Bansai

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I Heart Powers Boothe

On a recent post I mentioned watching in 1980 the TV movie Guyana Tragedy that starred Powers Boothe as Jim Jones, leader of the People's Temple. While looking at Boothe's film career, I realized just how much I have loved watching this intense actor over the years. Here's some thoughts on Boothe on my favorite roles of his, including a few clips so you can get just a reminder of the man's on-screen charisma.

Some actors can be described by the simple phrase to describe their acting style: bad-ass. Make no mistake about it, Boothe is a bonafide American bad-ass on the screen. When you see the name Powers Boothe in the opening credits, you know you are about to get a role delivered with no-holds barred conviction and it's going to be heavy, tense and full of so much testosterone that you'll want to leave the theatre, eat a rare steak, throw down shots of illegal moonshine and then punch the first person you see in the face. You'll be tempted to repeatedly kick them whilst they are on the ground until your foot is covered in blood and bone, these are the kinds of thoughts that might go through your mind if you watch too many Powers Boothe movies in a row...so, be careful when delving into the world of Boothe!

The first time I saw Boothe was the aforementioned Guyana Tragedy and he unleashes an absolutely chilling portrayal of the cult leader that led 913 people [including 271 children] to the grave in 1978. Boothe won an Emmy for lead performance that year and it's much deserved. When I watched this in April of 1980, I sat riveted in our house as I watched Jones darkly come to life in front of my eyes. Boothe was mesmerizing in this role and here's a clip of him urging his followers to give up their lives for their movement.

A little over a year later, in the fall of 1981, my dad took me to see the R-rated action/thriller Southern Comfort and I quickly realized, "Hey, there's that guy who played Jim Jones last year." I loved Southern Comfort as a twelve year old [and still do, here's a link to a post I did back in 2008] as it is the story about a group of National Guardsman trying to survive being killed by Cajuns in unfriendly swampland. For a twelve year old in 1981--pure awesomeness. Southern Comfort helped create a love of the director Walter Hill and also fellow cast members Fred Ward and Keith Carradine. I've written "I Heart" posts about both of those guys, go here and here to read them. To this day, I get excited about anything those three people are involved in. Southern Comfort is just a full-on fun movie with violence, suspense, a taught-as-a-wire script and tough characters trying to make it out of this situation alive.

Other films Boothe was in during the 1980s that I liked were Red Dawn [1984], The Emerald Forest [1985] and Extreme Prejudice, another Hill directed picture from 1987. The 1990s were a little spotty as Boothe did more character work, but there was Tombstone [1993], Nixon [1995] and U Turn [1997] to keep me happy. The highlight for the 2000s was his three season stint on HBO's Deadwood playing, what else, a tough guy scheming to control the economic and social machinations of the 19th century frontier town. Although I've yet to see it, I'm excited to see Boothe in the recently aired feuding epic Hatfields & McCoys, where he featured a massive beard as one of the Hatfield clan.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of clips of Boothe on You Tube and I couldn't find the scenes I was hoping to post, but here is one from Tombstone that shows just how economical Boothe is as an actor. He's not going to wow you with flashy, over-the-top acting, but he will nail the reserved, brooding, quietly maniacal all day long. Look what he does in this scene with just two words. Two words. An actor who eat up scenes would have to work extra-hard to top Boothe in how he controls this scene with those couple of words. His career is littered with these kinds of moments, unfortunately not preserved on You Tube evidently.

Here's Boothe in John Milius' mid-80s Cold War propaganda action film Red Dawn [which I love by the way] telling the "Wolverines" about how they found themselves living in the mountains of Colorado as freedom fighters against the Russkies. Speaking of Red Dawn, please don't go see the horrific remake that is soon to be released. Giving Hollywood your money for these shams against original filmmaking only encourages them. Plus, it doesn't have Powers Boothe in it, so why in the world would you want to waste your time when there's already a Red Dawn with him in it?

More on film v digital

I've written a few times on CineRobot about the troubling era we are living in regarding the future of film. Here's a link to a debate between the two chief film critics [will that have to change when there is no more film? What will we call people who review cinema related material? Movie critic just doesn't have the same ring to it as film critic.] of the New York Times, A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis regarding the issue. I have to say, which is no surprise to regular readers, I side with Dargis on the issue. Go here to read their exchange.

The best thing about the article is that I learned that Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master was filmed in 70mm. Now, that's how to make a movie. Screw all this hand-held, edited on a laptop movie making!

L'Iceberg

A few nights ago I watched a very unique and quirky romantic comedy from Belgium/France called L'Iceberg. I was completely charmed and captivated by this sweet-hearted little film and feel the need to spread the gospel since it's one that I don't think a lot of people of heard of or had the chance to see. I watched it Netflix streamer, so it's available there if you get that. Back to the film.

What's kind of different about this film is that it was made by a trio of people. I've heard of directing duos, brothers directing and spouses teaming up to make a film, but I've never heard of three separate people writing, directing AND acting in multiple films together. Yet, that is what we have here as Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy share those duties. L'Iceberg [2005] is the first film the trio have made together [Rumba, 2008; The Fairy, 2011] and I'm very eager to watch the other two as soon as I can as they appear just as relentlessly enchanting as L'Iceberg based on the trailers I've watched online.

In L'Iceberg, Gordon plays a woman who runs a fast food restaurant who is accidentally locked into the walk-in freezer one night and it changes her life. All of a sudden, she wants to shed the shackles of her married life of routine normalcy, the husband, the two kids. She craves anything cold. She finds herself hiding out in the walk-in freezer, sticking her head in her refrigerator and finally, abandoning the family to seek relief on a quest to make it to an actual iceberg to hang out on the ultimate cold object she can find.

One thing that makes L'Iceberg so different is there is very little dialogue. It's practically a silent movie. Evidently, this is a common pattern for Abel, Gordon and Romy, as all their films appear to be free of conversation. When there is talking, it's usually clipped, odd, humorous and stresses the blank-faced confusion of most of the characters as they stumble through life. There is also a level of physicality and awareness in human movement that also ties the film to the silent genre. Throughout the film, the lead characters engage in subtle and not-so-subtle bits of business with their bodies that is a direct connection to the by-gone era of silent filmmaking.

As I said at the start, I found L'Iceberg enchanting. It's not for everyone due to the lack of dialogue, but if you enjoy off-kilter comedies, you may want to check one [or all three!] of these films out by Abel, Gordon and Romy. I know I'm watching more of them soon as I may have just found a new group of filmmakers to discover and follow in the future. Not much in the way of trailers online, but check out the non-subtitled one below for a snippet of L'Iceberg's charms.

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Split Image and my love of doomsday cults

Recently I wrote about about Poltergeist, a film I saw in 1982 that had a great affect on me. Split Image is also from 1982 but it did not have the same kind of subconscious impact on me after I watched it. In fact, I'd sort of forgotten I'd even seen this when I went to a late night screening of it at Cinefamily a few weeks ago. I was lured to the theatre by a couple of things: film about joining a cult, the fetching Karen Allen in the cast and a young, mustached James Woods as a de-programmer. When the film began, I suddenly realized that I'd seen the film sometime in 1983 on our satellite dish and that I not only remembered it, I also had really liked it when I saw it as a 14 year old.

Guess what? Nearly thirty years later and I still love Split Image! It's one of the films that the 1970s/1980s are notorious for and why those two decades are a treasure trove for lovers of cult cinema. Directed by the eclectic Ted Kotcheff [this man directed First Blood AND Weekend at Bernie's!] and starring Michael O'Keefe as an impressionable kid named "Danny" who gets sucked into a cult by a girl [since it's Karen Allen, I can't really blame him, I might be tempted into a cult by her and those freckles] and then gets completely brainwashed by Peter Fonda [now that's easy casting]. Soon after he hangs out a few hours at the compound, he's cut off his hair, has a new name ["Joshua", nice cult name], rejecting his parents and out scrounging for money and/or new members around town. Boy, was he an easy mark. Naturally Mom and Dad [Brian Dennehy/Elizabeth Ashley] aren't too keen on "Danny" [err, "Joshua"] giving up the suburban life so they hire a de-programmer [Woods] to get their son back.

Can I tell you how awesome Split Image is? Just watch the trailer above for 30 seconds that hint at the greatness. It's got everything you'd want in an early 1980s film about joining a cult: vague new-agey sermons, blissfully happy youths full of energy and positivity as they live on their compound, cultish ceremonies, mind control, an angry de-programmer played by an actor who is chewing scenery like its nobody's business [Woods, of course], kidnappings, intense scenes of breaking down the cult's grip on "Danny," a star-crossed romance between young people who are unfortunately in a cult, gymnastics. Yes, don't forget the gymnastics.  Split Image is as much pure 100% fun a serious drama about kids joining cults and then getting out of them could be.

James Woods in this era was becoming known for over-the-top, go-for-broke performances and that's the case for him in Split Image. For example, one year later Woods would star in David Cronenberg's Videodrome. He's so wired in this it's like he's either channeling a wild animal or so loaded on cocaine that the coil is too tight and I'm not sure where the acting begins and ends. Virtually every line that Woods utters in this is pure gold. Here's two video clips of Woods from Split Image that will give you a taste of what he was going for. Note in the first clip the unusual choice by Woods to take his sock off and fan his sweaty foot while engaging in a strange conversation about the greedy aspirations of youths. Second clip has Woods unleashing an infamous line about some of the food the cult members are forced to eat. Enjoy and thank me in the comments section.

When I saw Split Image in 1983, I'd already become kind of interested in cults thanks to growing up the cult hotbed decade that was the 1970s. I was already aware of the Unification Church [known as "Mooneys" to me], the Manson Family and the big one for me, the People's Temple. In 1978 when the People's Temple leader Jim Jones unleashed a mass-suicide [or forced suicide and/or full-on murder rampage] in the jungles of Jonestown, Guyana, 913 people died, including 270 children. This was obviously a big story and it was on every news station, paper and I remember sermons about it at my Southern Baptist church that I frequented. Then in 1980 I saw the CBS TV movie called Guyana Tragedy and watched transfixed as Powers Boothe delivered an epic performance as Jim Jones. 

My life long interest in cults was cemented on this night in April 1980 and it has not wavered since. Heaven's Gate, Branch Dividians, Scientologists, Raelism, Aum Shinrikyo, Solar Temple, Chen Tao, Children of God and on and on. I'm particularly interested in doomsday cults for whatever reason--give me something about a doomsday cult and I get a little bit giddy. I shouldn't confess this on a film blog but in 1993 I was kind of rooting for the Branch Davidians to hold-out agains the ATF during the deadly siege. I'm just weird like that for cults. 

Split Image doesn't have a doomsday element, but it is a mainstream Hollywood film about a young guy joining a cult and then getting de-programmed and in 1983, in the era before the internet, before we had information at our fingertips with stories and video, seeing something like this was not only very powerful, it was extremely entertaining. Nearly thirty years later, Split Image is still entertaining if not quite as powerful. How could it not be with James Woods chewing up dialogue, the lovely Karen Allen as a cult member and gymnastics. Yes, gymnastics. 

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The Master in 70mm!

Los Angeles has its good traits and its bad ones, but one of the positives is connected to movies. No surprise there. I don't want to brag but I already have my tickets bought for a weekend screening of the most anticipated film I will go to in 2012: The Master. Paul Thomas Anderson can do no wrong in my book. There Will Be Blood. Boogie Nights. Magnolia. Punch-Drunk Love. Hard Eight. In fact, I'd say he's the best American filmmaker alive. Scratch that. He's the best filmmaker in the world and his new movie looks flat-out amazing as it tells the story of a cult leader [Philip Seymour Hoffman] who preys on an angry GI [Joaquin Phoenix] post WW2. The Master's PR department is playing down the Scientology connection, but come on, we all know that this is a nod to L. Ron Hubbard and the early days of Scientology.

The best thing about seeing it this weekend before the movie goes to the rest of the country on the 14th? I will get to see it in glorious 70mm! It seems that Anderson shunned 35mm or digital and went old-school in the most epic format possible. Trust me, 70mm is the only way to watch a movie. Better yet, I am seeing it at a Cinerama Dome. I'm all goose pimply in anticipation and hope that any readers not getting the chance to see it in 70mm won't hate me too much.

Here's a snippet from the film to give you a taste of what to expect with The Master.

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Lisztomania

Here's a clip of director Allison Anders [Gas Food Lodging, Grace of My Heart] talking about Lisztomania and why she likes it. I watched it at Cinefamily and Anders also talked before the screening and said much of what she says in the clip below. You can tell by the footage just how over the top this Ken Russell film is.

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Poltergeist

When you watch a film that you've seen many times, sometimes the memories come flooding back regarding when and where it was seen first. Such was the case a few weeks ago as I re-watched one of my favorite films from my childhood in the ghost-horror film Poltergeist. I've seen it numerous times, but this was the first time in a theatre since I saw it with my cousin Andi when it came out at a multiplex in Muskogee, Oklahoma. In 1982,  I was 13, she was 14 and many times during the film I felt the grip of her hand clawing into my arm as she was terrified at what was happening on the screen. While I wasn't hanging on for dear life, the movie unleashed a torrent of inner fear that I would hold to for years.

For example, there's no way I would ever stand for a television to be on and full of the static that plays a key role in the picture. Every time I was faced with such a situation, I could swear that I heard the disembodied voices of the lost souls that wandered around in a vortex of the unknown, waiting to come out of the vessel of mass communication the television set provided. Misplaced souls were not welcome where ever I was and its been that way since 1982.

It's been a few years since I've seen it, but I was struck by just how creepy this film still is. Some of the early CGI '82 effects are a little unfortunate, but the actual scenes that are designed to produce chills are marvelously effective thirty years after its release. On multiple occasions I felt goosebumps on my flesh during Poltergeist. Directed by Tobe Hooper [texas Chainsaw Massacre] and co-written by Steven Spielberg, it has his fingerprints all over it with its tale of suburban dread, humor, kids in peril and mainstream pop-culture references. There is a terrific balance between family, humor, paranoia and the scary bits that just flow nicely from one scene to the next throughout the film.

The ensemble cast, led by  Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams, are all up to the task but the film is stolen by diminutive, the high-pitched voice of Zelda Rubenstein as the house's spiritual "cleaner". Rubenstein is funny, strong-willed and extremely believable as this person and adds to the level of creepiness due to her voice and personality. If you haven't seen Poltergeist in a while, check out the clip below with a four minute sequence dedicated to Rubenstein's performance. If you haven't seen the film, I would stop it at the 90 second mark so you don't have spoilers for what comes next. Rubenstein is gold in the movie and she's so wonderful, I would have liked a spin-off film of just her going around ghostbusting houses!

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Rise and Fall of the Clash + My Career as a Jerk

On back to back nights I recently watched two documentaries about punk rock bands--one from London and one from Los Angeles. While both were worth watching for fans of the bands or the style of music, both were kind of raw, low-budget and catered for the fans and will likely not be of interest outside of people who love documentaries about the many styles of rock music that exists. That's me. I will watch any documentary related to music, especially rock related material. I'm not particularly into hardcore punk rock, but I still find it interesting. Here's a couple of short reviews of docs about The Clash and Circle Jerks.

The Rise and Fall of the Clash. Between the two films, this was the more polished as it concentrates mostly on the "fall" of the iconic English band The Clash. There's a little bit about their rise to fame, but this is mostly about the in-band issues that fractured them and led to a series of highly embarrassing public debacles by what was left of the group when the album "Cut the Crap" came out in 1985. This album's reputation is summed up by one of the words in the title, you can guess which one. By that point in time, there was no Mick Jones as he'd been sacked by Joe Strummer and svengali manager Bernie Rhodes. Not a wise decision as Jones seems to be the only person with any taste in the group. Between the two leaders of the band and how they are portrayed in the film: Jones comes off very good in this, Strummer does not. Unfortunately, Strummer's no longer around to defend his actions but he comes off like a puppet doing whatever Rhodes tells him to do, while also making some disastrous creative decisions. The documentary actually has a sneaky sense of humor as the people who had been hired to replace Jones and drummer Topper Headon were outlandish or provided great soundbites [Nick Sheppard was at the screening and helped deliver a nice post-screening Q and A]. These people realized they were hired guns [at 150 pounds a week while Strummer and Rhodes became millionaires] and 25+ years later get to come clean about their brief roles in the group.

Circle Jerks: My Career as a Jerk. The best thing about the low-budget story of the Los Angeles hardcore band Circle Jerks is the treasure trove of footage of live shows of the band at various locations across the city. The concert footage documents a time, place and musical movement more than any of the band members can. And with Circle Jerks, there have been a lot of band members through the years! There's been singer Keith Morris [Black Flag's first singer] and guitarist Greg Hetson [who has also been in Bad Religion since the mid-80s] but other than that has been a rotating group of drummers and bassists since the band first started causing a ruckus in 1979. The film takes a straight ahead approach documenting every single line-up change that included folks such as Lucky Lehrer, Earl Liberty, Chuck Biscuits, Flea and Zander Schloss over the years. Even more so than The Clash doc, My Career as a Jerk is directed for the fans, as it comes off kind of repetitive and is full of long live performances that are raw, angry and blistering. Say what you want about Circle Jerks, some of their early gigs are intense and raging testosterone and the often times grainy, VHS-esque quality of the footage perfectly captures the era. One piece of advice I have for singer Morris and his crazy long dreadlocks: cut them off! You are too old and much too white to have hair like that.

A side element to this screening was the foul behavior of two older audience members with shaved heads who seemed to be channeling their obnoxious early 1980s teenage personalities by loudly talking, yelling "Oi" over and over, hollering song lyrics and making comments to the people talking in the film as if they were in the room with them and not a crowded theatre. Finally, after about 20 minutes of this and a couple of warnings, they were asked to exit the theatre and they left to the same amount of noise they'd provided the entire screening. As they were led out, the majority of the theatre applauded.

Here's a clip of Circle Jerks doing "Wild in the Streets" at a club in Los Angeles in the early 1980s to give you a sense of the kind of punk rock music they played in their early days.

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August movies

I've been really, really lazy. And busy. Hence long layoff. I'll try to post some stuff in September to get back on the horse. I've added a new element to the monthly recaps--listed guest speakers who were at the screening. These are usually the director, actor or others connected to the film or who are fans of the movie and lead the Q and A. Los Angeles is a goldmine for guest speaker screenings!

My documentary binge continued with nine of the nineteen films I saw being documentaries. One reason for that is the sheer amount of "streamers" offered on Netflix. While I'm not completely sold on Netflix streamers due to lack of selection, they do have a lot of documentaries on offer.

Celeste and Jesse Forever---2012---usa   ***
Kumare---2012---usa   ***  [Vikram Gandhi, actor/director]
Searching for Sugar Man---2012---usa   ****
The Campaign---2012---usa   ***1/2
Split Image---1982---usa   ***1/2
In the Mood for Love---2000---hong kong   ****
Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan---1982---usa   *****! [Nicholas Meyer, director; Peyton Reed, director]
The Story of Wrestlemania---2011---usa   **
Lisztomania---1975---england   ***1/2 [Allison Anders, director]
I Am Legend---2007---usa   **
Night of the Living Dead---1968---usa   ****
Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade---2007---usa   **1/2
Poltergeist---1982---usa   ****1/2
William Burroughs: A Man Within---2010---usa   **1/2
Special When Lit: A Pinball Story---2009---usa   ***
Rise and Fall of the Clash--2012--england  *** [Nick Sheppard; Pearl Harbor, musicians]
Circle Jerks: My Career as a Jerk--2012--usa  **1/2 [Dave Markey, director; Lucky Lehrer, Greg Hetson, Earl Liberty--all musicians]
The Ambassador--2012--denmark  ***1/2    [Mads Brugger, actor/director]
Slovenian Girl---2009---slovenia   ***