Prime Time: Memoirs Of An Invisible Man (1992)

Arguably the most atypical movie in the filmography of John Carpenter, Memoirs Of An Invisible Man is very much a studio movie/Chevy Chase vehicle that just happens to have been directed by the horror maestro. It's an interesting one to watch, and some of the special effects remain impressive (while some others don't), but it's important to go into it not expecting a Carpenter movie.

Chase plays Nick Halloway, a slick office guy who finds his world turned upside down when he's caught up in an accident that renders him invisible. This makes it more difficult to continue his new relationship with the lovely Alice Monroe (Daryl Hannah). It also makes him a target for some shady government agent types (headed up by David Jenkins, played by Sam Neill).

Utilising noirish narration throughout most of the story, and paced briskly enough to get you along to the fun of the invisibility, Memoirs Of An Invisible Man is a consistent mix of the old and the new. It gets to restrict the need for hundreds of special effects by showing many scenes with Chase visible, although it often cuts to show the reality of how his invisible self is manipulating the environment or people around him, and the plot focuses just as much on the chase aspect than it does on the problem of no longer being able to see parts of your own body.

The script, credited to Robert Collector, Dana Olsen, and William Goldman (who has never seen the finished product and doesn't know how much of his material was left in there), is a bit of a mess. It's good in the way it moves from one (non)sight gag to another but not so good when weaving between the standard thriller aspects and the moments between Chase and Hannah.

Speaking of the leads, they don't do a bad job. Chase, however, would have been better playing this as audiences expected him to, more comedically. There are scenes that come close to capturing that cheeky twinkle he does so well, and then it's all undone by the need to have him acting seriously, either opposite Hannah or Neill, who is entertainingly ruthless in his bad guy role. Solid support comes from Michael McKean, Stephen Tobolowsky (not onscreen nearly enough), and Jim Norton (mentioned because Father Ted may wish to see "Bishop Brennan" in a John Carpenter movie).

The direction is surprisingly flat, you can tell that this was a paycheck gig for Carpenter, who doesn't provide the soundtrack either. Put this into a player without showing anyone the opening credits and I would defy anyone to put the director's name to it. That doesn't stop it from being fun, and Carpenter does well with the variety of effects (showing a wide array of previously-unseen visuals, as far as I am aware, like an invisible man smoking, and also, at one point, vomiting). It's just not a film with any fingerprints on it.

While not worth putting high on your list of priorities, especially if you have other Carpenter movies to see, this is an easy film to watch and enjoy, with a couple of great set-pieces and a fun ending.

6/10

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Sci-Fi September: Blade Runner (1982)

It's maybe not best for me to start my review of Blade Runner by declaring that I don't think it's a perfect movie, and don't rate it as the best sci-fi movie of all time. It's probably worse to declare that it MIGHT not even make my personal Top 10 Sci-Fi Movie list. It might, but it might not. Yet that doesn't stop me from praising the film as an amazing piece of cinema. It immerses viewers in a world that feels so realistic you can almost feel the near-constant rain dripping on your head.

Harrison Ford stars as Rick Deckard, a blade runner who must find and execute four runaway replicants. Replicants are humanoid robots, with some of the latest models being so advanced that they're getting harder and harder to differentiate from real people. The nominal leader of these runaways is Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer), a replicant who has spent a lot of time considering his life and what he has been privileged to see throughout the universe. The movie focuses on Deckard as he does his detective work, yet it also allows plenty of time for all of the main characters to ponder just what makes humans so unique in their efforts to live a long, fruitful life.

Based on a novel by Philip K. Dick (entitled "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?"), this is sci-fi used in a way to look at our own humanity. In a world in which humans can, essentially, be built, it looks at what, if any, differences there are between life and artificial life. The script, written mainly by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, spends as much time piecing together the motivations and fears of the various central characters as it does on the standard detective aspect of the tale.

The fact that all of these ideas and moments are set in a world so detailed and realistic is due, in no small part, to director Ridley Scott, who seemed intent on delivering a cerebral, beautiful, modern classic to cinema audiences. The visuals are often sublime, the soundtrack (famously created by Vangelis) is a delight for the ears, and the central performances don't ever give any sign of the famous troubles that plagued the production; let's just say that it was a baptism by fire for Scott working on his first major American operation.

Ford is great in yet another iconic role, and he must look back on his career as one amazing stroke of good luck after another, considering how many movies that he starred in didn't seem destined for greatness. He's suitably world-weary, cynical, and also able to empathise with anyone who just wants left alone to live their life in peace. Hauer may have a lot less screentime, but he makes a lasting impression, mainly thanks to his last scene opposite Ford. Sean Young also makes a lasting impression, playing Rachael, a young woman who doesn't realise exactly what her background is. Brion James, Joanna Cassidy, and Daryl Hannah all do well as the other replicants on the loose, M. Emmet Walsh has an enjoyable small role, and Edward James Olmos breathes down Harrison Ford's neck at the most inconvenient moments. There's also a superb, moving performance from William Sanderson (the second-best in the movie, behind Hauer), playing a "toymaker" who seems to empathise more than most with the creations that he's had a very small role in helping to build.

Books have been written about Blade Runner. Well, if they haven't then they should be (but I'm pretty sure they have). It's layered, it's full of many wonderful little touches, the tech on display feels very grounded in reality, it ruminates on science and the possibility of human souls by finely mixing the two, and much more. My main problem with it, the only reason that I don't rate it as the perfect sci-fi movie so many others see, is that there are scenes that bring the whole thing grinding to a halt. Scenes that feel unnecessary in the grand scheme of things, especially when they get in the way of the momentum that is being built by the strong central strand. Of course, the fact that there are (at least) five different versions of the movie to choose from nowadays probably serves as a reminder of just how many options Scott made available to himself as he tried to capture what he'd envisioned in his mind.

Despite not quite rating it as highly as other fans, I still recommend that everyone gives this a viewing at least once. It's iconic, it's cool, and it's almost fully deserving of the reputation it has.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Blade-Runner-Anniversary-Collectors-Blu-ray/dp/B008M4MB8K/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1411245021&sr=1-2&keywords=blade+runner

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Roxanne (1987)

Updating the classic tale of Cyrano de Bergerac, Roxanne is a superior romantic comedy that benefits enormously from a cracking script (written by the leading man, Steve Martin). It has at least two set-pieces, in my opinion, that hold up alongside any truly great comedy moments that you could think of and the rest of the film rarely dips. Well, not too far anyway.

Martin plays Fire Chief C. D. Bales (the C stands for Charlie). C. D. is a great guy. He's selfless, intelligent and very funny. He also has a big nose. A very, very big nose. Mention it at your peril. So when the beautiful and sharp Roxanne (Daryl Hannah) moves into his small town, C. D. may find himself falling for her but also keeps remembering that nothing will happen - it's as plain as the nose on his face. Things get complicated, however, when Roxanne falls for the handsome, but pretty vacant, Chris (Rick Rossovich). The feeling is mutual, but Chris gets nervous about wooing the lovely lady. C. D. suggests a love letter, using the power of words to win over Roxanne completely, and decides to help Chris by providing the words for him. Roxanne is on cloud nine, having found what she thinks may be her ideal man - blissfully unaware that the words are coming from C.D.

I've never been a big fan of Daryl Hannah, but she's very suitable in her role here and the central "love triangle" is completely believable thanks to her solid performance and, of course, her beauty (hey, not being TOO shallow, if a film features a potential love interest appealing to a wide range of potential suitors then that person should have an obvious beauty - be it inner, outer or both). Rick Rossovich does a great job, especially in the way that he plays the comedy, and makes for a fun fly in the ointment. He's shallow and slightly dense, but he's also pretty sweet. In a way. But this is, of course, Steve Martin's show and he's written a marvellous creation for himself to play. Defined by his humour, intelligence, quirkiness and that big nose, C. D. Bales is always fun to be around and a great updated version of a classic character. The rest of the cast includes Shelley Duvall, John Kapelos, Michael J. Pollard (a favourite of mine), Damon Wayans, Edmond Rostand and Fred Willard, all doing decent work.

Director Fred Schepisi has never created anything truly great, from my knowledge of his filmography, and I would nominate this movie as his best work. There's nothing special on display, however, and everything positive comes from the script and performances. Of course, the performances are directed by . . . . . . the director, but I'm just saying that nothing else stands out. The soundtrack isn't memorable, the camerawork is fairly straightforward, there are one or two standard montage moments, nothing feels particularly fresh or stylish. The good thing is that the movie doesn't need to feel fresh or stylish. It's good enough as it is.

I don't quite love Roxanne as much as I did a decade or two ago, but I still love it enough to consider it a great one to watch, purchase and rewatch on numerous occasions.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Roxanne-DVD-Steve-Martin/dp/B00004L8JJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374189921&sr=8-1&keywords=roxanne

Shark Swarm (2008)

Two things surprised me as I watched Shark Swarm the other evening. The first was how long the damn thing was, it clocked in at just over two hours. The second was how good it was. Okay, maybe saying it was good is being a bit generous but it certainly wasn't the low grade schlock I was expecting. No sir-ee. This was more of an enjoyable soap opera style drama with occasional moments of, fairly well executed, shark action. Typical TV movie fare but certainly a step up from the many little films shown in recent years that have thrown a bunch of bad actors together with even worse CGI and given it a catchy name to entice people dumb enough to become intrigued (yes, people like me).

The folk onscreen here may not be at the top of their game but they aren't terrible actors and actresses. John Schneider, Daryl Hannah, Armand Assante, F. Murray Abraham (really? have the mighty fallen so far?) and even the likes of Mimi Michaels and Roark Critchlow do just fine with the melodrama.

The plot is a standard one for this type of film - a big businessman (Assante) is doing his best to buy up a small town and to help him on his way he messes up the local economy by affecting the fishing trade by polluting the surrounding waters. This makes a bunch of sharks act strangely and all different types start swarming together and munching on poor swimmers. One good man (Schneider) isn't won over by the businessman and he also notices the trouble in the water. With his wife (Hannah) and daughter (Michaels) by his side, he tries to right the wrongs that have been done. However, he doesn't realise the full situation until his professor brother (Critchlow) and professor colleague (Abraham) see the big picture.

Written by Matthew Chernov and David Rosiak, there's nothing here to get too excited over but it's perfectly acceptable stuff that can't avoid feeling like "Jaws-lite" in one or two moments. Things could easily have been condensed, or even removed altogether, to get the film down to a zippy ninety minute runtime but it was created as a longer schedule filler and that's how it has to be viewed.

The direction by James A. Contner is just fine. Of course, there's nothing majorly cinematic on display and no major flourishes or camera moves but the big draw, the shark footage, is reasonably well done and the film trots along nicely in between the moments of tension.

As well as the cast members already mentioned, we have John Enos III, Heather McComb, Alan Fudge, Gene Davis, Brent King, Jacleen Heber, Elisa Donovan, Darcy Rose Byrnes, Tiffany Hines and plenty of others giving acceptable performances in an acceptable time-waster of a TV movie.

5/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shark-Swarm-DVD-Daryl-Hannah/dp/B001TJKVD2/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1337341136&sr=1-1