Tagarchief: FilmDungeon

The Faculty

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Written by: Kevin Williamson, Bruce Kimmel, David Wechter
Cast: Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood

Year / Country: 1998, USA
Running Time: 104 mins.

If aliens want to take over the world, would they come blasting Independence Day-style or sneak in the backdoor? In The Faculty they obviously choose for the second strategy. At a high school in Ohio, Casey Connor (Elijah Wood) finds a small mysterious organism on the football field that seems to love water. Simultaneously, the school’s staff is starting to act increasingly weird.

Within a day, the entire faculty is taken over by the parasites. Then they start to take over the entire school. A small group of mostly outcast students discover the conspiracy. They decide to strike back before the entire world is taken over. In theory, they should be able to stop the threat if they find and destroy the mother alien. The question is, who did the mother choose as a host? Could it be the school’s principal? Or is it the crazed football coach?

The Faculty is an enjoyable homage to the Body Snatchers-legacy. The screenplay by Kevin Willamson (Scream) contains all his trademark qualities; postmodern movie references; humor; and a surprising twist at the end. It also has camp value, supported by a killer cast including Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen and Robert Patrick.

Rodriguez is doing a fine job directing. This sort of Carpenter / Stephen King material suits him well. He gets decent performances out of his stellar cast. Mostly, he is a brilliant editor; plot, action and tension are combined in a dynamic mix that moves just fast enough to entertain throughout its duration. Robert Patrick steals the show as the possessed football coach. He effectively portrays an alien-host, using creepy and hilarious body language to perfection. The Faculty never received the appreciation of similar modern sci-fi horrors. Unjustly so. Its ‘problems’ are far outweighed by its strong points. Therefore, I must conclude that this is an underrated flick that definitely deserves to be re-evaluated.

Rating:

Biography: Robert Rodriguez (1988, Texas) saw John Carpenter’s Escape From New York in 1981 and proclaimed “I am going to make movies”. Ten years later, Rodriguez made his feature debut with El Mariachi, an almost single handedly made action film that cost him only 7.000 dollars. It made Rodriguez a legend of independent, ultra-low budget filmmaking. His further career is a sign for young filmmakers that even the wildest dreams may come true if you are brave enough to follow your own path. He has directed many movies since, often collaborating with Quentin Tarantino. Besides directing, he frequently acts as cinematographer like he did on El Mariachi.

Filmography (a selection): Bedhead (1991, short) / El Mariachi (1992), Roadracers (1994, TV), Desperado (1995), Four Rooms (1996, segment ‘The Misbehavors’), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), The Faculty (1998), Spy Kids (2001), Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002), Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), Sin City (2005), The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005), Grindhouse (2007, segment ‘Planet Terror’), Machete (2010), Machete Kills (2013), Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014), Alita: Battle Angel (2019), The Mandalorian (2020, TV episode)

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (1967)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Directed by:
Roger Corman

Written by:
Howard Browne

Cast:
Jason Robards (Al Capone), George Segal (Peter Gusenberg), Ralph Meeker (George Clarence ‘Bugs’ Moran), Jean Hale (Myrtle), Clint Ritchie (Jack McGurn), Frank Silvera (Nick Sorello), Joseph Campanella (Albert Wienshank), Richard Bakalyan (John Scalise), David Canary (Frank Gusenberg), Bruce Dern (Johnny May)

Roger Corman’s gangster movies are generally enjoyable. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre that follows the famous violent event on February 14, 1929 has got to be his most boring one.

On this specific St. Valentine’s Day, Al Capone set a legendary trap for seven men that were working for his opponent Bugs Moran. In the gang war preceding it, Moran tried to kill Capone to take over the bootlegging and gambling profits in Chicago. The movie uses a sort of journalistic approach. A narrator introduces every character involved and covers the events in a newspaper sort of way.

Al Capone, played by Jason Robards, is the unchallenged leader of Chicago’s most powerful underworld organisation. Robards portrays ‘Alphonse’ as an uncontrolled and ruthless hothead. He yells too often, but still turns in a decent performance. All the supporting characters get a detailed background story provided by the narrator. Unfortunately, there are way too many to remember.

If you enjoy technically proficient Tommy Gun action, you may find something to like about this film. Otherwise, the too factual approach and lack of drama will probably leave you as cold as one of the stiffs from the massacre.

Rating:

Quote:
NARRATOR: “In the years following the passage of the National Prohibition Act of 1920, the nation’s underworld rises to power and battles amongst itself just as modern nations and corporations do.”

Trivia:
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre’ is also an important event in Capone (1975), a gangster film produced by Roger Corman and starring Ben Gazzara as Al Capone.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Sergio Leone
Written by: Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach

Year / Country: 1966, Italy, Spain, West Germany
Running Time: 171 mins.

The final installment of Sergio Leone’s ‘Dollars Trilogy’ is a critically acclaimed masterpiece. Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, three men are on a relentless quest for a fortune in hidden gold. While soldiers fight to determine the fate of a nation, these men pursue only their own interests. They are the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. While the last two labels are fitting, the first is somewhat misleading – Eastwood’s character, Blondie, may be more principled than the others, but he doesn’t hesitate to kill when it serves his purpose.

Blondie and Tuco (the Ugly, played by Eli Wallach) form a crooked partnership built on mutual betrayal. After one double-cross nearly costs Blondie his life, they’re forced into a reluctant alliance when each comes into possession of a crucial piece of information that could lead them to the buried treasure. Meanwhile, Angel Eyes (the Bad, portrayed by Lee Van Cleef) is hot on their trail, determined to claim the gold for himself. The three men converge on a remote graveyard, where their fates – and the money – await.

Compared to the earlier two films in the trilogy, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly offers a surprisingly human touch. Eastwood’s Blondie reveals a gentler side, cradling a kitten in his hat and comforting a dying soldier with a cigar. Tuco, though undeniably a scoundrel, becomes unexpectedly poignant during a visit to the monastery where he confronts his estranged brother. This and other scenes flesh out Tuco into the trilogy’s most fully realized character, brought to life in a brilliant performance by Wallach. Despite the emotional depth, Leone doesn’t abandon his signature blend of dark humor and biting cynicism.

Visually, the film is a triumph. Leone’s mastery shines in the rhythmic interplay between intimate close-ups and sweeping, war-torn landscapes that seem to take on a character of their own – harsh and unforgiving, especially evident in the desert sequence where Blondie’s face is scorched by the sun. From the bold, stylized opening credits to the iconic, ritualistic cemetery shootout, the cinematography and editing are innovative and arresting. Add to that Ennio Morricone’s legendary score, and you have one of the most influential films of all time.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly has been released in various versions, but nothing less than the full three-hour cut does it justice. Only in its complete form does this epic ‘horse opera’ truly come into its own. This is cinema as it was meant to be.

Rating:

Biography: Sergio Leone (1929, Rome – 1989, Rome) made his debut in the cinema working as a voluntary assistant and extra, among other things, in The Bicycle Thieves by Vittorio de Sica. Later, he became assistant director to Mario Bonnard. In 1959, when Bonnard was ill, he took over from him on the set of The Last Days of Pompeii. In 1961 he directed his first full-length film: The Colossus of Rhodes. But the film that was to bring him to the general attention came out in 1964: A Fistful of Dollars. His next films, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly complete what came to be known as the Dollars Trilogy and were a great box-office success. He would only make three more films before tragically passing away in 1989. He was taken from us by a heart attack in his house in Rome, while working on an ambitious project for a film on the Siege of Leningrad.

Filmography: The Colossus of Rhodes (1961), A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), A Fistful of Dynamite (1971), Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

 

Miller’s Crossing (1990)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘Up is down, black is white, and nothing is what it seems’

Directed by:
Joel Coen

Written by:
Joel Coen
Ethan Coen

Cast:
Gabriel Byrne (Tom Reagan), Marcia Gay Harden (Verna), John Turturro (Bernie Bernbaum), Jon Polito (Johnny Caspar), J.E. Freeman (Eddie Dane), Albert Finney (Leo), Mike Starr (Frankie), Al Mancini (Tic-Tac), Steve Buscemi (Mink), Richard Woods (Mayor Dale Levander)

‘I’m talkin’ about friendship. I’m talkin’ about character. I’m talkin’ about—hell, Leo, I ain’t embarrassed to use the word—I’m talkin’ about ethics.’ That’s how Italian crime boss Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito) begins his speech to Irish kingpin Leo O’Bannion (Albert Finney) in the opening of Miller’s Crossing. It immediately recalls the first scene of The Godfather, where undertaker Bonasera appeals in much the same way to Don Vito Corleone.

The favor Caspar asks of O’Bannion is permission to whack two-timing bookie Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro). Leo refuses, since Bernie is the brother of Verna (Marcia Gay Harden), the woman he’s fallen in love with. Of course, Caspar wasn’t really asking permission—he was informing Leo as a courtesy, as he angrily makes clear after being turned down. Gangsters with ethics toward one another: that’s the foundation of Miller’s Crossing. When Leo breaks this unspoken code among the city’s corrupt rulers, the result is all-out war.

The theme of crooks with ethics is embodied in Leo’s right-hand man Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne), the film’s central character. He follows a personal code that only he fully understands. Though secretly having an affair with Verna, Tom – unlike Leo – believes Bernie should be handed over to the Italians. He knows that breaking the underworld code is bad for business. But Leo is stubborn, and their disagreement grows until Tom finally confesses the affair. Leo cuts ties, and Tom immediately shifts allegiance to Caspar. His motive, however, is not self-interest. Though finished with Leo, Tom’s loyalty to his old friend remains.

The web of deceit that quickly unfolds in Miller’s Crossing is complex enough to merit a second viewing. Adding to the intricacy are numerous characters referenced but rarely seen. Still, the story – drawn from Dashiell Hammett novels like ‘The Glass Key’ and ‘Red Harvest’, and infused with classic gangster and neo-noir elements – is masterfully told. The Coens integrate these influences into a killer script, ironically born from a period of writer’s block. Their trademark humor and eccentric characters are on full display, while the dialogue carries a poetic cadence that might even make Shakespeare jealous.

The plotlines themselves may not be original, but the Coens conjure a dreamlike world where, as the tagline promises, nothing is what it seems. The mood is unmistakably Irish – you can almost smell the whiskey. Carter Burwell’s haunting score, the gorgeous cinematography, and evocative settings all heighten the effect. The tone shifts effortlessly from cartoonish to brutally violent, without warning or transition.

The cast is uniformly excellent. Gabriel Byrne makes Tom a sympathetic bastard it’s hard not to root for; if I had to trade places with a Prohibition-era gangster, I’d pick him without hesitation. The supporting roles are just as strong, with John Turturro delivering a powerhouse turn as Bernie, a spineless schemer whose lack of ethics drives the story. Miller’s Crossing also reinvents the use of hats and overcoats. Not that there’s any hidden meaning – there’s nothing’s more foolish than looking for meaning in a hat.

Features a terrific cameo from the Coen’s friend Sam Raimi as a trigger happy cop.

Rating:

Quote:
Tom Reagan: Nobody knows anybody. Not that well.

Trivia:
The Coen Brothers suffered writer’s block while working on the script for Miller’s Crossing. They took a three-week break and wrote the script for their next movie Barton Fink during that time, about a writer with writer’s block. There are two references to Barton Fink in this film. The first one is the name of Tom Reagan’s residence called ‘The Barton Arms’. The second is a newspaper article that reads ‘Seven Dead in Hotel Fire’.