Heat Review

        The 90s shifted cinema like no other. Whatever was popular in the prior decade was no longer applicable. Gone are the days of the musclebound action movies that have defined the careers of some of the most beloved actors. Action films are more cerebral and had influences from elsewhere in the globe. Films like Heat reinvent everything as far as crime drama and action films. 

1. Cat and Mouse

        This is my first film that I watched of Michael Mann. For those of you not aware of who he is, you can thank him for introducing the world to Hannibal Lecter with his adaptation Manhunter. He gained more acclaim with his film The Last of the Mohicans and immediately followed up that success with this gem. Heat was originally supposed to be a tv series, but it didn’t go anywhere beyond the pilot episode. Mann ultimately re-worked the script and it became L.A. Takedown.

        The film was based on a real police officer chasing a criminal in Chicago. Of course, liberties were taken and the level of realism as far as the gunfights are concerned is, well I’m getting ahead of myself. The story is really gripping and it’s one of those where the runtime nearly clocks in at 3 hours, but with what’s happening doesn’t feel like a chore to sit through. Anyways, we follow bank robbers led by Neil McCauley as we him and his partners rob an armored truck. 

        As the job was successful, they ultimately left a clue where Pacino’s Lieutenant Hanna uses every available method in his department to get McCauley and his cronies. Now, the key thing when watching the movie is that it’s dialogue heavy, but it’s worth it since we see that the overall actions that the main characters do influence their lives. More so on Hanna who’s so dedicated to his job where his own personal life is nonexistent.  

        One would think that we would get a very superficial portrayal of the criminals. They’re bank robbers and there’s an assumption that they basically make the heist happen just by luck. We got none of that, as McCauley is so in his level when planning out the heist. He’s the most level headed of his clan that he’s calculating and seemingly on top of what the LAPD has to tracking and stopping him. 

        Of course, the gunfights and robberies themselves are the main highlight of the film. When watching this with a soundbar, it hits you when we see the initial truck robbery and the climactic bank heist turned shootout. It’s even better that the director wanted the rifles to fire in the streets so that it could retain that echoey sound. The whole sequence is really engaging when we see Val Kilmer hold his own. In fact, the way he shoots and reloads has been used in Army training.

        I think the overall theme for the film is that the main characters do what they do to fill in that void in their lives. For as much as McCauley has everything, he’s lonely and meets a woman who maybe can fill in that gap. Hanna is too obsessive with his job that it slowly dissolves a marriage that he has. It’s one of those things where there’s a price to devoting into something where it can be alienable.

        We see that when we have those brief moments with McCauley's mates that anything of a personal life is just nonexistent. With Kilmer's character being a compulsive gambler, and one of them being so unhinged that he resorts to killing. It's a thing when the "Heat" is the thing where it gets them going like a rush. 

2. De Niro and Pacino 

        So, I’ve talked a lot of about them, I think the best moments between them is when we see them spying on each other. While Hanna gets a tip of another heist, he practically spies on McCauley to arrest him. Inevitably, it gets flipped when McCauley uses a fake site and spies on the Lieutenant and his coworkers. It feels like a cat and mouse chase, each getting tenser since we have no idea as to where the scene is going to go. 

        The definitive moment is when they grab a cup of coffee. When Hanna pulls over Neil and invites him to drink. There’s a level of tension since we get to know the both and how they’re very much alike. I think when they’re talking, the level of honesty is admitted when they say they’re good at what they do. To me, the whole thing feels like a game, where they have to keep playing until one of them loses. 

3. Legacy

        Of course the movie was a hit, and honestly the fact that it didn’t even get nominated is a travesty. Thinking about it now and even looking at the influence it had on other media was unexpected. It’s one of those things when I played the Grand Theft Auto series that there were missions that had bank heists. Which is the reason why the missions felt like the moments in the film. They successfully captured that level of intensity. 

        Surprisingly, in the rare moments of real life imitating art, it was seen as the rationale behind an actual bank heist that happened in California. It was called the North Hollywood bank robbery, while no actual amount was stolen, it did spiral out into a gunfight with casualties. To date, it’s the most intense and gun battle with regards to the U.S. police. 

        To at least not end this review with a downer, while watching the film I was constantly reminded of a Christopher Nolan film. Specifically, how Heat was a direct influence to The Dark Knight. It makes sense since there’s a level of procedure being shown and how Batman is sort of like Hanna when he uses everything in his arsenal to get the Joker. The opening bank heist especially is a callback or direct love letter to Heat. 

4. Overall

        Heat is one of the best crime films you’ll see. Check it out. 

Cobra Review

        It was only a matter of time before I talk about schlocky action movies. Mind you, that was the prime example whenever you talk about 80s action movies. Most of them had a distinct style of buffed protagonist who took the law into their own hands. With the action going to 11, while the story and plot just taking a backseat. Some of them had Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris to name a few. Almost all of them were bad, including this one, so let’s talk about it. 

1. Cop Called Cobra

        This is one of those movies that is straightforward in terms of story. So much so, I’ll condense it with a sentence. A killer cult has run rampant, Cobra oversees a survivor of the attacks, they try to survive during the winter holiday. So far, this is the first film that has an action take place before Christmas. I’m not joking, there’s decorations littered in the film that it predates Lethal Weapon and Die Hard. 

        During the opening moments, we see that a serial gunman belongs to a cult known as The New Order. We see them clang their axes and sharp objects and do exactly what you think a deadly cult does. Stallone’s Cobra practically ignores standard procedures and confronts the gunman. Right there sums up his character, a salt of the earth ignoring authority kind of a guy. 

        To me, I think this was supposed to be an 80s version of Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry. Same idea, but with Harry hunting down a Zodiac Killer-inspired murderer. While what makes that film more interesting is that we see Harry slowly becoming someone who’s not. My apologies, I almost talked about a great movie instead of a bad movie. Well, if you want to know my opinion on it, just find it. 

        Anyways, Cobra is just a blank character. Other than the fact that we don’t know him on a relatable level, he’s just a meh character. It’s one thing where we get to see the action scenes, which I’ll get to, and almost just be a jerk. Like, I get the feeling that his attitude is supposed to be endearing and we’re supposed to laugh at the pencil pushing authority figure. 

        Aside from that the action is great. When the gunfights start, it doesn’t disappoint. Especially the car chases that are also gun fights. It’s one thing to see it play out, and to see a lot of the intricacies to make it believable. This is where I think that this movie is in one way a Grindhouse movie. While not exploitive since it doesn’t have any blood squibs, it’s entertaining to an extent. 

        I think the main problem with the film is that there’s no stakes or anything where I want to care about the characters. All the film reminds me of eye candy where the action looks great, but it’s something where there’s nothing invested as far as what the danger is, like what’s the cult ultimate plan. Don’t get me wrong where the film isn’t a massive chore to sit through. Like, this is something where I’ll talk about the people who made this film. This is a prime example of a Cannon film. 

2. Cannon Films 

        You know that when talking about action movies, no production company comes close than Cannon. And you may ask yourself, why of all things are you talking about a production company? Surely they’re not the reason as to why the movie wasn’t good. Well, to adequately talk about the company, I’ll give you a brief history. 

        It started out as an independent company back in the 60s, when their main money makers were importing Swedish movies and re-package them as a niche movie, since they had explicit content. Until the 70s came around, they were bought out by two Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. These guys main modus operandi was to make movies so cheap that they can get a return investment. 

        And the movies they made bordered on being bad and just being bad taste. While some of their movies fell into the cracks of being decent, and surprisingly Oscar-nominated, they have an extensive catalogue where they’re just known to being so bad that it’s good. They’re the product of the time just like Cobra, but they have a dedicated following. 

        I don’t know if I consider myself lucky or just a nut, but I was at Wal-Mart a year ago and saw that there was a collection of Cannon movies bundled together. I couldn’t say no and I got a select few action movies. Without wearing myself out by talking Cannon, there’s a documentary that goes more in depth with the cousin’s method of madness called Electric Boogaloo. It’s on YouTube, so watch while you can.  

3. Overall 

        Cobra is like a bad version of Dirty Harry. It’s not the worst thing, but it lacks what made Eastwood’s movie a classic. 

Escape from New York Review

        We’re now in the 80s, and it seemed that the action film genre was dead at the moment. It’s hard to really rationalize as to why that was, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself with the next film we’ll be talking about in the coming days. With that, it’s about time we talk about the Master of Horror John Carpenter again. If you’ve been keeping track, I’ve done two reviews of his horror hits about three years ago. Around the late 70s to 80s is when he was on it. Escape from New York was the first film for him to break into action. 

1. Snake Plissken 

        This is the first time watching the movie, so consider this to be a first impression. Looking at the poster of the movie, it really sells just how much New York has fallen. I’ll get into the one aspect about that poster in a little bit. The film takes place 16 years after the film’s release in 1997. With the Cold War still happening, the President has been kidnapped by a group of rebels and hold him as hostage. 

        As a result, the government has tasked a former criminal named Snake. They task him to wipe his record if he brings back the President, failure to comply means certain death. Right then and there the movie sets up everything. Especially when we get to see the anti-hero Snake. Kurt Russell suited the character like piece of fine clothing. And to give the proper context, he was doing a decade’s worth of work with Disney. 

        So having him be in something that was jarring to say the least, helped him broaden his craft to an extent. What I like about his character is that he’s a no-nonsense guy from the moment we see him. It’s never revealed what exactly he did, but he’s a combat specialist. Just that moment when they give him the gear needed gets you ready, and it’s a few. It really says a lot that he only has one weapon but manages to be resourceful.

2. Ruined State of New York

        One thing that makes the film an absolute gem of the 80s is the overall world that the film takes place. It’s one of those concepts where it should’ve been in a pulpy B-Grade movie where it’s just bottom of the barrel. Instead, it offers into a view where it’s reflective of New York at that time. Once more, New York wasn’t what we think of it back then.

        In those times, it literally was a place to avoid. And it had that distinct level of backdrop where it was the setting for a few select movies that are iconic. With how this movie uses the city is that Snake has no help. He must use everything in his disposal and find the only good people to help him. 

        Since the whole island is converted to a prison, it only makes sense where a slate of criminals are running around. What I like as far as action is that it’s not a total gun fest. It might be a turn off for some, but it heightens the tension. John Carpenter is not just the director, but he’s also the composer. And the moments where Snake is looking around, a criminal covered in shadow runs with the one key that can make someone wakeup. It’s extremely effective. 

        I feel as a thematic level, it’s a place where authority is thrown out. We see that when Snake is the only one to form a small team to spring a rescue. Moments with the president being completely afraid shows that power is nothing without order. And I just got to love the main villain’s car. It’s an old Buick looking car with chandeliers and a discoball in the dash, can’t get any cooler or cheesier than that. 

3. Legacy

        The film made back it’s budget and further cemented John Carpenter’s career as not only a horror director but an action one. It’s around the late 70s and 80s is when his career shines on. Something else is that most of the actors that are used in any film of his pop up in his others. Perhaps he works best with what he’s got. 

        So about that poster, it grabs your attention since it has the Statue of Liberty’s head being prominent on the street. No one could’ve imagined that many years later, the same idea was used in a monster movie no less. Cloverfield’s ingenious marketing had that moment captured which I think is a way to honor Escape from New York. 

        Lastly, no one would’ve thought that it would create a video game franchise. This is where the Metal Gear series comes from. The creator of the games Hideo Kojima says that the film is his favorite and practically named the character after Kurt Russell’s. Right down with the distinct eye patch that is part of Plissken’s character. The series has been considered the best among many gaming circles. 

4. Overall

        Escape from New York is a great action rescue movie. While it lacks a stylized action, makes up for an interesting character and setting. 

The Warriors Review

        We wrap up the 70s with another good action flick. My very first exposure to The Warriors was that it was made into a video game, 30 years after the fact. I haven’t played it and I have a feeling it’s good. This is an interesting one since it involves gang warfare and a dystopian New York. Here’s what I think.

1. Gang Warfare

        At this point I’m starting to notice that a lot of popular movies are indeed based on a book. This one is no exception, based on a novel by Sol Yurick. While I haven’t read the novel, I’m mostly going to assume that the movie is a faithful adaptation with some creative liberties. With that, in the not-too-distant future of New York City, multiple gangs converge as the leader Cyrus proposes a truce among them. Unfortunately, he’s assassinated, and the movie’s namesake are accused. Prompting them to head back to their turf, easier said than done. 

        The movie is great for a lot of reasons, I’m going to name a few of them. The individual designs of the gangs all scream 1970s, like duh I know. They all have a gimmick, with one of them dressed up in baseball uniforms, another that looks like the rejected version of The Ramones, and we have our gang who wear brown vests. It seemed that everyone is in a gang, I want to be in one.  

        The Warriors themselves are interesting since they are a seemingly good gang. All of them are bad, but when we follow them throughout the film, they never commit an act of crime. Only if they are confronted where they do things drastic. When the ensuing action happens, Swan takes over as the impromptu leader. Throughout the movie his leadership is called into question among his own. 

        Moreso that their numbers get smaller as the movie progresses. It’s very bold when we expect that all of them are supposed to make it out alive. The great thing about that is it shows just how much everything is going against them. Aside from the gangs hunting them down, the police as well are on their tails. Nothing is held back when one of them dies and gets arrested. 

        If there’s one thing, I noticed about the movie is that the gangs are seen as stand ins for class levels. All of the gangs are not on the same level, especially the first ones the Warriors encounter. The main guys practically scoff at The Orphans, especially the young lady Mercy who follows Swan and the Warriors. It shows that all of the gangs in New York are in the same predicament, but are different structurally speaking. 

        One scene that I like is when they take the train and a couple joins the same subway. Nothing is said just the camera cutting back from the normal couple and Swan and Mercy. We see the couple looking at them completely oblivious to what they went through. Once more, highlighting the class difference between them. We can only assume that they’re the same age, but it’s more stark if that’s apparently true. 

        The action is pretty good for the 1970s. I really like how it starts when the gang starts to lower their guards. One in particular when one half spends time with a an all-girl gang The Lizzies. As soon as they locked the door, all hell breaks loose. I just love it when one of them socks the girl with a chair like it’s wrestling. I think the best fight scene is in the subway restroom. It’s like a bar brawl with the Warriors and the Punks, just great all around. 

2. Legacy

        It’s hilarious reading on the film’s release that people wanted the film to be banned. Additionally, there were reported fights when the movie was released, ironically enough not in New York City. I think in one way, the film practically showcased the grime that was going on in NYC in the 70s. This one and Taxi Driver really showcased just how dirty the city was, albeit the gang representation was exaggerated in Warriors. It’s one of those things where if you tried to remake nowadays with a smack of newspaper littering, it’s just not enough. 

3. Overall

        The Warriors is a product of the 70s that is still timeless. It’s a modern day Greek play where one gang just wants to reach home. 

Duel Review

        Summer has arrived once again. And keeping with tradition, I’ll be talking about the genres that have made the summer blockbuster possible. It’s no surprise that the first movie I’ll be talking about is from the one who practically invented the summer movie slate, Steven Spielberg. The man is highly decorated as a director. This will be the first time that I’ll talk about his made for tv debut. 

1. Road Rage

        Before he worked with a shark, Spielberg worked with a killer truck. This wasn’t the first time where Steven had worked with something that has tinges of horror. He got his start with the horror anthology series Night Gallery, specifically he directed one of the segments that was part of the pilot episode. From there, it was clear that he had the talent to tell an interesting story and make it his own. 

        This is where Duel comes in. One last tidbit, the film was originally made for television that was broadcasted on ABC. When you watch it, the whole movie feels like an actual film instead of something that was rushed and filmed in a closed set. Anyways, we follow a driver named David. While on the road for a business trip, he’s harassed by a truck driver. What turns out as annoyance soon turns into a life and death survival. 

        You would be hard pressed to be able to just watch the movie and expect a good hour and 30 minutes of just a car chase and nothing else. No, with Spielberg’s first debut he absolutely nailed just making the whole film impactful. So much so that I was on the edge because the whole film has that dread aspect to it. 

        Despite having the film take place on the highway, I really like the fact that we have those moments to cool off from the chase. We get to listen to David’s inner thoughts since the whole encounter has made him paranoid. The brief one takes are a special touch as well, and Spielberg staple in his movies. One scene that I like is when he goes to a café to get his bearings. 

        He sees the bar top and looks at 4 drivers, and I really like the camera trick where it starts blurry then slowly comes into focus. It’s never established that either of them is the driver, and we don’t have a clear look of the driver when he’s in the truck. People might complain as to why the truck driver wants to kill our main character. Just looking at the truck, with its various license plates can assume that he’s killed other drivers. 

        Lastly, I just love the fact that the film was shot in location. As I mentioned before, the film was originally going to be filmed in a closed set. With a rear projection and everything. I got to commend Steven for being bold to shooting on location. And having just 10 days to film everything he needed. That manages to work since we see every moment that isn’t wasted. As well as being a legitimate challenge for any up and coming director to film something and to keep the film tight. 

2. Highway to Anxiety

        To expand more on the anxiety aspect, I think no actor can ever sell being on the verge of paranoia than actor Dennis Weaver. He manages to sell being a calm person than veer, no pun intended to a person who’s trying to survive. Just picturing the moments when he’s telling the people he meets that he’s being stalked unnerves me. Especially in the moment when he’s trying to help a marooned school bus. 

        I feel like in one way, the film reminds me of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. If you haven’t heard of him, he’s considered the master of suspense. Most of his films feature a psychological angle to it, and that’s where the film shines aside from the main highlight. Even when we’re supposed to be calm, there’s moments where the truck slowly comes in, or darts to cut in front of our main guy. 

3. Legacy

        This film is highly regarded as one of the best made for tv movies ever made. Without this movie, we can’t imagine where any the summer slate would be like. I think having the vehicle helped inspire other works such as Stephen King’s Christine. With the way the film handled the driving stunts, it set the standard that nowadays it’s mostly computerized or just completely unrealistic. I think the Mad Max series took a page from this movie and made a franchise out of it. 

4. Overall

        Duel is one of the best film debuts out there. Being 50 years old, it holds up still.