GENE HACKMAN MINING THROUGH NICOLAS ROAG'S 'EUREKA'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCRfM7Ghj5zLUvUYIqIUKoAsAs8vExn4gmt3QfjjJP-LLP-5l9fhSRfcHcHWLIVxtHTIwSMDD2M-W0ogvEwCWZ_uBMs_J2jfGiY1nqxDHLFdeii6cASgCnaDb4mfJEhbzY53CW3JzUfqVrl99cmeulEvNCo98mHJW5pgGE096wd7ZNfqmt0JT6YBfu_E1e/s1036/Screen%20Shot%202025-03-01%20at%2010.15.14%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="1036" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCRfM7Ghj5zLUvUYIqIUKoAsAs8vExn4gmt3QfjjJP-LLP-5l9fhSRfcHcHWLIVxtHTIwSMDD2M-W0ogvEwCWZ_uBMs_J2jfGiY1nqxDHLFdeii6cASgCnaDb4mfJEhbzY53CW3JzUfqVrl99cmeulEvNCo98mHJW5pgGE096wd7ZNfqmt0JT6YBfu_E1e/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-03-01%20at%2010.15.14%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Gene Hackman in EUREKA Year: 1983 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Following the game-changing THE FRENCH CONNECTION turning 2nd-lead and/or villain-role character-actor Gene Hackman into a leading man/movie star, he did two independent art-films, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2025/02/scarecrow.html">Jerry Schatzberg's SCARECROW</a> and Francis Ford Coppola's THE CONVERSATION that, because of their underpar box office (albeit both being critically praised), he swore to only mainstream movies thereafter...<br><br>But after THE FRENCH CONNECTION sequel, a few action thrillers and two SUPERMAN blockbusters, he went back to low-budget basics with the most offbeat auteur of them all, Nicolas Roeg, for a deliberately dismal melodrama EUREKA where the best scenes exist in the relatively short-lived first act: when Gene Hackman as solitary yet formidable minor Jack McCann (when not frequenting a brothel with FIVE EASY PIECES rambling-actress Helena Kallianiotes) has put everything into one lucrative gold strike...</p><p><span></span></p>

ed lauter, eighties, gene hackman, helena kallianiotes, indie, joe pesci, mickey rourke, nicolas roeg, rutger hauer, theresa russell

GENE HACKMAN MINING THROUGH NICOLAS ROAG'S 'EUREKA'

Gene Hackman in EUREKA Year: 1983 Rating: **1/2 Following the game-changing THE FRENCH CONNECTION turning 2nd-lead and/or villain-role chara...

CAPTURING THE PANDEMONIUM OF STEVEN SPIELBERG'S '1941'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbSPe9sVXXftLMWxHNcpQWrGh5TScreklJzpYU-z1sijR7Zc3qUxkbhawj11R5EhAARBD4vn6pOcQcUlleLpnrjugd5CJ1aqcdfCkUna4YpNmpnhy2t-Exju9iQAqJeyFJUgDjFr6lpryrhOziYx5i2y-IQdp97VPKz_FsE6R8ZpHsob_Z4vGXLSwiw/s1936/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-12%20at%209.31.51%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="1936" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbSPe9sVXXftLMWxHNcpQWrGh5TScreklJzpYU-z1sijR7Zc3qUxkbhawj11R5EhAARBD4vn6pOcQcUlleLpnrjugd5CJ1aqcdfCkUna4YpNmpnhy2t-Exju9iQAqJeyFJUgDjFr6lpryrhOziYx5i2y-IQdp97VPKz_FsE6R8ZpHsob_Z4vGXLSwiw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-06-12%20at%209.31.51%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: 1941 from 1979 Director: Steven Spielberg Pictured: John Belush, John Landis Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>While considered by many to be Steven Spielberg's worst film... especially compared to DUEL, JAWS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND... the 1979 blockbuster 1941 is actually his most important motion picture... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>For a director whose camera-flowing style REMAINS the prototype for other big budget (including comic book adapted) extravaganzas, 1941... from the warplane dogfight to the climactic rolling Ferris Wheel... moved Spielberg from action-BACKED thrillers to action-PACKED thrills...</p><p><span></span></p>

bobby di cici, comedy, dan aykroyd, dianne kay, ensemble, john belushi, john candy, mickey rourke, murray hamilton, nancy allen, ned beatty, seventies, steven spielberg, treat williams, world war II

CAPTURING THE PANDEMONIUM OF STEVEN SPIELBERG'S '1941'

Title: 1941 from 1979 Director: Steven Spielberg Pictured: John Belush, John Landis Rating: ***1/2 While considered by many to be Steven Spi...

ESSAY ON FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA'S ARTSY-TOUGH 'RUMBLE FISH'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57xzOzFbA_vCjJAIFw1yXK2s0KuwHr2nB3lmJ1tNlSqxMcYsp8gk1idj7XtnvSgKbIFWKvfyl_FrF-ux1jGkbftMINLJv5IupocWnPOlByv7QUpuIKPzLBk4Xb5GusDCPTKnBZlndf3Ha/s1600/117231461_1037755393320303_6396216417352977145_n+2.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="553" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57xzOzFbA_vCjJAIFw1yXK2s0KuwHr2nB3lmJ1tNlSqxMcYsp8gk1idj7XtnvSgKbIFWKvfyl_FrF-ux1jGkbftMINLJv5IupocWnPOlByv7QUpuIKPzLBk4Xb5GusDCPTKnBZlndf3Ha/s400/117231461_1037755393320303_6396216417352977145_n+2.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Matt Dillon and Mickey Rourke doing time in RUMBLE FISH</u></td></tr> </tbody></table><p> Beyond the dynamic B&W cinematography by director Francis Ford Coppola, RUMBLE FISH is a different kind of art film as it's both that and a teenage angst flick: The difference is that both main characters... younger brother Rusty James played by Matt Dillon and Mickey Rourke's legendary The Motorcycle Boy... want nothing to do with one or the other... <br> <br> In other words, the rumble-tough movie is fully embodied by Matt Dillon's character, who walks the walk and talks the tough guy talk while his now passive mentor, who once genuinely ruled those same streets, is dead-set against all the nostalgic street savvy shit while embodying the deep arthouse aspect which, during some of the best scenes, Dillon's character not only loathes but annoyingly doesn't understand (especially drunk dad Dennis Hopper's surreal drunken rambling), much like young audiences who initially rejected what Coppola intended as an "art film for teenagers" (a cerebral b-side to THE OUTSIDERS, both S.E. Hinton adaptations) but eventually grew to, like Rourke's wandering, pondering nomad, embrace as a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience where brothers and genres simultaneously collide onscreen. "Man, what the f--- do the Greeks have to do with anything?" The answer is... Nothing. And Everything.</p><span></span>

arthouse, dennis hopper, eighties, essay, francis ford coppola, matt dillon, mickey rourke

ESSAY ON FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA'S ARTSY-TOUGH 'RUMBLE FISH'

Matt Dillon and Mickey Rourke doing time in RUMBLE FISH Beyond the dynamic B&W cinematography by director Francis Ford Coppola, RUMB...

DENNIS CHRISTOPHER'S TOUR-DE-FORCE OF 'FADE TO BLACK'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYneWpQIlapwHW_2gjsGp_eiKsW0Q4xqp69Gb5esHod0zdyJb29bCyql48QuCr_ngXnWd7FapjcbAoJvmBEUBMzb07s1Uf8ssfpzVsAm1nzy3pIl2uDBe7ibj1qDDysr7YJmmI4bK0jpt/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2018-07-29%252Bat%252B7.39.37%252BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="917" data-original-width="1290" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYneWpQIlapwHW_2gjsGp_eiKsW0Q4xqp69Gb5esHod0zdyJb29bCyql48QuCr_ngXnWd7FapjcbAoJvmBEUBMzb07s1Uf8ssfpzVsAm1nzy3pIl2uDBe7ibj1qDDysr7YJmmI4bK0jpt/s400/Screen%252BShot%252B2018-07-29%252Bat%252B7.39.37%252BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dennis Christopher in FADE TO BLACK Year: 1980</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"That was a lot of fun and I got burnt by squibs, they’re called," is <i>not</i> a quote from Dennis Christopher, who does the shooting, but future BLADE RUNNER character-actor Morgan Paull in our interview six months before his untimely death...</span></span><br> <br> <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Centering on his own particular curtain call in a movie that lives up to its name: If PSYCHO Norman Bates was heavily into cinema, you'd have FADE TO BLACK; but not really since it took until the 1980's (and/or late 70's) where the immense wave of pop culture began to recede, and film buffs and even intellectuals were human movie quiz books, and Dennis Christopher's Eric Binford epitomizes what's called a Cinefile to the point that he makes sure he lives on 99 RIVER STREET...</span></span><br>

body count, dark comedy, dennis christopher, eighties, exploitation, horror, linda kerridge, marcie barkin, mickey rourke, morgan paull, neo noir, tim thomerson

DENNIS CHRISTOPHER'S TOUR-DE-FORCE OF 'FADE TO BLACK'

Dennis Christopher in FADE TO BLACK Year: 1980 "That was a lot of fun and I got burnt by squibs, they’re called," is not a qu...

FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbuAaZvh20qxVChDcXv5-GAlDTsIYR_QRdDX8KIubZgfYHfjdK5ht5ZwoIRKC3Co5zjjyejpN2bwIXz9EwR8BRrybl5QpOh4MMZSA0ocDK-Mr9HZjZtEOfYruLgLcYTHySGyaIC0nZHw/s1600/Sin-City-A-Dame-to-Kill-For-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbuAaZvh20qxVChDcXv5-GAlDTsIYR_QRdDX8KIubZgfYHfjdK5ht5ZwoIRKC3Co5zjjyejpN2bwIXz9EwR8BRrybl5QpOh4MMZSA0ocDK-Mr9HZjZtEOfYruLgLcYTHySGyaIC0nZHw/s320/Sin-City-A-Dame-to-Kill-For-Poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> “I was born at night,” Josh Brolin’s gritty Dwight tells the title femme fatale. “But it wasn’t last night.”<br /> <br /> That’s the kind of  pulpy camp delivered in Frank Miller’s graphic novel Film Noir purgatory, which is extremely graphic. But all the limbs flying and blood gushing, bathed in a surreal backdrop even stranger than Mickey Rourke’s abundant Dick Tracyesque jawbone, doesn’t seem very real, and that’s a good thing – escapism reigns in SIN CITY. <br /> <br /> Consisting of three intertwined tales, the best has Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Johnny, a young idealistic card shark who takes on the super nefarious Senator Roark (Powers Booth) – learning all about luck and experience the hard way. The main story centers on Brolin, who falls desperately hard for the DAME TO KILL (and/or die) FOR... Although Eva Green’s Ava isn’t entirely spellbinding, and it’s never really clear what the fuss is about. And least entertaining for last: Jessica Alba as Nancy, a stripper with a heart of golden vengeance, headed after the Senator, who has more than earned his villainy at this point... he's the Bill to Kill. Meanwhile, Rourke's muscular Marv serves as bodyguard for the vulnerable and needy. <br /> <br /> The action scenes are fun, involving, explosive, and completely over the top. But in a world where excess is commonplace, it all makes perfect sense even though the characters, intentionally befitting their dime novel personas, aren’t as memorable or significant as the trouble they quickly get into and out of. In this particular venture, once again directed by Robert Rodriquez and creator Frank Miller, it's more about the path than the journey.

christopher lloyd, franchise, james brolin, joseph gordon-levitt, mickey rourke, neo noir, powers booth, sequel, stacy keach

FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR

year: 2014 rating: *** “I was born at night,” Josh Brolin’s gritty Dwight tells the title femme fatale. “But it wasn’t last night.” Th...

IMMORTALS

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqqPdnJztfqdv_sK2RwfQrQ2tIb9lPGC2qN7lj5d1pZtWqdcaUK4Ry_a0plWg_Jn_oyzuzd7OjJZnPFOdZXWnybyxgpvb_ck4rmvDgmS8cxOJ_a9tdymmnASQDxSdezC5Y9foz0X9aPtZ/s1600/4.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674670386888648594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQqqPdnJztfqdv_sK2RwfQrQ2tIb9lPGC2qN7lj5d1pZtWqdcaUK4Ry_a0plWg_Jn_oyzuzd7OjJZnPFOdZXWnybyxgpvb_ck4rmvDgmS8cxOJ_a9tdymmnASQDxSdezC5Y9foz0X9aPtZ/s200/4.jpg" style="float: right; height: 220px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 119px;" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">title:</span> IMMORTALS<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">year: </span>2011<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">cast: </span>Henry Cavill, John Hurt, Stephen Dorff<br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">rating:</span> *1/2<br /> <br /> While it’s common for gladiator movies to have people looking like they’re straight from a modeling agency, never has one been so replete with perfectly chiseled male and female supermodels seeming fresh from a personal training session. But the problem is the setting; basically a mountaintop where there’s never any sense of adventure i.e. our heroes have nowhere else to go.<br /> <br /> The plot has evil King Hyperion, played by a grisly Mickey Roarke in scarred, distracting makeup, seeking an important weapon in order to free the titans, which would then cause… bad stuff to happen. Which it does, but only the third act harbors any sort of meaningful battle – although with so many men fighting at once, it’s never personal enough to merit our hero Theseus (Henry Cavill) as being any more than a skillful warrior in a video game.<br /> <br /> The other characters are one-dimensional and dull, including posturing beauty Frieda Pinto as the virginal "McGuffin" (a device driving the plot that no one pays attention to) and John Hurt as a narrating old man who turns into a young Zeus – yet another G.Q. pinup.<br /> <br /> Stephen Dorff’s Stavros is almost interesting – a cocky antihero the likes of Han Solo – but he soon becomes part of the vicious blender of gory C.G.I. that’s too over-the-top to look realistic, happening amongst quick-paced MATRIX style slow-motion karate... raising the question: When and where did this ancient race study Bruce Lee films?<br /> <br /> So here’s yet another movie about gods and titans taking itself way too seriously: the thunderous soundtrack and explosive effects outshining the characters, who, lacking any real depth, motivation, or purpose, seem like shiny pieces on an overpriced chessboard.

fantasy, freida pinto, john hurt, mickey rourke, stephen dorff, stephen mchattie, tens

IMMORTALS

title: IMMORTALS year: 2011 cast: Henry Cavill, John Hurt, Stephen Dorff rating: *1/2 While it’s common for gladiator movies to have ...

IRON MAN 2

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGV5Ssl1we__A6f1mmm48dURgnUtVRjFOlG5uR6lcMS5lm4AQVs0V7jqnl2Oe70oQ7fH_Omy0r-to1Te5eOnzCSMAoKNZgCFOUapkiB2dDuinHT5niGLe4hWJ_ZNmoMsavzR88vYHNcc/s1600/IRONMAN2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572123717966619954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGV5Ssl1we__A6f1mmm48dURgnUtVRjFOlG5uR6lcMS5lm4AQVs0V7jqnl2Oe70oQ7fH_Omy0r-to1Te5eOnzCSMAoKNZgCFOUapkiB2dDuinHT5niGLe4hWJ_ZNmoMsavzR88vYHNcc/s200/IRONMAN2.jpg" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 200px; float: right; height: 132px;" /></a><strong>title:</strong> IRON MAN 2<br /><div><strong>year:</strong> 2010</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> **1/2</div><br /><div></div><div>Although it's intriguing watching Robert Downey Jr. as millionaire Tony Stark who, with too much fame, money, booze and girls, behaves like Downey did in the nineties (short of waking up in a stranger's living room), this is an action film lacking action. Mickey Rourke makes for a potentially decent villain, but is given two (relatively quick) scenes battling our hero, the metal clad warrior not up for saving the world (but from what, or who?). The lack of a decent heavy is replaced by Sam Rockwell's sleazy arms-dealing senator, given too much dialog in scenes that need more <em>punch</em>. Much like ROCKY IV... a lazy "champion" with too much money verses a killer Russian... but even that had more vapidly entertaining comic book appeal, something this needed more of. </div>

comic book, franchise, mickey rourke, robert downey jr., sam rockwell, samuel l. jackson, sequel, superhero, tens

IRON MAN 2

title: IRON MAN 2 year: 2010 cast: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell rating: **1/2 Although it's intriguing watching Ro...