Entrapment (1999)

 Sorry, can't say I liked this one much, though I probably would have liked it more had I seen it closer to when it came out. A 29 year old Catherine Zeta-Jones is an insurance investigator who is really a thief herself. She arranges things to give her boss a reason to send her after a famous thief played by a 68 year old Sean Connery. Tasked to stop him, she really plans to team up with him for a series of daring robbery's, culminating with a night time break-in at the Petronas Towers in Malaysia as the world rings in the new Millennium.

The sexyness of the April - December couple was really played up at the time. I thought the plot was really basic and pretty uninteresting. Though the extended heist sequence at the end is very well done and frankly made me feel dizzy and scared. However for the most part this felt like a mah of a movie, for me the chemistry of the leads just wasn't enough to carry this blah and ridiculous, auto pilot of a 90's action movie. *1/2

Dr. Minx (1975)

 'Dr. Minx' is a sexploitation film helmed by the Iraq born exploitation auteur Howard Advedis (born Hikmet Labib Avedis), who I know from 'The Teacher', in which TV's 'Dennis the Menace' Jay North sleeps with his teacher. 'Dr. Minx' opens with Dr. Carol Evans (Edy Williams) in bed with Gus Dolan (William Smith). Gus was an employee at her late husbands construction firm, said late husband had passed away in a work accident three months before and Carol has just sold the firm, the affair between the two started prior to his death. With the firm now sold Gus thinks it would be a good time for the two of them to get married and share in the bounty. Carol doesn't want to rush things, Gus says 'then why did you have me kill your husband'. Carol says she didn't know it wasn't an accident, that she didn't want her husband killed and kicks him out of the house.   

Carol doesn't have much time to ruminate on these revelations, she has a shift at the hospital. On the way to the hospital she happens upon a bike accident, and takes the victim Brian Thomas (Randy Boone) and his dorky friend David Brown (Harvey Jason) to the hospital (these two are supposed to be high school students on summer vacation, though both actors are in their 30's (though look early to mid 20's)). Brain's injuries are minimal, but he's going to have to stay in the hospital a couple of days, they notify his parents.

David has noticed how sexy Dr. Evans is, so he shows up at her house that night with the pretense of checking on his friends condition. Carol is amused by his moxy, so while in her sexy robe invites him in for a little bit and they talk, but no more then talk, David leaves disappointed. While Dr. E isn't interested in David, she is interested in his friend Brian, and upon his release invites him over to her house for some follow up, so he doesn't have to go all the way to back to the hospital, wink, wink. Brian will find his visits with the doctor more satisfying then David did. 

Carol and Brian's relationship is complicated by the fact that its statutory rape, David's jealousy, and Gus's efforts to blackmail her. Gus shows up one night (this forces Brian to hide) and claims to have audio tape of Cindy telling him to kill her husband. Cindy says she said no such thing, but agrees to meet Gus at his house the next day and see what he does have. 

Brian tags along in case things go south; he hides in the car, then sneaks out to spy on them through the sliding back door. Carol accuses Gus of doctoring the tape, there is a short struggle and then Brian comes in and in a panic shoots Gus dead. The two put Gus's body in the back of the car, and then burry him in Carol's backyard. Only David, still perving on Carol, see's this, he later puts pressure on Brian to turn Carol in or he'll tell the police where the body is buried. So Carol and Brian have to move the body again, so by the time David convinces the sheriff to come investigate, there's no corpse there (the sheriff tells the youth to stop bothering nice Dr. Evans). 

So having to move the body again, (Carol has a place out in the county she wants to dump it (this movie is filmed and set in California)), necessitates a spur of the moment trip, which necessitates crafting a late excuse for Brian's parents; which they don't believe and send David out to the country to bring him home, and on and on, escalation after escalation, and you won't be surprised to find this ends in further tragedy.  

I didn't intent to finish this, I just wanted to watch a little bit of the "hot doctor" movie. But as you can tell there is a lot going on here and it sucked me in. Edy Williams is gorgeous, and while no one here is a great actor, they are good enough. The plot is constantly unfolding new information and complications and it covers a lot of ground in just 94 minutes. I was never bored. It's always nice to encounter an exploitation film that is better then it needed to be, and I'd class this movie in that category. Rough around the edges, but compelling. ***

The Fury (1978)

Spoilers

 'The Fury' is Brian De Palma's rather on point adaption of the 1976 John Farris novel of the same name, published by Playboy Press. Kirk Douglas is Peter Sandza, a successful businessman who has been raising his son alone abroad since the death of his wife. He plans to change that however, leaving his long time employer with plans to move back to the States and get a proper education for his (late teens?, the actor is in his early 20's) son on how to handle his vaguely referenced 'special abilities'. They are at a beach resort in Israel saying goodbye to Peter's business associate and best friend John Cassavetes, but they are betrayed by him, a terrorist attack on the resort was set up with the express purpose of killing Peter. Peter's son Robin (Andrew Stevens) is spirited away before the bad guys learn that he survived. Peter then begins his quest to locate and rescue his son. 

Robin was abducted by the CIA, who Cassavetes secretly worked for. The youth had begun manifesting psychic and telekinetic powers which he doesn't know how to use, the CIA wants to train him as an asset. For a time Robin is kept at a once legitimate psychiatric facility, The Paragon Institute in Chicago, which the CIA has taken over, to the growing chagrin of the main doctor there played by an endearing Charles Durning. After several escape attempts Robin is relocated to a remote mansion facility (in Virginia?), where they assign a sexy doctor (Fiona Lewis, who had modeled for Playboy) to keep him sexually satisfied and under control. 

Meanwhile Chicago private school girl Gillian Bellaver (Amy Irving) has begun manifesting psychic/telekinetic abelites of her own, she agrees to a stay at The Paragon Institute for further testing. Durning quickly discovers that her powers are legitimate, but wants to pretended they are not to keep her out of CIA custody. Peter meanwhile is hiding out in Chicago and has initiated a sexual relationship with a nurse at Paragon (Carrie Snodgress) to get the inside dope. Carrie advises Peter of the CIA's plans to move Gillian to another facility, and the two engineer an escape in which Carrie is killed. 

Peter and Gillian are now on the run together and make their way to the mansion facility with the intent of freeing Robin. Robin however has mentally deteriorated in custody, becoming more violent and moody as his powers increase. The escape attempt will leave 2 of the three of them dead. 

There is some 'Carrie' here, there is some 'X-Men', I bet it makes more sense in the book, as details in the movie are slim and imply more then is fleshed out. It feels like there is story missing, though at the same time the uncertainties of the film help it to keep your attention as you try to piece things together. There are some good set pieces here, it's well enough paced, though the narrative bifurcates between Douglas and Irving and we see so little of Robin between the beginning and end of the film, that his character changes feel jarring and unexplained. On the whole this is a pretty good supernatural horror/mystery in the De Palma tradition. ***

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)

 

In his first film (fourth over all) after making the movie that made his name, 'Mean Streets', Martin Scorsese left a dirty, night time New York, for the sunny daylight stretches of the desert south west in 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'. This dark comic character study, became the unexpected source material for a much more light hearted situation comedy called 'Alice', which ran on CBS for 9 seasons and 202 episodes.  

Our Alice here is an excellent as usual Ellen Burstyn. Alice Hyatt (nee Graham) grow up near Monterey, California with aspirations of becoming a professional singer, she got as far as performing regularly at a local club, where she meet Donald Hyatt (Billy Green Bush) who charmed her into marriage and relocated her to his home town in New Mexico. More then a decade later she is a housewife in a somewhat abusive marriage with an 11 year old son called Tommy (Alfred Lutter), who while generally not mean spirited is more then a little bit of a trial, bratty, short sighted and selfish as kids that age often are.

Alice's husband works as a delivery driver for Coca Cola, and is killed in a rather bloody traffic accident. Not well off to begin with, after the expenses of the funeral Alice and her son head off to California with their meager belongings. They decide to stay for a time in Phoenix and try to raise some money. Alice is able to talk her way into a singing job at a bar and becomes an unexpected success, though the job doesn't pay much she attracts the attention of a younger man (Harvey Keitel) who seduces her into a relationship, but turns out to be an already married psycho. Alice and son flee the city, then the car breaks down near Tuscon.

Alice gets a job as a waitress at a dinner populated by colorful characters such as Vic Tayback (who would return for the series), Valerie Curtin and an especially memorable Diane Ladd. Tommy falls under the bad influence of a very young Jodie Foster and Alice is - at first reluctantly - romanced by a divorced rancher played by Kris Kristofferson.

Wry, grounded and bittersweet 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore' is  solid, affective and endearingly rambling, with flawed characters who very much don't know what they're doing, and who we root for in no small part because of this. Scorsese shows early on a willingness to try new things and is a natural at a story which might seem out of his wheelhouse. I was impressed. ****

Rolling Thunder (1977)

Spoilers

'Rolling Thunder' is another movie that Tarantino talks about at length in his Cinema Speculation book. It's 1973 and William Devane is Air Force Major Charles Rane, he is returning to his home in San Antonio after seven years as a POW in North Vietnam. One of Rane's best friends from the POW camp, Army Master Sargent Johnny Vohden (Tommy Lee Jones) is returning on the same plane as him, he lives in El Paso and they promise to visit each other. 

While Vohden returns to an enthusiastic family, Rane returns to a son (Jordan Gerler) who was only a baby when he left and thus doesn't remember him, and a wife (Lisa Blake Richards) who in his absence has become romantically involved with a friend of Rane's, local Deputy Cliff Nichols (Lawrason Driscoll). Lisa wants a divorce, and Charles, who is seemingly almost disinterested in his wife aggress, though he insists on regular contact with his son. The couple decide to wait a respectable amount of time before announcing their separation.

In the weeks after Major Rane's return he discovers that he has become something of a local celebrity, and while he is not entirely comfortable with this he decides to act gracefully. He is presented with a brand new Cadillac convertible from a local dealership, as well as 2,555 silver dollars, one for each day of his captivity. Rane is presented with his silver dollars by local beauty Linda Forchet (Linda Haynes, who gives arguably the best performance in a film full of strong performances). Linda considers herself something of a Major Rane groupie, a term she has to explain to him because it developed while he was in captivity. Linda makes sure to arrange bumping into the Major, and while not exactly encouraging this, he doesn't discourage it either. 

Major Rane attends one of his son's little league games, but leaves before it is over and returns home. Upon entering the house he is captured by a gang of four men who insists he hand over the silver dollars he has hidden. Rane refuses, and the robbers grind off one of his hands in the garbage disposal. His wife and son return, and his son knows where he hid the silver dollars so retrieves them and hands them over to the crooks. The bad guys then kill the Major's wife and son in retaliation for the mans stubbornness.  

Rane misses his wife and son's funeral as he is still in the hospital recovering. There he is fitted with a  hook to replace his lost hand, and is visited by Linda, Master Sargent Vohden, his air force psychologist (Dabney Coleman) and Deputy Nichols, who thinks that Rane is holding back information about the killers. 

After Rane is released form the hospital he convinces Linda to accompany him on a trip to Mexico. Linda thinks that Rane just needs to get away for a bit owing to all the trauma, but in reality Rane plans to use snippets he remembers from the killers conversations to track them down and avenge the death of his son (and notably not the death of his wife). Linda is not happy when Rane uses her as bait to get information, but aggress to stay with him. Meanwhile Deputy Nichols has figured out what Rane is doing, puts out an APB on the Cadillac and mounts a pursuit, not to stop him, but to join him. 

After killing or wounding some of the men, Rane is able to figure out where their leader is staying. He recruits Vohden (who feels disconnected from his family and their trivial concerns (I want to point out here that Vohden doesn't have any kids, just an often oblivious wife, in-laws and an elderly father)) to go with him to Mexico to kill. Rane drops Linda off, who immediately calls the police, but it's too late and they don't arrive until after Rane and Vohden's final bloody standoff at a seedy hotel in Ciudad Juarez.  

'Rolling Thunder' is a powerful, reflective, and despite its violence, understated rumination on the legacy of the Vietnam War. Over its 100 minute run time it becomes several different types of movies, and handles its transitions remarkably well. It is the story of broken men trying to hang onto their dignity. Rarely has such extreme violence in a film felt so well woven with its emotional texture. It's something of a masterpiece and sadly a largely forgotten one. I can see why Tarantino likes it so much. ****

Flaming Star (1960)

 In his book 'Cinema Speculation' Quinton Tarantino commented that this is the movie that convinced him that Elvis could have been a really good actor, if he hadn't gotten stuck making the cheese that Colonel Parker liked, because it was cheap and made easy money. 'Flaming Star' is not an "Elvis movie" in the Parker sense, rather it is a movie with Elvis in it. It's a decent, though in no way remarkable film; Elvis sings two songs in the first 10 minutes or so (a concession to Parker) but its a straight pulp western story after that.

Set in 1870's Texas, Elvis plays Pacer Burton, the son of one of the earliest ranchers in the area Sam 'Pa' Burton (John McIntire) and an Indian princess who he calls Neddy (Dolores del Rio). Packer has an older half brother named Cliff (Steve Forrest) from Sam's previous marriage, Cliff's mother had died and Sam married Neddy shortly after moving to the area in the 1850's. Accordingly the Burtons social circles bridge the native Americans and the newer white settlers. Things in the area were mostly peaceful for a very long time, but with increasing white settlement and the subsequent loss of land the local Indians start to attack unwanted settlers. Elvis is torn between two worlds, with the Burtons trying to keep natural as long as possible, but that proves to be untenable.

It's a good movie, well paced, interesting enough story, Elvis is understated outside, but inside he gets to seething. A young Barbara Edan is a local girl both brothers like, but Elvis's "half cast" status means her pa is not keen on him. Again, this is a satisfactory pulp western tale, with interesting interpersonal character dynamics for the genre. Elvis show promise here, that was never realized. ***

Pilgrimage (2017)

 I started this a couple times and couldn't get into. I decided to give it one more chance and power through. The film has got a very slow first half and gets more interesting in the second. Set in early 13th Century Ireland, the film concerns a group of monks (including John Lynch and Tom Holland) as well as their mute servient (Jon Bernthal) tasked with escorting their holiest relic to Waterford so it can be sent to Rome for use in the 5th Crusade (I think the plan is to take it into battle, but maybe the plan is to sell it).

On the way they encounter people who want to steal the relic, and there are battles, and interpersonal conflicts and peoples faith is tested, and the last 10 minutes of the movie is the best 10 minutes of the movie. I suspect this story would have made a more interesting read, then a watch. Nice period grit, and I apricated that this is the kind of story we don't get much in film, but I just wasn't able to sink with this movie and really enjoy it. **