Review: Original "HOUSE PARTY" is Still Letting the Mutha Burn

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 of 2023 (No. 1892) by Leroy Douresseaux

House Party (1990)

Running time:  104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)

MPAA – R

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Reginald Hudlin

PRODUCER:  Warrington Hudlin

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Peter Deming (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Earl Watson

COMPOSERS: Marcus Miller and Lenny White

COMEDY/MUSIC

Starring:  “Kid 'n Play”: Christopher “Kid” Reid and Christopher “Play” Martin; Robin Harris, Martin Lawrence; “Full Force”: “Paul Anthony” George, Lucien “Bow-Legged Lou” George, Jr., and Brian “B-Fine” George; Tisha Campbell, A.J. Johnson; “Grove B. Chill: Gene “Groove” Allen and Daryl “Chill” Mitchell; Kelly Jo Minter, John Witherspoon, BeBe Drake, Clifton Powell, J. Jay Saunders, Barry Diamond, Michael Pniewski, and George Clinton

House Party is a 1990 comedy film from writer-director Reginald Hudlin.  The film stars the then popular hip duo, “Kid 'n Play,” and is based on Hudlin's 1983 student short film, which he made while attending Harvard University.  House Party focuses on music, romance, and the unpredictable at school night house party.

House Party also features supporting performances by three members of “Full Force,” a hip hop and R&B musical group known for singing, songwriting, and producing.  There are also two members of the hip hop duo, “Groove B. Chill,” and a cameo by noted funk musician, George Clinton.  The film also stars the late comedian Robin Harras (1953-90), who died nine days after the film's release.

House Party introduces aspiring rapper, Christopher Robinson, Jr. a.ka. “Kid” (Christopher “Kid” Reid).  He is looking forward to a house party thrown by one of his best friends, Peter Martin a.k.a “Play”(Christopher “Play” Martin).  However, while at high school, Kid has a lunchroom altercation with a bully, Stab (“Paul Anthony” George), and his two associates, Pee-Wee (Lucien “Bow-Legged Lou” George, Jr.) and Zilla (Brian “B-Fine” George).

Kid goes home and convinces his father, Christopher Robinson, Sr. a.k.a. “Pops” (Robin Harris), to let him attend the party, although it is on a school night.  After he receives a note from Kid's school about the lunchroom fight, Pops forbids Kid from attending the party as punishment.  Kid sneaks out and attends the party anyway, but his father isn't the only one he has to avoid.  Stab and the boys are ready to deliver a beat-down as soon as they find Kid.  Will Kid avoid his tormentors long enough to enjoy the party?  Which girl will Kid choose:  Sydney (Tisha Campbell) or Sharane (A.J. Johnson)?  Will Play stop annoying Bilal (Martin Lawrence), the DJ at his party?  And who will win the battle of rhymes – Kid or Play?

The National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress recently made House Party one of its 2022 selections to the  “National Film Registry.”  Films that make the registry are considered to be “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

House Party certainly fits that description, perhaps on all levels.  House Party was the first African-American teen comedy to receive mainstream success, both theatrically and in home entertainment.  As a “hood movie” (a film set in an inner city, predominantly African-American neighborhood), it shares elements with other other hood films:  police harassment, school violence, “the projects,” single-parent homes, working class homes, poverty, etc.  However, House Party is straight comedy, and what other “hood movies” treat as high drama or as teary melodrama, House Party plays for humor.  For instance, the character Sharane is “from the projects,” but she lives in an apartment in a nicely appointed Section 8 complex with her quiet, extended family.  Also, the two white police officers that vex Kid and Stab, Pee-Wee and Zilla are mostly harmless, although the film does suggest that they do physically abuse some of the characters off-camera.

Despite the fact that the film was released almost 33 years ago and was likely filmed almost 34 years ago, House Party still seems fresh.  Perhaps, that is because the film is filled with authentic examples of the African-American pop culture of the time.  The fashions, hairstyles, dancing, music, and dialogue are more treasures (sans the edginess) from a time capsule than than they are remnants from a bygone era.

This recent viewing was the first time in about 30 years that I had watched the film in its entirety, and I discovered that I still love the cast today as much as I did then.  Some, like Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, and Darryl “Chill” Mitchell, have had long careers in television.  Others, like Kid 'n Play, left their heyday behind decades ago, which is a shame.  As “Kid 'n Play,” Christopher “Kid” Reid and Christopher “Play” Martin were personable and had excellent chemistry together.  I think media companies never really tapped into their potential as media stars.  It is also a little sad to wonder what would have been with Robin Harris in regards to the House Party sequels.

At that time, however, the entire cast came together and worked like a well-oiled machine.  House Party's infectious and exuberant soundtrack provides the perfect backdrop to writer-director Reginald Hudlin's lighthearted, but energetic comic romp.  The plot is fairly routine, but the execution is what makes this film really work.  Maybe, what makes House Party “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” is that it was and still is a fresh look at Black teens who party hard and squabble often without anyone getting a cap popped in his or her ass.  House Party still seems unique, and I can attest that it is still a blast to watch.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, January 12, 2023

NOTES:

2022 National Film Preservation Board:  1 win:  “National Film Registry”

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Original Teenage Mutanta Ninja Turtles Film is Still Fun

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Running time:  93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR:  Steve Barron
WRITERS:  Todd W. Langen and  Bobby Herbeck; from a story by Bobby Herbeck (based on characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird)
PRODUCERS:  David Chan, Kim Dawson, and Simon Fields
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  John Fenner (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  William D. Gordean, Sally Menke, and James R. Symons
COMPOSER:  John Du Prez

MARTIAL ARTS/FANTASY/ACTION/COMEDY

Starring:  Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, Jay Patterson, Michael Turney, Raymond Serra, Sam Rockwell, James Saito, Toshishiro Obata, David Forman, Leif Tilden, Michelan Sisti, and the voices of Corey Feldman, Josh Pais, Brian Tochi, Robbie Rist, David McCharen, Michael McConnohie, and Kevin Clash

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 martial arts fantasy and action-comedy film from director Steve Barron.  The film is based on the media franchise, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (also known as the “Ninja Turtles” or by the abbreviation, “TMNT”), which began with a black and white comic book created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and first published in 1984.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the film focuses on a quartet of anthropomorphic ninja turtles and a TV news reporter, as they battle a ninja criminal gang.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles opens in New York City (late 80s or early 90s).  The city is in the midst of a crime wave of pick-pockets, burglaries, and general thievery.  Rumors abound that the thieves are mostly young children and teenagers, perhaps connected to something called the “Foot Clan,” which apparently originated in Japan.  This is according to April O'Neil (Judith Hoag), a television news reporter at station WTRL – Channel 3.

In fact, O'Neil comes across some of these very same thieves ransacking a news van, and they promptly attack her.  A mysterious band of warrior rescues April, introducing her to a world under the streets and in the sewers of the city.  April's rescuers are four anthropomorphic turtles; these mutated, man-turtles walk and talk, and, like other teenagers, they love pizza.  They are also ninja warriors, according to their mentor and surrogate father, Splinter (Kevin Clash), a mutated, anthropomorphic rat who is also a master of the ninja arts.

Now, April and these four teenaged mutant ninja turtles:  Raphael (Josh Pais), Michelangelo (Robbie Rist), Donatello (Corey Feldman) and Leonardo (Brian Tochi) unite to unravel the secrets of the city's crime wave.  Street vigilante, Casey Jones (Elias Koteas), joins them, but will all of them be enough to stop The Foot and its leader, The Shredder.

1990s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the first movie in a franchise that would yield a total of three films.  Years later, Warner Bros. Pictures would release a computer-animated TMNT film, also entitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2007), which I still have not seen.  In fact, I had not seen a TMNT movie since the second film, which was released in 1991.

With the release of Paramount Picture's reboot of the franchise, also entitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, earlier this past summer (2014), I decided to revisit the 1990 film.  I vaguely remember liking it then.  I was surprised to find that I actually liked it after recently watching it again.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990 is quaint, but irresistibly cute and likeable.  Everything about is 1980s cheesy:  the sets, the clothes, the music, the attitude, and the Turtles' dialogue.  It's as if every teen movie, good or bad, was strained of its slang and lingo to create the dialogue for these teenage mutant ninja turtles.  The entire movie also looks like it was shot in the ghostly, abandoned sets of 1980s break-dancing movies.

Still, if you like the Ninja Turtles, it is hard not to like this movie.  Back in 1990, I did like the Ninja Turtles, so I liked their hit movie debut.  A quarter-century later, I find that I still like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990.  I might even find myself watching it again.

5 of 10
B-

Tuesday, December 30, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "The Hunt for Red October" Still a Goodie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2014) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Running time:  134 minutes (2 hour, 14 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for some intense action/violence and language
DIRECTOR:  John McTiernan
WRITERS:  Larry Ferguson and Donald Stewart (based on the novel by Tom Clancy)
PRODUCER:  Mace Neufeld
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jan De Bont (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Dennis Virkler and John Wright
COMPOSER:  Basil Poledouris
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/ESPIONAGE/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:   Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, Richard Jordan, Peter Firth, Tim Curry, Courtney B. Vance, Stellan Skarsgard, Jeffrey Jones, Fred Dalton Thompson, Daniel Davis, Gates McFadden, and James Earl Jones

Advertisements for the upcoming film, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, tout it as the return of the Tom Clancy thriller to the big screen.  That little bit of hard-selling made me want to see the first Tom Clancy thriller to hit movie theatres, again.

The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 naval thriller and action movie from director John McTiernan.  The film is based on The Hunt for Red October, a novel by the late author Tom Clancy that was first published in 1984.  The Hunt for Red October the movie focuses on a rogue Soviet submarine captain and the young CIA analyst who is trying to figure out his every move.

The Hunt for Red October opens in 1984 in the USSR and introduces Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery).  He commands the Red October, a ballistic missile submarine that is virtually undetectable.  The ship’s first mission is to be part of USSR war game exercises, but early in the mission, the Red October disappears.

In the United States, a young CIA analyst, Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin), gets an assignment from Vice Admiral James Greer (James Earl Jones), CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence.  Ryan must discover Ramius’ intentions before a war breaks out between the Americans and the Russians over the missing Red October.  Is Ramius trying to defect, or to start a war?

Tom Clancy’s intrepid CIA agent, Jack Ryan, makes his first big screen appearance in The Hunt for Red October.  Actor Harrison Ford would play the character in 1992’s Patriot Games and 2004’s Clear and Present Danger.  Ben Affleck would play Ryan in The Sum of All Fears (2002), which I have not seen as of this writing.  Clear and Present Danger is one of my all-time favorite movies, and honestly, I can’t say if I like Baldwin or Ford more as Ryan, because both are among my favorite actors.

The Hunt for Red October is not a great movie, but it is greatly entertaining.  It is skillfully directed by John McTiernan, who, for a time from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, was one of the supreme directors of big, masculine, and loud action movies.  The expert film editing in this movie reveals McTiernan’s efficiency at creating a story that is part clever and deceptive game and part espionage thriller – all wrapped inside the mechanics of a military film.

Sean Connery as Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Ryan are convincing and proficient, and while this is not their best work, they create characters we want to be next to and follow into adventure.  I had not seen this movie in years, but it is as good as or maybe even better than I remember.  The Hunt for Red October is the techno-thriller that does not require the viewer to be smart to watch it.  That is not a slap at the audience; that’s a compliment to say that The Hunt for Red October is a smart movie that is also successful at entertaining.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1991 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Cecelia Hall and George Watters II); 2 nominations: “Best Sound” (Richard Bryce Goodman, Richard Overton, Kevin F. Cleary, and Don J. Bassman), and “Best Film Editing” (Dennis Virkler and John Wright)

1991 BAFTA Awards:  3 nominations: “Best Actor” (Sean Connery), “Best Production Design” (Terence Marsh), “Best Sound” (Cecilia Häll, George Watters II, Richard Bryce Goodman, and Don J. Bassman)

Friday, January 17, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "Alice" Wastes Outstanding Supporting Cast (Happy B'day, Joe Mantegna)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 156 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Alice (1990)
Running time:  106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Woody Allen
PRODUCER:  Robert Greenhut
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Carlo Di Palma, A.I.C.
EDITOR:  Susan E. Morse, A.C.E.
Academy Award nominee

COMEDY/FANTASY with elements of drama and romance

Starring:  Mia Farrow, Alec Baldwin, Blythe Danner, Judy Davis, William Hurt, Keye Luke, Joe Mantegna, Bernadette Peters, Cybill Shepherd, Gwen Verdon, Julie Kavner, Bob Balaban, and James McDaniel (cameo)

The subject of this movie review is Alice, a 1990 comedy with fantastic elements from writer-director, Woody Allen.  The film tells the story of a spoiled Manhattan housewife who re-evaluates her life after visiting a healer in Chinatown.

Alice Tate (Mia Farrow) is rich and pampered New York housewife; married 16 years to Doug Tate (William Hurt) and bored, she dreams of having an affair with Joe (Joe Mantegna), a saxophone player she meets at her children’s nursery school and to whom she is surprisingly attracted.  Besides an unhappy marriage, various physical ailments beset Alice, including a bad back.

A friend suggests she visit Chinatown and see Dr. Yang (the late Keye Luke), an acupuncturist well known among her social set.  Dr. Yang quickly realizes that Alice’s back isn’t really bad, but that she’s just unhappy, so he recommends a number of mysterious herbal potions.  The magical concoctions alternately loosen her inhibitions, turn her invisible, and allows her to see and share tender moments with long, lost love ones, including a deceased lover named Ed (Alec Baldwin).  But will all this help Alice turn her superficial life into something more meaningful?

Woody Allen’s 1990 film Alice is a small and charming lost gem.  It was his final film distributed by Orion Pictures, the studio that had released most of his output of the 1980’s.  Orion filed bankruptcy, and another studio ended up releasing the last film he’d actually shot as part of his deal with Orion, Shadows and Fog.  Alice is occasionally a madcap comic fantasy adventure full of fun and mystery, and sometimes it is a whimsical fantasy that walks a thin line between broad comedy and poignant drama.

Although the film has some good performances, in particular the late Keye Luke as the movie’s philosophical center, Dr. Yang, Alice is about… well, Alice.  The narrative meanders when Alice meanders about the state of affairs in her life.  When she is overly emotional, the film becomes shrill.  When she’s happy, the film radiates vibrantly like the lush colors of the autumnal New York City in which she lives.  When Alice is sad, the film is dark and distressing, so the viewer can really share her discomfort.  Ms. Farrow’s gives a good performance, which epitomizes why Mia Farrow worked so well as a female stand in for Woody Allen in his films.

Alice will please fans of Woody Allen’s films, but people not familiar with his style will find their patience short with it.  The simply, beautiful cinematography that turns NYC in the fall season into a series of impressionist paintings.  The gorgeous Manhattan apartments, restaurants, and handsome outdoor locales are glorious eye candy for anyone who loves to look at pretty movies.  Sometimes, Alice drags, but the dialogue is smart and snarky dialogue.  There are sparkling musical numbers (Allen often chooses early to mid-century big band, jazz, and swing as the soundtrack to his movies).  The cast is all too happy to bury themselves into the character rolls for which Allen has chosen them – all the usual Woody fare.  Still, Alice is bit too much about Alice, and except for Keye Luke’s Dr. Yang, the rest of the cast is full of underutilized characters.  That’s a shame, and that leaves Alice short of being on the list Woody’s best work.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
1991 Academy Awards:  1 nomination for “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Woody Allen)

1991 Golden Globes:  1 nomination for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical (Mia Farrow)

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Updated:  Wednesday, November 13, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "Nightbreed" Remains Unique (Happy B'day, Danny Elfman)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 91 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Nightbreed (1990)
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Clive Barker
WRITER: Clive Barker (based upon his novella Cabal)
PRODUCER: Gabriella Martinelli
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robin Vidgeon
EDITORS: Mark Goldblatt and Richard Marden
COMPOSER: Danny Elfman

FANTASY/HORROR with elements of drama and thriller

Starring: Craig Sheffer, Anne Bobby, David Cronenberg, Charles Haid, Hugh Quarshie, Hugh Ross, Doug Bradley, Catherine Chevalier, Malcolm Smith, Bob Sessions, Oliver Parker, Debora Weston, Nicholas Vince, Simon Bamford, and Kim Robertson

The subject of this movie review is Nightbreed, a 1990 fantasy and horror film from writer-director Clive Barker. The film is based on Barker’s 1988 novella, Cabal, which was originally published as hardback book along with some of Barker’s short stories. The film follows a young man wanted for murder who joins a tribe of monsters and outcasts, called the “Nightbreed,” that also hides from humanity.

Nightmares of a place called Midian haunt the dreams of Aaron Boone (Craig Sheffer). His dreams tell him that Midian is the place of monsters, but his therapist, Dr. Philip K. Decker (David Cronenberg), tells Boone these dreams are the byproduct of a guilty conscience. You see, Decker insists that Boone is a serial killer, but the truth of the matter is that Decker is the real killer. He’s pinning the crimes on Boone, his vulnerable patient. A chance encounter with a raving madman, however, gives Boone directions to Midian, somewhere in rural Canada. What Boone finds is that Midian is a large and peculiar graveyard, and below its graves live strange and wondrous creatures and monsters. One of them attacks and bites Boone.

Decker’s deception leads to Boone’s death, but he arises to find himself back in Midian’s underworld, the lair of the Nightbreed. Now, he must save his new family and his girlfriend Lori Winston (Anne Bobby) from Decker’s elaborate fraud and murderous intensity. Meanwhile, the local law has gathered a gun-toting, bloodthirsty mob, and they’re on a hunt for Nightbreed trophies.

Clive Barker has stated in the past that his 1990 film, Nightbreed, was meant to be “the Star Wars of monster movies,” but disagreements with the studio producing the film meant that Nightbreed was not released to theatres in the version Barker wanted movie audiences to see. Still, what is on the screen is stylish and distinctive, and Danny Elfman’s score creates the perfect harmony for this dreamlike fairy tale. Barker’s vision of supernatural creatures and human freaks of nature living in a secret underground world (beneath a cemetery), right under the noses of normal human society is attractive to anyone with a vivid imagination or who feels vastly different from the mainstream.

The special effects and make-up effects seem dated 17 years later (as of this writing), but this concept’s blend of human drama, dark fantasy, weird horror, and social commentary (prejudice and intolerance) is worth a look by the adventurous, inspired movie lover.

6 of 10
B

Monday, June 11, 2007

Review: "Blue Steel" is Mixes Horror and Crime Genres (Happy B'day, Kathryn Bigelow)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 75 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Blue Steel (1990)
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA - R
DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow
WRITERS: Kathryn Bigelow and Eric Red
PRODUCERS: Edward R. Pressman and Oliver Stone
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Amir Mokri
EDITOR: Lee Percy
COMPOSER: Brad Fiedel

CRIME/THRILLER with elements of horror

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver, Clancy Brown, Elizabeth Pena, Louise Fletcher, Philip Bosco, Kevin Dunn, Tom Sizemore, Matt Craven, and Richard Jenkins

Blue Steel was director Kathryn Bigelow’s third directorial effort (her second solo feature), and like her earlier mixed genre efforts, the film is a horror flick dressed in the clothes of a cop movie.

When rookie policewoman Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) shoots an armed robber during a holdup, one of the witnesses is Wall Street broker, Eugene Hunt (Ron Silver). A psychotic who hears voices talking to him, Hunt becomes obsessed with Megan. He cunningly removes the robber’s gun, and quietly leaves the store without Megan ever realizing he was there. Hunt carves her name on the bullets and begins a killing spree. Later, Megan meets Eugene, and he woos her into a budding romance, but his extreme mental illness causes him to reveal his crimes to Megan. However, virtually no one believes that he is the killer. As the deadly psychopath draws the young cop into a deadly game of wits, Megan thinks she’s one step ahead of him, but Hunt is much closer than she thinks.

Casting Jamie Lee Curtis as the rookie female policeman was a good move. Having spent much of her early film career playing beautiful young women stalked by mad killers in such films as Halloween (1978), The Fog and Terror Train (both 1980), and Halloween II (1981), Curtis just feels right in Blue Steel as the feisty girl against the seemingly unstoppable mass murderer. She also looks the same in her early 30’s when Blue Steel was filmed as she did when she was just in his 20’s and starring in slasher movies in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The general idea of Blue Steel seems to be that Curtis’s Megan Turner never realizes just how precarious her situation is, whether she is at home (where her father is an abusive husband), in the office (where her colleagues don’t respect her), or on the streets of New York City (where the killer stalks her).

The problem is Kathryn Bigelow and Eric Red’s screenplay, which attacks plausibility at every turn. This is a brutal cat and mouse game, and Bigelow presents Blue Steel as an exercise of urban violence and fierce gunplay – the kind that was fashionable in 1980’s action movies such as Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. Much of the violence is a kick in the gut, but this concept plays with the conceit of horror movies (where many things that happen don’t have to make sense) rather than cop movies (where most things should make real world sense). In the Blue Steel, the killer is unstoppable and somewhat supernatural and the girl hero and the police department don’t seem to have much common sense, which they should.

5 of 10
C+

Thursday, May 10, 2007

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Original "Total Recall" Still a Total Beast

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 64 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Total Recall (1990)
Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: Paul Verhoeven
WRITERS: Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, and Gary Goldman; from a screen story by Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon and Jon Povill (inspired by the short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” by Philip K. Dick)
PRODUCERS: Buzz Feitshans and Ronald Shusett
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jost Vacano
EDITORS: Carlos Puente and Frank J. Urioste
COMPOSER: Jerry Goldsmith
Academy Award winner

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Marshall Bell, Mel Johnson, Jr., and Michael Champion

The subject of this movie review is Total Recall, a 1990 science fiction action film from director Paul Verhoeven and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film is loosely based upon Philip K. Dick’s “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,” which was first published in 1966. The film follows a man who accidentally has memories dredged up of a life he apparently had on Mars, which only gets him marked for death.

Total Recall opens on Earth in the year 2084. Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a construction worker who yearns for more in his life. He is also troubled by dreams of Mars; in fact, he is obsessed with going to Mars. His wife, Lori (Sharon Stone), wants a different vacation, so Quaid decides to get a vacation to Mars in a unique way. He goes to a company called “Rekall,” which promises to implant memories of a virtual vacation. These false memories will seem just like real memories to Quaid.

However, something goes terribly wrong during the procedure to implant the memories in Quaid’s brain. Suddenly, his visit to Rekall is apparently the reason gun-toting men, led by the ruthless Richter (Michael Ironside), want to kill him. Quaid discovers that he has to get to Mars – for real this time – as soon as he can, because all the answers to his shattered memories are there… he hopes.

I believe that the Dutch-born filmmaker, Paul Verhoeven, does not get enough credit as a terrific director. This is because the amount of violence in his film is seen as excessive by some critics. Indeed, Verhoeven’s science fiction films, Robocop (1987) and Starship Troopers (1997), both contain copious amounts of violence, some of it so intense and gory that it made me cringe when I first watched these films.

However, there is also a strong undercurrent of humor in Verhoeven’s science fiction films. Some of it is black humor, but some of it mocks militarized institutions, such as corporations (Robocop), governments (Starship Troopers), and governments that are really corporations, as in Total Recall. Verhoeven and his screenwriters find absurdity in how such institutions are singularly focused on their goals and treat their employees, as well as others who get in their way, as expendable. This film is practically a metaphor for our modern resource wars and for people like the Neocons (best exemplified by former U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney and mustachioed toad-humper, John Bolton).

Total Recall also received a Special Achievement Academy Award for its visual effects, which is usually a competitive award, but not in 1991. The special effects for the other films in the visual effects category simply did not match up to the effects in Total Recall. Thus, the committee that oversees this award for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) simply gave the award to Total Recall and named the other films as runners-up rather than as nominees. Honestly, Total Recall’s effects still look very good, and even the dated elements, such as the animatronics that are supposed to replicate heads and bodies of many of the characters, look good.

People probably remember Total Recall as an “Arnold Schwarzenegger movie,” and, in a way, it is. His film persona dominates the narrative and the action, and even 22 years later, his performance here reveals why, for a period, he was the biggest action movie star in the world and probably the world’s biggest movie star for most of that time.

Total Recall, however, is more than just Schwarzenegger. There are a number of good supporting performances, especially Michael Champion as Richter’s acerbic right-hand man, Helm. Also, Rachel Ticotin as Melina is one of the few actresses to play a partner to one of Schwarzenegger’s characters and not disappear in the shadow that Arnold’s personality and presence cast.

When I first saw Total Recall 22 years ago, I was lukewarm about it. I seem to remember that Meryl Streep was publicly critical of it. I think that I am more open-minded about movies now, and I have also learned not to view every film in a strictly literal manner. Perhaps, that is why I now think Total Recall is a science fiction movie classic, even if I didn’t think that two decades ago.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
1991 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Special Achievement Award: (Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin Tim McGovern, Alex Funke for visual effects) [The other films in this category were listed as runners-up instead of as nominees: Back to the Future Part III, Dick Tracy, and Ghost.]; 2 nominations: Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Stephen Hunter Flick) and “Best Sound” (Nelson Stoll, Michael J. Kohut, Carlos Delarios, and Aaron Rochin)

1991 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Special Visual Effects” (To the whole special visual effects production team)

Thursday, August 02, 2012

First Burton/Depp Joint, "Edward Scissorhands" is a Classic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 34 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR: Tim Burton
WRITERS: Caroline Thompson; from a story by Tim Burton and Caroline Thompson
PRODUCERS: Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stefan Czapsky (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Richard Halsey
COMPOSER: Danny Elfman
Academy Award nominee

FANTASY/ROMANCE

Starring: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Alan Arkin, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker, Robert Oliveri, Conchata Ferrell, Caroline Aaron, O-Lan Jones, Dick Anthony Williams, and Vincent Price

The subject of this movie review is Edward Scissorhands, a fairy tale film from director Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp in the title role. Edward Scissorhands is the first of several films in which Burton and Depp have collaborated, including the shortly to be released Dark Shadows.

A romantic fantasy, the film opens with an elderly woman telling her granddaughter where the snow outside their window comes from (because they live in an area in which snow is not common). That story begins when a local Avon saleswoman, Peg Boggs (Dianne Wiest) visits a Gothic mansion that sits on a hill just outside her suburban neighborhood. She finds Edward (Tim Burton) hiding in the castle. Edward is a mechanical young man created by an old inventor (Vincent Price), and he has scissor-like contraptions where his wrists and hands should be.

Peg takes Edward home where he befriends her son, Kevin (Robert Oliveri), meets her husband, Bill (Alan Arkin), and later meets and falls in love with her teen daughter, Kim (Winona Ryder). At first Edward fits right in with the family, and the neighbors also take to him, especially after they discover that he has skills they can put to use. However, petty jealousies, simple misunderstandings, and selfish interests soon make it difficult and dangerous for both the Boggs and Edward.

Critics and movie fans have described Edward Scissorhands as Tim Burton’s most personal film. According to the 2006 book, Burton on Burton (by author Mark Salisbury), the title character of Edward Scissorhands comes out of a teenaged Burton’s feelings of isolation and also his inability to fit in and to communicate with the people in the suburb where he grew up. The more I saw of Burton and of his work, both films and illustrations, the more Edward Scissorhands’ themes of self-discovery and isolation made sense to me. I can see Burton, a Goth-type teen with his strange drawings and stranger looks, not exactly fitting in with the conformity zone that suburban areas are (at least on the surface, cause there’s no telling what goes on behind closed doors).

Seriously though, I think Edward Scissorhands goes beyond mere commentary about familiar suburban vs. rebel themes. In the film, the Boggs live in a drab suburban world that manages to make even the pastel colors that blanket the wood frame homes seem dull and boring. When Edward comes into the Boggs’ world, it isn’t so much that he is a breath of fresh air. It is that he becomes a novelty act, and he is accepted, for the most part, as long has his talents are of use to his new neighbors and as long he entertains. The black-garbed Edward is the proverbial Negro in a white bougie woodpile.

Edward, although he is a mechanical boy, has a good soul and has an open spirit. He isn’t clueless, as throughout the film, we can observe how quickly Edward learns. He has a surprising sense of humor, born of the way he can see past the façades people put forth. The problem for Edward is that he is open-minded or, at least, open to new experiences; his neighbors are not.

In this film’s last act, the neighbors reveal themselves for what they really are – a white citizens council, a lynch mob willfully ignoring any truths so that they can kill someone. They want an excuse, any excuse, to get out the torches and pitchforks. Hell, when it comes down to it, they don’t really need an excuse. It is not a coincidence that the most understanding and sympathetic person to Edward, outside the Boggs, is an African-American police officer played by the late Dick Anthony Williams (who died in February of this year.)

One can make an argument that Edward Scissorhands is Burton’s best film. For all its autobiographical elements, it is his sharpest and most satirical drama. In the context of Burton’s apparent persecuted youth, Edward Scissorhands is the revenge of the nerd that made it in spite of the haters.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
1991 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Makeup” (Ve Neill and Stan Winston)

1992 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Production Design” (Bo Welch); 3 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Colleen Atwood), “Best Make Up Artist” (Ve Neill), and “Best Special Visual Effects” (Stan Winston)

1991 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical” (Johnny Depp)

Wednesday, May 09, 2012