Escape from New York

Not having been around in the 60s and 70s when Kurt Russell was making a name for himself on TV and in Disney movies like 'The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes,' I don't know how popular the young actor was at the time. He was obviously popular enough though as he springboarded his early Disney career into feature films as an adult that typically had him playing some variation of a tough guy.

Part of that transition is thanks in great part to action/horror director John Carpenter who cast Russell in two early 80s movies, Escape from New York and The Thing (a remake of a 1950s sci-fi movie). The Thing is one of my favorite horror/sci-fi combos with Russell headlining as MacReady, a booze-swilling, tough talking helicopter pilot of a remote science station in the Arctic. Seeing the cast and reading the plot of 'Escape,' I thought I'd enjoy that one as much but came away disappointed.

In 1988, crime in the U.S. escalates over 400% and the island of Manhattan is turned into a maximum security prison. A huge wall is built all around the island, and all the bridges and exits off the island are mined so prisoners can't escape. It's a self-governed prison where there are no guards, and the prisoners rule themselves with no interference from above. The idea is simple, as a prisoner you go onto the island and never leave. But after years of success, a revolutionary group hijacks Air Force One with the President (Donald Pleasence) on board and crashes the plane onto the island.

The prison commissioner, Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) is forced to come up with a plan to get the President out of the island prison safely and is facing a deadline in doing it. The President needs to speak at a world summit -- the U.S., Russia, and China seem to be at war but it's never clearly spelled out -- and is carrying vital information. Hauk turns to his only option, a prisoner about to be sent to Manhattan, Snake Plisken (Russell), promising him a full pardon if he can get the President out in only 22 hours. Snake agrees, and gets onto the island via a glider that lands on top of the World Trade Center (a very eerie scene) only to find that the President is a prisoner of the Duke (Isaac Hayes), the self-appointed ruler of Manhattan Prison.

Carpenter's films have a reputation as cult classics, movies that aren't necessarily high quality but are nonetheless extremely entertaining. 'Escape' certainly has that popularity with its fans, but I struggled getting into the movie. It was filmed on a small budget, but that tends to work here more often than not. Carpenter uses parts of downtown St. Louis as a stand-in for a ruined, beaten down Manhattan, and the setting works beautifully. Almost all the movie takes place at night in the shadowy, vacant streets where prisoners with nothing to lose hide just out of sight ready to attack if the opportunity presents itself. Atmosphere and cinematography are the least of the movie's worries.

Clocking in at a brisk 99 minutes, the movie feels stagnant at times but could also use some fleshing out of the characters, especially Plissken. Russell growls and grimaces his way through lines, making Plissken a modern-day gunfighter you could see Clint Eastwood playing in a spaghetti western. His background is hinted at -- war hero turned criminal -- but it's never dealt with in full force. Maybe it was intended that way to keep the already very stylish, very cool character a mystery, which I understand, but even a little more background would have been good. Also, Carpenter had to cut the original beginning of the movie explaining how Plissken got caught, acts the way he does and ends up being sent to Manhattan. Check it out HERE if curious. Extremely stylish sequence which could have really helped the movie out.

But in addition to little development for Plissken, the supporting cast is given even less, a real shame when considering the talent involved. Hayes is more of a presence than an actor and pulls off the part of the Duke adequately, but how did he come to power in Manhattan? Van Cleef as always is a badass, and Pleasence is really just an idea of a president. There's also Ernest Borgnine as Cabbie, a longtime prisoner who still operates his cab, and Harry Dean Stanton as Brain, a prisoner living in the library who supplies the Duke with gasoline for his entourage, seen here. Cabbie gets some backstory but not much, and Brain has a history with Snake but that's never really revealed. Adrienne Barbeau's chest also makes an appearance as Maggie, Brain's girl. She says virtually nothing and wears a low-cut dress. That's the character, no frills attached.

The generally cheap feeling of the movie works in most cases, but basically nothing happens. Snake walks around a lot -- at a slow pace too considering time is of the essence -- meets people, runs around, snatches the President rather easily and tries to get out of the island prison fortress. Even Russell's cool presence couldn't save this one as an interesting story never rises to its potential and wastes a strong supporting cast.

Escape from New York <----trailer (1981): **/****

Man Hunt

Plots and conspiracies to kill political figures and social activists among others have existed as long as history itself. The flaw (or strength depending on how you look at) with making a movie about those subjects is that much of the time the audience will already know the end of the story. JFK, Lincoln, Ghandi, Archbishop Romero, you know that in the end, they're going to die. The same goes for people who weren't killed, think Day of the Jackal. Charles de Gaulle was not assassinated so it's obvious the Jackal is going to fail.

The enjoyment out of stories based in historical truth is in how the assassin is going to fail. The survivor of many assassination attempts, Adolf Hitler finally took his own life in Berlin in 1945 as the Russian forces closed in all around his underground complex. But for every attempt history has documented, like Valkyrie, how many failed? That's the basic idea of 1941's Man Hunt, an attempt on Hitler's life and the subsequent fallout in the summer of 1939 before Germany invaded Poland.

A tense opening sequence introduces a lone man, Alan Thorndike (Walter Pidgeon) walking through some a densely-wooded forest area. Armed with a precision rifle, Thorndike sets up a shot and is ready to take it. Who's in his scope? Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Third Reich. But before he can shoot, he's stopped by a guard. Under intense interrogation, Thorndike won't admit he was trying to kill Hitler. Instead, he says he just wanted to know what it felt like to have Hitler in his sights, but of course no one believes him. Thorndike refuses to sign a confession and ends up escaping when his captors attempt to kill him, all the while trying to make it seem like an accident.

Running for his life, Thorndike somehow makes it to safety, stowing away on a Danish freighter meant for London. But he isn't as safe as he thinks and soon finds out that two German agents are on his trail, Maj. Quive-Smith (George Sanders) and Mr. Jones (John Carradine). Thorndike gets help from a lower class British woman, Jerry Stokes (Joan Bennett), who has no idea what's she stepped into. Thorndike knows he cannot be captured, but he also can't go to the English government for help. He's completely on his own and must figure out a way to survive.

The premise is very interesting, and the opening sequence is a great introduction to the story. Seeing Hitler in Thorndike's sights is a startling moment because even when he places a bullet in the chamber, it's obvious he won't pull the trigger, not successfully at least. But the movie goes downhill almost immediately after this extended sequence. Thorndike escapes when the Germans plan to make his death look like an accident in a truly ridiculous scene. He's pushed off a cliff -- a high one at that -- but somehow survives without as much as a broken bone. I had trouble believing that Hitler's security force would have waited till hours later to check that the man was dead. On a bigger level, more likely they would have put a bullet in his head and not thought twice about it before even heading up to that cliff.

But it doesn't stop there as Thorndike seeds aid from Bennett's Jerry. This plot device has been used countless times and usually in a much stronger fashion; an unknowing, sometimes unwilling individual gets involved in some dangerous situation and decides to go all in. But watching the character, all I could think of was how she acts like a pouting toddler most of the time. Thorndike does his best to look out for her and keep her out of danger, but she grimaces, scrunches up her face and demands to be taken along. At one point, she even demands he buy her a new pin for her hat because her favorite one fell off when they were being chased. Granted, this pin serves a purpose late in the movie, but that doesn't take away the unnecessarily obnoxious make-up of the character.

All those logistical flaws -- incompetent Nazis, really? -- and annoyances aside, this would be a good movie. Having the Gestapo hunting you down does have its fair share of worry and tension involved. Two chase scenes, one in a busy London subway station, and the other a race through the streets on a foggy night, highlight the movie's better aspects. But too often, Pidgeon acts like the proper English gentleman, shrugging off the situation with a 'tut, tut' and 'cheerio, old chap' but in these scenes it'd be hard to ruin the atmosphere. His confrontations with the German agents are surprisingly graphic, not in what they show but what's actually happening in terms of violence, especially considering it was released in 1941.

Could have been an excellent WWII thriller but the flaws are just too much to ignore. Good villainous turns for Sanders and Carradine as the German agents on the hunt (Carradine barely says 10 words and is terrifying as all hell). The premise alone might make you want to check this one out, and I won't say 'don't do it' but be forewarned about a very flawed and sometimes entertaining movie. The ending is a little much too, even for a movie with a propaganda motive. Sorry, couldn't find a trailer anywhere.

Man Hunt (1941): **/****

The Seventh Cross

Released in 1944 as WWII was still raging in Europe and the Pacific, The Seventh Cross had to be one of, if not the first, major motion picture to deal with the Holocaust. The first major camp was even liberated by the Russians just a day before The Seventh Cross was released in theaters. People joke all the time about dealing with touchy subjects with the line "Oh, too soon?" and in this case the Holocaust in Europe was still very much an issue. Of course, to say this movie is purely a Holocaust movie would be misleading because the story moves away from the concentration camps quickly.

It's 1936 deep in Germany -- so the war hasn't even started yet for all you history majors -- and seven men escape from the Westhofen concentration camp. The group splits up to travel individually with the escape leader George Heissler (Spencer Tracy) narrowly escaping being picked up just minutes after leaving the camp. The search is on for these escapees and one by one they are picked up. The camp commandant vows to hang each of the prisoners from a row of crosses standing outside his office (hence the title), but Heissler eludes capture.

With no options and always close to exhaustion, Heissler must make his way to safety somehow. The Gestapo is looking for him and offers a reward for information on him. Unbeknownst to Heissler, an old friend, Franz Marnet (Herbert Rudley) is trying to get in contact with him to help him get out of Germany safely. Down to his last resort, George turns to an acquaintance from his past, a factory worker (Hume Cronyn) with a wife (Jessica Tandy) and three children. Time seems to be running out though for Heissler as the authorities close in.

For several reasons, this was a movie ahead of its time. For starters, it deals with the Holocaust in Germany from a different perspective. Instead of telling the story from inside the concentration camps, the whole movie is a chase through Germany. No time is wasted at all in the camp with the first shot showing the seven escapees cutting through the barbed wire. For the rest of the movie, we are given a glimpse into what German citizens dealt with before and during WWII. People and families disappear without a trace and no explanation. So when Heissler shows up asking for him with no knowledge of where he was, these people are curious as to his whereabouts.

It's also interesting to see a home-front war movie where most tend to deal in front line stories about the soldiers and officers fighting the battles. Granted, 'Cross' is several years before the war started, but there's a sense of what's to come. Cronyn's Paul Roeder works in a factory that's been converted to war materiel in an epic weapons build-up, and there's already a feeling of the Gestapo being like Big Brother with an ear to the ground and an interest in goings-on all around the country. Even the German citizens fear for what the secret police could be up to.

Through the casting, the picture of the German home front comes across clearly with a variety of people as George attempts to get out of the country. Tracy is very strong in his performance as a shell of the man he used to be, now trying to regain some of the dignity he used to have. It's through his travels he comes to trust again and see that man can be a compassionate, emotional individual. Cronyn and Tandy (some 40 years before Cocoon) are at their best, a typical young married couple who put everything at risk to help their old friend. There's also a young Swedish girl Toni (Signe Hasso) and a long list of underground members trying their best to save this one man, putting their lives on the line in the process.

A very enjoyable movie overall that does drag a bit in the second half. It would have been hard for director Fred Zinnemann to keep up the energy from the 1st hour, but it is not enough to not recommend this movie. So for a different, pretty unique look at pre-WWII Germany and the concentration camps and Holocaust, give this one a try.

The Seventh Cross <---trailer (1944): ***/****

L.A. Confidential

In its heyday, the film noir genre turned out more than its fair share of classic movies in the late 1940s and early 1950s. These were tough stories often shot in black and white with a typically cynical view of the world. Tough guy actors like Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan dotted these stories which appealed to audiences then and especially now over 60 year later. But as great as some of these movies were, they were limited by the times they were made in with censorship and production codes keeping a tight rein on these stories.

No such problem in 1997 when L.A. Confidential was released in theaters with a moderate success in theaters and almost complete critical acclaim. Director Curtis Hanson revisits much of what made film noir popular with this hard-bitten, rough-edged movie. Hanson uses Los Angeles extensively in location shooting, and much like 1974's Chinatown did, produces a feeling of what the city must have felt like in the past. With no censors holding him back, the story is blunt and straightforward, full of language and violence that never seems extreme and is almost always essential to the story. This one slipped by me since its release, but am I ever glad I caught up with it.

Based on a novel by James Ellroy, L.A. Confidential has a plot that is pretty near impossible explaining here without giving away many of the key twists and turns it takes. Anyways, here's the gist of it. It's 1953 Los Angeles where the LAPD is full of corruption and scandal with three very different cops stepping into the limelight. First, there's Ed Exley (Guy Pearce), a rising star on the force looking to make a name for himself the right way, the moral way. Second, there's Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), a veteran of the force and a bit of a celebrity for his work with 'Badge of Honor,' a thinly veiled Dragnet rip-off. Don't be confused though, Vincennes is a good cop, even if he may take some shortcuts in his detective work. And last, there's Bud White (Russell Crowe), a brutish homicide detective not above planting some evidence or beating a confession out of a suspect.

Not always working together, the three officers are all involved in one way or another with a massacre at a little diner where 5 people, including a former cop, were murdered, apparently by three young black men wielding shotguns. But as the trio soon figures out, everything is not so cut and dry as it seems. It's nice to see a deeply-layered story like this that requires the viewer to pay attention to each and every scene, every line of dialogue. Even paying close attention, the story is so convoluted and full of twists and turns that it can be hard to follow. Never fear though, the last 30 minutes wraps everything up nicely with an impressive body count too.

Movies with a big ensemble cast have always appealed to me, and this is one of the best. Pearce, Spacey and Crowe all bring something different to their parts, cops who are very different but also very similar. They go about things differently, but they want the same results. Joining them in the cast is Kim Basinger who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her part as Lynn Bracken, a high-price callgirl involved with Crowe's White and the case they're all working. Often more recognized for her good looks than her acting chops, Basinger delivers a strong performance as a woman who ends up as a pawn in a huge conspiracy. Rounding out the cast are James Cromwell as commissioner Dudley Smith, Danny DeVito as Sid Hudgens, a paparazzi before there was TMZ, and David Strathairn as Pierce Patchett, a millionaire working with the movies, cops, drug dealer and prosititutes.

Racking up Oscar nominations in 1997 like crazy, but only winning two -- stupid Titanic -- this is one of those movies that has it all from casting to cinematography to a great understated score from Jerry Goldsmith. It's a throwback to the movies of classic Hollywood, the Golden Age of movies, albeit with a lot more language, cursing and graphic violence. LA Confidential has a professional feeling hovering around it that too often movies are lacking. Can't recommend this one enough, although the final scene does have a bit of a cop-out. Small potatoes I guess in the bigger picture.

L.A. Confidential <----trailer (1997): ****/****

Sherlock Holmes

Never one to pull punches with his movies, it was not surprising to hear that director Guy Ritchie's take on famed and loved literary character Sherlock Holmes was going to veer slightly from the classic image of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character. The somewhat accepted version of Holmes is a rather stately gentleman who is an expert in using little clues to solve much bigger mysteries. He is well-dressed, well-spoken and highly intelligent. Enter Richie who takes Holmes and does a complete 180 with him, most of the time for the better in the recently released Sherlock Holmes.

The casting choice for Holmes could be seen as an odd one -- American actor Robert Downey Jr. -- but that's the least of the movie's troubles. I shouldn't say that, it sounds too negative, but the movie does have it's flaws. Downey Jr. takes Ritchie's idea and runs with it, transforming the renowned detective into a scruffy brawler who is nonetheless a highly observant, highly intelligent individual who is as likely to throw a punch and down some booze as he is to solve a case. To say the least, Downey Jr. makes him an eccentric and to the movie's benefit.

Working with his sidekick and roomate (more on that later) Dr. Watson (Jude Law), London detective Sherlock Holmes prevents a serial killer, Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), from killing his sixth female victim in an exciting opening sequence. Blackwood is imprisoned and hung some three months later with Watson pronouncing him dead at the scene. It's not long though before the police come in search of Holmes' help. Blackwood has apparently risen from the dead and looks to keep a promise he made to Holmes; he'll continue to terrorize London and then later England, the U.S. and the entire world. Not a believer in black magic in the least, Holmes goes about solving the mystery which gets murkier when a woman from his past, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), gets involved.

Sherlock Holmes received somewhat mixed reviews but is still raking in the cash in theaters. I love going to the movies and was excited to see this one, but still came away like I had missed something. It was a movie I wanted to love but only ended up liking it. Thinking back on it, I can't even figure out why which confuses me even more. Maybe it was the audience I saw it with, but the humourous elements fell short. There were some chuckles here and there but never any laugh out loud moments. Making Holmes a brawler works in two early scenes as he explains in voiceover how he'll win the battle through slow-motion and then does it in the matter of a second or two. But with the exception of the finale, the action seems oddly out of place and even slows the movie down.

The casting is not surprisingly the best part of the movie. Downey Jr. has another successful franchise on his hands if he wants it (yeah, yeah, the ending leaves the door wide open for a sequel) and breathes life into a character that might have been rather stuffy with another actor. Playing loyal Watson, Jude Law matches Downey step for step and scene for scene. His Watson is the straight man to Holmes' antics, but he's also an ally -- sometimes unwillingly so -- in Holmes' adventures. As for the roommate thing, I'm still trying to decide if Ritchie tried to make the two characters come off as gay. There's obviously a bromance going on here with Holmes and Watson bickering like an old married couple, especially now that Watson is engaged. Their relationship is played for laughs and works nicely, providing some of the movie's best moments and many of those already mentioned chuckles.

Rounding out the lead trio, Rachel McAdams handles herself well as Irene Adler, a female version of Holmes, an ass-kicking con woman who's duped Sherlock at least twice. It's not the best-written part and she disappears for extended segments in the 1st hour, but McAdams makes the most of it. One other fault that comes to mind is the lack of a strong villain. Strong's Blackwood just isn't given enough development, and the explanations in the end for his other-worldly abilities take his character down another notch. As an intellectual, he's a perfect foe for Holmes but the part feels underwritten. Eddie Marsan has a good part as a London inspector, Robert Maillet plays an enormous thug who keeps crossing paths with Holmes and Watson, and Kelly Reilly is Mary, Watson's fiance who must fight with Holmes for his affection.

I'm definitely going to have to think some more about this one because it has all the elements of what could have been a really exciting, very professional movie. Composer Hans Zimmer assembled an atypical score that works nicely, including a catchy theme for Holmes. The cast is very reliable and the story is interesting enough, but something just didn't click for me. I'd still recommend seeing it, but it's not a very strong recommendation. I liked this movie, but I wanted to love it.

Sherlock Holmes <----trailer (2009): ** 1/2 /****

Rollerball

Since the earliest science fiction movies were made, viewers have been treated to pictures and ideas of what the future holds for us. Some are in other universes created in someone's imagination, but then there is those movies that are just a presentation of what Earth and its population will look like down the road. Now, some 30 and 40 years later it's interesting to look at these movies because many were based in the first quarter of the 21st century, like Soylent Green, Death Race 2000, and even to a certain extent Planet of the Apes. So how 'off' were some of these movies thinking about what the future holds for us? Not too far in some cases.

Take 1975's Rollerball which is set in 2018 when there are no more countries, just corporations who rule cities around the world. To help control the population, the corporations have developed a game called Rollerball, an odd combination of basketball, roller derby, football, and hand-to-hand combat with motorcycles thrown in for good measure, which appeals to the masses and gives them something to not only root for and support, but to get some of their bloodlust out and flowing.

Leading the defending champion Houston team, superstar and 10-year veteran Jonathan E (James Caan) is the face of the sport and known all around the world for his play. But just a few games away from another championship, Jonathan is approached by RCI Energy's CEO, Mr. Bartholomew (John Houseman), with a proposition. All the CEOs want him to retire and leave the game behind with no reason or excuse given. The rollerball superstar bristles at the thought, he loves the game he's become a star in and doesn't want to leave, but of course it's not that simple. The corporation CEOs want and need him out and are prepared to do whatever it takes to get Jonathan to leave, even if that means changing the rules of the game to make it even more dangerous.

Right off the bat, I was impressed with the creation of the game of rollerball. Sports movies typically have an advantage right away because viewers are familiar with the game being presented. That way, if the sports scenes are handled well, it's easier to suck the viewer in. But with rollerball, there's no background, no previous knowledge so we're forced to pick it up on the fly. Simply put, the game is something else. Three main sequences -- 3 different games as Houston battles Madrid, Tokyo, and New York -- highlight the story and instantly sucked me in. Imagine gladiators on roller skates. The games start off brutal enough, but are taken to a whole new level once the rules are changed. Here's SPOILERS a cool fanmade video highlighting some of the games.

With some obvious variations, one way or another these futuristic sci-fi movies present a dystopian society. This 2018 society doesn't so look bad, but everyday life is completely controlled by these corporations, everything from reading books to watching television (certain people are given "privileges"). Like 1984, there's a sense of Big Brother all over Rollerball's story. That sense of impending doom grows as Jonathan refuses to retire. He becomes paranoid, questioning to what point the corporations will take it? All of that worry and unease builds to the championship game where there are no penalties and no substitutions. The ending itself (check it out HERE) is the perfect finale, a sequence done with little dialogue as the game unfolds.

When I reviewed Thief late last summer, I revealed my man-crush on James Caan, one of my favorite actors around. Alongside The Godfather and maybe even the TV show Las Vegas, Rollerball is probably Caan's most well-known role and for good reason. His Jonathan E. is Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky, and Walter Payton rolled into one. He's a sports star playing a game he loves, just trying to figure out why the powers that be want him out. It's a great performance and one that dominates the movie. With a small but key part, Houseman is incredibly intimidating as Bartholomew, Houston's CEO. Other key supporting parts include scene-stealing John Beck as Moonpie, Jonathan's teammate (think of a hit man on skates), Moses Gunn as Clete, a former rollerball coach, Maud Adams as Ella, Jonathan's ex-wife, and Ralph Richardson as the Librarian.

An iconic movie from the 1970s but for all the right reasons. It's an action movie with a message, a deeper sense of the story other than just athletes on skates beating the crap out of each other. The Rollerball sequences are great, surprisingly captivating, and it is all aided by some strong casting, especially Caan in the lead.

Rollerball <----trailer (1975): *** 1/2 /****

Almost Human

Every so often a character in a movie, a book, a TV show, anything really, comes along that is just so despicable, so downright low that it is beyond easy to hate them. They tend to have no redeemable qualities at all, often performing acts so unspeakable it can be difficult to watch. For me at least, this is often balanced out because that character is the villain, an individual matched in screentime by some sort of hero. What about if there isn't a hero, and that villain dominates almost every scene? Put that all together, and you've got 1974's Almost Human.

By 1974, Cuban actor Tomas Milian had made quite a name for himself working in Europe, tending to stay within the western and crime genres for his parts. He was a perfect choice for a roguish individual who usually lived in that fine line between good and bad but often enough ended up making the right choice and saving the day. Often enough, but not every time. Working with director Umberto Lenzi for the first time, Milian delivers a performance in Almost Human that pulls out all the stops with a character so ridiculously evil that it borders on going too far over the top. But of all his roles, Milian picks 'Almost Human' as his best.

Working as a low-level hood for the mafia in Italy, Giulio Sacchi (Milan) panics during a bank robbery and kills a police officer trying to ticket his car. The mafia capo, Majone (Luciano Catenacci), does not appreciate any undue attention being called to him and his organization and lets Giulio go. Fed up with these small-time jobs, Giulio turns to bigger fish and finds what seems the perfect crime when he visits his girlfriend (Anita Strindberg) at work. Her boss has a young daughter in her early 20s, and Giulio decides there's millions of lire in it if he was to kidnap her and demand ransom. Working with two similarly low-level thugs, Carmine (Ray Lovelock) and Vittorio (Gino Santercole), Giulio goes about figuring out his plan for the kidnapping.

The story starts with Giulio panicking and killing a patrolling police officer and never stops from there. The body count begins to build -- I counted 15 people Giulio kills by himself -- as the crimes escalate and the kidnapping plan is put into execution. The transformation Milian's main character goes through is alarming, starting off as a thug who panics in a chaotic situation but degenerating into a sadistic killer who has little whim about killing anyone if it will benefit him. At one point, he even guns down a little girl with a machine gun. If that's not a character to root against, I don't know if there's one out there. Giulio is a brutal, bi-sexual, drug addicted murderer who you can't wait to see get his comeuppance. I put bi-sexual not as a judgement, just to add to the overall eccentricity of the character.

What makes this all more uneasy to watch is that the 'good guy' is nothing more than a crime thriller stereotype. Usually playing the role Milian takes here, Henry Silva is police commissioner Walter Gribaldi, a veteran officer trying to piece together all these crimes popping up. For one thing, it's nice to see Silva playing a good guy after a long line of psychotic lunatics, but the character has no development other than being a near-obsessed police officer. Even then, Silva isn't given much to work with in his scenes although he does come around in the end...the end you can see coming miles away. More was needed though to give the viewer someone to root for.

Where many other Italian crime thrillers added other elements to the main story, 'Almost Human' rises and falls on Milian's performance alone. And character dislike aside, this is a great performance for the actor although I disagree that this is his best overall. But other than Milian, there's not much to recommend. I can't place it, but I swear Ennio Morricone's score was used in another movie, and the action overall isn't meant to be exciting, but unsettling instead. It's a pulpy B-movie with plenty of blood and guts, gratuitious nudity, and an in your face style. Take away Milian in the lead, and it's a bad movie. With the performance, it's at least worth giving a mild recommendation.

Almost Human <----trailer (1974): **/****

Battle Circus

For 11 seasons staring in 1972, MASH dominated TV as one of the best shows around, including a series finale that still holds the record for most viewers of an episode in the U.S. with over 100 million people watching. It was a unique show that came along at the right time which viewers connected with to the point the show lasted four times longer than the war it was based in, the Korean War.

Comparing the four major wars the U.S. was involved in during the 20th Century, the Korean War was a turning point, both because the U.S. didn't win but also with the changing technology between WWII and Vietnam. In the MASH tv show, the focus was on Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, hospitals built near the front lines so casualties could be treated quicker and more efficiently. They were always on the move, going backward or forward depending on how the fighting went, and were always on-call in case of incoming casualties that needed to be treated. MASH dealt with all this in its 11-year run, but what about a movie made during the Korean War that dealt with these MASH units? Throw in an unnecessary romance plotline, and you've got 1953's Battle Circus.

It's the middle of the Korean War and nurse Ruth McGara (June Allyson) has received a posting to MASH 66 near the front lines. There she finds a camp with a commanding officer, Lt. Col. Whalter (Robert Keith), who doesn't seem to have much in the way of respect with one of his surgeons, Major Jed Webbe (Humphrey Bogart), basically running things. Ruth tries to settle in as best she can with the chaotic life led by the troops stationed at this MASH unit. With the front lines up in the air and a Communist attack always a possibility, Ruth falls for the roguish Maj. Webbe. While showing interest in the new nurse (almost like Hawkeye Pierce in training), Webbe has little to no interest in a serious relationship with Ruth. Can those two crazy kids keep it together?

Filmed with the help of the Department of Defense and the Attorney General and released in 1953, the movie lacks the typically blunt messages of a war-time movie. Little to no propaganda is thrown at the viewer, and other than a North Korean prisoner, the enemy is almost an afterthought that is spoken of but never shown. The semi-documentary style works well in showing the inner workings of this MASH unit. Where the TV show MASH unit never seemed to move, this one is packing up and on their way several times. Some great sequences with Keenan Wynn's Sgt. Statt leading these moves illustrate how crazy these units could be at times, usually just a mile or so from the front line.

The day-to-day life of MASH 66 are obviously the worthwhile segments in Battle Circus, showing similar things the TV show would deal with almost 20 years later. Several vignettes come to mind, including a helicopter pilot (William Campbell) flying into a hot zone to pick up a wounded soldier and then later trying to reach camp in the dark with his fuel running out. It's the type of thing that almost certainly happened thousands of times during the war, but seeing it brings it to life. The finale especially works as Bogie's Webbe evacuates the hospital with guerillas closing in on all sides, all the while trying to care for the most seriously wounded patients.

For whatever reason though, the day-to-day life portrayal must not have been exciting enough for the studios because Bogart and Allyson's love story was added in. I've never been a huge fan of Allyson -- she comes across as too whiney in all the roles I've seen -- and teaming her with Bogart (who was 20 years older than her at the time) is an odd pairing. Bogie is basically Hawkeye Pierce carrying a gun and has the look of a frazzled, often exhausted surgeon dealing with the neverending flow of wounded patients. He doesn't have much in the way of chemistry with Allyson, and their scenes together ground the otherwise enjoyable/exciting story to a halt.

Too bad because much more time is spent with the falling in love storyline instead of the inner workings of the hospital. Bogie is always cool, and it's fun to see him in a war movie, but the thrown together romance derails the movie. Wynn is solid in a key supporting role, as is Keith, but the division of the storyline takes its toll late. See this one for the sequences of a front-line MASH unit and fast forward through the smaltzy love scenes.

Battle Circus <----trailer (1953): ** 1/2 /****

Chinatown

Look back through Hollywood history and each decade had a few stars that rose above the others, those with movies that are often as much remembered and revered for the performances as the movie itself. There was Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy in the 1930s all the way through to the 2000s with George Clooney and Johnny Depp. Looking at the 1970s, several names pop up, but one especially stands out, Lakers fan extraordinaire and three-time Oscar winner Jack Nicholson.

Now officially one of Nicholson's best roles was in the closing months of 1969 -- an Oscar-nominated role in Easy Rider -- but he just kept on rolling into the 70s. And while his turn as Randall MacMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest will most likely always be remembered as Nicholson's best and most famous role, another part deserves recognition, his turn as private detective Jake 'J.J.' Gittes in Roman Polanski's 1974 detective story and period piece Chinatown.

This may come across more critically than I intend it to, but Nicholson in his personal life has become a caricature of himself in certain ways. It's easy to forget what a great actor he really is with 12 Oscar nominations to his name. His turn as Jake Gittes is typically solid Nicholson, both fiery and emotional but also calm and understated at times when the scene calls for it. He brings some charm to a character that could easily be despicable in the hands of a lesser actor, and as the lead character serves as the audience's guide because he sees exactly what we see and little else as a 1930s murder sets off an odd set of circumstances.

Working as a private detective in 1930s Los Angeles, Jake 'J.J.' Gittes (Nicholson) specializes in marriage cases and one day takes on a contract from a woman questioning if her husband is cheating on her. The husband, Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling), has become a notable public figure recently as head of the water department for a city suffering through a drought. Jake discovers Hollis is seeing a woman, but soon after the story breaks, the real Mrs. Mulwray, Evelyn (Faye Dunaway), shows up questioning how Jake got onto her husband's case. But before Jake can resolve anything, Hollis turns up dead in one of the city's water reservoirs. So starts a mystery that begins to unravel for Jake that includes corruption, phony business deals, and all sorts of shady dealings that Evelyn may or may not be involved with.

Made and released in 1974, Chinatown brings late 1930s Los Angeles to life so perfectly, so vividly that it's incredibly easy to get caught up in this winding murder mystery. Polanski films all over the city in a wide variety of locations, and everything looks immaculate from the backgrounds to the clothes -- all the guys go for the cool, stylish suit and a fedora look -- to the period cars. Everything looks and feels so authentic you're waiting for Robert Mitchum or Barbara Stanwyck to walk onto the set and join Nicholson and Dunaway in their scenes. All this is helped by Jerry Goldsmith's score that blends jazzy themes with understated music that helps drive the story and action along.

The DVD special features offered interviews with screenwriter Robert Towne, Polanski, and producer Robert Evans, all of them agreeing that this is a movie that would be difficult to make for today's audiences, and they're right. I try to avoid huge generalities about audiences because movies are subjective to each and every person watching, but movies now in 2010 and their audiences are different. Chinatown is never slow-paced, but Polanski does take his time building the story. It is a mystery that requires you to pay attention with clues hinted at and then dealt with later. This all comes together in a famously downbeat ending -- very 70s in its cynicism -- with one of the all-time great lines, 'Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.'

As I wrote before, Nicholson's private detective is a great performance and Dunaway is an ideal choice for a character we're led to believe is the femme fatale present in almost every noir ever made. Not so fast though as her Evelyn isn't letting Jake in on everything he needs to know, including one rather large twist toward the end. A great counter to Nicholson, and one of Dunaway's best parts which also earned an Oscar nomination (the movie earned 11 overall). Hollywood legend John Huston is on-screen for maybe 10 minutes tops in an 130-minute movie, but leaves a huge impression, as for what that impression is I'll let you find out what. Perry Lopez, Burt Young, Richard Bakalyan, Diane Ladd, Roy Jenson and John Hillerman round out the cast.

A classic film on many levels starting with the acting and continuing on down the line with Polanski's directing and John Alonzo's cinematography that echoes movies made 30 and 40 years earlier, Chinatown should definitely be on your list to see.

Chinatown <----trailer (1974): ****/****