True Romance

You gotta love it when certain names in Hollywood have a very distinctive style. It makes them recognizable.

Now Quentin Tarantino has possibly the most distinct style in Hollywood in the last twenty years. Even during the opening credits of Tony Scott's True Romance (which he scripted), his style is just oozing out. Though because Tarantino wasn't the director of the film, his manic filmmaking is visibly absent. Thankfully Scott keeps the script's insanity intact.

The way Christian Slater (who, let's be honest, is playing Tarantino) and Patricia Arquette play Clarence and Alabama isn't exactly like Romeo and Juliet or Bonnie and Clyde. To be honest, their relationship is more Sid and Nancy than anything else. Not in the sense that they're self destructive, but rather they're an unlikely couple who happened to cross paths one day.

And like most films whose origins come from the depths of Tarantino's possibly disturbed mind, the supporting cast is fantastic. Among the names are Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt and James Gandolfini. Each provide an interesting light to their characters, Oldman and Pitt especially.

True Romance has to be the most insane film in existence. (Or at least at the moment.) Scott's slick directing keeps it from getting too insane, even though said insanity seeps out pretty easily. Still, I personally look forward to future re-watches.

My Rating: ****1/2

The Hunger

With Tony Scott's sudden and shocking death this past Sunday, we lost  a true visionary. I'll admit I haven't seen any of his films prior to his demise (I'm more versed with his brother Ridley), but I knew I had to see some of his work sooner or later.

For starters, I opted for his debut The Hunger. Perhaps not the strongest of Scott's overall work, but it does provide amusement for the most part. (Some might interested in an infamous sequence between the two leading ladies.)

Who else but Scott would cast French beauty Catherine Deneuve and British music star David Bowie as chic vampires? (No one, that's who.) It seems fitting since both of them have ethereal looks. I mean, who could portray something so sinister and seductive as well as them?

Storywise, the film crumples pretty quickly. From a visual standpoint, it's a masterpiece. It may look like footage from a fashion shoot in some scenes, but I think that was intended by Scott. (At least that's what I read.) Boy, if most films could look this slick, that'd be super.

The Hunger in toll is amusing in some scenes but not particularly memorable in the long run. Deneuve and Bowie just radiate pure cool. So do certain scenes, especially that killer opener. But all in all, it's all right.

My Rating: ****