Interview with Myself

Yesterday Amazon informed me that my first novel, Malone, had been accepted for publication as a Kindle book. The book has also been published (by me) on Lulu.com. These days it's practically impossible to get a book published if you are new author, but thanks to the Interwebz it's amazingly easy to self-publish. In any event, it's early days yet, so the press isn't exactly beating a path to my door, but I thought it would be fun to publish an interview with myself about the book. Besides this blog has been way too movie heavy lately, so it's about due for some literary action for a change...

This is what the book cover looks like (and no, I don't have another picture):

The cover was designed by my brother Sean. Yes, it is very useful having a relative who is a graphic designer. Anyway, let's get started...


Q: So your book is published and available on Amazon.com. Are you excited?

A: Yes, it's tremendously exciting. I wish I'd done it a lot sooner. It's a weird feeling seeing your own name on Amazon.com, a site I have visited probably thousands of times. And spent thousands of rands on...


Q: The book is called Malone. Why this title?

A:  Titles are very hard to be honest. I wanted a single word title and I thought it sounded cool. Obviously it's the name of the main character. Also Malone is kind of two words combined: Man Alone, which is very much the central theme of the book. One man alone, trying to make his way in the world. Later, I realised that Malone was very similar to Marlowe. That wasn't intentional. I owe Raymond Chandler a huge debt of gratitude, he was a major influence on me, but I wasn't trying to steal his most famous character's name.


Q: Why did you write a detective story? Isn't this genre really over-worked now, to the point of cliche?


A: Yes, it is. But the books that influenced me most profoundly when I was younger were detective stories. I love the genre and wanted to write a homage to it, but one that reflected more modern attitudes. I felt that despite the brilliance of Chandler's writing, his character Philip Marlowe was a bit too straight laced, too certain in his views and actions. I wanted to create a character who is a lot more human, filled with weakness and doubts, a more ambiguous character.

Q: Apart from Raymond Chandler, who else influenced you? 

A: Well, Ellroy obviously. Sam Peckinpah. Cormac McCarthy. Jim Thompson. Charles Bukowksi. A bunch of people. The book is basically a huge amalgam of all my influences. I wanted to put them all in the first book so hopefully the second one would be more original.

Q: Was it difficult writing about places you've never been to? 


A: Yes, very... I did some research but mostly I just winged it. I don't have Ellroy's resources. I wanted the book to capture the mood of a time and a place, not be a travelogue. It's an impressionist painting, not a documentary photograph.


Q: Why did you set it after World War II? Why not something more contemporary? 

A: As I said, I love that time in history from a literary point of view. Post World War II, the world was an exciting place to be, like awakening from a 5 year nightmare to a fresh new dawn. I also wanted it to be about this man who has fought in the war, experienced many terrible things, and now has to re-integrate himself back into society but he can't escape the violence, and finds himself fighting another war. I am very interested in the second world war. It was an incredible period in human history. The men and women who fought in it are often referred to as 'the greatest generation' because of the sacrifices they made to rid the world of the greatest evil it has ever known. It never ceases to fascinate me...

Q: But the book seems quite flippant and even disrespectful towards these men. Your characters are not that likeable even.

A: I wanted them to be real people, not cariciatures. Most of those soldiers were barely out of their teens. They were young and immature. They hardly knew what they wanted out of life. And yet they had to perform acts that required enormous courage and fortitude. But they were human, warts and all. I wanted to show them that way...

Q: What about the women in the book? Was Gloria van Doren a whore?

A: She was a woman forced by circumstances to make some tough decisions. I think in those days it was very tough for women who didn't take the easy route and become housewives. Especially if they wanted to forge a career in the movies or whatever. They could easily become victims. I wanted to show that Gloria wasn't a push-over. She was strong. She held out, but eventually she gave in. She was so beautiful and desirable that every man wanted her, even men who should have protected her. She was born with a gift of beauty that should have given her a gilded life, but instead it became her downfall. The relationship with Gomez wasn't submissive though. She had as much power in it as he did, if not more. She's a strong woman. I hope that comes through clearly enough.

Q: The book is quite short.... did you run out of ideas?

A: Haha.... it felt long to me! I wanted it to be a pacy read. I feel people today dont really have time to read long books, and most books are over-long anyway. I wanted it to be punchy. Get in, get out. The books from those days were never long. People read two a week! But I still wanted it to have substance.

Q: Well, thanks for talking to us, and good luck!

A: Thank you.

And there it is. Malone is available to order from the following places:




http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/malone/15468320

CHRISTIAN BALE - Blowing up in a cinema near you!

Christian in American Pyscho - bloody intense mate

I didn't manage to sit through the entire 83rd Academy Awards but I did watch long enough to see both Melissa Leo and Christian Bale win awards for their appearances in The Fighter. [Quick aside: I was extremely pleased to see Melissa Leo up there. Many years ago she had a part in a brilliant TV drama called Homicide Life on the Street. It was distinguished by some of the best TV writing ever, and accordingly the show was filled with memorable characters. Even among such superb character actors as Andre Braugher, Yaphet Kotto, Clark Johnson, Jon Polito and Kyle Secor, Leo's character of Sgt Kay Howard stood out. With her crumpled face and wild red hair and man suits she had zero sex appeal and didn't rely on anything but her acting chops to carry the part. She totally inhabited the role of Kay Howard. In a world where fully realised female characters are even scarcer in cinema than on TV, Melissa blazed a wide trail. Many years later she emerged from obscurity with a starring role in a little indie movie called Frozen River. It proved to be something of a sleeper hit and her bravura performance as a working class trailer park mom forced to make some tough decisions garnered her a lot of attention. No doubt it had a lot to do with her being cast as the tough working class Mom in The Fighter. And badda bing badda boom, whaddaya know, she now has a shiny new ornament for her display cabinet. Well deserved! It was good to see her finally emerge from the shadows and get some Respect. You go girl... woman.... whatever.]

However, the real surprise of the evening was Christian Bale. Not that he won, which he no doubt deserved to do. but that this was the first time he'd won anything from the Academy! Or had even been nominated!! I was, like, WTF? Are these people in the Academy a bit slow? Do they live under a rock? Have they not seen The Prestige? Rescue Dawn? Harsh Times? American Pyscho? The Machinist??? (OK, fair cop, I havent seen that one either, but still...). Where had they been these last few years?

It's common knowledge that Bale is the dude to watch these days. The comparisons with 'Robert De Niro' are inevitable, particularly as he has a penchant for transforming himself physically in order to get deeper into the role, ie, he is a method actor in the same vein as the mighty Bobby D. So to help out the half-witted panel at the Academy, let's do a quick review of the films for which Bale should have been given something at Oscar time - even if it was just a nomination!

Harsh Times (2005)
Director: David Ayer
Writer: David Ayer 
Players: Christian Bale, Freddy Rodriguez, Eva Longoria

OK watching this movie feels like the guy in The Fighter must've felt after Mark Wahlberg knocked him out with a kidney shot. You're not sure if you want to throw up or if you'll ever be able to pee right again (explained later). It's one of those little movies that just comes out of nowhere and leaves everyone feeling a bit puzzled and uneasy. People can't categorise it, and therefore it's hard to market, you can't easily label it 'drama' or 'action' or 'horror' and let it find its market. Because it's drama and horror and action all rolled into one. It's a balls to the wall, pulls-no-punches, out-and-out indie picture with massive, hairy cojones that makes its audience uncomfortable and squeamish and a little sick to the stomach. These things don't bode well for the 'business' end of the business. In other words they dont translate into good box office results, but they do for damn sure make for interesting viewing.

Front and centre in the movie is the craziest, most loosey-goosey, off-the-wall, fall-down-funny, adrenaline-fuelled performance I've seen since the aforementioned Bobby D in Mean Streets (with a healthy dose of Gary Oldman in State of Grace thrown in for good measure). Bale plays Jim Davis, who has recently come out of the elite Army Rangers unit where he has undoubtedly seen some pretty hairy shit in Iraq. Although Davis looks like a squared-away Roger Ramjet soldier type with good prospects of advancement through the ranks of society (he's on a mission to get a job with the LAPD) its not long before it becomes apparent that he is more than a little ipso facto completely freaking nutso.

It would appear that Davis is suffering from severe PTSD but not in a passive away. Rather he is a one man demolition squad, looking to rip it up at every opportunity, even if that means committing some serious felonies that you would imagine a future cop would prefer to avoid. He's also not averse to roping in his ex-army buddy Mike (Freddy Rodriguez) and dragging him down right along with him.

Davis is the very definition of a loose cannon, and you know its not going to be long before he hurts someone. But at the same time you can't help but root for the guy, and this is where the genius of Bale's performance really manifests itself. Even though Davis is a major league self-centered jerk, who pretends to care deeply about his friends but really only gives a crap about himself, you can't help but like the guy. He's ridiculously charming and persuasive and Mike (and the audience) is helpless putty in his hands, even after he makes one bone-headed decision after another.

It would seem from my description that Harsh Times is not a fun movie, and indeed there are several moments where you wince and the ending is as downbeat as it gets, but what redeems it from being a total downer is that Bale is also extremely funny. There is a scene where in order to rig his urine test for his LAPD entrance exam he has to insert a catheter up his urinary tract, without anaesthetic. Sounds pretty terrible right? But its as funny as hell. The dude is crazeeee in a very dark but still likeable way. I guess we all knew someone like Jim Davis growing up. The lunatic who was a little scary but a lot of fun to be with. They either grow up and get their shit together (usually with a woman's help) or they go off the deep end. Although Jim Davis has the woman, he doesn't seem able to save himself. In one of the movies most gut-wrenching scenes he even pulls a gun on her in order to frighten her off. He's on a downward spiral and not even his best friend can pull him out of it.

The movie was not a popular hit on its release, no surprise there. Although it wasn't lumped in with other 'war movies' like In the Valley of Elah and Stop-Loss (and more recently Brothers with Tobey Maguire and Jake Gylenhaall, it was), like those movies, very much about what war does to the people. Many soldiers return from conflict unable to re-integrate back to society and worse than that. Its a difficult, uncomfortable scenario and the army certainly doesn't like to admit to any of it. Given that the war itself is still an ongoing event and that anything less than total support for the troops (if not the war effort itself) is seen as an unpatriotic, moves like Harsh Times can be a little too close to the bone. Be that as it may, its still a brilliant assessment of what happens when you train a person to kill, to commit extreme acts of violence, and then expect them to be able to put all that in a box, lock it away and function normally like nothing ever happened.

The Prestige (2006)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan
Players: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlet Johanssen, Rebecca Hall, Michael Caine

Easily one of my favourite movies of the last decade, The Prestige is a return to the glory days of movie making. It's got everything. Suspense, intrigue, mystery, glamour, great writing and acting, awesome actors, costumes, David Bowie, the works... and it's all about Magic. Yeah, that old hokum. Its pretty hard to make a movie about magic intriguing in this day and age, but Christopher Nolan is up to it. Nolan is the guy who made Memento back in the day, a low budget nothing movie using then little known Aussie actor Guy Pearce and US character actor Joe 'Pants' Pantoliano.  Memento was smart, quite devilishly clever in fact, and caused a bit of a stir no mistake. It got Nolan on the fast track to Hollywood and he hasnt disappointed. OK he made a Batman movie but most people seem to think it was one of the best. Anyhoo, when he's not doing superhero movies Nolan likes to do stuff like The Prestige and Inception, so we'll forgive him the guy in a funny suit lapse. The Prestige is vintage Nolan. 'Now you see it, now you don't' territory. He's a great sleight of hand artist Mr Nolan is so, of course, the subject of illusion would appeal to him. The Prestige is set in turn of the century England when people took stuff like this really seriously. There were no movies back then so people went to the theater, dah-ling. The upper crust went to see proper plays and stuff and the riff-raff went to see illusionists. People who sawed ladies in half sort of thing. Where Nolan succeeds is that it never looks tacky or seedy. As much as the audience in the movie is taken in by what they are watching so are we. Much of this has to do with the tricky dicky plot and the superb performances of the leads, noticeably our man Bale (although Jackman is equally good, although his is the flashier part, with more gnashing of the teeth and the like).

Where Bale really 'brings it' is that his performance is the polar opposite of the fireworks of Harsh Times. Its all low key and under the radar. His working class Alfred Borden is a man so wrapped up in his great and terrible secret he can't share anything with anyone, even his wife. Its a very tricky role to play and Bale does it masterfully, for once being able to play a role in something close to his native accent. In fact it is the sheer Britishness of the movie which helps to sell it. The period detail and costumes all help to create a world that is in itself magical. A world before electricity, when all things were possible. Like the great chameleon that he is, Bale occupies this world completely and once again makes you care deeply for the fate of his character, who is unjustly imprisoned and sentenced to die when the secret he harbours turns his great rival Angier into a madman bent on revenge. It's a deeply touching performance, one that turns on the theme of sacrifice, where a man will literally give up everything to stay at the top of his profession.

Rescue Dawn (2006)

Director: Werner Herzog
Writer: Werner Herzog
Players: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies

For his next outing Bale chose to work with Werner Herzog, the well known German director who has a penchant for stories about men who go crazy in the jungle. In this case, the story (a true one) focuses on a chap called Dieter Dengler who was shot down in the jungles of Vietnam while on a bombing mission in Laos. He survives the crash and is captured by the NVA. Of course, the NVA weren't known for treating their prisoners too kindly and Dengler, along with a few other bods who have already checked into this downmarket version of the Hanoi Hilton, are subsequently brutalised to the point of total submission and even craziness. The cast is phenomenal and one of the pleasures of the film is seeing comedic actor Steve Zahn produce a truly powerful portrayal as one of Dengler's fellow prisoners.

While Bale's role in Rescue Dawn is not quite as complex as that of Jim Davis in Harsh Times and the movie is not a full-blown classic like The Prestige, its got plenty to hold the attention, and most of the substance is delivered by this trio of fine actors who portray the process of physical and mental degradation suffered by prisoners of war so accurately its frightening. To add to the authenticity, Bale does one of his now-famous shrinking acts and sheds several pounds during the course of the film. Davies, not exactly a buff physical specimen at the best of times,  is also skeletal in the film. These actors are truly committed to delivering total authenticity and in the hands of Werner Herzog, a man famous for driving his cast and crew to extremes, nothing less would suffice. In the end Rescue Dawn is a very moving account of one man's refusal to give up despite the worst possible odds. Herzog does a great job of delivering the day to day routine and crushing boredom of the men's lives in the camp without making the film feel like its a 100 years long. You can't help but shed a tear at the final denouement. Stories like this simply never get tired...

American Pyscho (2000)

Director: Mary Harron
Writer: Mary Harron
Players: Chistian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Chloe Sevigny

Based on the infamous novel by Bret Easton Ellis, AP is a brilliant satire on the true horror of being a yuppie in New York in the heady days of the 80s real estate boom. The darkest of black comedies, it follows the descent into full blown madness of the perfectly groomed and attired Patrick Bateman, who is the ultimate hollow man. Bateman is the opposite of the stereotypical serial killer, successful, socially adept, physically perfect and very good with the ladies. However, that doesn't hide the fact that he has a sucking black hole where his soul is meant to be, and finds it impossible to resist murdering the girls who get drawn into his irresistable web of charm. Usually with a chainsaw.

Despite its premise AP is as funny as it is bizarre and the thick streak of black humour that runs through the film is beautifully handled by the director and Bale. Probably one of the funniest scenes in the history of cinema involves a table full of detestable yuppie scum all comparing business cards in an attempt to outdo one another. Its screamingly funny, and probably too close to the actual truth for comfort. Another classic involves Bateman reeling off the reasons he is the world's biggest Phil Collins fan while he lays down thick plastic sheeting in his spotless apartment in order not to make a mess while he slaughters another hapless victim. With his trademark blend of intensity and take-no-prisoners immersion in the role, Bale makes an indelible mark as the 'hero' who is way too tightly wrapped to handle the pressures of climbing the corporate ladder while the sharks circle beneath. The supporting cast is equally stellar, with a superb Willem Dafoe delivering another note perfect turn as the detective who knows Bateman is rotten but can't prove it. Chloe Sevigny is at her doe-eyed best as Bateman's hapless secretary.

While some say the movie can't match the book (big surprise) I didnt feel an immediate need to rush out and read the book after seeing the movie. I totally got Easton Ellis' message - listening to too much crap 80s music will drive you insane.

In Praise of BURT REYNOLDS

Burt as the Bandit, with mustache

It's no secret I dig movies from the 70s but strangely enough I haven't ever spoken about Burt Reynolds. A major oversight many of you would say. Others might say I've lost my cotton-picking mind or finally come out of the closet. No doubt about it Burt is a polarising figure. He's practically a parody of the hairy-chested 70s stud, a role he's been happy to play on more than one occasion, even doing a centerfold for Cosmo magazine. In fact there was a time when Burt was the 70s. He was omnipresent and omnipotent all at the same time. 

Some of that had to do with his incredibly successful series of Smokey and the Bandit, which made bundles of dough in practically every movie outlet on the planet. For us shorties back in the day, when we had to rent a reel on a Friday night, it was either Burt and his Pontiac or Clint's Every Which Way franchise, or something by Bruce Lee...... nothing else even came close.

Burt in his breakthrough role as Lewis Medlock

But Burt was more than just a comedic figure with incredible facial hair, the dude had serious acting chops. I'm talking about Deliverance of course, the movie that blew a lot of people out of the water. People who had no idea that Burt could bring it when he was given material worthy of his abilities.

Burt's role of outdoor fanatic and general he-man Lewis Medlock was a touchstone role for the actor. In many ways it defined the 70s man and created a blueprint for the tough guy role that so many in the 80s would attempt to emulate. The great thing about it is that the movie turns this stereotype on its head when Lewis breaks his leg and becomes as helpless as his city slicker buddies who look to him to save their lillywhite asses from the rampaging hill-billies.

Original poster for Deliverance

As it turns out it is fellow 70s icon Jon Voight who gets to play hero and pull the group out of the very tricky situation they have landed themselves in. The movie is based on the equally powerful book by James Dickey, for many years America's poet laureate. Dickey wanted to show what it means when the trappings and niceties of civilised society are ripped away and man is pushed to extremes. 

So what is meant to be a pleasant weekend of enjoying nature's beauty for a group of friends gets turned into a nightmare of epic proportions, when the group are confronted by a duo of backwoods in-breeds who clearly have taken their relationship with their livestock to a whole new level.

Deliverance is also interesting because its a movie about the vanishing wilderness, and man's dwindling respect for his natural heritage. Lewis persuades his friends to undertake the canoe trip because the river is going to be dammed and he wants them to experience it in its true glory before the dam reduces it to a mere shadow of its former self.

Lewis was indeed a curious anomaly for the time. An ultra-macho bowhunter who really gave a crap about the environment. Something of this dichotomy can be found in James Dickey himself, a hard-drinking womaniser who wrote ultra-violent books like Deliverance and To the White Sea but was also a celebrated poet. 

Burt and co-star Ronny Cox on the set

Burt's role in Deliverance was a tremendous breakthrough for the young actor. After Deliverance was nominated for 3 Oscars his future was pretty much set. Unfortunately the material that he chose after that would never quite rise to the level of his breakthrough performance. It would appear that Burt chose popularity and box office appeal over critical approval, and while we cannot blame him for that, perhaps that legendary moustache should take some of the blame. After he sprouted it, it was a lot more difficult to take him seriously. 


 

JOHN CARPENTER - KING OF THE B's

John Carpenter: creeping people out since 1976

It's October, the month of Halloween of course, so naturally I figured who better to feature than John Carpenter, the B movie maestro? Whether or not Carpenter should be relegated to second tier status could be the subject of an endless debate among film geeks. He's not considered a serious film-maker in the same vein as some po-faced European artiste like Lars Von Trier or Michael Haneke but the guy has made some truly memorable movies and influenced a ton of aspiring film makers. Halloween, the original slasher flick, has spawned so many sequels, remakes and imitators it's impossible to count them all. And yet the film itself is remarkably simple, features hardly any blood or gore and seems almost quaint compared to what passes for 'horror' today. (In fact, most of his movies are pretty tame in the blood and gore stakes.) And yet they endure.... perhaps because Carpenter has the magic touch when it came to story telling. He just keeps the story moving along, no stopping to dilly dally along the way. Keep it lean and mean and let the action tell the story. And it's precisely by vitue of that simplicity and discipline and a huge dollop of serious craftsmanship that he has managed to create unforgettable classics in the three most popular genres of Action, Sci-Fi and Horror. And at the same time he has entertained the hell out of his audiences. How many other directors can lay claim to that?

Halloween (1978)

Director: John Carpenter

Screenwriter: John Carpenter

DOP: Dean Cundey

Players: Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasance, PJ Soles, Kyle Richards

One of my most vivid memories as a kid is being told I wasn't allowed to watch Halloween under any circumstances. This was very upsetting to me. There was quite a buzz around this film. It upset a lot of people. Apparently, it was some real heavy shit. All of which was irresistable for a young kid. Watching it would no doubt be a life-changing experience. But the lockdown on cinemas was pretty tight in those days and I had no way of breaching the walls to gain access to this cultural phenomenon. Movie age restrictions were strictly enforced back then (the maximum 2 - 21 was imposed for Halloween and I was a long way from 21 in 1978) and there was no such thing as video, DVD or satellite television. So it was the cinema or nothing. In any event, I didnt get to see this film until MANY years later - for some reason the original is hard to find in DVD rental stores - so I finally just bought a copy. Suffice to say I was a little dumbfounded as to what all the fuss was about (a LOT has changed in horror movies since 1978) but on my second viewing I finally began to appreciate what Carpenter had achieved with Halloween, and why the movie has spawned so many imitators.The beauty of Halloween lies in its simplicity. The rest is atmosphere. From the moment the now famous score (composed by Carpenter, who wrote the music for most of his films) kicks in you know that nasty things are going to happen. Carpenter keeps the story tight, no messing around. Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance do sterling work, as do the rest of the cast. The other force that comes into play with palpable effect is Dean Cundey's amazing camera work. Its nothing fancy, no trickery or whoop de doo but its never less than mesmerising. The POV effect is still gripping and probably influenced a lot of video game designers. The location just works a treat. It's a totally wholesome, whitebread small American town, and like the best work of Stephen King, that only makes what happens in it all the more shocking.

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

Director: John Carpenter

Screenwriter: John Carpenter
Cinematographer: Douglas Knapp
Players: Austin Stoker, Darwin Jonston, Laurie Zimmer, Martin West, Tony Burton, Charles Cyphers


Carpenter brought his ability to do a lot with very little to another drive-in classic - Assault on Precinct 13. In it he used a plot device that he would return to with even more success in sci-fi classic The Thing - a group of disparate individuals trapped by circumstance with the pressure piling on as the minutes tick by. In this case, it's a soon to be abandoned police station on the outskirts of LA that becomes the target of a coordinated attack from a vicious street gang. The scumbags even have silenced revolvers! Carpenter ratchets up the tension as the gang, hell-bent on destruction, tries every which way to get into the building.  The movie owes a huge debt to Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo and Carpenter freely admitted that he wanted to re-make it as an urban western. Naturally there has to be a hero, and in this case its Lt Ethan Bishop (Austin Stokes) who's been given the job of watching over the building and the few remaining people in it. His main charge is a prisoner named Napoleon played with sardonic wit by Darwin Jonston. The interplay between the two leads provides an amusing diversion from the tension, as the grimly silent gangbangers do their best to find a way in. Carpenter uses the desolate urban setting to maximum advantage and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep it interesting. A tidy little potboiler with plenty of laughs (some unintentional) and action to keep you interested... 




Escape from New York (1981)

Director: John Carpenter
Screenwriter: Nick Castle, John Carpenter
Cinematography: Dean Cundey
Players: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau, Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes


Undoubtedly one of Carpenter's top two outings (along with The Thing) and starring his favourite lead dude, Kurt Russell, Escape From NY is one of the all-time B-movie classics. The plot set-up is fantastic, the characters brilliantly sketched and Snake is a truly wonderful creation that turned Kurt Russell from a little known B-movie character actor into a pretty well-known B-movie character actor. Hey, don't get down on Kurt, the guy can bring it when he needs to. Just check out 1997's Breakdown, for example, where he holds his own against the late - and very great - J.T. Walsh. In Escape from New York Kurt plays Snake Plissken, a bank robber who is given a free pass by government flunkeys if he agrees to break into NYC and rescue the US Prez, who's plane has 'gone down' into the city, which has been transformed into a maximum security prison. Well, I guess folks who live there now would say its not far off, but that's the subject for another discussion. So naturally Snake agrees but the catch is he gets this explosive device injected into his neck. Once false move and the device explodes, leaving Snake with a very bad headache and minus one head. So Snake gets into a glider plane and gets dropped into NYC and numerous adventures ensue. All the way through there is a very funny running joke about whether he is dead or alive and he gets to hook up with some pretty bizarre characters played by the likes of Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine and Harry Dean Stanton. For good measure, there's also a busty broad played by Adrienne Barbeau. It's all great fun and Kurt Russell plays it for yuks extremely well. Plus he has an eye patch so you know it's gonna be a winner right off the bat.

The Thing (1982)

Director: John Carpenter
Screenwriter: Bill Lancaster
Cinematographer: Dean Cundey
Players: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Dysart, Richard Masur, David Clennon, Thomas G Waites, Charles Hallahan

Carpenter's finest hour would be another remake of a movie from one of his favourite directors, Howard Hawks. The Thing also showed how effective he was at spotting talent. One of the crowning achievements of The Thing is its special effects, none of which were computer generated and which still stand up to scrutiny today. This was the work of both an established legend, Stan Winston, and a young 21-year-old kid called Rob Bottin, who practically lived on the set of The Thing for two years while he devised some of the most fantastic creature effects ever committed to screen. Bottin used some truly 'creative' methods to achieve the end result and one of the real highlights of the interviews that can be found on the Special Edition release of the DVD is hearing him recount how he pulled it off. The story of The Thing is classic Carpenter material. A bunch of dudes are stranded in a remote scientific research station in the Arctic circle while a very scary creature from outer space, which has the handy ability to imitate anything, decimates their numbers one by one. Kurt Russell plays MacReady, the base's helicopter pilot, who assumes a leadership role almost by default and attempts to outwit the creature, which always seems to be one step ahead of him, until the explosive finale. A great ensemble cast of B-players pretty much serve as cannon fodder as they get taken out in increasingly spectacular fashion. The atmospherics of the station are brilliantly realised, through canny use of the location and sets. It's a true classic that combines both paranoia and claustrophia in equal measure. Sits right up there with Alien (to which it owes no small debt) as one of the two great sci-fi classics of the 80s.

SEAN PENN - Bad Boy Made Good

Sean Penn: bringing back weighty

Sean Penn is one high energy dude. Not only does he pick up Oscars like some people catch colds, but he also finds the time to write and direct classic movies in between jetting around the globe to various disaster zones - natural and man made - to keep us mere mortals updated on the conditions there. The guy is so talented (not to mention disgustingly good-looking) that he makes the rest of us look like one-cell organisms who've barely crossed the starting line of the evolutionary curve. But we'll try not to hold that against him and take comfort in the fact that he wasn't always this wonderful. He did marry Madonna, after all, among other rash and anti-social acts in his youth (although punching out papparazzi should have earned him a medal rather than a suspended sentence). But after winning a ludicrous number of awards for his acting and directing four very fine movies, not to mention the afore-mentioned charity aid work, it's safe to say that he's more than made up for it. For the purpose of this post, we're going to focus on his directing work, which in my opinion is growing in stature with each film. It's just a matter of time before he makes something that blows everyone else out of the water. In fact, with Into The Wild he's pretty much already there, although I feel his best work is yet to come. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, if we want to tell Mr Penn's story it's best to begin at the beginning...

The Indian Runner (1991) 

Penn's first film as a director was inspired by a Bruce Springsteen song - Highway Patrolman - one of many great tracks on the Boss' first solo album, Nebraska. Its about two brothers, one is a highway patrolman and the other is someone with considerably less self-control and a penchant for hard likker and violence. What the bad brother has done exactly is never made clear but Bruce lets us know that things are going from bad to worse and its going to be up to the cop brother to put a stop to things. This could involve violence, and it's a dead cert its going to take place on a long, lonely highway in a fast-moving vehicle, because most great Bruce songs involve these things. Here's a sample of the lyrics....

Well the night was like any other, I got a call 'bout quarter to nine
There was trouble in a roadhouse out on the Michigan line
There was a kid lyin' on the floor lookin' bad bleedin' hard from his head there was a girl cryin' at a table and it was Frank, they said
Well I went out and I jumped in my car and I hit the lights
Well I must of done one hundred and ten through Michigan county that night

And then the chorus:

Me and Franky laughin' and drinkin'
Nothin' feels better than blood on blood
Takin' turns dancin' with Maria as the band played "Night of the Johnstown Flood"
I catch him when he's strayin' like any brother would
Man turns his back on his family well he just ain't no good

Clearly these words resonated strongly with Penn and no doubt the whole Cain and Abel thing must be close to his heart because he decided to take this story and make a film out of it. Now making a film based on a song can't be an easy thing to do but Penn is more than capable of writing a script himself and so he waded right into it. There's not much more to the story than what the Boss sketched out in his song. Except Penn does add an interesting dimension by making Viggo's character a Vietnam veteran, although this is not really explored in any great depth. He's also has more tattoos than a carnie sideshow freak, which is never a good sign. He's not necessarily a bad guy, but he's having a lot of trouble fitting in, settling down, starting a family, all that good shit. And his brother being such a pillar of society doesn't help much. Basically, he's conflicted. Hence the tattoos.

It quickly becomes apparent as Indian Runner unfolds in its leisurely way that Penn is a student of the 70s school of film-making. The pace is unhurried, characters are given time to develop, the canvas is large and the acting is natural and note perfect. Scenes are good and long. Of course, Penn recognises great acting talent and in David Morse and Viggo Mortensen (long before fame found him with Lord of the Rings)  he finds two towering talents who manage to perfectly encapsulate the two sides of the brotherly coin. Penn also managed to get another major talent - Charles Bronson - to deliver his last great performance as the father of the two boys, so devastated by the loss of his wife that he can no longer manage the members of his family who are still among the living.

The Crossing Guard (1995)

For his next outing Penn would embrace themes that he would return to again later in his career, both as an actor and director - the untimely death of a child and the devastation it wreaks on everyone involved.

In The Crossing Guard, Jack Nicholson plays Freddy Gale, the owner of a jewellery store who's toddler daughter was been killed by a drunk driver. The film opens as he learns that the driver (played by David Morse) is about to be released on probation after serving 5 years for culpable homicide. In the interim, Freddy's life has fallen apart. He's divorced from the child's mother, is drinking himself to an early grave and can barely go through the motions of dealing with customers in his store. (In one hilarious scene he demonstrates to a woman just how to get a tight-fitting ring on her finger.) Still consumed by grief he plans to kill the man  and by doing so he hopes to gain some release from his unrelenting torment. Freddy feels that by trying to get on with their lives everyone else has betrayed him and the dead child. He cannot let his pain go and carries it around like a blazing torch, even though it is destroying him in the process. Nicholson takes the role and squeezes every last ounce of juice out of it, and his amazing abilities are equal to the task. It is an incredibly detailed portrayal of a man consumed by grief and crippled by an event that consumes his every waking moment, until at last he achieves some kind of closure.

As the plot would indicate the movie is no barrel of laughs, and no doubt could have used a bit of tightening up in places but working with actors of the caliber of Nicholson, Morse and Anjelica Huston as Nicholson's ex-wife Penn creates a movie so filled with moments of human truth that you are prepared to forgive it its minor faults. Bruce Springsteen wrote a song for the film that is so incredibly affecting you'd have to be made of stone not to be moved to tears when it kicks in. Not an easy film to watch but no less compelling for it.

The Pledge (2001)

After The Crossing Guard Penn took a long break from directing but it was clear on his return that he's lost none of his passion for difficult subject matters that strike at the core of things. This time round he had a novel (by Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt) to use as his starting point and The Pledge does benefit as a result, having a better structure and a more involving plot.  Penn chose to work with Jack Nicholson again, and this time Nicholson plays Detective Jerry Black who is about to retire when he catches one last case. Unfortunately for Black, the case is a homicide of a young child and the distraught mother makes him promise that he will never give up until he finds the killer. Other detectives shrug it off as the rantings of a woman driven mad with grief but Black has given his word, which is his bond. This honourable act in the end proves his undoing as he slowly succumbs to the obsession of catching a killer at the risk of losing everything else in his life, including his sanity. The Pledge marked a shift in Penn's direction. While the subject matter and choice of actors was a return to familiar territory, the use of the camera and music showed that he had moved beyond the obvious influence of John Cassavetes to include another giant maverick of the 70s - Terrence Malick. The sheer beauty of Penn's vision and his obvious affinity for the remarkable diversity and vast spaces of North America lift The Pledge out of the realm of just another detective potboiler and into something else entirely. Particularly in the use of music, clearly a great influence on Penn, The Pledge becomes a lyrical journey. A road movie almost, and a peaen to a world that remains beautiful, even when monsters can move through it with seeming impunity.  Nicholson once again delivers an impeccable performance as Jerry Black, possibly the finest of his entire career. He's assisted very capably with sterling support performances by the likes of Benicio Del Toro, Patricia Clarkson, Robin Wright Penn and Aaron Eckhart.

Into The Wild (2007)

Penn's most recent feature is also his most accomplished. This time out Penn chooses the story of Christopher McCandless as his subject matter. McCandless was a free spirit (to put it mildly) who became the subject of a book by Into Thin Air author Jon Krakauer after he donated his college fund to Oxfam, abandoned his car and became a professional tramp in the style of Woody Guthrie. His final act after some pretty spectacular cross-country rambling was to head into the Alaskan wilderness with a bag of rice and a .22 rifle and a book on edible plants in order to live off the land for as long as possible. Unfortunately he didn't realise that living on squirrel meat alone is a slow road to starvation and that the Alaskan wildnerness is no place to learn from your mistakes. What Penn manages to do with what seems like a rather prosaic story of a footloose dude with a death wish is nothing short of remarkable. Not only does he make McCandless come across as a person of deep spirituality and remarkable wisdom for one so young but he makes us care deeply for him and mourn his passing as if we knew him. And by the end of the film you do feel as if you knew the guy, so thoroughly does Penn explore his thoughts and the vagaries of his short but remarkable life. This is thanks in no small part to the extensive research undertaken by Jon Krakauer. Perhaps due to Krakauer's powerful work, or the fact that McCandless was a big reader and inveterate journal keeper, Penn's movie has a strong literary quality to it (he even has extracts from McCandless' journal appearing on the screen and chapters that mark the major milestones of McCandless' journey). It's a terribly sad story of course and the ending is heartwrenching, even when you know its coming but Penn nevertheless makes the story soar and the cinematography by Eric Gautier is never anything less than riveting. Eddie Vedder's beautiful songs add another layer to the total and make this a feast for eyes and ears and a truly thoughtful study of what it is that compels people to abandon the safety of their families and careers and embark on wild adventures.

(Since the book was published and again with the release of the film McCandless has become a controversial figure and much debate has raged around whether he was a self-centered nut or a modern day visionary with Christ-like qualities. Many have commented that Krakauer's work has ignored some of the facts that cast McCandless in a not so favourable light and basically put the boy on a pedestal. Many find his actions foolhardy and irresponsible, and believe that he had a death wish, and indeed anyone with even basic knowledge of living in the wild would know that McCandless was setting himelf up to fail. He simply did not have enough knowledge or equipment to prevail in such a harsh environment. Whichever way you slice it, McCandless made his choices and paid the ultimate price for his actions. No doubt he had his reasons. If anything else, his actions serve as a valuable cautionary tale for anyone else who may be foolhardy enough to take on the Alaskan wilderness - or any wilderness for that matter - without the proper experience or preparation.)









 

THE PLASTIKI EXPEDITION - highlighting the perils of plastic

Everybody knows that plastic sucks, but how do you live without the stuff? Practically everything we consume is packaged in plastic. It's everywhere: in our cars, the music we listen to, the furniture we sit on, the clothes we wear.

It's also in our oceans, hundreds of tons of it. And it's killing dolphins, whales, turtles and God knows how many other creatures that live in the sea. Consider for example the phenomena of garbage islands, such as the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch, a floating island of trash twice the size of Texas located between California and Hawaii. And that's just one of them.

De Rothschild

David de Rothschild, an environmental campaigner and adventurer, decided to do something different to get the message out about plastic and its impact on the oceans. He and his mates crossed the Pacific - on a sailboat built entirely out of plastic. 12,000 plastic bottles to be precise.

The Plastiki crew

De Rothschild is not your average tree hugger. He's part of a seriously wealthy banking family so when he decides to launch into a new venture, he's got the moolah to pull it off. What's unusual about the dude is that he doesn't spend his days flitting around the globe pursued by hordes of paparazzi, partying it up and starring in his own reality TV show. Instead he gets involved in the big issues of the day, planning and executing expeditions and adventures around the world that highlight environmental issues. Yeah, I hate the bastard too.

Naturally the Plastiki is a monument to green living, including solar panels and a bicycle-powered generator to create power, a hydroponic garden, and salt water showers.

De Rothschild was joined on the Plastiki by 5 other crew members, including a female skipper and a dude from National Geographic who is shooting a documentary of the expedition. Six people on board a tiny boat made of plastic sounds like a recipe for disaster but so far the Plastiki seems to have managed quite well, despite the constant threat of being bulldozed by one of dozens of vast container ships that plough the ocean lanes which the Plastiki is also using. Yes, even on the ocean there is traffic.

The trip was officially completed on July 26 when the Plastiki sailed into Sydney Harbour , having traversed 8,300 miles across the Pacific. On their website the crew estimated that during the 40 days it took them to complete the journey, approximately 8,3 billion plastic bottles had been used in the USA alone.


http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/aboard-the-plucky-plastiki/

WILLIAM FRIEDKIN - Never a Dull Moment

William Friedkin: well dressed, but difficult

Cinephiles can argue about anything but most agree that the 70s was one of the most fertile and fascinating periods in cinema history. So many legendary films were made in the 70s it's as if there was something in the water. (In his excellent book, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Peter Biskind explores this period in great detail. I recommend you read it.) The reality is that the movie industry is very much a product of the times. Following the cultural revolution of the mid to late 60s, the Vietnam War and Watergate, there was a powerful drive to tell stories that had meaning beyond box office profits. Plus people were snorting a lot of cocaine and that really helped to loosen things up. Whatever the reasons, movie-makers weren't ruled by the bottom line, and seemed to be given a longer leash than they are today. Films were dark, gritty, powerful. There was a humanity about the stories, something real. Most of the actors weren't even that good looking (who would cast Christopher Walken in a leading role today?). This in particular was a great boon to the younger generation, the up-and-coming auteurs who had something to prove. One of these young knights was William Friedkin, a brash, outspoken and extremely bright cinephile with some big ideas about how pictures should look. Friedkin was out of television and had done a couple of features, including a documentary that won some attention, but nothing major. But he still had the chutzpah to turn The French Connection into one of the most powerful movies of the decade, or any decade for that matter. Some say that early success is never a good thing, and it's certainly true that he never managed to duplicate the massive critical and commercial success of his earlier work. But talent is talent, and I believe anything Friedkin touches is worth a look. No matter what Friedkin feature you're watching, its guaranteed to entertain, and sometimes be so insanely entertaining, you totally forget the world around you. And when it comes to movies, I can't think of much higher praise than that.

The French Connection (1971)

It seems amazing now that Friedkin was in his 30s when he helmed this film, particularly as it swept the boards at the Academy awards that year, walking off with no less than 5 statues, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing and Best Actor for Gene Hackman. Truth be told, the movie is just as startling and relevant today as it was then, and its influence has not abated, and can be seen in groundbreaking television series like The Wire and The Sopranos plus any other number of gritty crime dramas. NYC itself really sets the tone, and Friedkin scoured the city to find exactly the right locations - the desolate vacant lots and trash-strewn streets, the all night bars and nightclubs, even the famous subway, these things are a palpable presence in the film. Combined with the documentary style camerawork and rapid-fire editing, it made for a galvanising experience, like being wired on too little sleep and too much instant coffee. Front and center of the whole saga is a gigantic performance by the amazing Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle, the maniacal and unhinged narc. Doyle rampages through the streets like a runaway Panzer tank, glowering under his pork-pie hat at the world and going off like a half-cocked IED at the drop of a matchstick. It's one of most memorable performances of modern day cinema and it made Hackman a star, although lucky for us, he was too intelligent an actor and just plain wierd looking to ever settle for dopey lead man roles. Amazingly Hackman topped even this achievement in French Connection II (directed by John Frankenheimer), which is one of the very few sequels to give the original a run for its money.





The Exorcist (1973)

This is one of those films that have become a legend in the industry. Possibly the quintessential horror movie, it is still talked about in hushed tones and only recently was made available in all its full gory glory. Despite the limitations of the time in terms of special effects, the makers managed to create enough atmosphere through canny choice of locations, excellent casting and the memorable score (critical to any horror flick). The movie made tremendous amounts of money and firmly established horror films as box office crowd pleasers of note. The plot concerns a teenage girl (Linda Blair) who has begun to behave very oddly. So what's unusual about that you say? Well, the odd behaviour includes crawling around on the ceiling and speaking in ancient languages, so even for a teenager it's a little bizarre. The mom (Ellen Burstyn) tries the psychiatric route but that proves to be a bust, so in desperation she goes to a Catholic priest (Max von Sydow). The good padre doesn't need much time to figure out he's dealing with a major case of demon possession. After that, things get really hairy, with several now infamous scenes involving projectile pea soup vomit, head-spinning and crucifix abuse, as the good Father battles mightily to rid the girl of the demon and restore the household to normalcy. The Exorcist may seem a little quaint in the light of what passes for horror today but it remains a powerful and riveting experience (especially if you watch it alone). The trick of a deep masculine voice spewing obscenities from a young girl's mouth is remarkably effective, so much so that whenever you see a 'haunted house' movie these days they inevitably trot it out for good measure. At bottom, however, Exorcist has become a novelty, a curiosity from the past. 'Just how bad is it really?', seems to be the main motivation to watch it now. And due to its reliance on special effects and transparent attempts to 'shock' its audience, it has not aged as well as other films from the period. Although its notoriety has almost certainly guaranteed it will live on as an enduring cult classic.






To Live and Die in LA (1985)

If anything this underrated classic can be viewed as French Connection III, The West Coast Connection. It conveys the same intensity as Friedkin's first big movie, transposed to the sun-bleached highways and over-sized airports of Los Angeles. Once again Friedkin uses the cop on a mission as his vehicle. This time it's Detective Richard Chance, played by a very young William Peterson of CSI: Vegas fame, and instead of drugs its a counterfeit gang lead by Rick Masters, played with suitably oily charm by Willem Defoe. The gang killed his ex-partner (we'll forgive him the cliche and you'll see why in a minute) so he's hellbent on nailing Masters. Friedkin turns up the heat big time in this one and has the perfect foil in Petersen, who acts his little heart out playing Chance. Despite being hampered by the dubious fashion choices of the era (tight jeans and cowboy boots, which highlight Petersen's bandy legs), he gives a scorching portrayal of the near psychopathic cop, willing to sacrifice anyone and anything to nail his guy. Friedkin once again makes excellent use of the Los Angeles locations and a truly hair-raising car chase is an obvious choice (strengthening comparisons with French Connection). However, just as you think you've got the thing all figured out, Friedkin gives his audience - no doubt far more jaded in 85 than they were in 71 - a savage wake-up call that lets him neatly off the hook for all the cliches that have come before. A riveting thriller that has lost none of its power despite the passing of time (although the soundtrack by Wing Chung might seem a little odd at first).




Rules of Engagement (2000)

I must confess, until I happened to catch a re-run of this on cable the other night, I didn't even know it was a Friedkin film. Suddenly it all made sense. At first glance, RoE comes across as another turkey in the style of A Few Good Men (don't ask me why people love that movie so much). The military court room drama has been a staple of cinema ever since the days of Billy Budd. Lately, however, we've been cursed by quite a few feeble efforts, including the aforementioned Cruise vehicle among many other numb-nutted outings, one of which featured John Travolta for some incomprehensible reason. But Rules of Engagement is a definite cut above these feeble attempts. For one thing it features Sam Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones, two of the finest character actors at work today. For another, its extremely topical. As of right this minute, the US Army's rules of engagement are a super hot potato that is causing no end of problems to fighting men in the Afghanistan theatre. The problem has become more profound in today's wars because insurgents don't wear uniforms. They blend in with the local population and are very often supported by the local population. But the wars of today are fought in the public eye and when civilians are killed by a military strike, asses are usually in a very big sling. This dilemma forms the basis of the plot for RoE, and it starts with a bang, as Sergeant Terry Childers, played by Sam Jackson, is called in with his company of marines, to rescue the US Ambassador to Yemen who is under siege at the embassy. Friedkin handles the attack with considerable aplomb and the violence is real and gut-wrenching, conveying the so-called 'fog of war' very accurately. This is crucial to the plot, as Childers' decisions in the heat of battle are later brought into question when the Yemenis cry foul at the dead civilians piled up in front of the embassy building. The US political machine decides to make a scapegoat out of Childers and thus the courtroom component of the story comes into play. Childers decides he wants an old army buddy to defend him, Colonel Hayes Hodges, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Turns out Childers saved Hodges' ass back in Vietnam and now its Hodges turn to repay the debt. Naturally there is a fire-breathing prosecutor to wind up the ensemble and Guy Pearce does a fine job of playing the hatchet man. Much of the pleasure though comes from watching Sam Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones at work, as these two very fine players can really bring it when they have to. Friedkin gets fine performances from both of them, and thereby manages to elevate the film beyond the limitations of the genre.




The Hunted (2003)

I had high hopes for this one but unfortunately it wasn't quite up to Friedkin's usual standards. Much of the blame must surely be laid on the feeble script. The premise is undoubtedly an interesting one, but its vast potential is never fully realised and some aspects of the story are simply very difficult to swallow. The plot concerns a highly trained operative in some secret squirrel branch of the army (exactly which unit this may be is never made clear but it's most likely Delta Force) who's job it is to dispatch troublesome people when other more 'conventional' methods to get them to quit their murderin' and rapin' have failed. The movie opens in some distant hellhole (I believe it's Bosnia-Herzogevina) with just such an action about to be carried out. The operative, Aron Hallam (Benicio Del Toro) performs his duty admirably, but appears to suffer some major post-tramautic stress disorder as a result and the next thing a pair of hunters turn up dead in a very remote region of the Pacific North West. Except they're not just dead, they've been skinned alive. In a truly remarkable deduction, the investigating officers figure out that the crime has been committed by someone with highly specialised skills of the type only taught by the military. Enter LT (Tommy Lee Jones), a former instructor who for many years trained said operatives in the dark arts of war, including our boy Hallam. From that point on we enter familiar territory for those who have seen Tommy Lee's 'Fugitive' pictures and The Hunted pretty much degenerates into a chase film. Although it is very slick material with enough to hold the interest in terms of pace, scenery and two superb craftsmen in the form of Tommy Lee and Benicio, it never manages to rise above the limitations of the story. The guilty parties are undoubtedly the script writers, possibly because The Hunted was not born from a novel but rather started out as a movie idea. Whatever the reason, the story is simply very thin. There are a great deal of unanswered questions, and Hallam's character in particular is very one dimensional. He remains a mystery right up to the inevitable conclusion, but not in a good way. Where the movie does succeed is in keeping the tension high, making excellent use of locations, including some stunning wilderness and an amazing water-logged setting for the final confrontation, as well as a nicely-executed chase sequence through an urban setting. To be sure, when it comes to action, Friedkin hasn't lost his touch. It's worth a look but don't expect anything too deep. For a lazy Saturday afternoon, however, it's just about perfect.