Tag Archives: Thriller

The Towering Inferno (1974)

26 Sunday Apr 2015

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I am the fire that burns out of sight,
Starting my rampage as merely a wisp.
Celebrate victory into the night;
I will burn you and your spire to a crisp.
 
Why do they build these skyscrapers so high,
Making it simpler with every floor
For me to cut off and trap in the sky
Everyone over my fiery roar?
 
Look at the people who panic and flee,
Visitors boasting illustrious names.
Look at the firemen battling me,
Feeble to fight in the face of my flames.
 
I am inferno, the new height of heat,
No other bastion of bragging is hotter.
Top of the world, Ma! None can defeat
Me or my mayhem, except—oh no—water!
________________
 

(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was for a persona poem, one written in the voice of someone/something else. I’ve written a few like that recently, but this film offered another good opportunity.)

Released at the height of the 1970s fascination with disaster films, The Towering Inferno is one of the best films produced by “Master of Disaster” Irwin Allen. Featuring one of those great ensembles of former power players, the film plays as a modern land-based version of the Titanic story. Just as the Titanic set out without enough lifeboats for everyone aboard, the Glass Tower’s builder (William Holden) sees no problem with holding a top-floor party in a 138-story building with no working fire suppression system and later refuses to understand the severity of the situation. Likewise, the Titanic did have all the boats it was required to, just as the corner-cutting engineer (a loathsome Richard Chamberlain) insists that all the systems he installed were “up to code,” which is just not good enough, as the high-reaching disaster starkly proves.

In addition to the danger of irresponsible cost-saving measures, which are most commonly to blame for human-liable disasters, the film is an early realistic tribute to the heroism of firefighters, embodied in Steve McQueen’s Chief Mike O’Halloran. While he at first blames the tower’s architect Doug Roberts (Paul Newman), he wastes no time in taking charge and using everything at his disposal to stop the conflagration and rescue the stranded partygoers, from helicopters to a breeches buoy to a life-risking explosive mission. Not only does it foreshadow more recent firefighter stories, but certain scenes may even remind you of Die Hard or, more soberingly, the 9/11 attacks.

There’s everything you expect from a big disaster movie: building tension, children in danger, ill-fated lovers, lamentable panic, harrowing visual effects (the stars did their own stunts for the wet finale, which was filmed in one take), daring rescues, and an enormous cast of big-ish names, some of which aren’t necessarily safe from flaming death. In addition to the ones above, there are Faye Dunaway, an aging Fred Astaire, Robert Wagner, Robert Vaughn, model Susan Blakely, everyone’s favorite football player O. J. Simpson, Dabney Coleman, and the final film role of Jennifer Jones. Reportedly, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen clashed egos in who would receive top billing, resulting in a clever compromise in the credits, with McQueen’s name on the left but lower than Newman’s. Plus, those who remember 1970s TV might recognize the sheriff from The Waltons (as an electrical worker), Gregory Sierra from Barney Miller (as the bartender), and The Brady Bunch’s Mike Lookinland/Bobby Brady (as a boy in peril).

Rising from its B-movie potential, The Towering Inferno is surprisingly well-done, though not without some faults (a few overlong suspense scenes and victim incompetence), and it won Oscars for Best Cinematography, Editing, and Song, as well as a Best Picture nomination. While I prefer The Poseidon Adventure (which also won Best Song two years prior for “The Morning After,” which was also sung commercially by Maureen McGovern), this film has enough star power and thrills to still entertain. If Jaws made you afraid to go in the water and The Poseidon Adventure turned you off from cruise ships, The Towering Inferno may give you pause the next time you head to the top of a skyscraper.

Best line: (Doug Roberts, to the tower’s ambitious builder) “Don’t you think you’re suffering from an edifice complex?”

VC’s best line: (Doug Roberts) “If you had to cut costs, why didn’t you cut floors instead of corners?”

 
Rank: List-Worthy
 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

299 Followers and Counting

Wait until Dark (1967)

24 Friday Apr 2015

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Dark, be not proud, though some have cause
To fear when you fall, for you’re not that bad.
For those with blind eyes, you’re vexing a tad,
But not so much when all live by your laws.
You’re at your worst when men barge in because
They want some drugs that they can’t seem to find.
It’s hard to tell their truthfulness of mind
When I can’t see their flimsily-veiled flaws.
Thou art slave to caves, blinds, clouds, and Audrey Hepburn
And dost with broken lights and switchblades dwell,
But lighters and fridge doors can your shadow quell,
And thwart your hopeful fortunes, which (yep) turn.
One long night past, with you and deadly men,
And I won’t dare unlock the door again.
__________________
 

(In following today’s NaPoWriMo prompt, today’s poem is a parody/satire poem, in this case of John Donne’s “Death, Be Not Proud.”)

The movies have taught us quite a lot about stranger danger. Innerspace bade us to be wary of sudden injections, or else you may end up with Dennis Quaid inside your body. Twilight Zone: The Movie warned us against hitchhikers, even those as friendly-looking as Dan Aykroyd. And this film, Wait until Dark, teaches us not to accept heroin-filled dolls from people you just met on a transatlantic flight, especially if you have a blind wife and habitually leave your front door unlocked. Such is the setup for the most Hitchcockian film I’ve seen that doesn’t bear his name.

After a coworker recommended this one-room thriller to me, I was intrigued to see the lovely Audrey Hepburn in a less glamorous role, as housewife Susy Hendrix, a damsel in distress who is easily distressed due to her blindness. Her tense performance garnered an Oscar nomination, and, even if some of her reactions seem overacted, she does it well enough to never tip into histrionics. Alan Arkin is outstanding as Mr. Roat, one of the original creepy, single-minded killers with a bad haircut (you know the type), and his character might have become one of the great iconic villains had he benefited from more screen time. Richard Crenna and Jack Weston are also well and good as Roat’s bribed/blackmailed allies.

The main issue with this film is the suspension of disbelief throughout the middle. The movie starts out with a compelling setup and certainly ends well, but the bulk of the plot involves an elaborate ploy by the three baddies to trick Mrs. Hendrix into searching for the missing doll. Not only is it hard to believe that they would go to all that trouble, but Hepburn’s naiveté is equally improbable. She at first seems to immediately accept whoever walks through her door, and, though she proves to be more wise and perceptive than she first appears, her initial gullibility is just one of the film’s plot holes.

Yet once all the subterfuge is over and the narrative builds to its semi-famous climax, it becomes sheer tension. Let’s just say that the finale earns the “Dark” in the title as it morphs from Hitchcock into a precursor to Halloween. Whatever the faults of the film’s middle, the end certainly deserves a watch and teaches that other important movie lesson: just because you stab someone doesn’t mean they’re dead!

Best line: (Susy) “How would you like to do something difficult and terribly dangerous?”   (Gloria, her young helper) “I’d love it!”

  
Rank: List Runner-Up
 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

298 Followers and Counting

The Lovely Bones (2009)

14 Tuesday Apr 2015

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(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt is for a dialogue poem. In this case, I borrowed a page from The Book Thief and allowed Susie Salmon a conversation with Death.)
 
 
“Your name is Salmon, like the fish.
First name: Susie. Do you wish
That we had met on better terms
Before I made you food of worms?”
 
“You came upon me unannounced.
Within his den that monster pounced,
Delivering me to your door,
That I should wander home no more.”
 
“You were so young and so naïve,
And he so eager to deceive.
Before you knew it, you were here,
The latest girl to disappear.”
 
“This place is beautiful, and yet
I cannot help but feel regret
For all the joys I’d yet to find
And all the souls I left behind.”
 
“You still may watch the world now gone,
But like your friends, you will move on.
I’ll meet them all in proper time
And bring them to this realm sublime.”
________________
 

The Lovely Bones is Peter Jackson’s other film, the one he directed between his passion project of King Kong and his return to Middle-Earth with The Hobbit trilogy. Based on the bestseller by Alice Sebold, this supernatural drama is both deeply emotional and deeply flawed, a film that tries to balance beauty and evil and manages to cancel both out.

I enjoyed Saoirse Ronan in City of Ember and her ingenuous skill carries over to The Lovely Bones, in which she portrays Susie Salmon, a perfectly happy 14-year-old girl in 1973 who falls victim to an uncomfortably leery neighbor George Harvey, played with unsettling guile by Stanley Tucci. She hopes to be a wildlife photographer; she has a mutual crush on a fellow student from England; and she has her whole life ahead of her. Or rather, had, since she succumbs to the very stranger danger that kids are always warned about nowadays. The rest of the film follows her family as they deal with their loss, particularly her heartbroken parents (Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz), even as Susie explores her personal heaven and watches those she left behind through a fantastical lens.

The film as a whole reminded me of The Five People You Meet in Heaven (they both feature Michael Imperioli) mixed with the serial killer story from the 1983 miniseries Chiefs, yet falling short of either. Everything about Harvey is disturbing (though thankfully not graphic), from his methodical planning of the crime to his efficient hiding of it, similar to Keith Carradine’s role as a murderer in Chiefs, and it’s no wonder Tucci received a Best Supporting Actor nomination. As the story continues, the audience’s desire for justice grows as well, or revenge in Susie’s case. The anticipation grows as both another murder and his comeuppance approach, and when the climax arrives, the height of tension strangely coincides with the height of romance, a reincarnate second chance which ultimately supplants the more concrete drama. At the moment when we think the killer will be caught in the act, Susie lets him go, for rather selfish reasons, in my opinion, since he clearly plans to continue his death spree. By the time he gets some form of just desserts, it feels random and tacked on, despite some foreshadowing, with little apparent closure for those he wronged. By the end, everyone just gets over it, and there’s even the suggestion that things are better for Susie’s loss. Certainly, growth from tragedy is healthy and necessary, but it’s a stretch to consider everyone the better for it.

In addition, the scenes of Susie traversing the ethereal “in-between” are certainly lovely, with a vibrancy of color and fluidity of landscape that suggests an eternal dream, yet they ultimately serve little purpose except to indulge in giant special effects. There’s surely an artistic, symbolic reason for crumbling gazebos and shattered ships in bottles, essentially to offer a more visually impactful perspective to what is happening on earth, but the deep-seated grief from the talented cast carries more than enough poignancy, making the effects redundant and excessive.

While the film’s heaven is basically devoid of God, the kind of happy, watered-down, self-made afterlife Hollywood prefers, it is not without beauty. The best example of the attempted duality of repugnance and hope involves Harvey’s other victims, listed and shown in chilling succession yet revisited in “heaven” as a morbid but happy sisterhood. This is the film’s high point, and it sadly goes downhill from there. While it tries earnestly to lighten the mood with existential hope and Susan Sarandon’s comic relief, the film cannot escape the fact that it is a sad story, well-told but unsatisfying.

Best line: (Susie) “There was one thing my murderer didn’t understand; he didn’t understand how much a father could love his child.”

 
Rank: Honorable Mention (though on the lower end)
 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

294 Followers and Counting

The Birds (1963)

13 Monday Apr 2015

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We are watchers on the wires;
We are tenants of the skies;
Symbols of when man aspires;
Keepers of the flinching eyes;
Witnesses of every creature,
Evil, good, and in between,
Whether as a nimbus reacher
Or a prisoner to preen.
 
We are victims cursed by weakness,
Kept by cage or mortal mesh;
Though you know us by our meekness,
We will feast upon your flesh.
We are biders of the ages;
We are conquerors in wait.
When our wingéd warring rages,
You will comprehend too late.
_______________
 

(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was for a riddle poem, one that doesn’t reveal its subject, unless you count the title.)

I had never seen The Birds before and was curious about the film often considered to be Hitchcock’s last masterpiece. While many old suspense/horror films are sapped of their power by the passage of time, this one manages to retain most of its efficacy. Despite its potentially silly concept, the visual effects and Hitchcock’s direction manage to milk the tension and plausibly transform birds into a lethal nightmare, mainly due to their sheer numbers.

As the film begins, it follows the only mildly interesting courtship games of wealthy Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) and Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), and as she goes to improbable lengths to deliver a couple of lovebirds, my VC and I were waiting impatiently for some kind of bird-related havoc to happen. Of course, it does come and progresses gradually, from a single gull to a flock to a shocking discovery at a neighbor’s house (by a younger Jessica Tandy). Once the actual avian carnage begins, the film becomes vastly more entertaining. This transition from romantic comedy to terror was intentional, since Hitchcock wished to prey on his audience’s anticipation as they wondered when the attacks would start. While the gambit works for the most part, I can’t help but feel that Hitchcock was given a pass for a tactic that wouldn’t fly (pardon the pun) with someone of lesser prestige. Many films since have fused comedy and horror, but to shift from an unfunny comedy with no horror to a horror with no comedy would normally be criticized nowadays as being unbalanced or jarring.

Just as 1960’s Psycho established the slasher genre, The Birds actually foreshadowed two other horror sub-genres. Its depiction of nature rising up against humanity would be rehashed with various other animals over the years in lesser imitators (Frogs, Bats, Slugs). Likewise, the climax, in which the Brenners and Melanie barricade themselves within their home and defend against the swarming enemy, prefigured countless other such trapped room invasions throughout the horror genre (Night of the Living Dead, Aliens, The Mist, etc.). When the lights go out during the birds’ attack, I halfway expected someone to say, “They cut the power.” “What do you mean ‘They cut the power?’ How could they cut the power, man? They’re animals!” Unfortunately, The Birds also features the usual victim stupidity common in horror films, like sitting outside for a smoke after birds have attacked or inexplicably stepping into a room that clearly is full of birds and then losing the ability to open a door.

While one could speculate about the presence of caged birds being a possible impetus for the attacks, there is no explanation for the birds’ behavior. Perhaps Hitchcock felt any clarification would detract from the film by adding in some cheesy exposition, like radioactive something-or-other, a favorite device in B-movies. My VC would have preferred something of that sort, as well as a less sudden, ambiguous ending, which offered little closure for the characters. While some of the effects are dated and the beginning could have been improved, The Birds is still a film deserving of its classic reputation, one which succeeded in making even the mere flapping of wings an opportunity for dread.

Best line: (a naysaying ornithologist) “I have never known birds of different species to flock together. The very concept is unimaginable. Why, if that happened, we wouldn’t stand a chance! How could we possibly hope to fight them?”

 
Rank: List Runner-Up
 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

292 Followers and Counting

The China Syndrome (1979)

11 Saturday Apr 2015

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News reporter Kimberly Wells was hired,
For her pretty face and the ratings it drew.
Hard news is the journalist’s grail desired,
Dauntless and brand new.
 
She discovers just such a story when she’s
Sent to film a nuclear power station.
Sudden shutdown captured on film may displease
That corporation.
 
Cautious Jack Godell at the plant is worried:
Noises from the accident he alone fears.
Work to bring the plant back online is hurried;
Nobody there hears.
 
Those behind the overpriced project will block
Whistleblowers trying to thwart their tactic.
Brave Godell’s forced warnings yet hope to cause shock
With stunt climactic.
_________________
 

(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was for a poem written in a specific quatrain called a Sapphic, which I employed above. Tricky.)

Ironically, The China Syndrome is a film neither about China nor a disease, but rather an anti-nuclear thriller which acted as a forerunner to 1983’s Silkwood, sharing some of its themes. In fact, its early production grew from Jane Fonda’s desire to make a film about Karen Silkwood, though she eventually joined forces with Michael Douglas to create a fictional plotline informed by fact. Fonda and Douglas both star in the film as well, the former as a conflicted reporter tired of fluff news and the latter as her opinionated cameraman, who films an unexpected “accident” at the Ventana power plant in California. While both are eager to report the furtively obtained film, the bosses at both the news station and Ventana refuse to allow its release, even as Jack Godell (an exceptional Jack Lemmon) uncovers threats to the plant’s safety no one will take seriously.

Since it was recommended to me by my VC (who loves the young Michael Douglas in a beard), I knew from the start that The China Syndrome would have an anti-nuclear message, with which I was prepared to find fault since I personally do not object to nuclear energy and believe it to be safer than many critics imagine. As Douglas’s Richard Adams (not the author of Watership Down) vehemently decries the “cover-up” of the news station heads, I couldn’t help agreeing with his bosses. Just as we the viewers don’t fully understand all the technical jargon, Richard and Kimberly didn’t either. What they filmed was in no way definitive, lacking both sound and context, and to report it would have been professionally irresponsible, throwing volatile news out there just because it happened. Since the incident was also being investigated by the proper authorities, Richard’s eagerness to point an accusatory finger at Ventana seemed overly biased. However, as Godell’s complaints build up and roadblocks grow in the way of their next plant, Ventana’s subsequent actions become truly deserving of reproach. In scenes reminiscent of the end of Silkwood, the cronies attempt to silence dissent, pushing Godell to a breaking point as he hopes to bring them down with him.

As an anti-nuclear commercial, The China Syndrome failed to convince me, probably due to my conflicting bias, but I was pleased that it didn’t preach. As a film, it’s riveting, particularly toward the end, and every actor makes the most of each meaty role, evoking nuances and moral dilemmas that are not easily overcome. I’m no fan of Jane Fonda, but her skills are well-utilized to portray both Kimberly’s perky on-camera persona and her intuitive desire to be a hard-hitting journalist. She, as well as the set decoration and original screenplay, garnered Oscar nominations, but the most deserving was the Best Actor nomination for Jack Lemmon. His tragic performance becomes progressively more powerful, as he hesitates to challenge his superiors and eventually threatens everyone in order for the truth to be told.

In the end, despite its cast of anti-nuclear advocates, The China Syndrome (named after the theorized worst-case scenario of a nuclear core meltdown) becomes for me a condemnation not of nuclear power in general, but of the bureaucratic cutting of corners. The plant had an initial problem, which should have been swiftly corrected, but, despite all the fears of the plant being unsafe, its own built-in systems worked as they should have. The true issue lay in greedy executives trying to save money at the cost of human safety, an issue that applies outside the nuclear industry as well.

In one of the eeriest instances of life imitating art, the similar Three Mile Island nuclear incident occurred days after The China Syndrome’s release, which served to bolster the film’s revenue by making it even timelier. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, whether it be for movies or precarious forms of energy, and even if I disagree somewhat with its underlying message, I found this nuclear film to be anything but a bomb.

Best line: (Jack, during the investigation) “What makes you think they’re looking for a scapegoat?”  (his friend Ted Spindler, played by Wilford Brimley) “Tradition.”

  
Rank: List-Worthy
 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

291 Followers and Counting

VC Pick: The Firm (1993)

10 Friday Apr 2015

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Attorneys need a home in which to practice proper law.
Bendini, Lambert, Locke have quite the lawyer-luring draw.
Can anyone resist a wealthy, prosperous career?
Doubt not that it is tempting for young hotshot Mitch McDeere.
Enjoying all the pleasures that the firm has deigned to give,
Family and barbeques, a house in which to live,
Good times that lack a down side just as far as he can tell,
His wife and he are happy…till they lose some personnel.
In no time, Mitch is well aware that something isn’t right;
Jobs shouldn’t cause the FBI to come to you at night.
Know-nothing newbie lawyers like McDeere don’t have a clue;
Like often said, beware an offer too good to be true.
Mitch finds out that the mafia employ his newfound firm;
Nobody leaves the company or life becomes short-term.
On every side, there’s pressure: worry, guilt, concern, and shame,
Plus conscience-stinging ethics that he never can reclaim.
Qualms urge him to uncover ways to flee his latest job,
Replete with all the pleasures and the dangers of the mob,
So quick to reel him in and think that he would play along.
The Feds will be no friendlier should anything go wrong.
Undaunted by the challenge, Mitch discovers how to weigh
Veracity with justice at the climax of the day.
With those he cares the most for, he attempts a daring play;
Excitement follows after when the firm gets in the way.
Yet Mitch has all the intel and integrity he needs:
Zip right into the lion’s den and hope the plan succeeds.
_________________
 

(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was for an abecedarian poem, or one based on the alphabet. Here, each of the 26 lines above starts with a specific letter of the alphabet, though I had to fudge it on X. Who wouldn’t?)

It’s been several years since I last saw The Firm, the 1993 Sydney Pollack legal thriller based on a John Grisham novel. On the insistence of my Viewing Companion, I did, and I must admit I had forgotten how good it is. Though legal thrillers in general aren’t my preferred genre, The Firm is buoyed by excellent performances and a compelling lead character for Tom Cruise. Mitch McDeere is an admirable hero, confident in his skills, unflinching in his litigation, yet initially overwhelmed by the unexpected perils of a small Memphis law firm. Despite an unfortunate lapse early on, he loves his faithful wife (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and takes his duties as a lawyer seriously. Even when everyone around him expects him to be crooked for the sake of ease or safety, he remains straight, even if it puts him in more jeopardy (reminiscent of Montgomery Clift’s uncompromising priest in I Confess). His resolve to expose his criminal bosses only by legal means carries much risk, but it makes for an even more engrossing story.

On top of Cruise’s star power is the collective star power of the supporting cast, turning in good (not great) roles all around. There’s Gene Hackman as Cruise’s mentor and co-worker Avery Tolar, Gary Busey as a gun-hiding private eye, Holly Hunter as his accommodating assistant, a bald Ed Harris as a hard-nosed FBI agent, Wilford Brimley as the firm’s intimidating enforcer, and Hal Holbrook as the firm’s senior partner. In addition, Mitch’s jailed brother Ray is played by David Strathairn, whom I would never have considered to play Tom Cruise’s brother, yet it works.

Despite all the positives, the legal thriller genre has always felt overdone, in my opinion. While Mitch’s ethical solution to his predicament is entertaining, I can’t help but feel that all the intrigue and blackmail and legal dangers have been used elsewhere, perhaps in some other John Grisham book. I can’t cite anything definitive, but many legal thrillers seem to have the same shady machinations, just with different window dressing. In addition, Mitch’s tryst with a random girl on a beach, which comes back to bite him, seemed forced and out of character for someone of his integrity. He had already said no to another girl, and yet this one woman says, “You make me feel safe” and boom, he gives in. While I don’t enjoy The Firm quite as much as my VC does, it is still a riveting and well-acted drama that fits in well with other such thrillers and, to some extent, exceeds them.

Best line: (Mitch, to his brother Ray) “Hey, Ray, wouldn’t it be funny if I went to Harvard, you went to jail, and we both ended up surrounded by crooks.”

 
Rank: List Runner-Up
 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

291 Followers and Counting

VC Pick: The Lost Boys (1987)

08 Wednesday Apr 2015

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Do you enjoy some boardwalk fun
Where music pleases everyone
After the setting of the sun,
Where there resides a hidden fright,
Where teens go out to grab a bite
And murky murder plagues the night?
Then move to Santa Carla!
 
That’s where both Sam and Michael found
That teenage vampires abound
In coastal towns that bum around.
The elder learned to not imbibe
The blood of some vampire tribe
That sends a vague and creepy vibe.
 
If that should happen, it is best
To not be overly distressed
But stake the suckers through the chest.
Beware the bikers you befriend
Who look like Kiefer Sutherland.
There’s evil eager to descend
If you move to Santa Carla.
______________
 

For over a year now, I’ve indulged in my movie list, and though some films were chosen more for their appeal to my Viewing Companion than to myself (such as The Horse Whisperer and The Hunt for Red October), the list is primarily films I personally enjoy. While she shares many of the same tastes with me, there are a number of movies that would qualify for her personal list and wouldn’t come close to mine. In all fairness, since she has accompanied me for most of this film-viewing odyssey, I’ll be reviewing some of her favorites, whether I like them or not. The Lost Boys is my first VC Pick.

While I’m not usually one to endorse films with spewing blood (nor is my VC), I’ll admit I do enjoy The Lost Boys, an ‘80s cult classic if there ever was one. Directed by Batman’s greatest foe Joel Schumacher, it’s a blend of teen comedy and vampiric horror that balances the two surprisingly well, managing both big laughs and gruesome scares. Not being a horror fan, it’s not my preferred kind of movie, but my VC has a special love for the way it alternates between frights and fun, with giddy dedication to both. She enjoys its ‘80s-ness, such as the adolescent importance of MTV and comic books and a soundtrack full of well-chosen but less recognizable musical staples, such as covers of The Doors and Elton John. She loves the charm of the young actors; as she says, Corey Haim is just “so cute” as younger brother Sam, particularly in his reactions to the weirdness of Santa Carla, and cuteness turns to hotness when it comes to his older brother Michael (Jason Patric) and vampire gang leader David (Kiefer Sutherland), who fits the now-popular mold of a dark sexy bloodsucker. She also loves the film’s choral rock theme song “Cry, Little Sister,” as well as that hunky saxophone guy Tim Cappello, who shows off his ample muscles during an early seaside performance. (Like I said, this is one of her movies.)

While some early scenes drag on a bit, there’s much to entertain. The early antics of Haim and Patric make them believable brothers, while Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander deserve some kind of iconic vampire hunter status as the artificially fearless Frog Brothers. Much of the humor comes from them, and by the time of the over-the-top climax (which reminded me of the later Spiderwick Chronicles), the Frogs are spouting self-teasing one-liners, as if they had watched too much Mystery Science Theater 3000. Other comedic moments come from the eccentric grandfather (Barnard Hughes) or even some subliminally funny lines (“Where’s Star, David?”). Plus, though it’s not an official Lost alert, I always get a kick out of David’s invitation, “Michael Emerson, come on down!” since Michael Emerson the actor played Ben Linus on that show.

Compared with the modern trend toward long majestically filmed continuous shots, The Lost Boys is a good example of the quick, skillful editing of yesteryear to lend more excitement to the action and to somewhat cover up the faked violence. It’s an appealing modern vampire tale, though it’s a shame they changed names (John to Sam, Peter to David, Wendy to Lucy the mother) to distance the story from its intended connection with Peter Pan, leaving only the title and Michael. For vampire fans and my VC, it’s a bloody treat that never fails to entertain.

Best line: (Sam, after a particularly rocking kill) “Death by stereo!”

 
Rank: List Runner-Up
 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

290 Followers and Counting

The Maze Runner (2014)

22 Sunday Mar 2015

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Within a Glade within a Maze are boys without their memories,
Trying to survive and build the best of boy communities.
Outside the Glade, within the Maze are Grievers no one’s lived to see,
And the walls protect as well as hold them in captivity.
 
A final boy is planted here and wonders at the mysteries;
Thomas breaks the rules, impressing some but making enemies.
In search of freedom and some answers, gutsy curiosity
Opens doors as it explores and hopes to set the captives free.
_________________
 

Despite the glut of young adult films based on young adult book series starring young adults, The Maze Runner was one of the few films last year that I actually wanted to see in the theater based on the trailer alone. While I didn’t get to view it until just recently, I found it to be just what I was hoping for, a better-than-average YA thriller that rises above its brethren due to sheer intensity.

Like The Hunger Games, it’s a story built around one central but entertainingly provocative concept: a collection of amnesiac boys trapped in an enigmatic maze. Honestly, I’m surprised this idea was adapted into a book and film before it became a video game, what with its survivalist circumstances, plot-specific terminology (Grievers, the Changing, etc.), and lack of in-depth characters. (I can easily envision “Mini-Games with Minho” as players map and memorize the Maze. It makes me wonder what Halo or Portal would have been like had the game not come first.) Though none of the characters have an explained backstory as yet, they all become more real and likable over time. As second-in-command Newt says, it doesn’t matter who they were but who they are now, and almost all of them are sympathetic and supportive of each other as they band together to face the unknown with surprising maturity. My VC pointed out that the script could have been full of wit or clever dialogue, but instead the character’s lines are very much what real people might say, adding to the realism of the performances.

These YA series seem to act like this generation’s Red Dawn or The Breakfast Club, introducing many fresh faces sure to have promising careers ahead of them. Dylan O’Brian and Kaya Scodelario portray the game-changers Thomas and Teresa, alongside Aml Ameen as leader Alby and Ki Hong Lee as runner Minho. I was excited to see Will Poulter as Gally, a very different role from that of weaselly cousin Eustace Scrubb in the Narnia film The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and my favorite of the boys would have to be Newt, played by baby-faced Thomas Brodie-Sangster, known to me as the voice of Ferb on Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb.

While there’s no Lost alert for any of the actors, several similarities to that great show occurred to me afterward. Think about it: there is a group of people banding together in isolation, hoping to escape, while receiving supplies from a mysterious acronymed organization obsessed with experiments (DHARMA=WCKD) who leave cryptic video messages, all while being terrorized by an unseen creature which emits roars and mechanical clicking noises. On top of that, there are lies built upon lies and mysteries upon mysteries, which foster Lost-style speculation about what it all means (at least for those of us who haven’t read James Dashner’s books). According to IMDb, even director Wes Ball originally called the film “Lord of the Flies meets Lost.”

While the social commentary is not as pronounced as in The Hunger Games series, The Maze Runner surprisingly prompted far more discussion between my VC and me. We mainly debated the morality of Thomas’s search for the truth, which led to many casualties and didn’t better their situation (at least in this installment). On the one hand, she sympathized with Gally, who didn’t want to upset the status quo, a hard-fought peace that had made the Glade more or less an idyllic community. While Thomas wanted to find the truth, he did spoil that peace with his revolutionary curiosity, which ended up costing many lives. On the other hand, I countered that, as Thomas states, the situation in the Glade could not last forever, and his actions may have actually saved more lives (my reasoning behind that would be too spoiler-prone). In addition, the tantalizing idea of freedom and the desire to not be controlled or contained were understandable driving forces for his dissenting inquisitiveness.

The Maze Runner may draw a little from Aliens and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, mainly with respect to the frightening Grievers, but it’s an intense and intriguing first installment for a series in which I’m now thoroughly invested, full of tense moments and glowing Broadway musical reviews (after all, “Wicked is good,” right?). That being said, don’t expect a lot of answers to your questions. The ending explains a couple issues but raises even more, and since my VC was not expecting this to be a trilogy, she was unsatisfied by the conclusion. If you enjoy sci-fi thrillers and don’t mind cliffhangers, this film is a must, but if that’s not the case, you might wait to watch after all the films have been released, like I did after Lost’s final season. Guilty as charged. 🙂

Best line: (Newt, to Thomas) “He’s right. It doesn’t matter, any of it. Because the people we were before the Maze, they don’t even exist anymore. These Creators took care of that. What does matter is who we are now and what we do right now.”

 
Rank: List-Worthy
 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

286 Followers and Counting

#10: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

28 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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Indiana Jones is back to find the Holy Grail,
His father Henry’s disappeared but left a learned trail.
When Walter Donovan commissions him to seek it out,
Jones finds the journal of his father, bookish and devout.
 
In Venice, Dr. Elsa Schneider joins him to assist,
For underneath a library, dark catacombs exist.
They find a clue but barely flee the rat-infested tomb,
Before the fez men follow them and nearly seal their doom.
 
To Austria, they fly to find his father captured by
A group of Nazi Grail-pursuers in a castle high.
The pair of Joneses reunite and make the room combust,
But not before a revelation and betrayal of trust.
 
Two chases later, both of them head to the Middle East,
Where Henry’s captured on a tank and narrowly released.
The Canyon of the Crescent Moon is where their journey ends,
And Indy’s forced to find the Holy Grail as death portends.
 
Through deadly trials, Indy goes to claim the waiting prize,
And as the villains follow him, their choices are not wise.
Though history is lost, our heroes let it go, dismayed,
But ride into the sunset until their next escapade.
_____________________
 

I know most people tend to prefer Raiders of the Lost Ark, but for me Last Crusade is that rare threequel that surpasses the original. It borrows the best elements from Raiders: a Biblical MacGuffin, a booby-trapped temple, Nazis as the villains, Sallah and Marcus Brody, and a gruesome (though not as gruesome) death for the villain.

What puts Last Crusade over its predecessor, though, can be summed up in two words: Sean Connery. Harrison Ford is always a blast as the famous title character, but to make his father a mild-mannered James Bond ups both the heart and the humor. Rather than being the unflappable hero of the first film, Indy has a mental match in his estranged father, who may lack the level-headed physicality but is more like his son than either recognize. Henry Jones, Sr.’s dedication to his work made him a distant, poor father, but his son clearly inherited a similar commitment, not to mention his womanizing tendencies. Putting them together allows for some humorously contentious dialogue and some realistic father/son moments ranging from disapproval to grief to shared devotion.

Of course, this wouldn’t be an Indiana Jones film without some outstanding action sequences, and it doesn’t disappoint. While nothing quite matches the truck chase in Raiders, the film as a whole is a nonstop thrill ride, with ancient flammable crypts, speedboat chases, motorcycle chases, airplane chases, tank chases, and some clever booby traps to match the beginning of the first film. The opening sequence is a stroke of genius too; while not directly connected to the main plot, as are the beginnings of the other films, it gives an unexpected glimpse of Jones in his youth. River Phoenix pulls it off, with a comic-book-style train chase that offers action and some answers about Jones himself.

While the film may just seem like a series of chase scenes, it offers all the humor and twists of the original, just in a slightly more family friendly package. I especially like the scene in which the sole profanity is chastised by the elder Jones as blasphemy, one of the few instances in modern-day films where it is called out and condemned, allowing for a telling illustration of the differences between father and son. The final resolution of the quest not only confirms the authenticity of the sacred artifact in question (and the myths surrounding it) but contrasts the blind ambition of Elsa with the wiser discernment of the Joneses. Plus, it ends on the most perfect of perfect notes, a final ride into the sunset, a fantastic wrap-up for the franchise…oh, wait, yeah, there was that fourth movie. Still, this could have been an unparalleled conclusion.

Decidedly better than Temple of Doom and Crystal Skull and just a little better than Raiders, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is one of the most enjoyable actioners ever made. While not quite as iconic as Raiders, it still remains influential, even for Spielberg himself, who used a similar motorcycle chase in his Adventures of Tintin. Though my VC pointed out that Last Crusade made a helpless tagalong out of Marcus Brody, who had more dignity in the first film, it doesn’t get much better than the dual star power of Ford and Connery.

Best line: (the butler) “This is a castle, and we have many tapestries, but if you are a Scottish lord, then I am Mickey Mouse!”   (Indy to Elsa, with Scottish accent) “How dare he!” [punches his lights out]

VC’s best line: (Nazi leader) “Dr. Jones?”   (Indy and Henry, simultaneously) “Yes?”

 
Rank: 60 out of 60
 

© 2015 S. G. Liput

283 Followers and Counting

#31: The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001)

26 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by in Movies, Poetry, Reviews, Writing

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Many centuries ago, upon the hot Egyptian sands,
Imhotep betrayed his pharaoh, who was murdered at his hands.
He and love Anck-su-Namun suffered death for what they did,
And the priest was mummified and cursed and vigilantly hid.
 
1926 or so is when a brave librarian,
Evelyn, with Jonathan, her brother, come to carry in
A map of sorts to Rick O’Connell, who discovered it and knows
Where the fabled treasure city Hamunaptra once arose.
 
Leading them, the dashing rogue encounters Beni, once a friend,
Who is leading treasure seekers to the city and their end.
Medjai warriors attempt to stop the bold adventurers,
Who discover Imhotep and resurrect this worst of curs.
 
As the mummy desiccates the bodies of a chosen few,
He then kidnaps Evelyn, his former lover to renew.
Rick and Jonathan, as well as Medjai leader Ardeth Bay,
Follow back to Hamunaptra, where a book can save the day.
 
Evelyn is very nearly sacrificed by Imhotep,
Till Rick fights while Jonathan is reading symbols step by step.
When the mummy is defeated and the just desserts are served,
Evelyn and Rick O’Connell leave in triumph well-deserved.
________________
 
Evelyn and Rick O’Connell, married now and with a son,
Take along the spunky Alex to dark crypts for family fun.
They unearth a golden bracelet, and when Alex tries it on,
He sees visions meant to guide him ere a coming lethal dawn.
 
He must head for an oasis, where the Scorpion King now lies,
Who will waken for destruction if not handed his demise.
Imhotep is resurrected by a cult with dark intentions,
Which includes his reincarnate lover and her interventions.
 
When the cult starts kidnapping, it’s clear that Imhotep intends
To defeat the Scorpion King and take his army for his ends.
Alex is abducted soon and guides them all to the oasis,
The O’Connells following upon a blimp to distant places.
 
Pygmies cause them further trouble as the deadly dawn arrives,
And as Imhotep approaches, not quite everyone survives.
When the Scorpion King awakens, he is mighty (like a Rock),
And his wicked jackal army causes Ardeth Bay a shock.
 
Rick and Imhotep face off against the evil hybrid king,
And at last when he is vanquished, everything starts crumbling.
Danger proves the truer romance, and as the O’Connells flee,
Wealth and global preservation lend them happy victory.
___________________
 

Critical reception for The Mummy and its sequel may not have been universally positive, but I consider both films quintessential actioners, with dashing characters and awesome set pieces recalling the excitement of Indiana Jones. I’m not much for horror comedies, mainly because the horror often manifests as gore, but the genre can be quite entertaining when the focus is on the comedy (Ghostbusters) or on the action, as in The Mummy.

My VC and I have always loved Brendan Fraser; he has the perfect adventure hero charisma for these movies, including that making-things-up-as-he-goes element that made Harrison Ford so likable. Pair him with Rachel Weisz as Evelyn, looking as beautiful as any actress ever has, and a modern classic romance is born. John Hannah is excellent comic relief as Evie’s con man brother Jonathan, and even if he’s CGI much of the time, Arnold Vosloo is effectively frightening as the reanimated mummy Imhotep. Ardeth Bay (which was the name taken by Imhotep in the original 1932 The Mummy) is played by Oded Fehr, whom my VC has always found dark, handsome, and hunky, even with the face tattoos.

As for the second film, despite changing directors, all the same actors returned, supplemented by Freddie Boath as Alex, who is not the most annoying of child actors and serves as a plucky addition to the O’Connell family. Oh, yeah, the Rock (a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson) had his big film debut as the Scorpion King, but considering he never speaks anything in English and is basically just a CGI tough guy most of the time, there’s not much I can say for his “performance.” Also, (Lost alert) Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who played Mr. Eko on my favorite show, plays a much less sympathetic killer as the villain Lock-Nah.

I was not impressed by Boris Karloff’s original The Mummy, hailed as a classic horror film yet exceptionally boring, at least to me. Retooling the basic plot points into a shoot-‘em-up pulp adventure was an inspired idea, complete with booby traps, ancient curses, killer beetles, and some then-advanced CGI. The first film is more foreboding in its build-up to the mummy’s resurrection, while the second veers into occasionally cartoonish territory, like racing sunrises and Alex’s childish high jinks. Even so, I think I like the second a little better, thanks to some outstanding action scenes, especially an awesome chase scene with a double-decker bus and the pyramid finale. I also liked how, aside from a few gruesome scenes, objectionable content was kept to a minimum, making both films the kind of Saturday night fare a family can enjoy, provided the kids’ eyes are covered every now and then. There’s some talk of reincarnation, and I don’t know how or why a mummy can recreate the plagues of Egypt, which came from God, but none of the spiritual mumbo jumbo is to be taken seriously anyway.

Neither film is Oscar material, but both are so spectacularly entertaining that Imhotep’s stereotypical romance and some unrealistic moments are easily forgiven. Such is not always the case: The third film The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, thanks mainly to the loss of chemistry from the recasting of Rachel Weisz, just didn’t have the same magic, nor did director Stephen Sommers’ other monster movie rehash Van Helsing. With these films, it’s the full package that makes them something special: the thrilling score by Jerry Goldsmith (The Mummy) and Alan Silvestri (The Mummy Returns), funny and dynamic performances from most of the cast, and the perfect blend of humor, horror, and action.

Best line from The Mummy: (Evelyn) “You were actually at Hamunaptra?”
(Rick) “Yeah, I was there.”
(Evelyn) “You swear?”
(Rick) “Every damn day.”
 
Best line from The Mummy Returns: (Ardeth Bay, concerning Alex’s putting on the Bracelet of Anubis) “By putting this on, you have started a chain reaction that could bring about the next apocalypse.”
[Alex gasps]
(Rick, to Ardeth) “You, lighten up.” (to Alex) “You, big trouble.” (to Jonathan) “You, get in the car.”
 
 
Rank: 58 out of 60
 

© 2014 S. G. Liput

275 Followers and Counting