Tuesday, October 23, 2007 Rant Archive
Crime flicks are a standard genre in America. You can generally figure out the outlines of most crime films before the title cards stop rolling, and it’s a tried-and-true formula. However, there are always a few guys who convince studios to give them money, equipment and actors and then go out and make something different. William Friedkin is one of those guys, and he must have confused the hell out of the suits at MGM when he handed in TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., one of the more underappreciated works of his career. This 1985 crime thriller starts out as a standard crime thriller with a revenge component, but it sure ain’t the same film by the time it ends.
Richard Chance (William L. Petersen, much thinner and meaner than he is now on CSI) and Jim Hart (Michael Greene) are Secret Service agents based out of the Los Angeles office. As the movie opens, they’re on protection detail, but they spend most of their time chasing counterfeiters. They’ve been partners and friends for seven years, but Hart’s approaching retirement, and he wants to take down one last bad guy before he goes: master counterfeiter Rick Masters (an astonishingly young Willem Dafoe). With three days left before he retires, Hart chases down a lead on his own, over his partner’s objections, and gets a face full of shotgun for his troubles. Chance vows to catch Masters and make him pay for his crimes, pulling his new partner, straight-laced John Vukovich (John Pankow), into the pursuit with him.
Up to this point, the film is your usual thriller gig, if filmed a little more stylishly than usual. Other than the Wang Chung soundtrack, you’ve probably seen this kind of thing before. However, as the pursuit of Masters begins in earnest, Friedkin and Petersen pull the rug out from under the audience. Chance is not a heroic type at all: he’s banging one of his informants (Darlanne Fluegel) and keeping his thumb on her by threatening to revoke her parole, he decides to run his own off-the-books sting to catch Masters, and when he can’t get his boss to pay for it, he finances it by ripping off a courier who’s part of a diamond smuggling operation. Oh, and the courier gets killed in the process (though not by Chance or Vukovich), which isn’t so bad until it comes out he was actually an undercover G-man. Oops.
By modern movie standards, 1970s cinema was often flat-out weird. Before focus groups, CGI and marketing budgets that dwarf the GDP of some nations, big studios would occasionally make bets on films that didn’t aspire to mass appeal or even make sense to the wider audience. Arguably, VANISHING POINT is one of the better-known examples of this brand of cinema. A cult film that refuses to fall into the dust of forgotten movies, Richard Sarafian’s uneasy blend of existentialist road trip and high-speed shenanigans makes for unusual though involving entertainment, if for no other reason the offbeat fun in trying to figure out what the hell it all means.
The plot itself is fairly simple. Kowalski (Barry Newman), a talented driver and car delivery agent, signs up to take a 1970 Dodge Challenger from Denver to San Francisco. He has an entire weekend to do it, but for a reason that the plot never specifies, Kowalski feels the need to be in the Bay Area tout suite, and thus bets his friend and pill connection that he can make the drive in 15 hours. Wired for (and by) speed, Kowalski sets out on his journey, evading cops, making legions of fans, and making a friend out of Super Soul (Cleavon Little), a blind DJ who acts as a Greek chorus as the legend of Kowalski grows with every roadblock he evades. Still, it’s one thing to blow through the empty spaces of the American West, and quite another to go up against the California Highway Patrol, who has more funding and manpower than all the other state police forces combined (especially in the early 1970s, when the interstate system wasn’t even 20 years old yet). Since the film opens with bulldozers blocking the road, things may not end too well for Kowalski.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from watching movies with Samuel L. Jackson, it’s that it is probably a good idea to do what he says. When Coach Carter wanted us to push the tempo and play Richmond Oiler ball, I ran that fast break with all my heart. When Neville Flynn said to put a barrier between us and these muthafuckin’ snakes, I happily obliged. And when Jules Winfield told me he would strike me down with great vengeance and furious anger, I took him seriously.
So Mike Enslin (John Cusack) really shoulda listened when Dolphin Hotel manager Gerald Olin (played by Jackson), told him to stay out of Room 1408. Well, he didn’t, and you can’t help but blame him for the ensuing terror that came crashing down.
For those who don’t know, 1408 (which is loosely based on a Stephen King short story, but what horror movie these days isn’t?) follows Enslin, a writer about paranormal sites who has turned cynical and bitter after the loss of his daughter and the failed marriage that followed. He makes the Dolphin a stop on his tour of “haunted” hotels. Despite the continued pleas from Olin (Again, when Jackson tells you “It’s fucking evil,” it might be a good idea to heed his warning), an undaunted Enslin hunkers down for the night – to horrific results.
It’s futile to even try to explain what he goes through, suffice it to say he finds himself – literally – on the many levels of hell, flashbacks in every room and dead daughter in tow for much of the trip. Just when you think he’s getting out, they pull him right back in, making him long for death and finally driving him make to the ultimate sacrifice.
Much like Enslin is of his haunted stops, I’ve always been a cynic of the horror film genre. I just never really found many of the movies I’ve seen to be that believable – and therefore, not that scary. But I must tell you, without hesitation, that this one completely freaked me out. I knew what was coming, and it still didn’t keep me off the edge of my seat. Finally, by the end, I was able to calm down – much like Enslin – because I had pretty much accepted our fate. We weren’t getting out of this one alive, and that was just all there was to it.
Cusack puts on a very credible performance as a man who starts out with little left to believe in, but quickly shifts gears. Pretty much the entire middle third of it is just him and his thoughts – and a very, very bad hotel room.
It was sex, burgers and Violins this week on THE BIG BANG THEORY. No the dynamic-dork-duo did not visit the Playboy Club, but rather helped the show live up to its name, by having sensitive nerd Leonard (Johnny Galecki) enjoy some action in the bedroom.
The episode kicked off with Leonard and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) “taking a walk on the wild side” by venturing outside their usual Tuesday routine of a Bob’s Big Boy dinner, in order to dine at the restaurant where hot neighbor Penny (Kaley Cuoco) was a waitress. (Note to set designers, Penny was supposed to be working at the Cheescake Factory. The quaint restaurant on last night’s ep. was definitely not TCF.) While talking with Penny, Leonard and Sheldon were greeted by fellow physicist Leslie (Sara Gilbert, Galecki’s on-screen flame from ROSANNE,) who happened to be dining there as well. Penny quickly picked up on the sexual tension between Leonard and Leslie (aided by Sheldon’s blabber mouth) and made the off-handed comment that Leslie and Leonard “would’ve been a cute couple,” a remark which sends Leonard into neurotic tailspin, wondering whether Penny was being genuine or subconsciously reveling in the fact that Leonard was still available.
Molly (Adair Tishler) is still in a coma, and Mohinder (Sendhill Ramamurthy) demands that Matt (Greg Grungberg) go face his father and find out what’s going on. Matt, with tag-along Nathan (Adrian Pasdar), go to Mr. Parkman’s humble abode in Philadelphia to discover a haggard man who looks more scared than sinister. Well, looks are definitely not everything because, in less than 20 minutes, Mr. Parkman has his son and Nathan stuck in a nightmare state much like Molly’s. Turns out Matt inherited the mind reading from his father. It just seems that daddy dearest has more control over it.
In the best scene I believe I’ve seen all season, Matt and Nathan actually fight each other thinking they’re fighting other people. Well, in Nathan’s case, he thinks he’s fighting his disfigured alter ego. About that disfigured Other Nathan. Did Nathan get severely burned when he saved Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) last season? If so, how did he heal so quickly?
Speaking of Peter, it seems that he’s enjoying his time in Cork with the lovely Caitlin (Katie Carr). His joyous time is rudely interrupted by the appearance of Elle (Kristen Bell), an electrically charged girl who likes her power a little too much. Ricky, trying to be the big man, decides to protect Peter and sends him to Caitlin’s flat to hide out. At the flat, Peter discovers another one of his powers when he paints a future scene of himself and Caitlin in Montreal. While the paintbrushes are flying, Elle has made her way to the pub. When she can’t get the information she wants, she fries Ricky. Literally.
No rats were harmed in the making of this episode. I think.
This week of PRISON BREAK opens with Michael (Wentworth Miller) trying to lure a rat towards him with some chocolate. The night guards see the rat and shoot the poor critter into a million little bits. I guess there will be no night escape.
If anyone thought the possibility of Michael Scofield and Whistler (Chris Vance) successfully getting out of this prison was a long shot. What do you think of them escaping in the middle of the day? Yeah, I don’t think so either, but it will make for interesting television.
Now the two men have to figure a way to escape in the middle of the day. Michael’s plan sounds good enough. They’ll leave from a less crowded side of the prison and hope that the two guards they must get past won’t be paying attention as they run towards the hole Sucre (Amaury Nolasco) has made. Step one: figure out how to distract the guards. Turns out that’s not as hard as it sounds. One guard is a big sports fan, so Michael builds an EMP out of a microwave to screw with the man’s television. The other is distracted by the glare of the sun for exactly six minutes. Bingo! They’re window of opportunity has been planned; now all they have to do is be ready to run.
If you’re a fan of Comedy Central’s THE COLBERT REPORT like I am, you probably took it for one of many jokes when host Stephen Colbert stated, in his usual manner of mock indignation, that he would be running for the U.S.’s top office during the upcoming 2008 election. In a recent TV interview with Tim Russert on MEET THE PRESS, Colbert elaborated that he would be choosing scandal-embroiled Senator Larry Craig of Idaho, to be his vice presidential running mate.
No need to worry that Mr. Colbert has ‘gone Chappelle’ (i.e., lost his marbles) on us however. The fiery mock-journalist assured that he has no delusions of grandeur when it comes to his prospects of one day being president.
“I don’t want to be president. I want to run for president. There’s a difference,” [Colbet said] in a television interview.
“I’m far realer than Sam Brownback, let me put it that way,” [he added] in reference to Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, who dropped out of the 2008 White House race [last week.]
Colbert hopes to run in both the Democratic and Republican primaries in his native state of South Carolina “because I’d like to lose twice.” His strategy would be to win sufficient votes to receive a South Carolina delegate to next year’s presidential conventions.
What could be worse than having to track a former soldier accused of stealing a large amount of money … being sucked through the vortex of time while you’re out in public with your small child. I suppose it had to happen, I mean Dan (Kevin McKidd) can’t avoid his own son. Although after what happens tonight, I’m sure his wife will want him to. And katie (Gretchen Egolf) is in a bad enough mood, what with finding out Dan is meeting up with his former flame on his time traveling trips and being stood up by her husband right before the big gala event she put together. Oh yeah, and just to add insult to injury there was a robbery during said event a few blocks away, and now the police want to question katie about what she may or may not have seen. But there are bigger problems in the world, and apparently Dan is being put in charge of fixing some of them. However, being put in charge by whom is still the nagging question. We have a little more insight, after Dan contacted that scientist who just happened to know Dan’s father and managed to call him during one of his trips back to the 1980s.
I’ve said it before, there may be just a smidge too much intrique and mystery at this point in the series. It’s all getting a bit too complicated, albeit entertaining. I just hope the writers start to pull back a little before this show goes the way of other Sci-Fi dramas that tried too hard to be facinating and original. But, the fact that JOURNEYMAN is still on the air speaks volumnes. I mean we have all seen how quickly the networks yank a new show if they don’t feel it’s performing up to their standards. Fox pulled NASHVILLE after just two episodes, so I guess NBC has a lot of faith in this newcomer. Even with all the complicated twists and turns, I like it too, so I’m glad to see it hanging on. And it does look like they are going to answer some of the most plaguing questions before the season is through, so I will withhold final judgement till then. Meanwhile, back to that former soldier and why he needs the help of our guy Dan.
CBS has stopped production on the mind-boggling mess known as VIVA LAUGHLIN. The show has obviously been cancelled but the network will only say it has been pulled according the Eonline.com. Look for some bizarre marketing strategy down the line to sell the season on DVD, even though the season would be around eight episodes at this point.
Hard to imagine that a murder mystery show set in a casino as a musical would be a failure after one episode. Most people with a pulse could see failure from the first promotional clips. Most people who have ever seen TV before could see from the description the show was going to tank.
Part of the appeal of the show was going to be based on the star power of Melanie Griffith and Hugh Jackman in recurring roles. This is confusing as well as Melanie hasn’t had a significant acting job this century and Jackman’s draw is seeing him fight Sabertooth and Magneto, not express his love for the American Musical as an artform.
It’s Sunday morning in New Orleans, and what’s that mean for Officers Cobb (Cole Hauser) and Boulet (Anthony Anderson)? Gunfire in a church, that’s what. Man, I missed this show last week. Anyway, our boys respond to a 911 call and find … not much happening. They go in and find the congregation doing Mass just like you’d expect, which is surprising given the gunfire. Nobody seems eager to talk, but it’s not until Cobb finds the body of the assistant deacon hidden under a tarp that the law enforcement machine gears up.
Readers won’t be surprised to hear this, but there’s a complication: Boulet grew up in this church, and he knows damn near everybody there, including the priest. What’s more, Boulet appears to hold a titanic grudge, having to do with his deceased brother, and it’s coloring his actions. Evidence indicates that the killer has long since escaped, but Boulet insists on holding the congregation at the church until somebody fesses up. That’s not terribly exciting since all we have to go on is Boulet’s mounting anger at the priest and the congregants, so fortunately we have a few flashbacks to fill in the gaps. Why does Boulet blame the priest for his brother’s death? Who really shot the deacon? How the hell does Boulet manage to hold onto grudges so long? That’s like his mutant superpower or something.
That Barney, he’s one smart guy. Not only does he call out Ted’s new girlfriend for being nutso, but he also brings us his “crazy scale,” complete with visual aides.
The crazy scale is very simple, according to Barney (Neil Patrick Harris): The level of craziness for a chick cannot exceed her level of hotness, or else she crosses the Mendoza line and becomes too crazy to date. Pretty simple, right?
Well, during a night out at the bar, Ted’s (Josh Radner) new girl runs the gamut on the scale, eventually registering on the wrong end of crazy. In the meantime, we get some back stories as to how each of the friends met each other, after it comes out that Ted actually met his new lady online.
Through the flashbacks, Ted reveals that he actually made out with Lily (Alyson Hannigan) in college before hubby Marshall (Jason Segel) did, which doesn’t make anyone very happy. And when Little Miss Psycho Date finds out Ted and Robin (Cobie Smulders) used to date, well, things only get uglier.
This week Chuck turns a top Chinese spy, saves her kidnapped brother and keeps a family tradition with his sister. This show is officially stalling out and the fact that there was no Captain Awesome in this episode only further grumpifies this critic.
Things start off with Chuck, Morgan and Sarah off for “An Evening of Morgan,” a nice little ritual between Chuck and his best friend that starts with sizzling shrimp at The Bamboo Dragon restaurant, a viewing of ENTER THE DRAGON and finished off with illegal fireworks. These geeks can par-tay. Before this little escapade a Chinese diplomat was kidnapped right in front of the Chinese embassy and the get-away truck was the take-out van of The Bamboo Restaurant. These script writers indulge in CO-incidence.
This gives Chuck the opportunity to uses the Intersect (the accidentally downloaded government computer program that pulls together data to form conclusions and patterns) when he sees a patron’s tattoo and recognizes her as Mei Ling, top Chinese spy. Team Chuck goes on their first stakeout. Chuck offers to make a stakeout mix for the occasion because he can offer more than just the Intersect. Agent Casey declines. They determine Mei Ling is targeting Ben Lo Pan, owner of The Bamboo Dragon and half of Chinatown, for assassination.
It seems audiences by the droves
bit into vampire flicks this past weekend, as Sony Pictures’ 30 DAYS OF NIGHT (see my review
here) captured the box office’s top prize, earning a much needed $16 million for the studio, which debuted the movie in 2,855 theatres. Not surprisingly younger males accounted for the majority of ‘NIGHT’S audience, proving that horror films $till have some life in them yet.
Box office success seemed limited to members of the undead however; overall the box office performed poorer than usual for this time of year, with many audiences seeming to forgo any flick that didn’t offer blood and gore. (Hey, sometimes we just get into those kinds of moods.)
“The movie is really scary. It’s visceral and it’s in your face,” Sony prexy of distribution Rory Bruer said. “It was the type of movie that brought out the latenight crowd.”
This week’s other openers wish they could have drawn ANY crowd. Political drama RENDITION starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon and Meryl Streep recouped a measly $4.2 million of its $30 million budget, reinforcing the opinion that post-9/11-themed films equate to tough sells at the box office. Miramax’s GONE BABY GONE earned $6 million to take the No. 5 spot, no doubt due to its strong critical acclaim. Fox Atomic’s THE COMEBACKS came in just behind ‘GONE to earn the No. 6 spot with $5.8 million. The art-house drama THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE, starring both Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro, failed to crack the top ten.
Over the course of the previous six episodes, I have not said a great deal positive about TELL ME YOU LOVE ME. Well, that changes right now:
If the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences gave out awards for simulating sex, it would go to members of this cast. Almost by default. There are moments here that are – how to put this? – of Internet quality in terms of realism. And since you are reading this on a computer you know exactly what I mean. And, yes, I mean you. So on that level the acting is unmatched elsewhere.
On every other level, well not so much.
Consider Jamie (Michelle Broth), who has so perfected the art of simulated sex. But then again, practice makes perfect. She comes home and finds her former fiancé Hugo (Luke Farrell Kirby) waiting for her. He tells her he was wrong. He wasn’t over her. She tells him she misses him, too, but she’s seeing someone else. Hugo cries like a baby. So she sleeps with him. (As an aside, I sadly found crying and/or begging never worked well for me. Times have changed.)
After Hugo is finished and leaves, Jamie (aka the tramp) calls her new boyfriend Nick (Ian Somerhalder), goes over to his house and sleeps with him.
All you mothers out there listen up; when your daughters tell you they are going on a weekend getaway together, it isn’t an open invitation for you to join along. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but honestly, if your daughters want you to come along, they will ask you. Poor Nora (Sally Field) learns that lesson the hard way on tonight’s episode of BROTHERS AND SISTERS, after Kitty (Calista Flockhart) and Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) make the mistake of telling their mother about heir weekend plans. It isn’t that the girls don’t love their mother and enjoy spending time with her; it’s just that sometimes sisters need a little bonding time of their own. Unfortunately, the weekend turns out just as you would expect, you know lots of fighting and hurt feelings. But this is the Walker family and they always end up making nice in the end. After all, it isn’t as if they don’t love each other deeply, they just don’ always like each other is all. While the Walker women are away, Justin (Dave Annable) is at home trying to recuperate from his war injury and growing dependence on his pain meds.
Poor Justin tried everything to keep from taking those pills, but his family wouldn’t let it go. Now it may take even longer to get over his injury, since it involves weaning himself off the medication as well. Meanwhile, it looks as if Kevin (Mathew Rhys) may be starting to understand his uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin) a little better than the rest of the family, as he starts to question his past. Since the beginning of the season, we’ve been getting not so sublte hints that uncle Saul may have more in common with Kevin than just genetics, but I’m surprised it’s taken anyone in the family this long to get a clue. After all, this family is notorious for getting into each other’s business and this is just the kind of personal stuff they feed off of. But they are always there for each other when they need support the most, and when you’re going through a divorce, you need as much support as possible.