Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers – Page 2

Classic Treble – ‘Shakedown’ 🚓 ‘Bringing Out the Dead’ 🚑 ‘Trespass’ 🚒 – DON’T Call 911

Full disclosure: I have not seen these three movies in theaters recently, but, per my own review principles, I have seen them theatrically at some point in the past few years (and all on 35mm film to boot). Anyway, since I’m basically still in corona-lockdown and theatrical viewings are at a premium, and since I’m back writing again, I thought it would be fun to do a “seafood stew” and put together a sort of First Responder triple pack (with more than a little wink as I say that). Enjoy.

Written and Directed by James Glickenhaus
Cast: Peter Weller, Sam Elliott, Patricia Charbonneau, Jude Ciccolella, Blanche Baker, Antonio Fargas, Richard Brooks, John C. McGinley, Henry Judd Baker, Larry Joshua, Vondie Curtis-Hall, William Prince, Anthony Crivello, Thomas G. Waites, Paul Bartel, Holt McCallany, Walter Flanagan
Soundtrack: Jonathan Elias

Of the numerous films I’ve been introduced to at Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers over the years (I pray it re-opens at some point, any point), Shakedown by far left me with the biggest smile on my face.

Now, I know movies involving police are a tough sell right now, but hear me out, because this one actually cares about true justice.

I suppose Shakedown would qualify as a buddy cop film, it’s a somewhat debatable point, but it’s not one with two cops together (e.g. Lethal Weapon, Running Scared, etc.); it’s one of those with an odder pairing (e.g. 48 Hrs., Die Hard with a Vengeance, etc.). In fact, the protagonist of this story is actually a legal aid attorney, which bears out my notion that the heart of the movie is real justice. Sure, there’s some reel justice, too, as expected, but that’s a parallel strength of the movie (I’ll just say: Coney Island, whoa).

The only genuine weaknesses I’d say the movie has are, for one, a slight failing of budget at the very end, and there’s one scene in particular that just seems out of step with the rest of the film (it might’ve been okay as a dream sequence or something like that), but make no mistake, this is James Glickenhaus’s magnum opus. Earlier works like The Exterminator and The Soldier certainly have their entertainment value, but as far as I know nothing else he’s made is as tightly written as Shakedown, and the more times I watch it the more the quality becomes evident.

Anyway, I don’t know if Shakedown is the very last action film to shut down 42nd Street for major stunt sequences, but if it is, what a way to go out. Even more than “The Deuce” though, the movie is a treasure trove of a time capsule for pre-Giuliani New York, including the condemned West Side Elevated Highway (before it was finally torn down, obviously). Certainly a far cry from the Disneyfied city we see today.

Of course, what is a buddy cop movie without its buddies, and boy are these two a pair. Sam Elliot is just as you’d expect him, in the best way possible, but it’s still Peter Weller’s universe. In fact, I’ll go as far to say that Shakedown is PEAK Peter Weller; beyond RoboCop, and even beyond, dare I say, Buckaroo Banzai (much as I do love both those films). However, it would be unfair to not mention Patricia Charbonneau, as she turns in a strong supporting performance.

In the end though, what makes me love Shakedown is that it’s not just another buddy cop film, because it makes you think a little bit in addition to the thrills and chills. It may not be the best but it’s got a ton of personality and unique quirks, and with a budget somewhere under $10 million it punches far above its weight class. It’s under-seen and underrated and it deserves much more notoriety, especially compared to some other 80s “classics”.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Directed by Martin Scorsese
Written by Paul Schrader, based on the novel by Joe Connelly
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore, Marc Anthony, Mary Beth Hurt, Cliff Curtis, Nestor Serrano, Aida Turturro, Sonja Sohn, Afemo Omilami, Judy Reyes, Cullen O. Johnson, Arthur J. Nascarella, Larry Fessenden, Michael Kenneth Williams, Queen Latifah
Soundtrack: Elmer Bernstein

Now, I know what you’re thinking.

“A New York City film written by Paul Schrader, directed by Martin Scorsese, and it’s not Taxi Driver?”

Correct.

Unfortunately for poor Marty, Bringing Out the Dead was a box office bomb, which is probably why it’s never gotten a proper, loving home format release, even though it’s a film begging for a 4K Blu-ray restoration (though apparently this and Sleepy Hollow were the last films released on LaserDisc, so, that’s interesting). Frankly, it’s a shame that this movie is relegated to “hidden gem” status, because I think it’s among Scorsese’s better films; certainly better than most things he’s directed since (yeah, I’m looking at you, The Irishman).

The plot, is, well… I’d describe the whole movie as something of a fever dream. Nic Cage plays a paramedic who’s in a bad way. He’s insomnious to the point of hallucination, he’s on a cold streak of saving people, and it’s a bit of a Russian Roulette situation with who he’s paired up with on a given night. In the midst of this seemingly comes a ray of hope, when he appears to have saved a man’s life, and maybe strikes up a bit of a thing with his daughter, played by Patricia Arquette.

Though the movie was made in the late Nineties, it’s set in the drug-addled days of pre-Giuliani NYC, and the film is not afraid to comment on a number of serious issues.

What really makes it for me though is the cast and the music. Though it’s heavy at times, just about everybody seems to be reveling in their performances, and that comes through the screen; and the soundtrack (both the wonderful Elmer Bernstein score and the licensed songs) just amplifies it all.

Off the beaten path, but well worth it.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Original Release Date: December 25, 1992

Directed by Walter Hill
Written by Bob Gale & Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Bill Paxton, Ice-T, William Sadler, Ice Cube, Art Evans, De’voreaux White, Bruce A. Young, Glenn Plummer, Stoney Jackson, T.E. Russell, Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister, John Toles-Bey, Byron Minns, Tico Wells, Hal Landon Jr., James Pickens Jr., L. Warren Young
Soundtrack: Ry Cooder

Oh, you thought were we done with the heavy hitters?

Think again.

That’s right, from the creators of Back to the Future and the director of 48 Hrs. comes a tale of treasure sought, and all the pitfalls that come with it.

Now, admittedly, Trespass is the most tenuously connected film in my First Responder trilogy here, as our nominal protagonists are indeed fire fighters, but outside of one introductory scene there’s no real firefighting to be found; but, hey, this is my seafood stew.

Trespass is one of those movies that’s limited in scope, scale, and cast, but manages to be just as captivating as many a bigger film.

While fighting a fire in Fort Smith, Arkansas, our two nominal protagonists (played by Paxton and Sadler) are gifted a map to treasure in a now abandoned factory in East Saint Louis, Illinois. Unfortunately for them, the day they go to investigate happens to be the same day that a local gang (led by Ice-T and Ice Cube) happens to be executing someone on the same grounds.

You can imagine where it goes from there. Lots of tension, intrigue, criss-crosses; in fact, now that I think about it, it kind of reminds me of Green Room, except Trespass takes place in the daylight, which makes it feel more hopeless at times, though I wouldn’t say Trespass borders on horror territory like Green Room does.

In the end, it’s a nice, tight, entertaining little thriller. Not the best, but unique and different.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

Creepy Treble – ‘Come to Daddy’ ‘Color Out of Space’ ‘The Lodge’ – Darkness Crawls

Suffice it to say, none of the following three films are what I’d call general audience fare (there’s a reason why they all played at last year’s Fantastic Fest, although so did Knives Out, so, who knows?), and that’s okay, but if you don’t have any sort of stomach/appreciation for things with a darker twist (albeit still humorous at times), then I wouldn’t blame you if you stopped reading now (even if I hope you keep reading anyway).

Directed by Ant Timpson
Written by Toby Harvard, based on an idea by Ant Timpson
Cast: Elijah Wood, Stephen McHattie, Garfield Wilson, Madeleine Sami, Martin Donovan, Michael Smiley, Simon Chin, Ona Grauer, Ryan Beil
Soundtrack: Karl Steven

If you’re not familiar with Kiwi writer/director Ant Timpson, don’t feel bad, as Come to Daddy is his debut feature, though he has been a producer of genre cinema for over a decade.

Even as someone who writes spoiler-free reviews, some movies are particularly challenging to talk about without tipping any hands, and Come to Daddy is definitely one of those films.

One thing I can say for certain is that the first act is something of a crucible (it’s a bit of a harsh tone), and there were key points in the story where I worried the movie was going to recede into garbage territory, but in my opinion it never did, and in the end I felt rewarded for the journey.

The cast does quality work given the off-beat nature of the material (love that Kiwi sense of humor), especially Elijah Wood in the lead, and at 93 minutes the movie knows well enough to not overstay its welcome.

It’s not for everyone (obviously), but I believe Ant Timpson was successful in making a film for he and his late father to enjoy together, and for me it’s one of the best genre surprises I’ve had in a while.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Directed by Richard Stanley
Written by Richard Stanley and Scarlett Amaris, based on the short story “The Colour Out of Space” by H.P. Lovecraft
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Elliot Knight, Tommy Chong, Brendan Meyer, Julian Hilliard, Josh C. Waller, Q’orianka Kilcher, Melissa Nearman, Amanda Booth, Keith Harle
Soundtrack: Colin Stetson

I’ll say this for Richard Stanley: he did not come back to kiss Hollywood’s feet.

If you’re unfamiliar with his journey, there’s a whole documentary about it that’s probably better than anything he’s actually directed, which is not to say that Color Out of Space is bad, but it’s certainly no Mandy (although, despite the superficial similarities, I think it’s a bit unfair to draw that comparison, even if the marketing team thought it was okay, as they are different animals).

In fact, whereas Mandy feels like an alt-reality fever dream from start to finish, Color Out of Space feels downright Spielbergian (or at least Amblin-esque) for much of its runtime (although, as you can imagine, it doesn’t end that way). The trouble is that for as much as the writing is clever about delivering exposition, there’s also one character’s decision that almost made me yell at the screen in frustration, so, it’s a mixed bag.

As far as the performers, if you were expecting full gonzo Nic Cage (I certainly was), it’s a far cry from that, but he and Joely Richardson (in a role that really feels like it should have been Barbara Crampton, but perhaps that would have been too wink/nudge) are clearly the pros on set, though I have to admit I think Tommy Chong stole every scene he was in.

All-in-all, Color Out of Space is an okay movie. If nothing else it deserves credit for adroitly bringing a Lovecraft story into the 21st Century.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Directed by Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala
Written by Sergio Casci, Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala
Cast: Richard Armitage, Riley Keough, Alicia Silverstone, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh
Soundtrack: Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans

You know, I don’t relish taking potshots at other people’s hard work, but the only thing that frightened me about The Lodge was how bored I was.

It starts out promising enough, with a quality first act that had me thinking it would actually make a good follow-up to Hereditary, but after that it simply fails to deliver anything. You’re not made to really care about any of the characters, and whatever punches the story has are well-telegraphed (not to mention there’s a scene where characters are watching John Carpenter’s The Thing, which is, to put it gently, not a favorable comparison).

To put it another way, there’s nothing about this movie that hasn’t been done better before, which I could forgive if it wasn’t trying to be so thematic, but the whole thing just feels fugazi to me, wanting to be deep but really just swimming in the shallows.

And it’s a shame, too, because the assembled cast is really good and their performances are not bad, but it’s in service of nothing.

Really, this movie just made me wish I was watching The House That Jack Built, not that I even thought it was great, but it’s something.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Movie Review – ‘Downton Abbey’ – Sweet Yorkshire Pudding

Directed by Michael Engler
Written by Julian Fellowes
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton, Allen Leech, Jim Carter, Robert James-Collier, Phyllis Logan, Brendan Coyle, Joanne Froggatt, Lesley Nicol, Kevin Doyle, Sophie McShera, Raquel Cassidy, Michael Fox, Matthew Goode, Harry Hadden-Paton, Douglas Reith, Geraldine James, Simon Jones, Max Brown, David Haig, Richenda Carey, Tuppence Middleton, Stephen Campbell Moore, Kate Phillips, Philippe Spall, Imelda Staunton, Mark Addy
Soundtrack: John Lunn

Whoa.

The last time I did this much research ahead of seeing a film was way back in 2015 when I watched every Bond movie ever before seeing SPECTRE (which unfortunately turned out to be a damp squib of a film).

You see, I’m a newcomer to Downton Abbey, but, not one to turn down a binging challenge, I decided to watch every episode in the span of three weeks to prepare myself for the big screen affair.

Was it worth it? For me, yes it was. After all, I’m no stranger to British period television (I’ve seen every last episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot, with which Downton overlaps a bit), so I enjoyed the show rather thoroughly.

For those who are totally uninitiated, Downton Abbey is a soap opera (an extremely well-polished one, but a soap opera nonetheless), created by writer Julian Fellowes, that follows the upper class family and working class service staff of a fictional Yorkshire estate, and all the day-to-day affairs and lively drama that goes on inside the halls of such a great house. Just to give one example, the first season (or should I say series?) begins with news of the Titanic sinking in 1912, and ends with news of Britain declaring war on Germany in 1914.

But what about the movie?

Well, if you’ve never seen the show, even with a substantial primer on all the major twists and turns throughout the years, I’m not sure you’ll get much out of it, as the film isn’t much more than a two-hour television episode; and for Downton fans, it’s a bit like going out for ice cream after dinner: you won’t get much nutritional value out of it, but it’s a nice treat nonetheless.

The only major issues I have are twofold. For one, there wasn’t anything cinematically that made me think, “Ah-ha, THIS is why they put it on the big screen,” which is more a testament to how far television has come visually compared to movies in the past twenty years or so, but still. And, secondly, the writing feels awfully constrained by the two-hour time limit.

Beyond that, as I said, it’s a nice treat getting to see your favorite (favourite?) characters and the house again after a bit of an absence.

So, in short, if you’re not a Downton fan, don’t feel like you’re missing out, and if you are a fan, go enjoy yourself; just don’t expect too much.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

P.S.
If you want to see some proto-Downton, check out 2001’s Gosford Park (though be warned, it’s a bit darker and a bit more crass), which was also written by Julian Fellowes and also stars Dame Maggie Smith as a Dowager Countess, as well as a couple of other familiar Downton faces (in fact, Downton was originally meant to be a spin-off of Gosford).

New and Old Twofer – ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ and ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture’ (1979) – Friends Forever

These two movies don’t have anything intrinsically in common (other than friendship being at the core), but with all the talk about Tarantino’s next (and last) film quite possibly being an R-rated Star Trek movie, I figured why not pair these up.

Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Julia Butters, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Mike Moh, Luke Perry, Damian Lewis, Al Pacino, Brenda Vaccaro, Kurt Russell, Zoë Bell, Lorenza Izzo, Rebecca Gayheart, Michael Madsen, Martin Kove, James Remar, Clifton Collins Jr., Scoot McNairy, Marco Rodriguez, Keith Jefferson, Eddie Perez, Maurice Compte, Lew Temple, Samantha Robinson, Daniella Pick, Spencer Garrett, Damon Herriman, Lena Dunham, Rafał Zawierucha, Nicholas Hammond, Costa Ronin, Rumer Willis, Dreama Walker, Rachel Redleaf, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Ramón Franco, Clu Gulager, Kate Berlant

When I first heard that Quentin Tarantino’s new film would be dealing with, you know, that whole Charles Manson and his crazy killer hippie family thing, I was a bit disappointed, as it’s a subject matter well-worn in media portrayal, and, despite Tarantino’s talent, I was hoping for some ground far less traveled.

Silly me, I should have expected the unexpected from the very beginning, though I did go into the film fairly wide-eyed as I couldn’t glean much from the marketing as to what the movie would truly be.

I won’t do a deep dive into Tarantino’s career here (I’ve already done it over here), but I’m not sure it’s really necessary anyway, as Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood is the most uniquely different film he’s ever made; even more a radical departure than Jackie Brown. For one, it’s, well, I’ll call it a comedic fairy tale. Yes, it takes place in the reel world of 1969, and yes, there are scenes of drama and tension, but on balance, Hollywood is a comedy, and a rather wistful one at that (as wistful as Tarantino can manage, anyway).

At the core though is the friendship between shy, stammering actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his cocksure stuntman, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), who are wonderful both together and separately. And of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Margot Robbie, who may not be Sharon Tate, but puts in an admirable portrayal nonetheless.

Really though, what I loved most was the reveling in the world of the film, and the amazing attention to detail in production design, costuming, sets, props, music, television, etc; and the way it blends the fictional with the factual is just fantastic (and since you don’t have anyone playing themselves, you don’t run into a situation like Robert Altman’s The Player, where you have to keep track of who’s a character and who isn’t).

It’s not a perfect comparison, but I got some American Graffiti vibes from this film, in the sense that it’s a tribute to a particular time and place, and it’s mostly a hangout movie that jumps around between a few different characters.

And that’s just fine by me.

Go see it, especially if you can catch it on film.

Rating: ★★★★½ (out of five)

Directed by Robert Wise
Written by Harold Livingston (screenplay) and Alan Dean Foster (story), based on the television series created by Gene Roddenberry
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Persis Khambatta, Stephen Collins, Majel Barrett, Grace Lee Whitney, David Gautreaux, Marcy Lafferty, Jon Rashad Kamal, Mark Lenard, Tom Morga
Soundtrack: Jerry Goldsmith

Much like its pop culture counterpart, Star Wars, it’s difficult in 2019 to imagine a time when there was an achingly finite amount of Star Trek content, but that was exactly the case forty years ago.

After the cancellation of The Original Series in 1969 (there’s that year again), Star Trek was able find a larger and more dedicated following in syndication, enough to have most of the original cast (and writing staff) return for twenty-two episodes of the Emmy-winning Animated Series in 1973-74, but it would take another five years (and multiple fits and starts) before the much-anticipated live-action reunion would happen.

And so, when you see Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and wonder why so much of the first act consists of beauty shots of the starship Enterprise, remember two things:

A. The fans had been waiting ten years for this.
and
B. At the time, it was the most expensive movie ever made, so you can bet the filmmakers were going to milk every ounce out of their new spaceship toys (especially when The Original Series went out on much smaller screens and in much lower resolution than we’re used to today).

If 1981 was the Year of the Wolf (An American Werewolf in London, The Howling, and Wolfen), then 1979 was the Year of SPACE, as you had Paramount’s Star Trek, United Artists’ Moonraker, 20th Century Fox’s Alien, and Disney’s The Black Hole; all undoubtedly spurred on by the success of Star Wars in 1977, yet all unique in their own way, and in the case of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, it is unabashedly a big screen, big budget version of the TV show, which is exactly why I love it (and all real Star Trek fans should).

In fact, other than Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, The Motion Picture comes the closest to matching the tone and spirit of The Original Series; and yet, it’s got a bit of a different twist, because much like the audience, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy have all aged, grown, and moved on to other stations in life, so while it does eventually become the happy reunion we want, it’s more than a bit tense for a while as both the characters and the audience try to work things out.

Plot-wise, even though this is a forty-year old film, I still won’t spoil it, but, hey, it’s Star Trek. There’s a thing in space and they have to investigate. Boom.

Getting back to what makes the movie great though, other than the characters and the incredible visual spectacle, Jerry Goldsmith absolutely knocked it out of the park with his score. I doubt he could have realized at the time how influential it would be, because not only would the main theme be used for other films and, most notably, The Next Generation TV series, but it wouldn’t shock me to learn his Klingon theme is still being used today.

Lastly, for a film that’s often written off as a “failure,” The Motion Picture actually made plenty of money (#4 for the year at the box office both domestically and worldwide), the problem was that Paramount expected a bigger return on their $46 million investment, and Gene Roddenberry was blamed for the cost overruns (not to mention the mixed critical reviews), leading to his being promoted out of creative control and handing the production reigns to Harve Bennett, who worked with relatively meager budgets in comparison.

Still, thanks to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, we got five more sequels with the original cast, and, in fact, some of the groundwork for Next Generation was actually laid for this film first (most notably Decker and Ilia led to Riker and Troi).

I love it, I’m so glad I got to see it on the big screen at Alamo Drafthouse, and thanks to Fathom Events you’ll be able to see it later this year, too, so, do yourself a favor and go check it out!

Rating: ★★★★½ (out of five)