The Last Seduction

Right from the get-go with her introduction in John Dahl's The Last Seduction, Bridget Gregory (Linda Fiorentino) proves she doesn't take shit from anyone. Interspersed with this, her husband Clay (Bill Pullman) panics as he conducts a drug deal. It's clear who wears the pants in this marriage.

Soon after, Bridget steals the $700,000 Clay got from the deal and skips town. She's aiming for Chicago but she stops just outside of Buffalo. Aside from a false name, Bridget makes no real effort to blend in within the small town. But what else is she planning?

Much like Double Indemnity fifty years prior, The Last Seduction has a female lead playing the men who stupidly cross her path like a cheap piano. But make no mistake -- Bridget Gregory is far more ruthless than Phyllis Dietrichson. Bridget will get what she wants, consequences be damned.

And what a role for Fiorentino to sink her teeth into. Very rarely does an actress get to play a character so icy, so calculating, so vile -- frankly, screenwriters are too cowardly to not even attempt it. But both Fiorentino and Steve Barancik took that gamble, and it paid off beautifully.

The Last Seduction paints an absolutely wicked picture. Save for an unfortunate (and very dated) detail in the third act, it's the kind of neo-noir that shows up once in a blue moon. And like Gone Girl twenty years later, it just goes to show that girls aren't always made of sugar, spice, and everything nice.

My Rating: ****1/2

Street Smart

Jerry Schatzberg's Street Smart opens with Jonathan Fisher (Christopher Reeve) failing to pitch several ideas to his editor. Then he comes up with writing a profile on the average New York City pimp. One problem: he doesn't have a pimp to write about so he makes one up. Then more problems arise when an actual pimp resembles Jonathan's "profile"...

Similar to Schatzberg's earlier film The Panic in Needle Park, Street Smart has New York City play as much of a role as those with lines. While not as decayed and grimy as it appeared in the earlier film, the city still proves to be just as lovely as it appeared back in the early '70s. But make no mistake -- it's just as sleazy.

And like Schatzberg's other earlier film Scarecrow, Street Smart has a litany of personalities in it. Using his photographer's eye, Schatzberg captures these figures with an acute sharpness. Every person has their own story to tell in how much screentime they receive, and Schatzberg utilizes that. Film is just photography in motion, after all.

That said, Street Smart falls just shy of Schatzberg's earlier films. Screenwriter David Freeman had a good idea -- basing it on his own experiences at New York magazine -- but the execution of it is limp. Still, it works about 80% of the time.

Street Smart admittedly falls victim to the standard conventions of late 1980s cinema but it's still pretty solid overall. Reeve works well with what he has, as do Morgan Freeman (who was nominated for an Oscar) and Kathy Baker. All in all, it's worth a look.

My Rating: ****

Child's Play

With horror movies constantly getting remakes, sequels, and spin-offs, it becomes crucial for one to seek out the originals. Amid the various re-tellings, it's easy for the original story to get lost in imitation. After all, give credit where credit's due.

It's especially prevalent in slasher pictures. Throughout all the stabbings, dismemberings, and disembowelings, the motive of the killer(s) can get muddled. Granted, some just like to kill for the sake of killing. And that's exactly the case with Chucky.

Tom Holland's Child's Play is what kicked off the nearly forty-year franchise, and it's little wonder as to why it's later after all these years. As Don Mancini's pride and joy throughout this time, it's clear that he knew he had a good idea (even if he didn't like some of Holland's ideas for it); he was going to take it and run with it.

Admittedly, Child's Play is darker than future entries in the franchise, but even then, it has its own macabre charm. Cinematographer Bill Butler (no stranger to horror himself) captures the unease in middle-class life, making it stand out from both its sequels and other slasher films of the decade. It's not that common, that's for sure.

Child's Play is one of those rare horror titles that proves creativity goes a long way. With a sharp wit, it's something often lacking in other films of the genre. After all, you can't spell "slaughter" without "laughter".

My Rating: ****

Film and Book Tally 2024

Another year down the drain. And this time, I followed through on my resolution to watch and read more!...for once. Anyway, the list of titles starts after the jump:

Something Wild

Right off the bat, Jonathan Demme's Something Wild fires off on all pistons. (Then again, what else would you expect from a Roger Corman protege?) But like many titles from this period in time, not everything is what it seems.

The second Charlie Driggs (Jeff Daniels) crosses paths with Lulu (Melanie Griffith), nothing would be the same for him. With her black bobbed hair and assortment of jewelry, Lulu is a wild card and a half. But the things she drags Charlie through are certainly nothing the yuppie was ever expecting.

Like Demme's later film Married to the Mob, Something Wild takes the 1980s image of everyday life and flips it on its head. Amid the pastels and loud patterns associated with the decade lies something far darker. (This was the last decade of the Cold War, after all.) Looks can be deceiving.

And much like other titles of the time, Something Wild takes a potshot at the so-called "American Dream". Released during Reagan's second term, it takes that ideal cultivated after World War II and thoroughly smashes it to bits, using the debris to make the real American Dream: a little jagged, very sharp, and of many facets. (And it's no less true now than it was then.)

Something Wild most definitely lives up to its title. With Griffith embodying the title, Daniels trying to keep up with her, and Ray Liotta stealing the entire show the second he shows up, it's the kind of picture that easily upends your preconceived notions. And Demme does it without any problem.

My Rating: ****1/2

Bob Roberts

As is often the case with the passage of time, the perception of certain things is bound to alter. What was once taboo is now commonplace, and vice versa. And what was once satire is now an unfortunate reality.

Such is the case with Tim Robbins' Bob Roberts. Originally a mere mockumentary following the titular senatorial hopeful's (Robbins) campaign trail, in the thirty-plus years since its release, it now serves as an uneasy foreshadowing of what was to come following the Obama administration. As such, what Robbins intended as satire becomes far more scathing in hindsight.

Released the same year Clinton was elected, Bob Roberts takes a look at the behind-the-scenes business of a political campaign. Sounds cut and dry, right? Well, it would be were Roberts not the smooth-talking sleazebag of a right-winger (or your standard right-winger, really). And boy, does he know how to play an audience. (Ring any bells?)

Similar to what Robbins did in The Player that same year, Bob Roberts takes a hard look at an otherwise ruthless field to show the depths of how low someone will stoop to in order to get what they want. That's what satire is, after all -- it makes you realize the failings of life; the problem is when you should stop laughing.

Bob Roberts, all these years later, has become less of a mockery of politics and more of a warning for them. There are people who work exactly the way Roberts does, using jargon to thinly veil their true intentions without anyone catching on. And they will vote for them all the same. (And yes, Robbins himself is dismayed that his directing debut "came true".)

My Rating: ****1/2

They Live

You know how sci-fi movies from the 1950s served as an allegory for the Red Scare and the Cold War? That lurking fear of "the enemy" being on your very doorstep, leaving you helpless to stop them? Turns out that allegory didn't completely disappear when McCarthy did.

Made during Reagan's second term as President, John Carpenter's They Live serves as a Carpenter's frustrations towards the former's policies. Granted, the 1980s were already a stressful and angry time but Carpenter was especially frustrated. (He still is all these years later.)

It wasn't just Reagnomics that Carpenter was pissed off at. As shown throughout They Live, he got annoyed at the mass (and crass) commercialism of the era. In anyone else's hands, the conveying of that frustration would've been clumsy and heavy-handed; Carpenter makes his irritation very clear.

Worrying still is that nearly forty years later, They Live is just as relevant as ever. With the internet and social media becoming present in everyday life, it makes the movie's message of hidden conspiracies all the more unsettling. (Fiction becoming fact...)

They Live shows that sometimes history is regularly doomed to repeat itself. The original offenders may be long gone but their actions still linger. But as also shown here, all it takes is someone seeing the awful truth to spark both a change and a revolution.

My Rating: ****1/2

Bubba Ho-Tep

There's no denying that Don Coscarelli's Bubba Ho-Tep has an...unusual premise. Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy fighting off a mummy in the retirement home they're stuck in. But that premise alone makes you want to check it out, yes?

Coscarelli's roster of regulars in Bubba Ho-Tep is led by Bruce Campbell (as Elvis) and Ossie Davis (as Kennedy -- yes, it makes just as much sense in context). And boy, are they a riot. Campbell is clearly having a blast in his role while Davis (who passed away a few years after this) is much the same. Just goes to show a decent script goes a long way.

Speaking of which, there's something to be said about the script of Bubba Ho-Tep. Based on Joe R. Lansdale's novella, Coscarelli's script shows that a spark of imagination and creativity goes a long way. Because, honestly, who else comes up with such a premise and delivers on it? (Well, besides, Lansdale and Coscarelli, of course.)

But don't think that Bubba Ho-Tep is all laughs. It also shines a light on the price of fame, past regrets, and the cost of aging. If someone tried to add all of this on top of its premise, it'd be written off as too convoluted and overwrought. But Coscarelli keeps it poignant.

Bubba Ho-Tep isn't for everyone but if you're looking for some good entertainment, this is for you. With Campbell and Davis being a hoot together, that alone should warrant a look. (And again, the script's decent.)

My Rating: ****

The Thing from Another World

For years, there has been speculation that Christian Nyby's The Thing from Another World wasn't directed by Nyby but rather by producer Howard Hawks. Yes, Hawks' fingerprints are all over the dialogue (he was an uncredited writer) but bear in mind that Nyby had edited several of Hawks' movies; it's more than likely it merely rubbed off on Nyby.

Obviously, The Thing from Another World is starkly different from John Carpenter's remake thirty-one years later. Whereas the latter sees trust (and the cast) getting torn to shreds, the earlier film is your standard '50s monster picture. That said, it's a good watch all the same.

In comparison to other sci-fi titles of the era, The Thing from Another World doesn't serve as a Cold War/Red Scare allegory. Again, it's a straightforward monster movie, simple as that. It may be a B picture but even those have their merits.

Speaking of which, the practical effects of The Thing from Another World are, well, out of this world. From the titular thing (played by a pre-Gunsmoke James Arness) to the various pyrotechnics, it's a display that B movies don't skimp on where it matters.

The Thing from Another World shows that a simple premise can go a long way. And while it doesn't measure up to Carpenter's take, it still showcases a daringness regularly seen at that time. (And yes, Nyby directed this, not Hawks.)

My Rating: ****

The Stepfather

There's a great establishing shot early in Joseph Ruben's The Stepfather that helps set up what the viewer is getting into. After freshening up from murdering his family, Henry Morrison (Terry O'Quinn) descends the stairs -- and into the bloodshed he inflicted. Right from the get-go, we get the mood.

Fast-forward a year, and Henry -- now using the name Jerry Blake -- has remarried into a new family. But his stepdaughter Stephanie (Jill Schoelen) is wary of him. Are Stephanie's fears unwarranted or is there something lurking behind closed doors?

Some may not know this but The Stepfather was loosely based on the John List case. (List, however, would not be apprehended for another two years.) Admittedly, this plays more into the slasher movies of the time but the details of the List case make for a decent backstory in such a movie. Fact is stranger than fiction, after all...

It's also obvious that The Stepfather is a vehicle for O'Quinn and he alone but boy, what a vehicle for him. With a quirk of his lips or a raised eyebrow, he conveys more than a line of dialogue ever could. Only good actors can do that, especially in horror.

The Stepfather is admittedly standard '80s slasher fare but it's good standard '80s slasher fare. It differs in that usually the slasher in question isn't as cunning and calculating as Jerry Blake (and we should be grateful as such). But there are such people in real life -- so be aware (and beware).

My Rating: ****