Tag Archives: Thriller

Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986)

28 Monday Apr 2014

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Miss Terry Doolittle works for a bank,
Where her conversations are casually frank.
A friendly, disheveled, productive commuter,
She spends her days typing into a computer.
Then one day, her life takes a turn unforeseen
When “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” says hello on her screen.
 
At first, she assumes it’s a practical joke,
Some wisecracking trickster who wants to provoke,
But soon she discovers this analog stranger
Is some British spy trapped in Europe in danger!
He gives her instructions which don’t make much sense
And only cause threats on her life to commence.
 
The contacts he gives her just end up deceased
Or don’t seem to care for poor Jack in the least,
And every attempt to find Jack a way out
One Jeremy Talbot is eager to rout.
With help from the wife of another lost spy,
She learns that the KGB is the bad guy.
 
She grows close to Jack in their shared conversation;
A date with this spy is her one expectation.
When she has success in releasing her chap,
She’s captured by foes and is told it’s a trap.
With desperate shenanigans, she gets away
And tries to warn Jack of sly Talbot’s foul play.
 
She narrowly makes it with aid from a spy,
Who helps bring Jack home and, you know, not die.
Though Terry’s expecting their subsequent date,
Jack doesn’t show up, leaving Terry to wait,
But, at Terry’s office, Jack finally shows,
Fulfilling his promise, and off the pair goes.
___________________
 

Jumpin’ Jack Flash was only Whoopi Goldberg’s third film, and, immediately following her star turn in The Color Purple, it was a return to her comedic roots. Other actors lend their talents as well, from respected thespians to popular comedians, including Stephen Collins, John Wood (WarGames), Jim Belushi, Carol Kane, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, and Jonathan Pryce as Jack, who is only heard throughout most of the film. The computer element of the plot may date it, like Cloak and Dagger or Tron, but Terry’s typed conversations with Jack are well-edited, as if they’re talking to each other over the phone.

The script and direction supposedly went through a lot of issues before the film was completed, but the final result is a comedic gem, despite receiving several negative reviews upon its release. Whoopi Goldberg is just plain cute as Terry Doolittle, and her reactions, whether to good-natured workplace banter or to threats against her life, are hilarious. As typical of spy films, there are the usual creepy or threatening scenes but nothing really violent, and the comedic touches throughout strike just the right balance between tension and humor, leaning more toward the latter. My VC and I love the part where Terry tries to decipher the lyrics to the Rolling Stones’ song “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” and the phone booth scene and Terry’s subsequent drugged rant is hilarious, one of those great laugh-a-minute sequences.

Unfortunately, as with Trading Places, Jumpin’ Jack Flash is heavy on the language with Whoopi Goldberg especially having a foul mouth, which various characters comment on. Considering that the violence is minimal, it’s a shame that this alone warranted an R rating. As with other movies on my list, catch a cut version on TV some time. You’ll be glad you did.

Best line: (a drugged Terry, when stopped by a spa security guard named Earl) “You see this face, Earl. This is the face of a woman on the edge.”
(Earl) “I know, my wife’s got the same face.”
(Terry) “Now, you gotta decide, Earl. Do you wanna work here, or do you wanna live?”
(Earl, intimidated) “I quit. I quit.”

 

Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 8
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 7
Originality: 8
Watchability: 8
Other (language): -10
 
TOTAL: 36 out of 60
 

Next: #252 – Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

© 2014 S. G. Liput

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Cloak and Dagger (1984)

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

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Young Davey Osborne loves computer games,
Especially the exploits of Jack Flack,
A superspy who’s known by many names.
 
While on a “secret” escapade with Jack,
His own imagined friend who looks like Dad,
The boy observes a murderous attack.
 
The cops assume that Davey might be mad;
His mother died, and games are his escape.
Not even Davey’s father trusts the lad.
 
He gives his gamer friend Morris a tape,
A Cloak and Dagger game the victim gave
Him right before he got into this scrape.
 
This game is what the secret villains crave.
They kidnap Davey’s younger playmate Kim,
And urge a trade before they dig her grave.
 
He rescues her, but Morris, on a whim,
Finds hidden plans that cost the man his life,
And Davey learns the villain Rice shot him.
 
Rice has the cartridge, which could kindle strife,
But Davey manages to get the game,
Thanks to a helpful old man and his wife.
 
When Dave sees Rice and is chased by the same,
Jack’s help provokes the armed young boy to fire,
And Davey, sick of games, gives Jack the blame.
 
Once Jack fades out, unneeded like times prior,
The boy pursues the bad guys to their plane
And ends up as a hostage, not a liar.
 
His father joins him, as the spies ordain,
And helps to get him out ere things go bad.
A hidden bomb kills those spies that remain,
 
And Davey doesn’t need Jack Flack, just Dad.
_______________________
 

Cloak and Dagger is a film I fondly remember watching and loving every minute of as a child. Henry Thomas (in one of his few good roles after playing Elliott in E.T.) is highly believable as the imaginative but overwhelmed Davey, and Dabney Coleman turns in a great dual performance as both Davey’s father and his more dashing counterpart Jack Flack.

Jack’s invisible advice to Davey, totally unseen by everyone else, is reminiscent of similar themes in films such as Harvey and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and such imperceptible characters have been used since in other movies like Heart and Souls and Ghost Town. Yet, unlike most of these, Jack Flack is not a ghost but an imaginary friend that may not be imaginary. His sometimes physical assistance for Davey and his direct intervention near the end open the possibility that he was real, a theory heightened by his mention of Davey’s father outgrowing him too. While the film doesn’t go into this, I tend to think that Jack is the living embodiment of various children’s imaginations, assigned to certain kids until they “stop believing.” This seems very similar to the likewise age-and-belief-restricted status of fairies in Nickelodeon’s show Fairly OddParents. If Jack was alive, I do wonder what became of him; perhaps he went to live at Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. 🙂

The sight of those old computers and Atari game cartridges certainly dates the film overall, but the movie itself is enjoyably tense and intricate in its tribute to espionage and covert missions. A big reveal (which I won’t divulge) really took me by surprise, and the end is sure to keep anyone on the edge of their seat. Though several people are killed, the film manages to be mostly family friendly, with gunshots obviously muted and most deaths being bloodless or off-screen. Plus, the filmmakers must have been trying to appeal to younger audiences as well since they threw in hardly any language, which I applaud.

While these elements may have been used in earlier films I haven’t seen, I did think certain scenes may have inspired other spy films. For instance, Davey’s insistence about a murder that is cleaned up before authorities can find any evidence was reused in Whoopi Goldberg’s Jumpin’ Jack Flash two years later, and the part in which a wounded man fleeing bad guys bestows something important on the nearest unsuspecting bystander is akin to a similar scene in 1987’s Innerspace.

Part of a 1980s video-game trend that also included Tron, WarGames, and The Last Starfighter, Cloak and Dagger is a twisting spy film that can appeal to adults and children alike, combining intrigue, action, and a good moral (see below) into a highly entertaining adventure.

Best line: (Davey’s father Hal) “Heroes don’t just shoot bad guys. They put supper on the table, they fix bicycles, they do—they do boring things, real things, not make-believe. And you’ll understand that when you get a little bit older.”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 5
Originality: 7
Watchability: 8
Other (I just like other films more): -6
 
TOTAL: 35 out of 60
 

Next: #264 – Amazing Grace

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

100th Poem! The Hunt for Red October (1990)

15 Tuesday Apr 2014

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Jack Ryan, a writer on tactics of war,
Gets word of a threat that he needs to explore.
He flies to his CIA boss to expound
On a new Russian sub of which photos were found.
 
More research reveals that the foe could arrive
Off the coast unbeknownst to us, due to a drive,
A unique “caterpillar” that keeps the sub quiet,
And government leaders are disheartened by it.
 
The captain named Ramius may be en route
To bomb us and trigger a worldwide dispute,
But analyst Ryan has come to suspect
That the great Marko Ramius wants to defect.
 
Indeed, Marko leaked to Moscow in a letter
That the sub Red October will go someplace better.
Though Ramius’ officers want to leave too,
They’re not necessarily sure of the crew.
 
So Russia’s fleet frantically searches the sea
For a trace of this sub they built so secretly,
But the USS Dallas is solo in knowing
Or having a clue where this covert sub’s going.
 
Meanwhile, ol’ Ramius soon is quite sure
That a sailor on board is a spy saboteur,
So his officers fake a bad nuclear leak
That gets the whole crew off, a clever technique.
 
When Ryan realizes the Dallas’s status,
He’s dropped from a chopper with some apparatus.
The Dallas’s crew helps to bring Jack aboard,
And Ryan soon proves that he won’t be ignored.
 
Though Captain Mancuso, still hot in pursuit,
Has orders to find Red October and shoot,
He listens to Ryan, who says they must talk,
And both steer a rescue sub over to dock.
 
On board Red October, Jack hunts down the spy
Before he can blow the whole vessel sky high.
A Russian sub also attempts to destroy
The renegade craft that has left its employ.
 
October’s maneuvering with not a flub
Diverts the torpedo to hit the bad sub.
The Russians believe that October was hit,
So Marko and Jack can relax for a bit.
______________________
 

I’ll be honest that I have not seen any of the other movies featuring Jack Ryan, Tom Clancy’s less-glamorous answer to James Bond, so I have no idea how successfully Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, or the recent Chris Pine have carried on the role that Alec Baldwin began in The Hunt for Red October. My VC, however, loves Red October with a passion and considers it to be the best role of Baldwin’s career; Rotten Tomatoes also indicates that it was the best of the Jack Ryan adaptations, with a significantly higher 95%.

It’s a taut thriller to be sure, though it does take a while for events to heat up. Much of the first hour is spent with guesswork about what the sub is, where Ramius is going, and what his intentions might be. Some cool underwater effects highlight the midsection, but once Ryan gets aboard the Dallas, things really get good. The finale featuring a sub battle and Ryan’s confrontation with the spy simultaneously is among the most gripping climaxes of any thriller.

There are also quite a few recognizable names I had forgotten in the credits. Aside from Baldwin and a brief cameo by Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation), we have Scott Glenn (The Right Stuff, The Silence of the Lambs)as Captain Mancuso of the Dallas; Jeffrey Jones (Principal Rooney in Ferris Bueller) as a bearded sub expert; James Earl Jones (Darth Vader) as Ryan’s boss; Tim Curry, Stellan Skarsgard, and Sam Neill as Russians with varying loyalties; and the ever-distinguished Sean Connery as Captain Ramius. Connery bestows a unique dignity to all of his films, proving himself a thespian of the highest order. Plus, my VC loves the scene in which he eats with his officers, claiming that he has “chewable lips,” which she read in a magazine some years ago. Women.

While many were skeptical how well the convoluted Clancy novel would fare on the big screen, The Hunt for Red October surpassed expectations and even won an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing. It certainly deserves a place on my list and any list of great political thrillers.

P.S. Today I am celebrating my 100th poem in this year-long challenge!!!!!!!!! While I’m a tad behind, I plan to catch up somewhere along the line. Thank you to all of you who have liked and followed my blog along the way, and I ask that you continue to push that “like” button whenever you can. Every “like” fills me with satisfaction that I’m doing something right anyway. Feel free to comment as well about any movies you enjoy or if you disagree with anything on my list so far. Here’s to the next 265!

Best line: (National Security Advisor Jeffrey Pelt, when the Russian ambassador says that they have lost contact with the sub sent to destroy Red October) “Andrei, you’ve lost another submarine?” (And he’s eating jelly beans!)

 
Artistry: 7
Characters/Actors: 8
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 7
Originality: 7
Watchability: 6
Other (language): -7
 

TOTAL: 35 out of 60

 

Next: #265 – Cloak and Dagger (1984)

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

U. S. Marshals (1998)

09 Wednesday Apr 2014

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When Mark gets in an accident,
His arm is hurt to some extent.
Police find that he had a gun
And is a killer on the run.
He must have killed two agents since
He has the culprit’s fingerprints.
 
Arrested and put on a plane
Of criminals (there is no train),
At last Mark’s captured by his past,
That is, till problems happen fast.
A shot at Mark flies past its goal
And opens up a gaping hole.
 
The pilots land, or rather crash
The plane, which settles with a splash.
As U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard
Removes the convicts under guard,
Mark sees his chance and swims away
Amid the messy disarray.
 
We know, as Richard Kimble lives,
That Sam Gerard loves fugitives.
Because he doesn’t have a choice,
He’s joined by Special Agent Royce
To find Mark quickly on a romp
Through some Louisiana swamp.
 
Gerard confronts their target guy,
Who doesn’t kill him (wonder why?),
But Mark escapes to New York City,
Where he soon is sitting pretty,
Spying on a diplomat
From China he is angry at.
 
Gerard and company explore
What Mark is being hounded for,
And soon they think that Mark’s offense
Just may have been in self-defense.
Though as a mole this man is blamed,
Sam thinks perhaps that he was framed.
 
A cemetery visit ends
With Mark pursued by Sam and friends.
When he’s alone with Mark, Royce shoots
A member of Gerard’s recruits.
Royce blames his death on Mark, their prey,
Who hops a train to get away.
 
When fleeing Mark makes one small slip,
Gerard tracks him back to a ship.
Sam nearly kills the fugitive
In vengeance, but he lets him live.
A shot from Royce, though, injures Mark
Before the ship can disembark.
 
As Mark recovers, caught, in bed,
Royce sneaks in his room to kill him dead,
But Sam prevents the agent’s goal;
He knows Royce is the secret mole.
Sam shoots Royce down with deadly aim,
And Mark is freed and cleared of blame.
____________________
 

While not as good as the original The Fugitive from 1993, U. S. Marshals is a worthy follow-up with some great action set pieces. Tommy Lee Jones’s Samuel Gerard is as lovably stoic as ever, and it was interesting to see Robert Downey, Jr. as the villain Royce, in light of his more recent heroic roles in Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes. Wesley Snipes as Mark Warren/Roberts/Sheridan does his best as the new fugitive, and the question of whether he’s guilty or not keeps the audience guessing, though following in the footsteps of Harrison Ford as Richard Kimble, Snipes lacks something. Irene Jacob as Marie, his girlfriend who helps him, does a credible job too, but ultimately the movie is called U. S. Marshals for a reason: Sam and his crew are the stars.

Unlike many of the recent films on my list, U. S. Marshals was not universally lauded by critics upon its release. Many felt it lacked character development, while others thought the plot was unnecessarily tortuous. One even claimed that he and any smart person could have seen the death of one of Sam’s men from a mile away, but the event truly came out of nowhere for me and heightened the tension and Sam’s resolve to catch this guy. Plus, the audience may suspect Royce for something at that point, but who could have foreseen that kind of betrayal happening so quickly? Yes, the plot is so convoluted that I probably couldn’t repeat what Mark was accused of and who accused him and why, and I was honestly lost during a mid-film sequence where Mark is incognito, but the film’s good points mostly make up for these faults.

The opening plane crash, which I tend to think inspired a similar-looking one in World War Z, is truly spectacular, one of the best and biggest-looking set pieces in which Tommy Lee Jones hangs upside down. Mark’s daring swing from a building to a nearby moving train also has that wow factor that other hero-on-the-run films often lack, like the Bourne films (they’re good but repetitive, and the car chase at the end of The Bourne Supremacy was the only scene that actually stuck out as impressive). As for the end, it’s not nearly as tense as that of The Fugitive and seems rather small for the climax of the whole movie.

The requisite foul language is unfortunately present, as usual, but U. S. Marshals serves up thrills and some well-paced and well-edited chase scenes. It may not be the best thriller, but it’s still pretty darn exciting.

Best line: (Royce, as Sam is cuffing him) “Is this guy crazy?” (Cosmo) “No, but he’s a carrier.”

 
Artistry: 4
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 8
Visual Effects: 9
Originality: 5
Watchability: 8
Other (language): -6
 
TOTAL: 34 out of 60
 

Next: #271 – The Rocketeer

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

25 Tuesday Mar 2014

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A grown John Connor roams around,
Still fearing Judgment Day,
The deaths of billions by machines
He thought he’d kept away.
 
But soon a female Terminator
Travels back through time
To kill still young resistance members
Ere they reach their prime.
 
This T-X hunts for Katherine Brewster,
A lovely local vet,
Who’s caged the drug-addicted John
Because he was a threat.
 
Meanwhile, another Terminator,
Like the one John knew,
Arrives just in the nick of time
To save her right on cue.
 
He locks up Katherine, then saves John,
Who flees with her inside.
The T-X shoots her counterpart
And steals a massive ride.
 
An epic chase ensues, which leaves
A trail of vast destruction.
The good cyborg slows down the bad,
Then gives his introduction.
 
He tells John he has been sent back
To guard Katherine, of course,
But John is now in danger from
A much more deadly force.
 
They try to tell the girl the truth,
But she is none too pleased.
They drive to Sarah Connor’s grave,
With Katherine feeling seized.
 
They pick up weapons just in time
For cops to cause delay.
And Katherine’s met by that T-X,
Who’s killed her fiancé.
 
The good cyborg saves them again
And tells what will occur.
He killed John in the future
And was reprogrammed by her.
 
For Katherine will be Connor’s wife
And second-in-command.
As Judgment Day looms very close,
She gives him a command.
 
They go where Katherine’s father works.
He’s just released Skynet.
The T-X comes to shoot him down
So he can’t stop the threat.
 
The good and villainous machines
Face off, and she prevails.
She tries to turn him bad as well
But ultimately fails.
 
Katherine and John are told to fly
To distant Crystal Peak,
Where they believe they’ll find the way
To stop this that they seek.
 
The T-X follows them again,
But their ally arrives
To mow her down and blow her up,
And neither one survives.
 
They think that they’ve found Skynet’s core
To blow it up as well,
But Crystal Peak’s a bunker that
Will shield them for a spell.
 
They realize Judgment Day could not
Be stopped; it never could.
They simply had to live through it
And fight for what is good.
____________________
 

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines seemed like an unnecessary add-on when it first came out. The filmmakers could have left well enough alone after the huge success of T2, but they had to keep milking this franchise for all it was worth, with or without James Cameron. Yet T3 is one of those sequels that is surprisingly good once you give it a try. It follows the second film’s precedent, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as a reprogrammed Terminator to save John Connor once again from a more advanced cyborg. While this plotline is familiar, the filmmakers take it in some unexpected directions with well-spaced revelations throughout the movie.

Kristanna Loken is appropriately laconic and lethal as the T-X, as is Ahh-nold, who gets some great one-liners and self-referential moments along the way. The main drawback for the second film was the human protagonists. Sarah Connor had gone nuts and her son was quite frankly a punk, but in T3, Nick Stahl fills the role of John nicely, even if he’s now a haunted drug addict on the run, and Claire Danes as Kate is my favorite of the new cast. Since no one in the film’s universe has seen the Terminator films, her reactions are priceless, from her initial shock and anger to her transformation into a robot-slaying Rambina. Her relationship with John isn’t really developed into a romance, but it’s at least set in motion with a clearly defined end.

The action and effects are outstanding, with the epic central chase being one of the best and most destructive car chases ever. The clever ways that Ahh-nold gets rid of the T-X and the myriad of explosions make it an excellent popcorn blockbuster.

Of course, there’s a good amount of unnecessary language and violence, especially when the T-X suddenly jams its arm through someone’s chest to drive a car from the back seat (bleh). The movie has its worst stumble, though, at the very end. While the first Terminator ended with tension and a looming threat and the second film had somewhat of a happy bittersweet climax, this film’s final scenes are just plain depressing. Almost the entire world is nuked by Skynet, and now the characters have nothing to look forward to except a long, painful war, plus John’s foretold demise. It’s an okay setup for another sequel (Terminator: Salvation, which I have not yet seen), but, by itself, it’s a weak end to an otherwise awesome action flick.

Best line: (John, after Kate zealously shoots down a drone) “You remind me of my mother.”

 
Artistry: 4
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 9
Originality: 5
Watchability: 7
Other (language, violence, and poor ending): -8
 
TOTAL: 32 out of 60
 

Next: #286: Crocodile Dundee

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

King Kong (2005)

05 Wednesday Mar 2014

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Depression-era New York City – that is where our story starts
With lovely actress Miss Ann Darrow having trouble finding parts.
Both work and food are scarce to find, though some demeaning jobs still pay,
But Miss Ann Darrow will not stoop (except to steal some fruit one day).
 
Then Carl Denham joins the scene and offers Ann the perfect role,
The female lead in his next film, the tools of which (turns out) he stole.
The film’s producers doubt his skill, and so, before they shut him down,
He leaves with Ann and his film crew aboard a freighter out of town.
 
He also tricks his “pal” Jack Driscoll, who’s a writer Ann admires,
Into staying on the ship to write the script that Carl requires.
The ship sails on to who-knows-where, according to a cryptic map
That Carl has, which leads to fortune or perhaps into a trap.
 
While Ann and Jack grow close on ship, the crew exhibits trepidation,
Particularly when they learn “Skull Island” is their destination.
Soon they run into some rocks and narrowly avoid a wreck.
When Carl’s crew then go ashore, the captain lets him risk his neck.
 
They meet some dark malicious natives, and they pay a bloody price,
But Englehorn, the captain, comes and stops the hostiles’ sacrifice.
They try to leave, but several natives come aboard and kidnap Ann.
She’s taken to a giant wall and lowered by the wicked clan.
 
A giant ape appears and takes her, just before her friends arrive,
So Englehorn sends out a group to quickly bring her back alive.
With Carl’s movie crew along to film what marvels may await,
The rescue team soon realizes this land holds creatures out-of-date.
 
The great gorilla shakes poor Ann and takes her to his cliffside haunt.
To keep him calm, the girl performs her vaudeville acts she hopes he’ll want.
He likes his toy but plays too rough, which prompts a firm, emphatic “No.”
He yells a bit but then departs, and Ann is unsure where to go.
 
Meanwhile, Jack and all the rest are facing jeopardy as well.
When Carl films some dinosaurs, a stampede shrinks their personnel.
A swampy cruise turns deadly too, and, once they’ve left the lethal bog,
They meet the dreaded ape himself, who shakes the humans off a log.
 
The island’s king then seeks his toy and finds Ann threatened by a rival.
He fights a V. Rex trio for her, and she joins him for survival.
A giant insect pit of death comes close to claiming Carl and Jack,
But Englehorn saves them again, though Carl’s film he can’t get back.
 
When Jack goes on to rescue Ann, he finds her with the mammoth brute,
And, with the help of giant bats, they flee, the ape in hot pursuit.
To make the journey all worthwhile, Englehorn and Carl try
To catch the beast; it’s dangerous, but, in the end, they get their guy.
 
Though Ann is sickened by it, Carl puts the giant on display
And turns “King Kong” into the biggest hit, a sellout on Broadway.
Ann’s stand-in and the camera lights turn out to be too much for Kong;
He breaks his chains and finds a world in which the beast does not belong.
 
His rampage trashes New York’s streets, as Kong goes searching for dear Ann.
She comes to him, and their odd friendship gets as touching as it can.
But then the army trucks arrive, and Kong takes Ann to lofty heights
And scales the tall Empire State Building so that they can see the sights.
 
The airplanes come and shoot at Kong, who’s not as mighty as he’s been.
He saves Miss Darrow from a fall, but, in the end, the airplanes win.
His body plummets to the ground, and people gather where he’s sprawled,
But Ann, who still has Jack, will miss the beast her beauty so enthralled.
___________________________
 

Some films are so classic that the mere thought of a remake is sacrilegious simply because there is no way for them to possibly be done better; such is the case for Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, or It’s a Wonderful Life. But if any old movie deserved, in fact demanded, a blockbuster makeover, it was 1933’s King Kong. The special effects in the original are certainly amazing and even manage to impress by today’s standards, but a modern version was certainly understandable, considering the mixed reviews garnered by Dino De Laurentiis’s 1976 remake. And who better but Peter Jackson to bring Kong to life and turn this 72-year-old story into an epic?

The whole film is a special effects extravaganza and is perhaps too much. The 1930s opening recreates that time very well, but it has a distinctly modern feel too; it looks like a modern reproduction of Depression-era New York rather than the actual thing. The acting is all right with the main standout being Naomi Watts, who manages to scream as effectively as and much less frequently than the original’s Fay Wray. Jack Black plays a good con artist in Carl Denham but seems out of place in the epic way Jackson presents the story (his final famous line falls FLAT as can be), and most of the other actors are just there basically to meet their uniquely grisly deaths on Skull Island. The biggest improvement over the original, besides the digital effects, is the relationship between Ann Darrow and Kong. It’s much less one-sided here than in the 1933 version, with Ann clearly caring for the ape almost as much as he cares for her, but in a more protector/damsel way rather than in a strange sexual way. Thus, it is more of a beauty-and-the-beast friendship than a romance.

The special effects are certainly the film’s biggest draw, with the sauropod stampede and the Kong vs. V. Rex fight being the jaw-dropping marvels of the film. The latter is one of the most exciting scenes in recent years for sure.

Despite all these pluses, the film drags on way too long. Considering what Jackson has done with The Hobbit of late, he maybe could have broken this film into three parts too. Nearly every scene, especially some unnecessary slow-motion ones, could have been trimmed in some way, shortening the film as a whole. Plus, the savage natives’ attack and the insect pit scene indulge too much in Jackson’s proven love of horror and are honestly hard to watch. Plus, there’s plenty of language, and the end is just sad, without any real moral aside from the fact they should have left Kong on the island. Still, for sheer spectacle, King Kong is a wonder to behold. Jackson made The Lord of the Rings so he could fund this film; it probably should have been the other way around.

Best line: (Carl) “Ann, I’m not that kind of person.”  (Ann) “Oh really, then what kind of person are you, Mr. Denham?”  (Carl) “I’m someone you can trust; I’m a movie producer.”

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 5
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 9
Originality: 5
Watchability: 6
Other (language and violence): -8
 
TOTAL: 30 out of 60
 

Next: #305: The Greatest Game Ever Played

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

War of the Worlds (2005)

22 Saturday Feb 2014

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A narrator reveals that hostile aliens are hard at work;
So let us watch their conquest through the eyes of Ray, a selfish jerk.
He’s immature and slovenly; his ex-wife knows this (hence the ex),
And when she leaves their kids with him, their presence only serves to vex.
Both Robbie and his sister Rachel aren’t too happy being there,
And Ray ignores them overall until a storm creates a scare.
 
The lightning strikes the same location twenty-six alarming times.
When Ray investigates the place, from underground a tripod climbs.
The giant alien machine starts zapping people left and right,
And Ray recovers both his kids and drives until it’s out of sight.
His ex-wife’s empty house is where they hide and try remaining calm.
The three are woken in the night by loud explosions, like a bomb.
 
The next day, Ray emerges to a sprawling field of plane debris,
And learns the foe is everywhere, at home and out across the sea.
The three set out for Boston, where they hope to find Ray’s former wife,
And dead or desperate folks abound and make them each fear for their life.
Their car is fiercely taken (since most vehicles no longer start).
They then attempt to take a ferry, which turns out to not be smart.
 
A tripod rises from the river, capsizing the ferryboat,
And tentacles reach down to snatch the men who dare to stay afloat.
Escaping from this massacre, they all continue on their quest,
But Robbie wants to join the fight to stop the uninvited guest.
He gives his father little choice, and Ray is sad to see him go,
But he and Rachel flee and join a man with shelter down below.
 
This Harlan Ogilvy soon proves that he has clearly gone insane,
And rants about survival and the chance to fight their own campaign.
They’re rattled by some narrow shaves with aliens and periscopes,
But Harlan’s thirst for vengeance and his folly threaten all their hopes.
He freaks out when he sees the foes collecting blood from human slaves,
And Ray feels he must silence him before his ranting digs their graves.
 
But Ray and Rachel still are found; a tripod lifts her in the air.
Her father follows with grenades and frees the captives from their snare.
Again with Rachel, Ray continues into Boston’s wrecked downtown,
And sees the aliens are dying, helping us to take them down.
He reconnects with his ex-wife and Robbie, whom he’s glad to see.
The narrator reveals that germs brought down the hostile enemy.
__________________________
 

Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, the most advertised and successful of the three film adaptations released in 2005, is gripping, thrilling, frightening, insightful, and compelling. From the opening/closing narration by Morgan Freeman to the uniquely grainy cinematography to the inclusion of the very real threat of an EMP to wipe out all electronic devices, it’s a modern retelling of H. G. Wells’ classic story that is also the best adaptation I’ve seen so far. Tom Cruise is at his best as Ray Ferrier, and Dakota Fanning is entirely believable as his increasingly traumatized daughter Rachel. In the words of the judge from The Shawshank Redemption, Tim Robbins plays Ogilvy as “icy and remorseless,” but also with a wide-eyed edge when threatened. (It’s a shame he and Morgan Freeman never got a scene together.) The special effects and the design of the alien tripods are also well-done and often unnerving.

The drawbacks are the bad language (though it’s a bit more understandable under such extreme conditions) and, basically, the character’s story. The main goal of the film is to show this harrowing what-if situation through the eyes of a single American family, an objective that is mostly well-realized. The main problem is that the family the writers chose is unnecessarily dysfunctional, and Ray, as mentioned in the poem, is a juvenile jerk. While he has a positive character arc, particularly when he realizes what a poor father he is, unable to even sing his daughter a decent lullaby, I think the filmmakers could have chosen a more relatable guy who was less of a lowlife. He saves his daughter, but there’s little indication what his relationship with his kids is going to be like from now on. Plus, the subplot with Robbie wanting to abandon his sister to participate in a fight he can do little to help and somehow surviving it all is weak and makes Robbie even less likable than he already was. Also, the changes in the alien plot, adding in the burial of the tripods eons ago to be ready for the invasion here and now, is a little unbelievable, considering they must have learned on their first visit about the microorganisms that would later kill them. Still, War of the Worlds is an engaging, if rather morbid, feast for the eyes, and, in my opinion and my VC’s, creams the original 1953 version for special effects and entertainment value. (My VC would have it even higher on her list.)

Best line: (Robbie) “What is it? Is it terrorists?”
(Ray, speaking of the tripods) “These came from someplace else.”
(Robbie) “What do you mean, like, Europe?”
(Ray) “No, Robbie, not like Europe!”

 

Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 8
Originality: 5
Watchability: 5
Other (language and weak elements): -8
 
TOTAL: 30 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #312: Where the Wild Things Are

© 2014 S. G. Liput

Sneakers (1992)

16 Sunday Feb 2014

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,

Cosmo and Marty are two hacker friends,
Who mess with some funds in 1969.
While Marty is out getting pizza, the feds
Arrest his pal Cosmo, but Marty is fine.
 
After two decades pass, Marty now has a team,
Who help him break into unbreakable banks.
He then offers tips to help make them secure,
Creating a job from what used to be pranks.
 
People Marty’s recruited include Donald Crease,
An ex-CIA with a serious streak;
And “Mother”, a rampant conspiracy theorist,
Who happens to be a technology geek;
 
“Whistler,” a blind man with sensitive ears;
And Carl, who’s young but as sharp as a tack.
They all have had scrapes with the law in the past,
But Marty has helped get their lives back on track.
 
Two men commission the “Sneakers” to find
A cryptic black box for the vague NSA.
They know Marty’s past, which he’s tried to escape,
And offer to wipe his slate clean and to pay.
 
Marty and friends reconnoiter the room
Of Janek, a mathematician, and they
Discover the box he has worked to develop
And break in to spirit the gadget away.
 
Partying after their lucrative sneak,
They talk of the things they will buy with the cash,
But Whistler discovers the box decodes codes
And can break into any network in a flash.
 
Still trusting their clients, they drop off the box
But flee when they find out that Janek’s been slain.
Though Marty accuses the Russians of this,
Their consul is killed before he can explain.
 
Marty is kidnapped and thrown in a trunk
And meets his pal Cosmo he thought died in jail.
His friend then reveals his new mafia ties
And proves he’s gone nuts in his former travail.
 
Using the box to destabilize banks
And countries, he plans to let anarchy reign.
Once Cosmo frames Marty for both of those murders,
He frees him, that Marty may soon know his pain.
 
Needing the box as a bargaining chip,
The “sneakers” plan carefully for their next theft.
With clever techniques and some devious means,
They breach Cosmo’s lair with what time they have left.
 
After some close calls, the jig’s about up
With Marty at gunpoint and Cosmo uptight.
While Cosmo won’t kill him, he does get the box
But finds it’s a decoy once Marty takes flight.
 
Marty and company then arbitrate
With Abbott, a man with the real NSA.
With promises made, they hand over the box
But keep its processor for some rainy day.
__________________________
 

As I said in my review for Entrapment earlier, I’m not a big fan of caper films simply because of the criminal nature of most of their plotlines. However, Sneakers manages to sidestep that issue for the most part by allowing the likable characters to put their formerly nefarious skills to a legal use: breaking into banks and such in order to help their security. Thus, until the last scene, which unfortunately shows that the “sneakers” are not completely on the straight-and-narrow, they use their expertise for (supposedly) reputable organizations or later to escape crimes they were either tricked into committing or for which they were framed. The legality of it all is still rather hazy, but at least they weren’t doing it to steal money or the like.

Sneakers has one of the best underrated ensembles, and the clever and laugh-out-loud script provides good lines and moments for every character. Dan Aykroyd as the conspiracy-spouting “Mother” and Sidney Poitier as Crease, the straight man, play off each other quite well, and David Strathairn is memorable as the blind but ever perceptive “Whistler,” as is Ben Kingsley as Cosmo, even if the villain’s ultimate fate is left up in the air. River Phoenix and Mary McDonnell round out the well-developed cast. As far as my VC is concerned, Robert Redford is reason alone to see it, and she also likes the sophisticated saxophone soundtrack played by Branford Marsalis. I also love James Earl Jones’s cameo at the end.

On top of all this, the methods used by Marty’s team are fascinating, from Whistler’s knack for hearing exactly what’s going on in distant rooms to Mother’s slow-moving tactic for outsmarting motion sensors. The 22-year-old film even manages to be up-to-date by involving the NSA, which has been in the news of late; particularly timely is the fake NSA agent’s insistence that Marty “trust” them. Despite some language and innuendo, Sneakers is an excellent mix of suspense and humor and a worthy member of the caper genre and my list.

Best line: (“Whistler”, while the team makes its demands to the NSA at the end) “I want peace on earth and goodwill toward men.”  (Abbott) “We are the United States Government! We don’t do that sort of thing.”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 4
Originality: 6
Watchability: 7
Other (language and innuendo): -6
 
TOTAL: 30 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #318: The Planet of the Apes (1968)

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

No Way Out (1987)

07 Friday Feb 2014

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Lieutenant Commander Tom Farrell is at
A political ball and walks over to chat
With a beautiful woman, and banter advances
To kissing and loving, like many romances.
 
Tom learns Susan Atwell, the girl he’s gone for,
Is some politician’s well-kept paramour.
He’s also a hero when missions get hairy
And gets noticed by the Defense Secretary.
 
This David Brice chooses him as a close aide,
But later Tom learns that it’s Brice who has paid
For Miss Atwell’s “services,” such as they are.
Tom isn’t too pleased, but he’s loved her too far.
 
He takes Susan out for a lovers’ retreat
But, when she returns, who else should she meet
But Brice, who is jealous and, around twelve o’clock,
He kills her by accident, much to his shock.
 
He talks to Scott Pritchard, his true right-hand man,
Who quickly comes up with a devious plan.
They’ll implicate Susan’s unknown other lover
And hide Brice’s actions in one massive cover.
 
Scott aims all the Pentagon’s quizzical fury
At finding this man by suggesting he’s “Yuri,”
A Soviet mole they have searched for for years
And must be caught soon before he disappears.
 
Tom realizes soon he’s the man that they seek,
And he does all he can to not let the truth leak.
He’s given the reins of this investigation
And tries to escape this no-win situation.
 
It soon becomes clear Scott will use all his skill
To guard David Brice, even if he must kill.
Tom tries to prove David had also known Sue,
While slowing the quest to expose himself too.
 
When Scott, Brice, and Tom are together again,
There’s much finger-pointing among the three men.
But Scott is shocked when, after all of this fuss,
Brice is willing to throw Pritchard under the bus.
 
Scott’s plan was perfect till Tom came to foil it…
The end’s a surprise, so I won’t even spoil it.
__________________________
 

Like WarGames, No Way Out is a grand example of Cold War tensions. By updating the plot of The Big Clock, the book (and film) on which it is based, and setting it against this backdrop of international and personal intrigue, the filmmakers created a thrilling film that rises above the sum of its parts. Kevin Costner as Tom Farrell does a decent job at appearing charming in the first half and desperate in the second half, and Gene Hackman plays a good jerk in David Brice. The stand-out is Will Patton as Scott Pritchard, who loves his boss a little too much. His soft, calculating voice ranges from a little creepy in his first scenes to completely unhinged in his last. The film also has such a wonderful Sixth Sense-style twist ending that it totally changed my view of everything that preceded. I haven’t been afraid to include spoilers in my previous posts, but this is one surprise that should not be known beforehand.

No Way Out is definitely an adult film, with some steamy love scenes and a nude bar, plus some periodic foul language and shootings, all of which only detract from the film. Without these, it is still just as tense, thrilling, and fascinating.

Best line: (as Tom is being followed by a thug into the restroom) “I would rather do this myself. You can listen if you want to.”

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 5
Originality: 6
Watchability: 6
Other: (language and nudity): -8
 
TOTAL: 29 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #327: Cats Don’t Dance

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

WarGames (1983)

04 Tuesday Feb 2014

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The young David Lightman does poorly in class,
Yet all of his courses he does somehow pass.
He changes his grades, for he knows how to hack.
With games and computers, he has quite a knack,
So he shows off his skills to one Jennifer Mack.
 
He learns of a company in Sunnyvale
With cutting-edge games that are not yet for sale.
Employing his talent and unlawful art,
He hacks a computer that learns and is smart
And seems to desire a new game to start.
 
So David assumes that it’s simply a game
And starts one with Joshua (that is its name).
He plays a new game he has not seen before
About a worldwide thermonuclear war.
And tries, as the Russians, to win a high score.
 
But, as it turns out, “Joshua” is the WOPR,
An AI whose presence is wholly improper
To some men at NORAD; the WOPR controls
Our nuclear missiles and serves to patch holes
When men can’t be trusted in filling their roles.
 
The WOPR confuses real life and game play
And makes NORAD think there are bombs on their way.
Then Dr. McKittrick, a WOPR defender,
Realizes that Russia was not the offender,
Instead ‘twas a hacking, domestic pretender.
 
Before David knows it, he’s labeled a spy
And scooped up at once by the mad FBI.
Back at NORAD headquarters, an unmindful troop
Is ordered to guard him, but Dave flies the coop
And sneaks out of there in a random tour group.
 
With Jennifer helping his fugitive quest,
They find Stephen Falken, who knows WOPR best.
He programmed the AI and since has played dead.
He’s willing to let doom just rain on his head,
But then he decides to assist them instead.
 
They journey to NORAD, as WOPR prepares
To launch and to catch the whole world unawares.
The leaders don’t fall for what all the screens show,
And when WOPR tries launching the nukes even so,
It learns of futility through tic-tac-toe.
 
After testing scenarios, WOPR can say
That the only smart move is to not even play.
It gives up the game and control right away.
Though David caused all this, he’s helped save the day.
______________________
 

WarGames is one of those quintessential Cold War movies that features a compelling plot, decent acting, and some very clever concepts. Featuring Matthew Broderick three years before his star turn in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the film is admittedly dated with its old DOS computers and rotary phone booth but is still just as riveting to watch. Its tale of a smart kid who is accused of being a criminal due to an artificial intelligence may have informed the plot of the previously reviewed film Summer Wars. David’s fortuitous escape from NORAD and his hacking techniques are fascinating, though illegal, and the message so overtly spelled out at the end continues to be applicable in our current world, even without the Soviet tensions of the Cold War era.

The problems with the film are mainly in its frequent profanity and the aforementioned criminal activities, which are obliquely condemned as the story shows the snowballing effects of David’s actions. All in all, WarGames is an entertaining thriller that was timely in 1983 and remains so today as well.

Best line: (speaking of Falken) (Jennifer) “He’s dead?”
(David) “Yeah, here’s his obituary.”
(Jennifer) “He wasn’t very old.”
(David) “He was pretty old. He was 41.”
(Jennifer) “Oh, yeah? Hm, that’s old.”
(I wonder how Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy feel about those lines now.) 🙂
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 8
Visual Effects: 4
Originality: 7
Watchability: 6
Other (language): -7
 
TOTAL: 29 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #330 – A Goofy Movie

© 2014 S. G. Liput