A film based on a Disneyland ride! Everyone thought, “Are they high?” And Johnny Depp to boot? Well actually, that was always a good idea.

Once again the multi-faceted actor is on brink of opening another chapter in the wildly popular PIRATES franchise. Along for the ride are newcomers Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, and Sam Clafin, as well as fan favorite Captain Barbossa Geoffrey Rush.

Maybe its kismet that brought Depp and Penelope Cruz together again some 10 years after they appeared together in 2001’s BLOW. A decade later the former would be a 3-time Oscar nominee, the later an Academy Award winner.

One of the Geeks has fond memories from 1995 while working at Paramount where Depp was shooting NICK OF TIME. The actor took the time to speak to the tours. Friendly right from the start!

Even with the fourth PIRATES opening this weekend and with estimates reaching as high as a $90M – $100M, there’s no stopping the biggest actor on the planet from his next role…or roles. Look for Johnny Depp in GK Films THE RUM DIARY on October 28, 2011, Warner Bros. Pictures’ release of Tim Burton’s DARK SHADOWS on May 11, 2012 (which just began shooting) and Tonto – to Armie Hammer Lone Ranger – in Jerry Bruckheimer’s THE LONE RANGER. (http://www.jbfilms.com/#/film/lone-ranger)

Oh, and don’t forget that Depp also has a small, uncredited cameo in Sony Pictures remake of 21 JUMP STREET on March 16, 2012.

Phew!

Below are a sampling of our special Johnny films. So have at it readers…what are your favorite Depp roles? THE LIBERTINE, CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, CHOCOLAT, WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE, SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET? Let us know which films you would have included on our list.

Ph: Peter Mountain ©Disney Enterprises, Inc.

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

Glen Lantz

Here’s where it all began.

ED WOOD

Ed

ED WOOD speaks to the passionate cinema-loving man-child in all of us, who just cannot play it straight with the big guys and has to live the independent route–even if he does suck. For the first time in Johnny Depp’s career, he was able show what he’s capable of in a leading role. Depp brings this naive charisma and desperation to make motion pictures however the heck he wants to Wood, who clearly had to have had a few screws loose to make the movies he made. Since Wood also took pleasure in dressing up in womens’ clothes, particularly angora sweaters, this adds another quirky dimension to a film that most would recognize as one of burton’s very best. Depp plays those scenes with a silly modesty.

FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS

Raoul Duke

Johnny Depp transformed himself, running full throttle with little to no regard for his own personal sanity, when adapting Raoul Duke for the big screen. Clearly in tune not only with Hunter S. Thompson’s literary vision, but also the uniquely quirky one-of-a-kind imagination of director Terry Gilliam, Depp paints a wildly abstract cinematic portrait of a man made as boldly brilliant and bat-shit nuts by his unconditional love affair with controlled substances.

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS

Edward

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are like peanut butter and jelly… on bread shaped like funny little animals! The two have colaborated on some pretty amazing projects, starting with Edward Scissorhands. Sure, Depp had been in films before, but had not played a character quite like Edward. Depp wanted to break free of his “teen idol” image, and that he did. . The character of Edward is an interesting one, filled with fantasy, innocence, and wonder. Actually, Depp had to convey a wide array of emotion when playing Edward, while only saying 169 words throughout the entire film. This began a long running collaboration with Burton that continues to amaze audiences.

BENNY AND JOON

Sam

Johnny Depp created an inspiring role as one half of an unconventional couple in BENNY & JOON by displaying his talent virtually silent. His Buster Keaton-esque performance displayed yet another aspect of his immense talent as an actor and as an unforgettable character. Just one of Mr. Depp’s many memorable and charming films we have grown to love over the years.

DONNIE BRASCO

Donnie

In 1997 Johnny got to leave the Tim Burton fantasies and veer into Scorsese/Lumet territory with DONNIE BRASCO. With this true story, Depp showed he could hold his own on screen with a cinema icon. While he shared some great scenes with his on screen wife Anne Heche, the real chemistry was between Depp and Al Pacino as the low level mob runner Lefty.

THE NINTH GATE

Dean Corso

One of favorite Depp films, it was truly black magic when Depp joined forces with director Roman Polanski for this eerie supernatural thriller. The film depicted so dark a mood, that even we feared for Depp as he went up against the evil author of The Nine Gates.

SLEEPY HOLLOW

Ichabod Crane

The role of Ichabod Crane was tailor made for Depp. What with his build and physical stature, the persona of the actor and the character seemed interchangeable. If any director and actor could bring Irving Washington’s tale to the big screen it was be the pairing of Depp and director Tim Burton.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

The Mad Hatter

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jabberwock, my son

The frumious Bandersnatch!’

Director Tim Burton could simply not pass up the opportunity to put his spin on this classic tale, originally published by Lewis Caroll in 1865. Giving The Mad Hatter a more substantial role, unlike in the original, was all part of that plan, and who better to play the role than Johnny Depp. (Fun Fact: “Mad Hatter” or “Mad as a Hatter” was a term used to describe hat makers that were affected by mercury poisoning. Mercury was used in the hat making process at one point, and caused anything from “hatters shakes” to hallucinations.) Depp plays the character with an added richness. The character is not just “mad”, he is fearless, passionate, and intense.

“I always saw the Hatter as kind of tragic,” says Depp. “He’s a victim in a lot of ways. The mercury has certainly taken its toll, but there’s a tragic element to his past in this particular version that weighs pretty heavily on the character.”

Not to say Depp is lacking of a sense of humor, one last video.

3 Days to go until Hollywood’s big night – the 83rd annual Academy Awards. With THE KING’S SPEECH as the presumed front-runner and THE SOCIAL NETWORK hot on its heels, the race still may be too close to call. In a special Oscar edition of Throwback Thursday, we decided to have a look back at some of the previous Best Picture winners. Here are some of the highlights to what the WAMG crew considers to be among the Academy’s Best Picture winners. Tell us below what your favorite Best Picture is.

Jim: MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935) “There have been several movies based on this historical incident, but 1935′s MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY is the superior version thanks to the lavish MGM production values and a cast anchored by Clark Gable’s noble Fletcher Christian and Charles Laughton’s despicably cruel Captain Bligh.”

Travis: THE HURT LOCKER (2009) “It may be a bit long, but that’s like getting to ride the best roller coaster twice in a row without waiting in line a second time. Kathryn Bigelow’s direction reveals her passion for detail and Jeremy Renner’s performance teeters on the edge of insanity.”

Melissa T: BRAVEHEART (1995) “Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but this awesome epic got him a set of bookends made of Oscar gold.”

Tom: UNFORGIVEN (1992) “Served by uniformly strong acting and by Clint Eastwood’s wonderfully understated direction in the grand tradition of Hollywood golden era directors such as John Ford or Howard Hawks, UNFORGIVEN was a powerful coda to the western genre and Eastwood’s definitive masterpiece.”

Travis: MILLION DOLLAR BABY (2004) “It flourished on controversy — a film in two parts — both tackling topics of difficult “fights,” creating a ripple of social debate and helping the film take it’s place in cinematic history.”

Michelle: CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981) “The British Are Coming was the victory cry heard round the world by night’s end of the 54th Academy Awards.”

Jim: THE STING (1973) “It’s a terrifically entertaining con-game comedy and a loving homage to all that’s wonderful about the movies produced during Hollywood’s golden age in the 1930′s.”

Travis: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007) “It hits a nerve, bringing the darkly pessimistic writing of Cormac McCarthy together with the quirky intensity of the Coen brothers’ direction. Javier Bardem’s performance is just freaky and frighteningly good!”

Tom: MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) “It’s the story of two losers who find each other and the hostile, uncaring environment that surrounds them. The only film rated X to win the best picture Oscar, MIDNIGHT COWBOY becomes stranger, sleazier, and more heartbreaking as it ages.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

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One man…seven women…in a strange house!

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to see Clint Eastwood play a villain?  Ever been curious as to how he might fare in a horror film (outside of his part as Jennings the Lab Technician in 1955′s ‘Revenge of the Creature’)?  Well, if these notions have ever dotted your movie-loving mind, then you need not look any further than Don Siegel’s gothic, psychosexual film from 1971, ‘The Beguiled.’

Made just before ‘Dirty Harry,’ ‘The Beguiled’ stars Eastwood as Corporal John McBurney, a Yankee soldier near the end of the Civil War.  After being wounded in the field, McBurney seeks shelter in an all-girl boarding school deep in the South.  After being nursed back to health, McBurney begins to use his charm in enticing the young women, one at a time.  Needless to say, things get heated, and, before too long, they get violent.

Just as McBurney is not a typical role for the Man With No Name, ‘The Beguiled’ is not a typical horror film.  Under Sigel’s artistic and confident direction, the film finds a comfortable balance between drama and the violent nature that drives the film’s more terrifying moments.  Never resorting to standard, horror trappings, the film oozes gothic and atmospheric sentiment, never allowing the audience to rest easy in their seats.  You know something is afoul in the boarding house, and you know that, before too long, it is going to reveal itself to McBurney.  He, being a charismatic and naive fool, sees nothing amiss, and, as he grows more and more comfortable in his seat in the house, we find ourselves growing more and more uneasy in ours.

Of course, Siegel wouldn’t have been able to pull the film off all on his own.  Eastwood gives an outstanding performance, made all the more brilliant seeing as how completely against type it is.  This is a man who, in 1971, had recently finished the Leone trilogy (‘A Fistful of Dollars,’ ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,’ and ‘For a Few Dollars More’) and had already begun his hero drive towards Dirty Harry with turns in ‘Coogan’s Bluff’ and two war films ‘Where Eagles Dare,’ and ‘Kelly’s Heroes.’  In 1971, Eastwood wasn’t completely pigeonholed as the macho action hero.  He had already tried his hand in a musical, ‘Paint Your Wagon,’ and had already set himself to play the villain Two-Face on the TV version of “Batman.”  The show was cancelled before Eastwood could film an episode, but the wheels were greased for him to step into the role of a villain.

1971 would end up being a banner year for Eastwood.  His production company, Malpaso, was established, Eastwood directed his first film, ‘Play Misty for Me,’ and he would step into the role that would become his most iconic, Dirty Harry.  1971 also saw Eastwood finally set himself to playing the baddie, as he re-teamed with Siegel, who he had previously worked with on ‘Coogan’s Bluff’ and ‘Two Mules for Sister Sara.’  ’The Beguiled’ was released on March 31st of ’71, and, almost immediately, the film felt the weight of Eastwood’s play against type at the box office.  Not sure on how to market the film, Universal ended up selling it as a straight, romance picture.  It is anything but.

Despite its failure at the box office, ‘The Beguiled’ is remembered as being a dangerous and somewhat creepy film about bottled up emotion and the explosion that occurs when it is subdued for too long.  Eastwood is great as McBurney.  Due to the iconic nature of many of the characters he has played, you can’t say McBurney is one of his more memorable performances, but it is, arguably, one of his best.  McBurney is chauvinistic and dangerous, yet, oddly, fascinating.  It is easy to see how he is able to make the women fall in love with him, but it ends up being no surprise at all when he grows violent towards them.

Eastwood and Siegel aren’t the only ones firing on all cylinders for ‘The Beguiled,’ either.  Geraldine Page as Martha Farnsworth, the headmistress, is superb, as are most of the young women who make up the house’s inhabitants.  Siegel and cinematographer Bruce Surtees work well together, injecting a vibe of atmospheric sensuality and foreboding danger throughout the picture.  It isn’t any wonder Siegel would bring Surtees back for ‘Dirty Harry,’ nor is it any wonder Eastwood would continue to work with Surtees throughout the rest of the ’70s and on into the ’80s.  Lalo Schifrin, who Siegel had previously worked with on ‘Coogan’s Bluff,’ offers a provocative and dangerously seductive musical score.  He, too, would go on to work with Siegel and the rest of the returning crew for ‘Dirty Harry.’

‘The Beguiled’ is a forgotten gem, a psychological thriller that is charged from within and brought to the bubbling surface by an outstanding performance by Eastwood and the excellent direction from Siegel.  It is a film that holds you throughout, never slowing down yet taking its time in setting up the characters and relationships between them.  It is somewhat a horror film, somewhat a gothic drama, and somewhat a dark fable of the evil within all of us, and what it takes to unleash that evil upon another human being.  It is a highly recommended piece of filmmaking that is made all the more intriguing by the off-kilter performance by one of Hollywood’s most famed heroes.

I could start out in the most obvious and typical way by asking you if you’ve ever had a boss you hate. A boss you’d love to tell off, or, dare I say… a boss you yearn to see bad things happen to? Well, that’s not what I’m going to do.

“Shut up! Listen! Learn!” — Buddy

Weakness, and power, or the illusion of power… however you want to spin it, SWIMMING WITH SHARKS is all about survival of the fittest amidst the hounds of Hollywood. All the stories, the rumors, the gossip that emits radioactive frequency of negativity and cruelty, it all comes to life here in George Huang’s sharply written and unabashedly dark comedy about life in Hollywood as a schmuck assistant.

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS stars Frank Whaley (BROKEN ARROW, RED DRAGON) as Guy, an characteristically mannered and innocent young man from up-state New York who takes a job as Buddy Ackerman’s new personal assistant. Kevin Spacey plays Buddy Ackerman, a major producer for Keystone Pictures (an imaginary stdio). Buddy is the most vile, rude, selfish and inconsiderate son-of-a-bi*** you’ll never meet outside of celluloid. And, Kevin Spacey is a brilliant a**hole!

As the story goes, writer/director George Huang once held a position not unlike that of Guy’s, working for Columbia Pictures. The Buddy Ackerman character was apparently inspired by real-life producer Joel Silver, for whom Huang once worked. In Robert Rodriguez’s memoir REBEL WITHOUT A CREW, he recounts how he and George Huang met. After sharing some of his movie ideas with Rodriguez, the director told Huang he should just go out and make them. Huang quit his job and pursued making SWIMMING WITH SHARKS.

“You are nothing! If you were in my toilet I wouldn’t bother flushing it. My bathmat means more to me than you!” — Buddy

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS is a non-linear story. Cutting back and forth from current day as Guy battles his own desires for vengeance and inner morality, to his trials of serving as Buddy’s door mat and personal slave in an effort to merge onto the fast track highway to big time Hollywood. The film has a similar structure in ways to PULP FICTION, but was clearly coincidental (at least mostly) and the two films both came out in theaters in 1994. In between, the uncomfortably unnatural relationship between Guy and producer Dawn Lockard (Michelle Forbes) develops, which will serve as the catalyst for the film’s ending.

Frank Whaley… do you even remember him? Perhaps not from FIELD OF DREAMS or THE DOORS, maybe from CAREER OPPORTUNITIES? Really? Well, you’re sure to remember Mr. Whaley and his “big brain” as Brett from PULP FICTION. Personally, Frank’s certainly not the greatest actor, but it was a fun, if not disturbing, ride of delirious ambition as Guy goes from a naive small town boy to becoming a ruthless kidnapper, torturing Buddy in his own home in an act of passionate rage and revenge.

Kevin Spacey appears to be having far too much fun in this role… well, except for the torture scenes. Buddy Ackerman is a truly horrible human being one moment and then shrugs it off like nothing happened as soon as Guy leaves his presence. Buddy is just putting on a show most of the time. It begs the question, is he really this big of a jerk, or is he playing into the expected role of a person in his position? There are moments when you actually believe Buddy may just be putting Guy through all this to teach him how to survive in the biz.

“I’ve handled the phones, I’ve juggled the bimbos, I, I’ve put up with the tyrants, the yellers, the screamers. I’ve done more than you can even imagine in that small mind of yours. I paid my dues!” — Buddy

As difficult as it is to swallow, Buddy finally opens up to Guy during his torture revealing a side of himself we hadn’t seen before. Buddy explains how he once went through everything Guy is currently going through, minus the torture. An interesting observation… Spacey’s performance during Buddy’s monologue about his dead wife has the familiar feel of “Verbil” Kint’s ramblings to Agent Kujan in THE USUAL SUSPECTS. Clearly Singer and McQuarrie were fans of SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, nabbing the film’s two best actors.

Benicio Del Toro plays Rex, the former assistant to Buddy, now moving on to become Vice President of Production for Paramount. His are the shoes that Guy must fill. Del Toro did not have a largely significant rle in the story, primarily appearing in the first twenty minutes or so, but what the role did was to help Del Toro build his career. Prior to SWS, Del Toro had bit roles in MONEY FOR NOTHING, FEARLESS and CHINA MOON. Maybe you remember him from his feature film debut, appearing as Duke the Dog-Faced Boy in BIG TOP PEE WEE?

No, SWIMMING WITH SHARKS was the role that chronologically led Del Toro to Bryan Singer, where he would permanently brand himself and his image on our collective brains as Fenster in THE USUAL SUSPECTS. As interesting observation… During the drawn-out scene in which Rex is basically showing Guy the ropes, laying it out for him, Buddy takes it upon himself to comment on Rex’s name, suggesting it’s more fit for a mutt and calls him “dog boy.” A friendly reference to his first film, perhaps?

“Life is not a movie. Good guys lose, everybody lies, and love… does not conquer all.” — Buddy

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS ends with a bang (wink) after an intense three-way confrontation between Buddy, Guy and Dawn. In this memorable scene, the lines between good and bad, right and wrong, righteous and ridiculous are all blurred. Following this scene is the final scene of the film, bringing us full circle and revealing the outcome of the three-way confrontation with ironic results.

Here’s the trailer, but take it with a grain of salt. It’s cut to make the film look like a much lighter, run of the mill comedy than the dark brutal comedy it actually is…

After pulling in $47 million in domestic box office from a $325,000 budget, it was inevitable that a sequel to John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’ would be in the works sooner rather than later.  Not only was ‘Halloween’ a financial success, and not only was it a critical success, it sparked something in the world of horror filmmaking.  As of 1978, the slasher film was born, and, after 1980′s ‘Friday the 13th,’ the people behind a ‘Halloween’ sequel knew the masses wouldn’t be satisfied with the tension-filled air Carpenter’s first film projected.  They knew they had to up the body count and give audiences exactly what they wanted.  What resulted in ‘Halloween II,’ is a horror fans grab bag, a mixture of both suspense, atmosphere and enough blood to go around.

Picking up mere seconds after Carpenter’s film ends, ‘Halloween II,’ continues the “night he came home.”  Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, has been taken to Haddonfield Memorial Hospital.  Dr. Loomis, played by Donald Pleasence, is still searching the small town for his escaped patient, a creature who he now believes is nowhere near human.  Michael Myers still stalks Haddonfield, searching for the teenage girl who escaped him and who, as the film reveals, has more ties to Laurie Strode than previously revealed.

The incredible thing about ‘Halloween II’ above most, other horror sequels is how well it stands up on its own.  Even though the film is essentially the second half of a much larger film, it is easy to jump right into any scene and enjoy it for the fun that it is.  Much of this is due in large part to Carpenter and Debra Hill, who, like the ’78 original, co-wrote the screenplay for ‘Halloween II.’  The idea of setting it in a near-abandoned hospital is at once completely logical given the events of the previous film and wholly atmospheric.  Like the ocean in ‘Jaws,’ ‘Halloween II’ takes a seemingly innocent and safe place and throws any illusions of sanctuary back into the viewer’s face.

Rick Rosenthal served as director, and, though he makes every attempt at recreating much of what filled the original with a sense of dread, he just doesn’t have the confidence as a filmmaker Carpenter expressed.  Fun and suspenseful as it may be, Rosenthal seemed to have very little sense of subtlety. This is seen in the many shots he practically lifts from Carpenter’s original.  Michael’s white mask slowly appearing out of dark corner behind someone is just one of many acts of thievery Rosenthal utilizes in his film’s direction.  Even such, aside from a few moments here and there where Myers appears in shadows or off in the background, there is very little in the way of true scares. Of course, even these moments could be attributed to Carpenter himself.  The horror master came on board late in the game to shoot additional scenes.  While there is no true layout of who shot what, and while Rosenthal claims Carpenter came on board to add gore and nudity to his film, there is definitely a feeling of disconnection from one shot to the next.  Rosenthal has claimed in interviews that he set out to make more of a thriller than a slasher film.  If this is, indeed, the case, it would appear it was Carpenter’s decision to include some of the gorier moments in the film.  There certainly are plenty of those with ‘Halloween II’ boasting a body count twice as large and death scenes three times as in-your-face than is seen in the original.

But higher body count aside, there is still plenty left over from Carpenter’s original ‘Halloween’ for fans to latch onto in the sequel.  The film’s score came as a collaboration by Carpenter and Alan Howarth.   It has the same synthesized simplicity as the original, but, much like the rest of the film, it seems to have a studio polish about it.   This is particularly noticeable in the secondary themes such as Laurie’s Theme and The Shape Stalks.   Of course, you cannot talk about the film’s soundtrack without mentioning the key usage of “Mr. Sandman” performed by The Chordettes.   The song, lyrics and all, is a perfect fit for the entire franchise.   It is an interesting contrast between the song and the visuals over the opening scene, but it clinches its incongruous brilliance as it plays out the film’s final moments.

‘Halloween II’ also boasts an A+ cast with Pleasence and Curtis fitting back into their respective roles like old gloves.   Curtis had begun wearing her hair shorter in the years since Carpenter’s original film.   As such, she was forced to wear a wig for this film, something that is notably off about her character.   Other than that, though, she does an amazing job of running the gamut between victim and fighter.   You absolutely buy the final transition into the attacker 16 years later with ‘Halloween H20,’ and much of that comes from her character’s growth throughout ‘Halloween II.’

Great actors like Lance Guest, Charles Cyphers, Leo Rossi, Pamela Susan Shoop, Hunter Von Leer round out the cast.   Guest is most recognizable to mass audiences as Alex Rogan in ‘The Last Starfighter.’   He isn’t given just a whole lot to do, playing the would-be hero to Laurie’s damsel in distress.   However, he falls out of the picture fairly early, and his ultimate resolution varies between the theatrical and the TV version of the film, but we’ll get into that shortly.   Cyphers and Von Leer turn in commendable performances as members of the Haddonfield Police Department.   Cyphers reprises his role as Sheriff Leigh Brackett, and, though his character disappears early in the film, he gives an emotional performance as the father of one of Myers’ victims from the first film.   Von Leer plays Deputy Hunt, and it’s not a very fleshed out role.   Nonetheless, the sincerity Von Leer gives the performance makes you wonder if there is something deeper going on with the character.   He seems to be fully tied to the town, and it ends up being one of the more interesting secondary character in the franchise.

As a side note about the cast, watch for a tracking shot that passes right by a young Dana Carvey in his first on-screen performance.

When ‘Halloween II’ began airing on TV, it was Rosenthal’s original cut of the film that was being showed.  This had most of the gore and graphic violence and all of the nudity stricken from it.  It also switched around a few scenes and brought Lance Guest’s Jimmy back in the final moments.  All in all, the TV version is a mess of a film, throwing in random shots here and progressing through the story in a completely nonsensical manner.  This is typically the version shown when the film runs on AMC.  This version, however, has never been released on VHS or DVD.  Talk of a completely new special edition of the film has come about, and it looks like Lionsgate and Universal Home Video will be releasing it sometime in 2010.  This would include all of Rosenthal’s cuts including a few scenes that have never been seen by the public before.

In 1982, a man named Richard Delmer Boyer murdered an elderly couple in Fullerton, California.  In what would eventually be called the “Halloween II Murders,” Boyer stabbed the couple a total of 43 times.  He claimed he had had hallucinations brought on by watching ‘Halloween II’ while on PCP, marijuana, and alcohol.  During the trial, the film was shown to the jury.  A psychopharmacologist pointed out various similarities between what was being depicted in the film and what played out in the elderly couple’s home.  Boyer was sentenced to death for the murders.

‘Halloween II’ is a horror sequel many fans of the genre can enjoy, not just fans of the ‘Halloween’ franchise.  While it does fall into the sequelitis trap of throwing in more scares and a higher body count, it still provides a suspenseful and intriguing story rarely seen in horror sequels.  It pulls off so much more than just being ‘Halloween’s cash-in follow-up.  Had it had a director as gifted in the genre as Carpenter, it very well could have been on an equal playing field as the 1978 original.  As it is, it still stands as one of the best horror sequels ever made, particular in the slasher sub-genre

I fear that asking the average person these days what the phrase “French New Wave” means to them, I would regrettably receive one of two responses… “What?” or, the slightly less distressing response of “Wasn’t that a punk music movement in the 80′s?” The answer to both responses is “No!”

Jean-Luc Godard didn’t just create an artistic and entertaining film with BREATHLESS (A bout de souffle) but, he also helped create a whole new style of filmmaking. What’s even more fascinating is that this is his first feature film, a film in which he took significant experiemental risks, and yet it became such an influential work. This is primarily a cops and robber story. Godard pokes fun on occasion at the scenes of the police doing their invetigative work, but the scenes still drive the story forward.

The story follows a small-time criminal named Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo) as he pursues a relationship with an American journalism student named Patricia Franchini (Jean Seberg). Michel recklessly pursues this infatuation with Patricia as he attempts to elude the authorities hunting him for the spontaneous murder of a police officer who nearly caught him with a stolen car. Now on the run, obsessed both with Patricia and his affection for American cinema, especially Humphrey Bogart, Michel and Patricia is a fugitive unaware of the gradual tightening of the noose with which the authorities are tightening around him.

Michel is a likable scumbag. He’s a misogynist, a thief, a con man and a killer. He has many friends, but he is truly a friend to no one. He is oblivious and naive to the severity of the situation he has put himself into, identified by the police as the killer and simultaneously trying to collect on an underworld debt. Michel plans to make a clean getaway to Italy with a lot of cash and his girl Patricia at his side, but things rarely go so smoothly in real life. Michel is optimistic he will make a clean break, putting the vast majority of his time and energy into securing Patricia as his intimate company for the journey ahead.

BREATHLESS is also a film that is heavily influenced by the random creativity of jazz music, which makes many appearances in the film. Godard made many of his editing decisions based around the jazz music he included in the film, which helps to tie the jump cuts into the finished product. I personally found myself profoundly affected by the philosophical moments between Michel and Patricia. Coincidentally, many of these scenes held very little spoken substance. Without a doubt in my mind, the most powerful scene in BREATHLESS is the final scene. Without giving away the ending for the newbies, I’ll simply call it one of the most ambiguously and simply shot, but open-ended finishes to a film and works brilliantly.

Jean Seberg is relentlessly cool and attractive in BREATHLESS. Her portrayal of Patricia is in some ways as unconventional and daring as the film is directed by Godard. She sports a short haircut, very modern for her era, and chooses not to wear a bra. Seberg’s face and those eyes are to die for and her “perfectly” shaped physique deceptively hides her 5’6″ stature against Belmondo’s 5’11″ frame. This statement isn’t intended to be sexual, but Seberg was making a powerful statement with her look in BREATHLESS. Her character was independent and free, sinfully attractive but she didn’t flaunt it. Ironically, Seberg was originally from a small town in Iowa, but later would become a target of the FBI for her personal beliefs outside of the movie business. Her death in 1979 was officially ruled a suicide, of which she had previously attempted on several occasions, but rumors would spark debate over whether her death was staged by the FBI.

Before BREATHLESS, the presence of jump cuts was a sign that the filmmaker simply didn’t know what they were doing, but Godard integrates them into the bold, often chaotic, visual style that would help mark the film as one of the three seminal works that christen the French New Wave. One of the primary ideas behind the French New Wave was this concept that one cannot truly make a purely documentary or purely fictional film. Godard and his fellow filmmakers of this movement felt that even by making a purely made-up, fictional movie, you inevitably end up capturing real life in the process, therefor making it part documentary. Likewise, the idea works in reverse as well.

For those who aren’t familiar with the “jump cut” terminology, think of this as seeing a person walking along a city sidewalk, filled with other pedestrians passing that person in a metropolitan setting. Now imagine that image suddenly and without any immediately obvious purpose changes to that same person walking down a rural dirt road. Or, you could interchange that with a person walking during the day and then suddenly without skipping a beat it’s night time. These are just simple examples, but they illustrate the use of jump cuts as an artistic method of conveying an idea, rather than techniques for maintaining continuity or realism, of which the jump cut is completely contradictory.

Below is perhaps the most famous scene from BREATHLESS, using the jump cut technique:

Godard also uses the jump cut to convey a sense of urgency. This technique, when properly used, can enhance the efficiency of storytelling, propelling the action in an energetic and unencumbered pace. Rarely do we experience a scene in which Godard lingers on any one particular shot. Godard felt that the audience need not be spoon-fed the minor details of a scene. In BREATHLESS, he successfully attempts to cut scenes traditionally considered to be significant plot points, a robbery for example, so that only the basic idea of what is happening is visually conveyed. Godard believed the viewer would fill in the rest but the scene would still convey the same idea

There’s a rhythm to BREATHLESS that is executed through it’s editing. Godard cut out the filler, focusing a bit less on how effective the individual shots are and a bit more on how effective a string of shots can be to create a scene. What he creates are scenes that are visually engaging, regardless of what’s actually happening on screen. Aside from the jump cuts, another stylistic faux pas committed by Godard was his intentional willingness to break the fourth wall. An early scene in BREATHLESS while Michel is driving along in a stolen car, his travels depicted once again with cuts jumping him from one highway destination to the next, and the next, while never changing the camera’s angle, has Michel speaking and looking directly into the camera, conversing with the viewer, one on one.

While the jump cut plays a repeated role in BREATHLESS, Godard is also fascinated with the idea of lingering on the little moments that occur between people in real life. While Godard would spend a fair amount of screen time on small talk and insignificant actions taking place between Michel and Patricia, he does still implement the jump cut in these scenes, but these scenes also include long shots that Godard avoids during the more conventionally significant scenes.

Godard’s camera appears unrefined on the surface, but the grainy and often handheld or slightly jerky movement assists in the realistic feel. This is in contrast to the wonderful lighting that shows up in many scenes from BREATHLESS. Raoul Coutard (CONTEMPT, ALPHAVILLE) shot BREATHLESS for Godard, who has a meager to work with. Unable to afford a professional dolly setup, Godard pushed Coutard in a wheelchair to capture many of the scenes.

BREATHLESS was nominated for five awards from various critical bodies, winning three including the Silver Berlin Bear award for Best Director. Godard makes a small cameo near the end of the film, appearing as a man in sunglasses who spots Michel and runs off to inform the authorities. Immediately following this scene, we find filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville (BOB LE FLAMBEUR) also makes a cameo as a famous novelist.

Godard not only cut bits of scenes from his movie (originally intended to shorten the running time, but became an artistic revelation) but, aside from the title and studio credit, he also omitted credits for the cast and crew. Despite his clear love of American cinema, which he also conveys through Michel’s character, was a filmmaker who loved to break the rules and cross boundaries in an effort to progressively influence the art of the motion picture.

The DVD was originally released in November 2001, but re-released as a wonderful Criterion Collection two-disc DVD special edition in October 2007. Some who view this film will write it off as artsy-fartsy junk, but I urge any viewer to actually watch BREATHLESS from an unbiased perspective. If you see something that seems pointless or amateurish, try asking yourself why the filmmaker would choose to approach that scene or visual element the way he did. After that, if you still don’t like BREATHLESS, in the translated words of Michel Poiccard… “then get stuffed!”

With 12 nominations, Jack Nicholson has had more Academy Awards nods than any other male performer in history.  He ties for the most acting nominations period with Katherine Hepburn and only Meryl Streep has more with 14.  His nomination for his performance in Bob Rafelson’s ‘Five Easy Pieces’ wasn’t Nicholson’s first nomination, either.  That came from his supporting role in ‘Easy Rider,’ but it was his turn as Bobby Dupea, a man born with flawless musical talents but not the desire to make it his passion in life, that made the world stand up and take notice of Nicholson as a leading man.

It’s not just Nicholson’s performance that makes ‘Five Easy Pieces’ such a standout in American cinema, either.  Rafelson shoots the characters in his film with a distanced, calculated eye, forcing each character to live in the background while driving their actions to the forefront.  He depicts the dirty world of oil rig workers with as much care and depth as he does the eccentric upper class.  A scene early in the film shows Nicholson’s character standing in the middle of the orange fields of the oil rigs, and the cloud-filled sky above seems to be pressing down on him, almost as if it represents another world trying to get in.  The most classic of imagery comes in the form of Dupea sitting in the back of a moving pickup truck, playing a piano with flawless grace as the driver of the truck moves the vehicle forward, oblivious to the beauty that is coming from the instrument.

Carole Eastman’s screenplay is equally flawless.  In the early moments of the film, we are shown Bobby going about his routine life.  He drives to work with his friend, Elton, played by Billy Green Bush, who some of you might remember would go on later in life to play the father in ‘Critters.’  Bobby works at the oil rigs, drinks with his pals, makes time with his girlfriend, and only in times of great emotional stress lets anyone close to him know there is something deeper going on.  When Bobby’s world shifts a bit, not a big shift, but just enough for him to take notice, he seeks out a family member.  He goes to visit his sister, a pianist who, while gifted, could never hold a candle to Bobby.  It is from her that Bobby realizes his father has had a stroke, and may be nearing the end of his life.  With his blue-collar life beginning to shake a bit and the upper-class world of his youth crying for him to come back into it if even for just a little while, Bobby decides to visit his family.  He takes his girlfriend, Rayette, played exquisitely by Karen Black, with him even though he is embarrassed by her, and the weeks he spends with his family drive his emotions to the surface to the point where he must make a choice.

‘Five Easy Pieces’ was playing the same note ‘Good Will Hunting’ would give us nearly 30 years later.  However, unlike ‘Good Will Hunting,’ ‘Five Easy Pieces’ is perfectly capable of sustaining its minimalist plot throughout, never making overly dramatic steps towards Bobby’s revelation about his own life or forcing him to make that choice.  It feels so much more naturalistic, and, as such, it is a far truer to life depiction of what it means to be truly incredible at something but have not passion for it.  Bobby is a man who cannot love, and throughout much of the film, we feel that he has no need for love coming back to him, either.  This proves untrue, as he begins a fascination with his brother’s fiancee, played by Susan Anspach.  Still, he cannot bring himself to love anything, including her, and a scene near the end where she turns Bobby’s lack of feeling back around so that he can see it is both quiet and emotional at the same time.

Like a shark, Bobby must keep moving.  As he says “Not because I’m looking for anything really, but because I’m getting away from things that get bad if I stay.”    The final scene of the film proves that he intends to move on once more.  It is an incredibly ambiguous ending, one that Rafelson and Nicholson came up with on their own.  Eastman’s original ending was much more dramatic and much darker, yet Rafelson and Nicholson both felt that the ending they chose was more suited to the character.  It leaves a remaining piece of a puzzle that is being assembled throughout the rest of the film.  It leaves questions open that may have modern audiences squirming in their seats, yet it plays the character to a tee.  There simply is no other way for ‘Five Easy Pieces’ to end.

The most famous scene in the film comes during a stop at a diner.  Bobby and Rayette are sitting on one side of the table.  A pair of female hitchhikers, played by Helena Kallianiotes and Toni Basil, who the couple have picked up are seated on the other side.  A waitress stands over the table, telling Bobby, who has just ordered, that he cannot have a side of toast.  ”No special orders,” says a sign hanging high in the restaurant.  Bobby makes attempt after attempt at getting what he wants, finally relegating to ordering a chicken salad sandwich on wheat toast, hold the chicken salad.  ”You want me to hold the chicken?” queries the waitress.  ”I want you to hold it between your knees,” retorts Bobby.  The waitress tells the four to leave the restaurant, which they do, but not before Bobby swipes the table clean of drinks and menus with one brush of his arm.  Instantly, Jack Nicholson as we know him was born.  Amazingly enough, 30 years later, Nicholson would somewhat reenact the scene in Alexander Payne’s ‘About Schmidt.’  This time around, however, Nicholson, now playing a broken, old man, would partake in acceptance rather than defiance.  This scene doesn’t appear in the final version of Payne’s film, and can be seen as a deleted scene on the DVD.

‘Five Easy Pieces’ went on to receive four Academy Award nominations for Nicholson, Black for her supporting role, Rafelson and Eastman for their screenplay, and Best Picture.  It didn’t win any of these losing out both Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor to ‘Patton’ and its star, George C. Scott.  While three of the other five Best Picture nominations that year (‘Patton,’ ‘Love Story,’ and ‘M*A*S*H*’) would go one to be considered classics, none of them resonate as much or hold as much power that still comes from Rafelson’s film.  Black lost to Helen Hayes for her supporting portrayal in ‘Airport,’ but she probably should have lost to Sally Kellerman for ‘M*A*S*H*.’

Incidentally, the five pieces as indicated by the film’s title are Fantasy in F Minor Op. 49 by Chopin, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue by Bach, E-flat Major Concerto K.271 by Mozart, Prelude Opus 28 by Chopin, and Fantasy in D Minor K.397 by Mozart.

‘Five Easy Pieces’ is a bona fide classic, a staggering depiction of self-propelled failure and the loneliness one feels when they don’t know their place in life.  Bobby Dupea is an outstandingly written, crafted, and portrayed character in American film.  His actions, though not always the best for anyone involved, are unequivocal and every one serves to define who he is.  He is truly a great character in American cinema, and, if for nothing else, he led us to one of the greatest actors, as well.

Just listening to Carter Burwell’s score for this film alone is enough to make my day. I just recently watched MILLER’S CROSSING again for the umptee-nth time and I swear to you the DVD menu played in it’s loop for a good 15-20 minutes before I even hit play, listening to the Opening Titles track. Burwell’s score is haunting and enchanting at the same time, drawing from traditional Irish music and notched up with a bit of cinematic flair. The film however, proved somewhat challenging for the Coen Brothers, who suffered writer’s block during the scripting of the film. As a remedy, Joel and Ethan took a few weeks off and in that time wrote a film about writer’s block called BARTON FINK.

The opening scene is very reminiscent of Coppola’s THE GODFATHER, but does so with dignity and yet still has Coen Brothers written all over it. Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito) is asking Leo to have Bernie “taken out” to reconcile an offense, but his request is denied since Bernie pays Leo protection money. The scene sets the tone of the film and makes clear that while this is a genre film, there’s no mistaking that it’s a Coen Brothers film, first and foremost.

MILLER’S CROSSING is easily one of the top ten gangster films of all time, but likely won’t make the majority of the lists. This is due in part to it’s relative lack of notoriety amidst the general public, but is also due in part to an under-appreciation of this fine film. Aside from the music, MILLER’S CROSSING is also an incredibly well shot film, masterfully photographed as if they had an endless supply of golden hours in which to shoot. The film was shot by cinematographer turned director Barry Sonnenfeld, accompanied by Michael R. Miller’s very capable editing.

Perhaps the most powerful in the entire film is the static shot over which the film’s title appears. As the Opening Titles music eases to a close, a bowler (hat) is dropped right-side up on the ground which is covered with the crunchy brown fallen leaves of autumn. A gust of wind kicks up and blows the hat gracefully off into the distance in subtle slow-motion. This scene can be compared to the wind-blown plastic grocery bag scene in AMERICAN BEAUTY (only less effective that the scene in MILLER’S CROSSING) whereas Ricky Fitts finds beauty and meaning in an otherwise insignificant occurrence.

The hat’s little ballet, which later takes on a more significant role in Tom’s story, moves us into the meat of the film. Tom Regan (Gabriel Byrne) struggles to broker peace between two rival crime bosses, but finds himself torn between loyalties as he pursues an affair with crime boss Leo’s (Albert Finney) girl Verna (Marcia Gay Harden). MILLER’S CROSSING takes place during the prohibition era. Leo is the boss of the Irish mob and Johnny Caspar, his rival, is boss of the Italian mob. Tom Regan is the guy in the middle attempting to avoid an all out war between the two families.

John Turturro plays Verna’s slimy, arrogant brother Bernie. He’s hiding out, not staying in one place too long and trying to get Tom Regan to help him out, but no one really likes Bernie except for his sister Verna. Everyone is trying to work the angle of Tom’s debt to Lazarre, knowing he’s in deep, but Tom is a man of principle, which comes in handy as a go-between for mob family talks. Tom has his head on straight, but he’s also too stubborn for his own good at times. Steve Buscemi plays Mink, a neurotic wormy little weasel who’s constantly wound like a spider-monkey with Red Bull flowing intravenously into his veins. Mink is an informant, known for knowing things. J.E. Freeman is great as Eddie Dane, Caspar’s “shadow” and no excuses, get-the-job-done hitman nicknamed The Dane for his intimidating height.

The film also has some great, gritty scenes of mob violence, including one of my favorites being Johnny Caspar’s first attempt to take Leo out, sending two men armed with Tommy Guns to Leo’s house. Caspar’s goons take out Leo’s guard with ease, but find the aging Leo hasn’t lost his wits nor his ability to kick some mobster ass, if necessary. In brilliant Coen Brothers fashion, the entire tense lead-flinging scene is cut to an operatic rendition of “Danny Boy” creating beauty in madness.

MILLER’S CROSSING is certainly a gangster film, but it really draws from many eras and influences in a long history of gangster films. Stylistically, the film is a cross-pollination of the gangster film and film noir. Tom’s dialogue is often written with the sharp and direct dialogue of the anti-hero from classic noir greats. Tom serves as a sort of hard-nosed noir private detective for Leo, working the angles to his own benefit while also mediating the squeeze on Leo for control of the city from Caspar.

When things start to go awry with Leo, Tom finds himself jockeying for a position of security as the tensions between Leo and Caspar thicken. Choosing sides based on what’s best for his own survival, Tom becomes a lone wolf in sheep’s clothing. The forlorn Tom Regan, thrown out to fend for himself, must make one important decision of life and death, in turn weighing his own life in the scales of moral justice. Tom quickly learns that he made the wrong decision and must work twice as hard to survive as a result. In the end, Tom learns to pull the strings, setting the rival pawns in play to take each other out while Tom gets a second chance to make the “right” decision.

Bernie: “Look in your heart.”
Tom: “What heart”?

This film is especially enjoyable for the more extreme movie geeks, as I am certain one could classify the Coen Brothers themselves. MILLER’S CROSSING has hidden homages to cinematic masterpieces. The long walk up the steps by Leo’s would-be assassins can imply influence from De Palma’s THE UNTOUCHABLES and the staircase scene, or from Coppola’s incredible montage of rival mafia Don’s being strategically taken out in THE GODFATHER. Watch for the boxing poster that appears in the film. The name Lars Thorwald is printed on the poster, which also happens to be the name of Raymond Burr’s character in Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW. Or, even the endlessly ringing phone in Tom’s apartment, which is a throwback to Sergio Leone’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA.

MILLER’S CROSSING also features a couple of noteworthy cameos for the most discerning movie geeks out there. Frances McDormand, a frequent player in Coen Brothers films and wife to Joel Coen, appears in a cameo as the mayor’s secretary. Sam Raimi, director of the EVIL DEAD and SPIDER-MAN films and long time friend and colleague of the Coen Brothers, appears in a cameo as the cocky two-pistol wielding tan overcoat-wearing gunman during the massive police gunfight at the Sons of Erin Club.

Having opened in October 1990 in the US, MILLER’S CROSSING is yet another fantastic film that is considered a failure by the studio, which was 20th Century Fox. The film cost an estimated $14 million to make, grossing just over $5 million in the domestic box office. MILLER’S CROSSING was nominated for four obscure awards, winning two of them, but regrettably received no love from Oscar in 1990. The DVD didn’t see the light of day until May 2003, featuring a featurette with Barry Sonnenfeld and cast interviews with Gabriel Byrne, Marcia gay Harden and John Turturro.

I have found few fantasy films that appeal both the children and adults as intelligently and successfully, with such creativity and flair as ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’. It is true, I am a devout follower of the cinematic God known as Terry Gilliam, but there’s a reason for that… he’s freaking brilliant. I have my own personal pantheon of filmmakers that I admire to the point of being borderline obsessive… Coen Brothers, Darren Aronofsky, Zhang Yimou and (of course) Terry Gilliam, to name a few.

But I digress. On with the show, a marvelous array of whimsical theatrics known as ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’. The film opens with an immediate dose of Gilliam’s own unique style and flair for the ironic and absurd. As the score by Eric idle and Michael Kamen throws us directly into the time and place of the film, white titles appear on screen indicating the era known as the Age of Reason – Late 18th Century… BOOM! Violent and destructive war ravages the land as cannon balls plunge into stone and flesh alike. No worries mum and daddy, the scene is not nearly as graphic as I indulge.

The play of this opening scene against itself sets the tone of the film, the clashing of reality with the perceived reality of the most amazing Hieronymus Karl Frederick Baron von Munchausen (John Neville), seasoned adventurer turned old and feeble weaver of intricate tales. Through the chaos of war, Gilliam pulls us into the intimate and misleading safety of the theater, filled with patrons temporarily withdrawn from the horrible reality which surrounds them as they allow themselves to be entertained by performers interpreting the life and experience of one Baron Munchausen.

Struggling to survive while aching to perform, the thespians find themselves suddenly put upon with a scolding the one and only, very real and alive true Baron Munchausen. Appalled by the mere suggestion that this performance does anything but disgrace and insult his very life, Munchausen sets in motion an epic flashback to his younger and more aptly mobile years as he spins a yarn of eccentric characters and fantastic encounters that make the most vivid fairy tales seem dull.

Gilliam’s film is a lyrical endeavor, both visually and orally. Designed and photographed to illicit the unmistakable appeal of childhood fairy tales, sets, props, costumes and especially lighting are combined creating a version of reality that exists within Munchausen’s mind, but whether it ever truly existed and to what extent is left for the viewer to decide on their own. This story is Munchausen’s life as he remembers it, much like we look back on on interpret our own lives as we grow older. We all prefer to focus on the positive parts of years past, over time diminishing the power of the negative parts we once found ourselves mired within. ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchuasen’ is a celebration of this conflicting yet transition of one man’s former self to his realization of his current self.

Legendary Italian cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno delivers a marvelous display of rich and vivid color, a teaming of contrast and camera movement that blurs the lines between reality and fiction along with a perfectly realized collaboration of Gilliam’s genius with working in shadows and color accompanied by bold angles and descriptive depth of field. Rotunno frequently worked with Federico Fellini, but has also been an integral part of other successful films including Sydney Pollack’s SABRINA, Dario Argento’s THE STENDHAL SYNDROME, ALL THAT JAZZ, POPEYE and RED SONJA.

While most of the film is bright and vivid, playful and perhaps at times even a bit sexual in a suggestive manner, a major turning point for Munchausen comes early in the film when he nearly dies from multiple cannon blasts converging upon the theater. In this one, especially dark and menacing scene, Gilliam’s interpretation of Death descends upon Munchausen, but just as Death is upon him, a brave young peasant girl named Sally Salt comes to his rescue.

Sally, played by a young Sarah Polley (The Sweet Hereafter, Dawn of the Dead), becomes an inspiration to Munchausen as a sliver of his former self emerges just as he is about to give up and surrender to Death, disgusted with how the world has turned out. In a glorious moment of reclaimed youth and dignity, Munchausen commands a battalion of soldiers to silence the very enemy cannons that nearly ended his life moments ago. Despite his sudden valor, his actions fail to convince his skeptical audience and Munchausen endeavors to round up his former motley crew of companions to join forces one last time to help end this terrible war.

“Kindly be so good as to remove your knickers.” — Baron Munchausen, requesting the cloth from some fair ladies to construct a makeshift hot air balloon by which to locate and collect his loyal companions, Berthold (Eric Idle), Adolphus (Charles McKeown), Albrecht (Winston Dennis) and Gustavus (Jack Purvis). Reminiscing the glory of the old days, Munchausen recalls their great skills of speed, strength, accuracy and disproportionately powerful lungs. Once aboard the undergarment aircraft, Munchausen discovers Sally has stowed away and he reluctantly takes her on what will become the most dangerous yet memorable journey of her life.

Munchausen finds difficulty at first reconciling his memories of his talented companions with their current tired and aged reality, but eventually finds a way to muster that spark buried deep within their defeated souls to once more emerge to save the day. With Sally at his side, Munchausen manages to give his old friends (and himself) one last chance at being heroes and proving the tall tales within their memories had some validity.

‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’ features an irrefutably talented ensemble cast of supporting characters. Jonathan Pryce plays The Right Ordinary Horatio Jackson, Uma Thurman delivers an early and innocently seductive performance as the goddess Venus, Oliver Reed plays Venus’ brutish and temperamental husband Vulcan, Robin Williams plays the King of the Moon whose intellectual head separates from his mindlessly horny body, and even Sting appears in a small supporting cameo as a heroic military officer.

Originally released in the US in March 1989, the film that cost an estimated $46.6 million dollars to make opened with a meager box office tally falling just shy of $600,000 and grossed an even less impressive domestic box office of just over $8 million. A financial disaster for Columbia Pictures, ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’ would also prove potentially disastrous for Terry Gilliam’s career as the first film after the epic battle he endured with 20th Century Fox over BRAZIL in 1985, which nearly convinced Gilliam to stop making movies altogether. Much of the turmoil was a result of numerous production setbacks combined with a change of regime within Columbia’s corporate studio structure. In an effort to undermine any potential glory for the previous regime, the new powers that be virtually buried ‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’ giving the film an extremely limited domestic release.

‘The Adventures of Baron Munchausen’ is the final installment of an informal trilogy, serving as a metaphor for the three stages of human life. TIME BANDITS (1981) represents the stage of youth, BRAZIL (1985) represents middle-aged life and this film represents the elderly, or “golden” age. Unfortunately, due mostly to decisions outside of Gilliam’s control, TIME BANDITS is the only of these three films that is considered a financial success and it barely surpassed the break-even point.

Having two consecutive cinematic nightmares under his belt, Gilliam could have simply thrown in the towel, but he’s an artist obsessed with his vision and knack for visual storytelling and I am glad he stuck with his passion for movies. Fortunately, Gilliam’s vision and artistic brilliance was not lost on the critical community and his peers. The film was nominated for four Oscars, winning none, and nominated for 15 other awards, winning six. This, as with nearly all of Gilliam’s films have triumphed over the hardships and prevail as time-tested favorite films of movie geeks the world over and maintain a loyal and understanding appreciation from fans.

In 1942, at the age of 38, Val Lewton was named the head of RKO Studios’ horror unit.  As part of his job, he was to follow three rules.  His films had to cost the studio less than $150,000, his films had to run under 75 minutes in length, and his supervisor’s would be supplying the names of each film.  For the next four years, Lewton would write and produce nine horror films, each of them earning a status in history as black and white horror classics.Nine for nine.  That’s not a bad batting average for a young producer in Hollywood, particularly when dealing with horror films.  Of these nine films, Lewton had a hand in writing the screenplays for three of them.  Of these three, perhaps the most famous is 1945′s ‘The Body Snatcher.’

Based on the short story from the 1880s by Robert Louis Stevenson, ‘The Body Snatcher’ tells the story of a surgeon in 1830′s Edinburgh.  As part of his research in anatomy, the doctor has hired a cabman to exhume corpses and bring the dead bodies to him.  As authorities begin to investigate the grave robberies, the cabman resorts to more wicked ways of providing the doctor fresh corpses.

Stevenson’s original short, while a work of fiction, was based on the real-life serial killer case of Burke and Hare.  Between 1827 and 1828, William Burke and William Hare murdered and sold the bodies of 17 victims to a surgeon in Edinburgh, Scotland.  The murders were also known as the West Port murders.  Beyond Stevenson’s short story and the Val Lewton motion picture, their story has been portrayed in the media throughout the last century, finding itself the basis for a number of films and television shows.

‘The Body Snatcher’ was directed by Robert Wise, who used his sense of substance over style to grand effect with ‘The Body Snatcher.’  That’s not to say the film isn’t directed with a sense of flair.  On the contrary, ‘The Body Snatcher,’ like most of Wise’s films, has just as much brilliance to look at as it does to take in via the immersing narrative.  Wise’s direction on this film is the very defintion of efficiency.  It’s pacing is incredibly tight; the cinematography by Robert De Grasse, who also worked with Lewton on 1943′s ‘The Leopard Man,’ is stunning in its contrast between black and white; and the film offers up some of the best atmosphere to be found in a Val Lewton picture.  That’s saying something for the man who also brought us ‘I Walk With a Zombie’ and ‘Isle of the Dead.’

This film marked the last of three times Wise and Lewton worked together.  They had previously done the horror picture, ‘The Curse of the Cat People,’ in 1943 (it was released in 1944), and they would go on to collaborate on ‘Mademoiselle Fifi’ in 1944.  The latter of these is a rare period war drama from Lewton, one of only five films the man would direct outside of RKO’s horror division.

‘The Body Snatcher,’ for all of its excellence in classic, horror cinema, also features a resounding and unforgettable performance by Boris Karloff as Mr. Gray, the cabman.  Karloff, while portraying a dispicable and rotten character with every ounce of sincerity, still finds plenty of time to elicit a grand sense of charm.  There is no question why the man became a legend in the genre.  Karloff the Uncanny gives one of his greatest performances in ‘The Body Snatcher,’ and, his memorable and fascinating voice is one more element that brings the character to life.

This movie also marks the final time Karloff would share the screen with Bela Lugosi, who turns in a glorified cameo performance as the surgeon’s covetous servant.  Outside of archival footage, the two shared billing on eight, different films.  While their scene in ‘The Body Snatcher’ together is not particularly long, it is incredibly notable.

‘The Body Snatcher’ made its premiere in New York City on May 25th, 1945.  Val Lewton’s career as producer of RKO horror films would generate two films after this, ‘Isle of the Dead’ in September of that same year and ‘Bedlam’ in May of 1946.  Upon its release in the UK, many cuts were made to the film to remove any direct references to the real-life murders, Burke and Hare.  It wasn’t until the film’s video release in 1998 that these scenes were restored for UK viewers.

The film is available on a Double Feature DVD along with ‘I Walked With a Zombie.’  This DVD can also be found in the Val Lewton boxed set, which features all nine horror films Lewton produced during his time at RKO along with a 53-minute documentary called ‘Shadows in the Dark’ about Lewton’s producing career.

Lewton’s time producing horror films at RKO was short-lived, and despite only generating nine films, he certainly left his stamp on the horror genre.  With impeccable direction by Robert Wise and an outstanding performance by Boris Karloff, it isn’t hard to see why ‘The Body Snatcher’ is arguably Lewton’s most memorable film.

I thought that June 25th it might be a good idea to go back and take a look at Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker and see who if fares over time and after his death. The answer is a mixed one. I couldn’t help but like this film, but I laughed at all it’s lunacy crazy ideas.

Moonwalker is less of a film, and more of an experience. It’s actual story driven film doesn’t start until fourty minutes into the movie. Before that we’re given several music videos and a montage of Michael’s life. We start with “Man in the Mirror,” which is done through a montage of concert footage. There are girls screaming, fainting, trying desperately to get onto the stage, and of course Michael just rocking out and giving a truly great show. It’s truly aweinpiring in some cases when you see the huge arenas and oudoor venues he’d sell out.

This takes us into Michael’s life by showing us a small room filled with memorabilia from over the years. Everything from studded gloves to shoes and a lot of family photos, while we listen to sound bites from his early career and more. We then travel with the TV that turns into a space ship and we get a montage of his life done through a lot of claymation and clips from music videos and TV shows. The Jackson 5 footage is fantastic and it’s enhanced with some cool effects. If you’re a fan of Michael it’s really hard to sit through this enitre segment without getting a little depressed. The man’s career was packed with tallented hit after hit before the tabloids and rumors hit. This montage if filled with just hit after hit single and it starts to become a little staggering.

What comes next is “Badder” which is a famous interpretation of the “Bad” that’s done entirely by children. It still comes off as awesome and hilarious even two decades later. We get “Baby Bad” Michael walking off set and suddenly turning into adult Michael and we’re instantly off into another music video “Speed Demon” which is about fans and reporters chasing Michael across America and to get away from them he dresses up as a large claymation rabbit. We get this really strange real world/claymation hybrid that still works and a lot of it looks great. The rabbit version of Michael dances and moves just like Michael would and they even have a dance off. It’s classic.

That eventually moves us into “Leave Me Alone” which is Michael’s answer to the tabloids at the time. Michael is seen as taking a ride through a strange ammusement park that is actually his own body and life. We see glimpses of everything people were talking about him from own the Elephant Man’s body and even addresses the plastic surgery done to his nose. They even bring up little things like his supposed shrine to Liz Taylor. The entire video is imaginative and well made. It’s done with a strange semi-stopmotion animation style but with real photogrpahs manipulated in post. It’s a great statement and now looking back on it, maybe people should have left him alone.

When “Leave Me Alone” ends we’re finally treated to the real “movie” of Moonwalker. Moonwalker is the story of three kids, Zeke, Katie and Sean who all know Michael. They spy on him at night coming out of his nice apartment and then see him get gunned down by a group of soldiers and then we flash back to a time with all of the kids and Michael hanging out playing soccer. When their dog skipper gets lost in the woods, Michael and Katie go after him, getting lost and taken to a dark scary part of the forrest that isn’t dark or scary at all despite what Michael says.

Michael and Kate stumble into a factory making drugs by a japanese top knot wearing Joe Pesci calling himself “Mr Big”. It’s a very heavy handed approach of saying “drugs are bad, Michael Jackson says so”. Mr Big actually says “I want every kid in this world to take drugs because of me!” It’s just terrible acting and you don’t buy it for a second. I remember being five or six years old and thinking this guy was the most evil person in the world, but now, he’s just hacking his way through the role. Flash forward to when Michael was getting gunned down and we see that he ducks just in the nick of time.

There’s a huge chase between Michael and Mr Big’s security through the streets and they finally have Michael trapped. What happens next is the start of one of the craziest films of all time. Michael sees a shooting star and wishes on it, and then turns into a car. Yes Michael Jackson actually transformers into a futuristic (for the time) car and flies away.

The rest of the movie is just as absurred with scene after scene that makes little sense. They actually manage to fit in “Smooth Criminal,” which is a modern take on speak easys from the 1930s, and it some how makes sense despite the previous scene involving Michael turning into a car.

But if Michael turning into a car weren’t strange enough the finale involves the most insane ending of all time. I won’t give away the finale of course, but let’s just say Michael Jackson was the first Transformer to ever hit the big screen.

It’s really hard to do a serious review on this film because it’s not really a film. Sure it was on the big screen, but it’s more of a series of music videos and ideas with almost no plot to it at all. There’s no story until 45 minutes into the movie and that story doesn’t last much longer than 30 and then we get a concert with Michael singing “Come Together”. It’s a pretty good cover I guess, but after what you’d just seen for the past hour and 15 minutes it’s a pretty lack luster one.

Moonwalker should be seen by anyone even a little bit curious as to what was going on in Michael Jackson’s head. It’s confusing, but fun to watch. It really does achieve everything it tries to do, and for that I can’t fault it. It’s an insane trip through strange ideas and great music and in the end you’ll probably like it.

“Why not me? Why not? A guy can get anything he wants as long as he pays the price. What’s wrong with that? Stranger things have happened.”
– Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) in ‘The King of Comedy’

Six years after Martin Scorsese gave us Robert De Niro as a mentally unstable Viet Nam vet turned taxi driver, he gave us another De Niro-played, mentally unstable character. This time, however, it was played for laughs. However, playing it for laughs or not, with ‘The King of Comedy,’ Scorsese put together a film that told a story as dramatically connected to the world as anything he had done before or since. It is a film about celebrity and the lengths to which people will go just for a glimpse, a taste of it.

Sadly, also, 27 years after its release, it is a film whose timeliness is becoming increasingly more grounded into our reality with each, passing day. Today, we have reality stars, family members of celebrities, and people who become famous just for the sake of it. No one has gone to the lengths ‘The King of Comedy’s Rupert Pupkin went for a little taste of fame, but you know if it happened tomorrow no one would have any excuse for being shocked.

A little about the film.

Robert De Niro plays Rupert Pupkin, a wannabe comedian who is obsessed with Jerry Langford. Langford, played by comedy legend Jerry Lewis, is the Johnny Carson-esque host of a talk show. Langford seems to hold the keys for success for budding comedians, and Rupert will go to great lengths to be noticed. What begins as slightly humorous actions of an obsessed fan quickly grows into something much darker, as Rupert continuously attempts to inject himself into Jerry’s life.

‘The King of Comedy’ is, without a doubt, a very funny film. De Niro and Lewis go toe-to-toe in the comedy department here, even if their scenes together are designed to be more than a little dramatic. The early scene with the two of them in Langford’s limousine right after Rupert has “saved” him from a mob of fans sets the tone of the film perfectly. Rupert just wants a moment of Langford’s ear, not realizing how uncomfortable he is making the other man. When Jerry gives Rupert the okay to call his secretary sometime just to get away from the obsessed fan, he doesn’t realize the floodgates he has opened.

Scorsese captures Rupert’s mindset flawlessly with scenes that capture what is going on in his head. We see made-up conversations he has with Jerry. The first involves the two of them in a restaurant, as Jerry is trying to get Rupert to cover hosting the show for him. Another revolves around Jerry listening and loving Rupert’s taped material he has given him.

These scenes are incredible, but nothing captures Rupert’s frame of mind quite like the single shot that pulls back from him, as he is standing in front of a mural of dozens of laughing audience members. It is as if he is playing up to his audience, feeding off the laughter that only he can hear in his mind. That one shot does so much for our understanding of Rupert’s character. By the time his actions grow somewhat violent near the end of the film, we are not surprised in the least.

It should be noted that, up until this time, De Niro was mainly known for his dramatic roles. He had done many comedies early in his career, ‘Hi, Mom!’, ‘Jennifer on My Mind,’ and ‘The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight’ to name just a few. However, in the years leading up to ‘The King of Comedy,’ he had been nominated for four and walked away with two Academy Awards, all for dramatic turns. It was with ‘The King of Comedy’ that he turned back to his roots. Even though he had already played Travis Bickle, it seems De Niro was forced to turn back on his own mental state more so with Rupert Pupkin than any other role he had played up until that point.

Jerry Lewis is perfect as Jerry Langford, and it is almost unthinkable that he was nowhere near being Scorsese’s first choice for the role.   Scorsese’s initial idea was to have Johnny Carson play himself.   When that idea fell through, each member of the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., etc.) were considered.   It was after Dean Martin’s name was thrown about that the idea of bringing in Lewis for the role came up.

Before production began, Lewis, who had a history of getting involved in the director’s business on previous films, assured Scorsese that this would be Scorsese’s film.   He did have some kind of say on certain aspects of the script, though his proposed ending where Rupert kills Jerry was turned down.   Because of this denial, Lewis has gone on record claiming he feels the film has no true ending.

The ending is something that, nearly 30 years later, is still being debated.   With the earlier scenes involving the goings-on in Rupert’s head, there are some that claim the entire ending of the film is all made up, a figment of Rupert’s imagination.   Strangely enough, in this way, the ending of ‘The King of Comedy’ can be seen as a droll reflection to the ending of ‘American Psycho.’   Both leave the viewer in the dark as to the validity of what we are seeing.   There is no culmination in either films’ final moments that reveal the true nature of the events that are transpiring before our eyes.   We simply have to work it out on our own time and determine for ourselves whether what we are seeing is true or only occurring in the minds of the unstable protagonists.

‘The King of Comedy,’ 27 years after its release, is still just as witty and just as relevant in today’s market as it was when it first came out.   In this day-and-age of reality TV stars and fame just for fame’s sake, it is horribly surprising that no one has mirrored Rupert Pupkin’s actions just for a little taste of fame.   Here’s hoping the actions depicted in ‘The King of Comedy’ stay within the confines of the film, and what an incredible film it is.

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There’s a realm of cinema that exists within a peculiar limbo between good and bad. Films that the masses consider horrible, but others who fall within various niches of movie geekness find irresistibly alluring. Movies such as these are forever pleasing to these geeks, no matter how much the outside world insists on telling them they’re wrong. For me, and this list is long, ‘Tank Girl’ will always be there on my list of these awkward gems. Let the mocking begin, but I stick to my guns in saying ‘Tank Girl’ is a super-cool, crazy, funky messed up joyride.

‘Tank Girl’ emerged from the dust and ashes and hit theater screens on March 13, 1995. With an estimated budget of $25 million, the film grossed a little over $4 million domestically and another $2.5 million internationally… basically, making ‘Tank Girl’ a financial flop. The movie was directed by Rachel Talalay (Ghost in the Machine) who is probably best known for helming Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare. Now, with the above information divulged, it may not be surprising to find out that Talalay hasn’t made a single theatrical film since ‘Tank Girl’ but, she has worked extensively in TV. As far as I’m concerned, this isn’t a jab but rather a sign that she found her niche a set out to strive in her newly discovered medium of choice. Talalay has directed episodes of Boston Public, Ally McBeal, Supernatural, The Dead Zone and Flash Gordon. That’s not such a bad wrap list.

The movie, written by Tedi Sarafian (T3: Rise of the Machines) was based on the British cult comic by the then twenty-something duo of writers Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett. ‘Tank Girl’ is clearly the work of two guys heavily influenced by movies and pop culture, laden with said references and stylistic homages. The writers themselves have eluded to Mad Max as an influence, but this isn’t difficult to piece together. The story takes place i the year 2033, set in a post-apocalyptic Australian Outback. [On a recent note, I realized that Will Ferrell's 'Land of the Lost' stole a shot almost directly from 'Tank Girl'. Do you know what shot I speak of? I'll leave this one hanging to see if anyone figures it out. Leave a comment if you think you know...]

Rebecca Buck – aka Tank Girl, played by Lori Petty, is our heroine… actually, scratch that. Tank Girl is the epitome of anti-heroine. She’s free-spirited, fun-loving and crass. She’s sarcastic, untethered and kitschy cool, dressing in rag-tag eccentric punk apparel complete with candy necklace accessories. While she’s unrefined and rough around the edges, Tank Girl is still rooted doing the “right” thing. This side of her comes out to play when the houseful of pot-smoking, water-stealing neo-hippies is brutally murdered by the foot soldiers of the mega-corporation Water & Power, including her boyfriend. The SWAT-geared goons capture her 10-year old female buddy Sam, setting Tank Girl on a mission of destruction to rescue her from the maniacal grip of Kesslee, head honcho of Water & Power.

Malcolm McDowell was perfectly cast as Kesslee, radiating that special kind of creepy cruelty that any insanely evil criminal mastermind should possess, but McDowell has a way of portraying this quality in a way that remains just below the fine line between eccentric and over-the-top. Where many character actors fail to successfully walk that line, McDowell never fails to excel within these tightly stretched boundaries. The first time we meet Kesslee in ‘Tank Girl’ he’s reprimanding his right hand man with a calm, collected serenity that makes a person terribly nervous despite the soothing tone of his voice. Upon making his disappointment known verbally, Kesslee proceeds to emphasize is disgust by making an example of the Captain, politely asking him to take off his boots and walk across the floor, freshly covered with the broken shards of glass resulting from Kesslee’s violent outburst. As the Captain reaches Kesslee, he is made vividly aware of his lack of courage and Kesslee shoves a specialized plastic water bottle into the Captain’s back that drains his body of water. Adding an exclamation point to his example to the other men in the room, Kesslee then walks barefoot across the broken glass without hesitation whilst drinking the water from the Captain’s body. And you thought your boss was a prick!

‘Tank Girl’ also stars Ice-T as one of the Rippers known as T-Saint and Naomi Watts as the nerdy techie known as Jet Girl. Also making brief but very welcome cameo appearances are Iggy Pop as the pervert known as Rat Face and James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China) as Che’tsai, an elderly Chinese evil scientist/doctor who offers Kesslee a cybernetic solution to his eventual limb deficiency. While Tank Girl is the center piece of the movie (imagine that) of the same title, there’s a lot for movie geeks and pop culture buffs to enjoy. The quirkiness of the film overflows. Tank Girl has an obsession with Doris Day. Why… who cares why? Her friend Sam has a metallic toy called a “dangerball” that very closely resembles the deadly spheres from ‘Phantasm’ (1979). Coincidence? I think not! Quick, random cut away close-up shots of various pop culture trinkets and fadgets [that's a fad gadget, get it] permeate the film in between scenes… just for the helluvit. It actually works to help maintain the tone of the film.

Another heavily used and effective stylistic element of ‘Tank Girl’ is the use of animated sequences that add energy and break up the monotony of reality. The various styles of the animated sequences ranged from Aeon Flux to Ren and Stimpy and many other recognizably popular influences. Added to this is the film’s killer soundtrack, which at the time of the film’s release was a bigger deal than it seems to be today. Many of the artist’s on the soundtrack including Bjork, Veruca Salt and Bush have since fallen out of mass popularity and into more specialized fandom. Also contributing to this soundtrack were Devo, Joan Jett, Hole, The Magnificent Bastards, Stomp, Portishead (a fave of mine), Sky Cries Mary, L7, Belly and Iggy Pop. Rounding the music out is the always cool scoring of composer Graeme Revell and the inclusion of Isaac Hayes theme to ‘Shaft’ when Tank Girl first finds her tank, a sort of love at first sight scene.

While I don’t want to beat a dead horse, I can’t help but return to one of my favorite recurring elements in ‘Tank Girl’ being the slew of references to movies and pop culture. Tank Girl wears some different outfits throughout the film. One of them, making it’s appearance just after Malcolm McDowell’s first scene, features a bowler hat and fake eye lash makeup, paying homage to another crazy movie called ‘A Clockwork Orange’. Come on, now… that’s just cool!

I think the only element of the movie that bothers me a little is the way in which the Rippers were interpreted. The idea itself is cool, with the Rippers being advanced mutated military experiments on kangaroos creating super-soldiers that are now hiding out underground and terrorizing the Water & Power outposts by night. The special effects for the Rippers were done by the late, great and legendary Stan Winston and done well enough in that sense. But honestly, the Rippers were much cooler in the comic books. The movie has them resembling the Warriors of Virtue and that’s just not a good thing. Another interesting piece of lost knowledge about ‘Tank Girl’ and the Rippers is that the love interest (specifically the sex scene) between Rebecca and Booga (one of the Rippers) that appeared in the theatrical release was forcefully cut from the VHS/DVD release by the studio, despite Talalay’s objections.

So, what could be more fitting a way to close this week’s Throwback Thursday than to fill in the blank and show you that relatively short scene which you won’t see on the VHS or DVD versions of ‘Tank Girl’… Enjoy!

Okay, so maybe it’s not all that much of a “Throwback” to talk about a film that came out in 2000.  However, after running into Sarah Silverman and James Caan (God, that man just couldn’t be cooler) at CineVegas this past week, and hearing James from Gordon and the Whale talk to them about ‘The Way of the Gun,’ I felt it was time to go back and check the film out again.  And, if you’ve never seen it, then shame on you for being a lover of action.

‘The Way of the Gun’ is a modern day Western from writer/director Christopher McQuarrie.  After winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for ‘The Usual Suspects,’ McQuarrie felt it was time for Hollywood to take notice at what he really had to offer.  Unfortunately, as McQuarrie puts it, “you slowly start to realize no one in Hollywood is interested in making your film, they’re interested in making their films.”

It would be five years before ‘The Usual Suspects’ co-star, Benicio Del Toro, would convince him to write another crime story, this time holding back nothing and writing it specifically for himself.  The gritty and brilliant ‘The Way of the Gun’ is what emerged.

Part Western, part drama, a little touch of comedy, and a whole truckload of bullets, ‘The Way of the Gun’ feels much like the type of films Sam Peckinpah would have made had he not died 16 years prior.  There is a whole lot of grit in the action and characters alike.  There really isn’t any character that you whole-heartedly root for.  The film’s two leads, only known as Parker and Longbaugh (the real-life last names of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), are played by Ryan Phillippe and Benicio Del Toro, respectively.   You know from the film’s immediate and wholly memorable opening, which also features the aforementioned Ms. Silverman and her beautiful grasp for vulgarity, where these two guys are coming from.

For those of you who don’t know, ‘The Way of the Gun’ is a film about a kidnapping.  Parker and Longbaugh are career criminals who are looking for the next score.  They find it in the surrogate mother of a wealthy and Mafia-connected couple.  Parker and Longbaugh kidnap the surrogate, played by Juliette Lewis, and demand $15 million for her release.  It isn’t before loo long that all Hell breaks loose on the film’s characters.  It continues to break loose time and time again from there on out.  Nicky Katt and Taye Diggs play the bodyguards of the kidnapped girl.  James Caan plays the kidnapped girl’s veteran mobster father.

‘The Way of the Gun’ is one of those gritty actioners that comes along every so often where everything in the film just works to perfection.  Everything from McQuarrie’s complex but never confusing screenplay to the brilliant gun fight scenes choreographed by McQuarrie’s Navy SEAL brother to even the more dramatic moments where bullets slow down and dialogue picks up works.  Every one of the actors involved plays the Hell out of their respective roles, as well.

Up until this time, Ryan Phillippe had been known mostly as the pretty boy from ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ and ‘Cruel Intentions,’ another forgotten gem.  It was with his incredible acting and stunning reading of McQuarrie’s dialogue that really made movie geeks all over the world sit up and take notice.  Del Toro didn’t need ‘The Way of the Gun’ to prove to everyone how friggin’ cool he was.  We all pretty much knew it.  This film just restated that fact.

Taye Diggs and Nicky Katt also give great performances.  As the two bodyguards who screw up watching a pregnant woman, their roles could have easily been throwaway characters that get plugged full of bullets early on without much mention.  However, McQuarrie makes real characters out of these two, even sparking some lines of connection between them and other players in the film.  By the end, you truly care about these two fleshed out characters.   McQuarrie’s writing and the performances by Diggs and Katt aid in this fact.

What more can you say about Caan.  The man is a legend, and he gets some of the best lines of dialogue in a screenplay that is endlessly quotable.

“Karma’s justice without the satisfaction.  I don’t believe in justice,” he says to the aged gangster whose unborn baby has been kidnapped.

“The only thing you can guess about a broken old man is that he is a survivor,” he later tells Longbaugh, as they are negotiating the trade-off between the money and the girl.

Just copying these lines of dialogue from McQuarrie’s script gives me chills.   He is such a gifted writer when it comes to cool, lasting dialogue, and it excites me to see that he is writing and directing a new film, ‘The Stanford Prison Experiment,’ for a scheduled release sometime later this year.   This upcoming film tells the true story from 1971 previously told in the 2001 Oliver Hirschbiegel film, ‘Das Experiment.’

Back to ‘Way of the Gun.’

The final gun fight at a secluded, Mexican brothel features some of the most breathtaking uses of camera movement seen in recent memory.  One particular shot that wraps itself around a centralized well as Parker and Longbaugh are fending off Mafia hitmen from all sides is nothing short of perfection.

I could go on and on about how excellent ‘The Way of the Gun’ is, but the outcome is always going to be the same.  If you haven’t seen it, you must.  If you have seen it, see it again.  I guarantee you there are moments you’ve forgotten about or aspects of the film you never even noticed before.  It truly is an amazing film, an incredibly crafted film, and I am not ashamed to say that I believe it to be one of the best action films of all time.

“Until that day.”

The 1985 murder comedy ‘Clue’ is a rare breed.  It is one of the few films that whenever I stumble upon it as I flip through channels, regardless of how far into the film it is, I have to stop and watch.  Sometimes five minutes.  Sometimes until the next commercial break.  Sometimes all the way to the end.  It’s a kind of fix that only a film as funny and as timeless as ‘Clue’ can provide.

It wasn’t the first comedy to broach the subject of murder.  It wasn’t even the first murder mystery comedy.  Screenwriter and director Jonathan Lynn (‘My Cousin Vinny’ and ‘The Whole Nine Yards’) was definitely influenced by classic films like ‘Arsenic & Old Lace’ and even more recent murder mystery comedies like ‘Murder by Death.’  However, there is an intensity to ‘Clue’ that is unmatched.  The comedy thrown out at its audience comes a mile a minute and just as consistent.  Not only do the jokes come fast, they come nonstop and just about every one it hit out of the park.  Some are campy.  Some are witty.  Some incorporate the best sight gags since the silent era.  ’Clue’ is a comedy that has something for everyone, and each brand of humor is executed just as flawlessly as the next.

More than 20 years later, the idea of taking a board game and turning it into a feature film is becoming a trend.  With feature film adaptations of ‘Battleship,’ ‘Ouija,’ and ‘Monopoly’ just on the horizon, you have to give credit to ‘Clue’ for being the frontrunner on the trend more than two decades prior.  Lynn takes the best elements of the board game (the creepy house, the eccentric characters, the various weapons, etc.) and puts each one to good use.

The casting in ‘Clue’ is flawless.  Michael McKean plays the dorky Mr. Green who keeps insisting he “didn’t do it”.  The late and great Madeline Kahn plays the melancholy Mrs. White, who may or may not have murdered her husband. Eileen Brennan plays the somewhat senile and overly naive Mrs. Peacock.  Christopher Lloyd plays the sex-crazed Professor Plum.  Martin Mull plays Colonel Mustard, who seems tough until he is faced with death and who misses his mommy and daddy.  Lesley Ann Warren plays the seductive Miss Scarlet.  Each actor is phenomenal in their own way, bringing the equally phenomenal characters to life.  Every actor brings out the best in the character, and none of them fall behind in the laughs department.  I dare you to not, at least, crack a smile during the scene where Madeline Kahn’s Mrs. White goes off on how much she hates Yvette, the maid.

However, the real standout performance in ‘Clue’ is for a character that is completely made up for the movie.  Tim Curry stars as Wadsworth, the butler, who has brought the other six to the mansion.  Curry is a force within this film, hardly taking a breathe for seemingly minutes at times.  The film’s final act, where Wadsworth essentially runs through every event leading up to that point, is a juggernaut of comedy and Curry keeps the pace of the film without effort.

Of course, what ‘Clue’ is most notable for to the general public is the idea that three, different endings were shot.  Random endings were shown depending on what theater you attended.  It was a bold attempt at marketing, sadly one that didn’t work all that well in ‘Clue’s favor.  The film was anything but a box office success, pulling in just over $13 million in its entire run.  It didn’t help the film’s chances that it came out on the same day as ‘The Jewel of the Nile,’ the sequel to ‘Romancing the Stone.’  Audiences had a choice between comedies, and most headed for adventure instead of mystery.

Despite its box office receipts, the various endings for ‘Clue’ is probably what the film is most remembered for.  When it was released on VHS, all three endings were included.  It wasn’t until the film was released on DVD in 2000 that I had the opportunity to watch it with a completely random ending.  In more recent years, the film has gained a cult following, particularly among fans of Tim Curry’s other, famous film, ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show.’  Theaters will sometimes acquire a print of ‘Clue’ and show the film, once again, as it was intended to be seen with a completely random ending.

No matter how you watch it, on VHS or DVD, in theaters with a crowd of hundreds or late at night starting an hour in, ‘Clue’ is a hilarious film that is just as funny today as it was nearly a quarter of a century ago.  It is an intensely fun movie that, despite its central theme of murder and blackmail, is anything but a “dark” comedy.  If you’ve never seen ‘Clue,’ do yourself a favor and check it out.  If you have seen it, go back and watch it again.  I guarantee it to be just as funny now as it was when you first watched it.

I can’t help but love Joe Dante. Sure, he’s done some less-than-favorable projects in recent years (Small Soldiers, Looney Tunes: Back in Action) but it’s the films he made that I grew up with that stick with me. Dante has a unique sense of dark humor that dwells in the circles of suburban life that is both twisted but family friendly, an off combination to work with. The strange thing is that Dante’s work started out well-rooted within the horror genre and has lightened up over the years. Dante’s earliest successes include ‘Piranha’ (1978) and ‘The Howling’ (1981). Both of which were great, fun films, followed by ‘Gremlins’ (1984) which was his initial baby step away from making strictly horror films.

In the eighties, ‘Explorers’ and ‘Innerspace’ became proof that Dante had the ability to venture out of his mold and still maintain his sense of humor and style while appealing to an audience large enough to result in box office stability. Both films are favorites of mine from the era and are followed up by ‘The ‘burbs’ which is probably his best film since ‘Gremlins’ and some may even say his last good movie. This is the epitome of Dante’s interest in the “darker” side of the suburban culture. Along the same vein of ‘Parents’ and ‘Neighbors’, this movie takes the happy-go-lucky visaed of the quaint little suburban neighborhood with the picket fences and cul-de-sacs and flips it on it’s head by adding an element of the bizarre.

The cast of ‘The ‘burbs’ alone should be enough for newcomers to jump on with full enthusiasm. Tom Hanks plays Ray Peterson, a stressed-out corporate worker bee who is spending the week at home on vacation. Carrie Fisher plays Ray’s wife Carol. Bruce Dern play’s their ex-marine uber-patriotic neighbor Mark Rumsfield married to Bonnie (Wendy Schaal), whom neighbor teenager Ricky Butler (Corey Feldman) holds a lustful crush for. The play between these characters and the elderly Walter Seznick and his free-pooping pooch are enjoyable as they are, but the story centers on the mysterious Klopek family who live in seclusion while their neighbors harbor wild and morbid fantasies about what goes on behind their closed doors. What ensues is a boredom-induced suburbanite mission to prove the the Klopek’s are a family of evil, Satan worshiping cannibals that are killing off neighbors.

‘The ‘burbs’ is one of several films from the 80′s that feature the comical Tom Hanks before he went and got all serious on us. I might even go so far as to say it was a golden age of Hanks, but that’s probably going too far. I do miss the good ole days of ‘Bosom Buddies’… wait, did I say that out loud? The mischief begins when the cranky elderly neighbor Walter turns up missing and the men of the suburban cul-de-sac begin spending too much time together and end up fabricating a conspiracy theory revolving around the Klopeks. The reluctant Ray initially resists the temptation to be drawn into their web of paranoia, but the powerfully alluring combination of conspiracy-theorist neighbor Art (Rick Ducomman) and the ever-eager to engage militarily neighbor Rumsfield eventually pulls him into their warped reality as they become determined to prove their suspicions.

From pop-culture references of the late 80′s including Jeopardy and Mister Roger’s Neighborhood to tongue-in-cheek jabs at suburban life, ‘The ‘burbs’ takes it’s funny stick and pokes at the fragile nature of “the simple life”. While the neighborhood men snoop around looking for evidence against the Klopeks, the “normal” citizens begin to look like the true wrong-doers picking on the odd but peaceful Addams Family. The delusions of this amateur motley crew of neighborhood sleuths are reinforced by the slightly saturated, contrast-rich cinematography of Robert Stevens, often used by John Waters, and the playfully sinister score by Jerry Goldsmith.

The end of the film does eventually turn around at the last minute to please those expecting the ever-typical Hollywood ending, but it’s the fun to be had on the journey to the end that makes this classic comedy of the 80′s such a twisted treasure. If you miss seeing Tom Hanks doing his classic 80′s “I’m pissed off and going to lose it while getting all animated and raising my voice” shtick, then you’ve got to check this one out again. Besides, it’s always worth re-watching any movie that stars Carrie Fisher and Corey Feldman is a blast to watch as a sort of unconventional narrator to the story.

“I am the last guy you wanna mess with.”

Over the years, hell decades, director Michael Mann has made it his effortless job to make the coolest movies around. Even films that are less than applauded (I’m looking at you, ‘Miami Vice’) have this sense of cool. It’s as if Mann has found a way to bottle cool and splash a drop of it on each frame of his films.

So, at some point, you’ve got to go back to where it all began for Mann. No, not back so far as the TV movie, ‘Jericho Mile,’ or even the one episode of “Police Woman” he directed in ’77. I’m talking about his feature film debut in 1981, ‘Thief,’ which he both wrote and directed.

James Caan stars as Frank, a master jewel thief who just wants to make his $410,000 and walk away from the business for good. He dreams of living on the beach with his wife, Jessie (played by Tuesday Weld), and it is his God-given talents at safe-cracking that holds him firmly in the dangerous life he has made for himself. And such it is when Frank realizes his fence has been knocked off, and the man behind it (played with devilish care by Robert Prosky) wants to acquire Frank’s services for one, last run. With his partner (James Belushi in a rare, dramatic turn before his comedy days) by his side, Frank attempts to balance his lifestyle with the family he wants to develop and, somehow, make it out the other end alive and richer.

It’s a premise that has become all too commonplace since its inception, and I’m not even saying that occurred with ‘Thief.’ How many times have we seen the story of a master thief/con artist/safecracker/hitman who is in it for one, last score and then he’s out? All too many times, and going back to watch ‘Thief’ now, nearly thirty years after it came out, might leave filmgoers who have grown up in the modern, film world desiring more.

However, the smoothness and the cool neon glow Mann has given the Chicago setting for Frank’s story is undeniably hip. This movie cries out ’80s. From the bright blue opening credits, to the hosed down city streets, to the beeming score by Tangerine Dream, Mann has definitely stamped his film with its time and place.

Regardless, these aspects don’t have to be cyclical in any way to remain cool to this day. ‘Thief’ is a hard-edged action film. It is anything but nonstop, but, between Mann’s impeccable vision and his tense and cleverly researched screenplay, there is never a dull moments found from start to finish. Mann really knows his stuff, and Frank, as a character, makes believers out of all of us.

Much of this is thanks to the incredible turn by Caan, who also served as the film’s co-producer. He lives and breathes Frank in this film. When Frank is working, Caan makes it seem as effortless as Mann’s shots. When he is at ease, so to speak, Caan has a way of ramping up the intensity in even the calmest moments. You feel his unease. You understand his desire to leave the business, but you also realize, even with his wife and family, he isn’t much if he’s not displaying his talents.

The rest of the cast is kinetically good, as well. Weld, Belushi, and Prosky are faultless, and Willie Nelson turns in an ample and sound performance as the man who trained Frank in prison. Watch for small parts by Dennis Farina and William Petersen, both future Mann staples, also.

Unfortunately, when it was first released on March 27th, 1981, it failed to make much of a mark. It raked in roughly $4.3 million at the box office, and failed to make Mann the go-to guy for crime dramas and action movies. In ’83, Mann released the surreal horror film ‘The Keep,’ which also did poorly at the box office. With these two misses on his early resume, Mann was forced back into the television world, and he spent the next three years as executive producer of “Miami Vice.”

Through all of his career peaks and valleys, ‘Thief’ remains the film that marked the world of cinema with Michael Mann’s sense of cool perfection. He has since made better films (‘Heat’ is arguably his best film, and I will always stand by ’06′s ‘Vice’ adaptation), and he has delved into this world of cool crime much deeper (‘Collateral’ is an unscathed yet almost forgotten diamond). Despite all of this, it was with ‘Thief’ that Mann made his presence known to the world of motion pictures.

Many times, a filmmaker with a career as vast and as impressive as Michael Mann will have a feature film debut that becomes lost, buried under the blanket of film they have created since. I would be lying if I said ‘Thief’ were not one of these films. It is somewhat forgotten, but it is a film that deserves to be sought out and revisited. It is a film that is best described as effortless cool, and its style is undeniably its best attributes. However, it is also a film that is flawlessly directed, strikingly acted, and an all-around impressive feature film debut from one of the best directors still working today.

One of the first things I recall about having seen ‘The Fugitive’ for the first time was how strange it was to see Harrison Ford with a full beard. Aside from that, he gave an incredible performance as a man who is mistakenly convicted of his wife’s murder. The film begins with all the facts and evidence literally piling up on Dr. Kimble (Ford) in such a way that any jury would likely convict him. Then again, that’s the advantage of being the audience in a movie. We were the only one’s who knew he was innocent, but we couldn’t prove it yet. Just like Dr. Kimble knew he wasn’t the killer, we knew, but we had to take this exciting and unfortunate journey right alongside Dr. Kimble in order to prove to the authorities that he was innocent.

After his sentencing, the transport bus carrying Dr. Kimble and others wrecks during a prisoner uprising and coincidentally rolls down hill right onto a railroad track with a train barreling towards them. In the frenzy that follows, Dr. Kimble escapes. Enter Tommy Lee Jones, aka Marshall Samuel Gerard, or the guy who is going to track down Dr. Kimble by whatever means necessary. Jones is awesome as the badass tough-guy he’d already become so well known for playing in earlier films. ‘The Fugitive’ came just one year after Jones made waves in the popular Steven Seagal actioner ‘Under Siege’ where he was the one playing the bad guy. Good or bad, Tommy Lee Jones playing the no-bullsh** tough-as-nails character always equals hard-hitting fun.

What we quickly learn about both characters is that they’re both incredibly intelligent and incredibly resourceful, but they do so from very different backgrounds. It helps being a doctor when you’re an injured fugitive on the run. Throughout the film, as the foot soldiers of law enforcement chase their tails, Dr. Kimble and Marshall Gerard are in a high-speed mental game of cat and mouse as their wits prove more crucial to the outcome than their physical speed or endurance . That’s not to say there isn’t real suspense and physical trials of will and determination, as within the first forty minutes, the story is already steamrolling towards it’s first climatic moment (of many to come) when Kimble and Gerard meet face to face for the first time. In a tense stare down on the edge of a drainage duct, Kimble and Gerard play a game of eyeball chicken before Kimble makes a daring escape in the form of a swan dive off the dam and into the reservoir below.

In a moment of nervous clarity, Dr. Kimble realizes that no one will ever believe he is innocent and no one will ever “give” him the opportunity to clear his name. He realizes that to prove his innocence, he will have to seize the opportunity for himself. At that moment on the dam, Dr. Kimble looks death in the face and determines it frightens him less than the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars with actual killers. At that moment, Dr. Kimble threw caution to the wind and was essentially reborn as a man focused on finding the truth and revealing it to his accusers while being pursued by Gerard and half the Illinois police force. All while being brilliantly assisted by the adrenalin-producing, emotion-evoking compositions of James Newton Howard.

‘The Fugitive’ raises some interesting points of discussion, the biggest and most obvious being the question of what lengths would you go to prove your innocence if wrongfully accused? We rarely consider this type of self-reflection, writing off the possibility of ever being in this sort of situation as virtually impossible. However, consider the fact that all it takes is being in the wrong place at the wrong time and the possibility becomes a bit less impossible. Consider this… “there have already been 238 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States.”* Now consider how many more there may be who haven’t had the opportunity to test their DNA against their convictions.

Now, I’m not suggesting that our prisons are filled with wrongfully accused inmates, but they do exist. Even our own government admits there is a disturbing margin of error within our legal system, whereas the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “admits that statistically 8% to 12% of all state prisoners are either actually or factually innocent.”* One of the greatest achievements that a movie such as ‘The Fugitive’ can accomplish is to raise awareness of these scenarios and shed light on the inherent imperfections of our legal system. Acknowledging that no system is perfect, we must always pursue to make adjustments and corrections as to continually ensure that our means of protecting our citizens remains fair and just, both for the innocent and the accused.

I’ll end on this final note… place yourself in Dr. Kimble’s shoes for a moment. If you knew you were innocent, would you just accept that you are powerless and allow the imperfect legal system to imprison you for life, or even schedule your own death, or would you fight, not with violence, but with the legal system itself and every other resource available to you in an effort to clear your name, regardless of the outcome. For some in our country, this is the daily struggle they endure and they need the support of the free and the willing who believe in the possibility that they may have been wrongfully convicted. Wouldn’t you want the same done for you if the tables were turned against your favor?

“How many days in your life have you been sick?”

An anonymous letter delivered to unemployed father and husband David Dunn, addressed only with “Limited Edition”. This is how we are first introduced to Mr. Glass, long before we see or hear the enigmatic villain-to-be, we are introduced to his intellect and his inquisitive nature. For those of you who have seen ‘Unbreakable’ you know all abut the intricate relationship between Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) and David Dunn (Bruce Willis)… two ordinary men of no great consequence who, by way of fate or chance, or whatever we wish to call it, discover extraordinary truths about themselves.

Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan may have made a few stinkers in his career, but no matter what dribble he may create in the future, Shyamalan will forever be remembered for creating this instant classic amongst comic book fans. ‘Unbreakable’ isn’t based on any actual comic book, but instead is based on mind of a comic book fan, the mind of a person with passion for the art.

‘Unbreakable’ (2000) is Shyamalan’s third film, but only his second serious venture into the style he would come to be known for after amazing audiences in 1999 with ‘The Sixth Sense’. His influence from Alfred Hitchcock is clearly evident in the visual style and techniques used in filming ‘Unbreakable’. In many cases, a filmmaker that used prolonged and intricate tracking shots, extreme high and low angle shots distorting perspective and the long motionless takes that linger on a character, all in the same film, it would be a critics feeding frenzy. ‘Unbreakable’ defies this logic and actually pulls this off beautifully.

Even with all the fancy camera work, this is mostly overshadowed by the film’s muted color palette and it’s sombre tone. Eduardo Serra (Defiance) photographed a remarkably beautiful picture within a relatively limited range of color and contrast. The film’s score by James Newton Howard (Defiance) is outstanding, taking the seriousness and sophistication of classical instrumentation and applying it with great effectiveness to a story that would have normally been handled quite differently.

“Do you see any Teletubbies in here?” Say hello to Jules, making his momentary cameo as Mr. Glass berating a potential buyer of vintage comic book art from Elijah Price’s Limited Edition gallery when he discovers the man is buying it for his 4-year-old son.

Elijah Price (aka Mr. Glass) is a man who has lived his life from the day he was born with his arms and legs already broken while still in his mother’s womb, has had his life work against him all this time, but yearns for something more.’Unbreakable’ is essentially an origins story, beginning with the entrance of Elijah Price into the world. We are given moments of epiphany for Elijah through stages of his childhood as his mind is molded into what would eventually become the intellectual arch-nemesis to our hero.

Elijah developed an insatiable curiosity as a child, spending the better part of his days self-secluded in his home to avoid his frail body getting hurt. He develops a fascination for comic books when his mother begins using them as motivation to get Elijah to go outside and live once in a while. What his mother saw as mere entertainment for her son, Elijah finds a whole new way of looking at the world. He sees an unrecognized truth in the comic books, one that is dealt with directly but not taken seriously. Elijah sees the dichotomy of good and evil, and more importantly the necessity of two opposing forces that will balance one another in the universe.

While Elijah suffers the repeated injuries of a weakened physical body, this is countered by a keen intellect. Likewise, David may have super-human strength and the benefit of virtual indestructibility, this is also countered by David’s fear of water that serves as his kryptonite and is suggested as the only likely way for David to die. This is an integral element within the respectable superhero lore, as a hero without a weakness is too perfect and therefor wields absolute power, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This “weakness” plays a crucial role in ‘Unbreakable’ while David is tracking down a serial killer, assisted by his “sixth sense” ability, but must conquer his one true nemesis before he can conquer the killer… his fear of water.

David Dunn enters the story after Elijah, returning home by train from New York in an attempt to find work. His life is empty and without purpose, or so David believes. He is unemployed and his marriage is at risk of divorce. He has a son Joseph who thinks the world of him, but David is unable to see this, instead remaining stuck in his self-loathing rut about his life. While Elijah has endured endless hardships, he sees the world through an optimistic, if not slightly distorted lens.

David has the world at his fingertips, happiness lying right before him, but he cannot see what he has until he begins having his own string of epiphanies about his true abilities. His son Joseph also benefits from his dad’s self-discovery, finding a hero in his father. The scene when Joseph is helping his father lift weights and they discover David’s true strength is a perfect example of this renewed relationship through David’s awakening, but is in contrast to David’s continued denial that he is anything but an ordinary man. David’s true turning point occurs during an intense scene when Joseph threatens his father’s life at gun point to prove that his father is a hero.

‘Unbreakable’ intelligently moves beyond the stereotypical trap of thinking all heroes and villains need costumes. While David Dunn and Elijah Price do not don capes and body suits, therefor allowing the audience to focus much more appropriately on the humanity of the characters, Shyamalan does still honor this tradition in subtle ways. David Dunn has no alias, but Elijah does refer to himself towards the end of the film as Mister Glass. He also has two understated trademarks, the wardrobe containing an abundance of purple and a glass cane, a symbol of his body being both structural and fragile at the same time. David Dunn, on the other hand, is presented in all his heroism wearing a baseball cap and a hooded poncho, but it is distinctly worn during his climatic hero scene.

Despite the fact that M. Night’s IMDB rating has consistently dropped with each film he has made since ‘The Sixth Sense’, which is his only film to appear in the IMDB Top 250 List at #137, ‘Unbreakable’ still maintains an average IMDB user rating of over 7 out of 10 stars. The movie is just that damn good and it holds up to repeated viewings as well. ‘Unbreakable’ tells a great story and is packed with powerful scenes from beginning to end. Shyamalan may or may not revive his career and his former status of being one of the most anticipated filmmakers in Hollywood, but I can just about guarantee he’ll never top this little masterpiece.

The two-disc DVD release hit shelves on June 26, 2001. For the time, the packaging and features were pretty awesome, featuring a die-cut slip case and came with two artist prints, one of David Dunn in his hooded poncho and one of Elijah Price. ‘Unbreakable’ is also available on Blu-Ray. The DVD special features include:

• Fully produced additional scenes not seen in theaters, introduced by M. Night Shyamalan
• Behind the Scenes footage, featuring Bruce Willis
• Comic Books and Superheroes, an exclusive feature with Samuel L. Jackson
• The Train Station Sequence, a multi-angle feature
• An excerpt from an early film by M. Night Shyamalan

Robert Altman is a director that almost entirely polarizes me. Ă‚  I either really love his films or I am utterly bored by them. Ă‚  My love or hate for an Altman film is pretty far from the norm, as well. Ă‚  I’m not a fan whatsoever of ‘Nashville,’ yet I absolutely adore ‘Popeye’ and ‘Quintet’ (just don’t try to understand the rules of the game in that one).

With Altman’s passing in November of 2006, we can sit back and look over the man’s entire career, choosing the best and worst from that bunch. Ă‚  In my eyes, the absolute best film Altman’s filmography has to offer is ‘McCabe & Mrs. Miller.’

Warm and cold at the same time, heartbreaking and jovial, ‘McCabe & Mrs. Miller’ was one of Altman’s first films. Ă‚  Set in a small, Northwestern town during the old west, John McCabe (Warren Beatty) arrives in town to set up a saloon and brothel. Ă‚  Julie Christie plays the brothel’s madam, Mrs. Miller, whom McCabe quickly falls in love with. Ă‚  Soon after, a company arrives in town to attempt to buy out McCabe, but he refuses. Ă‚  The refusal escalates into violence.

The story is very simple.Ă‚   It’s based on the 1959 novel, McCabe, by Edmund Naughton, but what makes this film damn near perfect is Altman’s direction and the performances of the two leads.Ă‚   Altman’s revisionist style fits in perfectly with the film’s dark themes, and scenes of violence become beautiful through their composition. Ă‚  Through Altman’s direction, every character within the film is given an importance, even a weight to a scene they appear in. Ă‚  This was done through Altman’s decision to allow many of the people playing smaller parts, even extras, to create backstories for their character.

From Altman’s direction comes the performances given by Beatty and Christie, the latter of which earned an Oscar nomination for her role. Ă‚  William Devane, Rene Auberjonois, and Shelley Duvall all give memorable performances, as well. Ă‚  Keith Carradine, as simply, the Cowboy, made his debut with ‘McCabe & Mrs. Miller.’

Altman’s steadiness when framing and shooting scenes, with help from cinematographer, Vilmos Zsigmond (‘The Deer Hunter’ and ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’) gives the film the power to stand up after all of these years.Ă‚   The film’s soundtrack, made up entirely of songs by Leonard Cohen, is equally brilliant.

Three Cohen songs (“The Stranger Song”, “Winter Lady”, and “The Sisters of Mercy”) appear in the film. Ă‚  ”The Sisters of Mercy” appears on a number of occasions throughout the film, and it is riveting every time we hear the single, lonely guitar string start the song off. Ă‚  The songs are incredibly appropriate for the themes and story found within the film, and it is amazing to think that the songs were not written for the film. Ă‚  Altman did not hear the songs until the film was in post-production. Ă‚  After attending a party where Cohen’s album “Songs of Leonard Cohen”, Altman decided the three songs fit his film perfectly. Ă‚  Altman was later upset to hear that Cohen did not like ‘McCabe & Mrs. Miller.’ Ă‚  Years later, Cohen phoned Altman saying he had changed his mind about the film after having seen it with an audience.

Haunting, powerful, and poetic, this film couldn’t be any better.Ă‚   I’m quoting Roger Ebert here, but he said it perfectly when he said, “Rober Altman has made a dozen films that can be called great in one way or another, but one of them is perfect, and that one is McCabe & Mrs. Miller.”Ă‚   Seek this one out.

‘McCabe & Mrs. Miller’ can be purchased at Amazon. Ă‚  It is also a part of the TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Western Adventures along with ‘The Wild Bunch,’ ‘Jeremiah Johnson,’ and ‘The Train Robbers.’ Ă‚  A Blu-Ray is not yet available for the film. Ă‚  A hardcover book, Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller: Reframing the American West by Robert SelfĂ‚  about the film’s production and its place in American cinema is also available.