Category Archives: Film

Some random thoughts on “Les Miserables: The Movie” … tagline: “You will believe a 7-year old can cry!”

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1. Director Tom Hooper really likes the wide angle lens with extreme close-ups on people’s faces. At times, I didn’t know if I was watching “Les Miserables” or “A Clockwork Orange”

2. Russell Crowe does a fine job singing and acting. No, I’m not going to buy the 30 Odd Foot of Grunts box set, but Crowe brought it. End of story.

3. Anne Hathaway does deserve the accolades she’s getting. When someone dominates that early in the awards season, you almost want to root against them. But she’s great and if she wins the Oscar, it won’t be undeserved.

4. All of the performances are good-great, from Hugh Jackman to Sacha Baron Cohen to Helena Bonham Carter to pretty much everyone else.

5. This movie is LOOOOOOONG!!!! Not quite “A.I.” long, but close.

6. As much as I resisted, the final line “To love someone is to see the face of God” always brings on the waterworks for me.

7. As I was leaving the theater, I saw my 7-year old visibly distraught. I thought that maybe he got swept up in the emotional ending until he said, “My God, that was the longest movie EVER!!!”

Final verdict: I liked it a lot, but let’s face it, this is a film you’re either going to love or hate. Yes, it’s such a shamelessly manipulative tear-jerker, it makes Steven Spielberg look like Jean-Luc Godard. But seriously, what did you expect? Hooper does what he’s supposed to and totally delivers a shamelessly manipulative tear-jerker.

If you don’t think you’ll like this movie, there is nothing here that will convert you. If you liked or loved the play, the film is a fine adaptation and you’ll enjoy it. And on the slim chance it wins the Best Picture Oscar this year, it won’t be the end of the world. Not because it would beat out better films, but because watching people lose their collective s–t if it wins is going to be really, really funny. And shame on anyone who thinks the Oscars have credibility anyway.

As an act of contrition, I will watch another film this week about an unjustly condemned man: “Penitentiary 3,”, starring Leon Isaac Kennedy, Anthony (“Luke” of “Luke and Laura”) Geary, and The Haiti Kid, playing the Midnight Thud, the scariest 3-foot crack-smoking prison rapist in movie history.

“General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait” (1974) dir. Barbet Schroeder

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If you liked Sacha Baron Cohen’s “The Dictator,” here’s a film that’s the real deal … and arguably funnier.  Back in the early 1970s, Franco-Swiss director Barbet Schroeder (who later went on to direct “Barfly,” “Reversal of Fortune,” and “Single White Female”) was hired by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin to make a film about him …

From here, I’ll go to the Wikipedia description:

Director Barbet Schroeder has characterized the film as a “self-portrait” by Amin. While Schroeder and cameraman Nestor Almendros were given unprecedented access to Amin’s daily life, the documentary makes it plain that many of the events (including the residents of a garrison town turning out en masse to greet Amin) were staged for their benefit. In several sequences, Amin actively directs the cameraman to particular points of interest, at one point shouting to “film that helicopter!”

However, Amin’s influence as a “director” went beyond the actual filming of Idi Amin Dada. As per his agreement with Amin, Barbet Schroeder made two versions of his documentary: the first, an hour-long cut, was released in Uganda and delivered directly to Amin, who was apparently pleased with the result. The second version was released only outside Uganda and contained an additional half-hour of footage and narration.

According to Schroeder, Amin dispatched his agents in Britain to watch the film and write down a full transcript of its contents. Amin soon sent a letter to Schroeder requesting additional cuts to the film, but Schroeder refused. In response, Amin rounded up almost 200 French citizens living in Uganda and confined them to a hotel surrounded by the Ugandan army, supplying them with Schroeder’s home telephone number and explaining that their release was conditional on Schroeder’s acquiescence. In the face of this dilemma, Schroeder made the requested cuts, replacing the 2½ minutes of excised footage with title cards crediting the gaps to Amin. On Amin’s fall from power, Schroeder restored the missing material, and most versions seen today contain the full footage.

However, as funny as this film is, it’s hard to laugh when you remember all of the horrible stuff Amin did to his people. The man may have been a delusional buffoon, but he was pure evil. He was later ousted from power and was exiled first to Libya and then to Saudi Arabia where Saudi royal family provided him refuge. Amin died a natural death … not exactly the ending he deserved.

“Memo from Turner” – Mick Jagger (from the 1970 film “Performance” dir. Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg)

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From the decadent and extremely trippy late 1960s masterpiece by directors Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg is the infamous sequence where Mick Jagger’s rock star character changes identities with James Fox’s gangster character.  Things get very freaky very fast.  Do not watch under the influence of any mind-altering substances.

“Performance” is a notorious masterpiece from the late 1960s.  Its release was held up by at least two years by a skittish Warner Brothers.  It was given an X-rating and dumped into midnight screenings.  Some critics called it the most repulsive film ever made, one even describing it as the equivalent of someone sticking the dirtiest finger into the back of your throat to make you vomit.  I wouldn’t go that far.  But it’s still pretty intense.  The clip is not safe for work or little ones.

“Road House” (1989) dir. Rowdy Herrington, scr. David Lee Henry and Hilary Henkin

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There are some movies that are so terrible, they’re funny. There are other movies which are intentionally campy, but not so funny, because they’re too knowing of their own stupidity. And then there’s some movies that fit between both camps. They are movies that are over-the-top, so off-the-charts weird that you’re never quite sure if the filmmakers were in on the joke or not.

The two best examples of this are: the Russ Meyer-directed/Roger Ebert-scripted “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” … and “Road House”.

“Road House” is the most ridiculous, hysterically funny, and arguably, one of the greatest action films of all time. It’s a film that never ceases to entertain and amaze. And every time I see it, I find something new that makes me break out in an idiotic grin. Patrick Swayze was THE perfect choice to play the mulleted, King-of-All-Bouncers Dalton. I could go on and on about how brilliant this film is, but I thought I would let the movie speak for itself:

Doctor: Your file says you’ve got a degree from NYU. What in?
Dalton: Philosophy.
Doctor: Any particular discipline?
Dalton: No. Not really. Man’s search for faith. That sort of s–t.

Emmett: Calling me “sir” is like putting an elevator in an outhouse, it don’t belong. I’m Emmett.

Steve: Being called a c–ksucker isn’t personal?
Dalton: No. It’s two nouns combined to elicit a prescribed response.
Steve: What is somebody calls my mama a whore?
Dalton: Is she?

Wade Garrett: That gal’s got entirely too many brains to have an a– like that.

Wade Garrett: This place has a sign hangin’ over the urinal that says, “Don’t eat the big white mint.”

and … last … but certainly not least:

Jimmy: I used to f–k guys like you in prison.

Why the Library of Congress has not selected this as a film for the National Film Registry deserves a criminal investigation.

FEAR performance on SNL (October 1981)

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This is the legendary appearance by the hardcore punk band Fear on Saturday Night Live for the Halloween episode in October 1981. Fear were hired at the behest of John Belushi, who was a huge fan of Fear’s, and Michael O’Donoghue, that season’s head writer. Producer Dick Ebersol asked O’Donoghue what Fear was like and the infamous Mr. Mike explained that they were a pop group, just like the Carpenters. What resulted is mayhem and underground TV history.

O’Donoghue and Belushi bused in multiple punks from Washington D.C. (including, legend has it, Ian MacKaye).  After being introduced by actor Donald Pleasance, the band started playing and the punks went completely nuts, violently slam dancing and stage diving. During the third song, one of the punks grabbed lead singer Lee Ving’s microphone and either said “F–k you New York” or “New Your sucks!” The scene faded to black and transitioned to a repeat of the infamous (and funny) satire of Norman Mailer’s sponsorship of Jack Henry Abbott, “Prose and Cons”.

Nowadays, such antics seem corny and quaint. But back when hardcore punk was virtually unknown to the masses, this moment was a sight to behold. One of the all-time best performances by a music guest on SNL.

“Out of the Blue” (1980) dir. Dennis Hopper

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Dennis Hopper had an interesting, but extremely spotty career as a filmmaker.  His biggest hit was the 1969 cultural zeitgeist “Easy Rider.”  But in my opinion, the best film that Hopper had any involvement with (aside from “Blue Velvet,” “True Romance” and “Apocalypse Now”) was 1980s “Out of the Blue.”  Hopper was originally hired on just to act, but when the first-time director wasn’t delivering the goods during the first couple of weeks in production, Hopper rewrote the script and took over as director.

“Blue” is an ultra-bleak look at the collateral damage that alcoholism and drug abuse can have on a family.  The lead character CeBe, brilliantly played by Linda Manz, is a lonely 14-year old girl with a chip on her shoulder and an obsession with Elvis and punk rock.  Her father, played by Hopper, has been in prison for killing multiple children on a school bus in a drunk driving accident five years prior.  Her mother, played by Sharon Farrell, is a waitress and heroin addict.  Hopper’s character gets out of prison and for a brief moment, it looks like CeBe will finally have the normal life she has craved.  But it’s not to be and the film gets increasingly dark and bleak, leading to a really horrific ending.

Needless to say, “Out of the Blue” is not a film you’d want to watch in a foul or depressed mood.  It is THE definition of a “feel-bad” movie.  However, the movie is brilliantly directed by Hopper, who really conveys the desolation of these characters and the world they inhabit.  And the performances by Manz, Hopper, Farrell, and Don Gordon are all frighteningly real.  Especially Manz.  She plays a very angry character, an anger that masks a desperation for a normal family.  The hopeful look in her eyes when she thinks things are going to work out is heartbreaking.  “Blue” was in competition for the Palme d’Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival and Manz was talked about as a strong contender for the Best Actress prize that year (she lost to Anouk Aimee).

The trailer above gives a very strong flavor of what this movie is about. However, it’s definitely not safe for work given the subject matter.

“The Believer” (2001) dir. Henry Bean

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“The Believer” is one of the best (and most controversial) films of the last decade and contains one of the best acting performances I’ve ever seen. Forget what you think you know about Ryan Gosling. Gosling’s performance in “The Believer” is one of the most ferocious acting performances I’ve ever seen.

Based on a true story and brilliantly written and directed by Henry Bean, Gosling stars as Daniel Balint, a rising star in a neo-Nazi skinhead group who has a major problem… Balint is an Orthodox Jew. His hatred … and deep love of his Jewish faith keeps him conflicted throughout the film. As he starts to feel more conflicted, he becomes more dangerous and unstable. There’s not a happy ending.

“The Believer” won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001, but was condemned by some as anti-Semitic and wound up without a distributor. Showtime bought it, planned on premiering the film September 2001, but then 9/11 happened. Due to Showtime not wanting to show such an incendiary film so close in time to a national tragedy, the film got its appearance on the network delayed by several months.

It’s too bad this film got such short shrift. It’s a truly great, albeit extremely disturbing and upsetting masterpiece. The screenplay was published in book form by Thunders Mouth Press in 2002, with additional essays and thoughts by Bean. If you like the film, you definitely need to hunt the book down with the screenplay. Spike Lee said “Henry Bean is a big talent and ‘The Believer’ is his most courageous and thought-provoking work yet!'”

“Wise Blood” (1980) dir. John Huston

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The problem with coming up with an all-time Top 10 film list is that afterwards, you think of a lot of films you should have included instead. “Wise Blood” is one of them.

Based on Flannery O’Connor’s novel, “Wise Blood” is about Hazel Motes, an angry young man who is fed up with religion and wants to start a new church, without Christ. Several things get in his way and inevitably, the more he tries to run away from religion, the more it seems to creep into his life. Believe me, this is not a pro-religion tale by any means. The fact that Hazel can’t escape religion is seen as ironic and comically awful.

Brad Dourif should have gotten an Oscar nod for his performance as Hazel, if not the statue itself. This is one of the best acting performances I’ve ever seen and it’s definitely the best thing Dourif has ever done. He plays the entire role like a caged rat, but ready to bite the head off anyone who gets in his way. The supporting performances by Ned Beatty, Harry Dean Stanton, and Amy Wright are all terrific.

This was kind of a comeback film for legendary director John Huston. He made this during a low point in his career, got a lot of praise for it, and then two years later got the “honor” of directing the film adaptation of “Annie” in 1982 … yeah …  my thoughts exactly.  But Huston soon directed “Under the Volcano” and “Prizzi’s Honor” and acquitted himself quite nicely.

Long very hard to find, the Criterion Collection came out with a beautiful DVD of this approximately 5 years ago. This is a great, great movie.