Blow by Blow with Serpico

 AMERICAN GANGSTER (2007)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Frank Lucas is one savvy, smart businessman who clearly would've done well for himself conducting any business. The business in "American Gangster," adapted from a true story, is the illegal shipment of an illegal, highly sought after drug, heroin. Only this heroin is not the street-level type - this is high-grade, uncut heroin from Vietnam! How the heck does Lucas manage to bring in top quality heroin to the United States and cut out the middle man? Using military coffins of course.

"American Gangster" has the subdued talents of Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas who rises fast in the selling of such pure heroin. Nobody can stop this guy and all the police detectives initially have trouble finding the man responsible - they don't even know his name. How do you cut out the middle man - the Italian Mafia and the cops on the take - and keep the dough for yourself and spread it around buying real estate and a North Carolina home for your mother (Ruby Dee)? Lucas keeps a low-profile up to a point, sharing his wealth with his brothers from back home. One brother (the excellent Chiwetel Ejiofor) thinks it is cool to dress like a guy the cops could easily target and nab ("You're wearing a clown suit.") Lucas corrects that situation and, of course, love finds itself in his sights in the form of a Puerto Rican woman (Lymari Nadal) who appears at one of Lucas's parties. Still, you can't keep crooked cops and the mob away forever. 

Russell Crowe is the honest-to-the-bone, Serpico-like police detective, Richie Roberts, who is vying to catch criminals and pass the bar. Roberts also has complications with his ex-wife (Carla Gugino) and custody of his son. This guy think nothing of boinking his fetching lawyer and other women entering in an out of his apartment. Meanwhile, there is Roberts' partner, Javy (John Ortiz, who looks exactly like a late 60's early 70's detective), who OD's on heroin. Roberts is ready to make arrests and sets up a task force to combat this heroin through the big-time suppliers, distributors and the big honcho.  

"American Gangster" is at its best when evoking the brutally difficult detective work Roberts has to contend with. The details of finding the merchandise and discovering how it is imported into the U.S. are almost staggering to witness - you wonder just how he will nab Lucas. It is also fascinating to see Lucas at work and Denzel does a fabulous job of evoking much without dialogue - it is his silence and his observation of supposedly trivial touches (like placing a coaster for a rival's drink) that show a man who doesn't leave anything to chance. He wants to be in charge of this product and it comes at the expense of almost everything else, including his wife and even his chinchilla coat. There are too many forces to be reckoned including a crooked cop with a hint of slime in his mustache played with scary precision by Josh Brolin. Still, the movie doesn't sugarcoat Lucas - this guy is prone to killing someone without much provocation.

"American Gangster" does find a subtle nod of nobility in Frank Lucas which is largely due to Denzel Washington's casting - the real gangster himself doesn't seem to hint at anything noble. The relationships Roberts and Lucas have with the women in their lives do lack depth and one wishes that Lymari Nadal had been given more to do than the customary packing-suitcases-and-splitting scene. It is only the forthright Lucas and the righteous Roberts who seem to find common ground in naming names of rotten cops on the take. Regardless of its flaws, Ridley Scott has fashioned an entertaining and sometimes thrilling look at cops and criminals. It may seem like business as usual with gangsters but rarely is it this compelling. 

Smooth cop, smooth criminal

 HEAT (1995)

An Appreciation by Jerry Saravia

I have looked at Michael Mann's "Heat" several times throughout the years and there is plenty to wade through in its 2 hour and 50 minute run time. It has an amazing bank heist scene followed by an incredible shootout in the streets, it has a dank look at the underworld that exists in nightclubs and fenced-in areas off the beaten path where few tread except criminals, and even the occasional green screen effects of L.A. at night is dreamy and noirish in ways we had not seen again till David Lynch's "Mulholland Dr." More significantly, "Heat" is not content to be solely a high-stakes action thriller - it focuses on the personal lives of the professional thieves and the one police lieutenant who needs the chase to fuel his mojo.

Al Pacino is the high-strung yet completely in control lieutenant Hanna. This guy lives to root out scores and find and possibly kill crews if they kill innocent lives. One particularly brutal crew is masterminded by McCauley (Robert De Niro), an icy thief who is unwilling to have a woman in his life since he lives by a ruthless code - as soon as the heat is around the corner, he's disciplined enough to know to walk away from any woman no matter what. It is the only true code he lives by. Lieutenant Hanna lives by finding and arresting crews - it raises his temperature and keeps him focused. Hanna is married (again) and can't seem to hold down a relationship with his neglected wife, Justine (Diane Venora), or his troubled stepdaughter (Natalie Portman, in what appears to be a heavily truncated role). Hanna is always on the move and "where he needs to be" but that doesn't include being home or partaking in cleaning dirty dishes. In contrast, McCauley lives in a lonely Malibu home where you hear the waves of the ocean in the background - he has no furniture, only a phone and a coffee maker. In one of many tantalizing scenes, McCauley visits his usual bookshop looking for a book on metals and is questioned what he is reading by a graphic designer, Eady (Amy Brenneman). McCauley feels threatened and then slowly asks various questions about Eady's life, thus eliminating any need to reveal anything about himself. This sequence alone leads to intimacy at her apartment and is almost as revealing and powerful as Hanna and McCauley's impromptu visit to a coffee shop.

Nothing in "Heat" is truly original other than its focus on complicated relationships and complicated high-tech heists. This is what makes "Heat" rise above most other heist movies and its cat-and-mouse game between cops and criminals - its very influence is felt in "Infernal Affairs," another dynamic thriller. Here, we also venture into Val Kilmer as Chris Shiherlis, a McCauley crew member who can bulldoze through security alarms. Chris's wife, Charlene (Ashley Judd), is well aware of Chris's criminal activities, often goading him for more cash for his work. Chris gets temperamental, in fact most of the males in this movie holler and get physical with the women. Worst offender is the serial rapist and murderous Waingro (Kevin Gage) who is along for the opening scene's armored truck heist where he spontaneously kills a guard without much provocation. Kevin Gage's chilling performance showcases a dangerous man with an increasingly volatile nature that is scary to watch. Other actors appear in "Heat" as restrained, cool and controlling such as Jon Voight as McCauley's business contractor, Henry Rollins (!), Dennis Haysbert as a paroled convict and Tom Noonan as an expert with inside information on banks. Even Bud Cort is along for the ride as a rigid diner manager. Danny Trejo and the colorful character actor Tom Sizemore appear as crew members and they seem less threatening than the others, which is saying a lot.

"Heat" still falls a little short of developing the three central female characters, Eady, Justine and Charlene. They just barely appear as nothing more than troubling pawns - trophies for the insecure men. True, Charlene has her way with Chris and McCauley who catches her having an affair but she is inconsolable. Same with Eady who eventually finds out McCauley's true nature as a career criminal and decides to go along with it, though we can't imagine why when she feels cheated and betrayed. Brenneman's final scene where she realizes that McCauley will not be part of her life is this actress's strongest moment in the film, other than the original meeting. And there's Justine who has an affair without blinking an eye, leading to a hilarious verbal assault by Hanna.

"Heat" is smooth in its jazzy rhythms that are director Michael Mann's trademark - his movies are textured with a coolness that is intensely watchable. The characters speak with a clarity and a slight detachment that seem utterly real and authentic. Along with Mann's "Thief" and "Manhunter," few action thrillers can deliver such ample style and strong characters and it puts most other similar flicks to shame. The whole movie is an unusual crime picture in retrospect - it is as smooth as silk.

Marlon Brando's light comic touch is gold

 THE FRESHMAN (1990)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Originally viewed in the summer of 1990)

"The Freshman" is a delicate souffle of a movie, a tasty treat and the sweetest kind of cinematic confection. It is a harmless comedy of manners and it utilizes our memories of "The Godfather" movies to its fullest extent while delivering a fresh, original comedy. It will warm your heart and make you laugh at the same time.

Matthew Broderick is Clark Kellogg, an ingenuous Vermont college freshman starting his new year at NYU. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong from the second he arrives via Amtrak at Grand Central Station. Kellogg's belongings are stolen by a shady Victor Ray (an energetically hilarious Bruno Kirby), who happens to be the nephew of a very shady importer of goods named Sabatini (Marlon Brando, who savors every Don Corleone-marble-sounding syllable). Sabatini's latest import is a Komodo Dragon, an endangered species that is going be served as a meal at some gourmet club for $350,000 a plate! Animal lovers, do not worry, this caper plot does not result in any animal cruelty.

"The Freshman" is truly a sleeper of another kind, written with wit and gobs of humanity by writer-director Andrew Bergman. Rounding out this rather eccentric, pleasing cast is Maximilian Schell as an unorthodox chef, Frank Whaley as Clark's roommate with a hairdo I do not recall anyone sporting in the late 1980's, and the great Paul Benedict as Fleeber, an NYU film professor who has "The Godfather Part II" memorized. Other than the titanic presence of Brando, the hustling bravado of Kirby and the wholesomeness of Broderick, there is the darling, angelic Penelope Ann Miller as Sabatini's only daughter, Tina, who assures Clark that the Mona Lisa in her house is the real article and that it was simply taken from the Louvre! So with the delicious chemistry between Miller and Broderick, Brando paying homage with respect to his most famous role (Corleone's name can't be uttered, a running gag), "The Freshman" unfolds like a precious restaurant meal that you can enjoy and have a few good laughs along the way during the evening. And Bert Parks appears in a mind-blowing cameo where he has the rare event of singing "Tequila" and Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm." Still, there is nothing like the sight of Marlon Brando showing a delicate comic touch and a twinkle in his eye. A marvelous movie.  

Chocolate cake and men never seemed more disgusting

 KEEPER (2025)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Director Oz Perkins ("Longlegs") has described "Keeper" as a film about toxic masculinity and disgusting male behavior. There are sufficient shades of this subtext but it is more about a deeply unsettling and uncontrollable madness that may or may not be a paranoiac descent or something far more nightmarish. There is much to savor here in "Keeper" and it is Tatiana Maslany who makes the film swim to a foreseeable yet disturbing finish.

Maslany is Liz, a sweet and suspicious artist who has an uncertainty about seemingly everything. She is travelling with her boyfriend, Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland), a doctor, to a log cabin in the woods and you can tell she is expressing doubts through her mannerisms. Things go awry from the start, from a delicious looking chocolate cake wrapped inside an ugly looking box presumably left by some caretaker, to Malcolm himself who is unwilling to have sex with Liz, to strange, creaky sounds above the cabin both night and day, etc. What starts as some sort of haunted cabin story surrounded by haunted woods is actually about paranoia, or so it seems. When Malcolm chooses to see a comatose patient of his and leaves her alone, we wonder if he will return. There's also Malcolm's deplorable cousin living next door (Birkett Turton) who has a European girlfriend who can't speak a lick of English yet she knows how to say that the cake "tastes like shit." The question is what is happening to Liz? She has hallucinatory visions of creatures crawling up trees or of something ominous in the creek in the woods. The log cabin itself has open windows with no curtains and the bathroom door is the only door you can lock from the inside, or is it? Forget the "Evil Dead" cabin - it seems like a creepy cabin I would not want to live in or visit on weekends. Plus, she has nightmares of children with rifles and one pointed at her head. Has she been drugged or is she going crazy or is it something else? 

"Keeper" keeps you glued in and so does the enormously sympathetic performance by Tatiana Maslany (an actress I first discovered in "Ginger Snaps 2"). Maslany gives the movie a shot of pathos and pure insight into a woman who knows her relationship with her boyfriend may end up being short-termed. Rossif Sutherland appears from the start like a guy we are gravely suspicious about. We know he is a liar when he claims to love Liz or when he leaves for his outing to the city. This guy just seems like bad news from the start in a sneaky, standoffish kind of way (not to mention the somewhat misogynistic cousin). 

As for director Perkins, he's working with the adroit rhythms of screenwriter Nick Lepard who keeps the tension running in a leisurely enough manner. Perkins is up to the task and also composes many shots with cinematographer Jeremy Cox where something always obstructs or obscures the frame. You really feel a gnawing sense of claustrophobia and it pays off handsomely. "Keeper" amps up the tension only when needed and proves to be a menacing, first-rate log cabin film of the first order. It may not be the fever pitch with more grandiose themes of "The Shining" but it is close to the eerie vibes of "Rosemary Baby." I will say that I have no desire to eat chocolate cake again after seeing it. 

Could've been Spike Lee's Empire

 HIGHEST 2 LOWEST (2025)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Watching "Highest 2 Lowest" can feel like unequal parts of vintage Spike Lee and a some semi-90's thriller vibe. I recently saw "High and Low" by Kurosawa, a pulse-pounding thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat and also had strong character portrayals amidst its then groundbreaking forensic analysis. Spike Lee's lusciously filmed remake "Highest 2 Lowest" is not in the same vein and that is only because Lee has divided his movie into two halves and some of it is flawless and some of it feels off-centered and doesn't flow evenly. 

The movie begins with Denzel Washington as David King, a record label executive whose own music label is on the wane. The opening shots of the film show his penthouse overlooking New York City and you can already feel the wealth causing your eyes to bulge - you sense that this guy has let wealth get in the way of imagination (he also has a home in Sag Harbor). Ilfenesh Hadera as Pam King, David's tender wife, senses economic trouble with David who is making a risky move: he wishes to gain majority control of his music company before any rivals attempt to buy him out. As King is trying to make deals employing a vision of focusing on the music and less on the green, his son, Trey (Aubrey Joseph), is kidnapped. The vociferous kidnapper demands a ransom of $17.5 million in Swiss 1,000-franc notes or the son will not be returned. After acquiring the ransom funds (money King needs for his hopeful record deal), Trey returns yet it was actually his best friend, Kyle (Elijah Wright), who was kidnapped! The ransom still holds for the return of Kyle - Kyle is Paul Christopher's son. Paul (Jeffrey Wright) is King's driver and close friend who sees a situation spiraling out of control. The problem is that King is reluctant to pay the ransom because Kyle is not his son. If you have seen "High and Low," much of this plot will seem familiar (and it has been remade a few times since). It is no surprise that King relents and pays the ransom. 

Just when the action centers on the money bag being delivered between train stops to the anonymous caller, "Highest 2 Lowest" fails to maintain the same level of excitement it started with. The forensic and detective work is practically abandoned in this version and the class system is just casually dealt with. With a more attentive screenwriter, perhaps Lee himself, they could've taken this story and updated it to our modern-day class warfare. If you think about it, based on Spike Lee's past films dealing with the poor or working class, he would've had a field day with this material. Instead we are saddled with too much of the business practices of the music business and some of it is intriguing but it doesn't mesh with the thriller aspects. Either Lee should've made an amazing film about the cutthroat music business (something akin to TV's "Empire") and left the suspense plot out or made a full blown suspense film. 

"Highest 2 Lowest" is still curiously entertaining with charismatic performances by all, including Denzel Washington who always embodies every character he plays with the finesse of a true and honest actor. Denzel's scenes with Aubrey Joseph as his son are involving and intimately portrayed (especially the potent moment when Trey curses out his father). The musical sequences are mind-blowing and hold one's interest, especially the finale. ASAP Rocky is also a phenomenal performer and rivets our attention, plus holding his own against Denzel. The film is just not electrifying to watch, not like some of Lee's other notable films, and the whole affair feels muted and has scant emotional resonance. 

God gave me ears to hear

 SARAH'S OIL (2025)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I was afraid Amazon Studios might release an earnest, noble film that would sugarcoat the real true story of Sarah Rector, the first black child to inherit oil wealth. Let's be honest - many films of its ilk tend to soften the realities of the time, specifically in the early 1900's when kindness and empathy were in short supply towards black people and the few white people who supported them. Thankfully, director Cyrus Nowrasteh aims to reveal the racism of the Jim Crow South and balance it with the hope and faith required to make that leap forward. This Sarah is no Disney-fied smart aleck - she is also self-aware and good with numbers. 

Sarah Rector (an astonishing debut by Naya Desir-Johnson), an 11-year-old Oklahoma girl, hears the roar, the humming sound of oil rattling beneath her feet in land considered barren (anyone who has read or seen "Killers of the Flower Moon," another Oklahoma true story, knows what is coming next). Sarah is elated and enthusiastic about this discovery despite not seeing a drop of oil - she tells her parents that her God-given ears know it is true. It is 159 acres of land and, thanks to the Treaty of 1866, she is the owner of such land thanks to her Creek Indian ancestry. She convinces her father to venture to oil companies to determine the land's value. Most are reluctant to participate except for one, a seemingly courteous Jim Devnan (Garret Dillahunt), an oil company executive. Jim has his team drill and they find nothing (of course, they do. It turns out they want the land for themselves regardless of the signed deed to Sarah).

Along the way she meets friendly wildcatter Bert (Zachary Levi) at an all-white diner where he buys her a lemonade. A friendship grows between them when she insists that he helps her cultivate that oil along with Bert's trusty Mexican friend/partner, Mace (Mel Rodriguez). These two wildcatters seem too good to be true yet they turn out to be the good guys - they really want to aid Sarah in drilling that oil and making her wealthy. Naturally, the other oil prospectors led by Jim has them threatening Sarah and her family with guns. And Bert has lost money in his past prospecting missions, and no doubt that the oil execs will make a sweet financial deal with Bert while he becomes Sarah's guardian in order to protect her wealth.

"Sarah's Oil" could have been rougher in its depiction of the hardships of a young smart girl obtaining the mineral rights to the land. This is a simplified tale yet I was quite moved by it. Naya Desir-Johnson brings such vibrancy and hope to this Sarah Rector that you are swept along by her - you want her to succeed. Money is the name of the game and there is no way on God's green earth that these white businessmen and swindlers/con men will not get their greedy hands on the oil. You have to admire Sarah's tenacity and strength - she seems older than her years suggest. That is the beauty of "Sarah's Oil" - it is Sarah's story through and through and, despite the presence of the fictitious Bert and Mace, they are refreshingly not white saviors. Sarah is determined and proud and her religious parents, Joe and Rose (sincerely played by Kenric Green and Sonequa Martin-Green), are ready to support her daughter in her cause despite initial doubts by Pops (property tax alone of 30 dollars is tough on an impoverished family). As far as biographical tales go (we get too few about black pioneers in early 20th century America), this is that rare movie that feels inspired and inspiring.

Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera

 SEASON OF THE WITCH (1972)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

George Romero's "Season of the Witch" is not a misleading title and far more memorable than its original titles such as "Jack's Wife" or "Hungry Wives" (the latter could have been a Living Dead sequel). It shows the unmistakable urge for Romero to make a dramatic film about feminism and, since this was the 1970's, it makes perfect sense and it is an honorable effort.

A bored, stiff housewife, Joan (Jan White), is practically doing nothing except laying in bed. Her husband, Jack (Bill Thunhurst), wakes up early before she does and makes no effort in kissing her goodbye before heading to work. She has nightmares about her husband paying no attention to her as they go for walks in the woods where she sees a baby crawling on the ground, a woman on a swing, etc (Etcetera, etcetera is something uttered in a hallucination she has at one point). Joan also gets scratched on her forehead and her hands as she tries to push through twigs and branches while trying to approach her husband. These scenes, which contains fast cuts and odd sounds in the soundtrack, demonstrate Joan as a woman unable to cope and her willingness for something, some meaning in her life yet she feels trapped. When Joan meets with her friends, they all talk about a woman practicing witchcraft who believes in it fully as a way of life. Intrigue leads to Joan buying all the tools of the witchcraft trade and includes scenes where she pierces her skin with pins and draws spells with the hope of conjuring a demon.

Romero doesn't exactly balance all these ideas perfectly but give him credit for trying. "Season of the Witch" has a nerve-wracking pot-smoking scene with a nervous older woman that doesn't involve pot at all - a teacher puts this woman under a spell by making her believe she's ingesting something she wished she didn't (it is just a crunched up cigarette). The rest of the film has unnerving hallucinations that include a masked man outside Joan's house; Joan getting a major orgasm after hearing her daughter's moans in her bedroom; an extra-marital affair with that teacher, and some lengthy discussions about witches. One very telling scene that pretty much sets up the film is Joan having a hallucination about what her middle-class home will be like, including introductions to her social circle, her daughter, who to reach for emergencies, etc. This is the Etcetera hallucination sequence.

"Season of the Witch" is not a horror film though it contains brief woman-in-danger-inside-her-home moments that later became staples of slasher horror. It is ultimately a film about a woman trying to find an escape from her boredom. Intriguing, fascinating and, purposely, emotionally distant. A true non-horror find for Romero fans.