Dishonorable cop in gloomy Japan thriller

 BLACK RAIN (1989)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Black Rain" is not quite a full-fledged movie - it is an assemblage of plot points and cliches that don't amount to much. It is ostensibly a cop thriller but its suspense is drowned by its heavy synthesizer soundtrack and some gory moments. There is some level of excitement in certain spots but an unspectacularly faint echo of a performance by Michael Douglas brings the movie down to the gutter. 

A violent criminal, Koji Sato (Matsuda Sugai), is a yakuza seeking a counterfeit money plate. He kills some Japanese businessman right out in the open in a New York restaurant, no less witnessed by cops including the uptight Nick (Michael Douglas) and his happy-as-a-clam partner, Charlie (Andy Garcia). The yakuza is chased by the cops, captured and extradited to Osaka, Japan. Of course, you can anticipate every scene including Nick punching Sato in the face on the plane, and police inspectors ready to pick up Sato when they turn out to be yakuza members (and then the real police show up). Now Nick and Charlie are to be only observers to the Osaka police trying to capture Sato. Naturally, these American cops know nothing about honor and are wanting Sato and to bring him to America. 

"Black Rain" has its purest and most instinctual performance by the straight-as-an-arrow, by-the-book  Ken Takakura as Assistant Inspector Masahiro "Mas" Matsumoto. Through the slightest shadings imaginable, we can see Takakura's obedience and honor to the law yet also showing his slightly changing attitude to Charlie's ability to party with girls at a club and by Nick's rebellious stance to go on instinct rather than follow procedures. I also give a shout out to Kate Capshaw's sexy and alluring American from Chicago who is some sort of hostess/bartender and has intimate knowledge of gang warfare.

Scene after scene though, "Black Rain" is hindered by Michael Douglas' virtually difficult, displeasing cop who has an Internal Affairs investigation back home dealing with his taking money from drug dealers. There is a semblance here of something deeper when Nick has alimony payments, kids, an apartment and a house - not enough income from a NYPD cop who loves motorcycle racing on weekends. Ridley Scott certainly knows how to make all this come alive but it is an undernourished screenplay with zero sympathy towards the guy we are supposed to root for. The late Matsuda Sugai plays his Sato as a one-dimensional psychopath who thinks nothing of chopping off his own finger, you know, for being dishonorable. It is a fair to average movie but I expect much more than that from Ridley Scott.

Call it a light cavalry skirmish

 THE DUELLISTS (1977)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Imagine holding a grudge towards someone, a friend, ally or enemy (god forbid, a family member), for decades. In these modern times, we would stay far away from them and hope there is no chance of running into them. In Ridley Scott's fabulous directorial debut, "The Duellists," two comparatively different men fight several duels over the course of nearly two decades without any real victory other than nursing deep wounds. It is somewhat fated that they keep running into each other every few years and the chance for bloodletting is renewed.

Starting in the 1800's during the Napoleonic Wars, we are introduced to the fierce French Lt. Feraud (Harvey Keitel), a man with a violent temperament who engages in sword duels to the death and is loyal to Napoleon Bonaparte. The reasons for his incessant dueling are not divulged other than having a violent temperament. Lt. Armand d'Hubert (Keith Carradine) is a dedicated French soldier who is under orders to place Feraud on house arrest for almost killing a mayor's nephew in a duel. Naturally, Feraud is not just any French soldier who can be reasoned with - his rage is unfathomable as he is prepared to duel d'Hubert who is just following orders. It turns into an embarrassment as the two have a swordfight which leads to d'Hubert getting a severe though not fatal wound, and some deep scratches on his face by Feraud's mistress (Gay Hamilton, who also appeared in "Barry Lyndon"). D'Hubert is looked upon unfavorably by his Brigadier-General Treillard (Robert Stephens) who sees d'Hubert as weak and incapable, demoting him to the barracks with the regiment. 

"The Duellists" carries on with this "light cavalry skirmish" for so long that you wonder why death hasn't approached either one of them. D'Hubert is unequivocally loyal to his rank and standing (he assumes Colonel and General positions), and duels are forbidden (or at least, frowned upon) when the duellists are of different ranks especially in a time of endless war. Feraud cannot let go of these bloody duels, the last of which (prior to using guns) results in Feraud obtaining a head injury. From Augsburg to Lubeck to a haunting passage of frozen Napoleonic soldiers on the Russian front (defeated by "General Winter") where Feraud and D'Hubert shoot at Cossacks - the one chance encounter where a duel doesn't emerge - to d'Hubert's home where they engage in a pistol duel near some castle ruins. 

"The Duellists" doesn't initiate any persuasiveness when it comes to its two strangely cast leads who are anything but French in appearance, Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine. Yet even if both Keitel and Carradine seem too modern, it doesn't matter because they acquit themselves with their depiction of their characters' own tribulations, passions and dedications to the war effort. Feraud may have mistresses throughout his life but d'Hubert is the one who settles down, gets married and joins the Louis XVIII army. These two powerhouse talents give us enough shades to trample any lack of casting credibility. 

"The Duellists" is breathtaking, forceful cinema by a director whose tantalizing vision (based on Joseph Conrad's short story) consumes us from first frame to last. Howard Blake's memorably moody music score elevates everything we see and every image here is as potent as "Barry Lyndon" of which this pays direct homage to. Never have deathly grudges been so picturesque.  

Strategic Management on an Island

 SEND HELP (2026)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I love a tuna sandwich as much as the next person but I would not trust a woman who has a smidge of tuna on her lip after eating said sandwich. That woman is our protagonist of this dark, often gore-laden and dark comedy by Sam Raimi. Raimi has often treated these melodramatic stories with a controlled serious tone, as in "A Simple Plan," but he is back to sensationalizing everything and delivering deliberately cartoonish mayhem-fueled moments. 

Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is a "Survivor"-loving corporate strategist working for a company that has promised her a vice-president position. Only Linda has no chance of securing such a powerful position despite eyeing it for seven years. A new CEO named Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien, an underrated actor) is conniving and duplicitous, citing Linda as gauche and favoring his old college pal, Donovan (Xavier Samuel), as VP. Linda has to prove her worth on a business trip to Thailand with her new boss. Let's say this trip doesn't go as planned when the plane crashes into the ocean leaving only Linda and Bradley as the survivors on some seemingly unoccupied island. Bradley has a bad cut on his leg and Linda, learning her survival skills from that dreadful show, builds camp on the beach, hunts for fish, and goes spear-hunting killer boars for much needed protein. You are practically watching a redux of "Castaway" with no Wilson volleyball or Tom Hanks. 

McAdams often shrill portrayal of Linda in the first half-hour can get on your nerves. She plays it well but it seems vaguely one-dimensional...until she shows her pain and unwillingness to cry in public. O'Brien's Bradley is an arrogant, informal asshat who will not wear socks at a meeting. Once they are on the island, he still thinks he's her boss and fires her before realizing it is a mistake (or is it?) Bradley begins to sense his own discomfort at what he is since he learned it from his long deceased, mean-spirited and abusive mother (Dad was never around much). Linda was once married to an abusive lout of a husband and then we learn the details of his death that carry a potent charge - can we trust Linda? Trust is thrown out the window when she sees a speedboat on the waters and does nothing to alert them to their presence.

"Send Help" is often a wicked, tumultuous ride with suspenseful sequences. The trip around the edge of a cliff is enough to give anyone with a fear of heights the heebie jeebies. McAdams does suggest Linda's explosive side and her calm demeanor with equal strength. O'Brien's Bradley is a sourpuss who has always had everything done for him and hasn't cooked a day in his life. We kind of root for him to get off the island and then there is the queasy sense that it has more to do with Linda's increasingly psychotic side than anything else. I wished for more of a power play of two opposites in the corporate world learning to deal with each other where no offices or cubicles are in their way. Since this film was written by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon (previously scribed "Freddy vs. Jason" and the "Friday the 13th" remake), I figured such complexity might escape them. 

"Send Help" is a horror comedy with absurdity written all over it but I still craved a deeper look into power dynamics. 

Hood ornament that flies

 THE ROCKETEER (1991)

Reassessed by Jerry Saravia

Pulp adventure tales used to be a dime a dozen in book format, comics and movie serials. Some even had a sci-fi edge to them. "The Rocketeer" is based on the late Dave Stevens' 1982 comic-book series of the same name and, like the feature film, it is a deliberate throwback to a 1930's-1940's sensibility with chivalrous heroes like The Shadow and, perhaps, the Phantom. The difference may be that the Rocketeer is a reluctant hero and he is not interested in wearing tights. His look is more of an Art Deco pilot wearing a "hood ornament" for a mask. "The Rocketeer" is tons of escapist fun though the hero is not as charismatic as I might have hoped.

Bill Campbell is the unlucky pilot, Cliff Secord, who finds himself in trouble with the FBI and the mob, both searching for a top-secret rocket backpack designed by Howard Hughes! It is left in Cliff's biplane and, suddenly, his eyes glow at the possibilities of such a super duper find. Peevy (Alan Arkin), Cliff's mechanic, is also startled by this invention and so they test it on a statue with mixed results. At an air show where he tries to rescue an older former pilot, Cliff swooshes in and out of the clouds and the countryside of orange groves where he keeps trying to get used to the rocket pack (his lack of smooth flying feels credible for a first-timer). This gets the attention of the FBI (one of the agents is played by Ed Lauter), gangsters including their mob boss, the "100% American" Billy Valentine (Paul Sorvino), and naturally fictional Hollywood actor Neville Sinclair (a boisterous turn by Timothy Dalton) who is a secret Nazi. 

"The Rocketeer" packs in a lot of heat for a fun, joyous serial-based fantasy with a few cliffhangers. There is plenty of aerial action with that rocket pack and several planes, a flaming zeppelin, a couple of fistfights with a Rondo Hatton henchman type, Nazis aching to return to the Fatherland, a Hollywood celebrity club where we hear renditions of "Begin the Beguine" by the lovely presence of Melora Hardin and where W.C. Fields and Clark Gable attend, a Bulldog cafe (there was an actual one in L.A.), a creepy Nazi cartoon, and even a lively turn by Terry O'Quinn as a mustachioed Howard Hughes who is trying to develop the Spruce Goose! 

As for Bill Campbell, he looks the part of a 1938 pilot but he is unpersuasive as a hero - just some twentysomething kid who at least knows how to kiss Jennifer Connelly. Connelly gives one of her loveliest performances ever as a Bettie Page-type who is not quite your usual damsel in distress (though she needs rescuing, she also fights back against Neville and some Nazi agents). Despite Campbell's role (he does give it an ounce of humor and determination), "The Rocketeer" is sheer entertainment with thrilling moments that are quite breathless to witness. You'll be cheering by the end. 

Wry comedy of manners

 THE INVITE (2026)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

An argumentative married couple have their loud neighbors over for appetizers and wine. Problems and tension are fueled almost immediately when there is no wine (well, there is the couple's anniversary wine stored away) and one of the neighbors is either allergic or just simply doesn't like cheese, crackers or prosciutto. What might have been a poor man's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" or a cuter version of "Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice" develops into a wry comedy of manners with some of the biggest laughs I've had in recent memory. 

Olivia Wilde is Angela, a worrywart who buys rugs and lamps from flea markets with the need to impress. Angela is married to Joe (Seth Rogen), a former musician for a band that never went anywhere. He teaches music at a small conservatory that he doesn't seem suited for. Joe is miserable, has not had sex with Angela in a year yet they stay together for the one young daughter they have (whom we never see). When Joe arrives one night from work, Angela reminds him they have guests that evening- they are their upstairs neighbors who have loud sex romps every night. Joe is flummoxed by this, unprepared for this couple and is ready to rant on them being noisy to the extreme. The neighbors arrive and they include rug enthusiast and widower Hawk (Edward Norton), a former firefighter (not fireman), and his Spanish girlfriend, Pina (Penelope Cruz). What develops during the course of this evening is surprising with Joe relating his honesty about this couple to their face and with Angela doing her best to deflect her husband from making everything less than merry. The irony is that happy-go-lucky, charming Hawk (his chosen nickname) and flirty Pina appreciate them for their honesty. After Angela does a mini-tour of their San Francisco apartment with Hawk and Pina smokes pot with Joe in his office, there is much talk about sex and orgies and Angela walking naked in the apartment. This intentional display of baring it all was seen by Hawk in his apartment! And there is a tremendously funny scene where Joe has to admit that he knocked on their apartment door during all that noise - ring camera footage proves it all!

The first few minutes left me unsure of what I was in store for. The heightened music score by Devonté Hynes amps up the bickering and arguing between Joe and Angela. Once the movie settles in with the couples meeting each other, "The Invite" is a roller-coaster of laughs, wickedly funny character insights and an unexpected explosion of truth towards the end that I found quite moving. Still, this is not a raw examination of couples in the 2020's by way of Virginia Woolf nor does it open up beyond marital fidelity like "Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice" (the best married couple syndrome comedy-drama I've ever seen) but its heart is closer to Woody Allen's own romantic comedies (there's a dedication to Diane Keaton in the end credits). Olivia Wilde scores another direct hit for having helmed this one behind the camera ("Booksmart" is my favorite film by her) and does an expert job of handling all the character nuances and the interior shots so that not one shot of this apartment is ever repeated. She also knows how to handle herself and her disbelieving looks at Joe are priceless. Seth Rogen gives the best performance of his life, sharing his own self-deprecating ways better than anyone else could have. Kudos to Edward Norton playing one of the softer, gentler characters of his career and he's a good match for Penelope Cruz who is always exciting to watch. A movie for couples to treasure. 

Two men bicker, fight and get drunk

 THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019)
Endured by Jerry Saravia

A state of isolation for four weeks inside a lighthouse while a brewing storm takes place inside a steep rock island is ripe for cinematic treatment. Director Robert Eggers has liberally borrowed from Herman Melville and Edgar Allan Poe and so, in some idiosyncratic fashion, he has made a manly horror film. This is about two wickies (lighthouse keepers) who do not get along leading to a strenuous relationship fraught with ugliness and despair. I tend to like films that push the edge of paranoia on an island populated only by two people and some seagulls (think "Swept Away," the Wertmuller version), but this "Lighthouse" is monotonous and out of focus with its ideas.

The thunderous music by Mark Korven is about as loud as the water splashing on the rocks. The two wickies, Winslow (Robert Pattinson) and Wade (Willem Dafoe), are to take charge of the lighthouse. They sleep in the same quarters. Thomas does the heavy lifting of dragging barrels of oil and physical labor tasks of carrying heavy kerosene tanks to top of the lighthouse, cleaning pots, etc. I began to wonder what Wade does - I assume masturbating to the white light of the lantern. Masturbation comes up frequently, so to speak, as Wade and Winslow masturbate though not to each other (what else are you going to do on your off time on a rock island?) Winslow uses a ceramic mermaid figurine to feed his fantasies and Wade, well, something slithering inside the top of that lighthouse. 

Slowly, madness settles in Winslow though we figure Wade is already an old, superstitious kook with a pipe and a lust for alcohol. Winslow is supposed to head back, somewhere, and be picked up on that island but no one ever comes and no food rations are delivered. Winslow gets irate with Wade, can't stand his poetic musings or the nightly toasts. It is only natural that Winslow envisions mermaids he's having sex with and finding severed heads and dead seagulls. Since this is Winslow's point-of-view, we assume he is just seeing disturbing visions.  

I started checking out of this film long before Winslow (revealing himself to be somebody else to Wade) slowly goes mad with an evil look in his eyes. I just found both characters unwatchable and unappealing which is a little amazing considering they are played by Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. Dafoe commands the screen with those demonic, snarling eyes, large chin and large fisherman's beard - he plays Wade to the hilt. Pattinson has been showing his range ever since his "Twilight" days and never overacts - his last fifteen minutes on screen are a revelation. But "The Lighthouse" is simply overdone and overbaked in terms of atmosphere consisting of hard rain, copious fog and overcast skies. The film's tone is shrouded in darkness but it becomes overbearing and unthinkably boring with the same level of dread throughout. Dafoe and Pattinson never elicit enough humanity and so we watch two guys who fight, bicker and get drunk and, eventually, leads to an explosion of grisly violence. These two saps maybe needed a few more drinks and should've slept through it until somebody came along.  

Listen To What The Man Sings

 ROCKSHOW (1980)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

If you love Paul McCartney singing his heart away with the Wings band, you could do no worse than watch "Rockshow," an almost seamless compilation of live concert footage clips with over 30 songs from 1976 with McCartney and the band on tour tearing up the stage. It is hardly, in hindsight, one of the best filmed live concerts but it will suffice for McCartney/Wings/Beatles fans. 

Watching a rather cruddy DVD of this notable concert doesn't quite do it justice but it is still energizing and entertaining all the same (in 2013, a restored, longer print on Blu Ray became available but I haven't seen it). McCartney along with his Wings band members including Paul's wife, Linda doing vocals, keyboards, piano, percussion; the joyful Denny Laine doing vocals, guitars, bass, piano and harmonica; Joe English pounding away on drums; Jimmy McCulloch on guitar, vocals, and bass, as well as some distinctive horn players play with an electricity that one can only glean from having been at concerts. Crowd-pleasing songs are performed on stage from the Wings such as "Venus and Mars", "Jet," and two of my favorites, "Listen to What the Man Said" and "Band on the Run." There are some Beatles favorites including the tear-inducing "Yesterday" and "I've Just Seen a Face." The stage is practically on fire when we hear the rousing "Live and Let Die." McCartney is having the time of his life, bowing to the audience frequently and enthusiastically introducing the band members. He is having as much fun as the audience is. 

The concert footage is strong to a degree, though the players are often filmed from practically below the stage. Paul is given a rather odd side-angle view and the other players are sometimes obscured by darkness when the lights are not shining on them. Alas, we are never on the stage with them and the best rock concert films always gave us that impression. Also, there are insufficient crowd reactions and, as usual, it is not always clear which song the audience members are really reacting to since, again, this is a compilation of footage largely shot in Seattle and sections in L.A. as well.

"Rockshow" is often thrilling and, if you like these songs and are a rabid fan, you will sing along too. You'll be listening to what the man sings.