Mishima (1985)
“All my life I have been acutely aware of a contradiction in the very nature of my existence.”
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At Close Range (1986)
[Note: The following review is of a non-Guide for the Film Fanatic title; click here to read more.]
“Most people who drive through here see farms. Houses, and fields, and shit. I see money; I see things.”
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Get Carter (1971)
“The only reason I came back to this craphouse was to find out who did it — and I’m not leaving until I do!”
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
Sand Pebbles, The (1966)
“Hello, engine; I’m Jake Holman.”
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To that end, his insistence on rigorous maintenance while aboard the San Pablo becomes the catalyst driving two key narrative threads: his contentious relationship with his superior (Crenna, whose only interest lies in continuing to manifest a strong American “presence” in China), and the racial tensions that ensue when he tries to take over responsibilities traditionally handled by Chinese “coolies”.
Given its lengthy running time (nearly 3 hours) and epic ambitions, there’s a lot more going on in The Sand Pebbles than “just” Jake’s identity as a naval engineer. His inevitable romantic interest is played by Candice Bergen (just 19 years old!) as a do-gooding teacher — but the primary romantic subplot is filled by Jake’s shipmate Richard Attenborough and his Eurasian flame Maily (Emmanuelle Arsan), whose “forbidden” love affair has tragic consequences.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of exciting action sequences sprinkled throughout, and Joseph MacDonald’s cinematography brings the Chinese landscape to vibrant life. But the film isn’t uniformly entertaining: the story immediately begins to drag whenever Attenborough and Arsan’s romance is given screentime, and despite an initial attempt at humanizing the Chinese (as evidenced in Mako‘s Oscar-nominated performance as a doomed “coolie” who briefly befriends McQueen), they ultimately turn into an amorphous mass of “Others”. Nonetheless, McQueen’s impressive performance is reason enough for film fanatics to check this film out at least once. Note: Wise was apparently so proud of his work on this film that he hosted annual cast reunions for years after its release; click here for a website devoted exclusively to the film. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Rio Lobo (1970)
“What you did was an act of war; but selling information — that’s treason, rotten treachery for money.”
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and Jorge Rivero is surprisingly uncharismatic as her French-Mexican love interest and Wayne’s right-hand man.
Meanwhile, Wayne (who was already suffering from the cancer that eventually killed him) seems to be mostly walking through his scenes.
In his review, Peary spends a substantial amount of time analyzing Wayne’s character, who he notes comes across as “less of a superman”, “less dominant than in early films, and mellower”, “more of a father figure than a leader” — but it’s difficult not to interpret these characteristics as merely symptomatic of his personal exhaustion, and perhaps a weariness with the type of cliched roles he was being asked to play again and again (throughout his lengthy career, he starred in nearly 250 movies — of which no less than 36 are listed or discussed in Peary’s book!). Howard Hawks completists and/or fans of Wayne will likely be curious to check out this rather pedestrian western, but all-purpose film fanatics needn’t bother. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Cat’s Eye (1985)
“If you smoke, they’ll see you.”
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The dark comedic potential in this set-up is effectively mined. Fortunately, there’s something to enjoy in each of the other two segments as well; it’s impossible not to feel one’s heart in one’s mouth during “The Ledge”, for instance:
… and I’m impressed by Carlo Rambaldi’s troll in the third segment (the scene in which the troll slowly sucks breath directly out of Barrymore’s sleeping mouth is truly haunting).
Best of all, it’s nice to see cats getting such a good rap here — and it should be noted that the multiple tabbies enlisted to “play” the central feline character do an impressive job (at the very least their handler, Karl Lewis Miller, should be applauded!).
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Little Murders (1971)
“I married you because I wanted to mold you!”
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Merry Widow, The (1925)
“What’s marriage got to do with love?”
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Klute (1971)
“What I’d really like to do is be faceless, and bodiless, and left alone.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Indeed, many have noted that a more accurate title for the film would be Bree, given that she, rather than Klute, is really the central protagonist; Klute himself (Sutherland gives a mellow, restrained performance) is merely a catalyst in Bree’s well-ordered life — someone who subtly “convinces” her to open up emotionally to a man for the first time, and take a risk. Bree’s sessions with a psychotherapist (Vivian Nathan) — which were apparently semi-improvised by Fonda — are particularly revealing, and help us understand that Bree finds “her job liberating because she feels in control in her life only when turning tricks”; thus, her “movement toward real-life liberation takes a dramatic leap when she learns to trust Klute”. Fonda’s vulnerable, nuanced performance is the primary reason to watch this flawed but engaging and atmospheric film. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
Eyewitness (1981)
“Whoever killed Long is a hero in my book.”
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… as is the cast of supporting players — including Christopher Plummer as Weaver’s pro-Israel boyfriend:
… James Woods as Hurt’s co-worker and friend:
… and Pamela Reed as Hurt’s long-time girlfriend:
Meanwhile, the final climactic scene in a stable is most creatively staged.
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