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Abigail (2024)
Abigail (2024 Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett) Some bloody fun and a few original twists, but overall a fairly predictable vampire tale
Eric's Grade: C+
'Abigail' is a horror film from the directors behind the most recent 'Scream' resurgence having directed the fifth and sixth installments of that franchise. Here they turn their attention to an interesting twist on the vampire story. Melissa Berrera and Dan Stevens star as part of a hired crew to kidnap a young girl for ransom, but things turn south when they realize the girl they kidnapped is actually a vampire and they have been duped and lead like lambs to the slaughter.
Apparently this movie is supposed to fit into Universal's monster-verse of films although not really connected to any other movie. Despite originally being titled 'Dracula's Daughter' this film does not have any reference to that original and most venerated of vampires. Instead Abigail could be the misbegotten daughter of any vampire which conjures up images of the eternally young and frustrated Kirsten Dunst vampire from 'Interview With the Vampire.' She is sort of that forever lost child destined to never see adulthood no matter how long she exists. There are also elements here that remind me a bit of 'The Usual Suspects' as the crew figures out how they were cobbled together for this suicide mission.
This movie comes across as an interesting combo of expected and unexpected. The initial setup is pretty straightforward and even when the crew first figure out what young Abigail is it all follows a fairly straight forward trajectory, but then as the scene turns into more chaos for our kidnappers the writers throw in a few twists and turns that keeps the action from become stale and predictable. This plays on some classic vampire tropes, and revels in the gore and violence inherent in films like this. There is also a good amount of pointed humor in the film although not enough that I would leverage this into the horror comedy genre. The actors here are decent, but they are all just kind of showing up. Nobody is really doing an amazing turn here although that is not to say they are doing a bad job. This winds up being a decent vampire flick. The cast is doing what they can and there is plenty of blood and gore albeit very much fantastical gore rather than hard edge realistic violence. It is not redefining the genre in any way, but is doing just enough to keep itself interesting as a mid level, non blockbuster horror film.
3 Body Problem (2024)
3 Body Problem season 1 (2024, Netflix) High concept science fiction gets a stunning treatment from Netflix and creators Benioff and Weiss
Eric's Grade: A-
'3 Body Problem' is an American adaptation of the Chinese novel of the same name by Liu Cixin. The series was created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss of 'Game of Thrones' fame along with Alexander Woo. 'The Three Body Problem' is the first book of a trilogy called 'Remembrance of Earth's Past' all of which were highly acclaimed science fiction books. The novels deal begin during China's Cultural Revolution before getting into a first contact narrative along with some incredibly hard science fiction concepts. For the television show the primarily Chinese cast has been turned into an internationally flavored cast based mainly out of England which is a bit easier for western audiences to digest. This first season presupposes that there will be more seasons coming to develop the story as nothing is clearly resolved as the credits roll and there is still a vast amount of narrative ground to cover. Season 1 debuted on the Netflix streaming platform in March 2024 totaling 8 roughly hour long episodes.
During China's Cultural Revolution Ye Wenjie witnesses the death of her father before getting sent to a remote camp called Red Coast Base. There she discovers they are seeking extra terrestrial intelligence. She actually makes contact, but the resultant message is a warning, and it is left to her to decide to proceed at humanity's peril or abandon the effort. In the UK in present time we are introduced to a handful of young physicists who are friends, acquaintances and colleagues. Recently physics experiments have been going awry derailing high level scientific experimentation. In addition a large number of physicists have been bizarrely committing suicide. A couple of the friends receive a headset that is technologically advanced and places the wearer in an extremely lifelike simulation with no real stated mission other than to figure out stable versus chaotic eras on a planet in a multiple star system hence the 3 Body Problem of the title. As the layers of the onion are peeled away humanity pivots from the idea that this is all a great cosmic oddity to the idea that not only are aliens real, but they are on their way and are possibly here already. How will humanity deal with that knowledge and prepare for what's coming?
Liu Cixin's novels are incredibly high concept and deal with some pretty dense physics so I was fascinated to see how this adaptation would incorporate what is some pretty hefty science into an entertaining and digestible narrative. I think this show succeeds in an area where many may feel the novels lack a bit and that is in their characters. I remember less the characters from the books and more recall things that happened to specific characters. Part of that may be me getting muddled in a decent quantity of Chinese names that all sound very similar. Here greater care is taken to make each character important and have agency. Another change along those lines that works for the better, although perhaps a bit improbable, is to make many of the primary characters a group of friends. In the book all of these characters were disparate people for the most part, but it means a bit more as they struggle together, not only for humanity, but for one another. Most of the actors are unknowns with some notable exceptions including 'Game of Thrones' alums John Bradley and Liam Cunningham along with Jonathan Pryce and Bendict Wong. All involved do a very good job here. Not everything is explained, but it doesn't really need to be. This is an adaptation that can be enjoyed by fans of the book, but also the show doesn't weigh itself down with dense concepts and instead lets the camaraderie of the characters hold it up so that by the final episode you are invested as much in their fate as you are in the fate of humanity. I hope that '3 Body' secures more seasons and is allowed to tell its story in full because, if the first season is any indication, it could be a heck of a ride.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991, James Cameron) Iconic film that cements both Cameron and Arnold's legacy... One of thee perfect action films
Eric's Grade: A
James Cameron almost defies logic with his film making. 'Terminator 2' is a superlative in every sense of the word, and a modern classic in the science fiction action sphere of movies. It would be the crowning achievement for any writer/director. Cameron, however, seems to make nothing but classics. Sandwiched between Terminator films he did 'Aliens', and he would go on to do 'Titanic' and 'Avatar'. Not only is he an amazing storyteller, but he has consistently pushed the boundaries of what is capable on film with visual effects. With 'The Terminator' both Cameron and Schwarzenegger were in their film infancy. By the time 'Terminator 2' rolls around in 1991 Cameron had directed nothing but successes, and Schwarzenegger was a bona fide movie star doing mainly action hero roles. Thankfully Linda Hamilton also returns reprising her key role as Sarah Connor. Robert Patrick co-stars with newcomer Edward Furlong snagging the key role of John Connor. The movie would make $520 million at the box office becoming the highest grossing R-rated film of all time and the 13th highest ever to that point. 'Terminator 2' is widely considered one of the best science fiction movies of all time as well as one of the best sequels ever, and one of those rare sequels that surpasses the original film.
In 'The Terminator' Arnold's T-800 cybernetic assassin was sent back to 1984 to kill the mother of a resistance leader before he was born. A lone man, Kyle Reese, was sent back to protect her and he managed to accomplish that goal destroying the Terminator but dying in the process. He actually winds up fathering John Connor in an interesting time loop quandary. Now a new Terminator has been sent back to the 1990's to attack John Connor as an adolescent. Instead of a human this time the resistance sends another Terminator back to find John and protect him. This protector just happens to be a T-800 which is the same model that was trying to kill Sarah in the first film. They must do battle against a T-1000 which is a technologically superior model made of a liquid metal. It is another race as the T-800 must first find John, then reunite him with his mother before they can attempt to take out a seemingly indestructible killer from the future. All of this is designed to avert Judgment Day when, in 1997, Skynet becomes aware and instigates nuclear Armageddon resulting in machines rising from the ashes as the dominant sentient creatures on earth.
Even over 30 years later the special effects here still seem fresh and vital. I remember 'The Terminator' suffering a bit in the visual effects department. The technology was just not up to the level of Cameron's vision, but by the 1990's that had changed. Not only was Cameron a more savvy film maker, but now he could really get creative with his visual effects. There might be some dating in the look, but it is light. The dating, if anywhere, extends to the solidly early 90's attitude that pervades the film. The screenplay is amazing especially for an action movie and the cast is stupendous. Arnold says very little, but does a lot with that limited vocabulary. Linda Hamilton's transformation is stunning from the carefree 80's waitress to this doomsday harbinger, and Furlong is a find as the young Connor. He has a raw genuineness, and embodies kids of that era. The liquid Terminator is beyond amazing and Cameron crafts continually interesting situations to put the two machines at odds. One of the most brilliant moments is Sarah first seeing the T-800. It harkens back to the first film, and as she is running for her life he extends his hand and says exactly what Reese said to her all those years ago, "Come with me if you want to live." It is absolutely perfect. This whole film is great from the start. The action commences and never really lets up. The weird little family unit created by John, Sarah, and the T-800 is surprisingly poignant which makes the ending all the more meaningful when John is confronted with the fact the T-800 cannot stay. This film is an action classic, and like many Cameron films, it sets the standard and surpasses even its own expectations.
Monkey Man (2024)
Monkey Man (2024, Dev Patel) Part John Wick with a splash of social commentary... fine enough, but nothing too original here
Eric's Grade: B-
'Monkey Man' is an action thriller starring Dev Patel directed by Dev Patel, and is also co-written and co-produced by Patel. This is pretty much the all around Dev Patel show. Set in India the film features a number of Indian actors that will be unfamiliar to American audiences with the most familiar face, outside of Patel himself, being Sharlto Copley who has starred with Patel before in Neill Blomkamp movie 'Chappie'. Patel supposedly wanted Blomkamp to direct 'Monkey Man' but he passed and told Patel he should do it which is what wound up happening. 'Monkey Man' is Patel's directorial debut.
As a young boy Patel's character is told stories of Indian deity Hunuman from which he devises his Monkey Man persona. Police and political corruption lead to a raid on their village to clear out/kill the villagers so the land can be developed. In that raid the kid's mother is brutalized, mortally wounded and burned. The kid grows up with a festering rage against the police commander Rana, who carried out the attack, and the spiritual guru Baba Shakti who ordered it. As an adult Patel, who is never really named, works at an underground fight ring wearing a monkey mask. He sets a plan in place to get a job at a local VIP club and work his way close to Rana, who frequents it, so he can get a chance at revenge. His first attempt goes awry almost killing him. He finds himself at a temple comprised of hijra, who are a marginalized transgender community. With their aid he gains renewed purpose, and after convalescing and training time decides to take another motivated strike at the people he blames for his mother's death.
'Monkey Man' presents very much as an Indian 'John Wick', and I think that is very intentional. It does do a good job of embracing the aspects that make it original. Here Patel's character is not the unstoppable Boogeyman that Wick is. He is very fallible, and that is embodied in his first attempt at vengeance which is a colossal failure. This film also surprises with its inclusion of the hijra community. You do not expect to walk into a movie like this and have the action hero become a champion for such a community. Netflix had initially purchased this film, but did not expect the level of social commentary in the film, and so they wound up selling it and it eventually got picked up by Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions and Universal. I think the level of social commentary is very sedate, and focuses on practices in Indian society, so that should not be an issue with American viewers wanting to see this movie which, at its core, is still a straightforward 'John Wick' style action film with less guns. That is one of the more eyebrow raising parts of 'Monkey Man'. I realize our nameless hero does not roll around with heavy firepower, but in the final assault I don't even think he gets shot at which is weird considering the level of people he is going after. You would think they would have a SWAT team of personal bodyguards with automatic weapons ready to kill anything that comes near. It is also humorous that the hero goes through a very standard training montage, and now he is next level which is also emblematic that he is fighting with both renewed and higher purpose. This a completely watchable street fighter action film. Sure the hero unbelievably wades through a sea of bad guys including police, but that is exactly the film you are tuning in for, and the Indian setting injects some fresh differences into what could be a very stale genre. There are some lulls as this is not nonstop action but when the action does get rolling just sit back and enjoy the violence. (B-)
'Monkey Man' is an action thriller starring Dev Patel directed by Dev Patel, and is also co-written and co-produced by Patel. This is pretty much the all around Dev Patel show. Set in India the film features a number of Indian actors that will be unfamiliar to American audiences with the most familiar face, outside of Patel himself, being Sharlto Copley who has starred with Patel before in Neill Blomkamp movie 'Chappie'. Patel supposedly wanted Blomkamp to direct 'Monkey Man' but he passed and told Patel he should do it which is what wound up happening. 'Monkey Man' is Patel's directorial debut.
As a young boy Patel's character is told stories of Indian deity Hunuman from which he devises his Monkey Man persona. Police and political corruption lead to a raid on their village to clear out/kill the villagers so the land can be developed. In that raid the kid's mother is brutalized, mortally wounded and burned. The kid grows up with a festering rage against the police commander Rana, who carried out the attack, and the spiritual guru Baba Shakti who ordered it. As an adult Patel, who is never really named, works at an underground fight ring wearing a monkey mask. He sets a plan in place to get a job at a local VIP club and work his way close to Rana, who frequents it, so he can get a chance at revenge. His first attempt goes awry almost killing him. He finds himself at a temple comprised of hijra, who are a marginalized transgender community. With their aid he gains renewed purpose, and after convalescing and training time decides to take another motivated strike at the people he blames for his mother's death.
'Monkey Man' presents very much as an Indian 'John Wick', and I think that is very intentional. It does do a good job of embracing the aspects that make it original. Here Patel's character is not the unstoppable Boogeyman that Wick is. He is very fallible, and that is embodied in his first attempt at vengeance which is a colossal failure. This film also surprises with its inclusion of the hijra community. You do not expect to walk into a movie like this and have the action hero become a champion for such a community. Netflix had initially purchased this film, but did not expect the level of social commentary in the film, and so they wound up selling it and it eventually got picked up by Jordan Peele's Monkeypaw Productions and Universal. I think the level of social commentary is very sedate, and focuses on practices in Indian society, so that should not be an issue with American viewers wanting to see this movie which, at its core, is still a straightforward 'John Wick' style action film with less guns. That is one of the more eyebrow raising parts of 'Monkey Man'. I realize our nameless hero does not roll around with heavy firepower, but in the final assault I don't even think he gets shot at which is weird considering the level of people he is going after. You would think they would have a SWAT team of personal bodyguards with automatic weapons ready to kill anything that comes near. It is also humorous that the hero goes through a very standard training montage, and now he is next level which is also emblematic that he is fighting with both renewed and higher purpose. This a completely watchable street fighter action film. Sure the hero unbelievably wades through a sea of bad guys including police, but that is exactly the film you are tuning in for, and the Indian setting injects some fresh differences into what could be a very stale genre. There are some lulls as this is not nonstop action but when the action does get rolling just sit back and enjoy the violence.
The Zone of Interest (2023)
The Zone of Interest (2023, Jonathan Glazer) Haunting in its spartan examination of the evil in humanity
Eric's Grade: B+
'The Zone of Interest' is a historical drama from writer/director Jonathan Glazer from the 2014 novel of the same name by Martin Amis. It stars Christian Friedel and Sandra Huller as Rudolph Hoss and his wife Hedwig. It essentially tells the story of Hoss during WWII who was serving as the commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp. The term "Zone of Interest" is a reference to an area around the camp that was used by the Nazis as homes and quarters for those SS who adminstered the camp. Hoss, his wife and five children live on an idyllic estate with beautiful grounds in luxury, however, just over the garden wall looms one of the most notorious locations of death and human misery that has existed in recorded history. While the children play and the wife hosts parties in the background you hear tortured screams and gunshots. You see furnace chimneys belching smoke and smoke from trains as they move across the back of the frame. The viewers' imaginations do not have to flex too much to conjure all the atrocity occurring mere yards away. The wife, Hedwig, casually accepts possessions that have been seized from incarcerated Jews. The children gleefully count gold teeth at night. Hoss casually discusses the construction of a more efficient crematorium as if he was discussing adding a porch onto his house. When Hoss gets a transfer Hedwig successfully lobbies to be allowed to stay in residence with the children which seems absolutely bonkers. An odd juxtaposed scene at the end flashes to the modern day Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum where crews are cleaning amidst the jarring installations, before flashing back to a shaken Hoss alone in a hallway as if the echoes of all those ghosts call to him. 'The Zone of Interest' was one of the best reviewed films of 2023 and received Grand Prix at Cannes as well as 5 Academy Award nominations winning two for Sound and Best International Feature.
Glazer has only made four films over 23 years, but they are quite varied and focus on differing, but dark subject matter. With 'The Zone of Interest' he has talked about demystifying the Nazis, and putting a human face on these people who are thought of to be historically evil. It almost would be easier to see them as epic beasts. It is weirder to think of them as actual people for how can people so easily disregard the atrocities occurring mere steps away, and lead a life of splendor. The sheer callousness is both numbing and infuriating. Interestingly the book used a fictionalized version of Hoss and his wife, but for the film Glazer wanted to use the actual historical figures as the characters. The film is very minimalist using very geometric, meticulously composed shots. It is light on music using very naturalistic sound as well as letting the background of the concentration camp serve as score to some degree. That is really the gimmick here, and I do not mean to belittle it by calling it a gimmick, but if you lift the estate and place it anywhere and give the family all the same actions set amidst a different purpose such as farming this just becomes a mundane slice of life story. It is the concept that all of this mundane existence is nestled against the walls of a concentration camp where the father oversees the extermination of an entire race of humans that makes the entire film almost a philosophical quandary for your mind to explore, ponder and wander through contemplating evil and intent. 'The Zone of Interest' is not dynamic and actively avoids showing anything actually happening at the concentration camp, and these people and the whole film are that much more haunting for the very specific way the film is presented and shot.
Per un pugno di dollari (1964)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964, Sergio Leone) Eastwood and Leone's first team up is a better indicator of things to come rather than a great movie in its own right
Eric's Grade: B-
'A Fistful of Dollars' was not the first film for either director Sergio Leone or actor Clint Eastwood, but it would be the first of a collaboration that would enable both men to become icons in the film industry. 'Fistful' is a spaghetti western, the first in the stylized "Man with No Name" trilogy featuring Eastwood in the lead role in each film as a mysterious gunslinging stranger. 'A Fistful of Dollars' was released in Italy in 1964, but did not debut in America until 1967 due to a legal dispute with Japanese production company Toho. 'A Fistful of Dollars' is a thinly veiled western ripoff of Kurosawa's film 'Yojimbo' and resulted in a lawsuit being filed. The film was shot on a shoestring budget in Spain with the whole thing filmed as a silent movie and the dialogue and sound effects dubbed in later. It also features music from Ennio Morricone who's distinctive work did a lot to set the tone and mood in his collaborations with Leone. When finally released in the United States this would serve to start Eastwood on a path to stardom, and also do a lot to define the sort of silent, macho man that almost all of his film roles would embody from The Man with No Name to Dirty Harry.
Eastwood plays a gun toting drifter who meanders into a dusty U. S./Mexican border town that is dominated by two warring families who both smuggle goods across the border. The town seems to be essentially made up of only these two families along with a barkeep and an undertaker. There seems to be a tenuous understanding between the families, but violence bubbles beneath the surface. Eastwood's "Joe" exploits that and uses his quick tongue and gunfighting skills to play both families off of one another causing violence to erupt. What starts as a way to earn a buck turns more personal when he saves a woman being kept against her will and away from her family which earns the enmity of the Rojos. He also discovers the Rojos have stolen a significant amount of gold from the Mexican Army. He deviates from staying outside their familial politics and pays for it which almost costs him his life, but as we know "Joe" will not be kept down for long and when he returns it will be with a vengeful wrath.
'A Fistful of Dollars' by itself is not a very good movie even though it does a lot of good things. Leone's directing along with Morricone's score and Eastwood's casual, diffident portrayal all combine to elevate this into something a bit more than the basic spaghetti western that it is. It is almost as if all of these neophyte masters stumble around learning through this production how to hone their craft. All of the elements really solidify only two years later when 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' becomes an iconic pillar of the western genre. Even the oddly stilted dubbing which could be offputting becomes an endearing part of the film's time capsule quality. While the plot is silly it has a gritty, sultry feel almost like the town itself embodied in Leone's very specific directorial style. Eastwood, even in this first role, settles comfortably into being the antihero with a rye wit and quick gun. 'A Fistful of Dollars' may not be a great film, but it points the way toward greatness and the glory to come for not only Eastwood, but Leone and Morricone as well.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022, Guillermo del Toro & Mark Gustafson)
Eric's Grade: B+
I am by no means a Pinocchio aficionado or purist so walking into this I only had the barest template of the story in my mind as I have never read the source material which is an 1883 novel by Carlo Colladi, and it has been at least 2 decades, probably more, since I have seen the Disney animated classic. 'Pinocchio' had long been a passion project for del Toro, and although the film was announced as early as 2008 it languished for years with no studios willing to finance it until it was finally acquired by Netflix in 2018. It is a stop-motion animated movie co-directed by Mark Gustafson with a screenplay co-written by del Toro and Patrick McHale. 'Pinocchio' garnered critical acclaim and won the Best Animated Feature award at the Academy Awards.
'Pinocchio' tells a familiar if slightly skewed version of the classic Pinnochio tale. The setting is Fascist Italy between WWI and WWII as Mussolini holds power and sway over the country. Geppetto loses his son to an errant bomb dropped in WWI. He mourns and descends into drunkeness and despair. Years later, out of that despair, he carves a puppet made from the tree planted at Carlo's grave, and a wood sprite brings it to life assigning a cricket who lives in the wood to be his conscience and guide. 'Pinocchio' is essentially a newborn and lacks understanding and self control eventually frustrating the old Geppetto. He sends him off to school but Pinocchio gets waylaid by malign forces in the form of Count Volpe and his circus. Pinocchio is seen as a tool by Volpe and then the Fascists, but he keeps striding forward trying to do right in his new existence as well as right by his father who at first cannot see Pinocchio as a replacement for his son, but eventually learns to love Pinocchio for who he is apart from his boy.
This version of the classic tale incorporates many elements from the original story, but also clearly puts its own slant on things mainly in moving the setting to the politically charged Fascist era of Italy's history. The story does not feel shoehorned in though and instead feels right at home being told against that backdrop. The direction and animation here are exquisite and it is mind boggling to think of the painstaking detail that goes into creating a stop-motion feature such as this. The character designs slant a bit more fantastical which is right in the del Toro wheelhouse. The cricket does not bare much resemblence to the Jiminy character most of us know, and Pinocchio himself is more of a roughly hewn puppet as opposed to the finally crafted epitome of a little boy that is the more classic rendering of the character. He works really well in this form though as he feels unfinished so is his personality unfinished and seeking experience and approval. The film does have some darkness, but essentially maintains that youthful optimism of the Pinocchio character even through all the darkness of death, impending war and the Fasicst mandates on the populace. 'Pinocchio' is not really a story I adore or gravitate toward so I just find the narrative okay, but it is hard not to watch and marvel at the sheer creativity and animated visual feast that del Toro and his production team built here, and the story, while familiar, is also original enough to give del Toro and company credit for their achievement there as well.
The Crow (1994)
The Crow (1994, Alex Proyas) Lee's tragic death only compounds the dark subject matter in this 90's grunge/goth classic
Eric's Grade: B+
It is hard to address the original version of 'The Crow' without acknowledging the tragic death of star Brandon Lee killed by a prop gun during filming. Upon his death Paramount ultimately opted out of distributing the film, and Miramax subsequently picked up it and accomplished the rewrites and reshoots necessary to work around Lee's death. It is all the more eerie that the story involves a man coming back from the dead to avenge his slain fiance and himself. 'The Crow' is directed by Alex Proyas starring Brandon Lee, who is Bruce Lee's kid. The movie is based on a comic by the same name created by James O'Barr who used it to unleash frustration over his fiance's death at the hands of a drunk driver. The film was a success making $94 million dollars and subsequently attaining a cult status. Three sequels would follow over the years and a remake is slated for release in 2024.
Set in Detroit under constant rain and darkness the night before Halloween, known as Devil's Night, has become a cloak for crime and arson on a grand, coordinated scale. A young woman named Shelly is assaulted, raped and left dying as her boyfriend Eric Draven, played by Lee, is thrown to death from the window of their apartment. A year later Draven's grave is visited not only by adolescent friend Sarah who still mourns the loss of Shelly and Eric, but a raven that results in Eric rising from the grave with supernatural abilities, and a wrath to destroy those who caused Shelley harm. The balance of the picture is Draven picking off this gang of hooligans in a myriad of ways until he works his way to the boss, known as Top Dollar, played by Michael Wincott. Along the way Eric is also aided by a veteran cop who is also a friend of Sarah's played by Ernie Hudson. Fueled by love and vengeance Eric will not stop until he is no more or all those deemed responsible have suffered and perished.
Considering Brandon Lee's untimely death it is surprising that 'The Crow' ever managed to see the light of day especially considering its dark subject matter. While the movie does not exactly revel in violence or even have that much blood violence frames everything that this movie is. It is also kept very dark with respect to its lighting and story structure. This has a very brooding emo/goth/grunge feel, and it seems right at home in 1994, but given that the movie itself feels almost otherworldly in a timeless fashion. About the only thing that feels dated is Draven brandishing his guitar everywhere he goes. The setting is Detroit, but it could have just as easily been Gotham or some other fictional darkened urban sprawl. I am surprised that there were not more fighting sequences. Had this film been made today or even just a few years later following 'The Matrix', and especially with Bruce Lee's kid, there would have been more than a few martial arts sequences. They eschew action sequences like that, however, and hew closer to the supernatural prowess and power of the character. Brandon Lee is an inspired choice for the lead and does a great job as the tortured Draven not to mention he looks great in the iconic Crow makeup. 'The Crow' has attainted cult film status, but is a decent movie outright, and even holds up well to rewatching. It is an eerie experience watching the deceased Lee embody a vigilante from beyond the grave, but the film leans into its dark, gritty nature and flourishes in that niche environment.
Piranha (1978)
Piranha (1978, Joe Dante) Downright silly "horror" capitalizing on 'Jaws' is so laughably bad it can be enjoyed as a horrible movie
Eric's Grade: F
This late 1970's horror flick is essentially a trash low budget enterprise designed mainly to capitalize on the success of 'Jaws' which is proof that Hollywood is pretty much the same as it has ever been. There is actually some talent behind the camera despite the low quality final product with Joe Dante directing and John Sayles writing the screenplay. Dante would never achieve great heights, but would produce some good films in the 80's and 90's most notably 'Gremlins' and 'The 'Burbs'. Sayles would go on to be an independent film maker who produced more than a few critically acclaimed films such as 'Matewan' and 'Eight Men Out'. 'Piranha' would be his first writing credit. The film stars Bradford Dillman and Heather Menzies with character actor Kevin McCarthy probably being the most recognizable face in the movie. While it may be easy to dismiss the film is is noteworthy that they did produce the film with only a $600,000 budget which severely limited what the production could achieve. Keeping that in mind it was a box office success although it is difficult not to be on such a small budget.
A backpacking couple sneak into an abandoned military compound and decide to take a dip in a pool they find. They are attacked and killed, however, from something lurking under the surface. Later a skiptracer named Maggie has been employed to find the teens and she teams a local, gruff backwoods man named Paul to aid her. They discover the military facility where Maggie drains the pool finding the skeletons of the young people. Little does she know she has released dangerous Piranha from a defunct Vietnam War project into the environment. With the help of an eccentric scientist found still living on the base Maggie and Paul must attempt to find and kill the fish before they can do too much damage. In their path of destruction is a summer camp and a bustling resort with the next stop being the ocean and world domination. Okay, well maybe not world domination, but it is a thought, and their evil little fish brains have only one thing on their mind; Chewing through anything in their path!
Without too much beating around the bush this movie is empirically bad. The actors are cheesy hams, but don't really have much to work with as the whole story concept and script are not that great to begin with. The idea that they could chase down and do anything about these fish once they hit the environment is laughably preposterous. It is funny to think pretty much everything is actually caused by the movie's protagonists as it is Maggie who release the fish into public waterways, and then to top it off they supposedly kill them by dumping industrial waste into the water so they just caused another catastrophe. The real shame of this film is the piss poor budget which leads to minimal special effects, and when making a film where you are trying to show people getting ravaged by killer fish that becomes something of a problem. There a few scenes of what seems like stock sequences of piranha that are just used in a loop but we never really see any up close and we get zero graphic fish on flesh sequences so it becomes a ridiculous enterprise of people just jerking and twitching in the water, and it is left to the viewers' imagination as to the scene playing out underneath the surface. As bad as this film is I do feel it fits into a perfect niche for a cult classic. It is the kind of film you gather some friends and throw it on while you develop a drinking game around it. This is the kind of film you do not take too seriously, and just revel in the fact that it is completely awful.
The Terminator (1984)
The Terminator (1984, James Cameron) Stellar dystopian vision aids in launching a franchise, a director and a movie star
Eric's Grade: A-
Back in 1984 James Cameron was still an untested neophyte director and Arnold was that bodybuilder with the unwieldy name. While 'The Terminator' wasn't a smash it did overachieve as well as serve as something of a launching pad that would signal the dawning of a prominent career for both director and star. While never envisioned as a franchise 7 years later a sequel would be released that would cement 'Terminator' as one of Hollywood's indelible action franchises. With only 'Piranha II: the Spawning' to his credit Cameron would concoct the idea of 'The Terminator' from a fever dream, and sell the idea with the caveat that only he would be allowed to direct it. Originally Schwarzenegger was eyed for the role of Reese, the movie's protagonist, however, Cameron disdained that idea, but after meeting with him realized Arnold would make an excellent Terminator which seems like a no brainer now. Linda Hamilton also wound up as an inspired choice for Sarah Connor, and while she would do other things, this is the role that would define her career. 'The Terminator' only made $78 million worldwide, but it did so with only a $6 million dollar budget and being released in October which back in 1984 wasn't a prime release date for movies. While it would take a while to rev up this movie did launch a franchise that would spawn 5 sequels to date raking in over $2 billion in worldwide box office.
In the distant future an advanced weapons system gains awareness and realizes quickly all humans are liabilities. It commences a nuclear holocaust and creates machines designed to hunt and destroy humanity. In the wreckage of the old civilization a freedom fighter named John Connor rises to power and galvanizes the human resistance. To fight this threat the machines send a Terminator, a machine that looks human, to the past in order to kill Connor's mother before he is born. The humans send back a lone human, Kyle Reese, played by Michael Biehn to find and safeguard her. The Terminator shows up and leaves a path of destruction leading to Connor. Reese must find her and convince this very average person that she is the mother of the future, and protect her from an unstoppable killing machine.
Conceived initially as a horror movie 'The Terminator' eventually lands somewhere on the dystopian thriller spectrum although there are some pretty intense scenes that would pass for body horror in 1984. This is a brilliant film and only the first step for Cameron toward becoming one of the most famous directors of all time. Schwarzenegger had done 'Conan the Barbarian' and initially didn't think very highly of 'The Terminator'. While he was starting to break into leading man roles he was still a year away from making Commando which would be his first action hero lead which would come to epitomize much of his career through the 80's and 90's as he would deftly balance his career between action hero roles and family friendly comedies. Looking back on it though there doesn't seem to be a more brilliant choice for The Terminator than him. His bulk and stilted, accented English make him perfect for a machine as human. The special effects, while I am sure were decent at the time, feel very dated now which is just about my only qualm about the film. Cameron actually had the idea for the liquid Terminator that would famously debut in the sequel as far back as this, but did not put it into the story based on the technology limitations. The stop motion used in certain scenes with the Terminator is very noticeable and made me think of 'Jason and the Argonauts' from 1963. The scenes set in the future not great either as they were clearly how a 1980's person envisioned a dystopian future rather than an actual emblematic future. Part of this subpar look I am sure is budget based as well as they probably did all they could with limited means. All that aside what the film lacks in special effects and production design is made up in Cameron's smart, tense script. Reese is both believable and crazy, and Hamilton is Sarah Connor in a way that few people embody a movie character. It is interesting to see her her as still the relatively carefree young woman knowing how she evolves into a purposeful doomsday prepping matriarch for humanity's savior. 'The Terminator' on its own is quite a good movie, but it is almost more noteworthy as a preamble for 'T2: Judgement Day' which is its iconic sequel and easily the far better movie, but still 'T2' cannot exist in a vacuum, and 'The Terminator' serves a vital function as the first chapter of one of Hollywood's most iconic franchises not to mention serving to springboard the burgeoning careers of both James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Sunset Boulevard (1950, Billy Wilder) Classic Hollywood cinema remains one of the most insightful and best acted films about Hollywood ever
Eric's Grade: A-
'Sunset Boulevard' is 1950 film noir drama from director Billy Wilder starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson. The film is widely regarded as one of the best American films ever made. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including nominations in all four acting categories. It won 3 Oscars including one for its Screenplay. It lost best picture to 'All About Eve'. It ranked 12th on AFI's inaugural list of the 100 Best American Films in 1998, and it landed at 16 when the list was revisited 10 years later.
The plot of 'Sunset Boulevard' surrounds a Hollywood writer named Joe Gillis, played by Holden, who is down on his luck just scraping by staying one step ahead of the repo men. One day as they give chase he gets a flat tire and hides in a sprawling decrepit mansion on Sunset. It turns out it is occupied by silent screen legend Norma Desmond, played by Swanson, and her devoted butler Max. Norma nominally employs Gillis to clean up a script she has concocted in order to launch her big screen comeback. Gillis knows she is a little bit crazy and the job is a fool's errand, but being at his wit's end he ascents. Through her wealth Norma exerts influence on Joe turning him into a kept man, and when he balks she threatens herself with bodily harm for which Joe shoulders the blame. Eventually Joe starts working secretly on a writing project with a script reader named Betty who is eager to become a writer. When the jealous Norma discovers this she is disconsolate and enraged and lashes out as Joe tries to leave killing him. Norma truly departs sanity after that as the famous final scenes play out where she is being marched to jail yet she thinks she is back on set with Cecil B. DeMille directing her glorious return to stardom.
I am almost positive I saw 'Sunset Boulevard' back when I was a younger man in college. Many of the plot points have stuck with me throughout the years. I am not sure how meta films ever got circa 1950, but 'Sunset Boulevard' is an amazing slice of art imitating life. Norma Desmond is basically a fictionalized version of Gloria Swanson who was a silent screen star that got pushed aside with the advent of talking pictures as well as her advancing age. Then there is the butler Max who is actually real life director Erich von Stroheim who directed Swanson in some of her silent films. Sunset had long been a street associated with movies, and like Norma Desmond many bygone silent era stars had lavish properties on the boulevard. The script developed from a thought about how those fabled actors were getting along with Hollywood in its current state. Wilder not only delivers a smart, snappy script along with Charles Brackett, but his direction employs an excellent film noir sensibility including the iconic opening with Joe Gillis dead in the pool functioning as the narrator of his own tragic story shot from underneath looking back out the surface of the pool. Cecil B. DeMille even shows up as himself in a cameo along with Hedda Hopper and even Buster Keaton. It is a fascinating look at the studio system at the height of its glory looking back on the bygone era of silent cinema, and you can continue to draw parallels even to modern day on the workings of Hollywood. As we plow into the 21st century the recent covid pandemic and rise of streaming services threaten to derail a new era of the Hollywood studio system. Everything in this production from the direction and script to the acting, music and cinematography are iconic, and have an established place on the landscape of Hollywood history. After watching it again 'Sunset Boulevard' is easily on my short list for one the best films of that classic Hollywood pre-1970 period. This is a wonderful film for lovers of classic cinema as well as an extremely intuitive take on Hollywood at that time that still seems relevant in its messaging to this day.
Napoleon (2023)
Napoleon (2023, Ridley Scott) Sweeping in scope, but story is confused and chaotic and does not really give you a sense of Napoleon
Eric's Grade: D+
When I think of Ridley Scott I think we tend to think of him in more grandiose terms than he deserves due to a few key early successes. Thanks to his breakout film 'Alien' followed by the cult smash 'Blade Runner' and even 'Thelma and Louise' he proved himself both a critical and commercial talent which culminated in 2000 with the Oscar for Best Picture for 'Gladiator'. He does have immense skill and there are a decent number of hits on his resume, but if you really stop and look at his career, however, it is marred by more large scale misses than hits especially in the last 20 years. The concept of a Napoleon film matched with Scott would seem like a match made in awards heaven yet upon the release of Scott's 'Napoleon' in November 2023 what you heard most was crickets as nobody was chirping about this picture at all. It did not receive anything in the way of critical acclaim and only managed 3 Academy Award nominations in craft categories. Joaquin Phoenix stars alongside Vanessa Kirby with a script by David Scarpa. It made $221 million at the box office but, despite that sounding like a good number, it only just cleared the upper end of its reported budget so it cannot really be considered a financial success.
Phoenix stars as the famed historical figure Napoleon Bonaparte. The narrative starts as the Revolution in France picks up steam illustrated by the public execution of Marie Antoinette. We see Napoleon rise to power through strategic military victories and savvy political moves. We see him marry Josephine played by Vanessa Kirby. Their relationship is tumultuous and childless which causes Napoleon eventually to abandon her although we are lead to believe that it was her he truly longed for to the end of his days. We see his match with Marie Louise of Austria, but despite her bearing him a son, we never see her in the movie again. We see his rise in French leadership eventually becoming First Consul and then being crowned Emperor as he famously and audaciously takes the crown and places it on his own head. We see his hubris and folly in lashing out at Russia which gets him exiled from which he famously returns for the Hundred Days as he runs around with power and armies once more before being ultimately defeated by the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo resulting in a second banishment to St. Helena where he would ultimately die.
I am not a French historian, and while knowing the name Napoleon and some famous events surrounding him I was never completely clear regarding his place on the French historical landscape. I have heard of Josephine and Waterloo and St. Helena etc..., but was Napoleon good or bad or other. Where did he gain power and when did he lose it? I was rather excited to see this play out in film format because Napoleon is one of those pillars of modern history that has seemed to elude adaptation onto the silver screen. Watching Scott's 'Napoleon' I think I see why so many people avoided him and his reign. French history at the point of the Revolution and beyond is something of a chaotic jumble. Even attempting to track a list of French leaders via simple Google search is problematic. This film, instead of concentrating on a small period of Napoleon's existence, instead speeds through almost 3 hours in a mad dash to touch on every highlight of his military and political existence. The pace feels rabid and disjointed. While the actors are chewing scenery I never felt like any of them were connected to their roles. I think Phoenix is flat out miscast as Napoleon. For being one of the famous pairs in history there is no real chemistry between Napoleon and Josephine here. Along those lines for Napoleon being one of history's famous conquerors I never got the sense here on why anything he did launched him into leadership like it did. We did not really see a brilliant tactician at work, or really see him win many decisive battles. It feels like a lot of what he is and what he did is skimmed over in order to get through all the material. In the end he comes off like a petulant adolescent that enjoyed leading his army to ruin. The production design and costuming are very good here evident in that those are two categories at the Academy Awards 'Napoleon' received nominations for. I am sure a strong script could craft a story about Napoleon's existence or a slice of it, but Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon' is chaotic scramble that seems unconcerned about actually communicating a coherent narrative. This film does not do Napoleon or Scott any favors, and as the credits role I can't say I understand who or what Napoleon was any better than I did prior to viewing this film.
Sinister (2012)
Sinister (2012, Scott Derrickson) Extremely creepy in look and feel, but 'Sinister' suffers from a few plot contrivances
Eric's Grade: B-
'Sinister' is a 2012 supernatural horror film directed by Scott Derrickson from a script co-written by Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill. The film stars Ethan Hawke as a struggling, but noted true crime writer. By 2012 Derrickson had pretty much established himself as bankable horror director, however, after a big budget remake of 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' fell flat it took 4 years for him to make 'Sinister'. It was a financial success making over $87 million on a budget of only $3 million which is a hallmark of horror, and why it continues to be a very successful genre. Derrickson would go on to direct a sequel in 2015.
We commence by seeing a group of people, presumably a family, hung at the same time from a tree on 1970's era Super 8 film stock. True crime writer Ellison Oswalt moves into the house where that crime occured. Apparently he has developed a reputation for doing this which does not sit well with the local constabulary. He will move into a town where a true crime style killing has occurred and conduct his own investigation which can lead to discoveries locals do not like. In this case a family was hung and the youngest child went missing. His wife and children are used to Ellison moving them to towns where these tragedies occur, but they are unaware that this time he has moved them into the actual house which, surprise surprise, causes static when discovered. While settling in Oswalt discovers a box of Super 8 home movies in the attic. While watching them Oswalt realizes that not only does one of the films seem to record the crime he is investigating, but each of the home movies is a snuff film that displays a family murder that has occurred over the past 30 years. While he has qualms he uses clues in the films and aid of a local sympathetic deputy to conduct a more thorough investigation. What starts as a true crime investigation gets darker and takes a supernatural turn which frays Ellison's nerves more and more. He is loathe to give up as he craves the professional validation of another blockbuster book, but eventually it becomes too much to handle, but by the time he caves will it be too late for him and his family?
Derrickson's directorial work here is very good and he takes an interesting if somewhat basic premise, and injects a lot of tense thrills into the movie. The look and feel of the film is very spooky and haunting which is part of its appeal. I do enjoy the overall aesthetic of this film and the setup of this true crime writer investigating an unsolved family murder, and stumbling onto a supernatural serial killer is quite intriguing. Where this movie loses me is in a lot of the weird, horror plot contrivances. So this guy stumbles onto a box of home movies in the attic. Okay, I buy that. He watches them and sees graphic snuff films displaying unsolved murders. I know he is a true crime author who wants a bestseller, but I am am fairly confidant it is illegal to withhold that evidence from the cops. Perhaps crazier is it seems clear the only way those home movies get where they are is by the killer putting them there, but neither the author nor the deputy take this into consideration. Oswalt seems ridiculously oblivious to the very real danger he is putting his family in by staying. He uses the deputy to dig into these cases, but all the deputy tells him are things a simple 5 minute Google search would uncover. There are standard jump scares as well as an "expert" who shows up to give the classic info dump regarding the supernatural entity in question. Also the pattern of killing that the story lays out is too easy to discern yet of course the author almost willingly never sees the connection until it is too late which is silly. When the killers are finally revealed I am not sure if it is intended to be a shock, but by the time the viewer sees the "extended cuts" it seems obvious what is going on therefore not really too much of a shock or surprise. There are just a bunch of issues like that where the characters just plow boldly forward in the face of very queer uncertainty. The direction and the overall creepiness of this film do a lot to hold it up and make me think well of it plot holes be damned, and to be fair in most horror films they almost require plot holes to subsist. The idea of watching a supernatural killer dispatch families on grainy home movies is going to be disturbing no matter what. Derrickson certainly knows how to construct this film to keep the tension dialed up to max which is always good in a horror film like this. Standard professorial info dump aside I do like how this supernatural entity goes largely unexplained and stays mainly on the periphery adding to his menace. There are glaring plot points bringing this down, but there is also excellent scares and visuals and acting holding this up. 'Sinister' may have its flaws, but it is still a heck of a good scary movie, and if you like a bit of supernatural horror it should not be missed.
Shin Evangelion Gekijôban (2021)
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 - Thrice Upon a Time (2021, Hideaki Anno) Philosophy of the movie still eludes, but this provides a fitting conclusion
Eric's Grade: B
'Thrice Upon a Time' is the fourth and final film in the 'Rebuild of Evangelion' series which is a retelling of the 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' television series. The first three films were released in Japan originally in 2007, 2009 and 2012. 'Thrice' would take almost ten years to complete for various reasons. It would suffer delays due to many issues, but a lot stemming from creator Anno's financial woes as well as his battles with depression. The oft delayed 'Thrice Upon a Time' was finally released in Japan in 2021. It received a tremendous response becoming the second highest grossing film of 2021 in Japan. The film landed on some critics' best of lists which is what caused me to start down the road of watching these films in the first place.
The story essentially continues right where the previous film left off. Asuka, Rei and Shinji are hiking through remains of Tokyo-3 and find solace, comfort and friends for a time at a village of survivors who have developed a solid community just trying to survive in these hectic times. Unlike the other films which are very quick moving and action packed 'Thrice' spends a good bit of time with our three Evangelion pilots just recovering and existing in this community. Asuka is still continuously frustrated with Shinji. Shinji is despondent and listless following the death of friend, co-pilot, angel(?) Kawaoru from the previous film. There is a lot of this film that would seem to meditate on a sense of self from a depressive state which would seem to coincide with what Anno was feeling in real life. Rei dies, or more like expires which exacerbates Shinji's emotional state, but ultimately it spurs him to leave with Asuka when the ship Wunder comes to pick her up. The latter portion of the film has the Wunder track, follow and ultimately confront Gendo, Shinji's father and one of the creator's of this huge mess, in a battle for the existence of Earth and reality. This portion, while visually stunning, is more than a bit surreal with a lot of exposition on the lore of these organizations, what is going on with the planet and more importantly Gendo's intent. In the end father and son confront each other in an anti-realty dimension where Shinji is finally able to give Gendo some closure as all this has been spurred over his anguish over the loss of his wife. Shinji is utimately able to use a final lance to reset the world without Evangelions resulting in a Neon Genesis.
To say this series and this film can be a tad inaccessible is not a stretch. I am not even sure of all the concepts it is trying to dig into. More than likely quite a bit of its internal meaning flew right over my head. The film has the same brilliant anime style that was evident in previous films. I was at least half able to follow the story and was thoroughly entertained by what I did understand. This final volume does serve to wrap up the existing story so at least there are no bizarre dangling plot points even if understanding the overall product is a bit more of a chore. While I didn't really get it I can see why this film and the series would develop a following, and 'Thrice Upon a Time' serves as a fitting conclusion to Anno's 'Rebuild of Evangelion' series.
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Kill Bill vol. 2 (2004, Quentin Tarantino) volume 1 is skooch better, but volume 2 still packs a Tarantino punch
Eric's Grade: B+
'Kill Bill vol. 2' is the second half of what amounts to Tarantino's 4th film overall with the entire 'Kill Bill' opus. It raises an interesting film theory question on whether or not to consider the whole thing one movie or the parts as essentially separate, but equal. Tarantino envisioned it and filmed the entire enterprise, as one entity, however, with a runtime in excess of four hours the best option was to split the film into two pieces. For being essentially one movie the two different films feel like separate things even though 'vol. 2' is a clear continuation. I prefer 'vol. 1' which I think is the prevailing opinion due to more pronounced villains and some bigger, badder action set pieces. As it stands I tend to stick to the Academy rules and the films had different release dates in different years, and thus, technically, are different films. All actors are clearly in the same roles here with Uma Thurman continuing in the role of The Bride and David Carradine as Bill although in 'vol. 1' you never saw him in full. Daryl Hannah and Michael Madsen show up as the two remaining members of the Deadly Viper Assassin Squad to be dispatched ahead of the titular Bill. Gordon Liu who was Johnny Mo in the first volume shows up here doing double duty as the Kung Fu master who trains The Bride in her pre-Bride days.
Like the first film we get this one unspooling out in chapters. There are a few plot points to get through before getting to the ultimate prize of Bill and the revelation that her daughter lives which was part of the cliffhanger ending of 'vol. 1'. We get a flashback scene leading to the massacre at the wedding chapel that sets this entire affair in motion. Then there are the two members of the Assassin Squad to kill. We get another flashback scene to Pai Mei's instruction of Bride Kiddo back when she was a fledgling assassin, and his teachings come in quite handy considering the circumstance our protagonist finds herself in. This all leads to the final confrontation with Bill that has clearly predictable results if the title is to be believed. Even the joyous reunion with her daughter in a very Tarantino scene cannot derail her from her ultimate mission nor save Bill from his inevitable fate.
'Vol. 2', while not as good as the first film is a very good continuation/conclusion to the 'Kill Bill' story. It has that same great look and feel of a 70's kung fu film combined with a spaghetti western killing it with its visuals and overall production style. The music by RZA and Robert Rodriguez excellently capture and convey the mood and tone Tarantino is striving for. Quentin's dialogue and script is wonderful in its affected sort of way. It seems only a brand of talking and conversing that he can pull off successfully, and it clearly sets his films apart from other writer/directors. Tarantino even manages to steer clear of some of his more controversial script tendencies. The flaws here primarily would seem to derive from a larger film being split in two. The Budd and Elle confrontations are not as cool or definitive as the two she tackles in the first film. The Bride does not even get to kill Budd, and she actually walks out the door with Elle still alive so we do not actually get that same feeling of revenge accomplishment in either case. Likewise there is no huge action spectacle like the showdown at the House of Blue Leaves, or the stellar animated O-Ren origin story which is like a little mini film unto itself. Those qualms aside 'Kill Bill vol. 2' carries the same look and feel which makes sense, and this is Quentin operating on all cylinders paying homage to film styles he has always loved. 'Vol. 2' is a very good film in its own right and paired with its first chapter it makes an epic of violence, revenge and surprising humor that is unmatched by contemporaries.
Road House (2024)
Road House (2024, Doug Liman) Serviceable remake, but basic and predictable plot make this nothing special
Eric's Grade: C-
'Road House' is a 2024 remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze vehicle starring Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Doug Liman. Doug Liman has a solid and eclectic track record as a director with his credits spanning films from 'Go' and 'Swingers' to 'The Bourne Identity' and 'Edge of Tomorrow'. Costars here include Daniela Melchior, J. D. Pardo, Arturo Castro and Billy Magnussen in a rare bad guy role. Also in the realm of stunt casting former UFC star Conor McGregor takes a turn as a borderline psychotic enforcer. Oddly this film had a few theater showings, but Amazon, who distributed the film, decided to forgo a traditional theatrical release, and instead dropped the film on Prime Video in late March 2024 which director Liman was none too pleased about.
2024's 'Road House' is set in the Florida Keys, and Gyllenhaal stars as a listless ex-UFC fighter named Dalton who is just kicking around participating in underground fights for a few bucks. Jessica Williams is Frankie who owns a roadhouse that is being tormented by local thugs, as we learn, in an attempt to scare her into selling her property so that a local bigwig can get the crucial land for a development project. She convinces Dalton to help out after meeting with him, and he shows up as that cavalier, haunted drifter with the cut physique, and the easy yet haunted smile and a whole can of whup ass at his disposal. He befriends the daughter of a local bookstore because of course he does. At first everyone is in awe of Dalton's skills. He easily makes the local hoods look like the Keystone Cops even when the crooked law threatens him, but when McGregor's Knox enters the picture like a chaotic war machine things go slightly askew. Of course the initial interaction does not go well for Dalton, but after some soul searching, plus attacks on his bookstore friends, he finds a renewed sense of purpose and goes into overdrive action hero mode to save his friends and the Road House by taking down the local honcho and all his minions.
The story follows essentially the same larger plot points as the original 'Road House'. I think moving the setting to the Florida Keys was a good idea. It just feels like a proper place for the story to be taking place, and while the lone holdout to a real estate development isn't a new story it works well here. Gyllenhaal is well cast as Dalton and is amazing shape for the film, and you believe he can perpetrate all the violence we see. It seems in this day and age we cannot just have an unknown protagonist. That was an aspect to the original film I very much appreciate. While giving Dalton a fighter's pedigree makes sense the whole back story about his fall from grace was nonessential fluff. Even the way they presented it was a tad bizarre as they danced around it for a while like it was some big mystery, but if you are paying attention clearly he killed a guy. They meant this as sort of a marker that he can enter a dark place where thought and morality go bye bye, and ultimately that is what is channeled for good in the final showdown against the bad guys. All that said I would have much preferred he start like Swayze who was already in the business of being a grade A bouncer when that film commences as it would seem to take some knowledge and experience to manage a crowd and remove offenders while not harming innocent patrons, but here that is just another of Dalton's inherent skills which is a tad annoying. The local thugs were a bit too dopey especially the one guy who was serving essentially as comic relief. Conor McGregor essentially struts in and just does a variation of what he always spouts. He is not a great actor, but is believable in the role because I think Knox is essentially a version of his fighter persona. They throw in a love interest because why not, but it is nonessential and doesn't go anywhere. It really only serves to move certain portions of the plot forward. The original 'Road House' is not a great film, but it does have its moments for sure. This modern updating has potential and shows flashes of what it could be, but more or less, walks a very safe, basic path that doesn't do itself any favors. 'Road House' is entertaining to sit down and watch, but is basic and forgettable.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (2023)
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (2023, Sam Wrench) It is Taylor's world... we just live in it, and bask in her glory
Eric's Grade: A-
It is times like this I feel it is Taylor Swift's world, and we are all just living in it. Taylor Swift is a household name and a musical and pop culture icon, and that was before 2023. In 2023 the already popular musical artist entered the stratosphere with her Eras Tour which became cultural touchstones and economic booms to every city she visited. She would go on to exert influence on professional sports with her romance with Kansas City Chiefs' football player Travis Kelce, and even go on to be named Time's Person of the Year. The Eras Tour is set to stretch to the end of 2024, but on the heels of the American leg of the tour Swift produced a concert film so all those who were not able to bathe in her glory live could do so in an AMC theater of their choice or later on Disney+. Not only was her concert world altering, but she completely rocked the film industry with her unique distribution of the film. Swift basically forsook partnering with studios instead partnering with AMC to distribute the film directly to them. It quickly became the highest grossing concert film of all time. Predictably a bidding war ensued for the streaming rights to the film as well which would be ultimately won by Disney+ where the film was finally released in March of 2024.
The concert film itself, directed by Sam Wrench, was filmed at the three shows at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California. I watched "Taylor's Version" on Disney+ which took the just under 3-hour film and beefed it up to 3 ½ hours with some additional performances. Despite the enormous runtime the concert flowed extremely smoothly and is a dazzling spectacle to behold as the superb production value, amazing sets, visuals and costuming all combine with amazing performances from Swift and her fellow singers and dancers. The concept of the Eras Tour itself is a stupendous idea as each album/era of Swift's gets its own section in the show each with their own lavish and distinctive production design. It is a marvel to behold cementing Taylor Swift's hold on the pop culture zeitgeist. I feel at this stage people fall into a few varying camps when it comes to Taylor and this inflated success. On one hand there are die hard Swifties which are legion and have clearly let their voice be heard over the course of 2023. There are also those like me who are far from the rabid fan base, but enjoy Taylor enough to kick back and crush a bottle of wine on the couch while enjoying all the Eras Tour has to offer, and even perhaps singing along with a song or two as the wine leaks out of the bottle magically. Then there are the haters who roll their eyes because god forbid anything they don't appreciate be good or celebrated. Love her or hate her it is clear that Taylor Swift is at the top of her game and is one of the few artists in the world with insanely global reach and appeal. 'The Eras Tour' concert film is an amazing celebration of her musical career and massive appeal, and while nothing lasts forever, right now Taylor is clearly the name at the top of pop culture pyramid, and if she plays her cards right could be there for some time to come.
You Only Live Twice (1967)
You Only Live Twice (1967, Lewis Gilbert) While Bond is still enjoyable this is the most problematic and formulaic of the Connery films
Eric's Grade: C-
The Eon Productions James Bond franchise started in 1962. While still very popular by 1967 'You Only Live Twice' became the first Bond film to not make as much at the box office as its predecessor. This is at least partially due to spy films finally catching up with Bond as well as the non-Eon 'Casino Royale' production with a competing James Bond coming out that very same year. Sean Connery returns in 'You Only Live Twice' for what was supposed to be his final Bond film although he would go on to play Bond in two more movies. The movie is directed by Lewis Gilbert in his first outing, but not his last, as a Bond director from a script penned primarily by Roald Dahl; Yes, that Roald Dahl. Apparently Fleming and him were friends and he took the gig when the producers reached out to him despite having essentially no screenwriting experience. This is the first Bond film where only some basic plot points and characters are salvaged from the source material, but much of plot was generated solely for the film.
The plot here stems from a secret plot to put the superpowers at war. The U. S. and Russia each have spaceships in orbit hijacked by an unknown entity. They each blame each other and war seems likely. The British think there may be a Japanese connection due to a report of a spacecraft landing in the Sea of Japan. To investigate they send secret agent James Bond who has just faked his death for unknown reasons. He meets with a local British agent who is killed. This gives him a lead to who/what is involved in the plot as he traces the killer back to a chemical company. Through more cloak and dagger shenanigans he meets up the head of the Japanese secret service, Tiger Tanaka. With his help, as well as some beautiful women Bond snoops out a secret base where his perennial foe SPECTRE is orchestrating events. For the first time though he gets to confront Ernst Stavro Blofeld who is the organization's leader. It becomes a race against time and SPECTRE as Bond and friends fight to stop their plot before tipping major powers into war.
I try not to think of any of these Bond films as laughable after all they are a product of their time, and were therefore held to different standards. I will say that 'You Only Live Twice' is the weakest of the Bond films released to that point. It feels like the most phoned in and basic of the series so far. Dahl even said that he formulated a somewhat basic plot with 'Dr. No' serving as a template. The spacecraft elements here are quite bad although once again it is the 1960s and I don't think they were going for anything resembling realistic space travel. This is the first Bond film that pretty much takes place all in one general location. While they are clearly trying to incorporate elements of Japanese culture it is a laughably racist move to attempt to turn Sean Connery into a Japanese male with a bad haircut and weird eyebrows. 'You Only Live Twice' has the female formula down that apparently the producers demand at this point which is allowing Bond to have interaction with three different women: One on the side of good that he seduces before she is tragically killed, one who is bad who he seduces and then is also killed, and finally one who is good that is usually making out with as the credits roll. In the Bond franchise some sexism is pretty much par for the course, but is still worth pointing out as one of the plot points in the series as a whole that does not age well. Much of the plot in this movie just doesn't flow quite right right. It is like intrigue for the sake of intrigue even if it doesn't make sense. While you do get some gadgets, and stunts this Bond film feels weaker on both fronts than previous endeavors. Ultimately you do end up with a pretty good final conflict featuring ninjas! That should give the production a few bonus point right there, and it is nice after all the SPECTRE flirtation to finally see the big bad Blofeld as the head of the SPECTRE snake. I always enjoy James Bond even at his worst. That being said of the five Bond films released as of 1967 'You Only Live Twice' is the worst of the bunch.
Nyad (2023)
Nyad (2023, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin) Rousing sports drama subsists on stellar lead performances
Eric's Grade: C+
'Nyad' is a sports drama based on the real life Diana Nyad and her multiple attempts to become to first person to swim 110 miles from Cuba to Key West. The movie is directed by the husband and wife tandem of Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin in their feature narrative debut. The couple typically are documentarians gaining acclaim for the 2018 film 'Free Solo'. The film stars Annette Bening in the lead role with Jodie Foster costarring and Rhys Ifans featured in a supporting role. 'Nyad' debuted at the Telluride International Film Festival in September 2023. It received a brief theatrical run in October before being released on the Netflix streaming service in November. Bening and Foster both received Academy Award nominations for acting for their respective roles.
In 2010 Diana Nyad decides to accomplish the one thing that has eluded her over the years. Her 'Moby Dick' of sorts. When she was younger she gained a lot of attention attempting to swim from Cuba to Key West. That attempt was a failure, and for whatever reason no subsequent attempts were made. Now at 60 she decides, despite her advanced age, to go for it. We spend the balance of the picture following her as she attempts to accomplish this feat. At first she convinces people it is possible and gathers a team. Along with that her team problem solves how to avoid various pitfalls during the endeavor. We get some flashbacks to some formative events that shaped Diana and the person she has become. She suffers setbacks, and more failed attempts, but she never loses her drive to accomplish this seemingly impossible task. When it seems the darkest one last attempt is made to bring home this lifelong goal, and a win for her will be a win for whole team.
I was mildly shocked that I had never heard of Diana Nyad prior to seeing this film. It seems in and around her attempts to make this swim she achieved kind of a niche celebrity status appearing on talk shows and the like, but her name and this accomplishment were unfamiliar to me. I even pay attention to a lot of sports so you think it would have popped up as a special interest story at some point, but if it did I completely missed it. In any case the swim alone is a ludicrous achievement, and it is hard to believe anyone would attempt it much less accomplish it. There seems to be a good amount of controversy surrounding the achievement and its certification. I did not go too far down the rabbit hole looking into that so I will take the film and the story of her rousing attempts at face value. Beyond the physical achievement the standouts of the film are easily Bening and Foster. Their casting in these roles were brilliant decisions, and the two share a great on screen chemistry, and each brings a ferocity and an incredible humanity to their respective roles. Bening as Nyad is a force of nature, and not always in the best of ways. She captures a headstrong, determined, driven woman, and Foster as Bonnie Stoll captures her long suffering, but enduring friend. Their performances really cement this real life tale surrounding an unreal achievement and all those who helped Diana Nyad achieve the impossible.
Anatomie d'une chute (2023)
Anatomy of a Fall (2023, Justine Triet) An interesting developing courtroom drama that I ultimately found a tad lacking. Decent, but not Best Picture level.
Eric's Grade: B
'Anatomy of a Fall' is a 2023 French film from director Justine Triet who also co-wrote the film with Arthur Harari. It is a modern courtroom drama starring Sandra Huller who received an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May where it won the Palme d'Or awarded to the best film in competition. It gained a lot of notoriety and became a critical favorite. It would go on to achieve 5 Academy Award nominations including one for Best Picture and Best Director. It ultimately took home only one Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Sandra Voyter is an author who lives with her husband and visually impaired son in a mountain chalet near Grenoble, France. Upon returning from a walk with his guide dog the son, Daniel, discovers his father dead outside the house having tumbled from the upper level of the house. The rest of the narrative spans an investigation and court case trying to determine whether or not Sandra killed her husband. We are not privy to the state of the marriage until we learn about various issues in court. Sandra is presented as the protagonist, and I feel like the narrative slants to her side, but also it stays cautiously distant never really divulging what actually occurred. In some ways the audience like the child Daniel must decide, given the presented evidence if this woman is capable of murdering her husband.
I did not think 'Anatomy of a Fall' was a bad film by any means. In some ways I find it quite revelatory in a very nuanced way. That said I never would have earmarked it as one of the best pictures of the year, and don't quite understand the critical hubbub surrounding it. The film does take an interesting stance by never definitively giving the audience answers. In the end there is enough evidence to draw some conclusions, but I don't believe the outcome of the trial should be necessarily confused with truth, and in that deft handling of the plot and script Triet has created an interesting film to wrap your head around. I don't think that bit of interest though extends to raising this film to some next level critical achievement. This does feel more like a naturalistic court case rather than the slick overly scripted plots we typically see out of courtroom dramas where we get fiery testimony and smoking guns and the like. In the end cases like this do carry uncertainty, and it is hard with a distinct lack of evidence to determine a fundamental truth, but delving into that is where 'Anatomy of a Fall' shines.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023, Martin Scorsese) Scorsese crafts a diabolical true story, but the film does have some unanswered questions in its dense plotting
Eric's Grade: A-
'Killers of the Flower Moon' is the latest film from vaunted director Martin Scorsese. He serves not only as director, but is a co-writer and producer on the film as well. It features now standard acting collaborations for Scorsese with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro in primary roles. 'Killers' also features Native American actress Lily Gladstone who has been working in film and TV since 2012 but this film has really elevated her into the spotlight. Her performance of Mollie Burkhart has garnered critical acclaim including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The film debuted at Cannes in May 2023 before receiving a theatrical release in October. 'Killers' is one of the best reviewed films of 2023, but despite receiving 10 Oscar nominations it failed to win a single one.
As most people know 'Killers of the Flower Moon' surrounds the systematic murder of members of the Osage Nation in the 1910s & 1920s with the ultimate goal of attaining the oil headrights of the Natives. The white establishment shuffled the native Osage population onto what was thought to be undesirable land, however, in 1897 oil was discovered on the reservation making the Osage incredibly wealthy. Ernest Burkhart is played by DiCaprio and returns from WWI to work for his uncle William "King" Hale in Oklahoma. Hale is played here by Robert DeNiro. Hale first floats the idea of marrying an Osage to his nephew who seems amenable. Ernest is kind of doltish and essentially a yes man for his domineering uncle. Ernest meets and marries the Osage woman Mollie Kyle who's family possesses oil headrights. Over the course of their marriage they have three children together. At first it is uncertain how malevolent Ernest is, but as time goes by he sheds any innocence he may have possessed in the employ of his uncle who blatantly orders him to do away with many of Mollie's family members in order to consolidate the oil headrights. William Hale is used to getting his way to say the least. He is a corrupt political boss and while ostensibly presents himself as a friend to the Osage he secretly orchestrates political suppression and murder to keep the Natives under his thumb. What he doesn't account for is the growing reach of the federal government and the power of the newly imbued Bureau of Investigation which would morph into the FBI. Therefore when President Coolidge finally sends the Bureau to investigate it doesn't take long for the dominoes of Hale's destruction to start falling. They find Mollie near death who had slowly been being poisoned by her husband. While at first hesitant and wishy washy Ernest eventually testifies against his uncle, but too much has already occurred for Ernest to save himself or retain his marriage or family.
Sitting down to watch 'Killers of the Flower Moon' carries some intimidation with it. This is not a comedy or an action extravaganza. You are sitting down to 3 ½ hours of white people oppressing and murdering Native Americans. Despite the heavy subject matter and the gargantuan run time the film is paced quite well. This is another one of those stories that has been kind of lost to history, and even knowing depravity of white people regarding Natives before WWII it is still shocking to encounter such a blatant atrocity carried out only 100 years ago. Scorsese as always does a masterful job with his direction and visuals. The film is elegant and emotive, yet also has some brief staccato moments of violence that stun you as the viewer in their boldness. It is a fascinating story to watch play out over the run time of the film. I never want to step in a place where I victim shame, but one of the largest questions I walk away with is how did the Osage not realize what was going on, and take methods to insulate themselves? For as devious and underhanded as the plot eventually gets at first these Osage women had to accept white husbands in order for any of this to work. In one case after one guy's wife days he goes and marries the older sister! It seems like the tribal elders are aware, to some degree of what is going on, but they don't seem to be doing anything to actually stop it outside of petitioning the federal government which eventually comes through. The other interesting thing to watch is Ernest's character development as well as his relationship with Mollie. Not knowing the story I didn't know how involved he actually was in the whole plot. It is one thing to marry an Osage woman thinking you might get rich from it, but it is another to take an active role in not only the murder of her family members, but the poisoning of his wife. He seems to want both lives where he is living in his uncle's good graces, but also a good husband to his wife, and I think there is a moment she actually gives him a chance, despite all that has occurred, to come clean but he falters, and as a result loses his family and his freedom. 'Killers of the Flower Moon' is a fascinating story based on real events that deserves to be watched, digested and understood from one of America's most masterful film makers shining a light on an ugly black eye in our history.
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Dune: Part Two (2024, Denis Villeneuve) Villeneuve continues the visually stunning 'Dune' with added action spectacle
Eric's Grade: A-
'Dune: Part Two' continues the epic science fiction saga begun by Villeneuve in 2021. While this sequel was always planned it was not greenlit until the first film demonstrated itself to be profitable.
Every actor who's character survived reprises their roles here including Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin and Dave Bautista among others. New additions to the already impressive cast list include Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, Lea Sedoux and Florence Pugh. It is important to note that this is not a true sequel as Villeneuve split the novel into two parts for filming so really this is like the second half of a story already in progress. That said they did find a good place to split the two so that they do feel like somewhat complete story arcs. While nothing is written in stone the finale of this film strongly points to the possibility of at least one more Dune film at some point in the not too distant future. While there are a few points of divergence these 'Dune' films remain, for the most part, fairly faithful adaptations of Frank Herbert's source material which makes fans that much happier with the finished product.
Following the events of 'Dune: Part One' House Atreides has been all but wiped from existence by the Harkonnen's with the Emperor's implicit support. However Paul and his mother Jessica were able to escape into the desert and are hiding out with the Fremen who are the indigenous desert dwellers. While at first treated as outsiders Paul and Jessica embrace Fremen ways and fight and live along side them. Jessica eventually goes through an ordeal to become the Fremen's new Reverend Mother, and Paul continually gains followers and power taking the Fremen names "Usal" and "Muad'Dib". They are also reunited with Gurney Halleck who the stumbled across working as a smuggler thinking all of the Atreides dead. Paul fears gaining too much power as the Fremen messiah, but that seems like the inevitable outcome of his plan for revenge on House Harkkonen. As the situation on Arrakis becomes more unstable the Baron replaces his nephew Rabban with his more phychotic nephew Feyd-Rautha as governor on Dune. The Bene Gesserit also have plots in place, but all bets are off when eventually the Emperor shows up on Arakkis as Paul and his now loyal Fremen attack with sandworms and a hidden stockpile of Atreides weapons. While this may seem to end in a victory if you know Dune this is only the first step in a much larger conflict.
Like 'Part One' this film is stunning in its visual presentation. The production design is incredibly impressive in everything from costumes to locations and everything in between. The script does an impressive job of capturing major plot points as well as the overall theme of the novel without sacrificing too much in translation. The returning cast as well the new cast members are all stellar. I don't think I can point at one casting decision that doesn't work. This second volume and the culmination of this portion of the Dune story certainly feels a bit more superficially satisfying as this sees Paul get his revenge on those who destroyed his House and killed his father and close friends. I say superficially because this feels like a hero's quest, but if you pay attention Paul's fears about what is to come are very pronounced, and prescient. Despite knowing that he is opening a Pandora's Box he eventually embraces the role of messiah, and strides forward knowing full well the jihad he is unleashing on a galactic scale. 'Dune' is very much not based on a rousing, audience friendly ending despite appearances to the contrary. If it were Paul and Chani would have rode off into the sunset on a sandworm together. Despite their love, and whether she understands it or not, she is forced to see Paul enter a political romance with the Emperor's daughter. There is a lot in the layered plot to absorb, and I can only hope we can see all this continue to develop in at least another future film. 'Part Two' is a natural continuation of the first film although there is more impressive action here to gawk at as well as sandworm riding, and some intense fights including the climactic battle between Paul and Feyd-Rautha. Every element of this follow up film is functioning at the highest level and combine to put 'Dune: Part Two' on a list of the best films of the year before the year has even begun to develop.
Past Lives (2023)
Past Lives (2023, Celine Song) Extremely slow burn of a film does raise interesting philosophical questions surrounding love and romance
Eric's Grade: B-
'Past Lives' is a semi-autobiographical drama written and directed by Celine Song in her directing debut. It is a dramatic, melancholic romance starring Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro. The film debuted in the U. S. at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2023, and it had a theatrical release in June 2023. It is one of the more critically acclaimed films of the year landing on numerous top ten lists including the National Board of Review and AFI. 'Past Lives' received two Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
'Past Lives' is told in essentially three parts. In 2000 in Seoul, South Korea, Na Young and Hae Sung are 12 year old classmates and friends. They may have a crush on one another and their parents even chaperone a date. Shortly thereafter Na Young and her family emigrate to Canada much to Hae Sung's chagrin. Na changes her name to Nora, and her and her childhood friend lose track of one another. 12 years later through the wonder of Facebook they reconnect. Nora has moved to New York, and Hae Sung has just completed compulsory military service in Korea. They start communicating back and forth, at first just catching up, but, as time goes by, it seems like feelings are starting to develop. On the negative side neither has the ability to go see the other, and neither are just going to leave their life for an essentially unknown quantity. There is a point where both Hae Sung and Nora are going away and Nora uses it as a convenient excuse to step back from Hae Sung who is starting to dominate too much of her life. At a writers' retreat shortly thereafter she meets Arthur Zaturansky, and they eventually get married. Hae Sung goes on to have his own long term relationship, but that eventually dissipates. Again 12 years go by and Hae Sung and Nora reconnect once again. Hae Sung is coming to NYC despite knowing that Nora is married. Nominally he is going on vacation, but it seems a thinly veiled excuse to finally see Nora in the flesh. I am not sure he really thinks anything can flourish romantically yet I guess he just want to put eyes on this girl once more in his life circumstances be damned. His presence does stir up questions in Nora about this man she never gave a chance as well as how much she thinks of the man she ultimately chose.
'Past Lives' is a very slow burn of a romantic feature, and much swirls around the concept of "in yeon" which is the personal connections between people over many lifetimes hence the title. The implication is that the star crossed childhood friends are at some layer of in yeon that doesn't allow them to be together yet, but perhaps in the next life. They seem to recognize that while they do have unresolved chemistry there is no place in this life for them as a couple which leads to the great melancholic longing of the film. The film is acted wonderfully by its modest cast, and the script is quite elegant. I think how much this film resonates with you hinges on how much you buy into this concept of past lives, and what that means for the characters. I am more of a pragmatist even in the realm of romance, and while it is a sweet notion I don't believe in this Korean spin on fate or destiny. Instead much of romance comes down to timing and happenstance rather than some cosmic path we all walk or how many lives we have layered on one another. I do think 'Past Lives' is an interesting film that is well made and raises some interesting philosophical relationship questions, but ultimately I am not sold on this lovers divided thing she seems to be pointing at. Rather I say perhaps concentrate on the very real romance you do have rather than some pipe dream fantasy that more than likely will come to naught.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975, Milos Forman) Nicholson and Fletcher in classic opposition are both powerhouse performances
Eric's Grade: A-
It is not a stretch to say 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is one of the most critically lauded films of the 20th century. It is based on the famous Ken Kesey novel of the same name which is a fairly standard volume read in high school and college literature classes to this day. The movie stars Jack Nicholson in one of his career defining roles along with Louise Fletcher as the iconic Nurse Ratched. The supporting cast features Will Sampson, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif among others. The film was shot primarily in the Oregon State Hospital where the film is set. AFI featured 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' on its 100 Years, 100 Movies list. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and became only the second film in the history of the Oscars, to that point, to win the "big five" awards of Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay.
Nicholson plays Randle Patrick McMurphy, who, in an attempt to get out of a work farm detail, gets himself sent to the state hospital where he believes he can serve out his sentence in relative ease. Once there he meets a handful of patients with a variety of maladies. He quickly becomes the alpha on the ward, and runs afoul of the floor's head nurse, Mildred Ratched, played by Fletcher. He consistently acts out and tries to subvert her carefully manicured schedule and attempts to get all these patients more engaged in their existence through sheer force of will going so far as to kidnap them all with the facility's bus to take them for a day of boating and fishing, in someone else's boat of course. McMurphy eventually gets fearful that they may not let him go when his time is served, but rather than just calm down and do his time he plans escape. He arranges one last middle finger to the establishment by orchestrating a party on the floor after the nurses and orderlies have left. Ratched returns the next day before McMurphy is able to awake and affect an escape. Upon the return of Ratched to a trashed ward tragic events unfold that will shatter the calm of hospital and cost more than one person their life in what has become one of the most famous endings in both film and American literature.
I think 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is a very good film, and the novel is a counter culture touchstone. I really never quite got it on that level. It is very interesting to look at it as referendum on mental health at the time especially with its cavalier use of electroshock therapy which seemed to be a completely acceptable practice, but which I believe is widely recognized as inhumane now along with the idea of a lobotomy. A fascinating aspect to 'Cuckoo's Nest' is how it can be seen from completely different sides. A standard viewing is as McMurphy as this anti-establishment protagonist acting out against an unjust and rigid system embodied in human form by the austere Nurse Ratched. He emboldens and empowers the disenfranchised culminating with the Chief's bold escape at the end. I may have watched it with that perspective when I was in college, however, as an adult in middle age I have a decidedly different take. I see 'Cuckoo's Nest' in a way where McMurphy is actually the antagonist. He comes into a well ordered society as an agent of chaos. Despite the classic perception of Ratched as a villain she does nothing except adhere to the rules and treat her patients with respect within the confines of the institution. Sure she is unemotional, but there cannot be an automatic assumption that she doesn't care, and in her way she is doing what she believes is right and proper for those people. It is McMurphy who is actually mentally compromised, rather than the standard idea that he is faking, and in just about everything he does he seeks to assert dominance and undermine authority putting himself and the others in danger in the process. You may not agree necessarily, but it is just an interesting duality to the storytelling that is fascinating to contemplate. In any case the performances here are all stellar with Nicholson cementing his place as one of the most important actors in American cinema. The producers and Forman's decision to shoot in the mental hospital lends 'Cuckoo's Nest' a completely authentic feel that would have been hard to capture in a studio setting. With 'Cuckoo's Nest' Forman delivers one of the most indelible American films from a timeless novel.
Miller's Crossing (1990)
Miller's Crossing (1990, Joel Coen) quirky humor yet dark upper echelon gangster flick as Coen brothers continue to evolve
Eric's Grade: B+
What's the rumpus? It is a common thematic question in 'Miller's Crossing', the Coen brothers' 1990 gangster film. It is the third feature from the powerhouse brother tandem of Joel and Ethan Coen. In 1990 they were still refining their eclectic repertoire with their first two features, 'Bloood Simple' and 'Raising Arizona', having very different aesthetics than 'Miller's Crossing'. One was a dark, personal thriller and the other an off kilter comedy. 'Miller's Crossing' is easiest to quantify as a gangster film, but really lacks the dark, real world heaviness of features such as 'Goodfellas' or 'The Untouchables'. It has a sardonic humor and is almost winking at the audience as it tells its story in that offbeat way that only the Coens' can. 'Miller's Crossing' stars Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro and Albert Finney. While it wasn't highly lauded at the time as the Coens gained more notoriety and critical cred their early films were elevated along with them.
Gabriel Byrne plays Tom Reagan who is the right hand man for an Irish mobster played by Albert Finney. A rival Italian mobster is pushing in which starts a war of sorts with Tom in the middle. At the crux of the dilemma is the Irish bosses girlfriend named Verna played by Harden. Not only is she having an affair with Tom, but her brother, played by Turturro, is causing static by skimming from the Italian bosses fixed fights. As the bosses war this out Tom bounces to the side that is most advantageous for him trying to retain the girl while also keeping one step ahead of everyone else. He does an amazingly deft job at juggling all the balls managing to convince whoever is in power of his value. Where will Tom land at the end as he helps orchestrate a finale of events to allow him to come out unscathed.
'Miller's Crossing' is not the grand sweeping epic that something like 'The Godfather' is. Instead it is more intimate. It has an impressively nuanced script that Byrne, as the central character, is able to pull off seamlessly. It has a good amount of violence, but is also surprisingly comedic which adds to an oddly lighter tone in what ostensibly is a very dark movie. The Coens' will continue to perfect that darkly comedic structure in subsequent films. The script is whip crack smart and assembled impeccably with all of these great actors really digging into their characters. It is a throwback to films of a bygone era while also portraying that pre WWII era scene with style and panache. The lamenting yet jaunty theme that accompanies also solidifies the mood. About the only thing that flummoxes me is the erstwhile protagonist as Tom Reagan is really an unknowable quantity and at the end of the day we really do not know what makes him tick. It is a fascinating way to write the main character of a film. 'Miller's Crossing' is an underrated gem in the Coen brothers filmography, and should be sought out by anyone who is a fan of the film makers.