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Homicide: Life on the Street: Fire: Part 1 (1995)
First episode with some that go, some that come
My summary refers to the fact that in the first three seasons of HOMICIDE we were used to Detectives Beau Felton and Stanley Bolander (Daniel Baldwin and Ned Beatty) who were so far my favourite characters. Then season 3 came to an end and they left the unit, and now we are introduced to Arson squad detective Mike Kellerman (Reed Diamond) and as you might have guessed, for followers of the show it might be some sort of frustration.
When the episode begins we see Howard and Munch on a rooftop discussing of when during a police convention some police officers ran amok in the hotel after becoming drunk and subsequently Felton and Bolander were suspended for 22 weeks. As they talk they notice a fire distance, and when they arrive they witness firemen finding a charred body and calling the homicide unit.
Homicide: Life on the Street: The Gas Man (1995)
A good conclusion for the first long season
After the short first two seasons of HOMICIDE (the first of 9 episodes, the second only 4) we finally had a first long season since it was becoming popular among TV users of the time. And this final episode closed the season well.
Victor Helms (Bruno Kirby) has served a six-year sentence for negligent homicide since he installed incorrectly a heater that thanks to a leak managed to kill with an explosion the entire family of the house where he installed it. Since Pembleton was in charge of the investigation, it's no surprise that when Helms is released he seeks revenge against Pembleton. Despite Helms stalks Pembleton he can't seem to act his scheme properly. Surprisingly, Helms and his colleague Danny end up in a crime scene short before Pembleton arrives where the head of a fortune teller has been severed but Helms steals the head and the knife for complicating matters for Pembleton and subsequently humiliate him in front of the press, but some time later Danny quits because he started to respect Pembleton also for the fact that he saw him go to a fertility clinic for making his wife pregnant. When finally Helms seems like to kill Pembleton he then bursts in tears and is taken to custody.
What I liked about this episode is that Helms wanted to play the same game Robert De Niro did to Nick Nolte in CAPE FEAR (or Robert Mitchum to Gregory Peck if you also saw the 1962 original) on Pembleton tho in a more subtle manner and the ending was a relief. One of those season enders that makes you want to see more seasons of it.
Homicide: Life on the Street: Nothing Personal (1995)
Some sort of deja vu, and which TV show wouldn't have it once in a while?
14 episodes prior we had our detectives investigate on Crosetti's suicide that looked like a murder, and there was a funeral. Now, 14 episodes later, we are shown the detectives discussing again about the case and as I said in the summary, what TV show would be great without having a deja vu episode? Here on HOMICIDE, it came the time.
Crosetti's case is reassigned to the detectives and Howard's clearance rate might be in jeopardy when she is given the most difficult and unsolved case, and at the same time Giardello's personal life becomes volatile when he thinks of having been discriminated by a friend of Russert. Felton has his life in shambles as both his former wife doesn't let him see the children and loses a piece of key evidence for Howard's case and goes to Russert for comfort. As the episode comes to an end Bayliss, Munch and Lewis close the deal for permission for the bar only that trouble has just began as we'll see in the following episodes.
Along with being a deja vu episode it looks also a bit like a filler episode, one of those made for the run of the season but that probably wouldn't have changed a thing if it wouldn't have been made. Nonetheless it's still good for the acting, script and stories.
Homicide: Life on the Street: Colors (1995)
Among the most full of twists and turns episodes so far
When the story begins Jim Bayliss (David Morse) assault and shots a Turkish exchange student only because he showed up at his door and asked if a party was going on. Pembleton investigates and finds out that Bayliss' cousin might have acted because of prejudice against foreigners, and as they go on tension arises to the point of bringing the case to court, and Bayliss' cousin goes out clean because it's determined that he killed the Turkish young man because it was bothering him. After this story that takes most of the episode, Munch fires the french chef from the Waterfront bar and Lewis hires his grandmother as cook.
Probably the major surprise of this episode is that if you came so far with the show, you would never imagine Bayliss' cousin capable of such a thing and yet he did, which it really surprised me, and it was still a relief seeing him getting off of murder. As for the story of the last minutes, it was perfect for snaggling off the tension. Needless to say, the show is doing great.
Homicide: Life on the Street: In Search of Crimes Past (1995)
A case of hostage situation
When the story begins a young woman named Lee Bigelow takes Captain Barnfather hostage because she wants the case of her father reinvestigated for avoiding execution since he's supposedly innocent. Since Bolander originally investigated the murder, he accepts to reopen the case and after discovering connections to a recent suicide he races against the clock for making Bigelow's dad avoid execution and succedds.
In the meanwhile Pembleton and Bayliss investigate the death of an old woman found dead in her bathtub and found the responsible in a dance floor that killed the old lady because of her money since he's from a poor family, and Munch hires a new bartender (Jerry Stiller, Ben's dad) for shaking and stirring things at the Waterfront bar.
Among the many good episodes so far in the series because of the script and the stories, and the first one kinda resembled that of Clint Eastwood's TRUE CRIME. And Stiller's dad's role in the last story was certainly a plus. The show is going strong.
Homicide: Life on the Street: The Old and the Dead (1995)
The quiet after the storm as they say
After all the events of the previous episode we finally come to some normal times, and this it's more an episode typical of the show.
After Bolander finally recovers he and Munch return together on duty putting the shooting behind and returning to solve cases. However it's not easy as Bolander has trouble in falling asleep and Howard has her desk moved. Soon after Bolander and Munch investigate the brutal murder of two wealthy old people, Felton and Bayliss investigate on a skeleton dug up in a backyard in a Baltimore neighborhood that might be connected to a family with powerful connections to mob bosses. In the end Giardello promotes Megan Russert from Lieutenant to Captain and to the celebration comes TV host Tim Russert, an intentional pun based on one of the major characters' last name.
One of those episodes where they resorted to an appearence of a TV personality because it has the same last name of one of the major characters (and as the other reviewer put it, if instead of Megan Russert it was Megan Murphy then they should have called Eddie Murphy). Among the most watchable episodes in the series so far.
Homicide: Life on the Street: Law & Disorder (1995)
A hard case of irresponsability, nervous breakdowns and a surprising hilarious twist
After the murder of Gordon Pratt in the previous episode, Bayliss is given the unpleasant task of investigating on it since he answered the call first and Giardello has the brilliant (ironically speaking) idea of make Bayliss question the other detectives in the homicide unit that makes him unpopular. After an altercation with Detective Munch where Bayliss analyses his gun with no results, Bayliss tries to convince Giardello that the murder case is unsoulvable but perhaps Munch killed Pratt for retaliation.
Soon after Pembleton and Lewis investigate on a woman shot dead on a parking lot and they have the other brilliant (again, ironically) idea of investigating with the list of registered handguns when it's known for a fact that mostly shootings are done with stolen or unregistered guns. However, the culprit would be unexpected; a little girl that took his dad's gun by mistake and fired it through the air without knowing that it would have killed someone.
With most of the detectives on duty or hospitalized, Giardello is forced to go on duty as a primary and partners with Felton for a murder case only that Felton is grossed out after the sight of the body (who can blame him, he has been recently hospitalized) and has a temper tantrum with Giardello once in the squad room; it ends with Felton reprimanded by Giardello that trauma is only a scuse for not working and that he has never been good nor relevant in the unit.
Next day comes, and Munch is the laughing stock of everyone in the unit. Why? Well, Lewis recommends Munch to go to an art museum where there is an exhibit and among the photos, a big one of a naked Munch took years ago when he dated the photographer that organized the event for revenge of when he treated badly in the past. Their discussion in the museum draws attention to a reporter and the story becomes a newspaper article.
As I said, in this episode it happens everything which it seems like a letdown when compared to the previous episodes but the ending makes worth seeing the pain and suffering (literally) of the characters. Then, in the second story, why the dad had to keep his gun out in the open when he could have imagined that his daughter could have picked it up and kill someone without noticing? My major quibble, and this did prevent me to give this a higher score.
Homicide: Life on the Street: End Game (1995)
The end of a cycle, and the uncovering of truth
After the events of the previous two episodes it's clear that we had to come to a conclusion where the responsible of the shootings is found, and here we came.
Captain Barnfather gives the Homicide unit only few hours for resolving the case before passing it to the Violent Crimes unit. Pembleton's led investigation brings to a new suspect; Gordon Pratt (Steve Buscemi), a resident in the apartment where Felton, Bolander and Howard had to go for investigating only to end shot. After asking to his parents they find Pratt in a massage parlor. When the detectives interrogate Pratt they notice that he's a lonely racist pretending to be an intellectual that hates the concepts of government and society, only to find out that Pratt is a fake intellectual when he can't translate a message of Plato written in ancient Greek. Soon after Pratt is released because of rising tension, and after some minutes Bayliss receives a call that Pratt has been found shot in his apartment, probably some cop did it for revenge against the previously shot cops.
What I loved about this episode is Buscemi's performance as a racist that tries his best for not showing who he really is up until they find his school records and in some instances there are photos of him where he mimicks the Lee Harvey Oswald pose. Overall, among the best episodes in the show and a nice resolution for the case of the shootings.
High-Ballin' (1978)
Ok B with a plot that might work well on shows such as RENEGADE or WALKER TEXAS RANGER
The main reason why I saw HIGH-BALLIN' is because it's one of Michael Ironside's first movies tho he appeared as an extra that if you blink you miss him. As for the rest it was a bit mediocre and could have been better considering its cast.
The Iron Duke is an independent trucker that stands up to the local truck boss King Carroll that tries everything to make truckers go out of business. Rane (Peter Fonda) comes for a visit and ends up helping Duke. Rane and Pickup have the idea of truck loading lot of illegal liquor to a lumber camp with the hope of making other truckers resist.
It doesn't go smooth as gang leader Harvey kidnaps Pickup and shoots Duke when he tries to resist. When Rane notices Harvey fleeing, he reaches him with his motorcycle and have a brawl until he manages to shoot him. Before fleeing on Harvey's truck he manages to save Pickup and take her with him.
As I said in the summary, a plot like this works better on those shows (on which Ironside would guest star two decades later, 2 episodes of the first one and 4 of the second) probably because the episodes last 45 minutes give or take while here it lasts 1 hour and 40 minutes so for the most time there is filler that is mostly boring. The actors, mostly unknowns except Fonda and Helen Shaver, did what the material and director required.
Overall, one of those movies with the plot reminiscent also remotely of a western (with trucks and truckers instead of horses and land owners) that is perfect for killing an hour and 40 minutes but not much more.
The Hill (2023)
Just like KING RICHARD, frustrating and predictable but still good
I knew about THE HILL since it was among Scott Glenn's upcoming movies and it came out in theaters only in the US in August 2023 (the same month OPPENHEIMER was released here in Italy). When I was nearly over with Glenn's movies I finally reached it and coincidentally my 25th birthday began. Call it luck perhaps?
Rickey Hill (Colin Ford) is wearing braces on his legs because of a degenerative spinal disease tho he loves playing baseball and it's seen as a prodigy in the game. His dad James (Dennis Quaid) is a preacher and as you might have guessed he dissuades his son from playing because of his handicap. One day the family is evicted from home and have to move to Oklahoma, and James is hired as a preacher there. Rickey has to adapt to a new town and gets involved in a baseball game, and after James finds out about it, Ricky says that he can do both preaching and playing baseball.
Once an adult, Ricky struggles in attracting the attentions of Major League promoters until Red Murff (Glenn) comes to see and judge him personally. Ricky goes well until he trips on a sprinkler and a fracture might mean his playing days are over. But when one day Ricky removes the leg brace he starts playing and not only Murff approves of him but many other players are sent off. And as Murff makes Ricky beat his opponents that were better at batting than him, James returns to the field with the regret of having not properly supported his son. As the credits roll we find out that Ricky played successfully until his spine gave up in 1975.
As I said in the summary, if you go into this movie expecting something like MR BASEBALL with Tom Selleck you might look for something else. It's inspiring, there's no doubt about it. But it has also some depressing moments throughout the story that might make you think and root for the lead. The acting was good by all (most no-names except Quaid, Ford and Glenn) and the ending some sort of relief.
Overall, one of those sports movies where you must have high tolerance for the moments where the leads are supposed to fail but for the rest, not to be missed.
The Barber (2014)
An ok movie from a one hit director
The main reason why I was curious about THE BARBER for years it's because it's one of the last movies where Scott Glenn played the lead and as I saw it I found it better than the tiepid 5,8 score. But it still has some problems, and we'll look them.
This is a movie split in two stories that eventually interwine. In the first, Chief Gary Hardaway (Stephen Tobolowsky) is looking for murderer Eugene Van Wingerdt (Glenn) known as the barber because he uses a straight razor for murdering his victims. In the second, a young wannabe killer named John McCormack follows Van Wingerdt as his mentor up until the truth comes out that Eugene was using him all the time. When the two stories interwine it's a bit too easy see where it's going but it's best if you see it for yourselves.
As I said, the acting by Glenn and Tobolowsky was good as usual with them. But I can see why some don't like it. First, you have to have high tolerance for gruesome atmospheres (if you saw and liked SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, RESURRECTION and the recently released LONGLEGS it will help) and second, the direction is at times unfocused. But taking it as it is, it's still a good thriller worth a view for fans of the genre.
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
Good spin-off for the BOURNE franchise
As I said in the review for THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM I am not a huge fan of the BOURNE franchise but I still like them for the action and good performance by Matt Damon that while looking like the average guy does the action hero well. Then we came to this spin-off with Jeremy Renner instead of Damon (who would return in the 2016 ulterior sequel JASON BOURNE, and is filming an upcoming sixth chapter along with Christopher Nolan's upcoming movie) and it's still a good entry for the franchise.
When the story begins we learn that Aaron Cross (Renner) is punished with training in the Alaskan wilderness for having been AWOL, and has to arrive to a cabin in a zone filled with wolves where he meets Number Three (Oscar Isaac). Colonel Eric Byer (Edward Norton) is tasked with avoiding that Pam Landy (Joan Allen) exposes operations Treadstone and Blackbriar. So Byer makes a drone armed with a missile make the cabin explode and Number Three dies while Cross was out in the woods.
From then on, Cross goes from Alaska to Chicago for retrieving a stolen car, money and fake identity. First stop, he has to reach Doctor Martha Shearing's (Rachel Weisz) home in Maryland, and suddenly he saves her from assassins posing as terrorists that wanted to kill her. As Cross is becoming incapacited from a virus installed by the government, when he recovers he and Shearing escape from super soldier LARX 3 through the streets of Manila. Once in New York, Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) lies stating that Blackbriar was created for tracking down Bourne and Landy committed Treason for covering Bourne's escape. Before the credits roll, Cross and Shearing determine where to go next.
As you might assume making a summary of the plot, it's mostly great for the action scenes (especially the chase throughout Manila) and the second half is faster than the first, something similar with the previous entry. Good acting by all (Norton, Isaac, Weisz, Corey Stoll, Allen, Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Albert Finney and Stacy Keach) and great direction make this another worth-seeing action movie for an evening when you are bored at home.
Magic Valley (2011)
Confusing and artsy just for the sake of being artsy
According to Wikipedia MAGIC VALLEY was screened at the Rome Film Festival in October 2011 and then released online on May 2013, all signs that this might be a terrible movie which might not seem like this since the only four reviews here give a 5 and three 10s. But as usual with these sort of movies you have to watch them yourselves and then say the truth.
The story is set in a small community in a rural area of Idaho. When during a trip in the woods two young boys find the body of a dead woman, they decide it's the best thing to bury it, and during the course of the movie we see the lives of the various other characters. In particular the family and Sheriff Ed Halfner (Scott Glenn) show huge lack of indefference in her disappearence and finding out the cause of death.
While I have seen at least thousands of worse movies, I kinda save this one for the following reasons: the scenery was nice, the cinematography was good for its budget and Glenn as usual looked like the only one that tried with the material given.
In particular, there is one funny moment I'd love to mention: while two young thugs are committing a robbery, Halfner and his deputy stay sit in the car and Ed starts discussing about RENEGADE and WALKER TEXAS RANGER. First, not only I assume that in the US there must be some channel that airs them connected (like channel 22 here in Italy) but it was unintentionally hilarious. Why? Because instead of going out of the car and see what was going on, the Sheriff discussed about those two TV shows and an episode of each. And just for this the movie gained few points.
Overall, one of those movies projected at a festival and then released online with the assumption that if released in theaters would stink. While it's far from a good movie, it's still watchable trust me.
Secretariat (2010)
Ordinary horse movie
Before seeing this movie I only knew about Secretariat because it was the horse that won the triple crown, and as you might have guessed I prefer SEABISCUIT not only because it was more famous but also because the story was more sprawling and involving.
This story begins in 1969 when Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) returns home after the death and funeral of her mother, and after reuniting with her dad Christopher (Scott Glenn) she conforts him. At the funeral of her mother Penny meets Bull Hancock (Fred Dalton Thompson) and his son both from Kentucky. Thanks to Hancock's recommendation she hires as new trainer French-Canadian Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich), and we also find out that Christopher Chenery made a deal with owner Odgen Phipps (James Cromwell) of flipping the coin for choosing the best horse after a breeding and Secretariat wins the bet.
At his first race Secretariat is insecure, ends hit by other horses and in fourth position. After hiring a more experienced jockey, Secretariat suddenly becomes horse of the year after a successful season. Unfortunately, Christopher dies leaving Penny and her brother dealing with their estate and despite the oncoming taxes Penny refuses to sell Secretariat. After refusing Phipps' offer of selling the horse, three weeks before the triple crown Secretariat is nervous and refuses to eat; unfortunately he loses the race, probably thanks to an abscess in his mouth. But some days later Secretariat heals and wins in a record time, and unbelievably Secretariat runs faster than he ever did and manages to win the triple Crown trophy.
While it's still a good movie (and even produced by Disney of all things) my issues were that the pace at times was dull especially in the moments where the horse was feeling unwell and after the death of Penny's dad. But you can't certainly assume that the cast (Lane, Glenn, Dalton Thompson, Cromwell, Malkovich and Dylan Baker) hadn't a good time as they still give great performances probably thanks to the director.
Overall, a must for horse and animal lovers and for fans of the cast members. But I would also warn that some Kleenex are needed for the aforementioned sad moments.
W. (2008)
Not on the same league of JFK and NIXON but still good
What I meant in the summary is that it looks like Oliver Stone made a presidential trilogy. You see, in 1991 we had JFK dealing about all the conspiracies surrounding the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Then in 1995 we had NIXON dealing with Richard Nixon's life around the Watergate scandal while also discussing of Nixon's life with black and white sequences. Now in 2008 we had W about the second Bush president when he was ending his presidency, and is it good like the other two aforementioned kolossals? Let's see.
The movie is a biography on George W. Bush (James Brolin). It starts in 1966 when Bush has an initiation for the fraternity of his university and says that isn't interested in his family's legacy. When he's jailed for rowdiness during a football game, his dad George H. W. Bush (James Cromwell) warns him that this will be the last time he'll help him. In fact Bush accepts a job at an oil rig but leaves after a few weeks, and then Bush senior accepts to help him one last time for entering Harvard Business School; wouldn't you know it some weeks later Bush crashes the car and returns home angrily drunk challenging dad to a fistfight. In 1986 Bush becomes a born-again Christian, stops drinking and mends his relationship with his father: as Bush senior becomes the 41st president of the United States, the son has a stint in the Texas Rangers while his father witnesses the victory on the Gulf war: when Bush senior loses the 1992 elections to Bill Clinton, the son will blame it on the fact that he didn't depose Saddam Hussein. Three years after the dad's loss, Bush becomes the 46th governor of Texas.
In 2001 he finally becomes president, and names the responsibles of the 9/11 attacks - The Axis of Evil. All except Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright) support Bush in the proving that Hussein had basements of nuclear weapons and wanted to start a war so no better choice would be that of invading Iraq, and in fact Powell is overshadowed by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfield (Richard Dreyfuss and Scott Glenn). The Iraq invasion starts on January 2003, and after some war Bush finds out that there weren't any nuclear weapons basements, and Saddam thought that Bush was bluffing all the time. After Bush admits his mistakes as president, he has a nightmare where dad and brother Jeb accuse him of ruining the family's legacy and the ending is kinda metaphoric, with Bush on a baseball field trying to catch a ball that before landing vanishes.
Probably the reason that prevented me to give it a higher score it's that it's too long and dull in some points, heck JFK and NIXON are a bit longer but I must have re-watched them 15 and 10 times each respectively. And while Stone has a reputation of making up facts, I found it very realistic just like those two based on my personal studies about modern history. The pluses are the star studded cast (Brolin, Cromwell, Glenn, Dreyfuss, Elizabeth Banks, Bruce McGill, Wright, Ellen Burstyn, Thandie Newton, Toby Jones, Stacy Keach and Ioan Gruffudd) that give all decent performances considering they are playing real people: and that it shows us the complicate relationship between Bush and his dad that often thought of having a son that hasn't made anything good for most of his life, and after seeing some of the son's exploits we can see why,
Overall, if you loved the first two chapters of Stone's presidential trilogy, this might look like a bit of a letdown. Not that I'm saying it's a bad movie but still not on the same level of those two, and I also appreciate that it tried to humanize Bush in his presidential years.
Surfer, Dude (2008)
More than an emotional journey than the typical surfer movie
I have heard about SURFER DUDE for years because of the nearly star studded cast and also because when I still wasn't a movie fan it was aired often on channel 26. Last December I finally saw it and I found it better than what the overall score of 4,5 made me think and also better than CAMILLE (the wretched movie I saw the day before).
Steve Addington (Matthew McConaughey) is a surfer that has a both spiritual and relaxed take on life, crossing the globe for riding the waves with his surfboard. One summer he returns to his native Malibu but the town can't give him the same feelings he gave him before, thanks also to less wind that cancelled the sea waves. No surf, no money; so Steve accepts to have his image and likeness used for a videogame and it might seem that it will resolve his problems, and it does for a while until he ends engulfed in economical issues and technological troubles. Up until the waves finally return a month later, he also denies the offer to star in a reality show.
If you go into this movie expecting it to be a stoned surfer movie you might want to skip it. Instead, it's more of an emotional journey about a surfer that has to adapt to everyday life when no waves are in his hometown while staying shirtless all the movie, kudos also to Matthew McConaughey for having resisted so long without a scratch.
As for the direction and acting; they were both adequate. McConaughey, other than being super handsome, gives a compelling performance to the point that the viewer can feel his lack of happiness only because of the lack of waves. Woody Harrelson gives one of those performances where he seriously had fun, and the supporting players while not outstanding (including Scott Glenn and Zachary Knighton) were decent adds for the funny moments.
Overall, one of those movies that makes you think while also being fun and that's why it never bored me despite I didn't loved it. Highly recommended especially if you are fan of the stars and want to see everything they made.
Camille (2008)
Confusing, and funny like a spine on your foot!
The main reason why I saw CAMILLE it's because it has a nice cast and looked like a comedy. But when I saw it last December I knew I was in for trouble some half-hour after it began. Why it's so bad? Let's see.
Silas Parker and Camille Forster (James Franco and Sienna Miller) are just married and decide to go to Niagara falls for their honeymoon. Silas is a criminal that married Camille because she's the niece of a parole officer so that would be a chance for escaping to Canada, tho Camille looks blind to having not noticed how Silas really feels. On their way they crash their honeymoon bike and Camille looks like killed, tho when Silas goes to call for the police we soon see Camille alive and washing herself in the river. In the meanwhile police suspects that Silas killed for real Camille and the couple is forced to escape ending to live with an old rodeo cowboy that owns painted horses. An horse in particular named Maggie and painted in blue should have died time ago but still stays with his owner and other horses for unknown reasons.
Then we are shown something unexplained; the cowboy has some sort of breakdown and frees all the horses, mounts Maggie and ride towards the sunset. Soon Silas and Camille go on a boat tour and when Camille asks someone to take a picture Silas notices she's gone. Then he has the genius idea of going back to her only to be noticed by the police that chases him up to the Niagara falls' border. Then as police shoots Silas, Camille shows up riding on Maggie (she probably went lightning fast, killed the cowboy and stole the horse but it's not shown to us) and they mount together, and then Silas, Camille and Maggie fall down to the falls (probably plummeting to their deaths) and then rice falls from the sky!?
As I was watching this movie I knew I was in for some trouble when the accident at the beginning happened and after Camille is shown decaying then we see her again alive cleaning herself in the river. Uh!? Even Michael Caine's shoddily dried up shirt in JAWS THE REVENGE was better handled than this. Then the movie didn't went no better, as Camille looked like a dingaling, Silas like he was completely lacking of common sense and nearly everybody except Scott Glenn gave terrible performances like they knew they were in a terrible movie but couldn't come out of it before shooting began. And the ending, with the leads falling to the falls from the horse riding... that must be the worst rip-off of the THELMA AND LOUISE ending I have ever seen, tho I don't care if it was intentional or not that the director wanted to copy from better movies but in the end who cares?
Overall, a wretched movie that isn't even funny to laugh at because of the terrible acting and situations, and worst of all... nearly anything makes sense! Even if you are fans of some of the stars, it's too painful see them in this light.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Too much even for the franchise but good nonetheless
Despite I haven't yet rated and reviewed the first two JASON BOURNE I am doing it with this one because I re-watched it on Christmas Eve and also because it's the highest rated movie in the franchise, and it probably deserves it.
After the events of THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, Bourne (Matt Damon) goes to Paris for discussing with Marie's brother while the CIA decides to continue the hunt for him. Journalist Simon Ross is noticed discussing about Operation Blackbriar on a public phone, and is stopped by Blackbriar director Noah Vosen (David Strathairn) that lets an hitman go on his way. Meanwhile in Spain, Bourne runs again into Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) and then they go to Tangiers. Vosen's hitman arrives in Morocco and after killing Neal Daniels he has his sights on Bourne and Parsons, only to be defeated by Bourne after a fight in the kitchen. After some investigations in the CIA offices, Bourne is again chasen by the hitman in the Morocco streets but after a long chase Bourne leaves the hitman senseless. Casually Bourne meets doctor Jonathan Hirsch (Albert Finney) that reminds him of how he went volontary on the program and was instructed of killing without remorse nor asking questions. Jason has to escape after some CIA men arrive and jumps into the river... just before the credits start he returns on the surface!
Despite it was a bit too frenetic even for the franchise's standards, it's still worth it because of the good acting by all and the many entertaining moments. Especially in the Morocco chase scene. And the ending, leaves you knowing what's in store for the next chapters. Not to be missed especially if you are into the franchise.
Journey to the End of the Night (2006)
Very gripping and adult but still worth it
The main reason why I knew for years about JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE NIGHT is because it's one of Brendan Fraser's most obscure movies in the period he was everywhere with the MUMMY trilogy and LOONEY TUNES BACK IN ACTION. With his recent Oscar win (I saw this 9 months after it) I finally got around to it and I could see why Darren Aronofsky picked Fraser for THE WHALE after seeing this.
The story is set in Sao Paulo in Brasil. Exiled Americans Sinatra and his son Paul (Scott Glenn and Fraser) own a brothel: Sinatra is married to a former prostitute that gave him a son and Paul is a compulsive gambler suffering from addiction. After the first half-hour a Russian client is killed in their brothel and behind him it's a suitcase filled with drugs. With the back against the wall, Sinatra has to negotiate and lets Wemba, the Nigerian dishwasher of the brothel, go to the harbor and make the sale to the drug dealers.
Wemba accepts because she'll have a lot of money in exchange but after the sale she's attacked by two thieves and knocked unconcious. Unfortunately Wemba didn't had much of contacts with Sinatra and Paul and this causes a chain reaction of misunderstandings that lead to a tragic end. I would say that before it Paul blames himself for the mess because if he wasn't addicted he could have been in the right state of mind and Sinatra that blames himself for the exile that forced them to leave the US but for the rest it's best if you just see it for yourselves.
What makes this among the most underrated Fraser movie is the gloomy atmosphere because if you think of him you soon think of the MUMMY franchise, GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE and FURRY VENGEANCE but he proved to be great in a different setting as well. Glenn as his dad was also very good as usual, and I loved him admitting his faults toward the end before the sacrifice. The ending was great and came out of nowhere.
Overall, I dare to call it a must see but it's still great for Fraser fans or experts of forgotten movies alike.
Faith of My Fathers (2005)
Tough to watch... just like every prisoner of war movie
I am not a fan of prisoner of war movies (well, which every sane person would be) but if I watch them is for the cast members. And since I had already saw a huge half of Scott Glenn's movies, I had to watch this one.
John McCain (Shawn Hatosy) is an American soldier that in the beginning is seen flying with his carrier jet over Hanoi, and unfortunately is hit by a missile and ends injured in a pond. Soon after is noticed by an angry mob and taken prisoner. McCain is wise, because instead of giving the names of his squad members he gives the names of the Green Bay Packers. At the same time we are shown flashbacks of his father Jack (Glenn) discussing of how his submarine escaped destruction in World War II and also that he and his grandpa had success in the Army despite having low grades.
Now we come to the lowest point of the movie. John is given a chance of being released with the excuse that his dad is a submarine commander but refuses, and suffers the consequences (we are then shown footage of various soldiers cruelly tortured while a couple decides to cooperate with the enemy). However, a bombing nearby results in negotiations and all the prisoners are released and sent home.
I hated the aforementioned part but what I liked were Glenn's performance, the war footage and the ending where everyone was released, it was certainly a relief. But if you are depressed or tired from work (in my case, still at college) it's a movie you should chose when you have the right humour.
Homeland Security (2004)
Unfairly hated unsold pilot dealing about the US security department
I had been curious for a while about HOMELAND SECURITY because of its cast, the low score of 4,1 and the notion that back in 2005 it probably was aired on channel 2. Last December I finally saw it and I found it a bit better than the score reserved for nearly the worst movies might make you assume.
The story is set some days after the 9/11 attacks. Retired Admiral Theodore McKee (Tom Skerritt) receives a call from the White House that since he has been a commander in chief he has to serve again, and once in the White House he is invested of the charge of senior member of the Homeland Security team. Soon we see that NSA agent Sol Binder (Leland Orser) kinda predicted a terrorist attack where the numbers 9 and 11 kept popping out but since there wasn't yet a OHS team the attack couldn't have been avoided. As the movie goes on there are also different subplots including the invasion of Afghanistan, the Custom agents on the Canadian border stopping a vehicle carrying explosives for an attempted bombing, the pursuit of Osama Bin Laden, destruction of Al Quaeda training camps and McKee's daughter Melissa that luckily avoided the flight that had been hijacked by terrorists. But soon after despite avoiding tragedy, Melissa witnessed some training of bombers while in the OHS office they are all discussing of alerting properly the US population about an eventual other attack.
While the pace was stale in some points what prevented me to give it a 1 or 2 was that the acting was good by nearly all (Skerritt, Scott Glenn, Glenn Morshower and Michael Cudlitz especially) and it was a decent view about the Homeland Security division before and after the 9/11 attacks.
Not a bad movie by any means but I am also now assuming that some of the haters might be some conspiracy theorists.
The Seventh Stream (2001)
Odd retelling of an Irish legend
I am not exactly the major expert on Irish folklore but I saw this movie simply because I love Scott Glenn's acting and while he was good as usual the movie was so-so. Why? Let's see.
Owen Quinn (Glenn) is an Irish fisherman that remained widow - when, it's not told but it must have been recent - that one day during a fishing trip notices something out of this world... a seal turning into a gorgeous woman named Mairead (Saffron Burrows), and as you might guess, Quinn tries his way with Mairead. As life goes on in the Irish village, Quinn's relationship with Mairead starts going creaky and eventually leave. When she returns on the beach Quinn notices lots of seals going to the beach and morphing into women, and as a Reverend told him before in the movie there was a population of seals that morphed into humans that just waited the right stream for doing so.
While the concept was interesting the execution was odd because it could never happen that a seal can be turned into human. I know, it's the retelling of a legend but I simply couldn't suspend disbelief. For the rest, Glenn as usual did his best with the performance and Burrows was convincing up until she became cranky and wanted to return to the beach only for morphing into a seal.
Overall, a movie that in the end would appeal more to Irish folks than non-Irish one like me (I am Italian) and saved by the leads' performances.
Buffalo Soldiers (2001)
Not exactly subtle but still a clever satire
I heard for years about BUFFALO SOLDIERS. After all, it has a star studded cast yet in Italy is now forgotten and coincidentally I saw it 21 days after I saw Joaquin Phoenix in NAPOLEON in theater. When I finally saw it this, I wasn't bowled over but still appreciated it for what it is, a satire on war.
The story is set in West Germany in 1989, some days before the fall of the Berlin wall. Specialist Ray Elwood (Phoenix) is just one of the enlisted men in the Theodore Roosevelt base in Stuttgart that are involved in trafficking and cooking heroin. Elwood is also close friends with Colonel Berman (Ed Harris) while also sleeping with his wife unbenkownst to him. However, when Sergeant Robert Lee (Scott Glenn) joins the unit, Lee might look determined to make Elwood and the others go straight. After an accident caused by servicemen under the influence of heroin where two other are killed, Lee revokes Elwood's privileges and makes another soldier stay in his bunk. In retaliation Elwood sleeps with Lee's daughter Robyn (Anna Paquin) and Lee makes a closet for heroin explode and killing one of Elwood's buds.
The night the Berlin Wall falls down, Elwood sneaks to Robyn's mansion and discovers that her dad is none other than an officer in the Criminal Investigation Division. When Elwood and Lee find themselves face to face something happens: the building explodes thanks to escaping butane mixing with smokes from industrial solvent, making Elwood and Lee falling from the top floor and Elwood ends up falling on top of Lee killing him. The movie ends with Elwood decorated and transferred to Hawaii with Robyn and submits a order for more supplies.
While the movie isn't exactly clever it's good in what it tries to be (what could happen if the Army would end up if under the substance of heroin) and the director made all the touches on purpose. The star studded cast (Phoenix, Harris, Glenn, Paquin, Michael Pena, Dean Stockwell and Idris Elba briefly before he became a star) seemed to have a lot of fun and the ending was certainly unexpected.
One of those forgotten movies that has to be seen not just for the cast but also for the humour tho I might assume it's not for everyone, just like the characters (especially Phoenix's) that are very strange and unusual.
Training Day (2001)
Deserving of its reputation tho tough to watch
I have heard about TRAINING DAY for years. After all, it's one of those movies that is aired on TV at least once a year, it had a TV show as remake tho with different actors in the leads and Denzel Washington won his second Academy Award, this time for Best Actor. When I saw it last December I could agree with all these that were reasons enough to watch it.
Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) is a young cop that is assigned to work with Alonzo Harris (Washington) of the Narcotics section for a day the day (no joke) before his eventual promotion. When Hoyt and Harris meet it's not easy at first as Hoyt is more by the book while Harris is more street-wise, knows the real codes for dealing with street gangs and in some istances looks like he's going to break the law. In fact there will be lots of investigations involving disabled Blue (Snoop Dogg), Harris' old friend Roger (Scott Glenn) who was also Harris' dealer because a Narcotics cop must have drugs in his bloodstream and Smiley (Cliff Curtis) who doesn't kill Jake for a second after, hear this, Jake's wallet with the photo of Smiley's cousin falls from his pants. In the end, the street gangs leave Alonzo to his fate (killed by Russian gangsters after he's exposed for the sort of guy he's really) and leave Jake go with the money.
I agree with some other reviewers that this isn't certainly a movie easy to watch because most of the villains are scum and most of the scenes involving killings aren't for the squeamish. But it's still worth watching because of Washington's performance (no surprise he won his second Academy Award, who knows if he'll win a third time for GLADIATOR II that will be released in a matter of weeks) and most of the other cast members' performances (they are too many and mentioned a few before). After all, Antoine Fuqua directs nicely long before the EQUALIZER trilogy again starring Washington and the first OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN.
One of those must-see movies tho not for everyone, not that there is anything wrong with it. Just be fore-warned before watching.
The Last Marshal (1999)
One of those many actioners better than its score and reviews
I love Scott Glenn's acting, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I dared watching THE LAST MARSHAL despite its score of 5,0 and mostly negative reviews with the highest rating a 7 just like me. But I found it better than most of the naysayers would have said to deter me.
Cole McLeary (Glenn) is a tough Texas Marshall great in fighting, drinking and swearing that as you might expect isn't well seen by his superiors and colleagues tho Cole manages always to get results before them. Trouble isn't that far because as the movie begins there is a shootout in the church caused by Torres (Vincent Castellanos) and T-Boy (Raymond Cruz) and when they escape to Miami, Cole follows them. Once in Miami it wouldn't be easy for Cole as it ended up in a multi-racial environment and various upbeat guys, and as partner he's assigned Jamie, a young and hip guy that Cole doesn't exactly estimate.
After some investigations (not without some brawls, swearing, shootings and some reprimands by the superiors that came there without letting the viewer know but ok) Cole will find out that the mastermind behind the murders, drug traffic, kidnappings and many other things is DeClerc (William Forsythe), and Cole sets himself for take down the empire his own way (succedding) while also winning the affection of Rosa, so at least he has a soft spot in his heart after all.
Yes, I admit it that most of the characters are scum and most of the time you have to suspend disbelief (the reason why I don't rate it higher than 7) but Glenn was great in playing an irritable no-nonsense guy that hates everyone in equal measure and it's also the last of a breed as the title suggests. At times it was also fun, sort of like a cross between an episode of RENEGADE and one of WALKER TEXAS RANGER. And the ending when Cole manages to stop DeClerc's criminal empire after lots of mayhem it's certainly reason enough to watch it.
Overall, one of those thrillers that is best to be seen when you are tired and don't want to think too much, and also without reading the reviews first. Lot of fun and with a great performance by the lead.