MARKED MOVIES

Director: Werner Herzog.
Screenplay: William M. Finkelstein.
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Fairuza Balk, Shawn Hatosy, Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner, Brad Dourif, Jennifer Coolidge, Tom Bower, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Irma P. Hall, Shea Whigham, Michael Shannon.

To remake Abel Ferrara’s raw and gritty 1992 film “Bad Lieutenant” that had one of cinema’s most daring performances from the brilliant Harvey Keitel would be foolish and unwise. In fact it would be lunacy. Thankfully director Werner Herzog and star Nicolas Cage are well aware of this and produce something altogether different (with a fair amount of their own brand of lunacy).

Set in New Orleans post hurricane Katrina, Lt. Terrance McDonogh (Cage) injures his back in an uncharacteristic moment of decency in helping a convict from drowning. This injury leads to a heavy reliance on drugs to get through each day but in his own words “Everythin’ I take is prescription…except the heroine”.
Lt. McDonogh is indeed a “bad” one. He shakes down the local gangsters and innocent nightclubbers just to get his next hit and also has gambling debts spiralling out of control. Meanwhile, he is trying to look after his prostitute girlfriend (Eva Mendes) and alcoholic fathers dog while investigating the execution style murder of a Senegelese family and having hallucinations of Iguanas and dancing spirits.

It is inevitable that comparisons will be made between Ferrara’s and Herzog’s films but aside from sharing the same title and having a corrupt cop as the protaganist, that’s as far as the comparison goes. Herzog goes for a more humorous approach which in turn relies heavily on a solid performance from his lead actor in order for it to work. Thankfully, Nicolas Cage does not disappoint. He is brilliantly over the top and yet subtle in other ways and delivers his best performance in a long time. Cage’s subtle moments of wincing and the stiffness in his movements, constantly remind you of the cronic pain his character is in. Not to mention his more outlandish behaviour when high on drugs. This is the Nic Cage of old and actually has you on his side, despite the fact that his character is one of the most unsympathetic he has played.

Wonderfully depraved viewing.

Mark Walker

Director: Elia Kazan.
Screenplay: Budd Schulberg.
Starring: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Martin Balsam, Fred Gwynne, Pat Hingle.

A timeless classic and one that is still revered and endlessly quoted to this day – with one scene in particular “I coulda been a contender…” that has went down in cinema history. Unfortunately, there was some more dark history behind it all, from director Elia Kazan and writer Budd Schulberg.

Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) works on the docks run by corrupt union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). As long as everyone does what Friendly tells them, then there are no problems. However, Terry witnesses the murder of a young man who crosses Friendly and can’t quite let his conscience ignore it, feeling the need to testify against the local criminal and bring him to justice, despite causing more trouble for himself in the process.

It’s hard to be subjective in my opinion of this film in the knowledge that writer Budd Schulberg and director Elia Kazan had been informants during the 1950’s “Communist Witch-Hunt” and named several of their friends to right-wing senator Joseph McCarthy as being involved in “Un-American activities” and destroyed people’s lives and careers in the process. This is a major problem in the telling of this story, as it is obvious that both Schulberg and Kazan were justifying their deplorable actions through the “heroic” character of Terry Malloy. Despite this, however, there is no denying the talent involved in this film. Brando finally bagged a deserving Oscar for his role as angst ridden ex-pugalist Terry, with great support from Rod Steiger as his conflicted brother Charley; Karl Malden as the local priest and voice of reason Father Barry and a snarling Lee J. Cobb as union boss Johnny Friendly. It’s all beautifully shot by Kazan and despite his personal exploits (like Roman Polanski), there is no denying the man has talent but I just can’t bring myself to give it five stars or forgive his audacity at “naming names”, blatantly showing no remorse for it and passing it off as entertainment.

If viewed as just a film then it’s quality stuff. Kazan has crafted a wonderful piece of cinema with superb performances but a very dubious message permeates throughout.

For an alternative view on it’s themes have a look at “The Crucible“.

Mark Walker

Director: David Michod
Screenplay: David Michod.
Starring: James Frecheville, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn, Jacki Weaver, Luke Ford, Sullivan Stapleton, Mirrah Foulkes, Josh Helman, Justin Rosniak.

Anyone that’s familiar with the Australian television show “Neighbours” will know what I mean when I refer to this as the underbelly of ‘Ramsey Street’. I’m not a fan of said television show and I’m not entirely convinced by the praise this film has critically received either.

After the accidental death of his heroin addicted mother, 17 year-old Joshua ‘J’ Cody (James Frecheville) goes to live with his grandmother, ‘Smurf’ (Jacki Weaver), and her criminal sons, Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) and Darren (Luke Ford). The sudden arrival of their fugitive older brother, Pope (Ben Mendelsohn), gets the attention of the local cops, kick-starting a turf war that sees ‘J’ forced to fight for his survival.

As the film opens we get a decent introduction to the stoical nature of young ‘J’ as he shows a real lack of compassion, sitting on the couch watching TV, next to his deceased mother. This persona is no different from most of the characters throughout the film. The majority of them are devoid of any morals and the actors portraying them put in fantastic performances, particularly Mendelsohn as the unstable uncle and especially Weaver as the wicked-witch like matriarch. Despite the performances though, I still stuggled to see what all the fuss was about. Much like “Winter’s Bone” from the same year, this has been subject to critics clambering over each other to applaud it’s gritty dramatic nature. I found several things to enjoy; the performances and low-key style in which it’s shot being the notable ones but it’s certainly nothing groundbreaking. Being loosely based on fact, there’s a definite feeling of realism but as mentioned earlier, it reminded me of an extended episode of “Neighbours” – with the gloves off – and I pretty much avoid Australian television whenever possible.

Not a bad film, in fact it’s very good in places but it’s been overpraised somewhat. There’s no faulting the flawless performances though and it’ll be interesting to see what writer/director David Michod comes up with next.

Mark Walker

Director: Sergio Leone.
Screenplay: Sergio Leone, Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Enrico Medioli, Franco Arcalli, Franco Ferrini.
Starring: Robert DeNiro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Tuesday Weld, William Forsythe, James Hayden, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, Danny Aiello, Treat Williams, Larry Rapp, James Russo, Scott Tiler, Rusty Jacobs, Brian Bloom, Adrian Curran, Mike Monetti, Noah Moazezi, Jennifer Connelly.

Numerous excellent crime sagas have been made over the years and at the top of most peoples lists tend to be “The Godfather parts I & II”, “Goodfellas” and some would even have “Scarface”. Although these are superb inclusions in the genre, this Sergio Leone masterpiece is the definitive and the real classic of them all.

Based on the novel “The Hoods” by Harry Grey we are manificently told the story of David ‘Noodles’ Aaronson (Robert DeNiro) who, after several decades away, returns back to the lower east side of New York city where he grew up with his friends and became prominently involved in a Jewish life of crime. Having loved and lost throughout his time here, he reflects on what was a tumultuous time in his childhood (and young adulthood) and now in his twilight years, longs for answers to a fatal double-cross.

Leone is better known for his spaghetti westerns and brings that same style from the dry barren western plains to the sprawling city of New York. Along with him, is composer Ennio Morricone and his idiosyncratic and masterful musical style. When these two combine their talents you know you’re about to be treated to a wonderful storytelling experience. Just for good measure, throw in the iconic and most prodigious of screen actors in Robert DeNiro and what you have is a work of art. An absolute masterpiece of cinema. A multi-layerd epic that has such depth that it’s yet to be matched. “The Godfather” saga has a similiar magnitude but only over three films. Leone manages to condence his elaborate tale in just under 4 hours. However, the original U.S. release was cut by 88mins, ceasing to make sense, with characters appearing and disappearing suddenly. This would explain why it didn’t fare so well and shockingly wasn’t even acknowledged for any awards. Although compellingly acted by DeNiro, this doesn’t stand as his finest performance, but it certainly stands as his finest film and it’s by far the best work that James Woods has delivered, as well as the impressive supporting cast of Tuesday Weld, Treat Williams, Joe Pesci and Jennifer Connelly is her film debut. It’s all down to the excellence of Leone though and his stylish homage to the gangster film. It’s long, it’s engrossing and once all the pieces begin to fit together it’s a quite heartbreaking story in it’s telling.

With it gorgeous art direction by Carlo Simi, it’s heartwrenching soundtrack by Ennio Morricone and the magnitude of Sergio Leone’s vision, it’s one of the best films ever made. Sadly it was Leone’s last but a virtuosa one to go out on.

Included in My Top Ten films.

Mark Walker