5 DVDs You Need to Own
Retro-review by: Lance Berry
Let’s face it: going to the video store these days(or Netflix, if you prefer) is a hassle. Unless you’re renting something you’ve seen before and liked, or using the reference of a friend who’s never wrong when choosing a good movie, it’s a hit-or-miss crapshoot. And with the cost of rentals and late fees these days, who needs the headache?
So, as a public service to our loyal fans here at lietv, I now present my first annual retro-review: 5 movies that, no matter your choice of genre or personal Q-score for certain actors/actresses, are sure to leave you satisfied when the lights come up again…
1 – BEING JOHN MALKOVICH(1999)
The Story: A portal on the 7½ floor of a business office opens up—literally—inside the mind of actor John Malkovich.
The Cast: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, Orson Bean and of course, John Malkovich. Written by: Charlie Kaufman. Directed by: Spike Jonze.
Check This Out: Don’t let the weirdness of the plotline above fool you—it gets weirder from here on out. However, this is one of the main reasons(aside from cast and direction) this story works. As a matter of fact, the weirder and more bizarre this film gets, the more sense it makes and the better it gets, leading to an ending which is both truly ironic and heartbreaking, while still completely satisfying. John Cusack is at his indie-king best in this film, and Cameron Diaz uglies herself up in order to play a typical, plain and unfulfilled housewife who has no idea what she wants to do with her life from one moment to the next. I’ll bet you can’t name the writer of 5 movies, even if they’re you’re favorite ones, but you know who all the directors are. It’s a credit to Charlie Kaufman(also writer of the lesser “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) that his name is on the lips of most people who view this movie, right along with Spike Jonze’s. And when Malkovich finds out that people have literally been seeing his life through his eyes via what amounts to a mind-timeshare plot by Cusack and Keener, his threat to take Cusack to court leads to one of the funniest comeback lines you’ll ever hear in a movie. Check it out at your video store now—before another person in your neighborhood reading this article beats you to it.
2 – COP LAND(1997)
The Story: A small-town sheriff stands up to big time corruption in a town full of crooked cops.
The Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Malik Yoba, Janeane Garofalo. Written and directed by: James Mangold.
Check This Out: Don’t let Stallone’s affiliation with this flick chase you away; this is the best performance he has ever given in a film, outside of the original “Rocky”. Sly’s character, Freddy Heflin, is a real person: at once likeable, pitiable, touching and a poor sap of a nice guy with a heart too big for the town he’s in. After the alleged death of a hero cop brings an investigation by Internal Affairs to Freddy’s town, a precinct full of corrupt cops(led by Harvey Keitel, naturally) might be exposed. De Niro, the investigator, tries to get Freddy to dig his head out of the sand and take a look around at what his inner self has been trying to tell him for so long: as long as good men stand by and do nothing, evil men will flourish. It’s a taut, well written story, and every actor gets their moment. On the humorous side, you’ll enjoy the scene where De Niro—one of the greatest actors ever—out-acts Stallone with the aid of a ham sandwich(Letterman teased De Niro about this when Cop Land originally came out, and if you look at the scene, yes—Bobby’s indeed using the sandwich as a prop to out-act Sly. No offense meant, of course). Get Cop Land. Now.
3 – CRACKER(1993-1996)
The Story: Forensic psychologist Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald’s life is a mess: he’s a chain-smoking, alcoholic gambling addict without a clue as to how to cope with the slow dissolution of his family unit which his vices are causing. However, Fitz has a gift: he is brilliant at his job, and when examining the aftermath of a crime, he can pick out psychological details of the perp that no one else can. The local cops can’t stand him—but they need him.
The Cast: Robbie Coltrane, Geraldine Somerville, Barbara Flynn, Lorcan Cranitch, Ricky Tomlinson, Edward Peel. Created by: Jimmy McGovern. Writers/Directors: Various.
Check This Out: This isn’t the shit-tastic, short-lived American series which starred now-deceased Robert Pastorelli. This is the original British series in all its uncensored glory, baby! Don’t let anyone fool you: this series has inspired every single forensics styled show currently on-air, from the “CSI” series to “Cold Case” to “Medium”. Forget his role as Hagrid in “Harry Potter”; Coltrane is one hell of a serious dramatic actor, and watching him cut loose in this show will gain him an infinite amount of Respect Points from you, guaranteed. The writing and acting is some of the best you’ll ever see anywhere, the actors look like real people instead of glammed-up Barbie dolls, and they even kill off a main character by the sixth episode! And trust me, even though I just told you that last part, you still won’t guess who it is until it happens. If ever there was a mystery/forensics/ cop series to own, this is the one.
4 – GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS(1992)
The Story: “Lie, cheat, steal—all in a day’s work” was the film’s original tag line. It’s “Wall Street” on a smaller scale, but no less a powder keg waiting to go off.
The Cast: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin, Alec Baldwin, Jonathan Pryce. Written by: David Mamet. Directed by: James Foley.
Check This Out: At a dinky real estate office in Queens, the sales group is told they’re all fired, and have one week to get their jobs back. Go out and close their deals, or hit the bricks. And with that, they’re off and running. Pacino is the top man on the board(no surprise), so he has no worries—until a co-worker puts his best deal ever in jeopardy. The late Jack Lemmon gives a sterling performance as the old-timer of the group facing his last shot at the brass ring. And the opening speech by Baldwin has been used for motivational purposes at companies around the country—however, given the brutal nature of the speech, you have to wonder if Satan hasn’t been posing in several guises at some of these places. Ask anyone you know in real estate if they’ve ever heard of this film—I guarantee you’ll never hear “no”. If you’ve ever been in sales or retail of any kind, you need to see this movie. It is the “Office Space” of its time, if that film were a straight-up drama. And once you do see it, you’ll understand what I mean when I tell you to be sure to Always Be Closing.
5 – THE PUPPET MASTERS(1994)
The Story: Aliens come to Earth and begin using human bodies as their hosts. Think you’ve seen this movie before? You have—and haven’t.
The Cast: Donald Sutherland, Eric Thal, Julie Warner, Keith David, Richard Belzer, Yaphet Kotto. Written by: Ted Elliott. Directed by: Stuart Orme.
Check This Out: The original novel, “The Puppet Masters” by Robert A. Heinlein, was written years before “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” came out. That’s right, Heinlein was there first—but unfortunately, “Body Snatchers” got produced first. “Puppet Masters” is true to the vision, and is the superior film in many ways—from the government’s early detection and response to the alien threat, down to the humanism of the characters. And this is the first thing in which I can actually stand to watch Richard Belzer. Eric Thal is a credible actor, but what the hell ever happened to him? There are moments of sexuality and arousal which don’t detract from the story in the slightest, and when Sutherland is taken over and confronts Thal aboard an airborne chopper, it’s a cinematic treat, in spite of the sub-par green screen effect used. Sutherland flips a switch and delivers the line “automatic pilot” in the same tone as if he were telling Thal “I’m going to kick your ass now”. “The Puppet Masters” has several degrees of subtlety to it, and solid acting throughout. Put “Body Snatchers” out of your mind and feast your eyes on the original—you won’t be disappointed.
And so concludes the first of my annual Retro-reviews. I’ll be back with some more oldies but goodies you more than likely haven’t heard of or seen. Until then, as those 50’s sci-fi/horrors used to say: “watch the skies”…!
Retro-review by: Lance Berry
Let’s face it: going to the video store these days(or Netflix, if you prefer) is a hassle. Unless you’re renting something you’ve seen before and liked, or using the reference of a friend who’s never wrong when choosing a good movie, it’s a hit-or-miss crapshoot. And with the cost of rentals and late fees these days, who needs the headache?
So, as a public service to our loyal fans here at lietv, I now present my first annual retro-review: 5 movies that, no matter your choice of genre or personal Q-score for certain actors/actresses, are sure to leave you satisfied when the lights come up again…
1 – BEING JOHN MALKOVICH(1999)
The Story: A portal on the 7½ floor of a business office opens up—literally—inside the mind of actor John Malkovich.
The Cast: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, Orson Bean and of course, John Malkovich. Written by: Charlie Kaufman. Directed by: Spike Jonze.
Check This Out: Don’t let the weirdness of the plotline above fool you—it gets weirder from here on out. However, this is one of the main reasons(aside from cast and direction) this story works. As a matter of fact, the weirder and more bizarre this film gets, the more sense it makes and the better it gets, leading to an ending which is both truly ironic and heartbreaking, while still completely satisfying. John Cusack is at his indie-king best in this film, and Cameron Diaz uglies herself up in order to play a typical, plain and unfulfilled housewife who has no idea what she wants to do with her life from one moment to the next. I’ll bet you can’t name the writer of 5 movies, even if they’re you’re favorite ones, but you know who all the directors are. It’s a credit to Charlie Kaufman(also writer of the lesser “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) that his name is on the lips of most people who view this movie, right along with Spike Jonze’s. And when Malkovich finds out that people have literally been seeing his life through his eyes via what amounts to a mind-timeshare plot by Cusack and Keener, his threat to take Cusack to court leads to one of the funniest comeback lines you’ll ever hear in a movie. Check it out at your video store now—before another person in your neighborhood reading this article beats you to it.
2 – COP LAND(1997)
The Story: A small-town sheriff stands up to big time corruption in a town full of crooked cops.
The Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, Malik Yoba, Janeane Garofalo. Written and directed by: James Mangold.
Check This Out: Don’t let Stallone’s affiliation with this flick chase you away; this is the best performance he has ever given in a film, outside of the original “Rocky”. Sly’s character, Freddy Heflin, is a real person: at once likeable, pitiable, touching and a poor sap of a nice guy with a heart too big for the town he’s in. After the alleged death of a hero cop brings an investigation by Internal Affairs to Freddy’s town, a precinct full of corrupt cops(led by Harvey Keitel, naturally) might be exposed. De Niro, the investigator, tries to get Freddy to dig his head out of the sand and take a look around at what his inner self has been trying to tell him for so long: as long as good men stand by and do nothing, evil men will flourish. It’s a taut, well written story, and every actor gets their moment. On the humorous side, you’ll enjoy the scene where De Niro—one of the greatest actors ever—out-acts Stallone with the aid of a ham sandwich(Letterman teased De Niro about this when Cop Land originally came out, and if you look at the scene, yes—Bobby’s indeed using the sandwich as a prop to out-act Sly. No offense meant, of course). Get Cop Land. Now.
3 – CRACKER(1993-1996)
The Story: Forensic psychologist Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald’s life is a mess: he’s a chain-smoking, alcoholic gambling addict without a clue as to how to cope with the slow dissolution of his family unit which his vices are causing. However, Fitz has a gift: he is brilliant at his job, and when examining the aftermath of a crime, he can pick out psychological details of the perp that no one else can. The local cops can’t stand him—but they need him.
The Cast: Robbie Coltrane, Geraldine Somerville, Barbara Flynn, Lorcan Cranitch, Ricky Tomlinson, Edward Peel. Created by: Jimmy McGovern. Writers/Directors: Various.
Check This Out: This isn’t the shit-tastic, short-lived American series which starred now-deceased Robert Pastorelli. This is the original British series in all its uncensored glory, baby! Don’t let anyone fool you: this series has inspired every single forensics styled show currently on-air, from the “CSI” series to “Cold Case” to “Medium”. Forget his role as Hagrid in “Harry Potter”; Coltrane is one hell of a serious dramatic actor, and watching him cut loose in this show will gain him an infinite amount of Respect Points from you, guaranteed. The writing and acting is some of the best you’ll ever see anywhere, the actors look like real people instead of glammed-up Barbie dolls, and they even kill off a main character by the sixth episode! And trust me, even though I just told you that last part, you still won’t guess who it is until it happens. If ever there was a mystery/forensics/ cop series to own, this is the one.
4 – GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS(1992)
The Story: “Lie, cheat, steal—all in a day’s work” was the film’s original tag line. It’s “Wall Street” on a smaller scale, but no less a powder keg waiting to go off.
The Cast: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin, Alec Baldwin, Jonathan Pryce. Written by: David Mamet. Directed by: James Foley.
Check This Out: At a dinky real estate office in Queens, the sales group is told they’re all fired, and have one week to get their jobs back. Go out and close their deals, or hit the bricks. And with that, they’re off and running. Pacino is the top man on the board(no surprise), so he has no worries—until a co-worker puts his best deal ever in jeopardy. The late Jack Lemmon gives a sterling performance as the old-timer of the group facing his last shot at the brass ring. And the opening speech by Baldwin has been used for motivational purposes at companies around the country—however, given the brutal nature of the speech, you have to wonder if Satan hasn’t been posing in several guises at some of these places. Ask anyone you know in real estate if they’ve ever heard of this film—I guarantee you’ll never hear “no”. If you’ve ever been in sales or retail of any kind, you need to see this movie. It is the “Office Space” of its time, if that film were a straight-up drama. And once you do see it, you’ll understand what I mean when I tell you to be sure to Always Be Closing.
5 – THE PUPPET MASTERS(1994)
The Story: Aliens come to Earth and begin using human bodies as their hosts. Think you’ve seen this movie before? You have—and haven’t.
The Cast: Donald Sutherland, Eric Thal, Julie Warner, Keith David, Richard Belzer, Yaphet Kotto. Written by: Ted Elliott. Directed by: Stuart Orme.
Check This Out: The original novel, “The Puppet Masters” by Robert A. Heinlein, was written years before “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” came out. That’s right, Heinlein was there first—but unfortunately, “Body Snatchers” got produced first. “Puppet Masters” is true to the vision, and is the superior film in many ways—from the government’s early detection and response to the alien threat, down to the humanism of the characters. And this is the first thing in which I can actually stand to watch Richard Belzer. Eric Thal is a credible actor, but what the hell ever happened to him? There are moments of sexuality and arousal which don’t detract from the story in the slightest, and when Sutherland is taken over and confronts Thal aboard an airborne chopper, it’s a cinematic treat, in spite of the sub-par green screen effect used. Sutherland flips a switch and delivers the line “automatic pilot” in the same tone as if he were telling Thal “I’m going to kick your ass now”. “The Puppet Masters” has several degrees of subtlety to it, and solid acting throughout. Put “Body Snatchers” out of your mind and feast your eyes on the original—you won’t be disappointed.
And so concludes the first of my annual Retro-reviews. I’ll be back with some more oldies but goodies you more than likely haven’t heard of or seen. Until then, as those 50’s sci-fi/horrors used to say: “watch the skies”…!
