VC Pick: Running Scared (1986)

Tags

Action, Comedy, Thriller, VC Pick

There once were two cops on the street
Who riled the bad guys they’d meet.
As crime would unfold
In their city so cold,
They quite enjoyed bringing the heat.
______________________

MPAA rating: R (mainly for language and brief nudity, a light R overall)

It’s shameful, absolutely shameful, that it’s been nearly three months since a movie chosen by my dear VC got the limelight it deserves in the form of an obscure blog post by me. I have no excuse, but I do have this review. Running Scared probably isn’t high on anyone’s list of films from the ‘80s, but it’s a funny and underrated member of the buddy cop genre to which I’m glad my VC introduced me.

Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines are in fine form as a pair of Chicago cops named Danny and Ray, the kind of movie cops who are charming when they bend the rules in a way that ought to get them fired in the real world. But they get results, including bagging notorious drug lord Julio Gonzales (Jimmy Smits), only to be put on leave for their recklessness. Enjoying the time off down in Key West, the two decide they like the non-police life, and after learning that Gonzales was set free, they decide to bring him in before retiring for good.

Crystal and Hines were probably unlikely choices to play streetwise cops back in 1986, early in their film careers as it was, but they both excel, channeling the same kind of black-and-white buddy chemistry as Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor did. Their bickering and wisecracks are the biggest draw, complementing action scenes that likewise balance humor and danger. Joe Pantoliano is also great as Snake, one of those small-time weasels he plays so well. Running Scared doesn’t revolutionize anything about its genre, but it doesn’t need to when its leads are able to capture its sense of fun with their toothy grins alone.

Best line: (Captain Logan, referring to a suicide jumper) “You two weren’t, uh, interrogating a suspect up on the roof, were you?”   (Ray) “We got an alibi, Captain. Snake, tell him where we were or we’ll kill you, too.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
659 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Terms of Endearment (1983)

Tags

Comedy, Drama, VC Pick

You love her so dearly,
And not insincerely,
Your mother, your mom whom you know loves you, clearly,
And yet you resent
Her distinct discontent
That causes her love to be dealt so austerely.

Your choices, your bearing,
The clothes that you’re wearing
Are always subject to her stare and found erring.
All that you’d withstand,
Every vague reprimand,
For the knowledge or hope that behind it is caring.
____________________

MPAA rating: PG (should be PG-13)

I know I haven’t posted in a while, being busy with a college class, but I’m back now and thought it was about time to review something chosen by my dear VC (Viewing Companion, for the uninitiated). I saw Terms of Endearment years ago and never gave it much of a thought since. I recalled it being good and sad by the end, and, sure, it won Best Picture in 1983 alongside several other Oscars, but for some reason, it never really stuck with me. At my VC’s urging, I finally got around to it again, and found to my surprise that I remembered a lot more than I thought I did. Even so, it was helpful to remind myself of a lot of the context that inevitably slips through the memory cracks, which further convinced me that it’s a great movie that’s just not one of my favorites.

The film’s greatest strength is its actors, particularly the dueling mother/daughter portrayals of Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger, as Aurora and Emma Greenway, respectively. MacLaine is the quintessential disapproving parent, distant by default, content to let love be implied, and rarely allowing her emotions to show themselves. Winger as her daughter is hungry for that love and emotion and constantly trying to balance her love for her mother with their mutual exasperation. It’s a dynamic that my VC had with her own mother, so I can completely understand why it hit close to home for her, particularly a line about how the fighting between them doesn’t always feel mutual but simply a facet of their relationship. And the part about Aurora always being the first to let go of a hug certainly imitated life. I, on the other hand, have a largely warm and loving relationship with my own mom, making the emotional constipation onscreen less relatable for me but no less frustrating.

Supporting the main two women are Jeff Daniels as Emma’s less-than-faithful professor husband, John Lithgow as her own secret lover, and Oscar-winning Jack Nicholson as Aurora’s self-absorbed astronaut boyfriend, who is honestly insufferable half the time but skates by with that Nicholson swagger. The drama can get heavy, what with strained parental bonds, failed romances, and familial loss, but the accomplished actors do an expert job balancing the dramatic material with its comedic flourishes. With both MacLaine and Nicholson winning Oscars, though, I rather wish Debra Winger had garnered the same acclaim, since this is easily one of her best roles.

It’s no surprise that Terms of Endearment was an Oscar magnet, including its engaging script, based on a 1975 novel by Larry McMurtry. It’s an unabashed tearjerker about the messiness of family life, and while it does touch the heart, it will undoubtedly touch some more than others. I suppose it depends how much you see yourself or your parent in this classic mother-daughter relationship.

Best line: (Aurora Greenway) “I just don’t want to fight anymore.”
(Emma) “What do you mean? When do we fight?”
(Aurora) “When do we fight? I always think of us as fighting!”
(Emma) “That’s because you’re never satisfied with me.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
652 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Patton (1970)

Tags

Biopic, Classics, Drama, History, VC Pick, War

What wins wars?
It’s a question hard to answer
That no army can refuse.
For if every side could answer it,
No side would ever lose.

What wins wars?
Some would say that it’s commitment
Or resolve to reach the goal.
But commitment breeds fanaticism
If it lacks control.

What wins wars?
Some would point to their resources,
Which are squandered easily.
Some would point to perseverance
Or to strength or bravery.

What wins wars?
All of these are necessary,
But they’re not the final trade.
There’s a risk to every battle;
There’s a price that must be paid.

What wins wars?
‘Tis the soldiers wielding courage
And the strength to persevere,
Those committed to their country,
Without whom we’d not be here.
__________________

MPAA rating:  GP/PG (more of a PG-13 for language)

My VC has been urging me to review Patton for some time now, and I figured Memorial Day was the perfect time for this World War II biopic. Patton benefits from an Oscar-winning performance from George C. Scott and the Oscar-winning screenplay from none other than Francis Ford Coppola, who interestingly credits this film’s success with his being allowed to direct The Godfather.

While other actors are good, including Karl Malden as General Omar Bradley, this movie lives and dies by the effectiveness of Scott in the title role, and from the first iconic speech he delivers in the film’s opening, speaking to the troops in front of an enormous American flag, he embodies General George S. Patton’s patriotic resolve and uncompromising will. The score is similarly iconic, providing perfect accompaniment to Patton’s military ambitions, and certain scenes are distinctly memorable, like Patton’s slapping of a shell-shocked soldier or his shoot-off with a swooping enemy plane.

All that said, war movies from the ‘70s aren’t what they are today. While I’m grateful for the lack of extreme content, there’s not much action, with the focus instead on Patton as a character. That’s hardly a bad thing, but at nearly three hours, the plot loses steam at times and didn’t need to be that long. I also found it odd that the film stopped short of Patton’s unexpected death in a car accident, not even mentioning it in an ending footnote.

As a fan of history, though, I found Patton a great character study of one of America’s greatest generals, providing insight into his lesser known activities as well, such as his passive role in the D-Day invasion and his many difficulties with censoring himself in interviews. He was a monstrous warmonger to some and a nationalist hero to others, a dichotomy of characterizations that the film embraces in equal measure. Considering its balanced treatment and biographical importance, I can see why it won Best Picture that year, in addition to Best Director, Original Screenplay, Film Editing, Sound, Art Direction, and Actor (which Scott famously refused). It also reminded me that Patton himself was a poet, so I ought to add this film to my list of poems used in movies. It’s a bit too long and slow to watch often, but it definitely ranks among the greatest war biopics.

Best line: (Patton) “Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
632 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Tags

Drama, Mystery, Thriller, VC Pick

(Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was for a poem featuring repetition, so I took inspiration from a form called the pantoum, wherein the second and fourth lines are reused as the first and third in the following stanza. I don’t think I’ve written one before, so it was fun trying it out.)

 

There’s death at our feet now and guilt in the air.
We wince at the wrong the once righteous have done.
The taking of life is a fearful affair,
Not easily halted once it has begun.

We wince at the wrong the once righteous have done,
But justice is fast on the heels of the crime,
Not easily halted once it has begun
And knowing that truth is a matter of time.

Yes, justice is fast on the heels of the crime
And eager that evil be dragged from its lair.
We know that the truth is a matter of time.
There’s death at our feet now and guilt in the air.
__________________

MPAA rating:  PG-13

My VC has recently become enamored of all things murder mystery. She’s gobbled up mystery novels by the series, and is currently making her way through innocuous but likable Hallmark mysteries. So of course, we had to check out one of the most famous mysteries of them all, Mystery on the Orient Express, specifically Kenneth Branagh’s rendition of the acclaimed Agatha Christie novel.

I’ll admit up front that I did actually know whodunit (it’s a famous story, after all), but my VC didn’t. And even though I knew the ultimate answer to the mystery, I couldn’t recall all the details and motivations. This is also the only film version I’ve seen, and it delivered its eloquent twists admirably, with a stunningly crafted setting against a snowy mountainside.

Branagh is an excellent Hercule Poirot, even if his handlebar mustache and OCD tendencies are a bit over the top, and he’s joined by a laudable collection of worthy actors/suspects, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Willem Dafoe, Penélope Cruz, Daisy Ridley, Josh Gad, Lucy Boynton, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr. (of Hamilton fame), and Johnny Depp as the disreputable victim discovered murdered on the fateful 1930s train ride. I was also amused at the “coincidental” casting of Judi Dench alongside Olivia Colman, both of whom have Oscars for playing British queens, with Colman’s obviously coming after this movie.

Beyond the who’s who of talent, the film is also sumptuously shot, merging the feel of a classic with the polished cinematography and inventive camerawork of a modern auteur. Its ultimate resolution doesn’t really lend itself to a satisfying end (at least my VC thought not), but it’s true to what I recall about the original story, with its final open-ended theme meant to leave the audience pondering right and wrong. While it’s not the Oscar contender I thought it might be before its release (though still much better than its 59% Rotten Tomatoes score indicates), Mystery on the Orient Express is well-mounted and well-acted enough to please most fans of a good murder mystery. I’m looking forward to its sequel based on Death on the Nile, which incidentally I know nothing about and plan to keep it that way until 2020.

Best line: (Poirot) “I am of an age where I know what I like and what I do not like. What I like, I enjoy enormously. What I dislike, I cannot abide.”

 

Rank:  List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
627 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Wyatt Earp (1994)

Tags

Biopic, Drama, History, VC Pick, Western

When the dust of the town seems to tremble with dread
As it blows and remembers becoming blood red
The last time that many a cowardly head
Ducked down as a bully drew near,

When fingers are itchy and tempers are short,
When fight makes you foolish and flight makes you sport,
And no one is willing, in street or in court,
To hazard their life and career,

When violence is common and wounds are left raw,
And only a few have the courage to draw,
It’s they who must lay down an unbending law
And clear the frontier of its fear.
_______________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

It’s been far too long since I gave my dear Viewing Companion (VC) a chance to pick a movie, and after her choice of Tombstone several months ago, she wanted to compare it to Kevin Costner’s competitor Wyatt Earp. Released just a year after Tombstone, which centered solely on the events surrounding the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Wyatt Earp sought to differentiate itself by painting a much broader picture of Wyatt’s entire life, from his childhood to his later years.

For anyone wondering up front, Tombstone is easily the better film (albeit more violent), as the Rotten Tomatoes scores of both will attest. Whereas Wyatt Earp is expansive and rambling, with the O.K. Corral as just another event among many in Earp’s life, the limited scope of Tombstone makes it much more focused, as well as an hour shorter than Wyatt Earp’s exorbitant three-hour-plus runtime. (Honestly, it might have worked better as the miniseries it was originally planned to be.)

But all that’s not to say that Wyatt Earp doesn’t have its merits. My VC called it “an admirable attempt” at presenting Earp’s full story, and it did give more insight into what formed him into the cold and fearless lawman he became. Story elements like his tragic first marriage or how his father (Gene Hackman) saved him from a particularly low period in his life certainly add to his character, with details Tombstone didn’t have the time or inclination to include. Plus, the performances are solid throughout with an all-star cast to rival that of Tombstone. I must mention the Lost alert for Jeff Fahey as Ike Clanton, but many will also recognize Mark Harmon, Jim Caviezel, Bill Pullman, JoBeth Williams, Isabella Rossellini, Catherine O’Hara, Tom Sizemore, Adam Baldwin, and Tea Leoni. And I mustn’t forget Dennis Quaid as the TB-ridden Doc Holliday, with Quaid’s commitment evident in how gaunt and sickly-looking he became for the role.

Everyone does a fine job in the acting department, but again they rarely compare with their Tombstone counterparts. As well as Quaid does, he’s no match for Val Kilmer’s career-best role as Holliday, just as Kurt Russell overshadows Costner, though I can see Costner’s darker interpretation being more true to history. The friendship between the two of Earp and Holliday is definitely better defined and presented in Tombstone.

Yet it’s mainly in the comparison that Wyatt Earp falls short; on its own, it’s still a good film with more than a few strong moments exemplifying Earp’s tough-as-nails persona. James Newton Howard’s sweeping score also elevates it as a western. If you can get Tombstone out of the back of your mind, Wyatt Earp proves to be a comprehensive and well-produced history lesson, with plenty of creative license that acknowledges how history becomes legend.

Best line: (Doc Holliday) “Dave Rutabaugh is an ignorant scoundrel! I disapprove of his very existence. I considered ending it myself on several occasions, but self-control got the better of me.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
608 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Nighthawks (1981)

Tags

Drama, Thriller, VC Pick

 

There once was a cop in a dress
Who left criminals in a mess.
One terrorist came
With destruction his aim.
Who won? Well, I think you can guess.
___________________

MPAA rating: R (mainly for language and some violence)

I waited too long to review one of my VC’s movies last time, so I thought I’d squeeze a little one in before another month went by.  Nighthawks happens to be one of her favorite Sylvester Stallone films, and while that mainly has to do with Stallone’s rugged beard and mustache, it really is a well-made urban thriller with a great villain played by Rutger Hauer in his American debut.

I wasn’t entirely surprised when I read that Nighthawks was originally intended for Gene Hackman’s Popeye Doyle but ultimately retooled for Stallone. His character of NYPD Detective Deke DaSilva is similarly gruff and uncompromising toward criminals, though he’s more reluctant to kill and more eager to dress in drag. (Where else are you going to see Stallone in a dress while beating up thieves?) He’s less than thrilled to be pulled from active duty to join a counter-terrorism unit, but he finds a worthy adversary when international terrorist Wulfgar (Hauer, in stellar psychotic killer mode) arrives to make his mark on New York City.

It’s interesting to note that Nighthawks’ focus on the ruthlessness of terrorism was a bit ahead of its time. The U.S. wasn’t used to the idea of terrorist attacks on American soil in 1981, so the plot was seen as vaguely implausible, though certainly not so now. Wulfgar’s motivations aren’t particularly specific, but he makes for a coldly calculating monster, especially in how Hauer manages to feign normal nice-guy behavior at times.

Nighthawks isn’t the most memorable thriller, even among those from the ‘80s, but Hauer’s villainy and Stallone’s beard do help distinguish it. Due to aggressive editing, subplots like DaSilva’s estranged ex-wife fall by the wayside, but the plot still retains focus; and the ending boasts one of the great “gotcha” moments of the genre. The title may sound like one of those totally undescriptive names that was picked to sound cool (it’s actually a nickname for nighttime patrol cops), but I can see why my VC is fond of Nighthawks.

Best line:  (Pam, a woman Wulfgar is seducing) “Yes. What do you do for a living?”   (Wulfgar, sarcastically) “I’m an international terrorist wanted by the police in half the countries in Europe. And I am currently laying low for the moment.”   (Pam) “Oh, sure!”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
592 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Running on Empty (1988)

Tags

Drama, Romance, VC Pick

I did nothing wrong, and yet
Here I bear another’s debt.
I flee because they feel they must,
And I must follow, share their sweat,
And leave my future in their dust.

Still I love them dearly. How
Can I think to leave them now?
I’ll stay as long as they may need me,
Wait until our lives allow
Dreams my patience guaranteed me.
________________________

MPAA rating: PG-13 (mainly for a few F-bombs)

Since my schoolwork and home life haven’t given me an abundance of time for watching movies of my own choice (or reviewing them), that limitation has also applied to my dear Viewing Companion (VC), who hasn’t gotten to choose a movie for well over a month now. In trying to fix that, she introduced me to Running on Empty, the kind of former Oscar contender that you only discover either by accident or from some obscure recommendation. It’s a surprisingly effective drama in all respects, especially highlighting the squandered potential of young star River Phoenix, who received a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the Academy five years before his death.

Phoenix plays a teenage boy named Danny who can never be known as Danny. With his younger brother, he lives a life on the run, following his parents Arthur and Annie Pope (Judd Hirsch, Christine Lahti), a pair of former revolutionaries fleeing the FBI for an anti-war bombing back in 1971 (based on real-life radicals Bill Ayres and Bernardine Dohrn). He’s earnest and well-meaning, the kind of kid who may come off as a punk based on how little he says but becomes more endearing the longer you spend with him. Taking on his latest persona of “Michael,” he clearly loves his parents but is torn between wanting to protect and help them and desiring a life of his own, including a promising musical career and young love (with an acerbic Martha Plimpton of The Goonies). Likewise, his parents are conflicted as well, his father insistent on staying ahead of the law and his mother wondering when and how to let her son move on from their mistakes.

Directed by Sidney Lumet, Running on Empty has no shortage of strong acting, and though Phoenix got most of the praise at the time, Lahti’s Golden Globe-nominated role plays the heartstrings even more. The film doesn’t offer any easy answers. Danny wants to be free of the burden of his parents’ crimes, but doing so would mean either exposing them or never seeing them again after their next move. His mother is willing to turn herself in for his sake, but that would mean leaving her other young son parentless if she and Arthur are jailed. Everyone in this sweet and tight-knit family wishes for normalcy, but there’s no simple way to reach it. Add in the danger of Annie and Arthur being lumped in with other Communists who have not mellowed their violence as the Popes have, and it’s clear that no resolution will satisfy everyone.

The performances are what really distinguish Running on Empty as an engaging and realistic drama, and for some reason, its empathy and sincerity made me think of Dominick and Eugene, another Oscar-worthy film from 1988 that is oft-overlooked. However, while my VC loves it and is no doubt irked by my reservations, Running on Empty doesn’t quite make my list. Perhaps it’s simply my underlying annoyance at Arthur and Annie’s actions, claiming that they’ve accepted the consequences of their actions when they really haven’t. True, they’ve suffered by constantly running, but accepting jail time would have freed their children from that kind of life as well. Then again, Danny would have grown up without his parents, but maybe the Popes should have thought of that before carrying out bombings while he was two years old!

See what I mean? The moral questions at play here are hard to answer. And while I can be irritated by the Popes’ mistakes, those mistakes were made, and the ongoing fallout from them makes for a unique ethical quandary that remains surprisingly relatable and somehow manages a satisfying conclusion. Running on Empty may be a footnote in someone’s forgotten ‘80s collection, but it’s a hidden gem worth revisiting, as much for the reminder of River Phoenix’s talent as for the poignant questions of conscience.

Best line: (Lorna, Danny/Michael’s girlfriend) “Why do you have to carry the burden of someone else’s life?”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
589 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Flashdance (1983)

Tags

Drama, Musical, Romance, VC Pick

While “work all day and dance all night”
May be a habit hard to break,
It pays the bills to underwrite
The hopes believed by us alone,
The quarter-baked ambition-prone,
Who dare to dream for dreaming’s sake,
For people’s dreams are all their own.
___________________

MPAA rating: R (for language, sensuality, and nudity in a strip club scene)

Flashdance is actually a perfect example of a VC Pick, a movie that my VC enjoys far more than I and one that I only ended up seeing after quite a bit of persistence on her part. This slice of ‘80s danciness isn’t all that different from Travolta’s Staying Alive from the same year: underdog dreamer uses their athletic dance talent to hit it big and achieve their professional dream. Instead of a man overcoming a lustful partner, though, Jennifer Beals’ Alex is a welder by day and bar dancer by night who has to overcome her own self-confidence and dare to become a ballet dancer.

I can see why my VC enjoys Flashdance, at the very least for its dance scenes and soundtrack, which made the rounds on MTV back in its early days and were used effectively to promote the movie. While the film makes an odd but ardent distinction between dancing sensually and scantily clad in a bar to pop music versus actual stripping, it certainly boasts some outstanding dance sequences, most of which don’t really add anything to the plot but at least look good. To complement them, the Grammy-winning soundtrack includes some quintessential ‘80s tunes that still get decent airplay on the radio, from “Maniac” during a particularly strenuous workout to “Gloria” to the Oscar-winning theme song, Irene Cara’s “Flashdance…What a Feeling.”

A few have become iconic pieces of pop culture (the water falling over the chair, the final audition), but some of the less famous dances are just as memorable, from the gyrating “Manhunt” dance by Cynthia Rhodes (also from Staying Alive) to a trippy sequence with Alex and a unique strobing effect. The strobe dance is my VC’s favorite, though my appreciation for it was tempered by my concern for any epileptic viewers. I don’t think they put disclaimers on films of the ‘80s like they did recently with The Incredibles 2, so I can’t help but wonder how many unsuspecting viewers were negatively affected by that scene.

Aside from the music and dancing, Flashdance is fairly thin, following Alex’s relationship with her boss (Michael Nouri) and her attempts to build up the courage for ballet school. Some scenes depend on how the viewer approaches them: When Alex’s boss follows her home after saving her from a lecherous jerk (Lee Ving), you could easily see it as sweet of him to protect her or borderline creepy since he had been trying to court her and now knows where she lives. (Luckily the movie opts for the former view.) Without the music, Flashdance would be hardly worth watching, but it still manages to leave you with that satisfied dreams-do-come-true kind of glow as the credits roll. My VC loves it, and Jennifer Beals is lovely, but, next time, I’d be just fine watching its music video high points instead of the whole thing.

Best line: (Alex) “I told you, I don’t think it’s a good idea to go out with the boss.”   (Nick, jokingly) “OK. Have it your way. You’re fired. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at eight.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
585 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: The Hindenburg (1975)

Tags

Disaster, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller, VC Pick

Surely luxury entails
Safety in its fine details.
Once you’re paying through the nose
You need not doubt the practiced pros.

Once your travel’s well along,
Who’d dare think something might go wrong?
How could pride descend to panic?
Ask the Hindenburg and Titanic.
_________________

MPAA rating: PG

One of the many disaster movies of the 1970s, The Hindenburg will never go down as one of the best of its genre, but it’s by no means among the worst either, despite the pretty scathing reviews it has endured over the years. My VC happens to be quite fond of it, and while her appreciation dwarfs my own, I still consider it a solid film made memorable by its spectacular climax.

One thing everyone should know going in is that this movie is historically inaccurate on many fronts, despite a largely faithful re-creation of the airship itself and a collection of characters based on real people. The main character is Colonel Franz Ritter (George C. Scott), a decorated German air officer who is tasked by Goebbels with preventing a threatened attack on the Nazis’ prize zeppelin, which flies with highly flammable hydrogen rather than helium. While many theories have been proposed on what caused the Hindenburg’s destruction, the movie goes the resistance conspiracy route, which has never been proven but works as a potential reason for what happened.

Scott does well as usual, and the fact that he plays a Nazi is mitigated by his distaste for the regime in light of some recent tragedies. The rest of the cast is full of recognizable names and faces, all of whom are suspects in Ritter’s investigation, including Anne Bancroft as a countess he knows, a young William Atherton as an airship crewman, and René Auberjonois and Burgess Meredith as a pair of gamblers. Having watched a lot of Everybody Loves Raymond recently, I also spotted two recurring stars in Katherine Helmond as a passenger and Charles Durning as the Hindenburg’s captain.

The build-up during the zeppelin’s flight, as Ritter scrutinizes everyone’s motives and opportunity, is unavoidably slow, but the tension does grow as the voyage comes to its historical end. The suspense is a lot like Titanic in that you know generally what will happen and are just waiting for the shoe to drop, and it’s worth it when it does. The Oscar-winning effects are dated but still impressive, and the re-creation of the accident is chaotic and brilliant as the screen fades to black-and-white and seamlessly works in real footage of the Hindenburg’s crash, ending with the iconic radio recording of a terrified onlooker. It’s a case where the last ten minutes makes the rest worthwhile, but you could also just watch the last ten minutes, sacrificing context to save time. Either way, despite being in a film full of historical liberties, it’s an excellent disaster sequence, which alone ought to disprove this film’s harsher critics.

Best line: (Captain Lehmann, ironically as they set off) “I’m to go to Washington to get us helium.”   (Ritter) “I wish we had it this trip.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
574 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Tombstone (1993)

Tags

Action, Drama, VC Pick, Western

Since this town was sprung up from the ground
And the pioneers came
And the money came round
And it earned its fame
Being anything but tame,
Many drinks and fears were both poured and downed
At the unembellished name
Of Tombstone.

Curing wanderlust with its drinks and dust,
It soon started to draw
Folk you could not trust,
For there was no law
When the West was raw
Till a man moved in to defend what’s just
When he reached his last straw
In Tombstone.
___________________________

MPAA rating: R

Once again, I fear I’ve been neglecting my dear VC, who hasn’t gotten one of her movies reviewed in well over a month. This time, she picked Tombstone, an all-star western that I’m honestly surprised I hadn’t seen before. As a sweeping retelling of the events surrounding the gunfight at the OK Corral, it provides a fictionalized but surprisingly comprehensive look at the law enforcement career of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.

I knew only the most general background information about the shootout at the OK Corral involving Wyatt Earp and the Clantons, but Tombstone offered quite a bit of context with its large ensemble cast. Not only do we see Wyatt Earp’s arrival in Tombstone and the increasing tension between his family and the violent gang called the Cowboys, but we get to find out the aftermath of the OK Corral incident, which could have ended the film as its climax.

Earp himself, played by a tough-as-nails Kurt Russell, is a well-known badass trying to retire from his days as a peace officer, yet an early confrontation with an unrecognizable Billy Bob Thornton confirms he can still put the fear of God in bad guys. Once we’re introduced to his family and sick friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), it’s only a matter of time before his attempted retirement yields to bloodshed and vengeance as the Cowboys threaten the peace.

Like Silverado, another favorite western of mine, Tombstone boasts a staggering number of famous faces, some of them before they became famous. Russell is a fantastic Wyatt Earp, while Kilmer brings an unflinching swagger to an all-around pip of a role, which is considered one of his very best with good reason. Since my VC is a huge fan of Sam Elliott, his appearance as Wyatt’s older brother explains in part why she likes this movie so much, but there’s also Bill Paxton as the other Earp brother, Powers Boothe as wicked “Curly Bill” Brocius, Michael Biehn as fearsome Johnny Ringo, Stephen Lang and Thomas Haden Church as two Clantons, Dana Delany as Wyatt’s love interest, and Billy Zane as a visiting actor. That’s not even mentioning the smaller roles for the likes of Charlton Heston, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, John Corbett, Michael Rooker, Harry Carey, Jr., Gunsmoke’s Buck Taylor, Jason Priestley, and (Lost alert!) Terry O’Quinn as Tombstone’s mayor. It’s hard at first for me to keep up with the less familiar faces, but the biggest stars stand out with strong support from the ensemble around them.

I suppose I ought to see Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp from the following year for comparison’s sake, but it would be hard-pressed to top this western epic. While liberties are taken, there were many events and details that I was surprised to learn were true upon researching afterward, such as the fate of Johnny Ringo, which is a point of historical mystery yet was worked plausibly into Tombstone’s plot. Russell and Kilmer are in top form here, and Boothe and Biehn make for genuinely despicable villains from their very first scene. I wouldn’t hesitate to put Tombstone high among the top ten westerns I’ve seen, and it would likely make my Top 365 List if only I was more partial to the western genre. (True Grit is still my favorite.) As it is, I enjoyed Tombstone for its strong performances, excellent script, and historical interest; it’s the kind of movie that makes me want to like westerns more.

Best line (simple but great characterization): (Turkey Creek Jack Johnson) “Doc, you oughta be in bed. What the hell you doin’ this for anyway?”
(Doc Holliday) “Wyatt Earp is my friend.”
(Johnson) “Hell, I got lots of friends.”
(Doc) “I don’t.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
568 Followers and Counting