Nolte vs. Nolte

NICK NOLTE: NO EXIT (2008)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Nick Nolte is not gregarious - he is laconic and keeps to himself. That is only fitting since in the documentary, "Nick Nolte: No Exit," the only reliable interviewer is Nolte interviewing Nolte. You get two Noltes which is great for his fans, but his life and his work are given only minimal exposure.

Nick Nolte, the interviewer, is clean shaven and is dressed as an extra from "Casablanca," complete with a white Stetson and beige colored suit. This Nolte is more suave and healthier-looking than Nolte, the actor, who looks dishelved, unshaven, and possibly drunk. Most of the time Nolte refuses to answer questions, asking to move on to the next subject. He does wax on about being uncomfortable as a teenager in the conformist atmosphere of the 1950's. But when it comes to films, he gives precious little insights. Remarkably, all he can fish out of the making of "The Thin Red Line" is that reclusive director Terence Malick loved filming nature more than actors. He also makes it clear that he never quite made it as a movie star on purpose - when they own you, it is over.

I will say that this film is not about Nolte, the actor or the man - it is about Nick Nolte as an icon of brutishness who demystified and possibly deglamorized the macho ethic. Lawlessness and guilt-ridden neurosis inform most of Nolte's best roles, from "Who'll Stop the Rain?" to "Affliction." If you enjoy watching Nolte talk with that deep, bearlike gravelly voice, you'll enjoy watching this as a guilty pleasure of sorts (there are also some pointed cameos by actors like Ben Stiller on Nolte, though they have nothing deep to say). If this is not your cup of tea, stay far away.

Life of a perfectionist

STANLEY KUBRICK: A LIFE IN PICTURES (2001)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Nobody made films like Stanley Kubrick. All his works were originals, usually based on controversial novels, and often adapted to suit Kubrick's own style and thematic concerns. He was not just a great director - he was a genius and his work was as anticipated as anyone else's. Though the first few years of his filmmaking output was steady, he would often spend about four to five years on a single project, carefully nurturing it and trying not to make mistakes like another genius, Napolean Bonaparte (a film project once considered by Kubrick). The irony is that Kubrick was often critically wounded by critics for making films about dehumanization that seemingly showed he had less concern for performances than for style. Audiences often warmed up to his work in some cases ("2001," "A Clockwork Orange") and sometimes stayed away in droves ("Barry Lyndon"). Usually films of his were reviled to only later be re-reviewed by some as great masterpieces. Only the late Pauline Kael stayed with her initial opinions.

"Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures" is the first real documentary about Kubrick (aside from the biased and still fascinating "Invisible Man"), a real shock when you consider that he had made films for more than forty years. He was obsessed by film from the moment he became a "Look" magazine photographer in New York City to the time he was in his early twenties making noir pictures like "Killer's Kiss" and "The Killing" and already graduating to titanic heights with one of the finest anti-war films ever made, "Paths of Glory." The rest is history, as evidenced by cinematic miracles like "Lolita," "Dr. Strangelove," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "A Clockwork Orange." His films were unique and as Jack Nicholson explains, "Totally conscious." They were also completely assured works, often dealing with images and music and a compassionate look at the dehumanization of man rather than succumbing to a straightforward narrative. Kubrick often played with structure, such as the deliberate two halves of "Full Metal Jacket" which feel like two movies for the price of one.

This documentary has fascinating tidbits throughout, including the problems with the violence and the copycat crimes resulting from the release of "A Clockwork Orange"; the relentless taskmaster that Kubrick was on the set of "2001," according to Douglas Trumbull; the tempermental attitude Kubrick displayed to Shelley Duvall during the making of "The Shining" for a whole year; the famous Kubrick retakes for "Eyes Wide Shut"; a nice little bit from Irene Kane (star of "Killer's Kiss," now known as reporter Chris Chase) and how she was driven home by Kubrick; the films that Kubrick hoped to make in his ten year hiatus between "Full Metal Jacket" and "Eyes Wide Shut" such as "Aryan Papers" and "A.I," the latter a project directed by Steven Spielberg and so much more.

"A Life in Pictures" provides plenty of archival material from the Kubrick estate to please all fans of the late master. There is early home movie footage of Kubrick as a young kid; excerpts from his own home movies where he angrily directs his own kids; lots of never-before-seen photographs of Kubrick on the set of "Eyes Wide Shut"; extra home movie footage of the making of "The Shining"; a glimpse at "Day of the Fight" and "Fear and Desire," two early Kubrick films that are hard to find on video; and more behind-the-scenes footage from "Full Metal Jacket." There are also numerous photographs of Kubrick and his wife and daughters through the course of many years, showing his warm, genial side despite his cool view of humanity overall. Yes, Kubrick spent a lot of time in his English estate and always shot his films in England post-"Spartacus," despite seeing himself as a New Yorker. Christina Kubrick, Kubrick's third wife, states that Stanley felt New York had changed, no doubt from the jazzy feel of those Bronx streets that he had grown up with. Also, he was perhaps the object of envy from many Hollywood types in that he was always near his family and his work was never too far out of reach.

There are plenty of interviews in the film with other admired directors, cast members, friends, family, but no real rivals. Malcolm McDowell is the only interviewee who expresses some regret that Stanley never spoke to him again after "A Clockwork Orange." They had a strong relationship where McDowell was willing to do anything for the director, including scratching his cornea twice in one truly disturbing scene (a fact omitted from this film), not to mention getting pneumonia during a drowning scene. McDowell had always spoke negatively about the director, and saw his misgivings as a cry for help. Otherwise, there are glowing feats of praise for the man himself. Spielberg talks briefly about his secret relationship with Kubrick and his reluctantly accepting "A.I." as a directing assignment, a project Stanley had worked on for many years. Sydney Pollack reminisces about the constant retakes on the set of "Eyes Wide Shut." Shelley Duvall describes the making of "The Shining" as a project that exhausted and thrilled her, yet she would never want to repeat the experience. Matthew Modine mentions the difficulty of understanding Kubrick's intentions in "Full Metal Jacket." Stanley's wife, Christina Kubrick, and his brother-in-law, Jan Harlan, say he was difficult at times but never anything less than a wonderful man. Directors interviewed who admired Stanley's work include Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Alex Cox, Alan Parker and Paul Mazursky (who acted in "Fear and Desire"). Only Allen admits his initial dissatisfaction with one film, "2001," then later states that after repeated viewings, he discovered it was a remarkable film.

There are many aspects to Kubrick that could have merited some mention. For example, Kubrick was especially fanatical over details of his own work and assumed that his actors would always speak with nothing but raves about him. Ryan O'Neal had thought "Barry Lyndon" was a Tom Jones adventure instead of the slow-paced character study of a bastard, and had said so in an interview at the time. Stanley never spoke to him again. Peter Sellers (who starred in Kubrick's "Lolita" and "Dr. Strangelove") had expressed disgust over "A Clockwork Orange," and later recanted his statements. Stanley never spoke to him again. Of course, Stephen King, author of "The Shining," never liked Kubrick's adaptation of his novel. I assume Stanley never spoke to him again either. At least some negative comments from some people might have helped us understand that no matter how much of a perfectionist Kubrick was, he was not perfect. His sadness over "Barry Lyndon's" reception should not have come as such a surprise - no matter how much work you put into a film, it will still get some negative reviews from somewhere. Costume dramas have never been big box-office hits anyway, but "Barry Lyndon" remains one of the most astounding visual works of art ever made.

"A Life in Pictures" is quite an illuminating portrait of a man who equated filmmaking with chess and with the strategies of war, and thus tried to make sure he did not make any mistakes. Of course, he made some (such as his bad timing with the release of "Full Metal Jacket" coinciding with other notable Vietnam flicks, though the film was a modest success). He was not perfect by any means, and he may have been an overly controlling taskmaster who demanded as much from himself as he did from others. All these qualities show his humanity, and not as a one-dimensional reclusive madman as often quoted by the media. There are admirers and detractors of Kubrick, but make no mistake, his compassion for humanity in the face of inhumanity had always shone through. You just had to see his films more than once to find it.

Bloody, hellishly boring

BLOODY MAMA (1970)

Reviewed By Jerry Saravia

There is a certain fascination I have with Roger Corman. He is after all the king of B movies, all usually shot on low-budget and in less than a week. Corman has directed everything from horror films to biker movies to movies like "Bloody Mama." His interest was to capitalize on current trends and Prohibition crime dramas about bank robbers were no exception. "Bloody Mama" is nauseatingly violent, sleazy and trite - a numbingly dull action picture that aims to do everything except to gain our interest.

Kate "Ma" Barker (Shelley Winters) is the gun-toting mama who adores her sons. She adores them so much that she bathes them and beds them. One can surmise that Ma Barker is making the most of her sons since she was raped by her parents - she obviously doesn't reciprocate any hateful emotions and wants to do right. She takes her sons from their home, leaves behind her husband who can't take care of them with his meager funds, insists she will someday have a palace and decides to go on the road. The question is: where? Her sons, including Sam (Don Stroud), kill and rob and torture people arbitrarily for money and eventually decide to rob banks to support themselves. Ma takes part in their schemes, willing to do anything for her sons. One of the sons is homosexual (Robert Walden) and the other is a heroin addict (Robert De Niro). Before you know it, there is a major shootout that tries to outdo the violent climax of "Bonnie and Clyde." Well, it sure is violent but it lacks any real sting or purpose other than to shock.

Speaking of "Bonnie and Clyde," the latter was infused with real characters whom you could care more than a whim about. There was nostalgia and ample style but the triumph was watching full-bodied characters who at least possessed more than one dimension beyond perversion and murderous tactics. "Bloody Mama" is a cartoonish, vapid mess that wants to see these monstrosities as nothing more than monstrosities. It is a pleasure to see the black-and-white newsreels that show how turbulent the Prohibition era was - particularly noteworthy is the notion that the police were too busy controlling the poor rather than catching criminals. Besides that, Shelley Winters gives a performance worthy of shameful eye-rolling and of over-emoting every single facial expression, something the late director George Stevens might have fired her for. Stroud has presence to spare as the main son who misses his father greatly. De Niro shows none of the evident talent he later became famous for, and Pat Hingle, one of the most astute of all character actors, is not even permitted to show his eyes! This movie is just bloody hell to sit through.

16 Blocks of Die Hardishness

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (2007)

Reviewed By Jerry Saravia

"Live Free or Die Hard" is a hackneyed, preposterous and thoroughly entertaining techno thriller. It is a fun ride but it does not carry some of the hallmarks of the first two films in the "Die Hard" franchise, and it has a "been there, done that" quality. But what sequel doesn't? Suffice to say, if you enjoyed the earlier films, you'll find enough to enjoy here.

Bruce Willis is a bald, older John McClane, ordered to bring in a computer hacker, Matt (Justin Long), to the feds because some nut who formerly worked for the government, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), wants to bring "America to its knees." Before long, there are elongated shootouts, glass breakage, various car chases, de rigueur explosions and some truly improbable stunts (my favorite is using a car as a weapon against a helicopter!) In other words, this is a high- octane techno thriller in every sense of the word. The exceptions to the usual pyrotechnics on display here is that this is the first "Die Hard" sequel set in a post-9/11 world. But there are no Arabs nor anyone vaguely resembling Al-Qaida or the Taliban as the villains here. No, we just get an old-fashioned angry and unemployed white government worker. The rule of thumb in movies post-9/11 is that the terrorists are either savvy computer geniuses or cold-blooded British types or both, so as to not offend anyone.

This is interesting because some may recall that Willis dismissed doing a fourth "Die Hard" flick shortly after 9/11. In recent years, his best work has been as a weary, downtrodden cop in the underrated "16 Blocks," which coincidentally has a similar plot involving taking a prisoner to a courthouse rather than the feds. But anything vaguely terroristic has been left out of Willis's action milieu for quite some time. In this "Die Hard" sequel, a few keystrokes are all that is needed to bring America to its knees by controlling traffic lights, air traffic, breaking in to the Pentagon and military computer systems, and perpetrating a simulation of the Capitol in ruins just to get everyone rattled! These cyber terrorists are so sophisticated that they apparently have cameras everywhere recording everything Mr. McClane and company are doing.

"Live Free or Die Hard" is highly implausible featuring more implausibly elaborate action sequences than ever before, including a fighter jet tearing down an entire freeway while McClane slides up and down ramps. Still, a chillingly suspenseful scene where McClane is hanging on to a SUV inside an elevator shaft while fighting Mai (Maggie Cheung), a martial-artist, is one for the action history books.

This new "Die Hard" gets the job done and is far more entertaining than the third limp entry, "Die Hard: With a Vengeance." However, the emotional, humanistic core of John McClane that we have seen before, the troubled, vulnerable married man, is virtually gone. Mostly McClane fights with his estranged daughter, Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and that is hardly on the same wavelength as Willis's rapport with Bonnie Bedelia from the first film. I even miss scenes like McClane taking a bottle full of aspirin after a full night of getting soused in the third film, or the key relationship between McClane and the cop communicating by walkie-talkie in the original. And yet, I like the rapport between Willis and Justin Long, the latter who hates 20th century music like CCR (how dare he!). It drives the film and serves as an anchor for the wall-to-wall action.

So here it is: Willis is in fine form and has a few canny one-liners, Long is occasionally funny in a nervous, chatty kind of way, Maggie Cheung should've been the real villain of the film (not the somewhat anemic Olyphant), and it is a real pleasure to see Kevin Smith as a geeky, Star Wars-loving computer hacker with his own command center. A fun time at the movies overall yet it lacks some of the action hero's vulnerability that gave added spark to the earlier films. Or maybe McClane's bitterness is his vulnerability.

Short Jarmusch skits

COFFEE AND CIGARETTES (2003)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I've seen skits like Jim Jarmusch's "Coffee and Cigarettes" before but never as messily funny or as abrasive. Granted, "Coffee and Cigarettes" is a mess but it is often as engaging in its tomfoolery as almost any comedy from the Hollywood gates.

The film is divided into skits or, more appropriately, sketches and each sketch is a rumination on coffee and cigarettes. Most of the sketches take place in coffeehouses or outside cafes. The participants include real-life celebrities and as varied as one can imagine. We have Joie Lee, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Cate Blanchett, Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, Jack White, and so on. You get the idea. In a Jarmusch film, almost anything can happen. And you guessed it: each segment deals with coffee and cigarettes and assorted subjects.

My favorites include Jack White's ruminations to Meg White on the Nikolas Tesla coil (which he keeps handy), Cate Blanchett as herself and as her envious cousin as their differences become readily apparent, Alfred Molina's discussion on how Steve Coogan is related to him thanks to some genealogical research, and Iggy Pop and Tom Waits who convince themselves to smoke again since they both quit (the Pop-Waits skit was originally a short film that won the Palme D'Or at Cannes in 1993).

Least favorites are Steve Buscemi's wisecracks about Elvis's twin brother to Joie and Cinque Lee, and an annoyingly cumbersome segment with Wu-Tang-Clan stars RZA and GZA and a spectacularly unfunny Bill Murray (seen drinking straight from a pot of coffee). The sketches that fall somewhere in the middle include one about African-American friends getting together for coffee for the sake of it, not because there are personal problems to justify such a meeting, an existentially beautiful Mahler bit with Taylor Mead that is a bit too short for its own good and, well, Roberto Benigni is always good for a laugh or two as he nervously handles one espresso cup after another.

"Coffee and Cigarettes" is a film that Jim Jarmusch has been working on for almost twenty years. There is no plot and no real story, but what do you expect from the filmmaker who dealt brilliantly with anomie in American society as in "Stranger Than Paradise"? "Coffee and Cigarettes" is a healthy reminder of how movies don't always have to revolve around extensive plots or complicated storylines - hence, the narrative-based medium we are all used to. Nope, this is a movie about talk, about people talking over coffee and cigarettes (or in some cases, not talking at all as in the Renee French sketch). And yet, there are moments of surprising heft and drama, as in the truthful denouement between Molina and Coogan. This is the kind of film that one can enjoy on its own merits - it is slight but it is entertaining with the occasional truism.

Bruce Lee by way of Ed Wood

GAME OF DEATH (1978)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

In 1978, word leaked out that 100 minutes of footage existed from an uncompleted Bruce Lee film. Fans were excited. So were the studios, including producer Raymond Chow and his Golden Harvest company. And so Lee's final film, "Game of Death," was released in 1978. Talk about false advertising. Not only were 100 minutes of footage not shown, but Bruce Lee barely appears in the film at all. There are frequent cutaways to Lee from his legendary work in his first three kung-fu films, but they are so awkwardly pasted together that it comes across more as a joke on the audience. Meanwhile, we have Bruce Lee doubles to make up for transitional scenes until the finale. And the anticipated footage of Lee is just short of 10 minutes of fight footage.

The story begins with Billy Lo (played by both Ti Chung Kim and Biao Yuen), a martial-arts fighter who is also an international film star, not unlike Lee. He is something of a whiny, depressed individual with an American singer as a girlfriend (Colleen Camp). For some reason, Lo confides his personal problems to a dry-witted journalist (Gig Young). Anyways, a mob circuit headed by Dr. Land (Dean Jagger) want to invest in Lo's future and get a cut of the profits in return. Lo refuses, and is later supposedly assassinated on the set of his newest film (foreshadowing echoes of Lee's own son, Brandon Lee, killed on the set of "The Crow"). Lo is presumed dead yet he survives the assassination, and wants revenge and intends to kill all the members and minions of the Mafia's outfit.They include Mr. Wyatt Earp himself, Hugh O'Brian, and Mel Novak as Stick who has a way with a toothpick. This is the same kind of plot that pervaded most of the Bruce Lee rip-offs and pseudo-biographies (including Bruce Li, remember him?) of the 1970's, and it hardly feels inspired or surprising.

After witnessing interminable action scenes and fistfights and motorcycles imploding and exploding, we finally get the real Bruce Lee in a yellow tracking suit dueling a nunchaku expert, a Japanese fighter and, lastly, engaging in hand-to-hand combat in an incredible showdown with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! These scenes have the electricity and flair of Bruce Lee at his best. Then we get one final action scene with Hugh O'Brian that again uses a Lee double! Initially, "Game of Death" was a story written by Bruce Lee about a kung-fu fighter who would enter a pagoda and fight three different opponents on three levels with unique styles of their own. Footage was shot before Lee had to cancel production and shoot "Enter the Dragon." The problem is simple: where is all that great footage? (Check out "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey" for a different cut of the footage.) How come we only see 10 minutes of it? According to the late director Robert Clouse ("Enter the Dragon"), the footage was not so great. Anything is better than what Clouse shot, which is nothing more than a by-the-numbers underworld thriller at best with slipshod action and threadbare characters.

"Game of Death" looks and feels like a production helmed by Ed Wood (who is known for using Lugosi doubles in "Plan Nine From Outer Space"). It is inert and terminally boring, amazing considering the late Robert Clouse was known for fast-paced action (look at "Enter the Dragon" and "Golden Needles" for proof). The villains are non-perilous, the hero is adrift in La-La Land, the story has no thrust and the action has no consequence. Excepting the brief Bruce Lee footage and John Barry's exciting, James Bond-like film score, "Game of Death" thrashes the memory of the legendary Bruce Lee.

JAWS in a whirling tornado

SHARKNADO (2013)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Sharknado" is a disaster, but that should be no surprise. The best bad films are those that possess unintentional humor or give themselves a lift by taking themselves seriously despite all the silly shenanigans and still manage to entertain us. "Sharknado" is not the newest entry in the good-bad movies list - it is simply a snoozer and a bad film overall.

Ian Ziering is appropriately named Fin, who runs a waterfront beach bar where John Heard (his character lives in Beverly Hills) is a recurring customer who is consistently drunk and flirts with a waitress, who has her eye on Ziering and not the creepy grandpa (never thought I would call John Heard a creepy grandpa character). Sharks arrive on the beach and start chomping away at surfers and swimmers. The sharks can also fling themselves on land, break through doors and cause massive damage from the sky! Huh? Well, you see, there are several tornados that carries these sharks to land, all this due to a freaky hurricane. It is the kind of hurricane that can splash water on certain characters causing them to get wet in one shot, and completely dry in the next shot. Of course, nobody dies in this movie from the hurricane - it is the sharks that kill! Those carnivores even attack people in their own houses!

There is one terrifically absurd scene that would be at home in a parody of this movie. Ziering sees a shark falling from the sky. He takes out a chainsaw and as the great white makes impact with his chainsaw, he is supposedly eaten by the shark. Everyone thinks he is dead, including his ex-wife (very thanklessly played by Tara Reid). Suddenly, the chainsaw cuts through the shark's belly and out comes Ziering and, if you can believe it, a survivor whom we thought was dead earlier.

"Sharknado" is unfortunately not absurd enough nor does it push the limits of camp - it assumes its campy idea is enough. There is some awkward pacing and frantic cuts that suggest something is happening, when in fact nothing is really happening (cue the endless scenes inside a car with windows that show no background whatsoever except for "hot windows," as if they were driving in the sky). The movie is a listless bore and a chore to sit through, so let's hope the sequel amps up the absurdity beyond containing a funny title.