The Canon Review's weekend of Jon Voight concludes with the 1997 Oliver Stone film U-Turn. Based off of a novel written by John Ridley title Stray Dogs, the movie has a big-time cast, starring Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Lopez, Billy Bob Thornton, Voight, Claire Danes, and Joaquin Phoenix. U-Turn tells the story of a drifter named Bobby Cooper (Penn), who is on his way to Las Vegas to pay a debt off, has to take a U-Turn after the radiator hose in his car bursts and finds himself in the town of Superior, Arizona. After that Bobby's day goes from bad to worse, as he has difficulties with the town's mehanic Darrell (Thornton) a beautiful woman named Grace (Lopez) and her real-estate developer husband Jake McKenna (Nolte), who oddly enough, each wants Penn to kill off their respective spouses. Penn also meets a blind man (Voight) who loves to drink Dr. Pepper and pops up from time to time to offer Bobby advice, and a fickle girl named Jenny (Danes), whose frequent flirting with Bobby leads to problems with her boyfriend Toby N Tucker, aka TNT (Phoenix). No matter how hard Bobby tries, he just can't seem to get out of Superior, and ends up getting deeper and deeper in a web of lies, jealousy, and greed. A few thoughts about the film, and there are SPOILERS ahead:
- Director Oliver Stone is a talented filmmaker, and his talent shows in this film. The cinematography is excellent in this film, and Stone uses different tricks such as flashbacks to add background to the characters and slow-motion shots to add a sense of importance to certain scenes. However, Stone does get a bit too reliant on these and other gimmicks, so to speak, and a lot of it doesn't really add anything to the film at all and just seems as if he's trying to show off.
- As Bobby Cooper, Sean Penn does a wonderful job of playing the role, and manages to get the audience to root for this seemingly lowlife character to succeed in his quest not only to get out of town, but to pay off his debts as well. You almost feel sorry for him seeing his money being destroyed by a shotgun blast from a store owner after a failed robbery attempt from two local thugs, and his constant battle with the mechanic over the bill is something people can relate to, as most of us have been in slightly similar situations before. Penn plays Cooper with such skill that it's hard to imagine anyone else playing the role better. Certainly not Tom Cruise and Bill Paxton, who also were considered for the role. No offense to either men, who are both fine actors in their own right, but I feel like something would have been missing had anyone else other than Penn had played the role.
- Actually, most of the acting in this film is quite top-notch. Billy Bob Thornton does an excellent job playing Darrell the redneck mechanic, making him one of the film's more memorable characters. Jon Voight is a little over-the-top as the blind man who carries a dead dog with him, but the movie in itself was over-the-top, so it fits the film perfectly here. Actually, Voight was almost unrecognizable at first, so kudos to the makeup department for making Voight look like a hapless old blind bum. Voight's Anaconda co-star Jennifer Lopez also turned in a solid performance as Grace McKenna, and did more than just hold her own in her many scenes with Penn. Nick Nolte, however, was just ok as Jake McKenna, as he really just seemed to be going through the motions and didn't give his character a whole lot of depth. Meanwhile, Joaquin Phoenix was hysterical in his portrayal of the high-tempered TNT, nearly stealing the show despite being in the movie no longer than five minutes.
- This movie is shot and directed very well, and is acted very well. However, I must say that I felt the plot was a little bit flat with a few holes in it. There were quite a few moments where you may wonder "What are the chances of that happening?" Also, the story has so many twists and turns that some might end up confused, and the movie has so many false endings that at the end, I just couldn't wait for the makers of the movie to just pick an ending and go with it instead of dragging the film on.
Overall, this seems to be Oliver Stone's attempt at making a scuzzy, Tarantino-esque film. While the acting is strong, and Stone's talent shines through, there are some weaknesses with the plot and a few scenes just wind up going nowhere. It's a good film, probably worth seeing and I wouldn't be surprised if others like this more than I did, but to me it just fell short of being a great film. I'll give U-Turn a 5.920 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this post, or ideas for future reviews, than share those thoughts and ideas either by leaving a comment on the blog or by sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Canon Movie Review: Midnight Cowboy
The Canon Review's weekend of Jon Voight continues with the film that made Voight famous, the 1969 classic Midnight Cowboy. Starring Voight and Dustin Hoffman, and directed by John Schlesinger, Midnight Cowboy won three Academy Awards, including best picture and best director. In fact, Midnight Cowboy is the only X rated movie to win the Academy Award for best picture, although by today's standards the movie would be rated R. Midnight Cowboy is about a young man from Texas named Joe Buck (Voight) who goes to New York in the hopes of becoming a high-priced gigolo. While there, he meets a crippled con artist named Enrique "Ratso" Rizzo, who at first cons Buck out of twenty bucks, but eventually gives Buck a place to stay after learning that Buck had nowhere else to go. The two then try to scrape by in the big city, doing whatever it takes to survive and make money and improve their surroundings. A few thoughts about this film (SPOILERS AHEAD):
- The director, Schlesinger, used a lot of flashbacks and fantasy sequences in the film, to the point where there are a couple of times where you're wondering what is real and what is not. Despite that, Schlesinger uses the flashbacks and fantasies to great effect, telling of the background of Joe Buck from his confusing relationship to his grandmother to the relationship he had with a girl named Crazy Annie. The fantasy sequences also give a deeper impression of both Rizzo and Buck's ultimate dreams, Buck's to become a man making his money making love to rich women and Rizzo's desire to leave New York behind and start a new life in Florida, using Buck to accomplish that goal.
- One of the aspects that make this film such a work of art is the soundtrack. From the use of Harry Nilsson's "Everybody Talkin at Me" whenever Buck is featured in a scene either walking around or riding the bus, to the haunting tone of John Barry's score, including his Grammy Award winning "Midnight Cowboy Theme". The soundtrack adds a lot to the film and really helps tell the story being presented.
- Last night I laid into Voight's performance in Anaconda, although to be fair, it wasn't as if he had a whole lot to work with. Well today I have a completly different opinion on Voight's acting in a movie, as he just did a magnificent job playing the naive cowboy Joe Buck. Voight perfectly captures Buck's transformation from a hopeful man ready to make a living for himself in New York to a man willing to do just about anything, except going back to washing dishes, to get by and provide himself and Rizzo with a life outside of a condemned building they currently call home. The experiences that Joe has had in New York changes him greatly, and Voight is able to capture and show all of the little changes of Joe's personality effectively.Voight even gets the Texan accent down perfectly, not bad considering he's a native New Yorker.
- Meanwhile, Hoffman also turns in a strong performance as Ratso Rizzo, a crippled low-rate thief who will do anything, much like a rat, to survive his environment another day. Even though Rizzo is little more than a petty thug, Hoffman is able to humanize him, to make Rizzo a sympathetic and likable character to the audience. A tour de force performance from one of the greatest actors of his time.
- Ultimately, the heart of the story is the strange friendship that develops between Buck and Rizzo, mainly because they realize that one can not survive without the other. Buck is hopelessly naive about life as a hustler in New York City, which Rizzo at least knows a little about, while Rizzo comes to depend on Buck as not only a physical protector of sorts, but also as the one person that can help him escape from be a rat in New York and enjoy a new life in Florida. So, while the story is at first glance a tale of hustlers trying to scam a buck, it's actually a story of despair and loneliness and a friendship between two out-of-place people who have nothing to rely on but each other.
- Sylvia Miles received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work in the film, even though she may have been in the movie for three minutes. She plays a rich lady who Buck tries to hustle for a few bucks in exchange for a good time, but Buck's attempt backfires to the extent that he consuls her for daring to ask money for his services and ends up giving her twenty bucks for cab fare. While the scene shows that's it is not going to be as easy as Buck thinks it will be to become a hustler, there's so much going on later in the movie that you somewhat forget about the scene, so it's a mystery why a person in what amounted to a secondary scene was nominated for an Academy Award.
- This was an X rated movie by 1969 standards, although if it came out today it would hardly be shocking to today's audience. Sure, there is nudity, graphic violence and strong language, but those things can be found in nearly every movie out these days. What made it particularly shocking to audiences of this time period was the subject matter being explored, from male prostitution to homosexuality to rape and other controversial subjects that have been in movies for many years since then, but by 1969 standards was highly shocking to see in a film.
- Jon Voight actually wasn't the first choice to play Joe Buck, as other actors such as Lee Majors and Michael Sarrizan were offered the role first, but turned it down. An actor that wanted to play Joe Buck was none other than Elvis Presely, although if he had been in it the film would have to be completely changed and Joe would probably end up singing a few songs. Instead, Elvis did a film called Change of Habit, which bombed, and Midnight Cowboy ended up being an Oscar winning film. I guarantee that doesn't happen if Elvis plays Joe Buck, no disrespect to Elvis.
Overall, Midnight Cowboy is just a great movie. There are a couple of weak spots, the whole party scene and the idea that a cowboy like Buck would actually be invited to an Andy Warhol-style party is a little weak, and the scene just goes on forever before finally something of significance happens. Other than that and a few minor hiccups, I have no complaints about this film. The soundtrack is great, the director did a fantastic job, and Voight and Hoffman turned in performances that few actors and actresses will ever be able to match. I'll give the film an 8.75 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this post or other previous posts, or ideas for future posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.
- The director, Schlesinger, used a lot of flashbacks and fantasy sequences in the film, to the point where there are a couple of times where you're wondering what is real and what is not. Despite that, Schlesinger uses the flashbacks and fantasies to great effect, telling of the background of Joe Buck from his confusing relationship to his grandmother to the relationship he had with a girl named Crazy Annie. The fantasy sequences also give a deeper impression of both Rizzo and Buck's ultimate dreams, Buck's to become a man making his money making love to rich women and Rizzo's desire to leave New York behind and start a new life in Florida, using Buck to accomplish that goal.
- One of the aspects that make this film such a work of art is the soundtrack. From the use of Harry Nilsson's "Everybody Talkin at Me" whenever Buck is featured in a scene either walking around or riding the bus, to the haunting tone of John Barry's score, including his Grammy Award winning "Midnight Cowboy Theme". The soundtrack adds a lot to the film and really helps tell the story being presented.
- Last night I laid into Voight's performance in Anaconda, although to be fair, it wasn't as if he had a whole lot to work with. Well today I have a completly different opinion on Voight's acting in a movie, as he just did a magnificent job playing the naive cowboy Joe Buck. Voight perfectly captures Buck's transformation from a hopeful man ready to make a living for himself in New York to a man willing to do just about anything, except going back to washing dishes, to get by and provide himself and Rizzo with a life outside of a condemned building they currently call home. The experiences that Joe has had in New York changes him greatly, and Voight is able to capture and show all of the little changes of Joe's personality effectively.Voight even gets the Texan accent down perfectly, not bad considering he's a native New Yorker.
- Meanwhile, Hoffman also turns in a strong performance as Ratso Rizzo, a crippled low-rate thief who will do anything, much like a rat, to survive his environment another day. Even though Rizzo is little more than a petty thug, Hoffman is able to humanize him, to make Rizzo a sympathetic and likable character to the audience. A tour de force performance from one of the greatest actors of his time.
- Ultimately, the heart of the story is the strange friendship that develops between Buck and Rizzo, mainly because they realize that one can not survive without the other. Buck is hopelessly naive about life as a hustler in New York City, which Rizzo at least knows a little about, while Rizzo comes to depend on Buck as not only a physical protector of sorts, but also as the one person that can help him escape from be a rat in New York and enjoy a new life in Florida. So, while the story is at first glance a tale of hustlers trying to scam a buck, it's actually a story of despair and loneliness and a friendship between two out-of-place people who have nothing to rely on but each other.
- Sylvia Miles received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work in the film, even though she may have been in the movie for three minutes. She plays a rich lady who Buck tries to hustle for a few bucks in exchange for a good time, but Buck's attempt backfires to the extent that he consuls her for daring to ask money for his services and ends up giving her twenty bucks for cab fare. While the scene shows that's it is not going to be as easy as Buck thinks it will be to become a hustler, there's so much going on later in the movie that you somewhat forget about the scene, so it's a mystery why a person in what amounted to a secondary scene was nominated for an Academy Award.
- This was an X rated movie by 1969 standards, although if it came out today it would hardly be shocking to today's audience. Sure, there is nudity, graphic violence and strong language, but those things can be found in nearly every movie out these days. What made it particularly shocking to audiences of this time period was the subject matter being explored, from male prostitution to homosexuality to rape and other controversial subjects that have been in movies for many years since then, but by 1969 standards was highly shocking to see in a film.
- Jon Voight actually wasn't the first choice to play Joe Buck, as other actors such as Lee Majors and Michael Sarrizan were offered the role first, but turned it down. An actor that wanted to play Joe Buck was none other than Elvis Presely, although if he had been in it the film would have to be completely changed and Joe would probably end up singing a few songs. Instead, Elvis did a film called Change of Habit, which bombed, and Midnight Cowboy ended up being an Oscar winning film. I guarantee that doesn't happen if Elvis plays Joe Buck, no disrespect to Elvis.
Overall, Midnight Cowboy is just a great movie. There are a couple of weak spots, the whole party scene and the idea that a cowboy like Buck would actually be invited to an Andy Warhol-style party is a little weak, and the scene just goes on forever before finally something of significance happens. Other than that and a few minor hiccups, I have no complaints about this film. The soundtrack is great, the director did a fantastic job, and Voight and Hoffman turned in performances that few actors and actresses will ever be able to match. I'll give the film an 8.75 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this post or other previous posts, or ideas for future posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Canon Movie Review: Anaconda
In a decision I made after watching Deliverance last night, this weekend is now Jon Voight weekend at The Canon Review. Today the Voight movie under review is the 1997 movie Anaconda, which stars Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Voight, Owen Wilson, and a giant computer generated snake. Directed by Luis Llosa, Anaconda is set in the Amazon River. The plot of the movie is that a film crew sets out to make a documentary about a rarely seen Brazilian tribe deep in the Amazon. While on their voyage, they rescue a mysterious stranger stranded on a boat name Paul Sarone, played by Jon Voight. From there, the crew faces all sorts of danger from the anacondas and other wildlife, while the snake hunter Sarone seems hell bent on capturing one of the snakes alive in order to get a million dollar payday. Naturally, their conflicting goals cause Sarone and the rest of the crew on the boat to clash, and Sarone ends up becoming an over the top mad villian. A few notes about this movie, and there are SPOILERS AHEAD, so if you haven't seen this movie and still want to, I suggest that you stop reading this post, and read another fantastic post on The Canon Review instead.
- Before I start to give this film the thrashing it so deserves, I will say that the cinematographers did a great job of showing the scenery and the beauty of the Amazon River. The lush jungle and rainforest around the Amazon is really captured and shown with great detail. Overall, Anaconda is actually a beautifully shot film, with a rich setting around the characters, even with the CGI snake thrown in.
- The acting in this film is a wide range, from the wooden (Kari Wuhrer as the production assistant) to the stereotypical (Ice Cube as a black man from Los Angeles, what a stretch that must have been), to just completly hamming it up (Voight, which will be dealt with later). Lopez is the star of the film as director Terri Flores. I wouldn't say she was awful, but it wasn't exactly DeNiro in Taxi Driver good either. Her scenes with her supposed love interest, Professor Steven Cale (Eric Stoltz), are just totally unbelievable. Also, it seems Lopez is totally unable to express any emotion other than anger, even though most of her crew end up dead or incapacitated, Flores doesn't seem to give a damn about any of them. Then again, if I was hanging out with guys like Owen Wilson, who plays, well, the same character he plays in every other movie, and the snobby British narrator Warren Westridge (Jonathan Hyde), I wouldn't necessarily be too broken up over their deaths either.
- Then there's Jon Voight, as Paraguayan ex-priest turned snake poacher Paul Sarone. While everyone else around are either playing themselves or acting with all the excitement of a three-pack of sponges, Voight takes it upon himself to steal the show with his overacting. Voight speaks with some sort of weird accent that makes him sound like a mixture of Christopher Walken and Marlon Brando. His performance of Sarone borders on the absurd, to be frank. There were quite a few times in the movie that I just couldn't help but laugh at the actions and words of Sarone, even though he's supposed to be some sort of evil version of Captain Ahab terrorizing these inexperienced film makers. If the director had just gotten Voight to turn it down a little, than the character may have been more sinister and therefore the movie would have been better. As it is, Voight almost singlehandedly turns Anaconda into a comedy, albiet an unintentional one.
- The scene below is probably my favorite scene of the movie. In this scene, Sarone is all tied up thanks to the actions of Flores, Danny the camera man (Ice Cube), and Westridge. The three then have to go out of the boat because Danny somehow got it stuck, so they have to tie some ropes to some trees in order to steer it back into water. Meanwhile, Denise (Wuhrer) is angry or sad or confused or something, I can't really tell, so she decided to kill Sarone with a knife, and well, this happens:
How exactly, did Sarone jump that high from a seated position with his hands tied around a post behind his back? I have no clue, maybe you can explain it better than I.
-Sarone wasn't the only ridiculous villain in the movie, as there's still the Anaconda to deal with. This anaconda seems to be about 50 feet tall and has a rather large appetite. While it would be kind of difficult to get a 50 foot snake to act on the set, the crew could have done a better job of making it look like the anaconda was, you know, actually chasing the characters down. Instead it was so obvious that the graphics were superimposed that it really took away from what little suspense the movie had.
- Danny Trejo is in this movie at the beginning. He's on a boat when it's attacked by what presumably is the anaconda, so he does the only thing he can do and shoots himself in the head. Also, the captain of the boat, a man named Mateo, got a raw deal in the movie. He doesn't get to say hardly anything, and is the first victim of the anaconda. What's more, he actually got left behind by Sarone and Danny, who were carrying treasure out of a sunken ship (What that was or why they brought it up on board is never explained, so don't worry about it). So nobody's even sure that Mateo is gone, and the only person that seems even halfway concerned was Denise.
- This movie gets rather ridicoulous in the last 20 minutes. For one, Ice Cube and Jon Voight can take a lot of punishment apparently, because Cube (or Danny, if you prefer) gets stabbed in the leg with a knife, thrown around by the anaconda, nearly squeezed to death by the anaconda, and yet by and large seems no worse for the wear. Meanwhile, Sarone falls into the ocean after getting shot with a tranqualizer dart, but not only survives, he's able to capture Danny and Terri and comes up with some overcomplicated plan to catch the anaconda. The Anaconda, meanwhile, can apparently survive being nearly chopped in half with a pickaxe, multiple gunshots to the head at close range, and even being in the middle of a gasoline explosion, being on fire for at least a full minute, than coming back up from the water a little burnt, but still ready to go.
Overall, this movie sucks. There, I said it. This movie would have been a lot better if either Voight's character or the anacondas go. With two mega villains, it seems a little convoluted. Personally, I'd vote for Voight to be removed, or at the very least not to be a villain, and then you can just have a straight up man vs. nature battle where a few people die, but ultimately the main stars prevail in the end and kill the Anaconda. You know, kind of like Jaws. It still might not have been a great movie, but it would have made more sense this way. As it is, it's not very good, so I'll give it a 3.1 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this post or other previous posts, or ideas for future posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.
- Before I start to give this film the thrashing it so deserves, I will say that the cinematographers did a great job of showing the scenery and the beauty of the Amazon River. The lush jungle and rainforest around the Amazon is really captured and shown with great detail. Overall, Anaconda is actually a beautifully shot film, with a rich setting around the characters, even with the CGI snake thrown in.
- The acting in this film is a wide range, from the wooden (Kari Wuhrer as the production assistant) to the stereotypical (Ice Cube as a black man from Los Angeles, what a stretch that must have been), to just completly hamming it up (Voight, which will be dealt with later). Lopez is the star of the film as director Terri Flores. I wouldn't say she was awful, but it wasn't exactly DeNiro in Taxi Driver good either. Her scenes with her supposed love interest, Professor Steven Cale (Eric Stoltz), are just totally unbelievable. Also, it seems Lopez is totally unable to express any emotion other than anger, even though most of her crew end up dead or incapacitated, Flores doesn't seem to give a damn about any of them. Then again, if I was hanging out with guys like Owen Wilson, who plays, well, the same character he plays in every other movie, and the snobby British narrator Warren Westridge (Jonathan Hyde), I wouldn't necessarily be too broken up over their deaths either.
- Then there's Jon Voight, as Paraguayan ex-priest turned snake poacher Paul Sarone. While everyone else around are either playing themselves or acting with all the excitement of a three-pack of sponges, Voight takes it upon himself to steal the show with his overacting. Voight speaks with some sort of weird accent that makes him sound like a mixture of Christopher Walken and Marlon Brando. His performance of Sarone borders on the absurd, to be frank. There were quite a few times in the movie that I just couldn't help but laugh at the actions and words of Sarone, even though he's supposed to be some sort of evil version of Captain Ahab terrorizing these inexperienced film makers. If the director had just gotten Voight to turn it down a little, than the character may have been more sinister and therefore the movie would have been better. As it is, Voight almost singlehandedly turns Anaconda into a comedy, albiet an unintentional one.
- The scene below is probably my favorite scene of the movie. In this scene, Sarone is all tied up thanks to the actions of Flores, Danny the camera man (Ice Cube), and Westridge. The three then have to go out of the boat because Danny somehow got it stuck, so they have to tie some ropes to some trees in order to steer it back into water. Meanwhile, Denise (Wuhrer) is angry or sad or confused or something, I can't really tell, so she decided to kill Sarone with a knife, and well, this happens:
How exactly, did Sarone jump that high from a seated position with his hands tied around a post behind his back? I have no clue, maybe you can explain it better than I.
-Sarone wasn't the only ridiculous villain in the movie, as there's still the Anaconda to deal with. This anaconda seems to be about 50 feet tall and has a rather large appetite. While it would be kind of difficult to get a 50 foot snake to act on the set, the crew could have done a better job of making it look like the anaconda was, you know, actually chasing the characters down. Instead it was so obvious that the graphics were superimposed that it really took away from what little suspense the movie had.
- Danny Trejo is in this movie at the beginning. He's on a boat when it's attacked by what presumably is the anaconda, so he does the only thing he can do and shoots himself in the head. Also, the captain of the boat, a man named Mateo, got a raw deal in the movie. He doesn't get to say hardly anything, and is the first victim of the anaconda. What's more, he actually got left behind by Sarone and Danny, who were carrying treasure out of a sunken ship (What that was or why they brought it up on board is never explained, so don't worry about it). So nobody's even sure that Mateo is gone, and the only person that seems even halfway concerned was Denise.
- This movie gets rather ridicoulous in the last 20 minutes. For one, Ice Cube and Jon Voight can take a lot of punishment apparently, because Cube (or Danny, if you prefer) gets stabbed in the leg with a knife, thrown around by the anaconda, nearly squeezed to death by the anaconda, and yet by and large seems no worse for the wear. Meanwhile, Sarone falls into the ocean after getting shot with a tranqualizer dart, but not only survives, he's able to capture Danny and Terri and comes up with some overcomplicated plan to catch the anaconda. The Anaconda, meanwhile, can apparently survive being nearly chopped in half with a pickaxe, multiple gunshots to the head at close range, and even being in the middle of a gasoline explosion, being on fire for at least a full minute, than coming back up from the water a little burnt, but still ready to go.
Overall, this movie sucks. There, I said it. This movie would have been a lot better if either Voight's character or the anacondas go. With two mega villains, it seems a little convoluted. Personally, I'd vote for Voight to be removed, or at the very least not to be a villain, and then you can just have a straight up man vs. nature battle where a few people die, but ultimately the main stars prevail in the end and kill the Anaconda. You know, kind of like Jaws. It still might not have been a great movie, but it would have made more sense this way. As it is, it's not very good, so I'll give it a 3.1 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this post or other previous posts, or ideas for future posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Canon Movie Review: Deliverance
Earlier today, I decided to watch the 1972 movie "Deliverance", partially because I had never seen it before, and partially because nothing else was on at the time. Deliverance stars Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, and Ned Beatty, and was directed by John Boorman. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including best picture, and in 2008 the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry. In Deliverance, four businessmen from Atlanta decide to canoe down the fictional Cahulawassee River in rural Georgia before the river valley is destroyed due to the construction of a dam and lake. The trip does not go well, to say the least. A few thoughts about this film and there are Spoilers, so be careful before reading any further.
- There are two scenes that this film is most remembered for. One is the 'Dueling Banjos' scene where Drew (Ronny Cox) plays his guitar alongside a rural kid with a banjo (Billy Redden). What's interesting about that scene is that while the two strangers from different worlds connect through music, the boy for some reason refuses to acknowledge Drew after the two are done playing, despite Drew's best efforts. The scene illustrates the disconnect between the four 'city-slickers' and the rural people in the movie.
- This movie centers around the four businessmen, Drew, Ed (Voight), Bobby (Beatty), and Lewis (Reynolds). Of the four, Lewis is by far the most experienced outdoorsman and seems to be the 'alpha male' of the group. At times, Lewis is almost overbearing with his macho ways, not only to me but to the rest of his party, particularly Bobby, who complains of Lewis yelling at him too much. Actually, it's hard to believe that any of these people are actually friends, as they are so different from each other that it's hard to see them liking each other. There's Lewis the wannabe survivalist, Drew the timid musician, Bobby the typical middle class salesmen, and Ed the family man. The fact that the movie hardly explains how they know each other (and in one scene, Bobby admits to not knowing Drew all that well) doesn't really help matters.
- The film's other famous scene is the 'squeal like a pig' scene, where Bobby and Ed have a confrontation with two mountain men, and things do not go well for Bobby, as one of his captors sodomizes him by force and makes him squeal like a pig in the process. It's often referred to as one of the most disturbing scenes in the history of cinema, and it definitely is hard to watch. Two other things about this film. One, this was Ned Beatty's first film role, which must have been quite a challenge for a neophyte actor, and two, for a man who suffered a traumatic experience like that, Bobby did not seem all that broken up about it. Sure he was upset right after it happened, but not long after he acted as if it had never again. Then again, the four had a whole lot of other problems to worry about after that, so that might be why.
- After Lewis saves Ed and Bobby by killing one of the rapists mountain men, their trip goes from bad to worse, as now they have to dispose of the body, avoid the other mountain man as well as any other men he could have gathered to get revenge on his friend, avoid the police and still get back to their cars by canoeing through a rough river. From there, the story seems to shift and Ed is made the main character, due to Lewis badly hurting his leg. It's up to Ed to lead the rest of his crew, which had already lost Drew, to safety and cover their tracks as well. It is here that Jon Voight starts to shine, as he does a tremendous job of portraying Ed's transformation from a happy-go-lucky family man from the city to a warrior type survivalist who will do anything it takes, even killing, in order to survive.
- One thing about this movie is that all of the actors due their own stunts. The main actors are actually rowing, even though only one of them, Beatty, actually knew how to row before shooting of the film began. When the men are falling down the river's rapids, Reynolds did his own stunt and actually broke his coccyx, and Voight actually has to scale a large rock wall without harnesses or much protection at all. If Hollywood ever did a remake of this movie (and I really hope they don't), you can bet that the actors of that film would not be doing their own stunts.
- The film was primarily shot along the Chattooga River in Clayton and Tallul,ah Gorge, Georgia, which is actually less than an hour away from my house. While the film did not help the perception of people in rural Georgia, the cinematography was just breathtaking at times, and really captures the beauty and ferocity of nature. Kudos to cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and his crew, who really did a great job in this movie.
Overall, this film was good and made an impact on me for sure, but there were a few slight flaws. For one, the ending seemed to be a little anti-climatic, as you keep thinking it's over and lo and behold, there's another scene. The main characters in this movie, outside of Ed, seemed to be one-dimensional and flat, and there are a couple of scenes that seem to drag on forever for no particular reason. Nevertheless, this is a very good movie, so I'll give it a 7.390 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this post or other previous posts, or ideas for future posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.
- There are two scenes that this film is most remembered for. One is the 'Dueling Banjos' scene where Drew (Ronny Cox) plays his guitar alongside a rural kid with a banjo (Billy Redden). What's interesting about that scene is that while the two strangers from different worlds connect through music, the boy for some reason refuses to acknowledge Drew after the two are done playing, despite Drew's best efforts. The scene illustrates the disconnect between the four 'city-slickers' and the rural people in the movie.
- This movie centers around the four businessmen, Drew, Ed (Voight), Bobby (Beatty), and Lewis (Reynolds). Of the four, Lewis is by far the most experienced outdoorsman and seems to be the 'alpha male' of the group. At times, Lewis is almost overbearing with his macho ways, not only to me but to the rest of his party, particularly Bobby, who complains of Lewis yelling at him too much. Actually, it's hard to believe that any of these people are actually friends, as they are so different from each other that it's hard to see them liking each other. There's Lewis the wannabe survivalist, Drew the timid musician, Bobby the typical middle class salesmen, and Ed the family man. The fact that the movie hardly explains how they know each other (and in one scene, Bobby admits to not knowing Drew all that well) doesn't really help matters.
- The film's other famous scene is the 'squeal like a pig' scene, where Bobby and Ed have a confrontation with two mountain men, and things do not go well for Bobby, as one of his captors sodomizes him by force and makes him squeal like a pig in the process. It's often referred to as one of the most disturbing scenes in the history of cinema, and it definitely is hard to watch. Two other things about this film. One, this was Ned Beatty's first film role, which must have been quite a challenge for a neophyte actor, and two, for a man who suffered a traumatic experience like that, Bobby did not seem all that broken up about it. Sure he was upset right after it happened, but not long after he acted as if it had never again. Then again, the four had a whole lot of other problems to worry about after that, so that might be why.
- After Lewis saves Ed and Bobby by killing one of the rapists mountain men, their trip goes from bad to worse, as now they have to dispose of the body, avoid the other mountain man as well as any other men he could have gathered to get revenge on his friend, avoid the police and still get back to their cars by canoeing through a rough river. From there, the story seems to shift and Ed is made the main character, due to Lewis badly hurting his leg. It's up to Ed to lead the rest of his crew, which had already lost Drew, to safety and cover their tracks as well. It is here that Jon Voight starts to shine, as he does a tremendous job of portraying Ed's transformation from a happy-go-lucky family man from the city to a warrior type survivalist who will do anything it takes, even killing, in order to survive.
- One thing about this movie is that all of the actors due their own stunts. The main actors are actually rowing, even though only one of them, Beatty, actually knew how to row before shooting of the film began. When the men are falling down the river's rapids, Reynolds did his own stunt and actually broke his coccyx, and Voight actually has to scale a large rock wall without harnesses or much protection at all. If Hollywood ever did a remake of this movie (and I really hope they don't), you can bet that the actors of that film would not be doing their own stunts.
- The film was primarily shot along the Chattooga River in Clayton and Tallul,ah Gorge, Georgia, which is actually less than an hour away from my house. While the film did not help the perception of people in rural Georgia, the cinematography was just breathtaking at times, and really captures the beauty and ferocity of nature. Kudos to cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and his crew, who really did a great job in this movie.
Overall, this film was good and made an impact on me for sure, but there were a few slight flaws. For one, the ending seemed to be a little anti-climatic, as you keep thinking it's over and lo and behold, there's another scene. The main characters in this movie, outside of Ed, seemed to be one-dimensional and flat, and there are a couple of scenes that seem to drag on forever for no particular reason. Nevertheless, this is a very good movie, so I'll give it a 7.390 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this post or other previous posts, or ideas for future posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Los Angeles Rams vs. New Orleans Saints, November 26, 1989
I've gotta tell you, I am ready for some football. I know that training camps have opened up in the NFL and teams are preparing for their first preseason games, but I couldn't wait that long. I'm ready for some football right now. So with that in mind I watched a game from 1989 between then division rivals the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints, played at the Superdome on November 26, 1989. Coming into the game, the Rams were sitting at 7-4 while the Saints were at 6-5, and the winner of this game would have a huge advantage in the race for a wild card spot in the NFC. The Saints had beaten the Rams earlier in the year in Los Angeles, and to make matters worse, the Rams had only scored one touchdown in their last five games in the Superdome. What's more, the Rams' Henry Ellard, their All-Pro wide receiver, was ruled unable to play by the Rams' training staff due to a hamstring injury. With all that against them, the Rams turned to second-year wide receiver Willie "Flipper" Anderson to carry them to victory, and Flipper responded with perhaps the best game a receiver has ever had in the history of the NFL. In fact, ESPN recently named Flipper's performance on this night the second-best game a wide receiver has ever had (link here). The Rams would go on to win this game in overtime, 20-17, on a game winning field goal by Mike Lansford, the last barefoot kicker in the NFL. A few thoughts about this game:
- Flipper had the game of his life here, catching 15 passes for an NFL record 336 yards and a touchdown. What was remarkable about the game was that Anderson would constantly catch deep passes going for 30 or 40 yards time and time again. I don't think he had a catch longer than 46 yards in the game, but every catch he made seemed to go for at least 25 yards. Also, Anderson saved his best for the fourth quarter and overtime, as he caught nine passes for 195 yards and a touchdown in the later stages of the game. Interestingly enough, Anderson had come into this game with only 19 catches in 11 games, and did not have another game in 1989 where he caught more than four passes. For the season, Anderson ended up with 44 catches, so in one night Anderson had over a third of his overall production for that season.
- While Anderson was great, the rest of the Rams offense was not so great. QB Jim Everett may have thrown for 454 yards, but a lot of his balls were not thrown with a lot of skill and authority, and he had some trouble handling the Saints' pass rush. What annoyed me most about Everett is that on multiple occasion, Everett would dive onto the ground and lose yardage rather than hang in the pocket and take a chance either running or throwing. Everett also had this tendency in another game I reviewed. I don't want to question the man's toughness, since 1) I've never been in the pocket facing a pass rush in an NFL game, and 2) the Saints, led by LBs Pat Swilling, Rickey Jackson, and DE Frank Warren were coming hard and fast on nearly every play, but it is an annoying tendency, nonetheless.
- Throughout the game, the announcers (ESPN's Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann) were constantly praising the Saints defense, who shut the Rams' running game down and sacked Everett six times and picked him off twice. While the Saints' D had some moments, it's hard to praise them when they let a wide receiver break off a record day. I will say that Pat Swilling was quite impressive in this game, constantly pressuring the quarterback and giving Rams LT Irv Pankey fits with his blinding speed. It's easy to forget, but Swilling was a heck of a pass rusher, racking up 107.5 sacks in his career. Swilling's fellow outside linebacker Rickey Jackson is about to be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend, and deservedly so, but maybe the HOF voters should take a closer look at Swilling next year. Swilling hasn't had a lot of HOF support, but he definitely deserves some consideration (as does his teammate, ILB Sam Mills, but that's a different story).
- It was a good news, bad news kind of night for Saints CB Robert Massey, then a rookie. The good news is that he had two interceptions. The bad news is that he was the man responsible for covering Anderson most of the night, and we know how that ended up. Not to mention that Massey committed a huge pass interference penalty in overtime which at that point saved the Rams from a 3rd and long situation deep in their own territory. The Rams seemed to be picking on Massey, especially early in the game, and while he made some good plays, eventually the Rams' strategy paid off.
- The Saints' quarterback, Bobby Hebert, had a decent game. But what struck me as interesting was that after every incompletion, Hebert would either yell at his receiver for not catching a ball and make angry faces, or if he was really angry, he would stop around on the ground or pump his fist in anger or make other dramatic gestures. Even if the pass was five feet over his receiver's head, Hebert would act as if it was the other guy's fault that the ball wasn't caught. On a couple of occasions, he would yell at his receivers for not catching a ball or running the wrong route or whatever, making a big show out of it. To me, that's just counter-productive, as it's not as if the other receivers are going to be more motivated or get better just because they don't want to get yelled at by their quarterback. If anything, it's just going to piss them off and eventually they'll either tune him out or snap back at him. Maybe I misconstrued the situation and Hebert was just angry at himself, but it did not look that way to me.
- Hebert may have had a right to be angry at one wide receiver, rookie Floyd Turner. Turner dropped three balls in the game, and each one was a play that could have completely changed the conception of the game. Early in the first quarter, Turner beat Rams CB Clifford Hicks deep and seemed to be on his way to a touchdown, but the ball went right through his hands. Then in the second quarter, Turner dropped a pass in the endzone after Rams S Vince Newsome knocked the ball loose on a big hit (although in his defense, if Hebert made a better throw and didn't lead Turner straight into Newsome, it would have been an easy touchdown, but that didn't stop Hebert from throwing a fit). Then later on, Turner dropped another deep ball that he should of had. If Turner catches two of those balls, than the Saints would probably go on to win easily, and their whole season could of turned out differently.
- Then again, the Saints did have a 17-3 lead late in the fourth quarter, as the Rams just could not stop shooting themselves in the foot with dumb penalties. It seemed like whenever the Rams got some momentum, somebody would either commit a false start or a holding penalty without fail. To be frank, the Rams really had no business winning this game, and the fact they did is mainly owed to the efforts of Anderson and the defense, which shut down the Saints for most of the second half, minus a big run and a touchdown pass from HB Dalton Hilliard, who threw the touchdown to Eric Martin to give the Saints a 17-3 lead in the third quarter.
- The officiating wasn't very good in this game, as the refs made two key calls against the Saints in the 2nd quarter. The first occurred after an interception from Robert Massey, who had returned it for a touchdown but later was ruled down by contact. Even though the idiots in the booth agreed with the officials, it did not look like to me that Massey had been touched. The second occurred after Swilling seemed to sack Jim Everett, but the refs ruled that Everett's arm was moving forward and therefore, it was an incomplete pass. Never mind that Swilling got to Everett before his arm was moving. The refs also called back a false start on the Rams due to "excessive crowd noise", a rule which was in place back in 1989 but has since been repealed. Also, both teams were called for intentional grounding (throwing the ball to avoid the sack) in plays which, by today's rules, would be perfectly legal because on both occasions, the quarterback was well outside the tackle box. Those weren't bad calls, I just found it interesting.
Overall, despite the best efforts of Mike Patrick, I found this game to be quite enjoyable, and it only served to further whet my appetite for some football. This was quite a fun game, with many big plays and great players, none of which were greater on this night than Flipper Anderson, who just went crazy on the Saints. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this or other posts, or ideas for future reviews or posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.
- Flipper had the game of his life here, catching 15 passes for an NFL record 336 yards and a touchdown. What was remarkable about the game was that Anderson would constantly catch deep passes going for 30 or 40 yards time and time again. I don't think he had a catch longer than 46 yards in the game, but every catch he made seemed to go for at least 25 yards. Also, Anderson saved his best for the fourth quarter and overtime, as he caught nine passes for 195 yards and a touchdown in the later stages of the game. Interestingly enough, Anderson had come into this game with only 19 catches in 11 games, and did not have another game in 1989 where he caught more than four passes. For the season, Anderson ended up with 44 catches, so in one night Anderson had over a third of his overall production for that season.
- While Anderson was great, the rest of the Rams offense was not so great. QB Jim Everett may have thrown for 454 yards, but a lot of his balls were not thrown with a lot of skill and authority, and he had some trouble handling the Saints' pass rush. What annoyed me most about Everett is that on multiple occasion, Everett would dive onto the ground and lose yardage rather than hang in the pocket and take a chance either running or throwing. Everett also had this tendency in another game I reviewed. I don't want to question the man's toughness, since 1) I've never been in the pocket facing a pass rush in an NFL game, and 2) the Saints, led by LBs Pat Swilling, Rickey Jackson, and DE Frank Warren were coming hard and fast on nearly every play, but it is an annoying tendency, nonetheless.
- Throughout the game, the announcers (ESPN's Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann) were constantly praising the Saints defense, who shut the Rams' running game down and sacked Everett six times and picked him off twice. While the Saints' D had some moments, it's hard to praise them when they let a wide receiver break off a record day. I will say that Pat Swilling was quite impressive in this game, constantly pressuring the quarterback and giving Rams LT Irv Pankey fits with his blinding speed. It's easy to forget, but Swilling was a heck of a pass rusher, racking up 107.5 sacks in his career. Swilling's fellow outside linebacker Rickey Jackson is about to be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend, and deservedly so, but maybe the HOF voters should take a closer look at Swilling next year. Swilling hasn't had a lot of HOF support, but he definitely deserves some consideration (as does his teammate, ILB Sam Mills, but that's a different story).
- It was a good news, bad news kind of night for Saints CB Robert Massey, then a rookie. The good news is that he had two interceptions. The bad news is that he was the man responsible for covering Anderson most of the night, and we know how that ended up. Not to mention that Massey committed a huge pass interference penalty in overtime which at that point saved the Rams from a 3rd and long situation deep in their own territory. The Rams seemed to be picking on Massey, especially early in the game, and while he made some good plays, eventually the Rams' strategy paid off.
- The Saints' quarterback, Bobby Hebert, had a decent game. But what struck me as interesting was that after every incompletion, Hebert would either yell at his receiver for not catching a ball and make angry faces, or if he was really angry, he would stop around on the ground or pump his fist in anger or make other dramatic gestures. Even if the pass was five feet over his receiver's head, Hebert would act as if it was the other guy's fault that the ball wasn't caught. On a couple of occasions, he would yell at his receivers for not catching a ball or running the wrong route or whatever, making a big show out of it. To me, that's just counter-productive, as it's not as if the other receivers are going to be more motivated or get better just because they don't want to get yelled at by their quarterback. If anything, it's just going to piss them off and eventually they'll either tune him out or snap back at him. Maybe I misconstrued the situation and Hebert was just angry at himself, but it did not look that way to me.
- Hebert may have had a right to be angry at one wide receiver, rookie Floyd Turner. Turner dropped three balls in the game, and each one was a play that could have completely changed the conception of the game. Early in the first quarter, Turner beat Rams CB Clifford Hicks deep and seemed to be on his way to a touchdown, but the ball went right through his hands. Then in the second quarter, Turner dropped a pass in the endzone after Rams S Vince Newsome knocked the ball loose on a big hit (although in his defense, if Hebert made a better throw and didn't lead Turner straight into Newsome, it would have been an easy touchdown, but that didn't stop Hebert from throwing a fit). Then later on, Turner dropped another deep ball that he should of had. If Turner catches two of those balls, than the Saints would probably go on to win easily, and their whole season could of turned out differently.
- Then again, the Saints did have a 17-3 lead late in the fourth quarter, as the Rams just could not stop shooting themselves in the foot with dumb penalties. It seemed like whenever the Rams got some momentum, somebody would either commit a false start or a holding penalty without fail. To be frank, the Rams really had no business winning this game, and the fact they did is mainly owed to the efforts of Anderson and the defense, which shut down the Saints for most of the second half, minus a big run and a touchdown pass from HB Dalton Hilliard, who threw the touchdown to Eric Martin to give the Saints a 17-3 lead in the third quarter.
- The officiating wasn't very good in this game, as the refs made two key calls against the Saints in the 2nd quarter. The first occurred after an interception from Robert Massey, who had returned it for a touchdown but later was ruled down by contact. Even though the idiots in the booth agreed with the officials, it did not look like to me that Massey had been touched. The second occurred after Swilling seemed to sack Jim Everett, but the refs ruled that Everett's arm was moving forward and therefore, it was an incomplete pass. Never mind that Swilling got to Everett before his arm was moving. The refs also called back a false start on the Rams due to "excessive crowd noise", a rule which was in place back in 1989 but has since been repealed. Also, both teams were called for intentional grounding (throwing the ball to avoid the sack) in plays which, by today's rules, would be perfectly legal because on both occasions, the quarterback was well outside the tackle box. Those weren't bad calls, I just found it interesting.
Overall, despite the best efforts of Mike Patrick, I found this game to be quite enjoyable, and it only served to further whet my appetite for some football. This was quite a fun game, with many big plays and great players, none of which were greater on this night than Flipper Anderson, who just went crazy on the Saints. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this or other posts, or ideas for future reviews or posts, than share them either by leaving a comment or by sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Canon Movie Review: The Usual Suspects
Today I am going to review one of Roger Ebert's most hated movies and one of my favorite movies, The Usual Suspects. Yes, Roger Ebert dislikes this movie so much that he has it on his most hated list along with such movies as Battlefield Earth and Freddy Got Fingered. Anyway, The Usual Suspects was produced in 1995, was directed by Bryan Singer, and its screenplay was written by Christopher McQuarrie. The movie stars Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Pollak, Benicio Del Toro, and Stephen Baldwin. The movie was nominated and won two Academy Awards, one for McQuarrie for best original screenplay, and one for Spacey for best supporting actor. A few thoughts about this movie, and yes there will be spoilers so if you haven't seen the movie, than stop reading now. Also, if you haven't seen the movie, than stop reading and watch it right now.
- You may find this hard to believe, considering he mainly shows up in reality shows like "Celebrity Apprentice" and "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here", but Stephen Baldwin did an excellent job of playing the wise-cracking thief McManus in this film. Other than Spacey and Byrne, Baldwin had the strongest peformance in the film, and this film was full of strong performances.
- One of the more interesting performances was that of Benicio Del Toro, who played McManus's long time partner Finster. Del Toro decided to speak every line with a nearly unintelligible voice that made it hard to understand what he has saying. According to Del Toro, since Finster was ultimately a throwaway character, it wouldn't matter what he said, which is why he decided to portray Finster in that matter. The result is that viewers of this movie definitely remember Finster and his crazy accent, so what was a throwaway character, so to speak, becomes one of the more interesting aspects of the film.
- Even though Kevin Spacey won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, I find it hard to believe that he would even be considered a supporting actor. After all, Spacey's character, Verbal Kint, is the person narrating the story and the person who is the main focal point of the plot, so even though his performance was certainly Oscar Worthy, I wouldn't neccesarily call him a supporting actor. Just a thought.
- Spacey did an excellent job as Verbal, no doubt, but to me the strongest performance in the film was turned in by Gabriel Byrne, as Dean Keaton, a disgraced ex-cop who is trying to lead a straight and narrow life, but whose past always ends up catching up to him. Byrne played that role perfectly, and I could not imagine anyone playing that role any better, which I couldn't say about a lot of the other roles in this movie. And yet, Byrne actually turned this role down on more than one occasion, in part due to his feeling that the director couldn't pull off this type of movie, before finally agreeing to take the part. It's a good thing he did, because if nearly anybody else takes the role of Keaton, than this movie is not nearly as good as it is.
- More casting issues, the part of special agent Dave Kujan was written with Chazz Palminteri in mind. While Palminteri eventually took the part, at first he was unavailable due to schedule conflicts , and the part instead was offered to Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, and Al Pacino, who all turned it down. While Palminteri eventually found exactly one week to do the part and did an excellent job, it is interesting to wonder just how DeNiro, Walken, and Pacino would have portrayed the role of Kujan.
- Because of the huge twist at the end of the movie, there are a few people that have seen the movie that dislike the movie because it's kind of hard to tell just how much of the events portrayed in the movie really took place, so to speak. While I can see their point, as the twist does somewhat muddle things, to me the big twist in the end actually makes this a better film, as it brings things whole circle and the various actions and reactions in that final scene are done perfectly.
Overall, this is probably one of my five favorite films of all time. I could see this film once a week for the rest of my life and not tire of the film. The acting is top-notch, the script is just about perfect, the score of the film really adds a lot to the film, and the film held my interest from beginning to end. There were probably a couple of things that could have been improved, but overall it's as close to a perfect movie as you can get. I'll give it a 9.83 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this post, or ideas for future reviews, than share those thoughts and ideas either by leaving a comment on the blog or by sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.
- You may find this hard to believe, considering he mainly shows up in reality shows like "Celebrity Apprentice" and "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here", but Stephen Baldwin did an excellent job of playing the wise-cracking thief McManus in this film. Other than Spacey and Byrne, Baldwin had the strongest peformance in the film, and this film was full of strong performances.
- One of the more interesting performances was that of Benicio Del Toro, who played McManus's long time partner Finster. Del Toro decided to speak every line with a nearly unintelligible voice that made it hard to understand what he has saying. According to Del Toro, since Finster was ultimately a throwaway character, it wouldn't matter what he said, which is why he decided to portray Finster in that matter. The result is that viewers of this movie definitely remember Finster and his crazy accent, so what was a throwaway character, so to speak, becomes one of the more interesting aspects of the film.
- Even though Kevin Spacey won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, I find it hard to believe that he would even be considered a supporting actor. After all, Spacey's character, Verbal Kint, is the person narrating the story and the person who is the main focal point of the plot, so even though his performance was certainly Oscar Worthy, I wouldn't neccesarily call him a supporting actor. Just a thought.
- Spacey did an excellent job as Verbal, no doubt, but to me the strongest performance in the film was turned in by Gabriel Byrne, as Dean Keaton, a disgraced ex-cop who is trying to lead a straight and narrow life, but whose past always ends up catching up to him. Byrne played that role perfectly, and I could not imagine anyone playing that role any better, which I couldn't say about a lot of the other roles in this movie. And yet, Byrne actually turned this role down on more than one occasion, in part due to his feeling that the director couldn't pull off this type of movie, before finally agreeing to take the part. It's a good thing he did, because if nearly anybody else takes the role of Keaton, than this movie is not nearly as good as it is.
- More casting issues, the part of special agent Dave Kujan was written with Chazz Palminteri in mind. While Palminteri eventually took the part, at first he was unavailable due to schedule conflicts , and the part instead was offered to Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, and Al Pacino, who all turned it down. While Palminteri eventually found exactly one week to do the part and did an excellent job, it is interesting to wonder just how DeNiro, Walken, and Pacino would have portrayed the role of Kujan.
- Because of the huge twist at the end of the movie, there are a few people that have seen the movie that dislike the movie because it's kind of hard to tell just how much of the events portrayed in the movie really took place, so to speak. While I can see their point, as the twist does somewhat muddle things, to me the big twist in the end actually makes this a better film, as it brings things whole circle and the various actions and reactions in that final scene are done perfectly.
Overall, this is probably one of my five favorite films of all time. I could see this film once a week for the rest of my life and not tire of the film. The acting is top-notch, the script is just about perfect, the score of the film really adds a lot to the film, and the film held my interest from beginning to end. There were probably a couple of things that could have been improved, but overall it's as close to a perfect movie as you can get. I'll give it a 9.83 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this post, or ideas for future reviews, than share those thoughts and ideas either by leaving a comment on the blog or by sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Canon MST3K Review: The Unearthly
First of all, I must apologize for the lack of activity this weekend, as I pulled a LeBron and took my writing 'talents' elsewhere for a couple of days. As to where that was, I'll have an announcement about that over the next few days or weeks or months ahead. But for now, it's time to get back to whatever it is I do at the Canon Review, and today that is watching episode 320 of Mystery Science Theater 3000, the sci-fi "classic" The Unearthly. The movie stars John Carradine as a mad scientist and the late, great Tor Johnson as Carradine's dumb muscle Lobo. This movie was made in 1957 and was only 70 minutes long, half of which was characters walking up and down stairs. A few notes about this episode, and yes there are spoilers.
- Because this movie is so short, there are two short films shown at the beginning of this episode. The first is a little piece of nostalgia called "Posture Pals", which teachers viewers that unless you have proper posture, you will be nothing but a loser. In this film, four kids whose names I don't care to remember set out to become the posture king, queen, prince, and princess of their class, while everyone else in the class chooses not to participate because they've got better things to do. After the kids, their parents, and a stuffed clown named Bombo help them improve their posture, the kids complete their goal, and each are awarded a crown from Burger King and a silly looking robe. I think I would rather walk hunched over all day than win a 30 cent crown and look like a fool in front of all my classmates, but to each their own.
- The next short is a 1950s piece called "Appreciating Your Parents". In this film, young Tommy spends most of the time staring blankly into space wondering how his room got cleaned. Turns out his mother did it, and Tommy realizes that both his parents do a lot of things for him. So instead of asking for a higher allowance, Tommy decides that it would be better to help around the house more. At the end, Tommy ends up with a higher allowance, so all's well that ends well. This was the least offensive part of the whole episode, to be honest, although the narrator acts a little high and mighty in this short.
- Now to The Unearthly. Here's the thing, despite its title, there is nothing 'unearthly', like aliens or comets, involved in this movie. In fact, the whole movie takes place on Dr. Conway's (Carradine) property, where he does crazy experiments in the name of science, like any other crazy scientist, I suppose. Anyway, Dr. Conway thinks that he's found the secret to the fountain of youth, and so he and his love-stricken assistant Dr. Gilchrest (Marilyn Buferd, 1946's Miss America, btw) tests his hypothesis on patients brought to them by Dr. Loren Wright (Roy Gordon) under the assumption that Conway is treating them for psychological issues. Instead, he implants a 17th gland, which looks suspiciously like a bell pepper, into their bodies to give them eternal youth, but unfortunately, Conway's success record seems to be worse than the Detroit Lions' so he must not be very good at his job.
- The main protagonist is Police Det. Mark Houston (Myron Healey), who gains access by planting an article in the local paper about an escaped convict and then posing as said convict in order to gain access to Conway's lab. As far-fetched as that plan is, it somehow works, and after Lobo brings him in, Conway arranges for Houston to stay and take part in his experiments or else he'll turn him in to the cops. Houston gets to meet the rest of the patients, including an angry young man named Danny (Arthur Batanides), who seems determined to be as hammy of an actor as possible. To call Batanides' performance overacting would be the understatement of the month. Also, there are two lovely ladies, Natalie (Sally Todd) and Grace (Alison Jones), who both take a fancy to Houston soon after meeting him. Then again, when the other choices are angry young Danny, Old Man Conway, a half-dead man named Jedrow in the basement, and Tor freakin' Johnson, it's not like the girls have much of a choice.
- As I said before, the whole movie takes place in Dr. Conway's house, and it seems as if half the movie is spent with somebody either walking around in the hallway or walking up and down stairs. To make matters worse, there's not enough lighting in the movie, so it's kind of hard to see. This is especially apparent towards the end of the movie, where Houston is chasing Conway around outside the house, and it's really hard to tell just who is who in the darkness.
- While Carradine mails in his performance, and Healey and the women aren't too terrible (although they really could have expanded on Grace's character more, since we know little about her other than that she's scared of something), the real acting highlight is Tor Johnson's performance. If there is one word I would use to describe the hulking Tor, it would be lumbering. Tor moves with all the speed of molasses, he has an expression of deep confusion on his face at all times, and he only has two lines in the whole movie and you can barely understand what he's saying. Let's just say it's a good thing that Tor's so big, because even a movie as bad as this one is too good for Tor's acting skills.
Overall, this a merely a decent episode, although if you are a fan of MST3K, I would highly recommend watching both of the shorts featured on this episode, as they are quite full of good digs from Joel and the Bots. As for the movie, there are some good bits in it, but the movie itself is so dull that it's a chore to sit through at times. I'd give the move The Unearthly a 1.8 out of 10, and the episode itself a 6.4 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this or other posts, or ideas for future posts, than let me know about them either by leaving a comment on the blog or sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com. As for me, I think it's "Time for go to bed".
- Because this movie is so short, there are two short films shown at the beginning of this episode. The first is a little piece of nostalgia called "Posture Pals", which teachers viewers that unless you have proper posture, you will be nothing but a loser. In this film, four kids whose names I don't care to remember set out to become the posture king, queen, prince, and princess of their class, while everyone else in the class chooses not to participate because they've got better things to do. After the kids, their parents, and a stuffed clown named Bombo help them improve their posture, the kids complete their goal, and each are awarded a crown from Burger King and a silly looking robe. I think I would rather walk hunched over all day than win a 30 cent crown and look like a fool in front of all my classmates, but to each their own.
- The next short is a 1950s piece called "Appreciating Your Parents". In this film, young Tommy spends most of the time staring blankly into space wondering how his room got cleaned. Turns out his mother did it, and Tommy realizes that both his parents do a lot of things for him. So instead of asking for a higher allowance, Tommy decides that it would be better to help around the house more. At the end, Tommy ends up with a higher allowance, so all's well that ends well. This was the least offensive part of the whole episode, to be honest, although the narrator acts a little high and mighty in this short.
- Now to The Unearthly. Here's the thing, despite its title, there is nothing 'unearthly', like aliens or comets, involved in this movie. In fact, the whole movie takes place on Dr. Conway's (Carradine) property, where he does crazy experiments in the name of science, like any other crazy scientist, I suppose. Anyway, Dr. Conway thinks that he's found the secret to the fountain of youth, and so he and his love-stricken assistant Dr. Gilchrest (Marilyn Buferd, 1946's Miss America, btw) tests his hypothesis on patients brought to them by Dr. Loren Wright (Roy Gordon) under the assumption that Conway is treating them for psychological issues. Instead, he implants a 17th gland, which looks suspiciously like a bell pepper, into their bodies to give them eternal youth, but unfortunately, Conway's success record seems to be worse than the Detroit Lions' so he must not be very good at his job.
- The main protagonist is Police Det. Mark Houston (Myron Healey), who gains access by planting an article in the local paper about an escaped convict and then posing as said convict in order to gain access to Conway's lab. As far-fetched as that plan is, it somehow works, and after Lobo brings him in, Conway arranges for Houston to stay and take part in his experiments or else he'll turn him in to the cops. Houston gets to meet the rest of the patients, including an angry young man named Danny (Arthur Batanides), who seems determined to be as hammy of an actor as possible. To call Batanides' performance overacting would be the understatement of the month. Also, there are two lovely ladies, Natalie (Sally Todd) and Grace (Alison Jones), who both take a fancy to Houston soon after meeting him. Then again, when the other choices are angry young Danny, Old Man Conway, a half-dead man named Jedrow in the basement, and Tor freakin' Johnson, it's not like the girls have much of a choice.
- As I said before, the whole movie takes place in Dr. Conway's house, and it seems as if half the movie is spent with somebody either walking around in the hallway or walking up and down stairs. To make matters worse, there's not enough lighting in the movie, so it's kind of hard to see. This is especially apparent towards the end of the movie, where Houston is chasing Conway around outside the house, and it's really hard to tell just who is who in the darkness.
- While Carradine mails in his performance, and Healey and the women aren't too terrible (although they really could have expanded on Grace's character more, since we know little about her other than that she's scared of something), the real acting highlight is Tor Johnson's performance. If there is one word I would use to describe the hulking Tor, it would be lumbering. Tor moves with all the speed of molasses, he has an expression of deep confusion on his face at all times, and he only has two lines in the whole movie and you can barely understand what he's saying. Let's just say it's a good thing that Tor's so big, because even a movie as bad as this one is too good for Tor's acting skills.
Overall, this a merely a decent episode, although if you are a fan of MST3K, I would highly recommend watching both of the shorts featured on this episode, as they are quite full of good digs from Joel and the Bots. As for the movie, there are some good bits in it, but the movie itself is so dull that it's a chore to sit through at times. I'd give the move The Unearthly a 1.8 out of 10, and the episode itself a 6.4 out of 10. Well, thanks for reading, and if you have any thoughts about this or other posts, or ideas for future posts, than let me know about them either by leaving a comment on the blog or sending me an e-mail at kthec2001@gmail.com. As for me, I think it's "Time for go to bed".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)