Been meaning to give this a rewatch since finishing The World is Yours, Glenn Kenny’s excellent book on the film, last month. A few stray thoughts on a movie near and dear to my heart that I’ve seen way too many times:
The book notes Pacino’s insistence on doing multiple takes, including some to warm up, something which exasperated his collaborators but is interesting to note in light of his performance here. Particularly during his outbursts, you can see how…
On the last day before my Disney+ subscription expired, I decided to revisit what is likely my favourite live action film that Disney proper ever produced. The genius of this movie is that it understands that realism was never in reach for its state of the art for 1982 special effects, so instead it embraces their limitations wholeheartedly. The set pieces have a purified linear sense of movement. The cyberscapes in which most of this movie is set are abstracted…
In theory, directing what’s essentially a Bronson Cannon flick like The Godfather should make for interesting results, and the Robert Richardson cinematography gives this more style than usual for an Antoine Fuqua joint. But the crime plot here, about the mafia smuggling amphetamines for ISIS, isn’t written well enough to be engaging, and there’s too little action given the runtime.
That being said, this nicely leans into Denzel Washington’s age, and Richardson shoots him like an avenging angel during the…
Despite being made in the ‘80s, this is arguably less horny than the original, which for a few scenes had a wolf whistle on the soundtrack anytime a woman appeared onscreen. But this does spend two thirds of its runtime trying to justify why it’s okay for the hero to sleep with his student. He knows it’s unethical. But he seems like a good guy. And he didn’t sleep around on his soon to be ex-wife even though she did…
"One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
"Bullshit. He's miserable."
"He doesn't have to be. He accepts his fate."
"You're telling me if you name is Syphilis and you spend your life lugging a fucking rock up a hill you wouldn't be miserable?"
"I think I'm an existentialist, I really do."
In the first half, you can see why Kurt Russell would not immediately raise a billion red flags and might in fact seem attractive were you at this bar, given that he's Kurt Russell and all, and also the only decent catch around. I mean, other than him you have *shudders* Quentin Tarantino... *shudders* Eli Roth... a guy who whines his way into making out with Vanessa Ferlito... okay, that guy is at least understandable. But yeah, not a lot…
