WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS (the 1980s)

The Fly (1986)
Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz.
Written by Charles Edward Pogue & David Cronenberg.
Directed by David Cronenberg.

Teleportation. It’s what scientist Seth Brundle (Goldblum) believes will change the course of mankind. And he’s probably right. But before he can unleash the technology onto the world - being unsatisfied with teleporting inanimate objects - he decides to zap himself through his teleportation “pods” in his funky downtown warehouse and inadvertently traps a common house fly inside during the process. Having recombined his molecular structure with that of the fly, he begins a slow metamorphosis into a hideous hybrid – all to the horror of a young writer (Davis) who has been detailing the experiments. At times a black comedy, it is doubtful that an actor other than Jeff Goldblum could have inhabited the character of “Brundlefly” so completely and elevated The Fly to the heights at which it resides (though he is given excellent support from the memorably sleazy John Getz). Director David Cronenberg’s claustrophobic updating of the 1958 film of the same name features the kind of raw, tactile gore that 80s horror was all about, creating an unnerving experience. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

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Robocop (1987)
Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Ronny Cox, Miguel Ferrer & Dan O’Herlihy.
Written by Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner.
Directed by Paul Verhoeven.

In Detroit in the not too distant future (which, in 1987, would mean about now), things suck. The city is overflowing with crime and corruption, but Omni Consumer Products believe they have the answer to cleaning up the streets. His name is Robocop, a former police officer named Murphy who was viciously gunned down by some nasty thugs, pronounced dead and then reassembled as a robotic crime-fighting force. But there’s a bit of Murphy left inside the organic and metallic frame of this lumbering protector, and that remnant of his former life wants to deal out some bloody justice to the bastards who slew him. In the beginning, the studios apparently (and understandably) baulked at giving the green light to a project called Robocop. But to their surprise, the film was a hit. Combining a sardonic wit with some bad-ass 80s violence, Robocop managed to overcome its seemingly inane title and produce the kind of adolescent fun that many teenage boys and young men crave. Full of colourful performances and a genuine self-assessing humour, Robocop epitomises all that is worthy about escapist entertainment. And I’d buy that for a dollar!

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The Shining (1980)
Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd & Scatman Crothers.
Written & Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick.

The Overlook Hotel is no place to spend a winter. Jack Torrance (Nicholson) is unfortunately not aware of the imposing doom of the isolated resort, and accepts a job as winter caretaker believing the solitude will help him finish that novel he’s been meaning to write. Accompanying Jack is his wife Wendy (Duvall) and their young son Danny (Lloyd) who exhibits a psychic ability known as “shining”. As the ghostly inhabitants of the hotel begin to reveal themselves to Danny and his father, it becomes clear that Jack is required as a permanent resident of the hotel - the entry pass being the murder of his wife and son. Stanley Kubrick’s film cannot hold a candle to the Stephen King novel on which it is based yet it exists as a separate entity in its own right. Ignoring entire tracts of the novel, Kubrick instead focussed on imagery and his typical theme of dehumanisation. Garnering a fanatical cult status and featuring one of the most incredible locations ever put to film, The Shining is often ambiguous and confusing, but at the same time, a visual treat whose imagery has never been equalled.

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RATINGS CHART...

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If you want to watch any trailers/scenes from films reviewed by Wadrick, visit the GritHouse – the GritFX YouTube Channel – and check out Wadrick's Playlist.

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS

Milk (2008)
Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, Alison Pill & Victor Garber.
Written by Dustin Lance Black.
Directed by Gus Van Sant.

As a disillusioned forty year-old, Harvey Milk (Penn) meets the love of his life Scott (Franco) in a New York subway and the two head for San Francisco. Settling on Castro Street in Eureka Valley and somewhat transforming his working-class neighbourhood, Milk soon decides to run for a position on the city council, hoping to bring to light the discrimination at the time of homosexuals across the country. Following the turbulent years of Harvey Milk’s life in San Francisco until his assassination by resentful conservative councilman Dan White (Brolin) in 1984, Milk is a wonderful film full of pathos and humour. Penn is truly extraordinary as the flamboyant yet gracious title character (“Penn-sational!” to quote my buddy Faystar from the ISeeFilms blog), given excellent support from the entire cast blessed with an Oscar-winning script by Dustin Lance Black. With compassion and flair, director Gus Van Sant has fashioned the best film of his career since his breakthrough masterpiece Drugstore Cowboy, utilising his singular style to full effect.

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Right At Your Door (2006)
Mary McCormack, Rory Cochrane, Scott Noyd Jr, Max Kasch.
Written & Directed by Chris Gorak.

A dirty bomb explodes one morning in downtown Los Angeles. Listening to the unfolding events on the radio is a frantic Brad (Cochrane), whose wife Lexi (McCormack) set off to work sometime earlier headed for the now blast area. With martial law imposed and electricity and communications down, Brad begins to seal his house with the help of a stranger seeking refuge, as the toxic cloud of ash begins to move into the suburbs. When Lexi appears hours later, sick and screaming to be let inside her own home, Brad is faced with the unconscionable decision to quarantine his wife outside, and wait for help from the authorities which eventually does not seem forthcoming. Lauded at the Sundance Film Festival a few years back, this well-made and acted low-budget film is still lacking the qualities that could have made it great. It never achieves the tension that it would obviously like from a story laden with such possibilities, and retires into a rhythm that borders on stiff. Even with a taut and unexpected final act, Right At Your Door ultimately remains a disappointingly lacklustre experience.

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1408 (2007)
John Cusack, Samuel L Jackson, Mary McCormack, Tony Shalhoub.
Written by Matt Greenburg, Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski.
Directed by Mikael Hafstrom.

Mike Enslin (Cusack) is a jaded writer of haunted house guides who receives a mysterious postcard warning him not to stay in the infamous room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel, New York. After being told that the room is perpetually “unavailable”, he enlists the help of his publisher and their attorney and arrangements are made for his stay. Upon arrival, Mike is taken aside by the hotel manager (Jackson) who warns him of the supernatural history of the room (no guest comes out alive!) and implores him to reverse his decision. Thinking the entire scenario is an elaborate ruse Mike soon learns a whole new meaning for the term “late checkout”. Based on a Stephen King short story (always the best choices for the author’s screen adaptations), this well-mounted film benefits from a reliably strong performance from Cusack and some genuine scares. Production design and direction are solid, however, the film loses momentum once it has established its modus operandi and somewhat limps along to its conclusion. Like a hotel room with a great bed but a weak shower, the flaws of 1408 still cannot diminish its enjoyment. Worthwhile.

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RATINGS CHART...

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If you want to watch any trailers/scenes from films reviewed by Wadrick, visit the GritHouse – the GritFX YouTube Channel – and check out Wadrick's Playlist.

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS

Zodiac (2007)
Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr, Anthony Edwards, Chloe Sevigny, Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, Brian Cox, John Carroll Lynch & Dermot Mulroney.
Written by James Vanderbilt.
Directed by David Fincher.

He was known as the Zodiac – a psychopath who terrorised San Francisco with a spate of murders beginning in the late 1960s. He sent coded messages and taunting letters to police and to the Chronicle newspaper. And he was never caught. From the outset, the case attracted the attention of a young Chronicle cartoonist named Robert Graysmith, and he spent many obsessive years poring over case files eventually penning a best-selling book. Graysmith declared he had cracked the unsolved case, naming the man he believed responsible for the killings. Based on Graysmith’s book, David Finchers’ long and at times difficult film is nonetheless a visually beautiful piece of work. Detailing (and I mean detailing) the exhaustive investigation and the effect on those involved, Zodiac weaves a serpentine story with an astounding nuance. The cast, production design and direction are all first class, with Fincher providing perhaps his most stylistically impressive film to date. This is, however, an acquired taste, but one of those films that gets better with each subsequent viewing.

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Sunshine (2007)
Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong & Mark Strong.
Written by Alex Garland.
Directed by Danny Boyle.

Near-classic sci-fi about a small crew of astronauts charged with delivering a nuclear payload to our dying Sun. When they receive a radio transmission emanating from the idle craft of a failed earlier mission, their decision to investigate and what they discover threatens to sabotage mankind’s only chance of survival. Production details are one of the key elements of this film, providing a consistently believable (if fictional) account of life on a spacecraft. The first half of the film expertly introduces its characters and their environment, allowing the audience to identify and become emotionally involved. This is all thanks to the excellent script from Alex Garland and the dramatic skills of Sunshine’s talented cast. The visual effects are some of the most impressive ever created for a film since the advent of CGI, enhancing the story with subtle power in the deliberate manner of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Director Danny Boyle’s often creeping camera affords instant comparisons to Ridley Scott’s 70’s classic Alien, and I would be seriously in error to not also mention the terrific score by John Murphy & Underworld. In all, Sunshine is a work of art, existing in a genre that rarely offers such treats.

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Michael Clayton (2007)
George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Merritt Weaver, Robert Prescott, Terry Serpico & Sydney Pollack.
Written & Directed by Tony Gilroy.

Arthur Edens (Wilkinson) is the leading defence attorney in a major civil suit being brought against United Northfield - a multinational agricultural corporation. When he suffers a breakdown (crisis of conscience) during a deposition, his New York law firm sends their fixer Michael Clayton (Clooney) to render damage control. When a memo surfaces that threatens to unravel the case, and not content with Clayton’s assurances regarding Arthur’s mental state, U-North’s sycophantic lead council Karen Crowder (Swinton) murderously decides to deal with the matter herself. Michael Clayton is a magnificent film – dark, smart and complex. This impressive directing debut from Tony Gilroy is a no-holds-barred examination of the corruption of the powerful juxtaposed with the indelible morality of the righteous. Clooney, Wilkinson and Swinton (she won an Oscar for her performance) are tremendous in meaty roles and are afforded excellent support from the entire cast. Slick, tense and written with clarity and a poison pen, Michael Clayton is one of the finest American dramas of this decade.

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RATINGS CHART...

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If you want to watch any trailers/scenes from films reviewed by Wadrick, visit the GritHouse – the GritFX YouTube Channel – and check out Wadrick's Playlist.

WADRICK’S THIRTY SECOND FILM REVIEWS (the 1960s)

Before we get started, I’ll let you know that my ratings system has changed. Damned ratings! Why do I bother? Is it because I cannot articulate how much I enjoyed or disliked a film that I need a rating to confirm my opinion? Or does it simply stem from a youth of writing reviews of each film I happened to see in a cheap, weathered notebook, accompanied by an “out-of-ten” rating? Just an old habit…?

Whatever the reason, on reflection, I had far too much going on with my reviews on this blog. I mean, what was the difference between 4 stars (previously known as “Awesome Shit” – and whilst we are here, I hate the word “awesome” – why do I use it?) and 5 stars (“Instant Classic”)? If a film can be classified as ‘awesome’ (ie: inspires awe), wouldn’t that then be a ‘classic’? Yeah, I know…it’s confusing. So, it’s all been changed. Simplified. Hopefully for the best.

OK…let’s head back to the swingin’ sixties.

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Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Mia Farrow, John Cassavettes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans & Ralph Bellamy.
Written & Directed by Roman Polanski.

Cinema doesn’t get much creepier than Rosemary’s Baby. It’s hard to believe that this film is 40 years old, for in those four decades it has lost none of its insidious power. The success of the film lies firstly in the excellent source material, that being the novel of the same name by Ira Levin; secondly in a superb cast led by the eternally cool John Cassavettes and the marvellous character actor Ruth Gordon (from Harold & Maude); and lastly in the genius of writer/director Roman Polanski. The late 1960s through the early 1970s saw Polanksi at the pinnacle of his directing prowess, producing such excellent work as The Fearless Vampire Killers, The Tenant, and my personal favourite Repulsion – films that he never was quite able to best in his later career. Rosemary’s Baby is undoubtedly his finest achievement, telling the wicked tale of Rosemary (Farrow) and her husband Guy (Cassavettes) who are drawn into a satanic coven when they move into a seriously gothic apartment building in New York. Rosemary soon begins to suspect that, contrary to the placations of all those around her, the infant she carries is not the product of her marital union. This chilling and demonic film is the penultimate exercise in how to create dread on screen without sacrificing respect for its audience.

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They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)
Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Gig Young, Susannah York, Bruce Dern, Bonnie Bedelia & Red Buttons.
Written by Robert E. Thompson & James Poe.
Directed by Sydney Pollack.

In Depression-era America, a desperate group of individuals descend on Santa Monica pier to take part in a dance marathon, drawn by the promise of food and shelter and an increasingly unattainable grand prize. As they ‘dance’ for hour upon hour, day upon day, providing morbid ‘entertainment’ for a listless audience, their interactions and personal tales of sorrow and despair provide a microcosm of life not confined to the era they represent. When the exploitation of the competitors is finally revealed to a cynical young woman named Gloria (Fonda) by the slimy promoter of the contest (the incomparable Gig Young, who won an Oscar for his role here), salvation and redemption slip further away. This wholly unique film, taken from the 1935 novel by Horace McCoy, is grand storytelling, featuring a swag of wrenching performances from its ensemble cast. The great director Sydney Pollack masterfully weaves a disturbing tale set almost entirely within the dance hall itself, as his camera swirls across the floor in a sweat-inducing waltz that reduces the audience member to merely another contestant in the competition. This is shattering stuff, the kind of film that comes along once in a decade and remains a seminal work of its time.

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2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Keir Dullea, William Sylvester, Gary Lockwood, Douglas Rain (voice of HAL).
Written by Arthur C. Clarke & Stanley Kubrick.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick.

So how does one begin to describe 2001: A Space Odyssey? There is simply no film that compares to this masterpiece by director Stanley Kubrick, and arguably more than any other piece of cinema has had untold influence on future generations of filmmakers. It has been parodied countless times for better or worse, and has astounded and confounded audiences since its release four decades ago. For there are only two outposts in the 2001 universe, and no fence separating them on which to sit. Either there is hatred and confusion shown towards its deadening pace and psychedelic finale, or pure adulation of its mind-bending concepts and beautiful visual architecture (even if that is coupled with a small dose of confusion as to what it all really means). The film traces the technological evolution of mankind, coinciding with the appearance to man of an alien monolith. When one such artefact is discovered on the moon and a subsequent radio transmission received from somewhere in the vicinity of Jupiter, two astronauts embark on a journey to find the source. However, their mission is severely compromised when the artificial intelligence on board their craft attempts to subvert their purpose. Based on The Sentinel by author Arthur C. Clarke, this truly one-of-a-kind film is best served with a tab of LSD, or, failing that, an open mind.

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RATINGS CHART...

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If you want to watch any trailers/scenes from films reviewed by Wadrick, visit the GritHouse – the GritFX YouTube Channel – and check out Wadrick's Playlist.

Wad’s Movie Shouts

I See Films
Hugh Jackman and X-Men Origins: Wolverine are the subjects of the latest review by freelance writer and friend of GritFX Adam “The Faystar” Fay at I See Films (So You Don’t Have To). Now don’t expect Faystar to actually let you in on what the films he discusses are all about. His frequently hilarious, opinionated ‘reviews’ veer toward critique of the people involved and Hollywood in general rather than to any standard, run-of-the-mill film review (like, um, Wadrick’s Thirty Second Film Reviews…). So if you happen to be a film fanatic like Faystar (and myself), you’d do well to visit I See Films.

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Movie Guys
Quentin Tarantino fans are waiting with pistols cocked for the release of the director’s latest film, Inglourious Basterds – a Second World War epic concerning a bunch of Yanks assigned to instill fear into the Germans by viciously executing Nazi soldiers (or something like that). The film stars Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger and apparently Mike Myers! Very cool promotional posters for the film have been released and Jon over at Movie Guys has been sharing them with readers – below is one featuring Eli Roth (best known as director of Hostel) looking murderously hip. To see all the posters - visit Movie Guys. While you’re there, check out the latest info on upcoming films including the trailer for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. And remember, they’re not critics, they’re movie guys!




by Wadrick Jones

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon (Redux)

Time to play again – this post was due over a week ago. Let me just start by asking is it me, or is this year flying past?

Jim (affectionately self-titled as The Movie Whore) left a comment on this blog a few weeks back regarding Jason Mewes, best known as Jay to Kevin Smith’s Silent Bob. Jim and his buddy had discovered how easy it was to link Mewes to Hollywood names in the tradition of the great Kevin Bacon. Which begs the question as to why I don’t change this game to Six Degrees of Jason Mewes…?

Anyway, linking Mewes to the big Bacon was quite easy – perhaps proving Jim’s theory. Mewes appeared in Kevin Smith’s Dogma with Matt Damon; Damon starred in The Legend of Bagger Vance with Charlize Theron; and the gorgeous Charlize had a role in Trapped with the fried Bacon (mmmm!).



Of course, if anyone can link these two in fewer moves, let me know. Suggestions for future Six Degrees posts here on the GritBLOG are also most welcome.

by Wadrick Jones

Check out Kevin Bacon's charity website based on the "six degrees" concept at:
SixDegrees.org

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon (Redux)

Last week I tackled the Ashley Judd suggestion from GritFX girl Manz. This week, it’s a two-part Bacon-thon, with the first suggestion – Zac Efron - coming from Rosidah (check out her blog Music of my Life). I thought this was gonna be a tough one, but thanks to Zac’s appearance in 2007’s Hairspray, it proved not too difficult after all.

Zac Efron was in Hairspray with Michelle Pfeiffer; Ms Pfeiffer starred in The Witches Of Eastwick with Jack Nicholson; Jack had that memorable performance in A Few Good Men alongside the Baconmeister.


The second name to link to Bacon via six degrees came from Russ (check out his excellent photography at Russ’ Photo Blog), who made the seemingly unrelated suggestion of eccentric physicist Richard Feynman. It turned out (to my surprise) that Feynman had actually appeared in a 1980 film called Anti-Clock. And so, from there, the game was on.

Richard Feynman was in Anti-Clock with a guy named Sebastian Saville; Saville appeared in one other film before this, Libel with Wilfred Hyde-White; Wilfred Hyde-White was in The Toy with Richard Pryor; Richard Pryor appeared in Lost Highway with Balthazar Getty; Balthazar was a cast member of Where The Day Takes You with Sean Astin; Sean Astin was in White Water Summer with the Bacon.


And that’s exactly six degrees. Thanks for that one Russ – a nice challenge.

Of course, if anyone can link these suggestions in fewer moves, let me know. Suggestions for future Six Degrees posts here on the GritBLOG are also most welcome.

by Wadrick Jones

Check out Kevin Bacon's charity website based on the "six degrees" concept at:
SixDegrees.org

Next Week: Jason Mewes

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon (Redux)

So let’s play. Everyone knows this game – it became a phenomenon – even if you’re not a movie fan. The gist is that Kevin Bacon can be linked to any actor or actress in Hollywood through the philosophy of “six degrees of separation”, which maintains that everyone on the planet is one step away from each person they know, and two steps away from each person known by one of the people they know. At the most, we are all six steps away from everyone on the planet. I’m not sure I believe this to be true, but it has been proven time and again that it sure does apply to Kevin Bacon (although better examples of actors/actresses in the movie biz have been proven). So I’ll attempt to go as far as I can linking mainstream and obscure actors and actresses to the Bacon.

This week’s starting point (provided by GritFX guru Manz) is Ashley Judd, star of such films as Kiss The Girls and the recent Bug. Obviously, the point is to link Ms Judd to Bacon in as few steps as possible and to not exceed six steps (or degrees). And frankly Manz, this is an easy one…

Ashley Judd was in Double Jeopardy with Tommy Lee Jones; Tommy Lee was in JFK with the Bacon.


Anyone one out there who wishes to provide me with a starting point (the more obscure actor/actress the better), leave your suggestions in the comments box.

See you all next week.

by Wadrick Jones

Check out Kevin Bacon's charity website based on the "six degrees" concept at:
SixDegrees.org

The Battle of Los Angeles

On the night of February 24th and 25th, 1942, several unidentified flying objects were spotted in the skies above southern California, prompting an artillery assault from the US armed forces. Many explanations were put forth regarding the event, both from civilians and the military, and the ‘Battle’ has gained much attention in the circles of Ufologists. For no object was hit by the barrage of artillery and many reported that objects simply disappeared after the event – clear indication to some that the objects seen on that night were nothing short of alien craft.

On the 24th, naval intelligence warned that an attack on US soil could be expected within hours. Around ten o’clock that night, the warning was lifted, but in the early hours of the 25th, radar picked up an unidentified ‘target’ approximately 120 miles west of Los Angeles. Anti-aircraft batteries were alerted and the unidentified craft was tracked to within a few miles of the coast where it subsequently vanished. Nearing 3am on February 25th, a coast artillery colonel spotted “about 25 planes at 12,000 feet” over Los Angeles. Four anti-aircraft batteries opened fire and the airspace above Los Angeles “erupted like a volcano”.

From here, reports of the incident vary widely. Great numbers of planes in the air were reportedly observed that night – anywhere from one to several hundred were seen, ranging in altitude and speed. The mysterious craft dropped no bombs and despite reports that four were shot down, no evidence of this was forthcoming. Hollywood residents perched themselves on rooftops and hills to watch the fiery parade of UFO’s and exploding shells. The only damage sustained to the city came from some shell fragments and car accidents, initiated by a military-enforced blackout. One citizen reportedly died of heart failure amidst the excitement – the first real taste of the drama of the Second World War for most Americans.

At a press conference on the 25th, Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox explained that the incident was a false alarm and there was no evidence supporting the presence of enemy planes. For it was not initially stated by anyone that the observed craft were alien in nature. The most common belief was that the craft were either commercial airlines or Japanese planes - the fact that no bombs were dropped signified a reconnaissance mission. The Army waited a day to issue any statements, interviewing witnesses to the event and eventually arriving at the aforementioned conclusions. After the war however, the Japanese insisted that no planes had been anywhere in the vicinity of Los Angeles on the night in question.

The actions of the military were put on trial in the media with reporters expressing concern at the lack of a satisfying response to the event. If no craft were actually present and it were a case of the jitters, the confidence in the actions of military personnel was extremely troubling. If the craft were indeed flying as low as 9,000 feet (as was reported by some), why were the aircraft batteries so ineffective? And moreover, why were no American planes sent to engage the objects even though they were put on alert? The question posed was what would the response have been if the incident were not a false alarm? Was this the kind of incompetence the public could expect?

These simple facts regarding the “Battle of Los Angeles” have been the source of much speculation from those researching the global UFO phenomenon. The vanishing objects, the lack of damage or downed craft and the supposed cover-up by the military have all lent credence in the eyes of the UFO community to the version of events relating to alien visitation. There is no denying that an event took place in the skies above Los Angeles in 1942, but its explanation could be as far from the aroused speculation as the distance covered by visiting alien life-forms.

by Max Drake
(Freelance writer and artist for GritFX.)