing up the scenery.  And I love him for it.  There's kind of an underlying "hippie/flower power" generation loses all their idealism and enthusiasm vibe early in the film.  Woods is an acquired taste, you either like the manic energy that he brings (especially when he was the lead actor) or you don't .  I agree with Lofton, Downey Jr.  role was kinda wasted especially in the second half when he just kind of became a gofer.  Oh, I love the late 80s unsanitized NYC setting as well.

And I guess I'll also add that unless you were around during that time period it's almost impossible to describe how BIG they were and what a meteoric rise they had starting with Jungle in 88.  I don't think we'll ever see anything like that again.

First film is the worst one for me.  He had zero chemistry with the female co-star Framke Potempe (Run Lola Run actress).  It seemed like they were constantly annoyed at one another.  I never got the praise for the series either.  It's just kinda there for me.  Not the worst thing in the world.  But you watch it once and forget about it and never watch it again.

Freejack...not really sure what Hopkins was doing in this post Silence of the Lambs.  It's got a B movieish quality that drags it down a little.  Might be one last few films that Emilo Estevez plays the lead.  It has an interesting premise that gets tossed aside in favor of a guy on the run plot.  Of all the actors in this, Mick Jagger seems to care the most and gives the best performance.  This isn't bad or anything.  It's one of those things you watch if nothing is on.  Note if anyone is looking for a decent 90s Estevez film, give Judgement Night a view.  That one is way better than this one.

Scissors...weird plot, sort of goes all over the place.  Reason to watch this is to watch Sharon Stone play a schizo psycho and emotionally damaged person.  If you buy into the performance, it's the only reason you'll ever need to watch this film.  I enjoyed it.

Revanche ...Austrian film.  Oscar nominated in 2009 or 08.  Very European, slow burner type.  Thankfully because of that it will never be remade.  A lot of stuff to unpack here from socioeconomic differences to grief and the randomness of life and how different emotions are felt by people who experience an event/incident.  Also, what exactly is the meaning of revenge?  Second time watching this and it was way better this time around.  It's more of a drama than a thriller to me.

I thought November Rain was worse than YCBM but it's obviously not good.