Only now does it occur to me... MERCURY RISING

Only now does it occur to me...  well, a few things.

From the writers of Burton's PLANET OF THE APES and Cannon's SUPERMAN IV comes an inspiring tale in the slick/big budget/all-star cast/conspiracy thriller-mode that was quite in vogue in the late 90s (ABSOLUTE POWER, CONSPIRACY THEORY, ARLINGTON ROAD, ENEMY OF THE STATE, ERASER, EXTREME MEASURES, THE FIRM, THE GAME, MURDER AT 1600, THE PELICAN BRIEF, SHADOW CONSPIRACY).  Occasionally laughable but usually enjoyable, it's also secretly (er– actually, openly) a message picture about autism.


 A few quick observations:

#1. Miko Hughes (KINDERGARTEN COP, PET SEMETARY, APOLLO 13, WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE, FULL HOUSE, John Hughes' son) is put in vehicular harm's way

even more often than in PET SEMATARY, a movie whose most notable feature (besides the Ramones song) is Miko Hughes being run over by a truck.

#2.  Also, I'm wondering if– differing color corrections aside– Willis is wearing the same (or basically the same) brown jacket and jeans as he wears in PULP FICTION.  Maybe he wanted elements from PULP FICTION around in his other 90s work as a good luck charm, like Buscemi in ARMAGEDDON or Sam Jackson in DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE or Mexican standoffs in LAST MAN STANDING.


#3.  The versatile actor John Carrol Lynch– playing a character named Lynch– has a prominent role in two of the most notable contemporary films about ciphers and code-breaking:  MERCURY RISING and ZODIAC.
 
Perhaps only John Carrol Lynch can truly solve... THE DA VINCI CODE.  (I would actually watch that movie.)

#4.  The brilliant character-actor Peter Stormare (FARGO, MINORITY REPORT, ARMAGEDDON, etc., etc.) is completely wasted as a grunt-uttering henchman with about two minutes of screentime.

 Peter Stormare:  he deserves better.

 #5.  For fans of TV's 30 ROCK, Alec Baldwin's villainous "Kudrow" in MERCURY RISING will come across as a carbon-copy, albeit "serious" version of Jack Donaghy– complete with pompous board-room persona, laughably right-wing sentiments, deep-voice affectation and all.  This is especially fantastic in a wine cellar showdown whereupon Baldwin unsuccessfully instructs Willis not to handle his wine twice
 
  

 

 

which prompts Willis to make the power play of destroying an entire vintage-packed wine rack

 
causing Frasier Crane, somewhere in Seattle, to wince terribly without even knowing why. 
I must applaud this, ecstatically.

–Sean Gill

Film Review: HOLLOW MAN (2000, Paul Verhoeven)

Stars: 3.5 of 5.
Running Time: 112 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Kevin Bacon, Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Shue, Kim Dickens (DEADWOOD, ZERO EFFECT), William Devane (ROLLING THUNDER, FAMILY PLOT), Greg Grunberg (the pilot from the pilot of LOST, STAR TREK '09). Music by Jerry Goldsmith (POLTERGEIST, FIRST BLOOD). Edited by Mark Goldblatt (THE TERMINATOR, ENTER THE NINJA, COMMANDO). Cinematography by Jost Vacano (ROBOCOP, TOTAL RECALL, UNTAMED HEART).
Tag-line: "What would you do if you knew you couldn't be seen?"
Best one-liner: "You think you're God? I'll show you God!"

Paul Verhoeven continues to give America the movies they really deserve, but sometimes he gives a little too hard. Is HOLLOW MAN a good movie? Well... no. But I enjoyed it in a certain "Verhoeven declares war on popular culture" kind of spirit. The bad CGI is a bitter pill to swallow, but it's in service to a story which defines us as voyeuristic, misogynistic, 7-11 Big Gulp-swilling, murderous swine.

The Big Gulp in question.

And, as something of a merry misanthrope, I like it just fine. So while it doesn't possess the potent artistry of SOLDIER OF ORANGE or FLESH + BLOOD, the sheer watchability of TOTAL RECALL or ROBOCOP, or the unbridled camp value of SHOWGIRLS, here are a few reasons why HOLLOW MAN deserves to be seen both by aficionados of spit-takes and the spandex stylings of one Mr. Slim Goodbody.

#1. Seriously, though. SLIM GOODBODY.


I can't be the only one who was shown these videos in elementary school, sitting uncomfortably on the floor of the cafeteria while the teacher fiddled with the VCR tracking to finally reveal a man in a semi-anatomically correct spandex suit surrounded by a phalanx of puppets worthy of THE LETTER PEOPLE spouting inanities that were tangentially related to nutritional health. Anyway, it was nice to see a big-budget, feature film devoted to his work.

Also- is it a coincidence that both feature a formless, eyeless latex/felt monstrosity?


Pay no attention to the racist, anthropomorphic reel-to-reel player on the right.

Also, I am 100% certain that this was the inspiration for BODIES...The Exhibition, which is frankly amazing.

#2. Alright, so the latex face is actually pretty scary.

It's one of the few things about this film that is genuinely effective, but after an hour and a half of screentime, you're completely desensitized. Ah, well.

#3. "See...you...later ...(FACE)."


Probably the greatest words ever uttered by an about-to-be invisible man... to himself. Bacon really sells it, too. And as a side note- is it any wonder that Christian Slater got the gig for HOLLOW MAN 2?

Bacon nods approvingly upon learning that Slater will star in the straight-to-video sequel.


#4. William Devane. I was surprised to see him pop up in this. I'm a big Devane fan, from his commandingly low-key psychotic war vet in ROLLING THUNDER to his nefarious dandy-type in FAMILY PLOT to his G-man crony in MARATHON MAN.

It's nice to see he's still getting genre work and showing up in films like this, PAYBACK, and even on TV's 24. As always, he excels at playing a government sleaze who still possesses tangible pathos.

#5. The beautiful, likable, and talented Kim Dickens ('Joanie Stubbs' on TV's DEADWOOD), again subject to the mercies of a hideous haircut which threatens to consume our attentions, like some impossible fusion of 'Klute' and THE BLOB.

How bizarre that a system devoted to the objectification of women seems hellbent on subverting the aesthetic impact of Kim Dickens via awful haircuttery- (Even LOST did it, too.) -will wonders never cease? Regardless, she rises above the haircut and the role, even though her major plot point involves invisible man nipple-tweaking. Which leads us to–

#6. Finally a movie which tackles such high-concept wonders as invisible man nipple tweaking, invisible man puke, and invisible man bathroom peeping. Perhaps Verhoeven's greatest coup is amassing $95 million for a movie about an invisible man, and then devoting to fetishistic degeneracy, heavy-duty perversions, and ultimately rape and murder! Between this and SHOWGIRLS, though, it's little wonder that he hasn't worked in Hollywood since.

#7. Josh Brolin saved by a trashcan fire.

And here I thought I'd never see anybody saved by a trashcan fire this side of STREET TRASH. Who knew?

#8. A surprisingly evocative and foreboding score courtesy of Jerry Goldsmith. Not surprising in that it came from Jerry Goldsmith, just surprising in that it accompanies HOLLOW MAN.

#9. PREDATOR-VISION.

Technically, it's only thermal imaging, but after its rampant overuse in PREDATOR 2, I have no choice but to call it PREDATOR-VISION. Also, Mark Goldblatt edited both HOLLOW MAN and PREDATOR 2. Coincidence?- or predilection for PREDATOR-VISION?

#10. "You think you're God, I'll show you God, FOOOOOOSH"

I'll keep this as vague as possible, plotwise, but I have to say this is the greatest one-liner to accompany a flamethrower attack since ACTION JACKSON's "How ya like your ribs?....FOOOOOOOSH."

In the end, Verhoeven crafts a film which is big, dumb, kinda fun, and intent on rubbing the faces of theatergoers in their own depravities. Obviously he better serves the world through his art films (TURKISH DELIGHT, BLACK BOOK, et al.) and his scholarly ruminations (JESUS OF NAZARETH), so I can't realllly recommend this, but I can think of far worse ways to waste 112 minutes. Three and a half stars.

-Sean Gill

Film Review: ZERO EFFECT (1998, Jake Kasdan)

Stars: 4 of 5.
Running Time: 116 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Bill Pullman, Ben Stiller, Ryan O' Neal, Kim Dickens.
Tag-line: "The world's most private detective."
Best one-liner: "I don't think he's ever kissed a girl. He's like thirty-something years old."

"There aren't evil guys and innocent guys. It's just... It's just... It's just a bunch of GUYS." ZERO EFFECT is a sharp, rapid-fire, late 90's reimagining of Sherlock Holmes as 'Daryl Zero,' a Tab-swiggin', atrocious acoustic guitar-playin', occasionally agoraphobic, and exceptionally needy bundle of nerves aptly portrayed by Bill Pullman.

His Watson is an incredibly put-upon Ben Stiller (before he became a mere Hollywood finger puppet), who, by virtue of his sidekick-y duties, must respond to Zero's every excruciating beck and call.

The bulk of the story is culled straight from the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (in particular, the story "A Scandal in Bohemia"), right on down to Holmes' monographs for future generations, the strung-out multi-day benders, and an 'Irene Adler'-style feminine foil ("THE Woman"). Unfortunately, much like MILLER'S CROSSING (the Coens' masterful Dashiell Hammett facsimile), no credit is given to the source material. ...Are you serious?!

Regardless, this is a well-spun tale: intricate, well-acted, and consistently compelling. The mystery's supporting players include a pompous, frazzled tycoon played by Ryan O'Neal:
and a personable but inscrutable medic portrayed by the underrated Kim Dickens (Joanie on DEADWOOD, Cassidy on LOST). Beginning with simple blackmail, a set of missing keys, and the realization that "You can't buy silence- you can only rent it," the threads mingle and interweave with one another, and by the time we reach the denouement, the whole has succeeded in being greater than its parts, which, in the detective genre, is really all you can ask for.

An auspicious debut for writer/director Jake Kasdan (son of Lawrence), who would go on to both outdo (THE TV SET) and embarrass (WALK HARD) himself. Four stars. (Note: later revisited- by Kasdan- as a failed TV pilot, starring Alan Cumming in the Daryl Zero role.)

-Sean Gill