Review: Electra Glide in Blue (1973)

X-posted at Epinions



It’s easy to romanticize the filmmaking of the late sixties and early seventies. Looking back it seems that it was a time of change from the old who ruled Hollywood to the new who were taking it over. There was room for adventure, violence, creation. Against the backdrop of Vietnam, Nixon, and a constant struggle between the counterculture and authority it was a period of change in Hollywood and the country as a whole. Released in 1973 James William Guercio’s Electra Glide in Blue is a product of the cultural situation surrounding it. It’s a reflection on and criticism of America as it was. It’s a search for a moral position in a land filled with moral confusion. Misread as fascist and a glorification of police brutality at Cannes, Electra Glide is not that simple.

The plot is driven by a murder but the film is hardly about that. Diminutive traffic cop Johnny Wintergreen dreams of one day getting off of his motorcycle and into a suit. When he stumbles across the body of a local hermit, he questions why a man would commit suicide by shooting himself in the chest and not the head. He’s convinced it’s murder. What could be Johnny’s chance to make detective instead turns to be a test of Johnny’s convictions. Is his dream worth giving up the honor that he lives by?

Shot in the desert of Arizona, Electra Glide is a constant contrast between the wide-open beauty of the land and the claustrophobic moral corruption of the people. The inhabitants of the desert are broken, lost people. It’s a land of ruined dreams. Johnny, or Big John as his friends and lover call him, is the unique voice of hope. He still believes that he can reach his dream through honest hard work. He refuses bribes, he won’t plant evidence, and he prefers talk and reason to violence and power.

For Johnny there is no ambiguity, there is only right and wrong but there is still empathy and understanding. There is a sense of innocence about Johnny that is prepossessing; the audience cannot help but like him. He could easily be a best friend. Part of the character’s attraction can be attributed to the script but most of the credit belongs to actor Robert Blake. His performance is just phenomenal. He exudes charm with his winsome smile and he succeeds in drawing the audience in by making Johnny as sympathetic as he is.

At only 5 feet 4 inches Robert Blake spends most of the film looking up at the actors around him. It seems an appropriate metaphor, Johnny is not necessarily looking up to the people of his acquaintance but he does seem to be overlooked by them. Everyone is so lost in their own problems and self-pity that they take for granted (or take advantage of) the honest goodness of Johnny’s character. He spends a lot of time with his friend and fellow officer Zipper but their differences could not be more apparent. Zipper prefers to sit in the shade and is all too ready to slip a bag of weed into a hippie’s luggage. When Zipper starts shooting at bikers during a motorcycle chase through Phoenix, Johnny knocks Zipper off of his bike. Zipper may be Johnny’s best friend but Johnny’s commitment to rightness is what he stands by.

The film ends tragically but the tragedy is present from the beginning. There is no real place for Johnny in his world and one can only wonder how long it will be before his hope is too extinguished. The film ends in the only real place it could have. It’s an ending that is also easy to appreciate. Unlike most films with endings that might be considered a surprise, there was a lot that I just did not see coming. The events were however motivated and set up from the beginning. I love that Electra Glide seems to trust in the intelligence of the audience and doesn’t feel that it is necessary to spell everything out for us. Granted, the exposition can be a bit much at times but for the most part the characters are developed through actions and not dialogue. A subtlety that I appreciate.

The cinematography in Electra Glide is superb. From vast landscapes to seedy bars, every shot adds depth to an already deep film. Mirroring Johnny’s position in life, the camera frames him as either a tiny speck in the desert or as a person barely fitting in the frame. Frequently we are given shots of just his boot or his torso, framing that serves to emphasize the fact that he is an outsider in his community while it is at the same time fetishizing him, his uniform, and all that he represents. This film isn’t glorifying the corruption of the police force; it’s glorifying the potential for goodness. The camera loves Johnny and Johnny is the only character in the film worth loving.

Guercio was able to get the wonderfully talented Conrad Hall (Cool Hand Luke, In Cold Blood, American Beauty) as cinematographer, a wise move indeed. Reportedly, Guercio approached Hall only to obtain a recommendation for a cameraman. Guercio couldn’t afford to hire Hall on the budget for Electra Glide but when Hall expressed interest in taking the job himself, Guercio decided to give his own salary to Hall. Guercio accepted only a dollar to shoot Electra Glide.

Electra Glide has been called a masterpiece and I don’t think that evaluation is far off the mark. While there is the occasional speech that goes on for a little too long and it does have its moments of camp, Electra Glide takes itself very seriously. Like its hero Johnny, it’s an honest film. It’s not oblivious to the condition of the world around it but it does hope to stand above it.

Electra Glide in Blue was Guercio’s first and only film and for a first effort it’s incredible. He has a talent and an obvious knack for the craft of filmmaking. Great care went into the making of Electra Glide. The film’s ending isn’t its only tragedy. The fact that Guercio never again filled the big screen with his vision is an even greater one.

Electra Glide in Blue was broadcast as part of Turner Classic Movies’ program TCM Underground. Hosted by Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, renowned musician), TCM Underground shows a selection of cult films. It airs every Friday night at 2 am on the East Coast (earlier in different time zones, I recommend checking your local listings for the exact time in your area). They’ve shown a variety of films including a Russ Meyer’s double feature of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Mudhoney, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, and Ed Wood’s Bride of the Monster. Upcoming films include the Tod Browning films Freaks and Mark of the Vampire and Brian DePalma’s Sisters. Check out the website for more information. TCM Underground

Review: White Noise (2005)

Cross-posted at Epinions



The idea is scary. The trailers were scary. Some of the moments in the film are a little scary. Overall though, yeah, not so much with the scary. I was curious to see White Noise since I did think the trailers were intriguing but it ended up being a disappointment. It’s such a shame when a film starts with a decent idea and just fails so completely.

Released in 2005 and directed by Geoffrey Sachs, the film is about architect Jonathan Rivers (Michael Keaton) who loses his wife Anna when she accidentally drowns. Shortly after her death he begins to receive messages from her when listening to “white noise” or static: static on radios, on his answering machine, on televisions. Raymond, a man who has also received messages from Anna, contacts him but at first Jonathan refuses to listen. Jonathan eventually visits Raymond and becomes obsessed with listening for messages from his wife. The plot gets a little complicated from here and basically, without giving away spoilers, Jonathan makes contact with some very nasty, malevolent spirits. He finds that they are up to something sinister and he must stop them before it’s too late and more people die.

Now I have a few problems with this film. One is with the plot. It’s an interesting premise with a lot of potential for a very frightening, suspenseful film. However, the direction that they take it is just silly. It tries to be something like Gothika or What Lies Beneath or even The Sixth Sense (to name some relatively recent examples): a ghost story that goes in a direction you may not expect it to go. In White Noise though, it just doesn’t work. I think it has a lot to do with how they go about revealing what is going on. The pacing is slow and by the time anything really starts to happen I’m already bored.

I think a lot of it has to do with the characters. I found Jonathan to be really annoying. Michael Keaton is trying to play grief stricken and he’s not awful but he’s not great either. Overall I would call his performance bland. It’s frustrating to watch this guy. In your typical horror film, people frequently do pretty dumb things. As the hero of White Noise, Jonathan is no different. He quickly gets in way over his head but he never seems to even realize that fact. He’s willfully oblivious, ignoring all of the warnings he gets, ignoring everything except for the hints of messages from his wife. I spent a large part of the movie being really irritated with how stupid he is.

The relationships in the film aren’t very well developed. We’re told that Jonathan and Anna were in love but I never got much of a feel for it. Jonathan’s relationship with his son is almost non-existent. Again, we’re told that he cares but we’re never given any real evidence. It’s a problem throughout the film, we keep being told things but we’re never shown them, we’re never made to believe.

While the acting doesn’t help with any of that, I think what it really comes down to is Niall Johnson’s script. It’s bad! The character development is dreadful. I never really got a feel for motivations beyond grief over a loved one’s death. Or if there are hints at other motives, they are really weak. I don’t buy the level of obsession in relation to the brief messages that Jonathan receives. And while the plot is developing and Jonathan is coming to conclusions, it feels like a lot of the logic is just too big of a leap based on the information we are given. Beyond that, based on what the rules of the film’s universe are being established as, a lot of what happens just does not make sense. Things happen, there seem to be rules that these things follow, and then all of a sudden those rules are gone and different things start to happen. The way that things work out doesn’t seem to be very plausible.

I also have to say, I hate the special effects. They are so incredibly cheesy. I hate all of the stupid static televisions. The static in general gets to be really grating after a while. I know it’s a movie about hearing things in the static but there had to be better ways to execute the idea.

I did have an idea not to expect too much when I saw the film was rated PG-13. Almost all of the PG-13 horror flicks, especially ones released in the last five years or so, are terrible. Given the subject matter White Noise isn't a film for the young and impressionable but it's not overly vulgar or gorey either. I actually don't think there really is any gore at all. So it's a film that probably won't be found to be offensive.

I waited to see White Noise because I heard it was bad. I ended up catching it on HBO and I’m just grateful that I didn’t pay anything to watch it. I’m glad that my curiosity has finally been satisfied but I really did not need to see this film. I definitely recommend that you avoid it. It’s not scary, it’s nonsensical, and I just plain did not care about anything or anyone in it.

Review: From Dusk Till Dawn

Cross posted at Epinions



Call me crazy but I had to be convinced that George Clooney was hot. What was I thinking, right? Alas, it’s true, for a long time I didn’t believe the hype. Why did I change my mind? Well, I watched Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s insane action flick From Dusk Till Dawn. I was convinced in about five minutes.

Before Sin City, before Pulp Fiction, there were a couple of kids on the brink of making it big. Making it Huge in point of fact. Fresh off of their successes with El Mariachi (Rodriguez) and Reservoir Dogs (Tarantino), the two were wandering around that little place known as Hollywood. Friends from working together previously on the film Four Rooms, Tarantino showed Rodriguez his script for From Dusk and Rodriguez wanted to start production the very next day. They didn’t start quite that quickly, but in 1996 Rodriguez did get his wish. The collaboration was history in the making. Now both of those kung fu loving buddies are huge and their names are synonymous with indie cinema (whether or not they’re actually indie is a debate for another day).

From Dusk Till Dawn isn’t meant to be taken seriously. It’s an adrenalin shot. There’s action, explosions, blood, gore, monsters, and murder. After a purposefully slow opening conversation between a Texas Ranger and a liquor store clerk, the bullets start flying and the pace never again slows. This movie is the epitome of a Tarantino or Rodriguez picture. It’s not about art or drama or having any kind of socially redeeming value. It’s about creating fast moving, witty, violent entertainment. It’s all about having fun.

George Clooney is the anti-hero of the film. He plays the murdering bastard Seth Gecko. Along with his brother Ritchie (played by none other than Lord Quentin himself), Seth is making a run for the Mexican border after a daring escape from the law and bank heist. Seth and Ritchie know that they won’t be able to make it past the lawmen on their own so they grab the disillusioned preacher Jacob (Harvey Keitel) and Jacob’s two children Kate (Juliette Lewis) and Scott (Ernest Liu). The five make it into Mexico riding in Jacob’s RV and head to one very hellish club. They are only one night away from freedom but they soon find that making it through that night is going to be harder than they imagined. It’s not just any bar that they’ve walked into; it’s an ancient vampire feeding ground. Needless to say, things get very, very bloody.

The structure of the film is an interesting one. It’s almost like watching two different movies spliced together. The first is a crime flick while the second is a horror/action combo. We don’t even see a vampire until incredibly late in the film. It’s a formula that really, really shouldn’t work. It does though. While the first half of the film tries to play it fairly straight, it’s still pretty over the top and ridiculous. The actors are all putting in their fair share of cheese and the campiness bleeds right into the plausibility of a vampire encounter in some trashy Mexican trucker bar. I buy it.

I really can’t stress enough how silly this movie is. It’s okay though. It doesn’t pretend to be anything that it isn’t. And it has a lot of things going for it. Harvey Keitel for one thing. The man is great. Even when the situation is just completely ludicrous, Keitel plays it straight and his performance is first-rate throughout. Juliette Lewis is also wonderful. She doesn’t play her character nearly as seriously as Keitel’s Jacob but she is one hardcore chick. In the second half of the film there are also a few exciting cameos. The incredibly beautiful Salma Hayak makes an appearance as the lusciously dangerous vampiress Satanico Pandemonium (that’s a name for you). We get Cheech Marin not once, not twice, but THREE times. But my personal favorite appearance: Tom Savini as the trucker known only as “Sex Machine.” Man, does that boy have some weapons on him.

On the flip side, it also has Tarantino in one of the larger roles. He may be able to write, he might even be able to director, but he cannot act. He’s just lucky that in a film filled with ridiculous things, Ritchie is supposed to be the most ridiculous.

The star of the show is Mr. ER himself, George Clooney. Which is no accident. Rodriguez does it on purpose. He frames Clooney so that he’s always above us, always speaking too us, we are forced under his spell. It’s almost violent the way he’s thrust upon the audience. Not that I’m complaining. When he looks down the barrel of that gun, the shiver running down my spine has absolutely nothing to do with fear. Rodriguez gave Clooney the chance to prove that he could be a big time star. Clooney proves it with power. And the neck tattoo certainly doesn’t hurt…

While I wouldn’t call this movie brilliant, it’s not terrible either. It’s pop entertainment. It’s meant to shock, it’s meant to make you laugh, and it’s meant to make you think “Man, that was Mother F***ing Bad A**”. It’s about as far from highbrow as you can get.

Now for the DVD. For the price, it’s definitely a worthwhile purchase. I picked it up at Sam’s Club for $8 and change. It’s a Dimension film and it was released as a Dimension DVD. The Collector’s Series edition that they have at Sam’s is a two-disc set filled with juicy features. Rodriguez loves to give it to his fans. Bonus materials include: Feature commentary with Rodriguez and Tarantino, Outtakes, Deleted Scenes, Theatrical Trailers, TV Spots, a couple of featurettes, Music Videos, Cast & Crew bios, and the feature length documentary Full-Tilt Boogie (neat!) about the From Dusk Till Dawn.

Review: A Little Princess (1995)

Originally posted on 11/03/06 at Epinions



Did you know that all women are princesses? That is our right. It doesn’t matter if she is poor or old or ugly. Didn’t your father ever tell you that?

Sarah Crewe’s father told her.

Sarah’s story is one that has been loved by generations of little girls. From the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett (the author of The Secret Garden as well) to the Shirley Temple adaptation as well as several other adaptations (including a popular version for television in 1986) and, in 1995, to this adaptation it’s a story that has awakened the imagination.

Before Harry Potter and Y tu mama tambien, Alfonso Cuaron brought his magical touch to this, a very magical story. Working alongside Emmanuel Lubezki (the two collaborate frequently), Cuaron brings the story to life in the most touching way.

The year is 1914 and little Sarah leaves India for a New York boarding school when her father is sent to war. Miss Minchin’s school is a cold place of rules and proper conduct but Sarah’s imagination cannot be contained. The other girls fall in love with Sarah’s stories and even when tragedy strikes they refuse to abandon their friend. Sarah goes from royalty to scullery maid in the blink of an eye. Kindness, compassion, love, and hope never abandon or are abandoned by Sarah, no matter how dark conditions may become. With Becky by her side, Sarah dances and feasts and, always, dreams. Sarah will always be her father’s princess.

While this adaptation may not be the most faithful in detail to the novel, I really feel that it captures the essence of the story. Between the acting, the camera work, and the music, it comes across beautifully. Cuaron and Lubezki create images that are moving and just plain breathtaking. Liesel Matthews is enchanting as Sarah. And as Sarah walks, the music swells, the leaves dance and even the cold New York City streets seem filled with the magic she carries with her. Every element in this film blends seamlessly together, all working to bring the magic of A Little Princess to life.

Liesel carries the film as the lead but the rest of the cast is just as superb. From Liam Cunningham who plays Captain Crewe to Eleanor Bron as the wicked Miss Minchin, the cast is filled with gems. Vanessa Lee Chester is Becky, Errol Sitahal is the neighboring Indian servant Ram Dass, Heather DeLoach is the timid Ermengarde, Taylor Fry is the bully Lavinia, and Kelsey Mulrooney is the little banshee Lottie. The girls are mischievous imps all too ready to listen to an imagined story or embark on a life threatening adventure. Paternity suits Liam Cunningham well and in Miss Minchin’s eyes you can see the disillusionment and bitterness as well as the memory of abandoned hopes and dreams. Ram Dass is a mystery and heroic in his own quiet way.

What makes A Little Princess so special though is how it is able to transcend the state of being only entertainment. A Little Princess is so much more. When watching you can feel the magic that Sarah and her father talk about wrap around you. It sneaks into your heart and by the ending you are completely captured by this world. Yes, I’ll admit it, I cried. A Little Princess was the first, and one of the only, films to ever strike such an honest note with me. I feel Sarah and her father so completely. This film is a rare thing indeed.

It’s also a family film. It’s intelligent and well done but maintains a sense of innocent fantasy that parents can share with their children without worry. It is a story for little girls after all, a story for the princess in all of us.

Review: Serenity

Originally posted on 11/04/06 at Epinions



Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me...

I was a little sad when I didn’t hear Firefly’s theme song at the start of Serenity but I quickly recovered. I saw Serenity on opening weekend, I bought the DVD as soon as I was able, and if it happens to come on television there’s a good chance my TV will be playing it. In a way it’s a guilty pleasure, it’s comfort food, it’s a good time, fun entertainment, but it’s also more. Through Serenity and Firefly, the television show that Serenity follows, Joss Whedon has once again created a world and characters that invite viewers to lose themselves in make believe.

Serenity picks up somewhere after Firefly leaves off. Since the show had somewhat of an abrupt ending certain things established in the series are changed, condensed, or adapted for the film. The basics are all there though. Simon and River Tamm (Sean Maher and Summer Glau) have taken refuge on the ship Serenity after Simon rescues River from a top-secret government research facility where they were doing cruel tests on her. She was in program designed to turn gifted children, children with psychic abilities, into weapons. Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) agrees to take them on as long as Simon and River pay their way. Mal takes River and several members of the crew to do a job, which gets dangerous when Reavers attack the planet they are on. The Reavers are men gone mad, cannibals, who can be counted on to kill, mutilate, rape, and eat anyone they come across. If you’re lucky, it will be in that order.

They make it back to Serenity in one piece but Simon decides to take River off of the ship. However, they soon realize that someone is after River Tamm. And to get to her he will kill anyone in his path, anyone including Mal and his crew. You see, River is a special girl and River knows a secret. A secret that many do not want to come to light. It becomes a game to discover what haunts River while avoiding an assassin who will stop at nothing, the entire Alliance army, as well as the Reavers. It’s all about making a better world, it’s about belief. But what cost does this world come at? And whose belief is the one to stand by? It all has to do with the name “Miranda.”

All of Firefly’s characters are back. Besides Simon, River, and Mal, Serenity is home to pilot Wash, Mal’s second in command Zoe, the homicidal Jayne, and engineer Kaylee. Inara and Shepherd Book also make appearances. New additions include Mr. Universe, a communications guru, and The Operative, the government’s assassin assigned to recapture River Tamm.

The thing about Joss Whedon is that it’s all in his characters. The characters he crafts, the relationships they form, it’s the people that draw audiences in and generate the rabid fans that Joss Whedon creations usually have following them. He invites you to relate to, empathize with, and truly care for the people whose stories he is telling. They are what hold the powerful attraction to his work, they are what enthrall and entrance his viewers. It’s not always about creating a new world but it is about bringing his world to life.

Fans of science fiction and anime will recognize many elements from other series and movies. Fans of westerns will recognize even more. Serenity is basically a cowboy movie in space. The worlds are a blend of the old west and various Asian cultures. It's neat to see some of the things that come about but it can also be frustrating. In a places it's just seems so transparent where the original ideas came from. I don’t particularly mind how derivative it can all be though. When it comes down to it, it’s just so fun.

It’s also crafted with love and care. It’s clear how much this film meant to everyone involved. Firefly’s life was cut short before anyone was ready to let it go. Fox cancelled the show after only fourteen episodes. Through Serenity the creators, cast, and crew were able to make their peace and say their goodbyes. They were able to go out with a bang.

Looking at the films of last year, I honestly think that this really was one of the better ones. It holds its own in everyway and is able to appeal to audiences wider than the small fan base that had grown around the show. While it does follow Firefly, everything you need to know is given to you. So someone who has never seen the show can definitely still enjoy the film.

For the viewer who has never seen Firefly: First you are witness to a young girl’s nightmare followed by a harrowing escape from a government medical lab. You learn that this girl is River Tamm and her rescuer is her brother Simon. You watch as a frightening, ruthless assassin begins his search for the missing girl. And then. There is a ship, it is entering a planet’s atmosphere, and pieces of it are falling off. Over the next three minutes you are introduced to this ship’s crew and you learn what they are about to be doing. All in one shot. One long, choreographed, handheld shot that travels through the entire ship, introduces the entire crew, and doesn’t cut once.

After that shot I knew I was going to like this movie.

I like it, I love it. It’s entertainment and it’s a little bit more. It’s like covering apple slices with peanut butter to trick the kids into enjoying a healthy snack. There are shiny surfaces but it’s not just fluff underneath. Belief is a dangerous thing but it can also be a beautiful thing. Those aboard and behind Serenity believe in her. As do her numerous fans. As do I.

As for the DVD, if you like the movie it’s definitely worth the purchase. There are both widescreen and full screen versions (I’m a widescreen fan myself). There is also a nice selection of special features: deleted scenes, outtakes, making of features, and a Joss Whedon introduction. I always enjoy getting to hear a bit about the creative process behind a film. I also like owning this DVD because it means I can watch Serenity whenever I want and believe me when I tell you that I definitely take advantage of that fact. On a fairly regular basis.