James Tolkan – People Talking

Quick Thoughts – July Round-Up, Part 2 of 2

‘Kamikaze 89’ (1982)

I wish I could more effectively talk about this film, but it’s based on a book I’ve never read (“Murder on the Thirty-First Floor”) and produced in a language I don’t speak (German), so I’m somewhat limited in my understanding. However, I can tell you it’s a futuristic dystopian crime story.

‘Kamikaze 89’ is about Inspector Jansen (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, in his final film role), who is given charge of solving the case of a bomb threat at “The Combine”, which controls all media in the land. The biggest problem is that he only has a few days to pull it off, but, fortunately, the list of suspects turns out to be comparatively short. However, the more suspects he meets, the more he learns that things may not all they seem at “The Combine”.

I wanted to like this movie, I really did, but ultimately I’m going to have to throw it in with ‘High-Rise‘ as another dystopian film that looks good and has a lot of cool retro-futuristic elements, but ultimately is missing something. With ‘High-Rise’, I wasn’t really sure how to fix it, but with ‘Kamikaze 89’ it’s plain to see that it lacks energy. I’m usually the last person to call a film “boring”, but ‘Kamikaze’ was definitely leading me down that road.

Some more money in the budget may have helped as well, either that or a director who could do more with less. In the end though, I can’t give it a solid recommendation.

Rating: ★★½

‘Coming to America’ (1988)

It’s cliché, I know, but I honestly don’t know what to say about this movie that hasn’t been said already.

Everybody involved was firing on all cylinders: John Landis in the director’s chair; Eddie Murphy at his apex; Arsenio Hall threatens to steal the movie; Rick Baker with all the special make-up; Nile Rodgers with the musical score; all the supporting actors (too many to list). Everything comes together to make this a classic (not to mention the New York stuff is great to see).

There are so many great bits and little moments, from “Soul Glo”, to the barbershop, to Reverend Brown. It’s a wonderfully hilarious comedy, but, in addition, it has some real heart, in the form of Akeem and Lisa’s budding relationship.

I know I say this often, but if you’ve never seen it, get on it!

Rating: ★★★★½

‘Wolfen’ (1981)

ⅯⅭⅯⅬⅩⅩⅩⅠ – ANNO LVPVS

1981 – The Year of the Wolf

For those in my generation, the concept of “twin films” is quite familiar. You know, when two high-profile movies come out in the same year and have major similarities (not to say that they are the same, however): ‘Dante’s Peak’ and ‘Volcano’; ‘Antz’ and ‘A Bug’s Life’; ‘Deep Impact’ and ‘Armageddon’; and so on.

1981 offers us perhaps the ultimate example of “triplet films”, as it gave us three horror movies involving wolf creatures: first, in April, came Joe Dante’s ‘The Howling‘; then came ‘Wolfen’ in July; and then August gave us the most famous of the three, ‘An American Werewolf in London‘, directed by John Landis.

Now, I must specify that ‘Wolfen’ is not about werewolves, but about…super wolves? Honestly, the movie doesn’t do a great job of explaining exactly what they are, except that they are portrayed on screen by actual wolves, and somehow they tie into Native American history (in the movie; not in real life).

‘Wolfen’ is a movie I really wanted to love. It has such a cool vibe, it was shot almost entirely in NYC, Albert Finney plays a classic laconic detective, and Gregory Hines absolutely shines in his first movie (technically, ‘History of the World: Part Ⅰ’ was his debut, but ‘Wolfen’ went into production beforehand). And, of the three wolf films of ’81, I think it’s the scariest. The problem is that the story just doesn’t quite gel, especially compared with its siblings.

That said, I think it’s definitely a film worth seeing, and I’d be happy to watch it again. There’s more than enough good work to appreciate.

Rating: ★★★½

Quick Thoughts – July Round-Up, Part 1 of 2

‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (1930)

Of all the armed conflicts in human history, perhaps none was more senselessly brutal than World War I. Early 20th Century Europe was a powder keg waiting for one good spark, and when it came, the continent (and beyond) was plunged into darkness for four long years. Worse yet, the battlefields and high seas were the most violent Petri dishes imaginable, as aging military tactics met groundbreaking new technology: airplanes, submarines, tanks, chemical gas; pretty much anything that could be weaponized was put to such use.

Based on the seminal novel by Erich Maria Remarque, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is an equally important motion picture, as it captures the madness of “The Great War” from the level of the common soldier; from enlistment, to training, to combat, to back home, and, ultimately, to death.

It doesn’t seem logical that a film made four score and six years ago about a war that happened a century ago would feel at all contemporary, yet ‘All Quiet’ somehow manages to do just that. The battle scenes, though not filled with the blood and gore we’re accustomed to now, are as harrowing as can be. What I find even more striking, however, are the characters and their conversations, trying to simultaneously hold onto their humanity while also numbing themselves in order to be effective. If you’ve seen ‘Fury‘ or ‘American Sniper‘ in recent years, you can draw lines back to ‘All Quiet’.

If I have one major criticism, it’s that you feel the movie’s length (it runs over two hours) and sometimes scenes don’t quite flow together, but given how long ago it was produced, that can be forgiven.

There’s little doubt that this is an all-time great film that everyone should see at least once.

Rating: ★★★★½

‘Top Gun’ (1986)

When people ask me what my favorite arthouse film is, I always say it’s the first few minutes of ‘Top Gun’, before “Highway to the Danger Zone” comes in, because it’s nothing but a bunch of long, gorgeous “magic hour” shots of flight deck operations aboard the USS Enterprise, set to that beautifully ambient Harold Faltermeyer score. Really, until Mr. Loggins comes storming in, my brain tells me this is going to be one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, but then reality eventually sets in, and I retreat to a place of disappointment.

That’s right. ‘Top Gun’, that awesome movie you loved when you were a kid, is actually terrible. In fact, by and large, if there aren’t airplanes, Tom Skerritt, or Michael Ironside on the screen, the movie’s a hot mess: the script is bad, the story is dumbed-down, and the romantic sub-plot is horrendous and needlessly log-jammed into the middle of the film. It’s bad. It’s a bad movie.

Now, that’s not to say it’s totally irredeemable, because F-14s are awesome, and F-14s taking on other fighter jets are even more awesome, but all that action doesn’t quite make up for the fact that almost every other element is cringe-worthy.

Basically, ‘Top Gun’ is the kind of movie you put on and fast forward through all the boring parts. There’s absolutely no need to spend all 110 minutes watching the whole thing.

Rating: ★★½

‘Risky Business’ (1983)

‘Risky Business’ is another movie I throw in the Overrated bin. Not unlike ‘Beverly Hills Cop‘, this film lives in the muddled middle: not funny enough to be an effective comedy, and not intense enough to be a cool high school crime drama.

Frankly, the movie is sophomoric, and I get that as a high school story maybe it should be that, but what I really mean is at certain points it feels like it was made by an actual 10th grader. Perhaps the ultimate example of this is when Joel and Lana (Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay) are attempting to get intimate on a Chicago “L” train and the soundtrack is blasting Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”; it’s just such a poor creative choice that made me hate the movie in that moment.

However, there is some good work here, especially the Tangerine Dream score, but not enough for me to recommend the movie outright. Stick to ‘Ferris Bueller’ if you’re looking for a Chicago-area high schooler wish fulfillment movie.

Rating: ★★½

Quick Thoughts – Autumn Round-Up, Part 1

As usual, I’m horribly behind in my writing about what I’ve been seeing.

Let’s get right to it.

Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003)

I have a very special relationship with this movie.

When I was in high school, I went with a bunch of friends to see it, the only problem was that everybody was 17 except for my best friend and I who were still 16 (and the theater we went to was not one you could sneak into); so, we waited and waited until finally a nice South Asian couple came by and vouched for us so we could get in. It’s been more than 12 years and I’m still waiting to pay that favor forward, but kids today just don’t have the same taste.

Anyway, Kill Bill, like every Tarantino film, is a tribute to many movies of the past. This fact was a bit over my head as a 16-year-old, I have a bit more of an appreciation of it now, but that doesn’t really matter, because the movie is great on its own and still holds up today. The Monty Python-esque over-the-top violence, the witty dialogue, Sonny f’n Chiba, and the core story of a woman essentially back from the dead and out for revenge, it’s just cool. And, it’s got one of the best ending cliffhangers ever. What more can I say?

Rating: ★★★★½

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

For a very long time, I thought this was the best BTTF movie, probably because I was young and couldn’t yet fully appreciate the original (believe me, I learned to love it), plus, they actually go to the future!

Let’s get it straight right now. Back to the Future is one of the most perfect films ever made, and is the best of the trilogy. But, as sequels go, it’s hard to ask for more than what Part II gives us.

For one thing, it provided a comedic vision of the future date of October 21, 2015 (on which I got to see the movie theatrically, because awesome), which turned out to be somewhat prescient but mostly just hilarious. Secondly, there’s some serious movie magic involved with taking us back to certain events from the original while adding another layer on top of them. And, the movie isn’t afraid of some gravitas, as the alternate 1985 “Hell Valley” is stunningly bleak.

Add it all up, and you’ve got a tremendously fun and well-executed sequel (that still works just fine on its own).

Rating: ★★★★☆

Hot Fuzz (2007)

This is another movie I have a very special relationship with.

Back in the late Spring of 2007, my best good friend and I went to see Spider-Man 3 in IMAX on a Friday night. Needless to say, we hated it. In fact, had we not paid extra to see it on the giant screen, I think we’d have walked out. Come Saturday, we needed to cleanse our theatrical palate, and the perfect prescription was Hot Fuzz.

In addition to that fond memory, it was a part of my first ever experience at the Alamo Drafthouse [Yonkers], when I went to see the “Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy” on the premier night of The World’s End.

I love this movie so much that I made my own trailer for it (which I’d show you, but, copyright laws).

A lethally hilarious combination of buddy cop action, Agatha Christie mystery, and the English countryside, Hot Fuzz is the second feature from creative duo Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg (along with Nick Frost and a cast of British greats). Like Shaun of the Dead before it, Hot Fuzz is not a parody, but rather a comedic love letter, embracing all the tropes that come with the movies it pays tribute to, in turn become a great example of the genre itself (I put it next to Lethal Weapon and Rush Hour as the three seminal Buddy Cop movies of the past 30 years); not to mention that you can watch any Edgar Wright movie 20 times and still not pick up on all the on-screen gags.

It’s fun, it’s bloody, and it’s over-the-top in all the right ways. Check it out if you’ve not already done so.

Rating: ★★★★½

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

I’ve only very recently been getting familiar with the film catalogue of one Mr. Brian De Palma, but I’ve come to one conclusion, and that is he is drawn to stories that start out very much grounded in reality, but by the end have gone almost completely off the rails. Carrie, Scarface, and Mission: Impossible all follow this pattern, and you better believe Phantom of the Paradise, which he wrote himself, does as well (arguably to the largest degree).

A musical at its core (songs by Paul Williams), Phantom pays homage to many classic stories, including Phantom of the Opera (duh), Faust, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, while mixing in 70s glam rock aesthetics and plenty of music business satire (which is horrifyingly brilliant).

The result is something of a wild and beautiful mess, but it’s an enjoyable enough ride that I’d recommend it to a lot of people. If nothing else, the twists and turns will keep you engaged.

Rating: ★★★½

After the screening, there was a Q&A with Gerrit Graham (on the right), who played “Beef” in Phantom, hosted by Michael Gingold of Fangoria magazine (on the left):

Quick Thoughts – Summer Round-Up, Part 3

Continued from Part 2…

‘Over the Top’ (1987)

Schlock producer extraordinaire Menahem Golan didn’t direct too many movies in the Eighties, but he did direct this one, and it may be responsible for changing the structure of Hollywood, for better or worse. You see, Golan really, REALLY wanted Stallone for this, but Stallone wasn’t interested, so Golan just kept offering him more and more money until Stallone finally said yes. You can bet the eyes of many movie stars and agents went wide after that coup.

Anyway, what do we have here? Quite simply, it’s Sylvester Stallone having to arm wrestle his way to getting custody of his annoying son. Oh, and he’s a truck driver; and you’ll definitely want to go buy some Brut afterwards.

It’s not my favorite film of Sly’s by a long shot, but it’s entertaining enough to get your Stallone (or Kenny Loggins) fix, if that’s what you’re looking for.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ (1954)

I never expected my first thought after leaving the theater to be, “I can’t believe how smart that movie was.”

Yes, sure, the science probably doesn’t hold up well by 2015 standards, but I think they earnestly tried to be serious about it, which is the mark of good science fiction; and there’s some interesting subtext in the ideological conflict between two of the scientists (One of them’s like, “I just want to science,” and the the other one’s like, “We can science a whole lot more if we can get more money.”).

The creature still looks great, the underwater photography is still captivating, and the story is much more than dumb B-movie monster trash.

Perfectly entertaining Halloween fare.

Rating: ★★★★☆

‘Back to the Future’ (1985)

When I was a kid, I always thought I liked ‘Part II’ better, because of all the future stuff, but now that I’m older (and have seen it theatrically), I realize just how incredible this movie is.

Like so many ideas “The Two Bobs” (Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale) came up with, this is one that really should have never worked, or gotten off the ground in the first place.

Thank God they had an advocate in Steven Spielberg to help bring it to fruition, and the rest is history: two sequels and an untold amount of cultural influence (“You like ‘Huey Lewis and the News‘?).

Much like ‘Ghostbusters’ (another 5-star movie), ‘Back to the Future’ is a blend of two genres, in this case comedy and sci-fi, that works well in both areas. You could say it’s as if somebody wrote a really lighthearted and funny episode of “The Twilight Zone”. Also, like Ghostbusters, the casting is pitch perfect from top to bottom, and everybody gets a chance to put a stamp on their performance.

If you’ve somehow never seen it, get on that. October 21st is right around the corner…

Rating: ★★★★★

‘Mako: The Jaws of Death’ (1976)

Believe it or not, this is not a ‘Jaws’ ripoff.

Other than the presence of sharks, and the word ‘Jaws’ in the title, there’s pretty much nothing to link this film to Steven Spielberg’s epic.

‘Mako’, rather, is another one in the line of “Man with psychic connection to animals exacts revenge and/or murder on people” movies, that I guess started with ‘Willard’ (1971) and ended with ‘Willard’ (2003).

This is not what I’d call a legitimately good movie, but it at least manages to keep your interest for ninety minutes with some entertaining sequences (like Harold “Odd Job” Sakata getting towed into port by a runaway boat), and some general funny-bad moments; and, like ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ and ‘Thunderball’, the underwater shots still look great.

For a mid-70s Cannon release, this is perfectly acceptable.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

‘The Hustler’ (1961)

I went into this thinking it would just be a cool movie about a pool shark hustling people, but it turned out to be so much more than that. I realize how pretentious this will sound, but ‘The Hustler’ is among the most existential films I’ve ever seen. because while it is a story about “Fast Eddie” the pool hall hustler, it’s really about Eddie Felson learning to be truly human, experience love and loss and all that comes with it; and also there are amazing scenes of pool playing.

My main criticism is that it’s a bit long, and certain things are dragged out more than necessary, but it’s not enough to quench all of the great performances.

Paul Newman is as you’d expect, Piper Laurie is amazingly vulnerable, George C. Scott is deliciously nefarious, and Jackie Gleason is cooler than you could have ever imagined him to be (and, I believe, does all of his pool shots himself); and Murray Hamilton shows up to do Murray Hamilton things.

It’ll unfortunately probably bore much of today’s audience, but, for me, it’s easy to see why this one is considered such a classic.

Rating: ★★★★☆