Millers Crossing Review

Miller's Crossing

Director: Joel Coen

Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, John Turturro, Marcia Gay Harden, Jon Polito, J.E. Freeman & Steve Buscemi

Running Time: 115 mins

Release: 18^th January 1991

Set during the prohibition either set in North New Jersey or some part of New York it does not really define where. The film is about Leo (Finney) a head of an Irish gang who runs the city and his dear friend and his second lieutenant Tom Reagan (Byrne). When Leo's underling Johnny Caspar (Polito) wants Bernie (Turturro) dead as he's untrustworthy and could undermine them, Leo refuses as he is his 'girl' Verna's (Harden) brother.

Caspar offers Tom an offer to even everything between himself and Leo and pay off Tom's debt if he hands over Bernie. Tom sits on the fence about and later get's himself thrown out of Leo's gang by unearthing that he's slept with Verna, he then joins Caspar and finds he's loyalty is divided and if has a human heart at all. It's a loose take on The Glass Key. The film is also injected with black humour.

I have to say the acting in this film is absolutely phenomenal, everyone is perfect in there roles.

I am familiar with Gabriel Byrne though I have not seen him in a film before and in a leading role for that matter. As he's Irish he does not need to put on a accent. He's morally ambiguous, charming, intelligent, cunning and knows the ins and out's of how to play his hand and keeps himself clean so he does not do the dirty work himself. He's only out to look after himself, the only real loyalty he had was to Leo. Though he's not a gumshoe but a gangster he feels somewhat to me like a gumshoe in some aspects, also like many gumshoes he takes a bit of beating. He's a antihero and likeable and one of the most iconic in my opinion. He has some of the best lines e.g 'Sister, when I have raised hell, you'll know it !' and ' Old war wound. Acts up around morons.' He is also a hard drinker and has a dry sense of humour. I read that he's hat has some significance whilst I was watching the film, I won't spoil it for you.

I have never seen Albert Finney in a film recently though I have seen him in Tim Burton's Big Fish & The Corpse Bride and remembered him from Erin Brockovich. He's not that much in the film. Despite Tom being his right hand man, he does not heed his advice despite how ruthless Tom is, he believes in his heart, not his head. He has the most absolute bad ass scene I have ever seen on film, two of Caspar's hoods try to assassinate him, but he's cunning and senses they are coming and blows them away, it's really audacious and a bit unrealistic as he never reloads but it does not take away from the scene at all and to top it off he smokes a cigar and looks completely relaxed and ' Oh Danny Boy' is playing in the background till he runs out of ammo it's simply amazing. He's a very likeable gangster but to me he feels more like a businessman and all he wants is to keep things as they are. It's a brilliant performance by Finney.

Marcia Gay Harden plays Verna the young woman that Tom and Leo falls for, she is incredibly loyal to her brother despite how conniving he is The true extent is shown through dialogue which I am not going to spoil for you. She's not really a femme fatale but a 'heel' as she calls herself, she can look after herself and more than capable to hold her own and wield a gun.Also she has a look that's much like the classic starlets of that era of which the film is set in.

John Turturro is an underrated actor and like in To Live and Die in LA he brilliant but much more so in this film, he plays Bernie Verna's conniving, gambling rat of a brother, it's a fantastic performance by Turturro he gets lost in the character. He's fantastic in the scene where Tom has to whack him to gain Caspar's trust, the way he pleads and begs for his life feels very raw and real like he means it and it's totally memorable. Throughout his screen time throughout the film you get a sense that you cannot trust him and he really conveys it well.

Jon Polito absolutely steals the film from everyone else's noses he's on top form as Johnny Caspar Leo's underling then rival. It should be noted he's the most honest gangster in this film as he has morals and ethics and he trusts Tom, unbeknownst to him Tom is setting the seeds of doubt in his head making him paranoid so that he can't even trust he's right hand man Eddie Dane (Freeman). Now that Caspar is on his own trying to run his own organisation the stress of it gets to him and he's always on the edge about to boil over, no more clear than in the scene where he meets the Mayor and police chief in there office, Tom calms him down and his manner changes suddenly. I also love his voice in the film it's so unique and the scenes with his young are brilliant and quite raw in parts, these scenes goes to prove the toll his roe has taken on him. The only film I have ever seen Polito aside this was The Crow and his role is far much bigger in this. I'll be seeking more films with him in.

J.E Freeman an actor whom is now retired, his breakthrough year was 1990 with both this and Wild at Heart and in both he plays a villain and he has much more screen time and in my eyes he is the real villain in this film he's a completely evil, psychotic bastard that is Eddie Dane otherwise known as Eddie The Dane, like Tom he has a sense of humour albeit or more dark one and the scenes he and Tom share are complete Gold they gel well together. Just the way he talks and looks gives the sense he's evil, in most scenes he has a look of grimace on his face. I also love the shootout scene in Verna's place where he goes against some of Leo's thugs it's ace.

Also Steve Buscemi has a small role as Mink, I did not know he was in this film but he's a collaborator with the Coen Brothers along with John Turturro, another collaborator features in this Frances McDormand ! She has a small uncredited role as the receptionist in the Mayors office you only have to see her and you know it's her.

In a much smaller role is the film director Sam Rami, I was not sure if it was him or not until I checked it up online and I found out that it was him I am not sure as to exactly why he's in the film but I think it's because they have collaborated on Evil Dead were Joel Coen was the assistant editor of Evil Dead and him and his brother Ethan were responsible for all the brilliant shots in Evil Dead II. It's a fun little cameo I must say.

The soundtrack is nigh perfect, it suits the film too a tee and all it's dark themes, Carter Burwell scored the film and it's not a total surprise as he's worked with the Cohen's on Fargo, Raising Arizona and all the other Cohen Brothers films.

I have to say this film is brilliantly shot it's incredibly cinematic and beautiful, my absolutely favourite shot is when Tom get's punched early on in the film and he staggers back and the camera pans sideways as he staggers back. The scenic shots of Millers Crossing itself looks amazing and so tranquil a far cry from the city scenes. The film. There's some great transition shots utilizing Tom's hat and the screen blacks out when a act ends.

Most of the comedy, well the small amount that's within this film is physical. I particularly love the scene were one of Caspar's men is going to rough up Tom because he did not say yes to the deal, the guy takes his hat, jacket and waist coat off to rough him and Tom tells him to wait as he does not want to get his hat, jacket and waistcoat ruined, he takes them off and the goon approaches him then Tom whacks him with the chair and the guy staggers and puts his hand over his nose and goes out I loved it, it was so unexpected.

Another thing I found funny was when Tom was saved by police just after the scene I mentioned above descends into complete chaos when he exits the place I could not help but laugh something similar happens when he visits Leo's bar.

I have to say this is the absolute best gangster film I have ever seen, great memorable characters, sharp script which felt very authentic to how that period was, beautiful authentic sets and terrific shots and a well suited soundtrack, I cannot highly recommend it enough.

Blade Runner: The Final Cut Review

 

Blade Runner: The Final Cut

Director: Ridley Scott

Stars: Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Daryl Hannah, Brion James, Joanna Cassidy, M.Emmet Walsh, William Sanderson, Joe Turkel & Edward James Olmos

Running Time: 117 mins

Release: 23^rd November 2007 (Final Cut) & 9^th September 1982 (original release)

The film is set in a future LA and the year is 2019. The plot focuses on a retired Blade Runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) who get's called back into action to 'retire' four Nexus 6 replicants who have escaped and hijacked a ship backed to earth seeking there maker Dr. Eldon Tyrell (Turkel) whilst he falls in love with Rachel (Sean Young) a Nexus 6 replicant. This film is an absolute classic masterpiece marrying sci-fi and noir perfectly with brilliant themes and the most majestic gorgeous production i've seen to grace screen. Also there are two endings the Final Cut is more of a ambiguous ending whilst the Theatrical ending is more clear cut, I saw the theatrical version a few years ago.

When people talk about Harrison Ford they mainly talk about his big three film; Blade Runner, Star Wars Trilogy and The Indiana Jones films and I have to say this my absolute favourite character that Ford portrays. He's quite cynical and embittered and despite being human he does not feel it or express that he's human but as the film develops he becomes more alive, if you see the film you know what I mean. Ford is perfect as Deckard, it's effortless for Ford he's got charm and is a brilliant protagonist and though Deckard is a Blade Runner he's very much a gumshoe and one of the best. One small thing they also keep intact with Deckard in the film is his fascination with replicant animals.

Rutger Hauer is absolutely perfect as Roy Batty the enigmatic, charismatic leading rouge Nexus 6 replicant who's near the end of his 4 year lifespan who is seeking he's creator to extend his and his lover Pris (Daryl Hannah) lifespan. I must say for an antagonist you sympathise with and he feels very human much more so than Deckard and expresses a lot of emotion and is a very nuanced performance and the final showdown between Deckard and Batty is an absolutely timeless classic scene and really sums up the whole film. In a way Batty helps Deckard regain his humanity. He has some the best lines in the film and is a memorable character and Hauer always makes a fantastic villain. You can tell he really enjoys the role.

Sean Young plays the Nexus 6 Replicant Rachel who's an experiment for Tyrell and the first Nexus 6 Replicant that Deckard meets and he's entranced and encapsulated by her and gradually develops feelings for her as she does for him despite being a replicant, it shows that she's coming towards the end of her own lifespan. She really brings out the human side of Deckard and Sean Young is extremely beautiful in the film, it's a pity she never did a film on this level after Blade Runner.

I cannot write this review without mentioning J.F Sebastian played by William Sanderson a actor I have never really heard of before. He's Tyrell's genetic engineer who designed the replicants and is fascinated by them and makes his own toys as he calls them 'friends' he has a skin condition that makes him look older than he appears it's called Methuselah Syndrome. To me Sebastian comes across as a completely innocent child like man who unwittingly gets involved into Batty and Pris's scheme to meet Tyrell.

Daryl Hannah plays the strikingly beautifully and extremely dangerous Pris who's Batty's lover, in some parts there's some innocence to her especially with her scene's with Sebastian from there initial meeting, but I think it's used to mask her dangerous and unpredictable nature.

Joanna Cassidy plays Zhora a Nexus 6 replicant that Deckard hunts, she tries to mask being a replicant with the career of being an exotic dancer, Deckard gets to her by using the cover of being a entertainment agent and there chase scene is simply amazing.

Brion James plays the fourth replicant that Deckard hunts Leon Kowalski, he's impervious to pain,except death, he's brilliant in the role and one of James finest, he was also in another film I love Southern Comfort as the redneck Trapper that the national guard troopers capture, he's equally brilliant in that role. The Voight Kampff test scene which is the opening scene is brilliant, the VK test is used to detect Replicants it analyses the subjects emotional reaction to certain emotional based questions.

Edward James Olmos plays Gaff a police detective who says so little who is assigned to help Deckard in some capacity to hunt the Replicants. He does not talk that much in the film but he has a big presence in the film and has a unique look which helps with his dress sense and contacts, he has a tendency to make origami figures.

Joe Turkel plays Tyrell, the head of Tyrell industries who created the replicants to use as slaves in off world colonies, with the Nexus 6 models he implanted them with the ability to develop human emotions to make them more human and cruelly also gave them a four year life span. You can tell he's fascinated by his creations and says they are 'more human than humans' as they are incredibly advance. This is the only film I have seen Turkel in and he's absolutely brilliant.

To wrap up the casting M.Emmet Walsh plays Bryant Deckard's former boss who brings him out of retirement for the assignment of retiring the replicants, as Deckard is his favourite Blade Runner and he knows he gets the job done. I have seen this film in it's whole entirety twice now and I have only realised Emmet Walsh was in this now, he's a fantastic character who has a great range of roles and a collaborator with the Coen Brothers he features in Blood Simple and Raising Arizona.

I first saw this film on DVD first and this time on Blu-Ray and boy what an upgrade !, it's like watching it for the first time all over again and it looks like it was made just last year, it's up there with Alien & Chinatown in best quality Blu-Ray's the image is so crisp and clear and really brings the film to life and you can see all the immense amount of detail that was put into the film. Being this is the Final Cut it has the added subtle special effects to enhance the film.

The Production all around is majestic and beautiful in every single aspect from the sets, miniatures, costumes and props and damn I have never seen light used as beautifully as in this it really adds to the atmosphere of the film. The future LA depicted the city as a scrawling, neon-lit, dark, dank capitalist city in decay and ridden with poverty drenched with rain and it looks absolutely beautiful. Tyrell's building, Sebastian's apartment and Deckard's apartments are my favourite sets.

The advancement of technology plays a massive part of the film as there's a lot of commercial advertising for technology in the film which adds to the capitalism element of the film, despite the film being made over 30 years ago the technology feels very fresh I love the old style monitors and the VK test and Deckard's signature gun and the flying cars !.

The score by Vangelis is divine is one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard I absolutely love it and if you have seen the film and heard the soundtrack you know where each track plays, unfortunately the full soundtrack is very rare to get and there are many releases of the soundtrack which have different tracks on them I have the 12 track OST with the original poster as the cover.

The film has so many themes, technology, morality, life, death, human existence, what it means to be alive, society and man playing god, there's so many more I could mention.

I absolutely love this film it's one of my absolute favourites and I am surprised I have only seen it twice if you love sci-fi and or noir this is quintessential viewing it's an absolutely amazing film and my favourites Ridley Scott film just above Alien.

Chinatown Review

 

Chinatown

Director: Roman Polanski

Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Diane Ladd, & Darrel Zwerling

Running Time: 130 Mins

Release: 20^th June 1974

The film is set in 1937 LA and the story focuses on Jake Gittes (Nicholson) a young ambitious gumshoe who deals with marital cases. One day a woman Evelyn Mulwray (Ladd) comes into his office and asks him to investigate her husband Hollis Mulwray (Zwerling) who's the head of building LA's water supply system of having an affair with a young woman. The story is later published in the press and is a complete scandal and Gittes finds out he was hired by an imposter, at this time the real Evelyn Mulwray (Dunaway) comes into his office to tell him that that she is suing him for defamation.

Clues suggest a scandal in LA's government, despite there being an ongoing serious drought and a expensive proposal to build a new dam, The Water and Power department is dumping fresh water into the ocean during nightfall. The dam proposal is opposed by Hollis himself who cites a potential disaster because of the weak geological formations in the rocks embedded into the land of where it is going to be constructed. It is laughed at and ridiculed at a public hearing and later Hollis's body washes up on the shore and is suspected of drowning. What starts off as a simple murder case becomes so much more and to say anymore would simply spoil the plot though you can say the typical tropes of a noir film are involved, deceit, corruption and murder.

I have not seen Jack Nicholson in all that much the only thing I have really seen him in is the 1989 Tim Burton 1989 Batman film of which he stole the show and in this he's much younger and Nicholson is absolutely brilliant in the role he's everything a gumshoe on film should be: ambitious, self assured, determined, intelligent and like many others be in way over his head. He brings real conviction to Jake Gittes, he makes Jake feel like a real a person, sometimes you like him sometimes you don't he's very authentic and really makes you think that you know him and he even has a regular guy charm to him, he's gotten lost in the role and it's amazing to see, he steals every scene he's in. It should be noted we see the film from his perspective so he's never not in a scene.

Granted too I have not seen Faye Dunaway in much either, in fact I have not seen her in anything before. Like Nicholson she's perfect in this. At first you think she's a femme fatale but there's so much more to her than that, she has that unique property of mesmerizing and encapsulating you as Evelyn, she glues your eyes to the screen whenever you see her, she is a very complex character and Dunaway really does her best in this, you can tell she gave it her all.

Also we have Noah Cross, played by John Huston, Evelyn's father who was Hollis's business partner who fell out with him over there different opinions of the dam, he's a charismatic character but also whom's very creepy and controlling and know's how he gets what he wants, I think he looks a bit like Max Von Sydow and his performance reminded me of Sydow's performance in Minority Report, it's quite easy to make comparisons.

There's a lot of supporting characters but there's too many to list but they each add there own element to the film the one i'll point out is Burt Young's Curly, Jake's client from the start of the film whom knows he's wife is cheating and later in the film when we see Curly again, we see his wife with a black eye. There's also you fair share of dirty corrupt cops in Roy Jenson's Mulvihill and Perry Lopez's Escobar.

This film does not try to gloss over the theme's in this noir film like classics did which only suggested at the acts, this one shows them and it's incredibly raw and for it's time when it was released in 1974 it was pretty controversial. With this film being a neo-noir film (being made after the B&W period) it really fits in with the all time greats like Double Indemnity, Murder my sweet and The Killers.

The film is incredibly authentic and they really went into detail in the costumes, sets, interiors and cars it's outstanding that they went to all this effort to convey that the film is set in 1937. If you have not heard or recognised any of the actors or knew of the film's release date you would think it would have been made much earlier then again with the language and the themes in the film and some of the violence would break that illusion as it would be censored at that time, but if it was not they would be like Chinatown.

I see Chinatown as what noir could have been in it's heyday if it was not censored and as I said before it's up there with the greats and demands a repeated viewing.

I really have to say this film looks incredibly beautiful, this is my first time seeing it and on Blu-Ray to boot and the image looks incredibly sharp and subtly vibrant it looks simply outstanding and Polanksi has done an absolute brilliant job filming this, he really knows how to shoot a film and every shot is beautifully done right from the beginning shot in Jake's office to the final shot in Chinatown at the end, I have never been this impressed by a film visually since I saw The Master. I particularly love the shots of the seafront in the film it's spectacular.

I cannot wrap up this review without commenting on the absolutely beautiful and spellbinding soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith who's music evokes the golden period of Noir from the opening of the Paramount logo and the intro credits I was hooked it really sweeps you in and it's oh so beautiful, I really do need to own it.

I will surely watch this film many times in the future it's perfect in every way; superb acting, a brilliant well thought out story, a cracking script, brilliantly shot for it's time it really blew my mind, superb production values, a brilliant albeit dark perfect ending and a spectacular soundtrack.

This film is an absolute classic neo-noir I have fallen in love with it, Noir is the best un-hollywood-ending genre there is and this one is one of the best it stays with you long after the credits roll your jaw is on the floor and the final line sums up the film completely 'Forget about it Jake, it's Chinatown'.

To Live and Die in LA Review

 

To Live and Die in LA

Director: William Friedkin

Stars: William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, Debra Fruer, Darlanne Fluegel, John Turturro, Robert Downey Sr & Dean Stockwell.

Running Time: 116 Mins

Release: 7^th January 1986

The film is a about a US Secret Service Federal Agent Richard Chance (Petersen) who plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with Rick Masters (Dafoe) a artist and counterfeiter who killed his partner Jim Hart (Michael Greene), Chance is willing to break the law to get Masters along with his hesitant new partner John Vukovich (Pankow).

As there is a lot of actors in this i'll first comment on the acting.

Most people recognises Petersen from CSI, but before that he did movies albeit only a few of them and the most famous two are this and Manhunter which just came out the year after this (To Live was released in 85' in the states).

Richard Chance is a hot headed adrenaline junkie who enjoys life and is willing to take risks, he loves his work and Petersen plays the part very well indeed. Even though he's a lawman he's willing to break it to get what he wants be it bribing his informant Ruth (Fluegel), stealing money and driving down the wrong side of a busy highway. He does not seem to care about anyone at all, he has no connection to them aside from work, almost everything he does is for work, he lives for the job. He seems detached from the people that surround him It's a terrific performance and Chance has some of the best quotes in the film.

He is partnered with John Vukovich, an agent who's not used to the antics of an agent like Masters and he's much more hesitant and by the book, it's the old buddy cop chestnut aside this is not a buddy cop film and Masters and Vukovich are not really friends, if Chance had it his way he would go it alone. I have never seen Pankow in a film before so this is the first time that I have seen him in a film and it's a brilliant performance and feels very realistic and his reactions in the iconic car chase scene is perfect, it really shows he's never been in that situation before.

Willem Dafoe, excels at playing any role especially the villain, forget Spiderman that's a pantomime role, I saw him in Wild at Heart and he was incredibly nasty, sleazy, gross, demented and occasionally funny as Bobby Peru, he stole the show. His role as Masters is much more controlled and sane than that of Peru and I find him even better in this.

Rick Masters is a brilliant artist who finds his skills work perfectly in the field of making counterfeit money and if he's art is not perfect in his vision he'll burn it and with money if he gets it back and it's already been handled he'll burn it. Masters is incredibly intelligent and charismatic & is all about the business and how to play his hand in his favour always looking at the situation in the long run rather than the immediate future. He's a very ruthless businessman and if any of his clients try to screw him over or don't pay him,they are quickly dealt with, no one f**ks with Masters. Like Masters says 'The fact is if you don't come up with the front money, your not for real.

Like Chance he has no real connection to the people around him, they are all business partners and he's artificial like him, but he does not enjoy the life, he enjoys the thrill of the hunt, the chase and almost getting caught, his life is routine and he's impassive he records sex tapes with his 'girlfriend' Bianca Torres (Fruer) and expresses no emotion within them or with her, when you see them on camera together. He's also sexually ambiguous. He steals every single scene he's in and he's the perfect foil for Richard Chance and now Dafoe has secured himself to be one of my favourite actors.

In supporting roles we have Ruth (Fluegel), Chance's informant and sex slave who works at a counter of a strip bar whom Chance threatens with revoking her parole if she holds out on him, she's desperate to get away from LA and she's had enough of Chance squeezing her. Masters 'Girlfriend' Bianca (Fruer) is in a completely different relationship with Masters she is in it for business and the sex they have is just a part of there business relationship and she's just as ruthless as Masters, a female version of him and she's very easy on the eyes just as Fluegel is.

This film also features John Turturro, an absolutely fantastic actor as Masters friend and criminal associate Carl Cody, he's less intelligent than Masters but just as crafty and what he says in the prison phone with Masters is just piss in the wind but absolutely brilliant he says it with absolute conviction and when Chance meets him to give him an offer to lower his sentence is pure class and steals the scene I love the line 'if your looking for a pigeon, go to the park'. He also features in

the brilliant airport chase scene.

Dean Stockwell, an actor whom I have not heard of before plays Masters slimy attorney Bob Grimes, of whom Vukovich and Chance contact undercover as businessmen to make a deal with Masters to bag him. He's fantastic and like Masters he's looking out for himself. We also have Robert Downey Sr (yes Jr's father) as Chance's thorn-in-the-side superior Thomas Bateman.

Friedkin has done a stunning job filming this, i've never seen a Friedkin film in full before, though I have seen some of The French Connection and I really should revisit, I have not seen The Exorcist nor his recent film Killer Joe.

There's a lot of brilliant scenes in this film and among my favourites are the counterfeit scene in which we see Masters make fake notes it's brilliantly well executed and I know Friedkin aimed for top accuracy on what you see, there's no dialogue at all in this scene it's just Masters making notes and it's fantastic, the chase scene in the airport with Chance chasing Carl is amazing and it has that amazing piece playing in the background if you have seen the trailer you know what I mean, I was a bit disappointed that it was not used as much as I would of liked it to have been, personally.

Of course I cannot forget the audacious, realistic, taught, thrilling, edge-of-your-seat-suspense car chase it's amazing and it was all filmed and it took six days to film and I was really surprised with the amount of shots used to show the action and I loved how it just kept building up the ante till they got away, I cannot say any more without spoiling it.

I have mixed feelings on the soundtrack, some part of me likes it and some parts of me don't. It's done by an 80's band whom i've never heard of called Wang Chung. Being honest I don't much like the actual pop songs in the film but I love the instrumentals and the synth tracks they are perfect for the film.

I was really surprised by this film, it was not completely what I was expecting from seeing the trailer but I absolutely loved it, it's incredibly well acted with Dafoe stealing the show, great dialogue and shot beautifully with great themes going throughout one of the biggest being counterfeit itself in the lead characters life, it demands repeat viewings to get it completely and I cannot end this review without saying it has one of the ballsiest ending I have seen for a film and Hollywood would never dare to do such an ending again, I highly recommend this film it's a brilliant, character rich, taught action thriller.

Maniac Review

 

Maniac

Director: Franck Khalfoun

Stars: Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, America Olivio, Megan Duffy, Jan Broberg, and Sammi Rotibi

Running Time: 89 Mins

Release: 15^th March 2013

A remake of the 1980's slasher of the name. This film is about Frank (Wood) a young single man who restores mannequins in his mother's (Olivio) mannequin store, as a child Frank was neglected by his mother who was loose with men and he did not like it so he stalks the streets of LA in the dead of night preying on women that remind him of his mother, brutally killing them ans scalping them for his mannequins, he then meets a french photography student Anna (Arnezeder) who forms an unlikely friendship with and whom he hopes can help suppress his psychotic tendencies as well as have a normal relationship with her, but being with her it only makes it stronger.

At it's heart Maniac is a love story, an unlikely one between Frank and Anna, to go into this further I'll talk about the acting.

Granted I have not seen Elijah Wood in much aside the Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit an Unexpected Journey and Sin City. I know that Wood get's a lot of flack for his acting but personally I have no problem with him and find him to be a great actor who seems to be moving into the genre of Horror with this and Cooties which I hope is coming out soon. Anyway back to Wood in this.

I think he's perfect as Frank a seemingly ordinary man who's a psychopathic serial killer whom has relationship issues with women whom wants to be respected, loved, noticed and appreciated and have a relationship with a woman and it's these qualities that make him human, that makes you sympathise and relate too him. Also in the fact that we see Maniac from his perspective which i'll go into later on. Frank's not really given a back story to his neglect as a child but it is hinted at in the few flash back scenes in the film as his mother was constantly with men, not raising him right. Though in the first flashback we learn as to why he scalps the women, he's fascinated with women's hair he loves combing it and touching it and by putting the hair on the mannequins and dressing them similar to his victims he then 'owns them'.

He hunts and kills the women that remind him of his mother be it in there sexual openness or appearance, he gets sexually excited by the women and killing them(well aside one, you'll see what I mean when you see it) as it fulfils his need. Curiously in the opening scene of the film we see Frank stalking a young woman that's come out of a club and he see's a young man touch her sexually and he says angrily 'Leave Her Alone', well to himself and it hints at that in some part he wants to protect her, like she is his.

He also suffers from migraines when he feels stressed, or well when his darker side tries to claw out , the medication suppresses it for a time being. Wood's delivery is perfect,he acts and talks exactly as if he was a psychopath it's very natural and it really surprised me and in some parts Frank reminds me of Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. This is the first film wherever I have encountered a sympathetic serial killer, so kudos to that.

This film is a two hander as there is really only two main characters Frank and his love interest Anna.

I have never seen Arnezeder in a film before this is the first thing I have seen her in and she's brilliant in the role. She is pivotal to the film as she gives Frank that hope, that inkling that he can be normal as she likes being with Frank and they share the same interests and outlook and she is fascinated by mannequins and to Frank she's not like the other women he see's or kills she gives him hope that he can be normal, they first meet when Frank see's her outside his shop taking pictures of the mannequins and there friendship develops from there and the scenes between them are brilliant it gives you a real sense that it could work between them.

Most of the film is shot in PoV (Point of View) of Frank so we see everything he does from his eyes which adds sympathy to him, this means we don't see Frank for the most of the film, but we see a lot of his hands which are bruised from the cleaning pad he uses to clean the blood off his hands. And it's shots brilliantly from his perspective. Khalfoun has done a spectacular job and the killing scenes of when we see from Frank's eyes stabbing, slice and scalping his victims are particularly nasty especially the scalping's they made me wince, the sound helped in that and the effects were very visceral throughout and I am used to gore and when he slices a woman's ankle my jaw was on the floor !.

I love the scene where Frank is watching the dancer in the window, I was encapsulated it was beautiful. From PoV we see Frank's state of mind when we see the mannequins covered in blood when they should not be and when they appear in public and when he see's himself as a mannequins the last hallucination is incredibly nasty I was not expecting that at all.

The scenes that I absolutely loved from Frank's perspective was his date with Anna that was perfectly executed especially towards the end of it without giving it away. Also the exhibition scene were Frank goes to the Exhibit to see his mannequins on display and the incredibly beautiful photo's that Anna took, you really sympathise with him in this scene as he mingles with the patrons of the exhibit, the curator Rita (Broberg) especially she treats him like he was nothing, having no respect for what he does and she get's his name wrong and when she finally seems to take an interest in what he's saying she moves and (Minor Spoiler) when Frank meets Anna's boyfriend Jason (Rotibi) in the bathroom he completely disrespects him by saying he's just another gay friend Anna is friends with and wipes his hands on Franks's jacket, you could tell he was arrogant and chauvinistic.

I love how LA looks in the film, well how Maniac depicts it a vibrant, beautiful,faceless, neon nightmare this is really shown in the scenes where Frank is driving in the van and in the subway scene.

There's references to other films throughout including The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Psycho, Young Frankenstein and even the original Maniac and one shot which duplicates the poster of the original film, and one major one which i'll discuss in a second.

The soundtrack is nothing short of spectacular it's absolutely spellbinding and suits the film and atmosphere to a tee and it's mostly synth,when you think of Maniac you'll immediately think this soundtrack if you have seen the film, it marries the film perfectly and every track suits the film I especially love Juno which is done by Rob who scores the film featuring vocalist Chloe Alper it sums up the film perfectly. I am most definitely getting the soundtrack.

It also features “Goodbye Horses” by Q Lazzarus which was famously used in a iconic scene of The Silence of The Lambs and of course comparisons could be made between Buffalo Bill and Frank and it's used in a equally iconic scene in Maniac when Frank kills his date Lucie (Duffy) he goes back to hers and she wants to have sex with him and she puts this song on as it's her favourite song and it plays throughout and forever it'll be seared into my brain it's a tense, memorable, brutal scene and how it was shot was perfect it was seamless.

There's themes in this horror film including, loneliness, relationships, sex,obsession and love and I was surprised how deep it is for a horror film, now after viewing this film I can see the comparisons between this and Taxi Driver personally in the characters and the depiction of LA. This film exhumes style and substance and is incredibly visceral with a beautiful tragic love story buried beneath a horror film ,with a superb soundtrack. I highly recommend this film if you have a strong stomach and like a bit more to your horror.

Year of The Dragon Review

 

Year of The Dragon

Director: Michael Cimino

Stars: Mickey Rourke, John Lone, Ariane, Raymond J.Barry, Caroline Kava, Dennis Dun and Victor Wong.

Running Time: 134 Mins

Release: 16^th August 1985 (US)

Firstly I must say Mickey Rourke is one of my absolute favourite actors of all time, well has been since 2012 when I saw Angel Heart for the the first time, that absolutely blew me away, his performance is one of the best I have ever seen, it was the film that kickstarted my interest in Mickey Rourke I had seen him in Sin City when I was a bit younger but I did not take that much notice, then again back then I did not pay much attention to films. It was only when I saw Angel Heart that I took notice of his film history and I found out that the 80's was his heyday all the way from Heavens Gate to Jonny Handsome and unfortunately after his bad boy behaviour and return to boxing (of which was always his passion and really good at) and some duds in the 90's of which made him fall out of favour with Hollywood, though in recent years he has now completely turned it around with performances in Sin City and The Wrestler. I am keen to see most of the films from his heyday and revisit and visit some of the films he has done in recent years, of which now brings me to Year of The Dragon.

The plot is a about the most decorated cop in New York Stanley White (Rourke) who's also became a bigot from his experience during The Vietnam war, who is now put in charge of Chinatown which is rife with corruption, injustice and untouchable triads of which Stanley wants 'to make the rice boil over' and a young, ruthless head of a chinese Mafia and leader of the community Joey Tai both men break the rules and there will be casualties on all side in there unavoidable bloody conflict.

The film is a slow pot boiling, taut thriller which is very talky with burst of brutal violence and it's an absolute masterpiece of a film that leaps onto the screen and is completely unforgettable. To me feels like a companion piece to The Deer Hunter as it deals a Vietnam Veteran in White of how the war has taken it's toll on him and his wife, I honestly did not expect that element to be in this film, but it works incredibly well. There's also a comparison in that White is of Polish heritage and that the men in The Deer Hunter are Russian.

The main reasons I wanted to watch this film 1) It's a Michael Cimino film and 2) it's got Mickey Rourke and it surpassed my expectations exceedingly. Of which now leads me to the acting.

Yet again Rourke proves to me that he is one of my all time favourite actors with his performance as Stanley White, it's simply amazing, he plays a reckless, insensitive, uncaring, sometimes unlikeable bigoted cop who can not be bought out nor settle for how things are with the relationship between the police and the big Triad families in Chinatown, he goes against his superiors who are comfortable with how things are and they are fantastic scenes. He is completely relentless, of course he has his faults as seen in his frayed broken relationship with his wife Connie (the brilliant Caroline Kava). You can tell Rourke was passionate about his role and had fun with it and was completely lost in his character which only a few actors can pull off. Also I should add White's hair colour (well Rourke's hair dye) changes quite significantly in the film first off it's completely grey/white and in the very next scene it's brown with some grey streaks in it, I think that Rourke, well Cimino wanted White to be considerably older than Rourke was at the time he was 33 the same age as Lone at the time. I rank his performance in this just beneath Angel Heart which i'll be reviewing in the near future.

Admittedly I have only seen John Lone in Rush Hour II aside this and after looking him up he's only been a few films which is an absolute shame as he blows everyone out of the water in this even Rourke which is really saying something ! He is very cold, merciless, ruthless and intelligent and has a brilliant presence on screen every scene he is is in he steals, also what I like about his character that even despite he is the villain in the film there's some good to him like in one scene when he's talking to Television News Journalist Tracy Tzu (Ariane) when she asks him about the triads than he brings up why they never talk about the good things that he as a businessman has done for the community of course it's all just for face, but good nether the less in my opinion. When he goes to Thailand though it's completely different picture he is incredibly chilling. He's a brilliant match for Rourke's White they have a great hate chemistry. His goal is to change how the Triads operate in Chinatown by separating ties with the Italian Mafia and taking the most of the profits rather than share it with there cohorts which the previous heads have done of course this upsets the Elders in the triads.

Ariane got a lot of flack for appearing in this film, mostly for the part that she's not an actress but a model and a very beautiful one at that and granted, this was her first film and she only appeared in a handful of films then stopped acting. In this she plays Tracy Tzu an american chinese Television News Journalist and for the most part I think she does very well, I had no problem with it at all, throughout the film she has a love hate relationship with White. He has an affair with her as his relationship is broken with his wife and he gives her information about the triads which will expose them and further her career, I thought there relationship was done very well as it shows they are human and that they have her faults.

In supporting roles we have Victor Wong as Harry Yung the former head of the Triads before Joey Tai takes over, despite being a triad he seems to be the voice of reason to me in the group of the heads of the Triads he is also in Big Trouble Little China as Egg Shen of which another co-star was in and that is Donnie Dun (who played Wang Chi) who plays Herbert Kwong an undercover rookie police officer who infiltrates the Triads to help White expose them he handles his performance in one scene in particular he reminds me of Al Pacino in Serpico.

The final notable supporting character is StanleyWhite's friend Louis Bukowski a superior cop that's a friend of White's wife, he tries to reason with White to not go against the triads in Chinatown of course White does not listen to him but Bukowski does not hate him like the other superiors in the precinct.

I mus say there was not much music in this film but I loved all the tracks especially the one when Tai is in the hoodlum place which is a pivotal scene. The theme by David Mansfield is also incredibly brilliant it suits the film completely pity it's not been released.

Also this film has one of the most unexpected deaths in my opinion but the next scene is one of the most unintentionally funny scenes I have ever seen in a film, once you've seen it you'll get what I mean !.

This film is also beautifully shot using a wide range of shots my favourite being the ones behind Stanley when he is walking it makes you feel that your walking behind him also there's a great use of panoramic shots throughout and most of the interiors were sets which brings me to a comparion between Cimino and Sergio Leone they tended to shoot everything at a grand scale and liked to have there way with the budget of the film when it comes to shooting which I see in a good light they have a vision of how they want to shoot it: at a cinematic grand scale and Cimino get's it here and it's amazing Tracy's apartment is set atop a tower I thought it was real it looked that good and it was beautiful and had a incredible view.

There's also quite a few quick edits and shots in the action orientated scenes which work really well for the film. Also this film goes at a quicker pace than The Deer Hunter though I had no faults with that i'll have to see Heavens Gate and see how it compares.

I must say I absolutely love this film and it's a strong recommend if you like a slow burning character rich thrillers. It excelled my expectations and I did not expect it to be at the scale it was it's just a pity this is not released on Blu-Ray it's well worth it and we only got the DVD here in the UK in 2012 of which i watched it on.

The Master Review

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.