Mystery Men.

Review #2568: Mystery Men.

Cast: 

Ben Stiller (Roy / Mr. Furious), Hank Azaria (Jeffery / Blue Raja), William H. Macy (Eddie / Shoveler), Greg Kinnear (Lance Hunt / Captain Amazing), Kel Mitchell (Invisible Boy), Paul Reubens (Spleen), Janeane Garofalo (Carol / Bowler), Wes Studi (The Sphinx), Claire Forlani (Monica), Geoffrey Rush (Casanova Frankenstein), Lena Olin (Dr. Anabel Leek), Eddie Izzard (Tony P.), Tom Waits (Doc Heller), Artie Lange (Big Red), Louise Lasser (Violet), and Ricky Jay (Vic Weems) Directed by Kinka Usher.

Review: 

"But that’s the nature of filmmaking. Sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes you just have to go with what you get and just hope it doesn’t make that much of a difference.”

I'm not really sure when I first heard of this movie, to be honest with you. Maybe it was the silly title or seeing a trailer of it on one of those "hey, this is on DVD too" things. But time comes for all things, so screw it, why not this one? Obviously, this had to be based off a comic book, although it is a bit more interesting than the usual source material. It all started with Bob Burden, who wrote and drew a comic called Flaming Carrot Comics that had a guest star with the Mysterymen, a group of "other guys" that consisted of many oddballs such as, well, The Shoveler, Spleen, Mr. Furious, you get the idea (as for the Carrot, well, he had a utility belt, a really strong pogo stick and weapon, and whatever "Zen Stupidity" is). Burden wrote over 30 issues from 1984 to 2006 that had various publishers from Aardvark-Vanaheim to Dark Horse Comics to Image. His work attracted the attention of Lawrence Gordon and Universal Pictures and eventually came into fruition with a first-time director as rejections from filmmakers such as Danny DeVito and Ben Stiller. Kinka Usher had been born in France (to a dance teacher mom and graphic designer dad) before breaking into the film industry in his twenties, which included, and I'm sure this is a surprise, work as a cameraman on a Roger Corman production. He became a director in commercials for various companies and kept on directing them* after this film came and went. Neil Cuthbert (a co-writer on The Return of Swamp Thing [1989] and Hocus Pocus [1993] and future writer of The Adventures of Pluto Nash [2002]) is the credited writer of the film, which had various re-writes that mainly dealt with people wanting to personalize their parts; Burden was even present on set for a few of those days. August 6, 1999 had plenty of cool options for theater releases: this movie, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Iron Giant, The Sixth Sense (and, to be generous, Dick came out two days earlier and the wider release for Blair Witch Project came right before August), with some of those movies becoming successes and some, well, being flops. The movie made less than half of its $68 million budget back and was not exactly a critical darling. 

This is a movie that yearns to be loved by an appreciative crowd, one that knows of the campy weirdness of comic book movies of yesteryear such as say, Batman and Robin (1997) or the current crop of offbeat failures such as Madame Web (2024). Some movies have a chump in the midst of their movie, Mystery Men is basically an entire team of chumps, the kind of folks who basically all represent the many facets of misfits you would see in school for two hours. It's a jumbled mess that will feel like a long bout of twaddle to those who don't like what its selling or will feel like a dream for those who love ridiculous little movies with noted names and the time capsule of good ol' 1999 that has serious-minded people in a silly world that gives them one shot to be on top when the corporate suck-sorry, corporate superhero can't save the city for once. Stiller tries to play it both ways: the bravado of actually trying to ragebait himself into being an actual person that is sometimes interesting. I could take it or leave it with the interactions spent between him and Forlani (who among us has an interest in striking up conversations with the waitress again and again), though. Macy and his can-do attitude of plugging away as a would-be hero is probably the most interesting of the leads because of his charm in the face of what could've easily just been a sad schlub but instead is likable enough to see him try to rise above the crop of mediocrity. I get the joke with Azaria and the attempt at doing a British accent of the highest camp order and also think taking a fork to the throat would be preferable to hearing his bit again, which actually makes hearing the long-winded fart joke of Reubens (who among us wouldn't want to be in a movie basically playing a slob?) tolerable. Kinnear is vastly needed more in his ridiculous mannerisms as a hero who can't exactly handle being "too good" at their job, particularly since Rush is supposed to match him as the main threat of mischief and can only help but pop up every now and then. Garofalo, Mitchell, and a randomly appearing Studi round it out with varying levels of interest (namely with Garofalo). You've got folks who have plugged away (shovels, jobs, you pick one) for years at something only to get silent stares, people who have been overlooked long enough to think they are invisible, folks who put on an accent/act to try and sound normal, folks who have to be rattled to even feel something (strength is one thing, some people actually willingly look at stuff that will get them mad Online) ...and then you've got folks talking in riddles, throwing balls and, well, farting. If taken seriously, it flails around with flab that will foil less patient folks while those who know what they're getting in a "hit or miss" goofy type of comedy will surely find something worth liking with these misfits and their freewheeling of the usual ensemble of would-be heroes and the offbeat ambition and neurosis in all of us.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day! 

Next up: A familiar face with little to say but plenty to do.

*Evidently, there exists an urban legend that Tim Burton actually directed the movie. I cannot imagine a urban legend more absurd. What's next, thinking that Steven Spielberg directed Poltergeist? 

*I swear, this was completely coincidental to review the movie around its 27th anniversary. Also, for fun, enjoy a making of video: Mystery Men Featurette - Spotlight on Location - Interviews With The Cast | 1999

Heat (1995).

Review #2491: Heat.

Cast: 

Al Pacino (LAPD Robbery Homicide Lieutenant Vincent Hanna), Robert De Niro (Neil McCauley), Val Kilmer (Chris Shiherlis), Jon Voight (Nate), Tom Sizemore (Michael Cheritto), Diane Venora (Justine Hanna), Amy Brenneman (Eady), Ashley Judd (Charlene Shiherlis), Mykelti Williamson (Sergeant Bobby Drucker), Wes Studi (Detective Sammy Casals), Ted Levine (Detective Mike Bosko), Dennis Haysbert (Don Breedan), William Fichtner (Roger Van Zant), Natalie Portman (Lauren Gustafson), Tom Noonan (Kelso), Niki Haris (Marcia Drucker), Kevin Gage (Waingro), Hank Azaria (Alan Marciano), Danny Trejo (Gilbert Trejo), Susan Traylor (Elaine Cheritto), Kim Staunton (Lillian), Henry Rollins (Hugh Benny), and Jerry Trimble (Detective Danny Schwartz) 

Written and Directed by Michael Mann (#1531 - Ali, #1631 - The Last of the Mohicans, #1713 - Manhunter, #2091 - Miami Vice, #2325 - Collateral)

Review: 

"I charted the film out like a 2 hr 45 min piece of music, so I'd know where to be smooth, where not to be smooth, where to be staccato, where to use a pulse like a heartbeat."

It helps to know the story a bit, admittedly. Once upon a time, a Chicago detective named Chuck Adamson kept tabs on the crew of one Neil McCauley, an ex-inmate of Alcatraz that one time saw the two end up meeting for a cup of coffee. Adamson later became a producer and screenwriter himself (where he co-created Crime Story, a show Mann was the executive producer on from 1986-1988). What interested him was the professionalism that Adamson respected in McCauley even with the recognized fact that one of them probably would kill the other. Mann had first written a draft in 1978 but he trimmed it down when NBC approached him to do a TV show. The result (filmed in less than a month) was L.A. Takedown (starring Scott Plank), a TV film that aired in 1989 that the network rejected because they didn't like the lead actor. But a few years later, with a few more moves under his belt, Mann set out to do the movie he wanted to do at last, complete with having Al Pacino and Robert De Niro being in the same movie (a relatively big deal for the time for a film that, well, has them meet twice) and one that was shot in Los Angeles that used nearly a hundred locations around the city for 100+ days of filming. Released on December 15, 1995, the film was a relative success with audiences (particularly abroad). Apparently, actual robbers took inspiration from the movie in later years to go along with video games such as Grand Theft Auto and directors such as Christopher Nolan.* In 2022, Heat 2, a novel written by Mann and Meg Gardiner was released that was both a prequel and sequel to the movie. A feature film adaptation is currently under development that may start filming in 2026.

What we have here is a movie full of intensity in the great game of choices, personal codes and the consequences that can have an effect on a wide range of people. It's a wonderful epic in the sprawling confines of a frontier that is intimidating as it is lonely. It's as much a neo-noir as it arguably is also a Western in its own respect, one that looks upon the nature of obsession and the sacrifices one makes to burnish that fire and live on the edge. A good chunk of the characters that we see throughout the near-three hour run time all have illusions about who they are vs. what really lies beneath the surface of their work, one in which it isn't so easy to just turn it off just because it's time to go home now, whether that involves cops that can't exactly tell their spouses about recently murdered people or men who believe themselves to be alone in their process or even those trying to dig their way out besides being an "ex-con". Simply put, the juice comes and goes but the work will be playing everywhere until the Earth is nothing but dust. Apparently, there was a scene that showed Pacino's character chip a bit of cocaine before it was cut out of the film. At any rate, high-strung user or not, I don't see anything wrong with where Pacino is going with such a fascinating role because, well, volatile is volatile (besides, "overacting" is only a bad thing when one wants to pick at things - the scene interrogating Azaria is delightful more than just "ham"). He handles it with such gusto that you understand pretty quickly how one can hate the sight of a horrible crime (dead hookers, robberies, you get it) and yet have the juice to want to crack it. Regardless of if one had a person like Venora or Portman in their orbit, there are just some people that need the chase because the pursuit of justice is just as addicting as the pursuit of a good score. De Niro matches that with his own type of worthwhile energy, a brooding man who values success at his craft because there is nothing better in his worldview even if he is confined by a code that might as well be a prison (such as how he lives or the ever-changing cars). One can only try to fool themselves with thoughts of being with Brenneman but really what matters to him is fulfilling his obligation to this mythic code of no excuses (and no second chances for violators) and trust for certain folks only. Pacino and De Niro basically are yin and yang in the knowing sense of "whatever it takes". It is just as well to see Kilmer and others fill the tapestry of obsession that wants to believe they are in control of their own lives in responsibility, whether that involves the disciplined (and still fallible as a character) Kilmer or the cut-rate Sizemore or even tragic side figures such as Haysbert that remind you that nothing is easy to escape. The robbery sequence obviously is the highlight of the film in its slam-bang execution of loud devastation that works to clockwork in seeing where one will go in realizing the full process of the job, right down to the eventual climax in wordless (but impactful for what is seen) resolution*. As a whole, Heat is a long burn not so much about a heist but about the people that toil in the work of people at a variety of angles that crisscross with each other in sacrifice and foibles to worthwhile staccato execution. It's a hell of a movie to see turn 30 years old.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

*Apparently, the way that Kilmer reloads his weapon during the famous shootout scene is apparently a thing that professionals tell others to aspire to do in real life.

*Honestly, it is a bit weird but not a dealbreaker at what happens to (the Kilmer character in how he just...escapes). 

Street Fighter.

Review #2329: Street Fighter.

Cast: 

Jean-Claude Van Damme (Colonel William F. Guile), Raul Julia (M. Bison), Ming-Na Wen (Chun-Li Zang), Damian Chapa (Ken Masters), Kylie Minogue (Cammy White), Simon Callow (A.N. Official), Byron Mann (Ryu Hoshi), Roshan Seth (Dr. Dhalsim), Andrew Bryniarski (Zangief), Grand L. Bush (Gerald Balrog), Robert Mammone (Carlos Blanka), Miguel A. Núñez Jr. (Dee Jay), Gregg Rainwater (T. Hawk), Kenya Sawada (Captain Sawada), Jay Tavare (Vega), Peter Tuiasosopo (E. Honda), and Wes Studi (Victor Sagat) Written and Directed by Steven E. de Souza.

Review: 

I'm sure plenty of you have at least played the video game of the same name, as originally directed by Takashi Nishiyama and designed by Hiroshi Matsumoto for release in arcades by Capcom that took inspiration from a wide variety of sources such as Enter the Dragon and various shōnen manga and anime. The release of the sequel in 1991 launched the series into the stratosphere. It did not become a surprise to see a film spring into development, one that would see Capcom serve as a co-financier and a mandate by them for a December 1994 release date that basically meant a fast production rundown. They managed to hire someone who actually liked the games with Steven E. de Souza, who envisioned his idea to do a cross between Star Wars, James Bond and a war movie that wouldn't have too many elements from the games. The Philadelphia native had gone from story editing shows like The Six Million Dollar Man to screenwriting movies such as Commando (1985) and co-writing the first two Die Hard films but had directed just one movie before: Arnold's Wrecking Co. (1973), a little-seen pot comedy. As it turned out, this would be his last film as a director. Van Damme and Julia were cast fairly quickly (the former was an actor Capcom had pictured as playing Guile for quite some time) but the rest of the actors would be comprised of unknowns (the casting of Minogue came about because Souza happened to see her on a magazine about "beautiful people" and he needed an Australian). When the filmmakers realized the extent of Julia's condition, in which he was suffering from cancer, the decision was made to shoot the intensive action scenes that did not require the actor while they got him to regain body mass, which essentially meant actors would train for their action scenes with barely any time to spare before filming., since, well, they also had to meet a strict deadline for December 1994. Troubles with the MPAA occurred where trying to go down from an R to PG-13 somehow almost resulted in a G rating with the cuts (amusingly, Capcom had decided to go into partnership with Hasbro when it came to toy-line production making shaped the film in a "G.I. Joe way"). Interestingly, it would not be the first Street Fighter movie released, as an anime adaptation of the second game, called Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, would be released in Japan in August of 1994 with some countries also getting a theater release. While the live-action movie did have some pull with audiences, no sequel would follow despite its attempted sequel-bait. The only other Fighter film that has come out in theaters was The Legend of Chun-Li in 2009.

What a marvelous mess. The uneven nature of a movie that slogs through 102 minutes with the feeling of rushed slop is painfully apparent by the time one is even halfway through a film that can't quite find a suitable center to really get things interesting with such a miserable ensemble. The fight scenes are mediocre at best and the movie only manages to draw the smallest of interest in actually wondering just how source material like people fighting in the streets could be turned into a movie that the 1980s would've spit out for being too familiar (at least Bison Bucks is semi original?). Van Damme had a problem with certain substances to collide with a big ego during production of this film. Capcom may have thought he looked like a good Guile, but man, he really has nothing to show for it with this performance, which is bereft of general charm (unless you count ridiculous lines about balls) or impressive ass-kicking. Trying or not, he has never been so, um, funny. Even crappy movies have some interest to generate in committed actors playing the adversary, and Julia basically approaches it as if Bison was on the level of a Shakespearian figure. He accepted the role because his kids liked the games, and if that's not a good reason to have a go at something, well, think what you want. Julia died after suffering a stroke in October of 1994 after finishing production on this film. Lost in the shuffle is Mann and Chapa, who don't have much to make a suitable pair despite the obvious attempts at trying to get a good rapport. To say nothing of note about Minogue and Wen is a pretty sad thing. With lines handled with bombast such as say, "of COURSE!", you may or may not get some amusement from the camp crap that comes through in a movie that shoots itself in the foot early (one can only take so many character in-and-outs before you give up trying to follow) and never recovers. In general, the three decades that have followed its release has seen a fair share of stellar and not-so stellar entertainment based on gaming that goes to show that even the best laid plans can go down south with dubious execution such as this one.

Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 stars.

The Last of the Mohicans.

Review #1631: The Last of the Mohicans.

Cast: 

Daniel Day-Lewis (Nathaniel "Hawkeye" Poe), Madeleine Stowe (Cora Munro), Russell Means (Chingachgook), Eric Schweig (Uncas), Jodhi May (Alice Munro), Steven Waddington (Major Duncan Heyward), Wes Studi (Magua), Maurice Roëves (Colonel Edmund Munro), Patrice Chéreau (General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm), Edward Blatchford (Jack Winthrop), Terry Kinney (John Cameron), Tracey Ellis (Alexandra Cameron), and Justin M. Rice (James Cameron) Directed by Michael Mann (#1531 - Ali)

Review: 

“The idea for The Last of the Mohicans came to me because I’d seen the film written by Philip Dunne when I was 3. I realized 40 years later that it had been rattling around in my brain ever since, that it was a part of me, a very important part. I just hadn’t been consciously aware of it up to that point. I also thought: there hasn’t really been an exciting epic, period film in a long, long time."

Sometimes you can't help but awe at someone's attempts at reshaping the frontier in terms of a period piece. The film is an adaptation of The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757, written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It was the second of five novels written by Cooper involving the frontiersmen Natty Bumppo, known by numerous nicknames to settlers and natives alike, one of which being "Hawkeye" - this was also chronologically the second in the series (referred to as the Leatherstocking Tales) that had adventures that spanned from 1740 to 1804 that was inspired by the real-life exploits of figures such as Daniel Boone (the capture and rescue of his daughter Jemina was fictionalized into an episode in his book) - he had his share of praise and criticism (most notably with Mark Twain, who mocked his excess), but that novel is generally referred to as his masterpiece work. There were a few previous adaptations of the stories to film, most notably with the 1936 adaptation in The Last of the Mohicans, featuring Randolph Scott as Hawkeye that was written by Philip Dunne - Dunne is credited for his screenplay in this film (right after Cooper), and each film had their clear differences to the book; a look into the details of the book when compared to the film reveals a few key differences, such as Hawkeye actually being older in the film, alongside additions and omissions such as a focus on settlers and their struggle with conscription alongside other moments spent away from the main group (such as focusing on the romance of Hawkeye and Cora rather than Cora with Uncas).

Here, we have a film where the authority of ritual become loosened and challenged by the wilderness. It has the look and gravitas needed in capturing the magic that other frontier films (shall we say Unconquered (1947), for example) that makes for a fairly useful attempt at making reactionary drama come alive for what is needed for the 1990s. It was shot in North Carolina with no expense spared to make a frontier adventure in the wilderness that had a committed Day-Lewis (in terms of actually living in the wilderness for a few months prior to shooting), a runtime of 112-117 minutes that is generally available in a revised cut (Mann had to trim it down from a planned three hours and tinkered with the film for DVD release - the 112 was the original, while the director's expanded version runs at 117) and a budget of $40 million. On the whole, it is a pretty good looking movie (as shot by Dante Spinotti in the second of films with Mann as cinematographer), one that aims for sweeping passion and excitement in the 18th century without being tied down to complete accuracy that tries to strike at the heart of forging forward in a new land with Mann's aesthetic for vivid entertainment that sticks with one for quite a while after seeing it. In a plethora of urban dramas that characterized Mann's previous work (this is his fourth feature film), one in which he wanted to do a current perspective on a complex time with intensity.

In this case, Day-Lewis certianly captures the task needed for such an earthy role. It is one that demands a resourceful actor that can play to romance and adventure needed in a film presenting a clear tapestry of athmosphere. The preparation done by Day-Lewis plays a part in how he does his performance, but it is also the striking eyes that play the key aid in how he balances his standing in where he is in when it comes to converging cultures. It is as if he reflects the soil of the frontier, reactive in what is needed. Stowe reflects the other side of frontier pursuit, an independent streak with grace that pairs quite well in romance (or the opposite feeling with Waddington) without getting lost in the land or with the action. Means and Schweig play their parts with reasoned solumn efforts despite not having as much dialogue - but they sure do help when it comes to the climax, where dialogue isn't needed to much to depict swift tension. Waddington reflects the stubborn spirit of the British well enough, one that moves by what seems proper and what seems to be needed in the wilderness. Studi plays maleficence with rightful emphasis, one that burrows his descent with edge that we can see in anyone as interested in seeing the perspective of preservation within revenge. At any rate, what we have here is an interesting piece between two genres, one that fits in the mold of adventure like a matinee film from decades ago but with the modern style and perspective that comes with the territory of forging a fresh film that takes inspiration from paintings of that era for a dazzling look to go with those weapons of the time to make a compelling narrative come alive. It plays with facts to make a useful time seem all the more interesting, and it has sat well within Mann's line of work after nearly three decades.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Hostiles.

Review #1048: Hostiles.

Cast: 
Christian Bale (Captain Joseph J. Blocker), Rosamund Pike (Rosalie Quaid), Wes Studi (Yellow Hawk), Ben Foster (Sergeant Charles Wills), Stephen Lang (Colonel Abraham Biggs), Rory Cochrane (1st Sergeant Thomas Metz), Jesse Plemons (Lieutenant Rudy Kidder), Timothée Chalamet (Private Philippe DeJardin), Jonathan Majors (Corporal Henry Woodson), Adam Beach (Black Hawk), and Q'orianka Kilcher (Elk Woman) Directed by Scott Cooper.

Review: 
Admittedly, it is interesting watch a Western like this in our day and age, one that is brutal but fair in its approach that ultimately feels like a solid winner. The film (which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September of last year before going into limited release in December and general release on January 26th) is based off an manuscript from the late screenwriter Donald E. Stewart, who had written for numerous films such as Missing (1982) and The Hunt for Red October (1990 - #080), among others. Undeniably, the most appealing aspect of the film is Bale, who delivers a tremendous performance. There is just something about the way that he commands the movie and shows numerous layers within his character that makes for a hauntingly good role. That's not to say that the other actors don't go a great job, with Pike and Studi also standing out in their own ways. Pike manages to interact with the harrowing world that she is thrust into with the right sense of emotion and timing. Studi also provides a fine performance, managing to complement Bale and his character with his own actions that he conveys in a convincing manner. Notably, a good part of the film features the speaking of dialogue through the Cheyenne language, which comes off as satisfactory to the film's benefit. The other actors do their parts well enough, particularly Cochrane, who plays the weary solider in the film rather convincingly. Another highlight of the movie is its look, with cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi doing a fine job in capturing the locations utilized in the movie that give a crisp but useful feel. This is a redemption story through and through, and it manages to capture a feel of the Old West without feeling too hollow. The narrative isn't always the most consistent, but the parts that are manage to ring true enough, with the 133 minute run-time being forgivable. I'd recommend it, particularly if you are a fan of the genre and want something that is harsh but also arguably beautiful as well.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.