What Secret does the Dark hold?

 DARKMAN (1990)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

With the ubiquitous superhero movies that we get nowadays, many of them are visually indistinguishable from each other. The only one that crossed the line into something far more unique and distinct in terms of style and humor was "Deadpool," which was a sly wink at the genre. Back in 1990, we did not have a proliferation of comic-book films. Only Tim Burton's huge box-office bonanza "Batman" was lurking on VHS and that summer we had theatrical comic-book movies like the primary-colored adventures of "Dick Tracy." "Darkman was released in August and I found it to be a subterranean, visually kinetic feast of a movie, far surpassing Burton's "Batman" with an avenger who grows to be quite insane.

Liam Neeson is Peyton Westlake, the doctor who is trying to invent liquid skin that lasts in any source of light longer than 99 minutes. Due to the fact that the synthetic skin is photosensitive, it disintegrates as it hits that 99 minute mark. While Peyton tries to solve this problem, he is in a loving relationship with an attorney, Julie (Frances McDormand), who is not ready to marry. Trouble spews when Julie mistakenly leaves a memo at Peyton's home that incriminates her billionaire boss, Louis Strack Jr. (Colin Friels, deliciously evil as a greedy corporatist) . An explosion at Peyton's house kills his assistant and leaves Peyton permanently acid-scarred and left for dead. He wanders the streets after escaping from a hospital and finally settles in to a condemned building with his leftover computer monitors and memory and begins work on that synthetic skin. The spacious warehouse rooms reminds one of the dank, half-destroyed laboratories of Dr. Frankenstein in those early Universal Horror flicks.

The other main gonzo villain is Robert G. Durant (a priceless Larry Drake), a merciless mob boss who collects severed fingers that he chops off with his cigar cutter. Durant is played with such restrained devilish charm and the kick is that he gets off on it - this Durant will off his own henchmen without the slightest remorse (one guy is thrown out of a tall building with Durant remarking, after discovering two airline tickets, "Have a nice flight"). 

The real kick in the cojones is Liam Neeson who gives a multi-faceted performance as Peyton, painting him as a tragic figure who no longer feels pain as Darkman yet does bear emotional pain over losing his girlfriend. Once he can perfect the synthetic skin beyond the 99 minute mark, he thinks he can live a life and marry Julie. Of course we are aware that this can't happen and Neeson shows that dubious side as well. If it had not been for this subplot involving Julie, we might not have cared much for Darkman and yet Neeson allows us to sympathize with him, even when scaring a cat while doing a funny court jester dance. We see the humanity, the loss of self, and of becoming almost as dangerous as the men he seeks vengeance against.

"Darkman" utilizes and cleverly exploits the Darkman's attempts to fool Durant and his crew by using synthetic duplicate masks of their faces as disguises and recreating their voices. This leads to one laceratingly funny moment where Durant meets his clone ("So, whose little boy are you?") as they keep shouting through a revolving door, "Shoot him!" There's also a fairly nightmarish moment where that henchman thrown out the window by Durant crash lands on a car. A pedestrian screams and then sees that same guy sitting on a bench! Of course, it is Darkman in disguise but the wicked smile says everything. "Darkman" has moments of fever dream-like fervor - it is unshakable and something the direct-to-video sequels were sorely lacking. And the coup de resistance - easily the funniest and most inventive scene - is when Darkman clones himself as Durant and robs a convenience store while the security camera picks up the footage! It must be seen to be appreciated.  

From the hypnotic imagery of Darkman's consciousness that includes fire, animated DNA strands and brain waves in micro-second cuts, to the peculiar and highly memorable transitions (Julie staring at the fiery explosions segueing to her at a funeral), to some inventive deaths of Durant's crew members (hang on for dear life when you see one of them being forced to poke their head out of a manhole while traffic flies by), to a truly explosive (in every sense of the word) helicopter ride where Darkman is left dangling with a suspended cable, "Darkman" is almost pure comic-book pop but it's got Liam Neeson's gravitas and Sam Raimi's roller-coaster mentality meshing almost evenly. When Peyton is off and about on the streets alone, we wish he could reunite with Julie and start anew and maybe figure out the secret to that synthetic skin. That he doesn't and can't proves there was something more sanguine at stake here than the average comic-book movie. That's Darkman. 

You're Going to Need a Bigger Boat

 JAWS (1975)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"Jaws" is a crackerjack thriller though not really a monster movie nor is it really horror. Real-life horror, for sure, because the prospect of a great white shark attacking and chomping humans near the beach or in the ocean is a strong reality. B-Movie Producer Roger Corman would've made this type of picture in 2 days and with a tight low-budget for sure. Only this is based on a best-selling novel by Peter Benchley and it is directed by a young wunderkind of a movie director, Steven Spielberg, who famously went overbudget and had a mechanical shark nicknamed Bruce failing to work properly. Little did he know that he made a movie that would shake the world.

The secret to "Jaws" is how little we see of the shark and when we do see it, it is a frightening presence of a creature - it just looks too real. That is the idea and why people were afraid to go near the water after witnessing this marvelous movie. First, 15 years earlier, "Psycho" made people afraid to take a shower. In 1975, "Jaws" made people afraid, very afraid, of the ocean. Scenes of gruesome deaths of a child swimming and Mr. salty Quint (Robert Shaw) attacked by the shark were more than enough to make people take pause (the unseen death of a dog chasing a stick with the stick only visible in the water while the owner calls for him is naturally horrific). A severed head that comes out of the inside of a cracked boat will make you scream without question. Of course, I remember all these screams too well when I first saw it in theaters in either 1975 or 76 - this movie made a huge impression on this 5 year-old. 

The other notable secret to "Jaws" is Spielberg's humanity and focus on the three principal characters - the aforementioned Quint who wishes to capture the shark and kill it for ten grand, the empathetic Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) who wants to close the beaches on July 4th weekend despite the business owners of Amity Island wishing otherwise, and the trained oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) who loves sharks and knows the difference of a bite size between a great white and a tiger shark. When these three are on the boat for the last half of the film, we are with them though it never feels claustrophobic on that small Orca boat. We see enough of the vast ocean and their noble attempts to kill the shark. They use barrels, they shoot at the shark, shoot a harpoon at it yet that carnivorous fish finds a way to barrel onto their boat and practically tear it to pieces. Yet such rigid action outside the boat with this seemingly unstoppable shark doesn't compare to the trio's own tensions about themselves. Brody calls for help and Quint destroys the transmission equipment, seeking to get the shark himself ("You're going to need a bigger boat" says Brody in a classic, misquoted line). Hooper is at odds with the demanding Quint yet a mutual respect floats to the surface when Quint describes in vivid detail his USS Indianapolis survival story involving sharks. It is gripping stuff.

"Jaws" also has some divinely fantastic scenes between Brody and his wife, Ellen (Lorraine Gary), and the kids. Their history is that they lived once in New York City with omnipresent crime and Brody has moved his family to this island where nothing much happens, except for the shark and his random dinner outings. I love Brody's scenes with Ellen and their love for each other ("You want to fool around and get drunk.") and how they relieve their tension over this dire island matter (everyone drinks and smokes). I only wish there were more intimate scenes between them - they are the ideal married couple and, aside from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," one of the last times we would see such a sweetly-natured, loving couple in a Spielberg picture. 

Amidst the chaos, the sense of urgent adventure out in the ocean, the classic musical theme of impending doom by John Williams and the occasional and infrequent blood and gore deaths (Quint's death is probably the goriest ever seen in a PG-rated movie), "Jaws" also thrives on its characters and their human impulses, mostly driven by fear of death and the unknown. Even the small role of the Mayor of Amity Island (Murray Hamilton) makes it clear that he sees the danger inherent in the waters ("My kids were also on that beach.") "Jaws" was the first biggest moneymaker of the summer season ever, a monster hit that redefined (or perhaps defined) the blockbuster model forever. Scores of imitators and dull, addle-brained sequels followed yet, to this day, "Jaws" still holds the benchmark of a truly scary thriller that gives you goosebumps done with class and distinction. It established the intense and magical style of director Steven Spielberg and how to play the audience like a piano - you know, a laugh followed by a scream like good old Hitchcock. We are all better for it.  

Web-Crawler fighting drones

 SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (2019)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

My thoughts on "Spider-Man: Homecoming" extend to this noisy if occasionally diverting sequel, "Far From Home" which were, and I quote, "What it does not have is much of an identity - it looks and feels like a Spider-Man tale but our friendly neighborhood arachnid hero appears to be stuck in recycled webbing." Not much has changed since the last picture since we have our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man trying in vain to save his high-school class from a mirage. Yep, a dangerous mirage utilizing drones equipped with cameras and bullets but a mirage nonetheless.

The Spider-Man comic book collector of the 1980's, that is I, forgot the attributes of Mysterio aka Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), a former Sinister Six member who was adept at creating illusions with 3-D projectors and, in later incarnations, the use of hypnosis. In "Far From Home," Mysterio pretends to be from a multiverse where his planet was destroyed by the Four Elementals, creatures that represent fire, water and so on. Naturally these Elementals are not real, they are illusions, and you would think that the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, wearing that eyepatch well) would see through this fabrication. Or for that matter Maria Hill (Cobey Smulders), who works along side Nick. They need Spider-Man (Tom Holland) to help Mysterio fight the Elementals because, well, the surviving Avengers are busy. Spider-Man would rather rest and hang out with his class group who are going on a vacation to Venice, London and finally Prague. What is of infinite importance is that Peter Parker admit his love to MJ aka Michelle (Zendaya). Easier spun than done.

"Spider-Man: Far From Home" has a fairly thin story because once the gig is up with regards to Mysterio; the rest of the picture could've found time for romance between Parker and MJ and there is precious little of it. Comparing to earlier Tobey Maguire Spidey pictures, there was always time for some measure of intimacy but this movie kickstarts itself into high gear and never lets up (Mysterio and his fake supernatural powers are introduced in the first scene!) 

On the plus side, Tom Holland is becoming more convincing as Peter Parker and is just agile enough as the Web Crawler (his penultimate scene with MJ has some honest emotion rather than anything cutesy). I actually found Jake Gyllenhaal more buoyant than grating as Mysterio with his con-artist demeanor, though at times he looks more like an adult bearded Peter Parker. The high-school class students are fun and animated enough including Jacob Batalon as Ned, who is far more engaging than in the last film. Also the women are shown to be smarter than the men at figuring things out, which may annoy macho males but who cares. But even with all the endless special-effects and literal smoke-and-mirrors, this is more Avengers-style destruction than a regular Spider-Man flick and the urgency is, once again, nil. These new Spidey flicks don't have anything as hair-raising as Spider-Man spinning his webs to prevent an elevated train of passengers from falling off the rails as in "Spider-Man 2." At the end of the day, it is Spidey fighting a bunch of armed...drones.  

Multiverse to end all multiverses

 EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2022)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

There is the recent multiverse of Spider-Man and then there's the multiverse of Evelyn's life. "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is a wild, wacky, messy, sometimes incoherent yet never less than enthralling and exasperating pastiche of lives lived and how one's emotional core is always in question. Michelle Yeoh's Evelyn is that person who's not sure what is happening in her life or where she's headed. Nobody is.

Evelyn runs a laundromat that is facing stiff tax liabilities from the IRS (for instance, Evelyn buys tax expenditures for the laundromat that are unnecessary like a karaoke machine). She lives with her outwardly upbeat husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan - welcome back!) who is ready for a divorce; her 90-year-old father Gong-Gong (James Hong) who demands breakfast, and there's Evelyn's daughter (Stephanie Hsu) who is seeking acceptance from her and for her relationship with her girlfriend. What could start out as a drama on the order of "The Joy Luck Club" becomes wired, tossed and fed back right back to us as pure adrenaline shocker. What I mean to say is that suddenly Waymond's head shakes and he's actually some sort of kung-fu agent who uses a fanny pack like a nunchaku weapon. All the hand-to-hand combat occurs at the IRS building where Deirdre (a hysterically explosive Jamie Lee Curtis) is the IRS auditor with plaques honoring her work, and Evelyn also succumbs to this verse-jumping technology and punches Deirdre! Security surrounds them in probably the most insanely absurd sequence to ever take place in an IRS building! Somehow, Evenly and Waymond verse-jump from a multitude of universes and Gong-Gong shows up in his motorized wheelchair and eventually attaches monitors to himself! Then there is a universe where everyone has hot dogs for fingers! And some powerful presence known as Jobu Tupaki (Alpha Joy) is a threat to all the verses, or something like that. Say what? 

I was not put off by "Everything Everywhere All At Once" for a second though the continuous verse-jumping can give you a headache at first. Evelyn seems to enter these verses faster than operating a TV remote control but the genius of writer-directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert is how efficiently and dramatically they weave the somewhat troubled life of Evelyn as a geisha, a high-profile actress or the disoriented woman who owns a laundromat - Yeoh serves up Evelyn with all the gusto she needs to make a living, breathing person who may have misgivings about her family yet she's trying to come to terms with it. The question is, can she learn her lessons and accept Waymond as her husband and accept her daughter as gay? 

From the various visual set pieces that includes a fantasy world of a white palace, a bagel-in-the-sky that sucks up all the trauma and emotions of living, a 1940's look by way of Wong Kar-Wai (or so it seems) when we see Evelyn as a glamorous movie star and a desert landscape where the characters are rocks, "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is a pure jolting kick of adrenaline and operatic flourishes that never cease to amaze. It all coalesces into one of the most heartbreaking and honest crescendos between mother and daughter you will ever see. Surrounded and supported by a capable and memorable cast, it is Michelle Yeoh who brings much momentum and credibility to the chaos. She's the one we gravitate to and know she will bring peace within herself. She is everything, everywhere and all at once a true model of strength and perseverance. Now about those hot dog fingers...

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is avoid this movie

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II (2000)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Original review from 2000 screening

I have no personal agenda against action movies in general. If they are entertaining, even in a remotely campy manner, then I will not complain. God only knows that we should not expect much more in this digital, impersonal age. So "Mission: Impossible 2" hardly has much going for it except straightforward action scenes to dazzle and numb the brain. Incredibly, the film is no fun at all - a never-ending trailer for what might look like a cool, sleek action picture that never comes to fruition. It is vapid and
joyless - two words that should not be associated with thrill rides.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), the hotshot superspy from the original, is back this time trying to prevent a bland villain, Ambrose (Dougray Scott), from buying the antidotes to a deadly virus. From what I gather from the plot, this ambitious nut hopes to gain billions by unleashing this virus upon the world, and since there will be millions of dying, infected people, he will have access to the antidote which he can sell in multitudes. Just sounds like another business proposition that Bill Gates should pursue. The only way to stop this madman is for Hunt to hire a beautiful jewel thief, Nyah Hall (Thandiwe Newton), to charm the pants off of her former love, Ambrose, so that the IMF team can trace his every move. Sounds like an update of Hitchcock's classic "Notorious" eh? And I assure you that is where the similarities end since this "M:I 2" possesses not one syllable of greatness from its far superior inspiration.

In fact, this movie is one of the worst sequels in years, embodying absolutely nothing that made the first "Mission: Impossible" a passable success. It is not witty, funny, exciting or engaging at any given moment. For pure excitement, we have an echo of Cruise's famous suspension from a ceiling from the original (which echoed the caper "Topkapi"), and a tense, believable opening plane crash followed by Cruise dangling 2000 feet up from a cliff. Outside of that, director John Woo overdoes the slow-motion
technique in his action scenes...even using this technique when Cruise and Newton make goo-goo eyes at each other. I felt like I was watching a commercial for one of those cologne ads.

Cruise slums and preens with not a trace of his personality coming through - he sleepwalks through this movie. Thandie Newton just looks beautiful, a shame considering this is the same actress from "Beloved." Ving Rhames barely reprises his role from the original, and looks just as bored. The villains
would barely threaten Adam Sandler. The whole film feels like a bland soufflé - it is sour and has no taste. Woo does nothing to enliven the proceedings - he is on automatic air pilot with dozens of shots of motorcycles, kicks, flips in the air, gunfire, oh, and a dove (another Woo trademark). None of this is remotely close to Woo's purely visceral and intoxicating "Face/Off."

Apparently, Tom Cruise fans want him to do more action-oriented/romantic comedy fare, and less of his exalting turns in offbeat films such as "Magnolia." Perhaps this was just a ride to the bank for Cruise, and now he can pursue more challenging roles. My recommended mission, should you choose
to accept it, is to avoid this movie at all costs.

Seth Brundle is, um, the odd man out

 THE FLY (1986)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

"The Fly" is an upsetting, riveting, emotional disturbance in the horror genre. It is director David Cronenberg's remake of the 1958 classic that contains that famous line screamed by a webbed human face on a fly's body, "Help me!" Somebody better help Seth Brundle, a brilliant scientist who has invented teleportation pods that can transfer inanimate objects with ease. What about animate, living breathing beings? Hmmm.

The ever enthusiastic Seth (Jeff Goldblum, perfect casting with those bugged-out bug eyes) eventually finds a clue in his voice-activated computer system which controls the teleportation pods - maybe it is probable to transfer flesh without killing the living thing (a baboon is the initial try and it proves disastrous). Geena Davis is Veronica, the journalist working for Particle magazine, a science publication like Omni, who witnesses this transformative event with the use of Betamax video cameras (my, how far we have come since). She also falls in love with Seth who encounters one too many physical changes in his body. He performs amazing gymnastics, starts eating too much sugar with his cappuccino, becomes aggressive (especially when having sex) and, well, we know what has happened - when he teleported, a fly flew in the pod and became fused with Seth. 

Think of "The Fly" as a horrific sight for the eyes and ears though, in hindsight, not nearly as gory as I remembered back in 1986 (that sickeningly gooey theater experience was my first encounter with Cronenberg). Yes, there are yucky, slimy, fluid-looking effects and the whole notion of flesh and its deformities when changing into a fly is where Cronenberg finds he's at home (though I guess we can be thankful that Cronenberg does not dwell on such fleshy details up close). One scene in a bar where Seth shows his physical strength in arm wrestling will leave you wincing and looking away. When he is slowly becoming a fly, you'll notice the yellow fluids staining his clothes and then, eek, his teeth, fingernails and various body parts start to come off. This is hardly an easy film to, um, digest after it is over.

The reason "The Fly" is not geeky, exploitative horror is because Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis bring so much tenderness to their roles and as a magnetic romantic couple (which they were at that time) - they really do click and you hope that this gradual fly transformation won't disrupt it. The love between them is almost inseparable despite Seth's growing deterioration - she is willing to stand by him and love him regardless of what he looks like. When Seth (who can climb walls and ceilings like Spider-Man) tells her that he might hurt her if she sticks around, it is genuinely moving and heartfelt. Even in pounds of makeup and latex, Jeff Goldblum still shines with his rapier-like delivery of dialogue (this was also the first time I started to notice Goldblum's dexterous use of his hands to denote the character.) 

Despite his heroic turn towards the horrifying and deeply emotional climax, John Getz plays a despicably arrogant, obnoxious ex-boyfriend of Veronica's whose occasionally cringe-inducing lines of dialogue (asking for sexual favors) wouldn't stand half a chance in today's world. He's practically unsympathetic yet Getz, in a progressively modulated performance, manages to still show he loves Veronica. Both men love her, yet there is still the odd fly out. 

Johnny Smith sees the past and the future

 THE DEAD ZONE (1983)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Originally seen in 1983

'As he was a bachelor, and in nobody's debt, nobody troubled their head about him anymore'.

This is a line from Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and we realize the psychic Johnny Smith may have been forgotten while in a coma. Yet now with his newly discovered psychic powers after waking from a coma, everyone wants a piece of him. David Cronenberg's "The Dead Zone" is a disquieting, extremely effective and tightly structured thriller, among the finest adaptations of Stephen King's novels. It is one of the few remarkable horror pictures with a science-fiction bent that draws out the humanity more than the special effects to work. And boy, does the movie work overtime on your nerves.

Set in the fictional Castle Rock, New Hampshire, Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) is a teacher who has an affinity for Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe. He is dating a fellow teacher, Sarah (Brooke Adams), who is completely head over heels in love with him yet their love remains unconsummated. Rather than spend the night with Sarah, he travels home during a thunderstorm and gets into an accident with an 18-wheeler truck. Five year later, Johnny wakes up from a coma and discovers he has psychic powers. First, he sees a young girl in danger of dying in a fire just by touching the hand of a nurse, the girl's mother. Later he picks up clues to a murder by touching the hand of the murdered victim! This guy starts getting tons of mail at his address with possible requests to retain his second sight services, yet his headaches gets worse and he walks with a limp. To top it all off, Johnny's former love Sarah is now married with kids. And to make matters worse, a driven political candidate named Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen) is in town and is ready for a future Presidency. When Johnny touches Greg's hand, let's say there could be a potential nuclear annihilation in the future. Johnny now discovers he can see the future.

Most of "The Dead Zone" is chilling in its atmosphere, from its wintry locations (filmed in Canada), to the cool colors of the characters' wardrobes (Sarah wears a blue dress in her first meeting with Johnny post-accident; Anthony Zerbe, playing a millionaire, wears a blue robe after the demise of a hockey team that his son thankfully did not participate in, thanks to Johnny's intervention); to the frightful surroundings of an icy tunnel; to Greg Stillson's senatorial campaigning with a Norman Rockwell logo combining blue and red colors that looks offputting, and so much more. Director David Cronenberg brings this grim tale alive with subtle art direction that feels just right and all the right tension notes are played - the whole movie really gets under your skin. One scene must be discussed here: the location of the Castle Rock Killer in a small house. The home looks inviting enough yet when Johnny enters along with the Sheriff (Tom Skerritt), something again feels off and it is not just the killer's overprotective mother (a crushing cameo by Colleen Dewhurst). The room look infantilized (wallpaper of cowboys and Indians, a paperback for kids called "Apache Kid") yet the normal-looking bathroom where a self-mutilation occurs keeps us off track yet again. The setup, the terse music score Michael Kamen, and the camera compositions of not knowing what lurks around the corner builds the frightful suspense in such intensifying ways that most crime TV shows of late or crime movies couldn't possibly match.

Christopher Walken gives a sympathetic, fully layered performance of a man who cannot fathom why he has these special powers or why he had to suffer and lose out on the life he wanted. When he discovers the truth about Greg Stillson and asks his doctor (deftly played by Herbert Lom) if he would've killed Hitler knowing what he was about to do, it chills us to the bone because we understand and want to nurture Johnny in whatever decision he wants to make. Same with Sarah, wonderfully and poignantly played by Brooke Adams, who so desperately wanted a life with Johnny yet she can't really let him go. Life takes its own toll on people and we carry on through whichever path it leads us. Johnny, fortunately or not, has the power to change that and even he doesn't know where it might lead.