I’ve seen so many movies this past summer, new and [mostly] classic alike, that I’m a bit overwhelmed. Consider this my first effort in clearing out the old backlog.
‘Rumble In The Bronx’
After seeing this one, I determined that people who don’t respect Jackie Chan have no place in my life. Whether or not his movies appeal to you, you have to recognize the commitment he has to his craft. There’s a shot in this film (left in the final cut) in which the result for ol’ Jackie was, as the NHL would call it, a pretty severe “lower body injury”. What I’m saying here is that he basically made the movie on one leg, and you’d never know. Does all of the Eastern humor and melodrama translate for Western audiences? I’d have to say no. Does that really matter? Again, I’d have to say no (just like it doesn’t matter that Vancouver stood in for NYC). When it comes to Chan, you want incredible stunts and captivating fight scenes, and this one delivers. Honestly, it may not be “lethal”, but the fight with the gang (anyone else miss the inexplicably multi-racial celluloid gangs of the late 20th century?) near the end of the film is actually beautiful in its rhythm. Heck, even the man’s warm-ups are impressive. It might not be his best, but ‘Rumble in the Bronx’ finally made Jackie Chan a star in America, and rightfully so.
Rating: ★★★½
‘The French Connection’
Not too much I can say about this one. Five Oscars (Picture, Director, Actor, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing) and an amazing car chase with quite a story. Growing up in a post-70s world, with all the action movies that followed in the genre, it’s honestly hard for me to grasp that a police movie (at least an American one) could be recognized as serious art, but this is a serious movie nonetheless. It might not be the most purely entertaining film, but it’s definitely worth seeing more than once (if only for that car chase).
Rating: ★★★★½
‘Ex Machina’ (2015)
Walking out of the theater, I had a much higher opinion of this movie than I do now. It’s pretty good; it’s well photographed, and it has a very small cast of good actors giving good performances (including my boy Oscar Isaac), but the more time has passed, the more empty I feel about it, and I don’t feel all that motivated to revisit it. There are certain genres right now, namely horror, sci-fi, and thriller (of which this movie has elements of all three), that are so down overall that moviegoers keep looking for that “messiah movie” to rescue the genre, and they’ll latch on to anything with potential. ‘The Gift‘ got exactly this kind of treatment, and, like ‘The Gift’, this is a solid directorial debut for Alex Garland, but, also like ‘The Gift’, this movie is no messiah. It might not be a waste of your time, but I don’t think it’ll stand the test of time.
Rating: ★★½
‘The Connection’ aka ‘La French’ (2014)
I know what you’re thinking, “Another ‘French Connection’ movie?”
Well, there was the totally fictional yet very solid ‘French Connection II‘, but we’re not talking about that. We’re talking about a incredibly intense, gripping, and refreshing crime drama that almost feels like it was made in the period it presents (aka no CGI, just the real stuff). Yes, it’s a foreign film, and there are subtitles, but this movie transcends language barriers like few I’ve ever seen. More than a mere police procedural, this film deals with all the personal sacrifices real-life heroes must make for the sake of the greater good. It makes a great companion piece to William Friedkin’s masterpiece, but works perfectly on its own as well. I highly recommend it.
And you’ll certainly never look at Corsicans the same way again, if you even looked at them before.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Continued in Part 2…