cult film freak: December 2013

Written by James M. Tate / 12/31/2013 / 3 Comments / candy clark , charles martin smith , cindy williams , george lucas , harrison ford , paul lemat , ron howard , sequel , seventies , war

MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XMYOvHJwHBA/VF8Vz7cN_DI/AAAAAAAAkg4/s_lMoOhN96A/s1600/moreamericangraffitimain-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XMYOvHJwHBA/VF8Vz7cN_DI/AAAAAAAAkg4/s_lMoOhN96A/s1600/moreamericangraffitimain-1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1979 cast: Paul LeMat, Charles Martin Smith, Candy Clark, Cindy Williams, Bo Hopkins rating: ***</td></tr>
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The George Lucas retro classic AMERICAN GRAFFITI showed seven kids cruising a busy Central California boulevard the night of the last day of high school, 1962, and the sequel spends an entire day and night during New Year’s Eve two years later.  <br />
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Since it’s reported at the end of the original that Paul LeMat’s cool cat John Milner – the hot rod James Dean type with the fastest car in town – was killed by a drunk driver in 1964, the sequel’s starting point has all the main characters except Richard Dreyfuss (now a writer in Canada) meeting at a drag race course to cheer on Milner at the tail end of that fateful year.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F3qaGJ1U4_I/UOdNW-mgLrI/AAAAAAAAUWI/unOlIIfvLZA/s1600/more+american+graffiti+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F3qaGJ1U4_I/UOdNW-mgLrI/AAAAAAAAUWI/unOlIIfvLZA/s1600/more+american+graffiti+8.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gang reuniting in 1964</td></tr>
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Thus we follow the surviving characters in other New Year Eve’s throughout the sixties: Terry Toad Philips in Vietnam, 1965; Debbie in San Francisco, 1966; and Steve and Laurie Henderson in 1967. <br />
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Let's start with the most conventional characters of the original: Steve and Laurie, played by Ron Howard and Cindy Williams, who were both, at that point, known for their roles on HAPPY DAYS and the successful spin off LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY, are still a bickering couple with kids and a hellish relationship going nowhere but down, down, down.<br />
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The unhappily married duo have only wedding rings in common. Laurie wants to work but Steve, an insurance salesman, forces her to stay at home with their bratty kids. This was before Women’s Rights and Laurie wants her independence.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2QDZF4jGqXI/UOdNbH2RcoI/AAAAAAAAUWQ/mlDouQUZWTo/s1600/more+american+graffiti+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2QDZF4jGqXI/UOdNbH2RcoI/AAAAAAAAUWQ/mlDouQUZWTo/s1600/more+american+graffiti+9.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laurie (Cindy Williams) and Steve (Ron Howard) circa 1967</td></tr>
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Speaking of independence, her little brother is a college hippie radical. The campus is part of a violent protest and he calls Laurie to bring his driver’s license, without which he can’t leave the campus and might be shipped off to war.<br />
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Laurie, like Jane Fonda in COMING HOME, is unrealistically oblivious to the counter-culture peace movement: at one point she even mentions that the kids should back the President.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zrkL3NvNxT4/UOdNgWE_heI/AAAAAAAAUWY/i479CiW7q0s/s1600/more+american+graffiti+17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zrkL3NvNxT4/UOdNgWE_heI/AAAAAAAAUWY/i479CiW7q0s/s1600/more+american+graffiti+17.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suburban mom Laurie (Cindy Williams) learns about being a hippie</td></tr>
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It's quickly obvious the entire purpose of this segment is the predictable character arc of both Laurie and Steve (who eventually has to rescue her): the cops are bad and the students are good.<br />
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The only thing truly worthwhile here is the music – the rest is an overly preachy agenda, proving that hippies aren’t very interesting characters: they all look the same, have similar motivations, and don’t stand apart from each other.  <br />
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Actually, <i>one </i>hippie does stand apart...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sW81-Ype6hA/UOdNkmYCjsI/AAAAAAAAUWg/QMU-MduY0rE/s1600/more+american+graffiti+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sW81-Ype6hA/UOdNkmYCjsI/AAAAAAAAUWg/QMU-MduY0rE/s1600/more+american+graffiti+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Debbie (Candy Clark) and boyfriend Lance arrested by Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford) circa 1966</td></tr>
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Candy Clark’s 1966 "Winter of Love" segment is bit more entertaining...<br />
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Her jerk musician boyfriend is cheating and the ever-smiling bleach-blonde Debbie accidentally winds up hanging out with a rock band: touring a cowboy bar and other venues throughout a comically hectic day and night.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AwtPz8H-7XI/UOdNq1Cuq4I/AAAAAAAAUWo/epjSJfwu-I4/s1600/more+american+graffiti+15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AwtPz8H-7XI/UOdNq1Cuq4I/AAAAAAAAUWo/epjSJfwu-I4/s1600/more+american+graffiti+15.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Split-screen showing Candy Clark and Scott Glenn</td></tr>
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A long-haired Scott Glenn plays the lead guitarist, and Debbie only needs to realize: he’d make a much better boyfriend. There’s some decent action sequences involving the bus crashing into a building, and the music here, like Steve and Laurie's tale, is also of the psychedelic genre.<br />
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Aesthetically, the use of multi-screen (popular in 1960’s films like MEDIUM COOL, THE THOMAS CROWNE AFFAIR and the WOODSTOCK documentary) attempts to dress up a non-story.  <br />
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And Mackenzie Phillips' Carol is all grown up, now named Rainbow and appearing only sporadically: the epitome of a "guest starring" role. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRG5PswHK54/UOdNxpExO0I/AAAAAAAAUWw/h_YdgUp2Ogs/s1600/more+american+graffiti+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oRG5PswHK54/UOdNxpExO0I/AAAAAAAAUWw/h_YdgUp2Ogs/s1600/more+american+graffiti+11.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terry The Toad Philips in Vietnam circa 1965</td></tr>
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The best story has Terry "The Toad" Philips in Vietnam. The visual gimmick is seeing everything through what looks to be a grainy 16 millimeter film stock (liken to news reels), with only a box filling the inside of the screen with black surrounding it. <br />
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Toad and the former lead Pharaoh Little Jo, played by Bo Hopkins, hang around the muddy barracks or fly around in Hueys, dodging death at every turn (the film opens with helicopters soaring to the song HEAT WAVE).<br />
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But Toad just wants to go home through being injured and he just can’t catch a break, literally. Think of his character as Jamie Farr's Max Klinger from MASH, only instead of wearing dresses he's trying to hurt his way back home. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KnbFAB_Kyyk/UOdN2L3MSVI/AAAAAAAAUW4/2FJxDqDEaJ4/s1600/more+american+graffiti+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KnbFAB_Kyyk/UOdN2L3MSVI/AAAAAAAAUW4/2FJxDqDEaJ4/s1600/more+american+graffiti+12.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bo Hopkins partners up with Toad in Vietnam</td></tr>
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The copters look cool and are reminiscent of APOCALYPSE NOW, the blockbuster that came out the same year, 1979.  <br />
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Perhaps George Lucas, who executive produced this sequel written and directed by Bill L. Norton (director of GARGOYLES), wanted a piece of what he missed out from the Francis Ford Coppola Vietnam War venture, which he was originally connected with.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nBwOuMnQ0Ko/UOdN7uzXW0I/AAAAAAAAUXA/FLOaA2N0rZo/s1600/more+american+graffiti+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nBwOuMnQ0Ko/UOdN7uzXW0I/AAAAAAAAUXA/FLOaA2N0rZo/s1600/more+american+graffiti+23.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huey Copters skim the river</td></tr>
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The use of Motown hits (circa 1965) works well during the Vietnam story, jovially contrasting with the bloody battles while the cinematography captures the deep dark green colors of 'Nam. The theme song of John Wayne's THE GREEN BERETS also serves as a caustic anthem for the anti-war proceedings. <br />
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This adventurous segment is all about Toad first trying to find a shortcut home and then teaming with a Gung Ho soldier (James Houghton), who eventually realizes war is a living/breathing hell: something Toad knew all along.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hvP9wwJ-IDA/UOdN_JOgQ3I/AAAAAAAAUXI/dPg7pifiIZY/s1600/more+american+graffiti+19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hvP9wwJ-IDA/UOdN_JOgQ3I/AAAAAAAAUXI/dPg7pifiIZY/s1600/more+american+graffiti+19.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Milner's yellow dragster</td></tr>
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Last but not least is the John Milner drag racing story, taking place on and off the crowded and colorful California race grounds...<br />
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Milner is a good driver but can’t get a sponsor, and has to win a few quick jaunts in order for corporate-backed teams to take interest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cq4eJQhJUDI/UOdOELU0iWI/AAAAAAAAUXQ/1TIWxc3BVzo/s1600/anna+bjorn+29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Cq4eJQhJUDI/UOdOELU0iWI/AAAAAAAAUXQ/1TIWxc3BVzo/s1600/anna+bjorn+29.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Milner with dream girl Eva (Anna Bjorn) circa 1964</td></tr>
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Here’s where the best (and really, the only) love story resides. Gorgeous blond model Ana Bjorn plays a naive foreign exchange student named Eva from Sweden… no, Iceland… that hangs around Milner like a lost puppy.<br />
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Eva doesn’t speak a lick of English but they have sparks. Ken Place (the cop in THE BIG CHILL and brother of Mary Kay Place, who has a small part) is a worthy antagonist as Milner’s drag strip rival, filling in the shoes of Harrison Ford’s Bob Falfa (turning up as a cop in the Candy Clark segment).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_q6h8SwvQsU/UOdOJ3eciKI/AAAAAAAAUXY/-fER4Ga89ck/s1600/more+american+graffiti+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_q6h8SwvQsU/UOdOJ3eciKI/AAAAAAAAUXY/-fER4Ga89ck/s1600/more+american+graffiti+13.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dragsters prepare to race</td></tr>
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The drag strip races aren’t very exciting since the sleek speedsters roll for a total of five seconds before crossing the finish line, lacking the freewheeling spontaneity of the hot rods in the original.<br />
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Plus, Milner doesn't have his entire reputation to lose this time. His character, although very likable, is somewhat pointless throughout, especially since we know his hours are numbered.    <br />
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But this is still the second best story, ending with JM's famous yellow Deuce Coupe cruising down the midnight highway towards a pair of oncoming headlights – his death immanent.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vFx3I1N5nsg/UOdOORLcTcI/AAAAAAAAUXg/C6AjEs02-nA/s1600/more+american+graffiti+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vFx3I1N5nsg/UOdOORLcTcI/AAAAAAAAUXg/C6AjEs02-nA/s1600/more+american+graffiti+20.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Milner's Deuce Coupe heads for an implied disaster </td></tr>
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In many ways this is an unnecessary sequel but it’s nice to see the characters together again, even though they’re mostly apart.<br />
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The soundtrack (highlighted by Donovan's "Season of the Witch" followed by Cream, The Grateful Dead, a live appearance by Country Joe and the Fish and concluding with Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone") stands out more than the actual film, and the acting makes it a more than worthy viewing. <br />
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So while this visual experience is basically an “eight-foot ballerina,” there are times she can actually dance.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Axslz7Efum0/UOdz-uNAZpI/AAAAAAAAUaM/DCfT7Y8we0A/s1600/more+american+graffiti+999999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Axslz7Efum0/UOdz-uNAZpI/AAAAAAAAUaM/DCfT7Y8we0A/s1600/more+american+graffiti+999999.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Naomi Judd (far left) sings "Baby Love" with Cindy Williams</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C_V_LXs9kpQ/UOd0DIynvsI/AAAAAAAAUaU/LgFOl92hYlk/s1600/more+american+graffiti+999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C_V_LXs9kpQ/UOd0DIynvsI/AAAAAAAAUaU/LgFOl92hYlk/s1600/more+american+graffiti+999.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delroy Lindo as an Army Sergeant barking orders at Toad</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-43LWvh-ogcI/UOd0F9o1nmI/AAAAAAAAUac/TKZUuEia-Wo/s1600/more+american+graffiti+99.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-43LWvh-ogcI/UOd0F9o1nmI/AAAAAAAAUac/TKZUuEia-Wo/s1600/more+american+graffiti+99.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Kay Place as Eva's friend Teensa</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cs8uPlIGevc/UOd0Jgxfq9I/AAAAAAAAUak/bpAvM--juzo/s1600/more+american+graffiti+99999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cs8uPlIGevc/UOd0Jgxfq9I/AAAAAAAAUak/bpAvM--juzo/s1600/more+american+graffiti+99999.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eva (Anna Bjorn) covers her ears from...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ANAmohFxLlE/UOd0JzyGyiI/AAAAAAAAUao/vno__gMS8bc/s1600/more+american+graffiti+9999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ANAmohFxLlE/UOd0JzyGyiI/AAAAAAAAUao/vno__gMS8bc/s1600/more+american+graffiti+9999.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The roar of the dragsters warming up</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9-Ucd5H3Tg/UOdOV81kd-I/AAAAAAAAUXo/gihkZVP0enA/s1600/more+american+graffiti+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9-Ucd5H3Tg/UOdOV81kd-I/AAAAAAAAUXo/gihkZVP0enA/s1600/more+american+graffiti+4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul LeMat as John Milner</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QAJny2NvdgY/UOdOeY5xUeI/AAAAAAAAUXw/S0zqkWbYSt8/s1600/anna+bjorn+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QAJny2NvdgY/UOdOeY5xUeI/AAAAAAAAUXw/S0zqkWbYSt8/s1600/anna+bjorn+6.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antagonist driver Ken Place with Anna Bjorn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZTfdyoT033w/UOdOlH3_ERI/AAAAAAAAUX4/J6ijLn_ZDas/s1600/anna+bjorn+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZTfdyoT033w/UOdOlH3_ERI/AAAAAAAAUX4/J6ijLn_ZDas/s1600/anna+bjorn+25.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna Bjorn's Eva watches Milner race </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D6kttzhXQug/UOdOqv1975I/AAAAAAAAUYA/RycD0RrE1fc/s1600/anna+bjorn+28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D6kttzhXQug/UOdOqv1975I/AAAAAAAAUYA/RycD0RrE1fc/s1600/anna+bjorn+28.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Kay Place with Anna Bjorn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Au9zQ-rIZ9c/UOdOy7FO95I/AAAAAAAAUYI/FT2RafSsQes/s1600/more+american+graffiti+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Au9zQ-rIZ9c/UOdOy7FO95I/AAAAAAAAUYI/FT2RafSsQes/s1600/more+american+graffiti+3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=More%20American%20Graffiti&tag=imdb-adbox">BUY MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI ON AMAZON</a></td></tr>
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candy clark, charles martin smith, cindy williams, george lucas, harrison ford, paul lemat, ron howard, sequel, seventies, war

MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI

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STALLONE VS DE NIRO IN GRUDGE MATCH

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 rating: **1/2</td></tr>
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There are probably more people curious about seeing ROCKY and RAGING BULL square off than a COP LAND reunion… Either way, with Rocky Balboa and Jake LaMotta in the same movie, they might want something edgy, dramatic and uplifting. Well good luck with that... <br />
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Sylvester Stallone as Henry “Razor” Sharp and Robert De Niro as Billy “The Kid” McDonnen are two retired boxers who had three… No, actually two matches in the past… Kid won the first, Razor the second and then, for mysterious reasons, Razor canceled the anticipated final bow at the last minute, making Kid hold a <i>grudge</i> till a new opportunity arises, many years later. <br />
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First let’s get some ROCKY references out of the way: Razor is forced into drinking raw eggs by his elderly manager Lighting, played by Alan Arkin, a "Mickey" type character… Also like the original Oscar-winning classic, Razor punches hanging beef in a meat locker… He's fired from a menial job, buys new clothes, drives around in a hotrod and fumbles lines off “dummy cards” during a commercial shoot ala ROCKY 2… In the backstory, after the success as a fighter, he loses his money and returns to poverty like ROCKY 5… He trains in a grueling, hands-on fashion like ROCKY 4 (physically pulling a truck named Road Hawk c/o OVER THE TOP).... He takes part in a virtual reality "What if" bout lifted from ROCKY BALBOA...<br />
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And at one point later on, during the promotional circuit, he and Kid wind up at an Ultimate Fighting venue where Razor, comparing the popular sport to scripted Professional Wrestling, is threatened by a melodramatic blowhard brawler: reminiscent of Hulk Hogan in ROCKY 3… As for De Niro’s Kid, he retired from boxing with a lucrative car lot but also runs a nightclub where he, like RAGING BULL himself, performs a laconic stand-up routine.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stallone pounds meat in ROCKY</td></tr>
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While not as good as it should be with the talent on board, GRUDGE MATCH isn't as god-awful as the maligned (and already Razzie nominated) reputation… The lightweight banality sheds an endearing glow, and Kid has a few moving conversations with his estranged son, played by WALKING DEAD actor Jon Bernthal…<br />
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Their scenes fare better than the contrived dialogue between Stallone and Arkin. Perhaps more tragic than De Niro and Stallone playing down to light comedy is that Arkin, no stranger to evoking genuine audience laughter, isn’t funny at all. But he's not the comic relief...<br />
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In that department is Kevin Hart as the motormouth promoter keeping a reluctant Razor on board the upcoming payday, trying way too hard with an annoying Chris Tucker imitation. After a while his frantic intrusion tappers off, which leads to something even more ghastly, blunting the dynamic of Bernthal’s character: One of the worst child actors in history, playing Kid’s grandson, enters the show and never leaves. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TA4sLZLXTXM/Ur81-XPvZPI/AAAAAAAAcFg/2WPbAiNgtv4/s1600/gm1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TA4sLZLXTXM/Ur81-XPvZPI/AAAAAAAAcFg/2WPbAiNgtv4/s200/gm1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DeNiro in RAGING BULL</td></tr>
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Meanwhile our two rivals seem to be going through the motions. Their constant bickering is liken to GRUMPY OLD MEN sans the essential cantankerous anti-chemistry. Supposedly these guys hate each other yet seem pretty content, making us forget the entire purpose. But their combined scenes are merely sporadic: Much of the film involves dragging conversations with side-characters, ranging from trainers to the sole love interest played by Kim Basinger.<br />
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Will or won’t Razor stay in the fight becomes the only suspense till the final match where two old dudes beat each other raw like that frozen beef. Here’s where we finally get some old school blood and gusto, but it’s much to late to save a missed opportunity involving this rare superstar collective, intriguing and disappointing both cult and mainstream audiences.

2013, alan arkin, boxing, comedy, jon bernthal, robert deniro, sylvester stallone, team-up

STALLONE VS DE NIRO IN GRUDGE MATCH

year: 2013 rating: **1/2 There are probably more people curious about seeing ROCKY and RAGING BULL square off than a COP LAND reunion… E...

Written by James M. Tate / 12/27/2013 / 1 Comment / 2013 , amy adams , joaquin phoenix , quirky , spike jonze

HER BY SPIKE JONZE WITH JOAQUIN PHOENIX

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 rating: **</td></tr>
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Back when THE TWILIGHT ZONE episode TO AGNES WITH LOVE showed antisocial, lust-burdened geek Wally Cox falling hard for his female-voiced computer, it probably seemed pretty bizarre since office-sized computers weren’t exactly a commodity...<br />
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Skip to the early eighties with the obscure movie ELECTRIC DREAMS: since PC's had barely taken off, it was downright extraordinary that a talking computer would behave in a humanly if diabolical fashion...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Electric Dreams</td></tr>
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But the last twenty years with Internet chat rooms, social networks, dating websites and the navigating Siri herself, having a physically benign relationship via machine isn’t entirely farfetched. And in the near-future world, brought to life by writer/director Spike Jonze, it’s an all too normal occurrence.<br />
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Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore, a lonely writer working at a job perfectly suited for quirky arthouse fare: writing actual letters for other people by speaking into a computer. But things happen after Theodore gets home. Brooding through a divorce, he downloads a brand new operating system, OS1, which includes the girl of his dreams, Samantha, a computer taking care of just about every task, voiced by a soothingly silky-toned Scarlett Johansson.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-roahEZQW7Yw/Ur3bicfWi7I/AAAAAAAAcDo/neM4PPI7fcM/s1600/hal900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-roahEZQW7Yw/Ur3bicfWi7I/AAAAAAAAcDo/neM4PPI7fcM/s200/hal900.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hal 9000 from 2001</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_1222744115"></span><span id="goog_1222744116"></span><span id="goog_1222744118"></span><span id="goog_1222744119"></span>The setup is intriguing. Theodore and Samantha get to know each other as he ventures outside and, with a camera in his phone and hearing her voice from an earpiece, she can view the real world: from outdoor malls to beaches to the wilderness, Samantha experiences life while not only saying the right things things but singing and composing music to fit each location and mood. <br />
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An intriguing premise is hindered by the relationship seeming way too normal – to Theodore and just about everyone else. Since he admits outright to having a personal relationship with an OS, there’s no mystery or guilt involved with such a unique concept. Not only that but Phoenix, no stranger to intense/bizarre characters, isn’t given a chance to shine in his usual askew light. And the sappy, downright embarrassing scenes where Theodore and Samantha confess their mutual adoration is like overhearing a smitten couple whispering sweet nothings, making the audience a third wheel… that ultimately goes flat. <br />
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Perhaps if, like 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, Samantha got real dirty we’d have a relationship worth the experience. FATAL ATTRACTION goes viral would beat this searing hipster flick with more naval-gazing theme than plotline. Although there is one particular "baby alien" on Theodore's virtual realty game console that, like the sassy, foul-mouthed teddy bear TED, would have made a much more unpredictable, entertaining sidekick.

2013, amy adams, joaquin phoenix, quirky, spike jonze

HER BY SPIKE JONZE WITH JOAQUIN PHOENIX

year: 2013 rating: ** Back when THE TWILIGHT ZONE episode TO AGNES WITH LOVE showed antisocial, lust-burdened geek Wally Cox falling har...

Written by James M. Tate / 12/26/2013 / No comments / 2013 , ben stiller , kristen wiig , sean penn

THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY WITH BEN STILLER

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Npwt-0BreSc/UrzWR6wg7YI/AAAAAAAAcC8/QOxEBVxhdkc/s1600/secret-life-of-walter-mitty-ben-stiller-585x323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Npwt-0BreSc/UrzWR6wg7YI/AAAAAAAAcC8/QOxEBVxhdkc/s200/secret-life-of-walter-mitty-ben-stiller-585x323.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 rating: **1/2</td></tr>
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The secret of Walter Mitty’s life is that he daydreams a lot: From walking out of snowy photographs as an intrepid mountain climber, to beating up his new "boss" in an elevator, to comic-book-battling the same bearded weenie in the streets of New York, Walter always lets his imagination get the best of him: You can say it defines his entire character. With more cerebral experiences than actual ones, he even has trouble filling out a dating website resume.<br />
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Based on a short story and rebooted from a classic Danny Kaye film, THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY stars actor/director Ben Stiller in the title role: a passive man whose daydreams keep him distracted until something real happens. Working for the soon defunct LIFE magazine, a negative to what’s to be the last cover is lost… So right as we’re getting to know the man through his creative reveries, Walter cuts loose on a real adventure. To find the missing picture he treks in search of Sean Penn’s Sean O’Connell, an intrepid globe-trotting LIFE photographer, and winds up in both Greenland and Iceland: battling sharks, riding a skateboard down a gorgeous mountain road, and much too easily connecting (via cell phone) to his <i>dream</i> girl. Not only is the original theme a thing of the past, it’s difficult to tell what’s real, what's in his mind or, at this point, if that device even matters.<br />
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It’s fine to make a big budget arthouse film about discovering one self through an existential journey, but why did those daydreams happen at all? During the second half of MITTY, his wild imagination became something looked back on in melancholy shame, and yet Walter’s secret life was the best thing he had going.

2013, ben stiller, kristen wiig, sean penn

THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY WITH BEN STILLER

year: 2013 rating: **1/2 The secret of Walter Mitty’s life is that he daydreams a lot: From walking out of snowy photographs as an intre...

Written by James M. Tate / 12/25/2013 / 1 Comment / 2013 , biopic , jonah hill , leonardo dicaprio , martin scorsese

MARTIN DIRECTS LEO IN THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eG0w4DO_rh8/UrufNm6JO4I/AAAAAAAAcCw/pxsptxbxOLU/s1600/wolf_of_wall_street_fan_poster_by_crqsf-d6p5x0s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eG0w4DO_rh8/UrufNm6JO4I/AAAAAAAAcCw/pxsptxbxOLU/s400/wolf_of_wall_street_fan_poster_by_crqsf-d6p5x0s.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 rating: *1/2</td></tr>
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Motivational Speakers have gotten a bad reputation throughout the years, and perhaps rightly so. They can talk up a storm yet there’s not much behind the curtain...<br />
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The same can be said of Leonardo DiCaprio’s energetic performance in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, providing intense pep-rally speeches without any real games to follow: In fact the narration by DiCaprio’s con artist stockbroker Jordan Belfort gives just about everything away. Imagine if, during the first minute of GOODFELLAS, Ray Liotta described the mafia as a bunch of worthless, lowlife, backstabbing killers: What's left to learn and experience?   <br />
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Based on a true story centering on unapologetic greed and making gross amounts of money, director Martin Scorsese provides so much flash there’s very little substance, despite several attempts for a worthwhile baseline...<br />
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When Belfort starts his career as a low-end stockbroker, he almost suffers the necessary hunger before getting a quick bellyful of other people's money. Instead, right off the bat, his boss (Matthew McConaughey) unveils the nefarious sleight-of-hand before it’s even played out. And later on, as Belfort’s team of shady brokers join his own Wall Street corporation, with the exception of sidekick Donnie Azoff, played by A-list sidekick Jonah Hill, no one… not even Belfort’s gorgeous trophy wife… amounts to anything beyond wallpaper.  <br />
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One scene works the best: when a straight-laced FBI agent meets with Belfort on his yacht, there’s a beginning, middle and end to a somewhat intriguing conversation. Here we finally learn what our antihero's up against. Perhaps an example of an “honest stockbroker," one not targeted by the feds, would make us learn more about what makes Belfort particularly crooked. Besides an immense rockstar appetite for women and drugs, we never get past the man’s perpetual debauchery. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b6KmxPZWf3E/Ur3yeitffNI/AAAAAAAAcEQ/na1GkcirUJ8/s1600/Leonardo-Dicaprio-Wolf-Of-Wall-Street-11062012-05-e1371532246946.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b6KmxPZWf3E/Ur3yeitffNI/AAAAAAAAcEQ/na1GkcirUJ8/s200/Leonardo-Dicaprio-Wolf-Of-Wall-Street-11062012-05-e1371532246946.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leo and his Trophy</td></tr>
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This bloated and overlong howler of a WOLF could very well contend with SHOWGIRLS if an otherwise talented movie star, along with his iconic director/collaborator, weren’t on board...<br />
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When Belfort and Donnie take too many Quaaludes there’s a surreal twenty minutes that seemed like part of another movie… perhaps LESS THAN ZERO if written by a sixth grader… Which is nothing compared to a storm-riding yacht sequence that should have ended like Leo’s other ship movie, sparing us an extra half-hour... <br />
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Bringing us back to the Motivational Speaker concept: If DiCaprio’s best moments involve convincing a group of born cheaters they’d be better off rich and dishonest, he’s merely preaching to the choir. The rest of us might need a reason to trust this jovially narcissistic, intentionally likable shyster before buying three long hours of his crap.

2013, biopic, jonah hill, leonardo dicaprio, martin scorsese

MARTIN DIRECTS LEO IN THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

year: 2013 rating: *1/2 Motivational Speakers have gotten a bad reputation throughout the years, and perhaps rightly so. They can talk u...

Written by James M. Tate / 12/23/2013 / No comments / 2013 , biopic , emma thompson , paul giamatti , tom hanks

DISNEY PRESENTS SAVING MR. BANKS

2013, biopic, emma thompson, paul giamatti, tom hanks

DISNEY PRESENTS SAVING MR. BANKS

year: 2013 rating: *** If you thought Nurse Ratched was bad, by the end of dealing with P.L. Travers, author of the MARY POPPINS books, ...

Written by James M. Tate / 12/21/2013 / 2 Comments / 2013 , amy adams , bradley cooper , christian bale , crime , jennifer lawrence

AMERICAN HUSTLE W/ BRADLEY COOPER & CHRISTIAN BALE

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xPUZV2f4bnY/UrZrJKNTzYI/AAAAAAAAb9M/D5HAb5L106A/s1600/american-hustle-bradley-cooper-christian-bale1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xPUZV2f4bnY/UrZrJKNTzYI/AAAAAAAAb9M/D5HAb5L106A/s200/american-hustle-bradley-cooper-christian-bale1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 rating: **1/2</td></tr>
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Never trust a movie that’s having a better time than you are… When New York con man Irving Rosenfeld meets his lady luck, an English accent faking Sydney Prosser, their business-honeymoon provides more excitement and pleasure for the characters than the first act of David O. Russell’s GOODFELLAS clone AMERICAN HUSTLE allows the audience to be part of: What’s really needed is that special someone to shake things up… <br />
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Let’s first point out that, like the work of newspaper caricature artists, two leading men can be transformed into average, goofy looking slobs… Christian Bale’s Irving resembles a balding Sea Lion while Bradley Cooper’s shifty FBI agent Richie DeMaso is a pointy gnu with an extremely bad perm… And both dolts are extremely in love with Sydney… Meanwhile, unlike the uglified males, Amy Adams looks better than ever.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vnwcc4W5URg/UrYrdQNVTdI/AAAAAAAAb88/eY3nvvIfHe8/s1600/jennifer-lawrence-first-american-hustle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vnwcc4W5URg/UrYrdQNVTdI/AAAAAAAAb88/eY3nvvIfHe8/s320/jennifer-lawrence-first-american-hustle.jpg" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jennifer goes bonkers</td></tr>
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After setting up and taking down Irving and Sydney’s scams, ranging from fake art to business loans, the main plot involves Cooper’s Richie making a deal: the couple have to turn in four lucrative con artists in order to regain freedom… This labored sting involves a bogus sheik, an idealist politician and a dangerous mobster played by a surprise guest, who not so surprisingly wields the most intense scene that ends much too quickly.<br />
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The 1970’s are brought to life in all the glorious polyester by SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK director Russell, zooming cameras in the Martin Scorsese fashion as classic rock provides an ongoing soundtrack to the tantrums and heartaches, which often distract from the pivotal cons being dealt in a whirlwind pace. <br />
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And while every flashy deck needs a wild card, here it’s Jennifer Lawrence as the young and shallow, conniving and deliberately annoying Rosalyn, Irving’s trophy wife who, like Sharon Stone’s manipulative gold-digger from CASINO, is a bad luck charm thwarting the hard work earned by the real players.  What’s more tragic is she eventually pushes Adams… who had genuine femme fatale potential… into a somewhat benign backseat: To give away the twists would be a crime, and to fill in the clues a sin, but ultimately HUSTLE unveils who we were subliminally rooting for <i>and</i> against… It’s too bad we didn’t have more reason to love and hate these people along the way… Although, for better or worse, they do take us for a ride.

2013, amy adams, bradley cooper, christian bale, crime, jennifer lawrence

AMERICAN HUSTLE W/ BRADLEY COOPER & CHRISTIAN BALE

year: 2013 rating: **1/2 Never trust a movie that’s having a better time than you are… When New York con man Irving Rosenfeld meets his ...

Written by James M. Tate / 12/20/2013 / No comments / 2013 , coen brothers , john goodman , music , oscar issac , quirky

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS BY JOEL AND ETHAN COEN

2013, coen brothers, john goodman, music, oscar issac, quirky

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS BY JOEL AND ETHAN COEN

year: 2013 rating: **** Having reached the end of your rope, at least there’s not enough left for a noose… This could be the theme of th...

Written by James M. Tate / 12/19/2013 / 1 Comment / eighties , exploitation , helene udy

PICK-UP SUMMER AKA PINBALL SUMMER

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_dsxQUFIZhU/UrNNE5L8jRI/AAAAAAAAb7I/Ub9eN6q_Hh8/s1600/pinball1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_dsxQUFIZhU/UrNNE5L8jRI/AAAAAAAAb7I/Ub9eN6q_Hh8/s320/pinball1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1980 rating: ***</td></tr>
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PINBALL SUMMER, also known as PICK-UP SUMMER… the latter appearing in the opening credits… Along with other great titles like PINBALL PICK-UP and FLIPPER GIRLS… is a ninety minute movie that seems about four hours, and that’s not such a bad thing…<br />
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With sporadic <i>shots</i>  of pinball, and the film set during summertime, the original/working title fits yet there’s not much of a <i>pick-up</i> since sexy sisters Donna and Suzy, played by Karen Stephen and DR. QUINN MEDICINE WOMAN starlet Helene Udy, already seem in-cahoots with our affable heroes Greg and Steve, two cool yet equally clumsy dudes that like hanging out at a local dive arcade and, along with a grungy biker named Bert, really want to win a coveted pinball trophy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8uV5ayFnMlg/UrNLllB1rQI/AAAAAAAAb6s/nsu-XD24P1E/s1600/pinball11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8uV5ayFnMlg/UrNLllB1rQI/AAAAAAAAb6s/nsu-XD24P1E/s320/pinball11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helene Udy and a lucky stuffed bear</td></tr>
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Much of the film has the foursome hanging around local spots, ranging from a theme park to a lakeside resort: the hotter the weather, the less clothes the sisters wear… But for hardcore exploitation fans it’s Joy Boushel as Sally that not only takes it off completely, but has her very own retro rock tune blaring when she's by herself and even during a frolicking house party.<br />
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Added to the mainstays are filler roles including a conceited rich kid who falls victim to practical jokes, and an off-kilter geek dead-set on appeasing the head villain at all costs. And there's not much to say about PINBALL SUMMER expect that when the movie actually relies on the titular device, the good times pretty much stop rolling... The final matchup between Greg and Bert, competing on a game aptly titled Pinball Summer while the local kids cheer them on, is somewhat ponderous: You'll wonder if the in-house arcade crowd can even see the slow-paced, flat-table game like the viewing motion picture audience.<br />
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It's the jovially flimsy plot-line: the sisters having fun despite uptight parents, and their boyfriends having fun despite the random bulwarks of their girl-next-door sirens, that makes this low-budget exploitation work despite itself.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P9-q51VZj1U/UrNLsAw66UI/AAAAAAAAb60/NKplFmTaEG8/s1600/pinball14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="462" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P9-q51VZj1U/UrNLsAw66UI/AAAAAAAAb60/NKplFmTaEG8/s640/pinball14.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helene Udy playing pinball in the local arcade</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Yl-LeFivLg/UrNVt5GibFI/AAAAAAAAb7g/iOSKdLrMqRk/s1600/pinball13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="490" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Yl-LeFivLg/UrNVt5GibFI/AAAAAAAAb7g/iOSKdLrMqRk/s640/pinball13.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Have a nice summer...</td></tr>
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eighties, exploitation, helene udy