Blood Simple

One of my favorite young directors tweeted once that “Memento is a pretty goddamn humbling movie” and he’s right. Well, I just watched Blood Simple for the first time and I have to say that what the Coen’s did is pretty damn humbling as well. While the film may have “simple” in the title, the film is anything but; Blood Simple is a stark noir, filled with characters we can’t trust and is a downright exercise in minimalism.

I know that the Coen’s got Blood Simple made because of sheer determination. I’ve heard stories of where they showed clips of test footage in people’s living rooms as fund raisers, taped Frances McDormand into camera rigging for special shots, and just generally did everything short of selling their souls for their first feature.

The effort paid off.

I watch Blood Simple and I miss the days when independent film wasn’t its own market. When determination, style and talent could get your farther than a budget and a known cast. While that’s not completely gone from the indy market of today, the indy market is much more main stream now than it is independent. Watching Blood Simple reminds me of a much more pure way of making your passion films.

The single thing that characterizes Blood Simple more than anything else is how stark the film is. The setting are bleak, empty and harsh as is the situation they are all thrown into. While the plot may revolve around Abby having left her husband Marty, we never wonder which one of the two is more at fault for their rift – Abby is the adultrus wife, but Marty is the crazed, abusive husband and no one around them is clean.

It’s plain and simple to see watching this film how the Coen’s turned into Oscar winners. Their imagination and vision has always been unique and different. They are filmmakers that from the very start had great stories to tell.

Directors & Writers: Joel & Ethan Coen
Ray: John Getz
Abby: Frances McDormand
Marty: Dan Hedaya
Private Detective: M. Emmet Walsh

Private Detective:The world is full o' complainers. An' the fact is, nothin' comes with a guarantee. Now I don't care if you're the pope of Rome, President of the United States or Man of the Year; somethin' can all go wrong. Now go on ahead, y'know, complain, tell your problems to your neighbor, ask for help, 'n watch him fly. Now, in Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else... that's the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas, an' down here... you're on your own.

The First Wives Club

Part of me wants to be able to say that The First Wives Club is a silly, stupid movie that is really just brain candy – but I can’t. I love this movie; I think it is a genuinely good movie with entertaining and appealing comedy that does not get stale. I will admit that The First Wives Club probably plays better to women, but I am a woman so there’s no problem there.

The First Wives Club is about three women – Brenda, Elise & Annie – all three of whom have been left by their first husbands. They were close in college but let post-college life help grow them apart until their other college friend Cynthia commits suicide on the day that her recently ex-husband gets remarried. The tragedy brings the three women back into each others lives and as they discover that their marital situations are so similar they decide to band together and form the first wives club and be the wives that just won’t take being left standing while their husbands chase their more youthful replacement. Together they dig out the dirt on their exes and make the men rue the day they traded in their first wives.

The reason The First Wives Club works as well as it does is the three lead actresses that helm it – Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler & Diane Keaton. These women are not only phenomenal actresses in their own right but they have a divine chemistry together that really makes their friendship genuine and complete. Goldie is gloriously funny as Elise the actress obsessed with youth and delivers some of my favorite lines in the film; Bette is divine as Brenda the Jewish mother who just wants her son to be happy but tries not to meddle too much; Diane is perfect the compulsive and quirky Annie who is newly adjusting to the news that her college age daughter is a lesbian.

However, the supporting cast in this movie is just as beautifully cast as the main roles you have Maggie Smith, Victor Garber, Marcia Gay Harden, Rob Reiner and more. Everywhere you turn there are actors and entertainment personalities that you see all over television and film. When this movie was put together they spared no chance to put a good recognizable actor in the right role.

I do think that The First Wives Club is a film that can be enjoyed by almost anyone. I also highly recommend it for any girls night in.

Director: Hugh Wilson
Writer: Robert Harling
Brenda Cushman: Bette Midler
Elise Elliot: Goldie Hawn
Annie Paradis: Diane Keaton
Gunilla Garson Goldberg: Maggie Smith
Morton Cushman: Dan Hedaya
Shelly Stewart: Sarah Jessica Parker
Cynthia Swann Griffin: Stockard Channing
Bill Atchison: Victor Garber
Aaron Paradis: Stephen Collins
Phoebe: Elizabeth Berkley
Dr. Rosen: Marcia Gay Harden
Duarto Feliz: Bronson Pinchot
Brett Artounian: Timothy Olyphant

Brenda: My Morty becomes this big shot on T.V... He was selling electronics, right? On our 20th wedding anniversary it hits midlife crisis major. He starts working out, he, he grows a moustache, he gets an earring. I said, "Morty, Morty, what are you? A pirate? what's next? A parrot?" And all of a sudden I'm a big drag. I'm holding him back because I won't go rollerblading.

The Usual Suspects

The first time I watched The Usual Suspects it was a turning point in my love affair with movies; I had never been so powerfully affected by a film in my life. However, it wasn’t until years later that I realized that The Usual Suspects was my favorite film. It is that one film that every time I hear the theme, or see a piece of it playing on TV I want to stop whatever I am doing and watch the entire movie. I can quote almost the entire movie line for line; I truly believe that in this film Bryan Singer created a masterpiece.

Before going into my breakdown of the plot I need to lay something out; one of the cardinal, unspoken rules when discussing The Ususal Suspects is to not talk about the ending – to do so would spoil one of the greatest cinematic moments in film history. It simply is not discussed; even AFI adhered to this rule when they released their list of greatest moments/film villains. If you’ve seen the film you know why.

The Usual Suspects is put together like a puzzle, a puzzle laid out by one Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey). It begins with an exchange between two men on a boat; one man, Dean Keaton, is obviously not long for this world and the other we never see, but Keaton calls him “Keyser” before the man shoots Keaton in the head and sets fire to the boat. This enigmatic character introduction is soon brushed aside as the film brings us to the present and reveals the boat has exploded, and Agent Kujan from Customs gets involved with the questioning of Kint about his involvement with the crime and his associates who died on the boat, trying to unravel the fate of a former cop-turned-criminal Dean Keaton; meanwhile, at the county hospital FBI Agent Jack Baer begins to question the lone survivor of the explosion Arkosh Kovash.

During questioning Kovash reveals that it was not as simple a crime as the authorities thought and Kint begins his tale: in New York, weeks prior to the boat explosion Kint along with criminals Keaton, Fenster, McManus, and Hockney were brought in for a false line-up by the NYPD and the cops created a deadly alliance between the criminals. From there the story grows until it takes a sharp turn into the middle as the question is raised – Who is Keyser Soze? The film soon becomes a hunt for not just the motive of the crime that was committed, but a search for the truth behind the identity of the greatest criminal mind of all time.

The expertise with which this film is put together would make you think that this was not Bryan Singer’s first major film but it is. Before The Usual Suspects he had only done the film festival hit Public Access which now meets mixed reviews depending on the audience. As I stated before, this film is put together like a puzzle with multiple timelines, flash backs, and flash forwards that lay out the pieces of the story only as Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie see fit. The visual style is one of the most striking that I have seen in any film, and I don’t say this very often but the lighting is beautiful.

While all of the actors from Stephen Baldwin to Pete Postlethwaite are phenomenal, this is the film that gave Kevin Spacey his first Oscar. Let me tell you he more than deserved this nod for best supporting actor; the entire film hinges on his performance as Kint. Spacey manages to play the character with such ease that you would think he too were a crippled con man who thinks the world is out to get him, there is not a nod of his head or shift of his eyes that is not 100% in tune with the character and the world that has been created in the film.

This film also owes props to the talented John Ottoman. Why more musicians are not editors is beyond me; the skills do actually have quite a bit in common when dealing with rhythm and tempo and The Usual Suspects does benefit greatly from having an editor who also wrote the score. The rhythm of the cuts and the film score blend seamlessly to create some of the most fluid footage I’ve ever watched; it’s so subtle it’s almost beyond description but having seen the film as many times as I have you notice the subtlety.

I do urge everyone to see this film in their lifetime. I promise you that you will not regret it. Just remember, don’t discuss the ending.

Director: Bryan Singer
Writer: Christopher McQuarrie
McManus: Stephen Baldwin
Keaton: Gabriel Bryne
Fenster: Benicio Del Toro
Hockney: Kevin Pollak
Kint: Kevin Spacey
Kujan: Chazz Palminteri
Kobayashi: Pete Postlewaite
Jack Baer: Giancarlo Esposito
Edie Finneran: Suzy Amis
Jeff Rabin: Dan Hedaya

Verbal: You tell me, Agent Kujan, if I told you the Loch Ness Monster hired me to hit the harbor, what would you say?

Commando

After watching Commando two things become crystal clear: 1) Arnold has not been in that many genuinely good movies in his career. 2) Almost all of the Arnold stereotypes began in this film.

The film is about Arnold’s character, John Matrix, that is a former Army commando who helped oust a dictator. Said dictator is now hunting down everyone who was on John’s team and killing them. Said dictator’s men kidnap John’s daughter, thus giving him an excuse to hunt down everyone of them and create an astronomical body count.

Seriously, that is the entire story. Oh – and since it’s 1985 there has to be a female in there as well so there is a random stewardess he meets that for some reason helps him but that basically means that she drives the car/holds the gear. I honestly have no idea why/where in the movie she showed up.

This film has the best character introduction ever for Arnold; foget the menacing explosion of blue light that eats away pavement and reveals a naked Arnold in Terminator, here we have sweaty, muscled Arnold in a wife beater with a chainsaw in one hand and an entire felled tree across his shoulder.

To further the Arnold stereotypes that follow him the rest of his career this is the film where Arnold is able to flip over cars, pick people up & throw them, take on 6 gooney’s at once, etc. - sometimes all in the same scene.

Please do not see this movie thinking it is a great, plot driven movie. In reality, it pretty much makes NO sense, but it’s so much fun because of this. How does Arnold manage to set two small explosives, and blow up an entire complex of 4+ buildings? I don’t know, but the film does it.

Director: Mark L. Lester
Writer: Steven E. DeSouza
John Matrix: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Jenny Matrix: Alyssa Milano
Cindy: Rae Dawn Chong
Arius: Dan Hedaya

Cooke: You scared, motherfucker? Well, you should be, because this Green Beret is going to kick your big ass!
Matrix: I eat Green Berets for breakfast. And right now, I'm very hungry!

Clueless

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Originally uploaded by Boy Billy

I have a theory; for my generation guys had Swingers to show them the comical side of how men deal with life and relationships, and girls had Clueless.

Amy Heckerling moves from Fast Times at Ridgemont High to a teen girl comedy based on a Jane Austen story seamlessly. Clueless is the first real “teen” movie that I remember watching. To this day I laugh everytime Cher starts her speech about the “Hate-e-ans”, or doesn’t realize the boy she’s flirting with is a “cake eater”. One of my favorite visual moments in the film is still when the “lights” literally go on for Cher as she realizes she is in love with her former step-brother Josh; walking through LA she stands in front of a fountain as it suddenly climaxes shooting water into the air and lights up behind her.

My favorite character is still Mel, Cher’s father played by Dan Hadeya. He is the overprotective, rough and tough dad but he loves Cher and wants to make sure the world loves her as much as he does.

This movie is exactly what it appears to be and is better for it. Clueless is light, bubbly and innocent. It wants to show you the perils of a teenage girl and make you laugh with them not at them.

Writer & Director: Amy Heckerling
Cher: Alicia Silverstone
Dionne: Stacey Dash
Tai: Brittany Murphy
Josh: Paul Rudd
Murray: Donald Faison
Mel: Dan Hedaya

Mel: What's with you, kid? You think the death of Sammy Davis left an opening in the Rat Pack?