To Live and Die in L.A.

Review #1477:  To Live and Die in L.A.

Cast:
William Petersen (Richard Chance), Willem Dafoe (Eric "Rick" Masters), John Pankow (John Vukovich), Debra Feuer (Bianca Torres), John Turturro (Carl Cody), Darlanne Fluegel (Ruth Lanier), Dean Stockwell (Bob Grimes), Steve James (Jeff Rice), Robert Downey Sr. (Thomas Bateman), Michael Greene (Jimmy Hart), and Jack Hoar (Jack) Directed by William Friedkin (#037 - The Exorcist and #1438 - The French Connection)

Review: 
"The greatest thing that ever happened to me in terms of my acting was the audition for To Live and Die in L.A. After I read, William Friedkin put down the script and said, "You got the part". I really thought it was a joke. I went back to my hotel room and took a bath and they called and wanted to make a deal. I still didn't believe it."

"Weirdness is not my game. I'm just a square boy from Wisconsin."

My, my, my, what a cast. It may not have had the most prominent cast upon first release 35 years ago, but time has been more friendly to this film more than most when it comes to its staying power that is drawn from its primary cast. It wasn't his most profitable film of the decade for him (that was the controversial Cruising in 1980), but it definitely has found a place for itself as a fine piece in Friedkin's body of work. It was the first breakthrough in film in terms of starring roles for both Petersen and Pankow (since Friedkin wanted unknowns and was making a cheap film), who each had been known primarily on the stage and would both find key roles on television in subsequent years. Dafoe was a founding member of the Wooster Group, an experimental theater company in New York formed in 1980 (after five years of evolving from The Performance Group) before he jumped into film in the 1980s with films such as The Loveless (1982), Streets of Fire (1984), and Roadhouse 66 (1985), and this proved a breakthrough for the actor.

It was adapted from the novel of the same name that had been written by Gerald Petievich, an agent in the U.S. Secret Service (the organization was originally created to deal with counterfeit currency), with a mix of Friedkin and Petievich scenes being woven in (the former added scenes such as the car chase and the opening scene while the latter wrote parts of dialogue) - regardless of who may have done more or less, both were credited with the screenplay (supposedly this led to a lawsuit from Michael Mann for seeming similar to Miami Vice). Tough, wiry, and not afraid to show itself with professionalism, this proves to be a worthwhile and efficient experience as a triumph for its main cast alongside Friedkin as an film laced with energy and thrills within a 116-minute run-time that captures a captivating atmosphere of tension and capability with a Wang Chung soundtrack to draw things together. It isn't surprising to see how clear it all looks when it comes to conviction, since they actually hired a real counterfeiter on set alongside real authorities in Petievich and an LA cop in Jack Hoar (who each make small appearances in the film). Petersen and Pankow make for an interesting pair together, always on the edge with the pursuit but also with each other as well, with the former being fascinating in his hot dog brashness and the latter being a fair audience surrogate. Dafoe proves a gripping adversary, calm but entertaining in brazen nature without needing to be so prominent to make it count. Others follow along in capability to fit its neo-noir edges, such as an elusive Feuer or a curious Turturro and a stealthily slimy Stockwell. The car chase scene is pretty well-handled, staging its trek through live traffic with fine finesse from a director who already had one great chase in him to begin with. I enjoy the film's resilient nature to making a procedural with a pursuit worth viewing with plenty of murky characters twisting in the wind on both sides of the law that has a resounding and daring climax. There is quite enough hustle and bustle in a rough but sharp procedural with a good cast and Friedkin at the helm to make a solid movie worth viewing at least once as a film on the edge.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Eyes of Laura Mars.

Review #1457: Eyes of Laura Mars.

Cast: 
Faye Dunaway (Laura Mars), Tommy Lee Jones (Lieutenant John Neville), Brad Dourif (Tommy Ludlow), René Auberjonois (Donald Phelps), Raúl Juliá (Michael Reisler), Frank Adonis (Sal Volpe), Lisa Taylor (Michelle), and Darlanne Fluegel (Lulu) Directed by Irvin Kershner (#002 - RoboCop 2, #114 - The Empire Strikes Back, and #595 - Never Say Never Again)

Review:
"The thing what you learn in directing is that no matter how complex the shooting, you have to remain sensitive to the people around you or the machine will ultimately take over. If you don't keep in mind the essential humanity of it all, technique will dominate."

This is a film where you can think about what could have been in different hands. John Carpenter had originally written a spec script called "Eyes", which attracted producer-distributor Jack H. Harris (collaborator on Dark Star) to potentially make a film with Roberta Collins as the lead. However, Jon Peters soon caught wind of the script and found it intriguing to potentially do with his then-partner Barbra Streisand as the lead. She ended up not doing the film because of its violent nature (Dunaway being there instead of Streisand is the better choice at least), but she did end up doing the title song for the film. In any case, the film would have script re-writes by David Zelag Goodman (co-writer of Straw Dogs and Logan's Run); Carpenter later described the whole thing as an unpleasant experience, although he would obtain lasting success with Halloween (1978) just two months after the release of his film. Even the director picked wasn't the initial choice: Lindsay Anderson and Michael Miller both passed on the project before Irvin Kershner signed on. Kershner had plenty of study in music and art before becoming a director. He studied at the Tyler School of Fine Arts, the Art Center College of Design, and finally at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, where he taught photography and took cinema courses. A subsequent still photographer job at the State Department led to further opportunities around the world before he returned back to the United States, where he would start work in television in 1955. He made his feature debut with Stakeout on Dope Street (1958) which happened to be financed by Roger Corman, and this happened to be his 12th film in a fifteen film and 32 year career (who stated that while he believed the initial idea of the film, he did not believe the requirements put on him during production).

One can certainly give plenty of credit to the selection of the cast for this film, which has five tremendous presences headlined by Dunaway, who was quite popular at the time for her dedicated performances in films such as Chinatown (1974) and Network (1976). The one paired with her is Jones, who had cultivated his career in the 1970s with film and television (such as with One Life to Live and Jackson County Jail). If I told you there was a film with tremendous character presence in Dourif, Auberjonois, and Julia, one might really seem like you are in for a really great thrill. Technically one will get a thrill out of the film, but maybe not as much as it really could have been. We are talking about a film that has a character who gets real-time visions of a person who is taking out her friends and colleagues one by one through their eyes, after all (the reason for why she suddenly has these visions are not explained, probably for good reason since I imagine they didn't have a good idea either). It certainly seems promising, since the provocative set-ups for the fashion shoots are inspired by the works of Helmut Newton; there is no bad performance among the core five, either. It just so happens that the film doesn't really have that much mystery going on to it, where eccentricity and style seem to rule the day over making a mystery that seems out of Night Gallery (at least the mediocre episodes, anyway) than anything. It has been argued to be an American version of the giallo genre (Italian films with mystery elements in thriller-horror), although I imagine that if I actually had been familiar with giallo films that this would only seem a pale imitator. Dunaway balances out with dedication and vulnerability that keeps one on their toes for good reason, with a few moments of terror mixed in with a sudden romance with the capably straight-laced Jones. Auberjonois has a few campy moments that seem worthwhile, and Dourif is quite capable in being evasive without being too obvious about it (Julia however doesn't have as much time for ridiculousness). For 104 minutes, we have just four possible people that really could be the killer, and for some it may very well be obvious who it is by the halfway mark, so the only real interest is to see where it may go with its climax. And...it doesn't stick at all. Naturally, the killer just happens to sprinkle a few words before they go to attack the lead about why they are doing it (multiple personalities wasn't my first guess either), and then they haphazardly try to lumber at Dunaway before he tells her to kill him if she loves him. Honestly, I don't know to what to think with this film in a positive light, there just isn't anything here to really make me care about goes on with a premise so obvious and yet so empty in really scaring or captivating anyone that isn't just here for style or casting. I can why some may go for it and see through the flaws to make a cult classic, but for me I just see a half-baked misfire that takes its cast for a house of mediocre mysteries that isn't worth the trouble.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Battle Beyond the Stars.

Review #819: Battle Beyond the Stars.

Cast

Richard Thomas (Shad), Robert Vaughn (Gelt), John Saxon (Sador), George Peppard (Space Cowboy), Darlanne Fluegel (Nanelia), Sybil Danning (Saint-Exmin), Sam Jaffe (Dr. Hephaestus), Jeff Corey (Zed), Morgan Woodward (Cayman of the Lambda Zone), Marta Kristen (Lux), Lynn Carlin (Nell), Earl Boen (Nestor 1), and John Gowens (Nestor 2) Directed by Jimmy T. Murakami.

Review

It's no coincidence that I decided to pick this on July 7th. Roger Corman was behind the production of what was intended as "The Magnificent Seven (itself a remake of Seven Samurai) in outer space", with Robert Vaughn (one of the original Seven) even appearing as one of the mercenaries. Fun fact: George Peppard had apparently been considered for The Magnificent Seven (#427), but Yul Brynner was chosen as the lead instead. James Cameron did the special effects (such as the models) for the film, which are relatively decent for a B-movie like this. Battle Beyond the Stars devotes a good deal of its run-time to the recruitment to save the planet Akira, finally getting around to a battle between the two around an hour in a movie that just lasts over 100 minutes. When it does get to the action, Battle Beyond the Stars is certainly entertaining enough, appealing to anyone willing to overlook the cheesiness of it all, much like with Starcrash (#755), though this film is arguably better in quality. The cast is certainly interesting to watch; Thomas is a decent lead, though he does take some time to get used to. Vaughn (in the brief time he appears in) is interesting to watch, playing essentially the same role as he did in Magnificent Seven. Saxon (who merely wanted to live forever) is quirky enough as the villain, though he really doesn't get enough screen-time, apart from the end. Peppard is a fun enough kind of cowboy, with a few effective one-liners in him. Obviously the story and feel of the film is a bit familiar, but it has enough ridiculous aspects of cheese and charm to work on at least some level, depending on the kind of mood / preference one is up for. 

Apologies for the delay, internet troubles.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.