OK, we all know what Deliverance is remembered for. Doing a simple search for images on Google proved that. We all know about "squeal like a pig" and Jon Voight having a pretty mouth. Let's get beyond that now and discuss what is a powerful film about men and nature or we can talk about urbanites vs. countryites. It doesn't matter much because this film is full of conflict.
Deliverance has one of my favorite tag lines of all time: This was the weekend they didn't play golf. What they actually did this weekend was go on a canoe trip in an undisturbed stretch of river- undisturbed for the time being because the power company is about to dam it up and create a huge lake for hydroelectric power. This is their last chance to ride real nature as they go into the mountains of Georgia amongst people who see indoor plumbing as a myth akin to man walking on the moon.
The friends consist of Lewis (Burt Reynolds) who us your typical mans man, declaring that he doesn't carry insurance because there's no risk. Most of the first half of the film is Lewis lamenting about the system and its impending failure, causing him to learn how to survive. Ed (Jon Voight) is a more laid back personality. He knows his ways around the woods but isn't hell bent on being the alpha male of the group. Ronny Cox plays Drew, a guitar playing all around nice guy who has deep moral beliefs. You can't not like the guy. Finally there's Bobby (Ned Beatty), the insurance agent that's totally out of his element in a canoe in the middle of nowhere.
Throughout the film there are sprinkled various hillbilly characters, many of which were played by the actual people in the area. This is an area that's been barely disturbed since Sherman went home, other than automobiles. It's isolated as hell to the extent that the group could have traveled to Mars. That's the first step to their downfall. As the film progressed the dread builds until Ed has to finally become an animal and kill or be killed. They realize what they've gotten into only when it's too late.
The main cast is excellent with the real stand out being Burt Reynolds in his first major role. This is probably the best role of his career as he plays Lewis to be almost Moses-like, sending down his parables on survival and life. Reynolds was born for the role of Lewis. Beatty also gives a great performance as Bobby, not because of the "pig" scene, but because of after the "pig" scene. You feel for him more in the aftermath than you do when it's happening which stands as a real testament to his portrayal.
Directed by John Boorman, Deliverance has an almost down home feel when being shot. What's fascinating about the film is who is the real villain in this film. The mountain men? The river? The boys themselves? It's hard to establish, which makes the film so damn good. Deliverance is one of those films where one piece overshadows the entire film. The title is a joke usually associated with being in the middle of nowhere amongst people without iPods and cell phones. Deliverance delivers a heart pounding weekend that slowly flows into hell.
Fletch Lives is the sequel to the 1985 comedy/noirish film starring Chevy Chase as investigative reporter Jane Doe. In Lives Fletch inherits a plantation in Louisiana and quits the reporter game but winds up in the middle of another conspiracy this time involving land speculation, toxic waste, and a Christian amusement park.Is Fletch Lives better than the original? No, of course not, but it is better than most of the stuff Chevy Chase has been in after it (Christmas Vacation excluded). Chevy is still the wise ass reporter who has a thousand different names and a thousand different comebacks that remain totally oblivious to whomever he's using them on. There the throwaway girl (apparently Fletch uses the same cologne as Roger Moore: women just fall onto him). Hal Holbrook plays Matlock. That's right, just call him Matlock. The real standout is R. Lee Ermey who goes from the legendary performance in Full Metal Jacket to playing a televangelist. And he pulls it off.The story is Blah. it's not weak and it's not strong it's just there. Overall Fletch Lives isn't the greatest thing out there, but it isn't the worst. Chevy last shining moment? One of them anyway.
Rope is another of Alfred Hitchcock's experiments and he actually pulls off three in this one. The first is that this film is shot like a stage play with the only cuts being when the film ran out in the camera. The second is that it's his first Technicolor film. And third, this is one of the first big films that dealt with an extremely veiled and hidden topic like homosexuality.Rope is about Brandon Shaw (John Dall) and Philip Morgan (Farley Granger) who kill their friend David (Dick Hogan) in the opening minutes of the picture (Ironically Hogan gets more screen time in the trailer than in the actual film). Rope is one of those rare early films where the killers don't kill for any real particular reason. It's mainly a social experiment to them. The pair are sick, mainly Brandon who sees the murder as an aristocratic right. The superior should be able to murder the inferior.Add into this sick foray that they decide to have a dinner party right after the murder. If you didn't think it could get any worse they invite the victims father and aunt (Cedric Hardwicke and Constance Collier), the victims fiance Janet (Joan Chandler), the victims former best friend Kenneth (Douglas Dick), and their former headmaster who appears to be the inspiration for this sick game Rupert Cadell (James Stewart). The party moves on with a few hiccups and the constant puns about death, murder, dying, and strangulation that continual make our two sick boys very nervous, causing Rupert to suspect that something is going on, he just can't figure out what.Rope isn't Hitchcock's greatest films by no means. The gimmick of a film shot in real time was great and real lets suspense build as Brandon and Philip continue to test fate for 90 minutes. The problem is Hitchcock's other gimmick- the long shots. It's not the long shots themselves that kill the film, it's the way that each new can of film segues into another. Close ups on back with dark suits and such continually interrupts the film, not allowing it to flow like a stage play as Hitchcock intended. Hitchcock still gives us great shots as usual, especially the shot of a kitchen door flapping after Brandon walks throughout it to reveal him dropping the rope into a kitchen drawer, then hiding him again. A great shot. The cast is first rate even though Stewart feels out of place as the dark school teacher Rupert.The interesting thing is that the two killers are supposed to be homosexual, though 1948 Hollywood would never allow a film that would come right out and say that in those days and with a script sanitized by the powers that be the sense of the characters still exists. It's been said that even Stewart's character of Rupert could have also been more of an inspiration to them in that regard as well. Is it a veiled shot at homosexual's as murderers? Possibly, but knowing Hitchcock it was probably more of a controversial subject to throw in- something new to play with and give the audience something to toss around in their heads.Even though Rope is a flawed film it still stands as a testament to Hitchcock and his experiments through the years. This was his first color film and the first film that his production company produced. His first film he totally controlled was a grand experiment. Does it work? Partially. But it does stand as the doorway to the great films he made throughout the 1950's.
Cloak and Dagger is the story of a young San Antonio boy (Henry Thomas) who becomes so wrapped up in his hero super spy Jack Flack (Dabney Coleman) he mixes the fantasy world of Flack with the reality of being a kid. Things begin to heat up when young Davey ends up in the middle of a game of cat and mouse over a video game cartridge containing government secrets.Cloak and Dagger is a fun little film that delves into what would happen if those Indians we chased as kids were actually real. It's a great kids film, even though the violence is intense in some parts (this possibly could have been released before PG-13).The main problem with the film viewing it 25 years later is seeing how dated it has become. Do kids today know what Atari or a game cartridge is? Why is Dabney Coleman wearing pleather? Is that really William Forsythe as the fat, game playing, slob Morris? Can you imagine a kid running around a building with a toy gun in 2008? We would be calling SWAT to clear is E.T. loving ass out of the building.Other than being dated (which those of us who remember the summer of Gizmo and Mola Ran will not think it's dated) Cloak and Dagger is a great little spy adventure/kids flick.
Doubt is one of those films that you watch for the great performances and not for the story or the plot, which tends to drag a little bit. It's the story of a small Catholic parish in the Bronx led by Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman). I have to use the term led very loosely because the real boss of the parish and the school seems to be Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), the principal of the parochial school and overall bitch on wheels. The sister is old school, fire and brimstone churching while the young father is more progressive. Caught in the middle is Sister James (Amy Adams) who sees Sister Aloysius' doctrines almost as if they came from God himself, yet tends to lean to the progressive nature of Father Flynn. This constant struggle boils over in the possibility that the Father has entered into a "relationship" with one of the male students.
Watching Doubt you can tell that it adapted from a stage play. I would have to say that it is probably the best adaptation of a stage play since Glengarry Geln Ross, that masterpiece with the acting equivalent of the 1927 New York Yankees. This film boats the same kind of cast with Streep and Hoffman absolutley brilliant in their portrayals and their conflicts. Once again they become these characters and you forget who you're watching- it's the priest and the nun accusing each other of various things. Amy Adams breaks out as Sister James, the timid little teacher who is easily led throughout the film until the end.
The only real problem with the film is that its source material tends to be a little off. Honestly, it's a who done it disguised as a stage drama. You see where this thing is going after the opening credits in the writers attempt to give another telling on a controversial issue. The entire film is one question: "Did he do it?", except in the mind of Streeps character who is obsessed with getting him to admit what she already "knows" happened.
The thing about Doubt is that it is almost Hitchcockian in its moral conflict. Is it the wrong man? Is the bad guy really good and the good guy really bad. It tends to throw these moral dilemmas down with Sister James playing what the viewer feels- pure anxiety. This is why the acting in Doubt is so great and raises what would have been an average Lifetime movie into a good film.
There's a rule with movies. For every great film there's its exact opposite. For every Dirty Harry there's a Pink Cadillac. For every Exorcist there's an Exorcist II. And for every Dark Knight there's The Spirit. In a year when comic book films have proven that they are viable for a great, decent story The Spirit blows everything out of the water and sends us careening back to the 1980's and the awful Captain America film and Dolph Lundrgen as the Punisher.
The Spirit is about an immortal ex-cop (Gabriel Macht) who helps the police rather poorly. His arch nemesis is the immortal Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) who along with his henchwoman Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson) plan on doing some bad things. Throw in the Spirit's love from his past San Serif (Eva Mendes) and you get the overall picture of the film.
So where to begin. The script is crap. The dialogue is something George Lucas would write and sounds like drive heaves coming from the actors mouths. These actors must be good because they don't flinch when they say any of this bullshit. One part that sticks out is the five minute monologue by our hero to a cat. Roll your eyes kids. The story is garbage with everyone commenting that this movie reminded them of the Shadow. No wonder, that film was a piece of shit, too.
Frank Miller spends most of the film trying to be Frank Miller. That's the big problem. This film looks and feels like a cheap imitation of Sin City and makes you wish you were watching that film instead of this waste of time. What's the difference between the two? Sin City had characters with depth and dialogue that was acceptable under the circumstances. The Spirit's characters? We could care less. I was hoping the main leads could both be killed so that the damn thing would end.
The Spirit is a major disappointment. Frank Miller should stay away from all film equipment and stick with writing comic books and film scripts (Robocop 2?). Watching this film is like suffering through a long, boring, idiotic text book on comic lore. Let's be honest- if you want to go through the effort give us Sin City 2 and not this garbage.
I just don't get it. I know that The Warriors is a grand cult film, but after watching it I'm trying to figure out what in the hell is so impressive about it. The film is one of those "a few years from now" stories where the gangs of New York City meet to come together and take over the city. The peace is broken when they main gang leader is killed and it is pinned on a Coney Island gang called the Warriors. All hell breaks loose as the gangs of New York City set out to avenge their fallen leader and eliminate the Warriors before they return to their turf, which happens to be 27 miles away.
The Warriors has tolerable acting from a relative unknown cast. The film has a great look and really gets the feel of a hellish New York after dark. The problem with the film is that it's so damn repetitive. They run, they encounter a gang, fight, run, hey there's that chick, another gang, fight, run, fight, disc jockey, home, another gang, almost fight. That's the movie. Yeah, the gangs are eccentric which actually adds to the film as a piece of great fiction, it's just that they don't do much, kind of like a hood ornament.
I know the Warriors is a cult film, but lets be honest- so is Mommy Dearest. Like I said, i still don't get it. What I saw was an average gang apocalypse film that had little action, just a lot of running. The title calls them heroes which really blows me away. A major disappointment.
Click is about an over worked architect (Adam Sandler) clawing his way toward a promotion who ends up being given a remote control by a guy named Morty (Christopher Walken) at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. What's so special about this remote is that it allows the user to pause, fast forward, rewind, etc, the events of said users universe not without drastic consequences to himself and his family.Click is your basic Sandler film in a career that fluctuates between doing a low brow R rated comedy to a PG-13 heartfelt film that is pseudo family oriented. Once again Sandler plays Sandler as an unbelievable family man. The thing about Sandler's films is that they repeat the same jokes over and over just with different punchlines. There are a few funny parts and the film tries to jerk a tear but it ends up being a below average farce.
I walked into this film thinking that it was going to be a pure gimmick film. Filmmakers love to try to do something different just to be different, not to add anything to the story. Conversations With other Women is about a man (Aaaron Echhart) and a woman (Helena Bonham Carter) who reunite at a wedding and steadily rebuild their relationship to the point that they share a night of passion in a hotel room after the wedding.
Conversations... is a film full of dialogue. The film is dialogue. The two characters flirt, attack, play, and perforate each other and the bullshit they throw between each other. That brings us to the gimmick: the film is shot as a split screen, which was used in '60's films and American Graffiti, but in this film it works. You see the character saying something and witness the reaction all at the same time. Director Hans Canosa also uses this to throw in a little detail about the lives of the pair and their past. Eckhart and Bonham Carter are great together with with Bonham carter's performance very riveting.
Conversations with Other Women is a great little film that seems to have been made on a shoestring budget yet captures the soul of the film. A great little gem that seems to have been buried over the last few years. If you get a chance don't miss it.
The Griswald's are back for another trip to the old country in this 1985 comedy bringing back Chevy Chase as Clark and Beverly D'Angelo as Ellen. When the family wins a European vacation on a game show you know what's going to happen: confusion, destruction, and debauchery on the other side of the Atlantic.
This is your basic sequel following the same formula as the first film. Some things work, some things don't. Chevy Chase plays Clark even dumber than the first film and pulls it away from the goofy dad of the first film to a dimwit. It's a funny movie, but not hilarious and not up to par with the films that bookend it.
Monsters vs. Aliens is just what the title says. A group of monsters, most of whom have been hidden away for decades have to come out and defeat the alien invasion of earth. The newest member is Ginormica, an overgrown woman voiced by Reese Witherspoon who tries to cope with the changes that have happened to her the the weeks represented in the film.
The movie owes a lot to '50's B-cinema. The four main characters are borrowed from four separate films of that era and the plot goes along with that- there isn't much of one. You have the whole 50 foot woman conflict thing but otherwise the film is a build up to the title that doesn't really live up to itself.
It's not a terrible movie, but is forgettable and will probably be lost in the sea of summer released heading out. But, like it's '50's ancestors, it's banking on a gimmick to sell tickets and not the story: 3-D. Ask yourself, has a film shot in 3D ever been worth a damn in the long run (excluding Dial M For Murder).
