Road Games

Tags

1980's, Jamie Lee Curtis, Richard Franklin, Road Games, Stacy Keach, Thriller

Film Title

Road Games

Director

Richard Franklin

Starring

• Stacy Keach as Pat Quid
• Jamie Lee Curtis as Pamela “Hitch” Rushworth

A tight and bristling with tension thriller that takes a leaf out of Hitchcock’s expertise with suspense, Road Games makes for quite a ride that begins slowly and then gets quicker. Peppered with unexpected touches, it’s undoubtedly an underrated thriller.

Pat Quid is a sardonic truck driver in Australia who specialises in the transportation of meat. He picks up his latest load of pork in Melbourne and then deliver it to Perth. To pass the time, he often speculates on the lives of those he passes on his long journey on the Nullarbor Plain. Quid is a man of tall tales and almost endless trivia, which he regales his pet dingo Boswell with. A lot of this is to make the journey he’s taking to deliver the goods more bearable and quench boredom. On the large and arid Nullarbor Plain, he becomes aware of a certain green van that he saw earlier on his journey. It was at the motel he couldn’t check into and Quid becomes suspicious about this van that always seems to be there and who the person behind the wheel is. After hearing on the radio of a maniac who has been murdering young women, he starts to believe that the man in the van is the culprit. Around this time he picks up Pamela Rushworth, a young woman looking for adventure and who he nicknames Hitch. Bouncing off each other’s humour and ideas, the two play the idea of catching the killer. Hitch believes Quid’s story, even though the police don’t. The duo take it upon themselves to solve the mystery, as no one will listen due to a lack of evidence. The thing is the killer always seems to be one step ahead, and through a sprinkling of breadcrumbs, implicates the innocent Quid. When the killer seems to up the stakes, it becomes a game of cat and mouse as Quid attempts to bring him to justice. It’s a matter of proving it first that is the problem and when Hitch disappears, Quid is put into action.

Richard Franklin is on good form directing this slow building ride into creepiness. His measured pacing is peppered with a certain humour(which I’ll come on to soon) and a feeling of something very sinister around the corner. The Nullarbor Plain makes for a fascinating landscape to set Road Games due to its vast and unpredictable nature. Plus it provides a beautiful backdrop for the tension to take residence in subtle ways. The homages to Hitchcock are well worth the price of admission, with the basic premise of thinking you know something but without any prove is highly reminiscent of the great Master. While it references him, it never becomes a parody and stands on its own merits and talent. What sets Road Games apart from some thrillers is that while the main premise is morbid, the interactions between Quid and Hitch are funny and endearing. Going from a sassy script that sets up a nice rapport, the scenes of them deliberating are funny and sparkle with witty observations. And this extends to scenes of Quid with just his dog as he watches other drivers go by and guesses what they are like, much like the protagonist in Rear Window debates the lives of his neighbours. And while a thriller, Road Games has a lot in common with the road movie genre, only adding a darker and more inquisitive angle to it. The odd misstep now and then does nothing to diminish the effectiveness of Road Games in creating an atmosphere of burgeoning suspense. And because Quid is so tired by his job and worn out by the endless journey, there is that suggestion that maybe he is in fact making up something fanciful. We know there is a murderer on the loose, but is it the person in the van that Quid thinks it is? That very idea is alluded to in some surreal scenes of overlapping road marks and sweltering heat that show him under pressure. This adds a little more mystery to the already curious story that is woven with flair and precision. Road Games is one of those slow burns that is filled with a real dread that becomes more pronounced in the latter stages, which suits it down to the ground. The sheer atmosphere and possibility of Quid maybe not being the most reliable character in his thoughts is a great strength of the picture. A shimmering, adventurous and even jaunty tone to the music is perfectly counterbalanced by the gradual suspense it produces, filling the two capacities of fun and sinister.

Stacy Keach wonderfully plays Quid as a snarky, wise ass with bundles of imagination to spare. His world-weary demeanor and one liners make him a character you enjoy being in the company of, especially when he becomes suspicious of something deadly ahead. The fact that he is prone to imaginative ideas is also addressed, but Keach overall makes Quid a likable, every man hero in the narrative. Jamie Lee Curtis has fun as the sassy hitchhiker with a smart mouth and a quick talking way. Although young, she has a certain maturity that is put along her desire for something exciting to happen in her life. As they are the two principal people throughout, they are very charismatic and enjoyable to watch together. And the platonic chemistry that is filled with heart and a genuine care( not to mention sparkling banter) makes for cool watching.

A Hitchcockian thriller with a surprising amount of snap and verve gone into it, Road Games is both fun and tense, gaining mileage from a witty script, a growing feeling of dread and the main pleasure of and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Happy Birthday Clint Eastwood

Tags

Birthday, Clint Eastwood

A quintessential tough guy on the screen and all around talent, Clint Eastwood has been acting and directing since before many of us can remember. And with him turning 87 today, I thought it good to pay tribute to him. If you’re talking about work ethic, Eastwood’s is pretty enviable as he’s still going strong. There’s a tenacity to Clint Eastwood, in both his acting and directing, he goes for projects that challenge him. And of course, he’s one bad ass dude too in many of his roles. A talented craftsman and icon, Happy Birthday Clint.

Scream 4

Tags

2010's, Alison Brie, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Erik Knudsen, Hayden Panettiere, Horror, Marley Shelton, Mary McDonnell, Neve Campbell, Nico Tortorella, Rory Culkin, Scream 4, Wes Craven

Film Title

Scream 4

Director

Wes Craven

Starring

• Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott
• Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers-Riley
• David Arquette as Dewey Riley
• Emma Roberts as Jill Roberts
• Hayden Panettiere as Kirby Reed
• Rory Culkin as Charlie Walker
• Erik Knudsen as Robbie Mercer
• Marley Shelton as Deputy Judy Hicks
• Alison Brie as Rebecca
• Nico Tortorella as Trevor
• Mary McDonnell as Kate Roberts

A return to the slasher series with a satirical edge, Scream 4 undoubtedly has its flaws. But it would be impossible to reach the heights of the influential first movie and if you look at it from a singular standpoint, Scream 4 is still rollicking and entertaining, albeit with problems. Plus, you’ve got Wes Craven on directing duties, Kevin Williamson back in the writing department and three of the principal actors from the original trilogy. And in those areas, Scream 4 rocks.

It has been ten years since the first spate of slayings in Woodsboro and Sidney Prescott returns. In the time since, she has written a self-help book and become a very confident woman whose no longer scared of her past. She stays with her Aunt Kate and cousin Jill, who is in her teens and surrounded by friends who adore the movies. Her return is part of her book tour and she reconnects with friends Dewey Riley, who is now the Sheriff and Gale, who is married to Dewey and whose career as a writer has somewhat stalled since moving back to Woodsboro a number of years ago. Dewey is having a good enough tenure as Sheriff of his hometown, while Gale has writer’s block and craves a new challenge. Yet as Sidney arrives, her old nemesis of Ghostface makes his presence felt with a rash of grisly murders, akin to the crimes perpetrated all those years ago. With a new generation of wise ass teens on the block, we learn that the killer may be trying to outdo the original in the way that most reboots do. That means it’s up to Sidney, an inquisitive Gale and Dewey to unearth the psycho before more blood is shed from the people Sidney holds dear to her heart. But just who is starting all these killings over again and what is the overall motive?

Wes Craven, that great iconic director of horror, is firmly in the director’s seat and his obvious expertise in the genre are at play. Though some of it feels stale, Craven has enough energy and style to make Scream 4 at least a worthy entry to the canon. In a sad footnote, Scream 4 was Craven’s last directing gig before his death and he left us with a good movie to go out on. While it has some problems, I will say that it has a bit more a better ratio with laughs and scares than Scream 3 did. meta and self referential areas are still pretty much intact, though they can lack some of the panache the other movies had.  Regardless, the many satiric jibes about endless glut of horror movies that attempt to outdo their predecessors by being outrageous and bigger are well-handled. The in jokes here are pretty amusing it must be said, as a new set of reboot rules come out to play. Because so much has changed in the world of movies and technology, Scream 4 can seem a bit forced as it is a totally different age from when the first three where hot. Saying that, quite a lot of the humour regarding us being such a dependent species on the Internet and the lives of others is particularly tart and barbed; something writer Kevin Williamson knows a lot about. Yet for all the mocking of conventions, it slips into many of them a lot more than necessary. Overall though, the script and return of Williamson are inspired and still very witty when it comes to be self-aware. Just that opening film within a film part is wildly entertaining as a send up to relentless sequels in the gore-filled genre. Seriously too, I loved the homages to the other films in the franchise; a lot of them really stuck in my mind and surprised me. Probably the most glaring flaw is the lack of interesting supporting characters, save for movie savvy Kirby, girl next door Jill and geeky Charlie . The rest of the teenagers are mere cardboard cut outs whose main purpose is to die extravagantly( though that does make the film more brutal and pretty scary it must be stated). The other main flaw within Scream 4 is that it overlong and could have been cut better, instead of dragging quite a big chunk of it out. I believe it’s a flawed movie, but it has some excellent moments that bring us back into the feel of the first troika of works. Marco Beltrami also returns on music duties and kicks up the action and winking to the audience that these movies are a dab hand at. The music has always been a big part of why I love these movies and this doesn’t disappoint, along with some side-swiping writing and inventive deaths.

The returning cast members slip back into the roles they know so well and do it with style. Neve Campbell once more impresses as perennial survivor Sidney, who is now older and more confident than ever before. Campbell portrays Sidney at her most hard-edged and ready for battle, even having a bit of sarcasm and as she’s faced this horror before yet refused to be the victim. That quality of overcoming adversity and personal growth has always been the most effective thing about Sidney Prescott, best embodied by the naturalness and heart of Campbell. She is still obviously terrified by events repeating themselves, but by now can take charge and kick ass with both attitude and soul. All bow down to Sidney Prescott and Neve Campbell for bringing this resilient character back to life. Courteney Cox gets to show that Gale can still be a fabulous bitch who wants her part of the glory solving the crimes, in typically defiant and amusing and near dangerous fashion. David Arquette’s puppy like enthusiasm is still there in funny ways, though it is tempered with a weariness now that the character is older. It was nice seeing these three characters return once more and still be interesting to watch. Emma Roberts is good as the cousin of Sidney, while Hayden Panettiere steals the show as the wise ass, movie buff Kirby. Exhibiting a sassy attitude and flirty sex appeal, she was a lot of fun to watch. Rory Culkin and Erik Knudsen are pretty OK as the movie geeks of the piece, though Culkin overshadows Knudsen because he appears more than him. The gorgeous Marley Shelton is unfortunately saddled with an uninteresting part of adoring police deputy who has a thing for her boss and Alison Brie majorly grates as the bitchy publicist with a big mouth and condescending persona. Nico Tortorella is pretty bland and not at all convincing as a creepy ex-boyfriend of Jill’s, while Mary McDonnell is completely wasted in her role as Sidney’s Aunt.

As flawed as it gets and lazy in some aspects it becomes, Scream 4 is largely an entertaining return to the series, aided by some inventive deaths and characters we know and love. Imperfect it may be, but any Scream is better than no Scream, even with some blemishes to its name.

Who Is Your Favourite Horror Heroine?

Tags

Horror, Strong Women

As anyone who follows me will know, horror is probably my favourite movie genre. One aspect that I adore is the roster of strong women or final girls that appear. Nine times out of ten it is the ladies who are left standing. But which of them is your favourite?

Mine are and the reasons why:

Ellen Ripley is the ultimate bad ass who takes control in heavy situations. You wouldn’t want to mess with her.

 

Sidney Prescott is a resourceful and very human character who shows great initiative and resilience. And she’s probably one of the most relatable heroines.

Laurie Strode is a level-headed girl with the great ability to think on her feet with intelligence.

Nancy Thompson is the go to girl for survival and ensnaring the horror that stalks her.

Kirsty Cotton is another resilient heroine sucked into gruesome situations but able to quickly adapt.

So which lady is your personal pick? Mine are just an example, so yours can be any lady from the genre.

I’m Back

Tags

Announcement, I'm Back

My Internet is back up and running. I’m back and will be catching up with all the blogs I follow. Appreciate everyone being understanding.

Apologies

Tags

Announcement, Apologies

I wanted to just let everyone know that I’m still here. Over the past few days, I’ve had some Internet connectivity issues and have been busy with other things. I will get around to replying to all your comments and checking your work out soon. This little niggle will surely sort itself out soon. Just wanted to tell everyone that I haven’t forgotten you and will be back. Thanks for being understanding.

R.I.P Roger Moore

Tags

007, James Bond, Roger Moore

It is with sadness that I do this tribute to Roger Moore, who has died at the age of 89. As a big Bond fan, Moore is a big icon of mine who essayed the part of 007 for the longest time and most films. His slightly lighter and suave touch was charming throughout. He was in countless other great movies, but for me he’ll always be Bond. May he rest in peace as a stylish and cultured gentleman.

Bug

Tags

2000's, Ashley Judd, Bug, Harry Connick Jr, Michael Shannon, Psychological Horror, William Friedkin

Film Title

Bug

Director

William Friedkin

Starring

• Ashley Judd as Agnes White
• Michael Shannon as Peter Evans
• Harry Connick Jr as Jerry

A psychological horror that’s more about the ravages of loneliness and the persuasive yet damaging delusions to escape that feeling, is rendered unnervingly by William Friedkin in Bug. Scripted by Tracy Letts from his own play, Bug comes to frightening and intense life under the direction of, and aided by two astonishing performances from Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon.

Agnes White is a lonely and haunted young woman who resides in a battered old motel in Oklahoma. Having been terrified by her now released ex Jerry( who keeps cold calling her) and her son disappearing ten years ago, life hasn’t been easy for her. In between working at a local bar, Agnes gets drunk and does drugs with her only real friend to ease the pain. One night, she is introduced to a mysterious man named Peter Evans. He is a little bit awkward but well spoken and pleasant enough towards Agnes. Slowly, the beaten down woman starts to find a certain companionship with this fellow loner. It’s when Peter is seemingly bitten by a bug that his instability comes out, with him talking of time he spent in the army and how he’s being hunted for experimental purposes. At first, Agnes doesn’t know what to make of Peter and his conspiracy stories, but things take a turn quickly. Having been worn down so much and aching for connection that leaves her too open to suggestion, Agnes soon starts to gel with Peter’s delusional theories of a bug infestation in the motel room. Having Jerry lurking around does nothing to help Agnes and how Peter’s imaginings take hold of her. Peter’s frenzied behaviour and ramblings are enough to convince Agnes of something terrible and paranoid. Sealing themselves inside the crummy motel room away from everyone, insanity breeds and the varied delusions of bugs and conspiracy quickly overtake Agnes and Peter completely.

William Friedkin delves deep into the troubled psyche of the protagonists with his cinematic flair illuminating turmoil and eventual downward spiral. that will make your skin crawl and unsettle your mind as it throws you headlong into delusion and isolation that has damaging effects on Agnes, as created by paranoid Peter. Friedkin is a man who knows how to use a camera for maximum impact; often employing gliding motions before cutting to hand-held restlessness as the story cranks up. Armed with a script by its original creator, the encased and isolated aura of a play is successfully kept but as a string to the film’s bow rather than a weakness. The building atmosphere provided by both direction and screenplay is riveting in slowly pacing events, then unearthing with quick succession the obsessive and troubling path to insanity encountered by the characters. Within Bug, Agnes and Peter feed of the others anxieties and paranoid minds, further slipping away from any form of understanding reality. The thematic value of loneliness and desperation is brought out as something that influences the eventual horror in a most effective manner. Part of this is best envisioned in the fact that Bug largely takes place in one setting; the run-down motel room that has seen better days. Even when some light comes in, it’s a setting that takes on a creepy tone as sanity wanes and the cinematography captures some moody contrasts in colour with harsh, grimy efficiency. Now Bug does get a little too abstract in some parts, but the sheer volume of psychological content and claustrophobic mania of it cover up these cracks to produce a quite startling and horrifying movie. Bug reminds us that all the best and most terrifying horror comes from the mind and suggestion, insuring you won’t be able to quite forget this film after viewing. A sparse musical score brings more attention to the alarming content, yet knows when to pitch in for some doom-laded menace.

I’ve always thought Ashley Judd is a good actress, who for whatever reason, seems to be in movies that are somewhat generic, though her talent largely shines through. Here however, she’s got a role that really shows off her abilities with dramatic full force and allows her to shine. Capturing the pensive sadness of Agnes, who seems resigned and wounded by a terrible life, Judd slowly becomes more and more unstrung as her need for company in turn sends her into insanity. With gutsy anguish and feverish unpredictability, the pitiful and in many ways doomed Agnes is fantastically played by the marvellous Ashley Judd in what is probably her finest performance. Michael Shannon has a naturally intense demeanor to him that is largely from his steely eyes and tough jaw. Even when still and not seeming off kilter, he successfully exudes a sense of restlessness that will soon worryingly combust. These traits, along with a palpable sadness, are wonderfully and frighteningly put on display in Bug. Starting out playing Peter as a little awkward and strange, once the paranoia aspect hots up, Shannon lets loose and his frenzied tics and raw energy come out with spectacular results. It’s safe to say, Shannon’s unsettling and manic performance is not one to forget as he’s so scarily effective in the part. Both of the main stars share a warped and startling closeness that is remarkably intense and worrying. One can imagine that both Judd and Shannon must have been exhausted upon filming completion, given the emotional distress and frenzy they both had to play. Harry Connick Jr provides a beefed up and hair-trigger temper as the convict ex of Agnes, whose appearance disturbs her but is nothing compared to what transpires with Peter.

An an uncomfortable and disquieting horror that drags out the dark recesses of the mind and presents them with skin-crawling assurance, Bug is a movie not for everyone. But for those willing to watch a claustrophobic examination of paranoid delusion and alarming co-dependency(acted with striking intensity) that turns to mania , Bug will be well worth checking out. Just be warned, you won’t be able to shake Bug for some time, which is to give credit to the sheer impact of it all.

Waiting to Exhale

Tags

1990's, Angela Bassett, Comedy, Dennis Haysbert, Drama, Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, Lela Rochon, Loretta Devine, Michael Beach, Waiting to Exhale, Wesley Snipes, Whitney Houston

Film Title

Waiting to Exhale

Director

Forest Whitaker

Starring

• Whitney Houston as Savannah Jackson
• Angela Bassett as Bernadine Harris
• Lela Rochon as Robin Stokes
• Loretta Devine as Gloria Matthews
• Gregory Hines as Marvin
• Dennis Haysbert as Kenneth
• Michael Beach as John Harris
• Wesley Snipes as James

A glossy comedy drama concerning the love lives and friendships of four African-American women, Waiting to Exhale definitely has a lot of things going for it on the entertainment factor. But while it has some things to recommend, primarily a hot soundtrack and largely impressive casting, Waiting to Exhale just felt overall too slight of a film to make an impact on me.

A quartet of African-American women( Savannah, Bernadine, Robin and Gloria) all experience differences in romantic relationships and love . All living in Phoenix, their relationships with men are never easy and they often meet to discuss their various problems with the opposite sex over vino and food. Savannah is a television producer who has been having a relationship with Kenneth, a married man who keeps promising to leave his wife. Yet she is growing restless with his lying and contemplates taking charge once and for all. Bernadine thought she had a great marriage and lifestyle. That is until slimy John leaves her after eleven years for his secretary and she is crestfallen. She must deal with how best to move forward and reclaim her life as a single woman. The trouble is she never expected any of this to happen, so must go back to square one again and see what she can do. Robin is a flighty girl still hung up on a no good guy, but having casual flings with other guys while she waits for him to finally be in a proper relationship with her. And Gloria, who discovers that her ex-husband is gay, desperately craves company as her son is soon leaving home. Luckily, a new neighbour, handyman Marvin , moves in and she takes a shine to him. Throughout it all, the four women have their friendship to fall back on and rely on in confusing times concerning the heart.

Forest Whitaker adds touches of class as director and knows how to create nice imagery. I do believe he’s trying his best to bring these stories to life and he makes them at least watchable. The script and other areas are where Waiting to Exhale loses me. It just comes off as rather a few, slight vignettes than as a cohesive story, which is something of a detriment to Waiting to Exhale. I mean, I don’t mind me some episodic stories but usually its when they flow that I go for them, which sadly wasn’t the main case here. I did like the interactions between the women(which have humour to a lot of them and a nice dynamic), but I wish there were more of them to flesh things out a bit more. It was mainly Bernadine’s story that moved me the most; her story felt the most compelling as she grew stronger and shared a tentative attraction with a man going through crisis( a brief but memorable turn from Wesley Snipes). The other stories didn’t quite have the pulling power of Bernadine’s, even though Gloria’s pining for her neighbour was nicely observed. I can see that Waiting to Exhale provides escapism for many, I just can’t quite place my finger on why it felt somewhat flat for me. It started pretty well, but for me, it grew rather tedious and drawn out if we’re talking about the overall picture. I think it is a movie that does have some satisfaction and fun, but one that doesn’t really burn into the memory that well because of a lack of depth. The soundtrack however, with soul grooves, courtesy of Babyface, is really smooth and easy to listen to. It was a redeeming feature in a flawed movie.

A saving grace of this film is the main cast, especially Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine. Whitney Houston, looking gorgeous and stylish, gives Savannah a wry humour and quiet depth that is very beneficial and lovely. Angela Bassett is the main standout as the wounded but clearly not beaten Bernadine. As broken down as Bernadine is, the innate toughness Bassett brings to the screen always came off loud and clear that would be a fighter. I mean watching her torch her lying spouse’s fancy clothes and car was pretty satisfying viewing. Her blend of anger and vulnerability sold a lot of the emotion the film was going for and did it successfully. On the other end of the spectrum is Lela Rochon, who does a good enough job, but feels more than a bit stretched as the mixed up Robin. Don’t get me wrong, she’s quite appealing in parts, yet lacks the depth that the role later calls for and comes off as too weak in terms of acting chops. Loretta Devine really has a ball as the caring but hilarious Gloria, who represents a certain voice of calm amid all the entanglements. I loved her vivacious energy and timing, it was pretty spot on. Gregory Hines is a nice presence as the only really good guy(along with Wesley Snipes) in the picture. The rest, mainly Dennis Haysbert and Michael Beach, excel at playing the weasels who do nothing but promise sweet nothing to the ladies.

Undoubtedly entertaining as Waiting to Exhale is, I just found my interest levels lagging a lot. I will say that it all was shot nicely, had a soulful soundtrack and nice work from the cast(mainly Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine), but there was something missing that stopped it from being special.

What Is Your Favourite Cate Blanchett Performance?

Tags

Cate Blanchett, Favourite Performance

Simply stated, I adore Cate Blanchett. The sheer command and versatility of her work never fails to impress or surprise me. She is the definition of reliable, turning out excellent performances continually. It’s staggering to watch her perform and take on a new challenge. She’s one hell of a class act if ever there was one. If I’m honest, I’d find it hard to choose just one favourite performance from her, which is why I’m leaving it up to you wonderful people. So which of her illustrious roles gets your vote as the best?