Film Review: DEATH WISH (1974, Michael Winner)

Stars: 5 of 5. Running Time: 93 minutes. Notable Cast or Crew: Charles Bronson (ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, RIDER ON THE RAIN, MR. MAJESTYK, HARD TIMES), Hope Lange (BLUE VELVET, PEYTON PLACE, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2), Vincent Gardenia (THE HUSTLER, 80's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS), William Redfield (Dale in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST), Jeff Goldblum, music by Herbie Hancock. Tag-lines: "Vigilante, city style -Judge, Jury, and Executioner." Best one-liner: "I'm listening to the weather report - why haven't you found my dog - he's vital to my income - he paints such marvelous pictures with his paws!" Best anecdote: After shooting wrapped on THE STONE KILLER, Bronson and Winner wanted to collaborate again, and discussed future projects. "What do we do next?" asked Bronson. "The best script I've got is DEATH WISH. It's about a man whose wife and daughter are mugged and he goes out and shoots muggers," said Winner. "I'd like to do that," Bronson said. "The film?" inquired Winner. Bronson replied, "No . . . shoot muggers."


"Man, check out that mild-mannered little architect."

"Look at 'im. He can hardly lift those groceries. C'mon guys, I'm gonna mug 'im."


I guess, in a way, that's the fundamental flaw of this picture––the idea that anyone would think they could take on Charles Bronson, groceries or no.

Though supposedly an Italian once tried it, attempting to rob him at gunpoint. Bronson later said of the incident, "I am not a Casper Milquetoast. A guy in broken English asked me for money. I said, 'You give ME money.' He turned around and walked away." Regardless of that story's veracity, or the strength of the concept (that hoodlums would try to mug Bronson), this is an entertaining time at the movies... with Spillane-style fascist-apologetic undertones. Here's some actual dialogue:

"Oh Christ, you are such a bleeding-heart liberal, Paul."
–"My heart bleeds a little for the underprivileged, yes."
"The underprivileged are beating our goddamned brains out. You know what I say? Stick them in concentration camps, that's what I say."

Ummm... WHUTTTTTT?! Somehow its reactionary political leanings are reconciled by the fact that there's so much cathartic fun to be had watching Bronson do his thing. No one can deny that. Combine that with a super-young Jeff Goldblum as Freak #1 (see him also menace Bronson in ST. IVES), Vincent Gardenia in the now-cliched role of 'cop begrudgingly impressed by vigilante,' and a groovin' soundtrack by Herbie Hancock, and you've got yourself a bona fide classic. Followed by FOUR sequels of increasingly deranged (Cannon Films) quality and literally thousands of rip-offs (MS. 45 probably being the best), DEATH WISH's punch-in-the-guts impact is undeniable

Tangent: And the final scene reveals that a 'forefinger and thumb gun' battle between Bronson and Eastwood would be extremely satisfying:

Look at that smile. The wink! You want it? You got it!


Conversely, Clint takes no pleasure from this.


But hey, now we're gettin' classy, too! I don't think Bronson can top that.


Whoa! I have been rendered speechless. My mind races with the possibilities of a 'Charles Bronson Album.' What if Bronson and Eastwood had recorded 'Beers to You' together, instead of Ray Charles and Eastwood? So many unanswered questions. I'm not sure I can declare a winner at this point. Stay tuned.

COMING SOON: Reviews of DEATH WISHES 2-5. And more on the Bronson/Eastwood rivalry.

Film Review: TRON (1982, Steven Lisberger)

Stars: 4 of 5.
Running Time: 96 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Jeff Bridges, David Warner (TIME BANDITS, WAXWORK), Bruce Boxleitner (KENNY ROGERS AS THE GAMBLER, GODS AND GENERALS), Cindy Morgan (CADDYSHACK, MATLOCK), Peter Jurasik (ENEMY MINE), Dan Shor (Billy the Kid in BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE, RED ROCK WEST), composer Wendy Carlos (A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, THE SHINING).
Tag-lines: "A world inside the computer where man has never been. Never before now....Trapped inside an electronic arena, where love, and escape, do not compute!"
Best one-liner: "It's all in the wrists."

How to describe TRON?

The "Money for Nothing" music video


+
ZARDOZ?

Perhaps a more apt analogy would be "THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI for the Atari generation," for this is pure circuit board, neon, pixelated expressionism. And it's not just a gimmick picture, either. It's a genuine attempt to look back at human oppression through history in order to see where our increasingly (and exponentially) mechanized human society just might be headed.

With allusions from Ancient Rome's Circus Maximus to the Spanish Inquisition to Orwell's 1984, we're entreated to a rich universe soaked in meta-history; and Wendy Carlos' synthesized New Age meets Switched-On Bach score is the perfect accompaniment to this 'you must know the past to know the future' sentiment. But it's also quite fanciful. It imagines that perhaps when you get the mundanely annoying "spinning wheel of death" or a frozen screen, your search engine (represented by a tank) is fighting off hordes of giant floating robots or something.

The acting is top-notch, as well. Fresh off of TIME BANDITS, David Warner is a rather convincing as Master Control (and as his human and computerized minions), which is sort of a Big Brother/Darth Vader hybrid with a touch of ALTERED STATES. Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner (!), exude likability, pathos and truly carry the film's human element.

With perfect doses of eye-candy, intellectualism that kids can grasp, action, and adventure, TRON is everything that THE BLACK HOLE wanted to be, but wasn't. Sadly, TRON suffered the same fate as that picture, however, and Disney didn't finance another 'live-action' flick for about ten years. But with subsequent popular reevaluation and a TRON 2.0 (with most of the original cast!) in the works for 2011, it seems that maybe it's succeeded after all. Four stars.

-Sean Gill

HOUND opens tonight, 6/17, at 6PM!

Theater director and frequent Sean Gill collaborator Rachel Klein (GO-GO KILLERS!, AENIGMA, The Weirdo in CHEWIES 4) has a new show opening tonight (John Patrick Bray's HOUND) as part of the Planet Connections Theater Festivity. It also co-stars Elizabeth Stewart (Charlotte in AENIGMA and Electra in GO-GO KILLERS!, The Hippie in CHEWIES 4), and features sound design by yours truly. Details are listed below.

Watson, a grieving widower, takes up lodgings once again with famous consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, a man the world believed to be dead. Holmes is approached with a case that involves a Hound from Hell. Could this Hell Hound be the key to the afterlife, and to Watson's lost love Mary? Watson will have to gamble his life, his soul, suffer waking nightmares, and communicate with dogs in order to learn the grisly truth behind the curse of the Baskervilles in this twisted retelling of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic thriller, The Hound of the Baskervilles.

HOUND will feature Cavan Hallman (Watson), Terrance MacSweeny (Holmes), Abigail Hawk* (Beryl/Mary), Elizabeth Stewart* (Dr. Mortimer), Blaine Peltier (Stapleton), Grant Boyd (Henry Baskerville), Jack Corcoran (Barrymoore), Meredith Dillard (Mrs. Hudson/Mrs. Barrymoore), Jason Stroud (Seldon the convict) and Alyssa Schroeter (The Hound).

HOUND will play as part of the world premier of the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, June 9-28 at the Robert Moss Theatre inside 440 Studios (Astor Place and Lafayette), Wednesday, June 17 at 6 PM, Saturday, June 20 at 7 PM, Monday, June 22 at 6:30 PM, Tuesday, June 23 at 6:30 PM, Wednesday, June 24 at 6:30 PM
& Thursday, June 25 at 4:00 PM. Tickets ($18) are available online at www.planetconnectionsfestivity.com

Film Review: CHOPPING MALL (1986, Jim Wynorski)

Stars: 4 of 5.
Running Time: 77 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Barbara Crampton (RE-ANIMATOR, ROBOT JOX 2, TRANCERS 2), Russell Todd (FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2), Kelli Maroney (NIGHT OF THE COMET, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, SLAYGROUND), Tony O'Dell ( Jimmy from KARATE KID 1 & 2), Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, and Dick Miller!
Tag-lines: "Where shopping can cost you an arm and a leg."
Best one-liner: "Waitress, more butter!"

Let's talk about the VHS cover art for CHOPPING MALL for a moment, shall we? (Click on the art for a larger view.) Right off the bat, I'll tell you this: way more macabre creativity was poured into the title, slogan, and poster art than into the film itself. But I guess that's what 3rd-tier 80's horror flicks are all about. The ghoulish interest begat by the grotesque illustrations that launched a thousand kids' nightmares... Before we can even get to the imagery, we've got a redunkulous tagline that begs repeating: "CHOPPING MALL- Buy or die... half off is just the beginning!" Below, a robotic gauntlet thrusts forth a paper shopping bag, full of severed eyes and ears and noses and feet. I'm repulsed... but I can't stop staring at it. It's the same way it was with the oddly entrancing gore of DINOSAURS ATTACK! or the GARBAGE PAIL KIDS' Ali Gator with his lunchbox full of eyes and toes. It's all targeted toward kids and their morbid curiosity toward all things gruesome. And though the magic was then usually shattered by some straight-to-video nonsense, I feel like that initial marvelous 'hook' is completely gone today. Now we get some Photoshopped stupidity featuring screaming CW actors on their summer hiatuses.

Anyway, CHOPPING MALL is a fun time. From director Jim Wynorski (MUNCHIE, GHOULIES IV) and Roger Corman's Concorde Pictures, it plays out kinda like DAWN OF THE DEAD meets THE TERMINATOR in the framework of a generic slasher.


There's exploding heads, one-liners ("Oh! Fuck the fuchsia it's Friday!", "Let's send these fuckers a Rambo-gram!"); a cameo by Dick Miller as 'Walter Paisley' (originally from BUCKET OF BLOOD, but later appearing in HOLLYWOOD BLVD., THE HOWLING, and THE TWILIGHT ZONE MOVIE);

Dick Miller succumbs to the 80's love affair with animated lightning.

and an unforgettable appearance by Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov reprising their roles as the Blands from EATING RAOUL.

Paul Bartel makes a snide remark involving Hispanics.

It all adds up to something that's kinda forgettable, but with a lot of that old Corman charm. But one thing we'll never forget is that creepy effin' poster and the fabulous nightmares that it once was capable of conjuring...

-Sean Gill

Film Review: EXOTICA (1994, Atom Egoyan)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 103 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Elias Koteas (TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, THE THIN RED LINE, ZODIAC, Cronenberg's CRASH), Victor Garber (ALIAS, MILK), Bruce Greenwood (I'M NOT THERE, THE SWEET HEREAFTER, Abrams' STAR TREK), Mia Kirshner (THE L WORD, THE CROW II), Sarah Polley (GO, THE SWEET HEREAFTER), Arsinée Khanjian (FAT GIRL, CALENDAR), Don McKellar (EXISTENZ, BLINDNESS), music by Mychael Danna (THE SWEET HEREAFTER, CAPOTE), shot by Paul Sarossy (SOLDIER'S GIRL, WICKER MAN remake).
Tag-lines: "In a world of temptation, obsession is the deadliest desire." WHAT

Without any context, a babysitter could be easily confused for a hooker (or vice versa) when she's taking money from an older man in a darkened car. And, in a way, this is the premise of EXOTICA. Context, context, context. A great many of us traverse this life quite presumptuously, making ill-informed judgments (be it by thought, speech, or act) based on observations made in an instant; judging the world based on a grain of sand or a drop of water. In Atom Egoyan's world, the basis of human communication should be a mutual admission: "I don't know what you've been through, nor you, I." The record of a human life cannot be told in an hour, or two, or even a thousand. It's a sum of experiences, traumas, realizations, and fleeting moments that only its bearer can truly appreciate. Yet this truth is ignored again and again until the observer is satisfied enough to 'pin down' his subject, catalogue it, and store it away.

The film is full of these observers; police watching potential criminals at an airport, a man inspecting a rare bird in a cage, spectators at a ballet, patrons at a strip club, management of said club keeping tabs on the patrons. Everyone's getting something out of these exchanges, but what? We're drawn to the uncertainty of mystery almost as much as we're drawn to the finality of judgment. The unknown, the inexplicable, the exotic. An 'exotic' baby grand piano, an 'exotic' bird, a session with an 'exotic' dancer. What are we getting out of this? Something different becomes something familiar. All of these ideas congeal quite beautifully into a character-driven drama that culminates in a finale that is truly cathartic. A lesser artist would allow what follows to spiral into violence, but Egoyan finds a way to reconcile his characters, plot threads, and themes into a denouement that is absolutely staggering, completely appropriate, and one of the best filmic payoffs in years.

Now, after all of that, get a load of the DVD cover Miramax has furnished for this film.

They'd have you believe it's a trite, schoolgirl strippin', darkly voyeuristic, knock-off Eszterhas thrill ride. Given the film's lack of faith in deluded prejudgments, I suppose the cover is the perfect prelude to what comes next. Five stars.

-Sean Gill

Film Review: WHITE DOG (1982, Sam Fuller)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 90 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Kristy McNichol, Jameson Parker (SIMON AND SIMON, PRINCE OF DARKNESS), Paul Winfield (THE TERMINATOR, STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN, THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW, ORIGINAL GANGSTAS), Burl Ives, Paul Bartel cameo, cameo by Joe Dante-fav Dick Miller, music by Ennio Morricone, co-writer Curtis Hanson.
Tag-line: "When man's best friend becomes his fiercest enemy!"
Best one-liner(s): "Sour cream....love it!"

Alexander Pope's poem, 'On the Collar of a Dog': "I am his highness's dog at Kew/ Pray, tell me, sir, whose dog are you?" And indeed Sam Fuller's film, WHITE DOG, leaves you thinking that Sam believes there are many members of the human species more deserving of collars than dogs, and many forms of bigotry more vicious than the amorality of the animal world. I must say that I'm inclined to agree with him.

Long suppressed and unavailable to the masses, I'm happy to say that WHITE DOG lives up to the hype. At once wild entertainment and a serious statement on race, its sometimes restrained, sometimes over-the-top acting modes and masterfully emotive Ennio Morricone soundtrack make it feel very much like the work of crazed (but skilled) Europeans.

Much of its success is due to the likability of it's characters- the waifish Kristy McNichol (the same year as THE PIRATE MOVIE!) exudes cheerful grace; Jameson Parker (sans moustache) is a fleeting friend/love interest; Burl Ives is a hilarious, R2-D2 hating (he flings syringes at what he sees as the death of animal stunts!), jolly, roly-poly old man ("Sour cream... Love it!");

Paul Winfield is the determined, black Ahab out to cure the elusive 'white dog;'

and we even get cameos from the likes of Paul Bartel, Dick Miller, and a cigar-chomping Mr. Fuller himself! The script, loosely adapted by Fuller and Curtis Hanson (THE RIVER WILD, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL) is at times ridiculous (in the best way possible), but always packs a punch. This tale of trying to "cure" racism (instead of ignoring it or trying to destroy it) is a touch nihilistic, but it is so well-structured and directed that it never rings false. Fuller takes you into the dog's world in a much more visceral way than say, AU HASARD BALTHAZAR (and I'm not talking merely about attack sequences), and the result is a primeval melancholy that's quite unlike anything I've ever seen. Five stars, and one of Fuller's best.


-Sean Gill

Film Review: BLOOD WORK (2002, Clint Eastwood)

Stars: 4 of 5.
Running Time: 110 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Clint Eastwood, Anjelica Huston, Jeff Daniels, Wanda de Jesus, Paul Rodriguez (D.C. CAB), Dylan Walsh (NIP/TUCK).
Tag-lines: "He's a heartbeat away from catching the killer."
Best one-liner: "Hey McCaleb! We don't need your doughnuts... or your shit! We've got enough of our own!"

Mexican-American Cop: "Just because you got a Mexican's heart doesn't mean you're one of us!" Clint: "Hey Arango, next time you step foot on this dock, this Mexican will kick your ass!"

Right off the bat, I'll tell you this: this isn't Clint Eastwood's best. But who cares? He can't make WHITE HUNTER, BLACK HEART or UNFORGIVEN every time around. Half the time he's just out to entertain us.

Those who worship or tear down the likes of CHANGELING or LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA in hushed tones forget that this is the same guy who directed FIREFOX and THE EIGER SANCTION. ...So it's corny to use sultry Spanish guitar during Clint's love scene with a Hispanic woman. So what?! Are you gonna tell that to Clint? I'm sure as hell not gonna tell him. 

Regardless, what we've got here is a rather entertaining whodunit with a still grizzled, but increasingly kinder and gentler Clint; a doctorly Angelica Huston; and a CAPTAIN RON-channeling Jeff Daniels.

 The screenplay by Brian Helgeland (NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4, THE POSTMAN, MYSTIC RIVER) is frequently laughable, Clint still doesn't quite know how to direct kids, and there is all manner of corny things going on (including a kid doing some code-breaking), but goddammit, Clint has class. And it ends up as sort of a 'Zen' action movie. Sure, it has a couple of one-liners and some unnecessary gunplay, but at its core is a placid sure-handedness of direction and performance that is pure Clint, taking pleasure in the nuances of a quiet harbor or a country drive. So, despite some minor flaws, BLOOD WORK is immensely watchable and a quite sturdy example of latter-day Clint. Four stars.

-Sean Gill

Film Review: NIGHT MOVES (1975, Arthur Penn)

Stars: 4 of 5.
Running Time: 100 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Gene Hackman, James Woods, Melanie Griffith, Dennis Dugan,(NORMAN...IS THAT YOU?, THE TOUGHEST MAN IN THE WORLD), writer Alan Sharp.
Tag-lines: "What private eye Harry Moseby doesn't know about the girl he's looking for... just might get him killed."
Best one-liner:"He'd fuck a woodpile on the chance there was a snake in it."

"Who's winning?" "Nobody. One side is just losing slower than the other." Arthur Penn's NIGHT MOVES is one in a slew of neo-noir character studies that hit Hollywood from, say, 1967-1981 (including POINT BLANK, THE LONG GOODBYE, THE OUTFIT, CHINATOWN, THE DRIVER, CUTTER'S WAY, BODY HEAT, etc.). NIGHT MOVES isn't really one of the ABSOLUTE best of these, with extraordinarily high standards being set by the likes of Polanski and Altman, but it's a very solid movie. The script by Alan Sharp (THE HIRED HAND, DAMNATION ALLEY) is witty, fast, and rather Samuel Beckett by-way-of Raymond Chandler. The acting is top-notch, as well: our depressed, cuckolded, ex-football player private eye hero, Gene Hackman, like always, has incredible presence and depth.

As one of the cogs in the noir-plot machine, a very young, very slimy James Woods shines, as does Melanie Griffith, also in one of her first roles.

There's not a great deal of 'action,' in the traditional sense, but NIGHT MOVES is at it's best when the former Broadway director Penn is in "play" mode and the plot is slowly unfolding like a chamber piece (as when Hackman joins the "family" unit living in the Florida Keys).

It all leads up to a denouement that is as existentially devastating as it is shockingly abrupt, with one final grotesquely beautiful image involving the view from a glass-bottomed boat. Overall, a very well done film with an atmosphere that is sometimes undermined by peculiar choices in upbeat music, and, oddly, in terms of critical longevity, it seems that NIGHT MOVES is destined to be primarily remembered for it's oft-quoted, off-handed barb about the films of Eric Rohmer. Four stars.


-Sean Gill