Tag Archives: crime

#264-Beverly Hills Cop

Quick Recap: Eddie Murphy plays Axel Foley, a Detroit cop looking for answers to his friend’s murder in upscale Beverly Hills. Are there hijinks? Buddy, you won’t BELIEVE the amount of hijinks this movie has.

giphy.gif

HIJINKS

Fun (?) fact: Sylvester Stallone was originally chosen as Axel Foley but dropped out when he couldn’t successfully negotiate what kind of orange juice would be kept in his trailer (according to legend).

vlcsnap-2013-09-23-21h18m58s131.png

Where there’s Balki, there are hijinks

My thoughts: Is it possible that Beverly Hills Cop is the most 1980s movie ever made? Let’s check the facts:

  • various people casually dressed up as Michael Jackson
  • music is heavily played on a synthesizer
  • a black man puts a banana in a tailpipe and his only consequence is a look of sadness from the two white officers
  • Eddie Murphy

I think if you were to throw in some neon, a few catch phrases and Kenny Loggins this would win.

With 100%  certainty, Eddie Murphy is the reason this movie is so memorable. The plot about a guy looking to find his best friend’s killer is dark but also just general enough to allow Murphy to do his thing. Many of the scenes felt more like I was watching a stand up special than a movie. ( When white people go to a hotel they act like this, but when black people go to a hotel, they do this!) It’s not a bad thing, but it did make the movie seem a little disjointed at times. I also never really bought that Murphy’s character really cared about his friend. They were only together for a few minutes onscreen so I was never really invested in him. Everything just felt like a set up to another joke, which, although they were usually funny and I’ll never turn down a chance to see Judge Reinhold humiliated, the whole schtick gets old.

Nevertheless, it’s a breezy movie and if it was on basic cable on a Saturday afternoon, I would probably sit down to watch it again, if only because of Balki.

PERFECT-STRANGERS_article_story_large

Final review: 3/5

Up next: The Big Lebowski

1 Comment

#262-Touch of evil

Quick recap: Charlton Heston plays a Mexican officer who gets caught up in a whole bunch of stuff: kidnapping, murder, theft, corruption and lots of jaywalking.

TouchOfEvil1

Also starring Orson Welles, who has a little more than a ‘touch’ of evil going on

Fun (?) fact: Oscar winner Mercedes McCambridge is only in the film because she was having dinner with Welles. He gave her a leather jacket, cut her hair himself and gave her the line, ‘I wanna watch’.

Touch Of Evil 624

My thoughts: I think I might be suffering from Film-Noir Fatigue. Not that I’ve seen a bunch yet (there’s a LONG list), but in my mind most of them have formed a gelatinous blob of murder, mayhem and sexy dames. I really wanted to like this film, mainly because of Orson Welles, but at the end of the day, it just seemed like one more movie that fits the theme- no more, no less.

I’m going to back up a bit because it seems like I hated the movie and I really didn’t. Orson Welles in a fat suit doing an impression of Trump? Charlton Heston playing a Mexican official despite not looking hispanic at all? Marijuana benders? There’s actually a lot of camp in this movie, now that I think about it. But also some seriously good scenes, like the beginning where the camera tracks a car as it heads through the US Mexico border and then blows up. That was neat. And I also enjoyed all of the scenes with Janet Leigh because even I can’t resist a sexy dame in trouble.

But there was a lot that just didn’t work for me. The weird, creepy night manager was such an odd choice to add to the film. I guess the point was the he was scared of his drug lord boss but his odd mannerisms overshadowed everything. And the Grandi boys on a weed bender also struck me as more funny than tragic. The real beef I had with the film, however, was the plot. It was hard to follow and I’m still not sure how everything adds up. I got that Hank Quinlan was a super horrible guy who put a lot of innocent people in prison, but that seems like the sort of thing people would find out about soon enough. Add in the drug lord stuff and the car exploding and it just seems more like a cautionary tale for Charlton Heston’s character about too much on his plate.

Final review: 3/5

Up next: Trainspotting

 

 

Leave a comment

#261- Pink Flamingos

Quick recap: Divine is in a battle against Raymond and Connie Marble to keep her title of ‘Filthiest Person Alive’.

6a0133ed4a0a3a970b0133ed52b5d1970b

one of the few shots I’m willing to post on here.

Fun (?) fact: I’m never eating eggs again!

giphy

Let’s instead remember much happier times

My thoughts: The hell?

Okay, but really, WHAT did I just watch? Unspeakable acts with chickens, abundant nudity, and eating real dog poop, apparently. I’m stuck in a conflict between being absolutely shocked at what I sat through but also knowing that was John Water’s point so he’s getting the result he was going for by me freaking out. On the other hand, SHE ATE REAL DOG POOP. I try to be as open minded as I can, but this was just too much. Do you know how much I used to love eggs?? Sunny side up, scrambled, hard-boiled, it didn’t matter. After Pink Flamingos, I can never look at one again without gagging.

I feel obligated to at least point out that in the most messed up way possible, this movie has heart. I can’t believe I’m saying this after all that I saw, but it was (almost) heartwarming to see all the friends and family who supported Divine and were willing to do anything for her, even if it meant committing murder. There were some legitimately funny things in this movie because that’s how shock entertainment goes and I especially loved John Waters as the narrator. There was a fun, campy aspect to the whole thing and it looked as if everyone genuinely enjoyed their time making the movie. So, there’s that.

dgg

You and me, both, couch.

Final review: 2/5. Should you watch Pink Flamingos? Sure! Knock yourself out and then throw out all of your eggs just like I have done.

Up next: Touch of Evil

 

1 Comment

#260- Rashomon

Quick recap: Three men discuss a recent murder and realize no one’s story can be trusted.

01

He played unhinged perfectly, especially when he hissed

Fun (?) fact: Director Akira Kurosawa had trouble capturing the rain in the background so he added black ink to the rain machine.

tumblr_mxd720rzJf1qlh9eeo1_500

My thoughts: If you look at most modern trials, especially the high profile ones, it’s always extremely hard to prove what really happened. Even with a ton of evidence and a signed confession, that doesn’t always mean the defendant is guilty, or if he is guilty, has a really good lawyer that convinces the jury otherwise. This refusal for anyone to own up to anything makes for good entertainment, although it doesn’t necessarily make for good justice. Rashomon presents a unique case where everyone owns up to a murder, but no one tells the truth about who really did it, proving that things don’t really change.

6kvYFgz

It’s German for ‘The bart, The’

Rashomon is a complicated film, even by today’s standards. The camera work, the frequent flashbacks, the conflicting stories all come together to make something fascinating and beautiful. The main theme (I think) is that human beings naturally suck and shouldn’t be believed or trusted. There’s a murdered man and everyone has his own interests at heart: The bandit, the wife, the murdered man himself, and the Woodcutter who saw it all. All stories are believable until questioned and then the process begins again with a new version. For me, the most complicated issue was the wife who claims she was raped. My initial reaction was that even if she enjoyed it, of course it’s still rape. Not even a question. But the bandit and husband disagreed and were quick to label her a whore, someone who will forever be damaged. It was very frustrating to watch, especially considering the recent conversations about assault that have come up because of the Stanford case. In the end, the Woodcutter settles the discrepancy by saying that yes the woman was raped but she also wanted out of her marriage and this was her escape, no matter how horrible the end result. For a movie made in 1950, it made me consider viewpoints I hadn’t entertained before.

Though I’m still not sure I trust the Woodcutter’s version of events, I appreciate that for all his hypocrisy, he is still a redeemable character. It showed me that although there is plenty of evil in this world, many bad things that happen occur because of selfishness and misguided acts. It’s important to remember that there is good, even when it feels like no one is being honest.

tumblr_n5wzbvzRtt1rm3u4ao1_400

Final review: 5/5

Up next: Pink Flamingos

Leave a comment