Cool Hand Luke
September 29th, 2008
When we heard of Paul Newman’s passing, Cool Hand Luke moved to the top of my (very tall) stack of DVDs to watch and review. One of the defining films of his career, CHL summed up in perfect fashion, the reason Newman was a major box office draw for most of his career. He played characters that were flawed, rebellious and sometimes even despicable, yet it was impossible not to like them, despite their bad behaviors. Here, he’s a former war hero and underachiever who winds up on a chain gang as punishment for cutting the heads off parking meters during a night of serious drinking. A born rebel, Luke soon wins the admiration of his fellow convicts for standing up to the bully of the group (George Kennedy) and to the prison guards who try unsuccessfully to break him. In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, Luke bets that he can eat 50 eggs in an hour and watching him do so, is both amusing and cringe-inducing, but throughout, Newman never loses that magical twinkle in his bright blue eyes that charmed the ladies and made the guys want to be his best buddy. The film was also known for the notorious line, “what we have here, is failure to communicate,” as well as Lalo Schiffrin’s score, part of which became famous as the theme music to Eyewitness News. Hailed as one of his generations greatest actors and later as a humanitarian for his devotion to charitable causes, Paul Newman will be missed, but his legacy will live on, thanks to meticulous restorations of films such as this one that keep him alive in our memories for decades to come.
The Happening
September 29th, 2008
After The Village, I began having my doubts about M. Night Shyamalan and his ability to tell a creepy story and then reviews of Lady In The Water didn’t do much do dispel that idea. Based on trailers and my respect for Mark Wahlberg’s acting, I thought The Happening might turn out to be a worthy successor to The Sixth Sense, but I was disappointed. A beautiful day in Central Park becomes a nightmare as people suddenly begin to freeze in place, then, as if in a trance, start killing themselves. Some kind of neurotoxin is blowing in the wind throughout the East Coast and no one understands the reason for it. Wahlberg, his wife (Zooey Deschanel) and fellow teacher (John Leguizamo) head out to the country in an attempt to escape the mysterious illness, but discover that death waits down every road attacking people in medium to large groups. A solid premise for sure, but with a weak third act and a finale that will have you shouting at the screen, “that’s it?” Sorry Night, I see dead people and you’re one of them.
Felon
September 26th, 2008
You’re an ordinary citizen, you have a family, a growing business a life. One night you catch someone in your house; you chase them out into the yard swinging your baseball bat and accidentally hit him in the head. He dies on the neighbor’s lawn and you get sent away to prison. That’s the premise of Felon – a gripping drama starring Stephen Dorff as that guy who’s trying to protect his family, but winds up doing time in a maximum-security facility known as “the shoe,” sharing a cell with a mass murderer and being subject to beatings from a sadistic prison guard. Val Kilmer beefed up and is quietly threatening as Dorff’s bunk-mate and Harold Perrineau plays against type as the hater in charge of the unit. Director Ric Roman Waugh did extensive research on prison life and got the thumbs up from both former and current inmates in the system, so both the story and dialog feel authentic. Dorff delivers first, as a frightened “fish” that’s used by a neo-Nazi gang, and then as a fighter who takes on anyone and everyone in the exercise yard as a means of survival. Grim but hopeful, Felon is a gritty and absorbing film that’s both action-packed and thought provoking. Well worth checking out.
Nixon
September 26th, 2008
Maybe it’s me, but whenever I read anything about the work of Oliver Stone, I rarely see Nixon mentioned alongside such films as J.F.K., Natural Born Killers, Platoon, or even The Doors. This is a shame that can be easily rectified with this new DVD (The “Election Year Edition”) that adds 28 minutes on to the already long three hour run time and while some may be feeling some bloat here, I was fascinated from start to finish. I remember first seeing the film back in 1995 and the shock I felt as I watched Anthony Hopkins as the disgraced president, mainly because they look nothing alike. By the time the credits rolled, I was convinced that he had channeled the spirit of his character with all his mannerisms, facial ticks and the perpetually sweaty upper lip. In fact, all the actors pull off some great work here – Joan Allen as the brittle first lady, Paul Sorvino as Henry Kissinger, Powers Boothe as Alexander Haig, David Hyde Pierce as John Dean….the list goes on, but Hopkins is worth the price of admission alone.
Stone touches upon Nixon’s Quaker upbringing and a handful of other life events, but the centerpiece of the film is Watergate and the cover-up that was his Waterloo. He’s portrayed as a fairly unlikable guy who grew increasingly bitter after losing the 1960 presidential bid to John Kennedy, and whose increasing frustration and paranoia led to a series of illegal activities, such as wiretaps, sabotage and burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. When Nixon realizes that the secret Oval Office tapes are going to be subpoenaed as evidence in his impeachment hearings, he listens back to them in a kind of fever dream, fueled by booze and hate and it’s here where Stone uses flashbacks to reenact the circumstances that let the president and his team to some extremely bad decisions. The irony is, everyone thought the events of 1973 were so horrible at the time, but compared to the policies and behavior of the Bush administration, Nixon doesn’t look that bad. It certainly doesn’t make the Republicans look good and during an election year that could be helpful, but ultimately, we’re being set up for W, Stone’s new biopic that should have the staff of the White House gritting their teeth and John McCain more than a little concerned if the Democrats can successfully link his record to George W’s.
The Life Before Her Eyes
September 26th, 2008
A tragedy of Columbine proportions is at the heart of The Life Before Her Eyes, a powerful and moving story told via a series of flashbacks that jump around in time, before coming together in an ending that will shock and surprise. Evan Rachel Wood is excellent as Diana, the teenager with a crush on one of her professors and who with her best friend Maureen (Eva Amurri), comes face-to-face with a classmate who goes on a shooting rampage at school and kills many of their friends and teachers. The film cuts back and forth between this incident and Diana’s future as a happily married wife and mother, with a seemingly idyllic life and a teacher of art history. As the 15th anniversary of the shootings approach, Diana reminisces about the sequence of events that drastically altered her life and it’s here, where we’re allowed glimpses of young Diana and the life she led up until the event. Thurman’s Diana seems uneasy, as if there’s something other than the anniversary creeping her out and sure enough, there is. To say any more would spoil the ending, but I can say that the cinematography is gorgeous and director Vadim Perelman has just the right touch in peeling away the layers that are Diana and the flashbacks never seem out of place or forced. The Life Before Her Eyes is elegant and moving, but the big pleasures come from the strong performances by Thurman, Wood and the supporting cast who play their parts with smarts and sensitivity.
The Shield – Season 6
September 25th, 2008
In 2002, The Shield exploded onto the small screen and instantly placed Fox’s new FX channel in the spotlight as a home for programming that was edgy and unafraid to push the boundaries of basic cable as far as it could. As each season progressed, Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) faced down brutal gangs in the fictional Farmingdale district of L.A., took down an Armenian “money train” and even murdered a fellow cop, but faced his biggest threat from Internal Affairs as a gung-ho investigator threatened to blow the lid off Mackey’s past indiscretions. Some of that pressure was put on Lem, a member of Vic’s Strike Team, who was faced with either giving up his friends, or a prison sentence that would have meant certain death. Convinced that Lem was going to spill the beans, Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins) murdered his fellow teammate to shut him up and squash the investigation. Season six picks up shortly after the incident, with Vic swearing vengeance on the person who killed his friend and fighting for his professional life, as his superiors attempt to force him into retirement. Along the way, Shane gets in over his head with the Armenians, Claudette Wyms becomes the new captain of “The Barn” and is diagnosed with Lupus, the Byz Lats and Salvadorian gangs go to war and much carnage ensues. As in the past, complex story lines intertwine with breathtaking action sequences that will keep you on the edge of your seat, right up until the last episode that sets the stage brilliantly for the seventh and final season. New episodes have just started to air and the big question of Vic’s survival is up in the air. Will he keep his job, go down in a hail of bullets, or quietly exit the premises? If Season 6 is any indication, it should be an exciting ride to the finish.
High And Low
September 25th, 2008
Criterion brings us yet another masterpiece from the great Akira Kurosawa, in this adaptation of Ed McBain’s King’s Ransom. Toshiro Mifune stars as Kingo Gondo, a wealthy industrialist and the target of a kidnapper who bungles the job when he mistakenly snatches up the son of Gondo’s chauffeur instead. As it happens, Mifune’s character had been planning to thwart a plan to cheapen the quality of his products by buying out the firm, but the money demanded for ransom would wipe out his chances of completing the deal. Faced with a moral dilemma – lose the empire he’s built, or save the life of his servant’ child, Gondo wrestles with his conscience and the police, as they attempt to capture the guilty parties. Kurosawa uses the concept of high and low literally: Gondo is a wealthy executive living in a big house on a hill, while everyone else around him represents the “lower” class in just about every way. The director paints a portrait of modern Japanese culture and its moral ambiguities, while simultaneously crafting a tense thriller that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. A nice collection of essays complement the beautiful transfer, making High And Low an essential addition to fans of film noir, Akira Kurosawa and Criterion collectors.
Rolling Stones - Shine A Light
September 25th, 2008
While it may be hard to believe that the Stones can still get it up after all these years, Shine A Light demonstrates that these senior citizens haven’t lost any of their chops and still know how to rock hard. In what is arguably the best Stones film since Gimme Shelter, Martin Scorsese captures the band blowing the roof off New York’s Beacon Theater for Bill Clinton’s 60th birthday and manages to toss in a bit of archival footage for context. Using an army of hand-held and robotic cameras, Scorsese practically takes us inside every nook and cranny on Keith Richards’ face (scary!), but more importantly, puts the viewer onstage with Mick and Co. as they run down a better-than-average set list of big hits and album nuggets. Owing to the relatively small venue size, Jagger has less room to run around and the band is grouped together more tightly than in massive outdoor stadiums, leading to performances that seethe with intensity. Guest appearances from Jack White, Buddy Guy and Christina Aguilera add a bit of sizzle to the set and scenes of the director and Mick preparing for the show are kept to a minimum (and shot in black & white). Whether you think the Stones are has-beens or still the greatest rock & roll band in the land, Shine A Light will surprise the naysayers and delight the faithful.