grafspee2 Reviews

Dirt: The Sexxx Issue (2007) Season 1, Episode 10

Extortion, Sex and sticking it to Hillary Duff (or others untalented)

[10/10 · 13 March 2007]

If you have never seen Dirt before this episode will either make you a fan or turn you away never to watch again. If you couldn't guess it the theme of this episode was Sex and it lives up to its title.

As always Ian Hart and Courtney Cox are perfectly fitted for their roles and complimented by their supporting cast and strong irreverent/humorous/trying writing. The episodes follow an interesting linear storyline that serendipitously wanders through the seedy Hollyweird and takes on all the cosmetic bullsh#t of fame and celebrity. There is no show like this with the reckless abandon of Norman Mailer so well put together.

The episode centers around the open sex-life of editor Brent Barrow and reporter Willa McPherson who take a barfly home for some fun. It turns out the girl is underage 'actress' modeled after one of Duff sisters (or Simpsons as I have been told) and has a psychotic father who blackmails the magazine for three covers. Also, Ian Hart is assigned to follow-up on the story of a retired porn-star, he does his research and watches her films in a series of bizarre and humorous scenes with his girlfriend, a cake and penis pumps. The psychotic father fails to force Lucy Spiller (Courtney Cox) to give them three covers, they uncovered his graft, and find a way to further debase the braindead pop-star/actresse's inability to understand that a beefsteak tomato is not meat.

The Sexxx Issue was heavy with sex, obviously, and if you expected something lighter than Hardcore, Auto-Focus and Slap Shot please avoid Dirt at all costs. It is not for everyone, but if you can stomach it it is a terrific show that embarrasses its competition.

Battlestar Galactica: Maelstrom (2007) Season 3, Episode 17

A Christmas Carol?--Hit me in the Head with a tack hammer

[7/10 · 13 March 2007]

Maelstrom came out of absolutely nowhere to kill off a character that has been treading water since her arrival in the Battlestar Galactica Miniseries. Even if Starbuck had been reprised by Face from the A-Team, the character would have been irrevocably boring and empty beyond the cocksure instinctive pilot.

With that being said, Maelstrom was an excellent swan song and send-off of Starbuck (unless she is a Cylon or Buddhist), with strong focus on the problematic history and growing dementia in the worn-out and haggard character portrayed as well as humanely possible by Katee Sackhoff. The redundancy of the Coriolis vortex painted in the apartment rooms of her mind and coming to meet her fate, was well done despite its duh and dull factor.

The photography was beautifully infused with flawless editing to present such a dark episode in the correct light. But it was too heavy with sentiment, fatalism, Starbuck, and tacked on story lines that had never been mentioned before to merit brilliance.

I get it, Starbuck's mom is an unmerciless perfectionist ____ and so her daughter becomes her mother and Leobon (Callum Rennie) is the Ghost of Christmas Past to bring the condemned to terms with her sins before the crucible arrives. I get it.

Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009)

I love it. I hate it. I am racked.

[7/10 · 9 March 2007]

There are times when Battlestar Galactica is a brilliant linear program unafraid to visit difficult places, but there are times when the interest or uniqueness of the program is plagued by its blatant plagiarism, dull characters and painfully obvious maudlin moments that manipulate the audience without the subtlety of good writing, directing or acting.

Battlestar Galactica is not the first show to effectively use a linear storyline, but it is one of the few Science-Fiction shows that follows the Frank Herbert style that puts the deeper thoughts above the mere jargon that puts other programs in a narrow category, that is not embraced by much of a broader audience.

The documentary style photography heightens the sense of reality. The music and special effects are top-notch, as is much of the military aspects of the show, except the pilots serving in different roles outside their job description--which may be more to do with the nature of the story out in the dust fleeing the Cylon. Many of the stories are topical, difficult and different from the milieu of network television and even the premium channels. Deadwood in Space would be interesting, though.

Of what detracts from the program; is the casting, writing and direction. Many of the episodes and characters are terribly boring and tedious to stomach for much longer than two minutes. Namely Katee Sackhoff's character, STARBUCK. The development of her character strikes me as tacked on and laboringly slow (until her demise?). She is not the only character that treads water.

Its the writing... BG often becomes too self-important and ignores plot, continuity, and astro-physics when it suits the program wrapped up in its own esoteric feel.

The positives of the writing and acting are also the characters. The unpredictable, selfish apostate, Dr. BALTAR is a terrific character, played well by James Callis and thoroughly explored by the writers and Mr. Callis. Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Michael Hogan, Richard Hatch, Callum Rennie, and Aaron Douglas (to drop a few names) all contribute well to the program and make it worth watching above the aforementioned problems. The sparse dialogue and spartan scripts are interesting, but do not carry over across the episodes in any balanced manner. I suppose I am expecting too much from the writers.

The second season episodes with Michelle Forbes and John Heard were excellent, but were isolated among episodes where nothing happens. The Captain's Hand and Scar were well written and Jamie Bamber's character (Lee Adama--Apollo) had lines that were well felt and rich of allusions. After the death of John Heard's character, Captain Garner, saving the Pegasus, Apollo has a wonderful moment with his father, Bill Adama (Edward James Olmos) reviewing the demise of Garner. Subtle and understated in efforts to convey the proper colour and mood of the characters in the moment.

I love BG because it is soft Science Fiction with emphasis on production values, story and hard characters. I hate BG because it fails to reach beyond the pale of what has preceded it. This show is no Homicide or Deadwood in Space although it tries hard to be wrenching, paced and most of all real--if possible.

The danger and excitement, however, is absent because the main characters (to which emotions are invested)are incapable of dying or suffering true loss, I hope this changes. Battlestar Galactica is a great program, but it is not push an old lady down the stairs great.

I don't know whether Hate it or Love it, I am racked.

The Unit: Dark of the Moon (2007) Season 2, Episode 17

Siege of Firebase Gloria--LIGHT

[10/10 · 8 March 2007]

This was the first episode of the UNIT, that I am aware of, that was entirely focused on a single-story line that revolved around an actual military operation. Usually, the UNIT has too much going on at once to lend its focus to the siege of a Aghani firebase-supply depot.

If you had never seen the UNIT before, this episode was quite different from the series yet has all of the qualities of the show. The Mamet dialogue mixed with authentic military jargon, interesting underplayed military characters of all walks and opinions, and the often unexpected turns. The Editing, Sound, and Stunt Choreography is also worthy of compliment.

Well, I should get to the review before the brown-nosing becomes too obvious. The UNIT is assigned to escort three tribal leaders to Military Intelligence, they are chased by partisans, and seek refuge in a backwater Supply Depot for the night. The Firebase is under the command of a mousy female Lieutenant, but run by a gung-ho sergeant with little respect for her rank or the advice of Dennis Haysbert's character, Jonus.

The Partisans eager to liberate the three prisoners lay siege to the poorly defended base. The UNIT members and the enlisted of the Base successfully hold their positions inflicting heavy casualties and survive the night.

The conflict between the NCOs of the Base, the Prisoners, the UNIT was well developed and real despite the necessary dramatic devices. The Firebase's Lt. Bailey (played by Samantha Long) was an interesting character, with her imperfections and ability to adapt to the military situation with the proper encouragement from Jonus. The gung-ho sergeant, grudgingly submits to her authority despite his passing thoughts of possible 'fragging.' The Sergeant is also well played and richly developed with his anxieties, ignoble racism, and fear of the Afghans.

The UNIT, unlike other shows, does not reserve for the Enemy or bad guys. It is neutral and there may not be a happy ending all the time. Call me crazy, but I prefer the attempt to present realism over 'Good's eternal Triumph over Evil.' The battle is presented as it should be with dust, chaos, confusion, uncertainty and adrenaline. It, however, was lacking R. Lee Ermey and the moody photography of the B classic THE SIEGE OF FIREBASE GLORIA.

IT SHOULD BE MADE CLEAR THAT I AM A FAN OF THIS SHOW AND THIS REVIEW IS TERRIBLY BIASED, UNBALANCED AND HASTY.

The First 48 (2004– )

The Job

[10/10 · 2 March 2007]

The First 48 is police work as it is, without the high production values (light filters, Massive Attack tunes, and clean crime labs) and professional writing staffs. The documentary style brings the viewer right into the investigations and presents the Job better than Dennis Leary ever could.

Each episode, as far as I can tell, is divided into two separate story lines that follows the course of two cases in different cities. Dallas, Phoenix, Kansas City, Detroit, Memphis and Miami tend to dominate the series. It would do the show well to expand to other cities, yet to be CSIed like Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Buffalo, Houston, New Haven, and Montreal even. These cases are not always resolved in the critical first two days of an investigation, and this lets the public audience in on the life of Homicide detectives.

The life entails long shifts without sleep, spent following leads and witnesses that often times don't have anything to offer the investigation. When the cases are brought to trial, the evidence and the story tends to present itself serendipitously and when the cases go nowhere the show remains resolved. Homicide Detectives invest their lives into those of the Dead, and it becomes clear how important their work truly is for safety and protection of the rest of us.

The better fictional police shows on Network Television, Cable and HBO, like CSI, the Closer, the Wire and the Helen Mirren PrimeSuspect series follow the precepts of the First 48. Bad things can happen and cases become cold and forgotten, buried underneath new homicides. Despite this, the First 48 is refreshing because it shows the Police as human beings, subject to the imperfections that most Television shows fail to recognize or portray as more than caricatures, artificial dialogue devices and empty.

The series is well-edited and paced. It has pleasant time-lapse photography of cityscapes to serve as transitions to contain the 'action' within an hour-long show, and the separate cases breaks up the monotony. If you are looking for non-stop action, thrilling car cases, and low-cut sweaters; this show is not for you.

Its real. Its boring, but its Real. A&E has another terrific show to compliment its catalogue and its a lot less preachy than Dog: The Bounty Hunter.

Millennium (I) (1996–1999)

Too Ugly for Fox? The Home of When Animals Attack Charles Barkley.

[10/10 · 1 March 2007]

Millennium was a great television show in a bygone era when substance meant something, before Reality Television, the Writer's Strike and Youtube's prominence. But was it too dark and ugly for network television? My answer is no, of course not.

Criminal Minds, CSI, ER, and many others have presented difficult subject matter with high and low budget art direction and production. FOX had great success with the X-Files, Married with Children and In-Living Colour, which at the time were met with a constant barrage of attacks for their crude, irreverent and controversial material. The charge was led by people like Tipper Gore and Jerry Falwell among others, but their ratings and popularity prevailed to silence the 'never watched it but fear it' haters.

Millennium was a show, like Homicide, that was uncompromising with a sense of direction (it was not always clear what it was) and vision for a different darker and colder world, where most of us don't like to admit that we live.

Lance Henriksen, Terry O'Quinn, Kirsten Cloke, and the series of guest stars made this show remarkable, a critical success, a cult favorite and ultimately canceled due much in part to its Friday airtime and fearful advertisers, not wanting to alienate what they believed was middle America.

The ugly was presented in an interesting manner, as part of some building linear storyline with the secret-society, Nazis and the Demons which Frank Black sees. This was Lance Henriksen's best role, he gave his best performances to date, and has cemented his cult status as the greatest character actor since Brad Dourif and Slim Pickens.

And yes, I watched When Animals attack Charles Barkley. The clip when he wrestles a bear for going through his garbage was as good as when he fell over racing that NBA referee at the All-Star Game. If the show ever existed.

The War Zone (1999)

Mud Season--3rd Review

[10/10 · 24 February 2007]

Thank the Gods that this was a film and not a documentary.

The War Zone is perhaps the most brutal and painful drama made in recent memory. It lives up to its title. It is painfully ugly, upsetting, moody and rife with discomfort and if it lacked that would be exploitative and devoid of its difficult message.

Tim Roth does an excellent job convincing his actors to devote themselves into the story. The score was understated, simple and effective in evoking the necessary moods, colours and emotions. Well shot with considerable efforts made to utilize the hard exposed landscape of Devonshire, which makes Vermont look like paradise in the Mud Season.

Flatlanders, like me, like to use wild similes, like Dennis Miller, so I apologize for that comparison. The background given on the status of the family, recently moved from the big city London to the gloomy countryside to look for work seems somewhat absurd given the nature of the decline of agricultural and industrial work in the country. But its only background information meant to relate the story to its audience.

The performance given by the lovely Lara Belmont, is probably going to her most memorable and important as well as Ray Winstone--channeling George C. Scott. Tilda Swinton is terrific as always as the Mother and Freddie Cunliffe as the brother conveys the meh angst of his age. Colin Farrell and Kate Ashfield make small appearances.

While the film is unique in its raw intensity, pervasive sexual culture, and difficult subject matter it compares quite easily with Paul Shrader's Hardcore (1979) starring George C. Scott.

Hardcore covers similar material, with Shrader's evil sense of humour as evident in his Auto-Focus and Affliction. The actress, who played his daughter, Ilah Davis gave a similar performance (with little screen-time)to Lara Belmont, although her character was far more exposed to the perverse.

The War Zone is beautiful in its ugliness, detached moodiness, photography, and its acting. Its like an episode of Law & Order: SVU on Heroin + HBO. Its not for everyone obviously.

The Venture Bros. (2003–2018)

A truly Absurd and Irreverent Show--Refreshing.

[10/10 · 8 May 2006]

Although this show is poorly advertised and is irregularly aired on the Cartoon Network, it is worth watching. You will not see anything quite like this on TV. The Venture Brothers is a stronger and less chaotic show than Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Robot Chicken or Sealab because it follows the formula of Johny Quest as a means to mock and ridicule a beloved genre of the action-adventure cartoon.

The show revolves around the bankrupt and inept Dr. Venture living in the shadows of his father and his two sons, Hank and Dean. The Ventures have a bodyguard, Brock Samson (Patrick Warburton-Puddy), and an assortment of arch nemeses and bizarre characters such as Dr. Orpheus.

The dialogue has a real quality to it, as if you believe people actually talk like this, unlike the shows the Venture Brothers owes its influence. For instance, Hank tells his dad that he has gone 'off the rag' after he refuses to let the boys visit Brisbee Land; Johnny Quest would never say this, although you hoped he would once.

This is a great unknown animated comedy worthy of broader audience than just us losers that watch Adult Swim religiously.

White Nights (1985)

Threnody

[10/10 · 3 February 2006]

The direction of Taylor Hackford is unique in that it is able to harness romance, dramatic tension and difficult subject matter into film. White Nights, much like Against All Odds and Proof of Life, is an excellent work of this under-appreciated director that has its problems in translating into box-office success. In the long run that really does not matter.

This is a distinct movie with great music, dance sequences and strong performances from the actors that lend this work a greater respect and credibility in the years after the end of the Stalinist Soviet Union and the Cold War--which is an important part of life before 1991, now nearly forgotten.

White Nights is not a great--change your life film like Casablanca or the Third Man--but it is strange enough to conjure your attentions for its duration for the appearances of Gregory Hines, Isabella Rosselini, Helen Mirren and Barishnikov and the strange flow of the storyline that is unlike most films produced. The music, editing and acting will make White Nights a memorable experience for even the most cynical viewer regardless of the mixed ending and prisoner exchange.

I liked this film a lot and I hope I am not in the minority report.

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

Conan the Barbarian in Space

[10/10 · 23 November 2005]

THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE DIRECTORS CUT (DVD VERSION)

If you can recall Arnold Schwarzeneggar gutting James Earl Jones with a sword in the final scene of John Milius's masterpiece--this film replicates it exceptionally well. I am not going to comment on the general reactions to this film upon its initial release, nor will I devote much time the story or continuous plot from Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick or the potential third portion of the trilogy.

This film had great design, necromonger art-architecture, planets and costumes that remind one of the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz. The music filled the mood of the film exceptionally well thanks to the work of Graeme Revell. And Vin Diesel (as full producer and the title character, Riddick) was able to bring in some terrific actors to lend creditability to the production such as Colm Feore, Dame Judi Dench, Thandie Newton, Karl Urban, Nick Chinlund and Keith David. This is not to say the film was perfection in celluloid, there is some painfully bad casting and dialogue exchanges. Chuck Norris needed to be cast, or maybe Chuck Bronson.

Don't watch this with high expectations of an art house film that is about 'real issues' or features Tilda Swinton. Just try to remember the Scottish play--MacBeth and Conan the Barbarian because their influence is more than evident.

The Chronicles of Riddick is a great film if you are willing to drop the cynical view of action-adventure transgenre science fiction. Watch it with an open mind because some of the elements used in this film have never been done quite so well.

Amityville II: The Possession (1982)

Could have been worse

[10/10 · 16 July 2005]

For those of us that watch movies and are able to separate facts from what is made up or imagined, Amityville 2 is an excellent (although at sometimes hackneyed, schlocky and plain cheesy) horror film that evokes painful emotions as well as an depressing slow moving art house film.

The dark pernicious mood is well established with the camera work, sinister lighting, and general hopelessness that settles into Sonny's festering possession.

The Lutzs, obsessed with the occult and the financial gains they could take from the atrocity of six murders of the DeFeo family in Amityville, Long Island in 1974. They brought it upon themselves and it is hard for the audience to feel compelled to care about what happens to them. This film fictionalizes the events and distills the Defeos (Montellis)from the sensationalism of a hoax, creating a moody atmospheric film about a doomed family from either the Demon, itself, or their own ready to explode domestic violence. It was easy for this evil to take over forcing Sonny to 'rape' his sister, and kill his family, which makes the horror even more seductive and terrifying--the lack of control of his actions.

This is a film I found to be extraordinarily creative with a lackluster source material, that if you take it seriously (forget the last half-hour) you will be surprised how controversial this film truly still is even today in comparisons to the moody downer of Tim Roth's the War Zone, which is about human evil.

My Kingdom (2001)

Its like the Godfather---but English

[10/10 · 11 July 2005]

If you have seen the Godfather (1-3) in one sitting and you don't realize that Mario Puzo only wrote the first as his novel of the same name--this movie is a breath of fresh air that incorporates the tragic elements better as an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear.

Richard Harris, in one of his last films, plays an aging patriarch of a Liverpool crime family (think Genovese, Soprano, Corleone) that has outlived his welcome suffice to say. His character is brilliantly played if not autobiographical in some regards. His 'loving' family is feuding among its own ranks--bent on claiming the throne of their dying father--trying to kill him for lack of a proper euphemism (off).

Excellent acting, fluid story (occasional wanders) with a strong script and probably great direction. My Kingdom is highly enjoyable if you are willing to suspend some disbelief in regards to the serendipitous plot, lack of humour, underdeveloped characters and a story that you've most likely seen before.

It was missing Joe Pesci stabbing someone with a pen or borrowing his mother's kitchen knife, maybe needed Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Michael Caine, Roy Scheider, but this is a film about the Mersey.

The Thing (1982)

Identity Crisis

[10/10 · 13 June 2005]

You cannot help but cringe watching this highly atmospheric dramatic-science-fiction-philosophical-who-done-it thriller.

This adaptation of the story "Who goes There?" by John W. Campbell and the Howard Hawks film, "The Thing from Outer Space," takes the fear and confusion to another more personally intense level in the scenes involving the Thing (the creature in the film).

There is a dark-nihilist-view in this movie about a force, without human fallibilities, that cannot be stopped once it begins to replicate--as it was said in the movie--this thing could take over the earth in a matter of months. This is (eschatological/end of time)philosophy at its best, the thoughts of losing your identity and not knowing it is, difficult and existentialist at its base.

Though the sheer terror in this movie, the shocking moments--the reviving scene, dog pens, worm-generator room well as the pernicious mood that soaks into the audience via the confined spaces, single-gender cast, and severe isolation of Antarctica in the northern hemisphere Summer. Probably John Carpenter's best film, technically and emotionally.

If you cannot stomach gore, tingling fear-suspense, sparse set design, acting, direction, lighting, music and love happy endings: you should turn the channel--you will be sick as a dog--pun intended.

If only my college philosophy professor at Hofstra had showed this instead of reading Heidegger I might have gotten his point. From that standpoint the Thing is a tremendous film, well as for fans of horror (especially Lovecraft), Keith David, Wilfred Brimley (the oatmeal guy), Snake Bliskin (Kurt Russell) this movie will imprint fear in you for long times to come.

Emmett's Mark (2002)

Convincing--Except for the Plagiarized scenes

[9/10 · 11 June 2005]

Scott Wolf has the unique problem of looking like he's twenty when he's nearing forty. In Emmett's Mark (the better name of this movie because it can refer to more things, such as his signature, his legacy and his end), Wolf is a believable living character despite his unchanging looks. He plays Emmett Young well. The terminally ill Philly Homicide Detective is a real person with understandable doubts and fears. A character that is lived in, not just faked.

The seamless acting, direction and editing is a highlight of this poorly received film. As is Tim Roth (Cunningham in Rob Roy), as the soft-spoken first-timer hit man. A character trying to dig himself out of the hole of a failed life. His casting convinced me to hold off flipping the channel. If you can see it for free (or a nominal fee) it is not likely to inspire your wrath against the production.

Gabriel Byrne, comfortably becoming a terrific character actor, plays a Mafioso type, who arranges the 'mercy killing' and adds to the quiet, morose atmosphere of a dark story about the lives we fight for and those that we abandon when times get too tough. There are many interesting themes and strange developing emotions laden in the film.

Not a masterpiece, due to the musical score, though it had allusions to other films that have made more wake in the cinematic world that in retrospect were borderline copyright infringement. The final scene is taken, as far as I know, directly from the airport scene from HEAT, which is taken from Bullitt. This is the movie business, not church. No one wants a new idea when they can have a good idea.

Emmett's Mark is an Interesting, unique, non-threatening film, although the main character pays someone to kill him before the cancer does. Things sort of just work out for Emmett and against Tim Roth, but it is still a bit of a downer.

The Last Rebel (1971)

The worst movie ever made, it gave me syphilis

[1/10 · 12 February 2005]

If you thought movies could not get worse than Solar Crisis or any other film abandoned to the name of Alan Smithee, this will give you hope in the F movie genre, no Ed O'Ross or Wings House here.

The editing is non-existent, there are no transitions between scenes, the music is constantly morphing from fusion jazz, classic country, pre-techno/industrial and back again. The actors seem lost, Jack Elam had one of the ugliest mugs in cinematic history, Joe 'Wooly' Namath hopefully has forgotten this monstrosity of a spaghetti western.

This film is pure concentrated evil that should have been left buried in its infernal tomb, but nevertheless Encore/Starz felt it was necessary to force suffering on their ad-hoc loyal viewers.

You will be in shock and awe that such a heap could ever have been made, i cant spoil the plot because there was none discernible in the mess of the Last Rebel.

The Statement (2003)

Second Opinion, identical to the first

[5/10 · 5 August 2004]

Not to condemn a film or a people outright, but English folk don't make for the best French folk. This glaring problem is for a casting director or producer to avoid so people like I, uneducated in such things, don't find such loose openings to attack in this lacking, empty and emotionless film about an event that should have been given more depth and clarity than usual modern politically savvy approach.

Collaborators in the war for the most got their due justice when the Allies liberated the defeated nations. Those in league with Axis forces were tarred and feathered, beaten up, lynched and brought to trial and execution before and after the Cold War. Its easy to judge those that helped the Germans, Italians, Japanese or Soviets before 22 June 1941, but they thought that the enemy was there to stay and it was best to do what they wanted or it would be summary executions or off to the concentration and death camps. The neutral nations that avoided the fight knew their fate under occupation and should not be blanketed as inherently evil. The avoidance of war is no easy endeavour.

There is a human side to atrocity, we are the only species capable of such horrific things. The Statement misses any and all humanity to the investigating judges, the catholic church (a bleeding and reeling target) the Vichy France of Petain, the rapine and genocidal policies of the Third Reich. I was expecting far too much out of this film . . .

That is not to say that it didn't have its positives. The English actors gave strong performances, despite my needless diatribes, especially Michael Caine as the Nazi collaborator and Tilda Swinton as the French War Crimes Prosecutor, well as Colin Salmon and various characters that I know only by face.

I wanted it to be more like Boys from Brazil, Marathon Man, Shindlers List or Judgment at Nuremburg, but it falls short into the realm of Charlotte Gray or a Bosworth movie (Brian or Kate)even with the breadth of talent involved in this fact/book based film. Which won't be listed, there's no need to brown-nose about this failed attempt of a film.

Eye See You (2002)

Like a diesel engine takes awhile to get humming

[8 July 2004]

The exposition was the worst and least helpful portion of this monster of a film, without it this would have been a Beckett with action and with it just another pell mell hodgepodge of a movie with solid twists and enough gore to disgust or excite the most cynical watcher.

Sylvester Stallone (its no Copland or Rambo), Charles Dutton (doing his best Scatman Cruthers from the Shining), Stephen Lang (underutilized unlike in Gods and Generals), Robert Patrick (intense but weak beneath the veneer is well done) Kris Kristofferson (was alright as the doc) Courtney B Vance (the deacon) Tom Berenger (a phenomenal janitor) and Polly Walker (great, reticent, countenance cadenced voice, nurse) comprise the expensive cast among many others that I simply don't know from other works.

I actually liked this movie, I did not expect much, but overall given a few things I would have done differently could have made some money at the box office, though the critics would attack it like blood to sharks.

Fluid transitions with flashbacks, personal vignettes and dark mysterious catacombs of an air force radar station converted to a rehab facility, those cold war cutbacks really hit hard, create an honestly creepy environs that most directors and screenwriters skip for a graphic sex scene, profanity or a non-sequiter bout of over acting... I liked this movie the more I saw it and the more I thought about why such terrific actors had agreed to appear in this, aside from the money of course.

Allusions to the Thing, Switchback, the Shining, Sliver (which had Berenger and Polly Walker in it), Crimson Rivers, and a myriad of other horror, sci-fiction and thrillers while running the gambit of the serial killer genre 'cliches' and Sam Peckinpah features later in his life.

With a little more life this would have been a great movie...but instead I liked it no rhyme or reason why, I just liked it.

Gods and Generals (2003)

Hard to make nowadays

[10/10 · 27 June 2004]

The Second Film of Turner Pictures...

In no way does this work take a position but shows the perspectives of the characters involved, that allows you to make your own judgments of this adaptation of Jeff Shaara's book.

This is a solid movie, its long and often confusing for those of us who have not read the trilogy of books from the Shaara family (father and son). Special effects look drawn in like a matte, but it is well acted with a tremendous performance from Stephen Lang as Stonewall Jackson, the heart and soul of the Army of Northern Virginia led by Robert E. Lee played by Robert Duvall, who probably should have played the character in Gettysburg (1993)

If you can forget your petty ideology and focus on the story of the war that defined our nation, this is an emotional, historically rich film that feels like an older movie with simplicity and honour, rare today...thank you very much Leni Riefenstahl(Michael Moore).

I enjoyed this film, though like most people I'm quite partial.

Solaris (2002)

Beautiful Letdown

[10 June 2004]

When the score is the best aspect of any film ... thats not a good sign even with strong acting, hightened special effects cinematography and a usually competent director, well nevertheless.

This was a great risk for many involved and they went right into the abyss of the Lem book and Tarkovsky film of thirty years prior.

This Solaris was mostly boring, nothing new just like the ABYSS, EVENT HORIZON, ALIEN 3, Gods and Generals, Orlando or SPHERE. Too much heady talk, action off screen, too little emotion, too few correlations with a demanding, impatient audience that I am a part of whether I like it or not.

For those of us that have greater thresholds of tolerances can enjoy Solaris for its Dylan Thomas, and death shall have no dominion, a dead drunk welsh poet, the always entrancing Natasha McElhone (Mrs Dalloway/Ronin) Well as feeble science fiction disguised in a romance.

Not so subtle.

In the future when we're gone this movie could become a sleeper classic, but thats far from now.

Touching Evil: Pilot (2004) Season 1, Episode 1

Great start

[24 April 2004]

So what this is a stolen show from England, who really cares? I'm not a copyright lawyer and earnesty has nothing to do with me getting entertained. Im sure the limeys have stolen from us at least twice.

Creegan is a cool lazurus man cop, back from the dead, and at different faculties than normal folk without shame or ego. Here, he and his apprehensive partner, Branca, track the dissapearances of children and deal with the kidnapper/pedophile without the usual procedure and tact, hit the truth with a sledgehammer and it will freed.

Taut for a two hour pilot fraught with blue, green and yellow filters, slow camera movements from strange angles, switchpans and long distance, out of focus shots. The best of modern film-making on TV. It has fluid scene transitions of the San Franciso area in clouds, moon phases and other symbolic items that heighten the value of a production. The series is better because the characters have become developed and Taylor Pruitt Vince becomes the staple for the two realms he lives in, on Alpha 9 (his reality) and Earth. (his fantasy)

Great pilot and strong interestingly different cop show, that makes me vomit when I watch Cold Case or the ten billion other police dramas.

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Seductive

[10/10 · 24 April 2004]

Love knows no bounds nor does teenage frustration.

From the beginning you think this is going to be about some troubled local girl meets an out of towner, who is everything she is not, and becomes a 'complete person'. Vomit. The girls find happiness, gain confidence and then the troubles come--and are resolved--but this film takes the other road and is worth the ride through intense psychological hysteria, pain and fear. In teenager world the general crap feeling teters between melancholy and violence. The future is not bright and why should it be for anyone else, feelings to regret and eradicate.

The dream sequences are fluid between the real and the imagined, plenty violent and thus traumatic/memorable. The dreams the girls share are pleasant compared to their lives, one has her mother and her mistress living with her father, living in a threesome, this would drive any child mad. Polygamy is not all its crack'd up to be.

The mother and child disunion at the end reveals the sociopathic behavior of the girls to kill. The walk down to the shore in the final act is difficult wrought with anxiety, butterflies knotting the stomach and struggling to watch the girl's evil manifest.

Peter Jackson, unlike most, has distinction in his movies. Monsters, ghosts, dreams, trauma beneath the stunning landscapes of New Zealand, though Washington State is just as brilliant in areas like the dunes of Moses Lake, the Grand Coulee and Ritzville before Helena blew her top.

This was written in haste. This movie was not.

Desperate Measures (1998)

Loud, quick and strong

[9/10 · 17 April 2004]

Michael Keaton v. Andy Garcia

KEATON, a convicted murderer/criminal, is the only person with bone marrow that matches the son of Andy Garcia. Garcia, a San Franisco Police officer, goes out of his way and breaks the law in order to save the life of his son, hence desperate measures.

KEATON (Peter McCabe)is able to blackmail himself back into the general public in prison, studies the hospital, computer systems, dislocates his thumb to be able to uncuff himself, hides the flint of a lighter underneath his fingernails and takes an anti-drug to co-opt the gas for the marrow extraction. GARCIA (Frank) ready for the possibility of escape . . . foils Keaton from getting away amid losing his job and letting innocent people get hurt. What matters is his son, nothing else.

I love action movies that are well written and have a free-thinking director taking risks with a genre that most would say is redundant and boring. Barbet Shroeder did so with Murder by Numbers, the remake of Kiss of Death and the one with Jeremy Irons as Klauss Van Burlou and Ron Silver as Alan Dershewitz, all entertaining and unique.

If the subtlety can be found, critics and people who watch too many movies, my self included, dismiss these movies quite readily, well as Hollywood because it isn't creative? What is? Some BULLSH'T story about coming to terms with a disease, fate or an independent fest about oppression of communists, the stupidity of war, racist republicans homosexuality/bisexuality, grifters, sex, women's lib, telemarketers, writing screenplays, esoteric films about movies or drug abuse.

Sorry wandered off there, it happens. Great Action movie that is fresh every time you see it.

M.I.T.: Murder Investigation Team (2003–2005)

What NYPD Blue and Cold Squad once were.

[8/10 · 21 February 2004]

Aside from the Attention Deficit Direction and stagger-vision and other novelty diatribes about 'spin-offs' or dialect troubles this is an highly entertaining show.

In the United States, the best police shows were NYPD Blue, Homicide and Hill Street Blues. Since the arrival of the forensics craze and documentary shows like the FIRST 48, American JUSTICE and CITY CONFIDENTIAL of the 1990s the genre has fallen into disrepair with few exceptions such as the Shield and the Wire.

Of the few British shows exported to the Americas, not withstanding Mystery or Masterpiece Theatre, MIT was a distinct and fresh program buried on Saturday re-runs on A& E and Global, but that was a while ago.

The mood of the show was lacking in precious character development and unique story lines, which is often a corrosive element. MIT does not pander openly, it is as straightforward and cold as violent crime in normal circumstances is. I personally found this detachment from emotion refreshing and a more respectful, to the audience and police work, attempt than the usual exploitation found on television and in film.

American TV has had some recent failures with 'professional' and 'direct' police dramas such as the forgotten Dragnet and Robbery Homicide. I suppose its difficult to balance real with profitable ratings and I cannot change the laws of market capitalism. I really liked this show when it was on in the states, hope it airs again in the not too distant future because it was/is genuinely unique in comparison to the slop on our television networks.

The Punisher (1989)

One of the Better

[10/10 · 21 February 2004]

Today, we are inundated with comic-book inspired films, but in 1989 Punisher was one of the better adaptations, right up there with the Superman series(minus the forth film).

Like the lackluster, Punisher, starring Thomas Jane, this film has a dark yet balanced view of villainy and plays up the innocence of children that can so easily become corrupted. The viciousness of the two mafia leaders at each other's throat with the vigilante, Punisher wanting both to suffer for their evil deeds, that so often go unpunished for the lack of a better word.

As odd as it might sound, this is Dolph Lundgren's best performance despite his appearance as Ivan Drago. In the Punisher he actually speaks and shows some expression. As the PUNISHER--Castle, he is a wounded hero that does horrific things to avenge the death of his family, but he puts the care of innocents above himself that will save him in the end.

Lou Gossett, Jr plays a Police detective that suspects that he knows who the mysterious Punisher is. He hunts him down as to find his old friend and end the bloodshed. This is to no avail as the Yakuza resorts to kidnapping their rival mob's children as to claim the city as their undisputed territory. Gossett and Lundgren are complimented by the presence of Dutch actor, Joeurn Krabbe, if you can remember the Living Daylights and yes, Deuce Bigelow: European Gigilo. He needed the money, I guess? I hope.

The Punisher is a violent monster of a movie that was a lot better than I expected and I was glad to have seen it before the coming remake wipes away the memory of this effort that deserves its due attention. It is well shot, the editing is spotty in places, but it is consistent enough to survive the rigors of this review. NOT AN ESPECIALLY TOP NOTCH DRAMA WITH INFLEXION AND CHARACTER CONFLICTS, BUT ENJOYABLE IF ONE FORGETS ALL THAT HOT AIR BULLSH'T.

Mercury Rising (1998)

Saturnine Thriller

[9/10 · 8 February 2004]

South Dakota: Bruce Willis is disgraced after the FBI botches an operation to disperse a local militia and relegated to surveillance.

Chicago: An autistic boy, Simon, cracks the NSA super-code MERCURY upon solving a puzzle. Agent Kudro 'Cujo' played by Alec Baldwin wants the fact to be foisted and orders the expurgation of Simon's family. The parents are shot cleanly by an assassin and Bruce Willis stumbles onto the conspiracy trying to protect the boy from the megalomaniac ill wishes of the NSA Section Chief.

The mot screenplay and strong paced story leads the movie to its depilatory end that is both expected and pernicious given the violence and Alec Baldwin's thoroughly convincing portrayal of the ruthless asseverate Kudro.

Aside from the clichés of action/thrillers and American movies this is a highly enjoyable film that is consistent enough to lull the audience to its end.