Woodrow Parfrey – People Talking

Classic Movie Quinella – ‘RussellMania’: The Kurt Russell Marathon – Land of the Free

Another Super Bowl Saturday, another actor marathon at Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers: Caged, Stallone Zone, Van Dammage, Burt Day, ‘HEY, ARNOLD!‘, and now, RussellMania 2018.

I had sky high hopes for this one, but for the first time in attending these events, I actually left fairly disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I love Kurt Russell, I love my new hat, and I got to see four movies I had never seen before (which I do place a certain value on), but overall it just wasn’t quite the same enjoyable ride I’ve become accustomed to over the past five years.

The man himself needs no introduction though, so let’s get into these movies.

Movie #1: Tango & Cash (1989)

Right off the bat, I was wrong.

Seeing as how this film lead off Stallone Zone (click the link to read the Tango & Cash review), I figured there was no way we’d see it again here, but, as I said, I was wrong.

I will say, it was interesting watching it again as a Kurt Russell movie rather than a Stallone movie, but I don’t really have anything more to say now than I did in 2014.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Movie #2: Breakdown (1997)

I remember my cousin putting this on once at my aunt and uncle’s house, probably around the time it first hit DVD (which was technology beyond my imagination at the time), only I don’t think I watched past the first half hour or so, so I never realized until seeing it on the big screen that Breakdown turns into an action movie by the end (spoilers?).

Before that though, the movie feels extremely Hitchcockian, so much so that you could believe it’s a remake of something Hitch actually made (though to my knowledge it is not and I’ll happily give full credit to writer/director Jonathan Mostow). The story’s simple enough (I’d actually make a gentle comparison to The Belko Experiment, just in terms of imagining yourself in the same situation), and it doesn’t fall into the trap of becoming too twisty, which I appreciated.

Ultimately, it comes down to personal taste as to whether or not the third act works for you. I’m okay with it, but I understand others feeling somewhat betrayed by it.

Either way though, I’d still say it’s solid.

Rating: ★★★½

Movie #3: Used Cars (1980)

Before Bob Zemeckis and Bob Gale made one of the greatest movies of all time (review here), they had a string of less successful endeavors (I Wanna Hold Your Hand, 1941), culminating with 1980’s Used Cars (although they did write one of my favorite episodes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker).

Used Cars isn’t great, and its definitely a touch bloated, but it’s not without its charms. For one thing, it’s Kurt’s first R-rated performance, which is interesting to see at odds with his still-lingering Disney good guy persona, and it’s got Jack Warden doing some classic one-actor-playing-twin-brothers schtick, and a good amount of the satirical humor still holds up today.

It also hearkens back to a time when comedy wasn’t strictly a bargain basement genre and studios weren’t afraid to throw in a little more production value when necessary, even for an non-family friendly comedy.

Not everybody will fully enjoy Used Cars because it’s such a product of its time, but for me, that’s why I found it interesting and why I’d give it another watch someday.

Rating: ★★★½

Movie #4: Executive Decision (1996)

Speaking of the kinds of movies that don’t get made anymore, let’s talk Executive Decision (which is one I was hoping for, for better or worse).

Stuff like this just has a certain je ne sais quoi that feels missing from Hollywood of the present (the fact that it was made pre-9/11 definitely has something to do with that). It’s not like we have a dearth of action movies these days, but Executive Decision takes itself seriously in both story and tone where a movie today would have a wink and a nod (it’s no surprise that the last similar example I can think of, Behind Enemy Lines, was also a story by Jim and John Thomas).

I think it’s fair to say that Kurt plays against type here, at least relative to the “action man” roles he was known for at the time, but, even in a lame tuxedo and nerdy spectacles, he’s still cooler than we could ever dream of being.

“All-star cast” may be a stretch (it’s no Airport ’77), but, at the time, Executive Decision certainly had a mix of experienced pros and hot up-and-comers (most notably Halle Berry). Given that it’s a 90s action movie, I’ll say everyone does a fine job.

That said, let’s call it what it is, “Die Hard on a plane.”

Still worth a watch though, just get comfortable.

Rating: ★★★½

Movie #5: Escape from L.A. (1996)

This is not how I wanted the day to end.

I don’t want to merely compare this movie to Escape from New York, but I don’t think it leaves you with much of a choice.

Honestly, Escape from L.A. is depressingly bad in comparison to its predecessor. New York was a low-budget underdog that managed to find an audience and punch a bit above its weight class. It stands on its reputation more so than its actual quality, but at the same time it was a fairly progressive movie in terms of film-making, what with the use of the Panaglide (an early “cousin” of the Steadicam) and new techniques that allowed Dean Cundey to shoot many city blocks deep using only streetlamps for lighting; not to mention how the film allowed Kurt Russell to truly pivot away from his Disney comedy roots.

On the other hand, L.A. is essentially The Asylum version of New York, with a copy-and-paste script, horrendous CGI effects, and terribly cheesy performances. In fact, the only element you can point to as being better than the original is the fact that they shot a scene at the real L.A. Coliseum, but the movie is still so terrible that it doesn’t even matter.

Escape from L.A. is awful, it was rightfully a box office bomb, and if you truly love Escape from New York, you should never ever watch it.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

So, there you have it. Not the best day, but definitely not all bad. Just kind of middling, and therefore not what I expected given Kurt’s body of work.

I guess they can’t all be winners.

This hat though, this hat is a winner.

Quick Thoughts – November Round-Up, Part 2

‘Charley Varrick’ (1973)

Over many decades, Don Siegel directed his fair share of films that left an indelible mark on American culture. From the original ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ to ‘Dirty Harry’ and beyond, his movies often struck a paradoxical balance of gritty realism and slick style, ‘Charley Varrick’ being no exception (it should come as little surprise that guys like Quentin Tarantino and Brian Helgeland are big fans of it).

Bolstered by a strong lead performance from Walter Matthau (is he underrated?) as the titular Mr. Varrick, as well as Joe Don Baker in a classic heavy hitman role, along with many of the usual Don Siegel regulars (Andrew Sullivan, John Vernon, Sheree North, Albert Popwell, etc.), ‘Charley Varrick’ is the tale of a crop-duster turned small-town bank robber who unintentionally takes down the score of a lifetime. The bad news is that it’s dirty money, property of the mob, and Charley knows the only way to walk away with it is to make the ultimate getaway.

Once again, they don’t make movies like this anymore. Frankly, you can’t make movies like this anymore unless you set them back in time, before cell phones began to infringe on every aspect of human existence.

It’s not an action-packed thrill ride (although there’s some good action in the sense that it’s practical and in service of the story), and Charley Varrick himself is something of an anti-hero, but the movie works well as a battle of wits versus brute force.

I highly recommend it as a lazy Saturday afternoon kind of movie.

Rating: ★★★★☆

‘The Hitcher’ (1986)

Many have tried (and mostly failed) to get the action-horror genre working, but other than ‘Aliens‘ (and, more recently, ‘Train to Busan’), few have executed it as well as 1986’s ‘The Hitcher’.

That’s not to say it’s perfect, but for a movie about an all-American kid and a crazy hitchhiker going head-to-head, an idea you might think would get old real fast, ‘The Hitcher’ gets a lot right. For one thing, there are more than enough twists and turns to keep you going, but it’s also got the cast down pat. Rutger Hauer is perfect as the mysterious and deadly John Ryder (get it?), C. Thomas Howell is totally believable as a young man in the wrong place at the wrong time (not unlike a classic Hitchcock protagonist), and Jennifer Jason Leigh is more than serviceable as the non-love-interest.

The movie itself is also an interesting contradiction; brutal, bleak, and practically nihilistic on the one hand (it’s a horror movie and horrific things happen), yet gorgeous (shot by John Seale, who’s last director of photography gig was on a little movie you may have heard of called ‘Mad Max: Fury Road‘), surreal, and undeniably (though never explicitly stated) supernatural on the other. If ‘Duel‘ and ‘American Psycho’ had a baby, you’d get something like this.

Like I said, not a perfect movie, but quite a trip (from Hell!).

Rating: ★★★½

‘Harriet the Spy’ (1996)

“And now for something completely different.”

Before you even ask, yes, they showed the ‘Hey, Arnold!’ pilot before the movie at this screening (because it was an original 35mm print, and in that context the two are a packaged deal).

I didn’t think any film could get more achingly Nineties than ‘The Crow’ (not that I don’t love it), but ‘Harriet the Spy’ might just take the crown (it’s also highly Canadian, but that’s Nickelodeon for you, at least in the 80s and 90s for sure).

Honestly, I’m not sure what to entirely make of this movie. All of the kid actors are at least passable (Michelle Trachtenberg in particular displays a charisma beyond her years), which is good; and there’s definitely a lot of creativity on display, I just question what it’s all in service of. Presumably, Harriet is supposed to have an arc, which sort of happens, but in the end I couldn’t help feeling that she was having her cake and eating it, too.

On the whole, the movie is notable for being the first Nickelodeon feature film, and in that regard it’s an interesting time capsule, but I don’t know that it holds up as a movie for children.

Not terrible, but not great.

Rating: ★★½

‘Singin’ in the Rain’ (1952)

For better or worse, it’s as timely as ever to talk about this film, in that, since the screening I attended in late November, both Debbie Reynolds and her daughter Carrie Fisher sadly passed away (the latter ahead of the former); and, more recently, ‘La La Land’ took home seven out of seven at the Golden Globes, once again propagating the popular notion that Hollywood loves movies about Hollywood at the expense of all other movies (although, disappointingly, this didn’t exactly extend to ‘Hail, Caesar!’, but I digress).

You might think, given its reputation, that ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ won tons of awards in its day, but it actually was only nominated for two Oscars (no wins). Nevertheless, it is an undeniable classic. It’s colorful, it’s heartwarming, it’s fun, it’s hilarious, it’s got wonderful song and dance numbers (although, again, you might not know that most of the songs actually were lifted from other musicals of the late 1920s and 30s), and it rightfully put Debbie Reynolds on the map (Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor were already household names, though they are both fantastic in this movie). My only real criticism is that the Broadway Melody section takes up so much of the runtime, but, in comparison to other musicals of the era, ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ is far from the worst offender in this regard.

It’s a film about film, to be sure, but the decision to frame everything around the transition from silent movies to talking pictures was a stroke of genius, because that unto itself makes for a compelling story.

What else can I say? Believe the hype on this one.

Rating: ★★★★½

Classic Movie Review – ‘Planet of the Apes’ – Make America Ape Again

Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
Written by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, based on the novel La Planète des Singes aka Monkey Planet by Pierre Boulle
Cast: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly, Linda Harrison, Robert Gunner, Lou Wagner, Woodrow Parfrey, Jeff Burton, Buck Kartalian, Norman Burton
Soundtrack: Jerry Goldsmith

It’s no secret that 1968 is on record as one of the most volatile years in the history of the United States (save maybe for 1814, when the Redcoats actually burned down the White House). From the Vietnam War, to the assassinations of MLK and RFK (and subsequent riots in the case of the former), to the violent demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention, much of the country was at a fever pitch. And in the midst of this landscape of rancor, a movie like Planet of the Apes was released into the wild. A film that, like many great science fiction stories, asks questions of the time in which it was written.

Even if you’ve never seen it, you’re likely familiar with Planet of the Apes through shear cultural osmosis. You probably even know what the big twist is, which I was concerned about in relation to seeing the movie again, but I will emphatically say that knowing how the movie ends does not spoil the experience of watching it (it passes “The Usual Suspects test” with flying colors).

One thing I never realized before seeing it on the big screen is that one of the credited screenwriters for Planet of the Apes is Rod Serling, which makes perfect sense, given that he’s the man behind The Twilight Zone. The movie is pretty much a feature-length episode of that show (except in color)

What also makes perfect sense is the movie’s use of a cold open. I’m generally a fan of cold opens anyway, but the way it’s used in Planet of the Apes is perhaps the most logical application I’ve ever seen, because it establishes that the astronauts are on their way home (Charlton Heston aka “Taylor” is about to join his crew in hypersleep), before going to a space montage underneath the opening credits, then once the credits are done, the story moves to the crash landing on the mysterious planet. Those are some quality creative decisions right there.

Anyway, as I said, Planet of the Apes is a classic science fiction story. A crew of astronauts crash land on an unknown planet and discover that apes rule civilization while humans are feral animals. Needless to say, the very existence of these outsiders threatens to unravel all of ape society.

The success of the movie, besides the story, comes down to two primary factors: the ape costumes/makeup (which, though dated, still largely work), and Charlton Heston. Say what you want about his politics (although you might be surprised to learn he attended the March on Washington in 1963), Heston always had a commanding screen presence as an actor, and it’s put to full use in Planet of the Apes. You can’t help but root for the guy, even if he’s kind of a weird jerk when the astronauts first arrive on the planet. And I take issue with people who say he’s humorless. Sure, you probably wouldn’t cast him in an out-and-out comedy, but he’s got a dry sense of humor that works in movies such as this. I think one of my favorite moments is when he tells a young ape, “Don’t trust anyone over thirty.”

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t at least mention Jerry Goldsmith’s score, which could be described as avant-garde in all the right ways, and helping to generate a very primal tone (if not downright primordial at times, especially towards the beginning).

In the end, there’s not much more I can say that hasn’t already been said about this movie. It may not be perfect, it may not have aged well in every respect, but it still works, and it still has plenty to say to us as a society. And even if you’re not looking to generate a political dialogue, it’s plenty entertaining. A great Saturday afternoon movie if there ever was one.

Rating: ★★★★☆

P.S.
Shoutout to Mondo Tees for these awesome shirts. I’m totally wearing mine on Election Day.