Prime Time: The Negotiator (1998)

An absolute comfort viewing of the highest order, The Negotiator is a slick and enjoyable thriller, even if it is pretty predictable how things are going to pan out by the final act. The script by James DeMonaco and Kevin Fox mixes in wit and some real tension, and director F. Gary Gray is a dependable pair of hands for the material, leading to what I view as a personal highlight from his filmography.

Samuel L. Jackson plays Danny Roman, a skilled hostage negotiator who finds himself set up on charges of financial wrongdoing and the murder of a colleague. With no other way to get to the truth, Danny takes a number of hostages. This leads to a stand-off in which the hostage-taker can easily stay one step ahead of those trying to resolve the situation. Danny requests to speak to Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey), another skilled negotiator, famous for de-escalating situations to give him a record free of fatalities. Not knowing which of his friends has betrayed him, Danny decides to put his trust in a stranger. The evidence certainly seems stacked against him though, but we know he's innocent . . . because he's Samuel L. Jackson.

Although this runs for just over two hours (the runtime on PAL format is about 134 minutes) it doesn't feel as if it outstays its welcome. Freidnships and tensions are set up from a smart opening sequence that shows our hero at work, getting the best result while infuriating those who want to barge in and end the situation quicker. Beck (David Morse) is one of those put out, keen to send in the men with guns, which makes him a potential suspect when the conspiracy to frame Danny starts to become clear. There are plenty of others to suspect, however, thanks to the cast being so loaded with great actors.

As well as the leads, both doing brilliant work, you have enjoyable performances from Ron Rifkin, John Spencer, the inimitable J. T. Walsh, Michael Cudlitz, Tim Kelleher, Nestor Serrano, Dean Norris, Regina Taylor, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, and Paul Giamatti. And Morse, of course. By the standards of most people, that is a cast absolutely packed with quality actors, and none of them are just sleepwalking through the film.

More about the brainpower than firepower, those seeking a thriller with some big action moments may be disappointed by this. It's quite removed from the kind of thrillers that were churned out with the names Simpson and/or Bruckheimer attached (not that there's anything wrong with those, especially when you have enough popcorn to hand). This is fairly restrained throughout, with only a couple of important deaths helping to propel the plot forward, but the sparks fly as Jackson gets to outwit and shout down those around him, particularly when he shares the screen with Spacey. It holds up well, and I will happily revisit it any time.

8/10

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The Rock (1996)

Despite being directed by Michael Bay, The Rock comes oh so close to being a perfect modern action movie. SO close. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that it's only a horribly-edited car chase sequence that drags it down. Everything else, from the predictable moments of cheese to the interplay between the leads, is absolutely spot on.

A group of soldiers, led by General Francis Hummel (Ed Harris), steal some very nasty chemical weapons and take over Alcatraz. They have a number of citizens held hostage and are threatening to send some guided missiles to give many of the people of San Francisco an instant death sentence. The people in charge need to send in some Navy SEALS, led by Commander Anderson (Michael Biehn), but that team needs to be accompanied by a chemical weapons expert, Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage), and John Mason (Sean Connery). Mason is the only person to have ever escaped from Alcatraz. In fact, he is pretty good at escape, which is why the main government representative is wary of getting him to help out. Mason was alleged to have stolen a microfilm just chock full of many dark and dirty secrets decades ago, and he's been held without trial ever since. Maybe revisiting Alcatraz will help him to become a free man once more.

You may not have thought so from the first sentence, but I tend to enjoy the movies of Michael Bay. They're absolutely fine when you're in the mood for some slick, bombastic, action. But they are rarely truly great. The Rock is truly great, and that is often despite the usual style of Bay being stamped all over it. It’s great because of the characters scattered throughout the groups of heroes and villains, and great because of a script, by David Weisner, Douglas Cook, and Mark Rosner, that makes things more morally shaded and complex than most of these action blockbusters. Ed Harris gets to play arguably the most interesting and ambiguous “villain” of the nineties, and he is just one essential part of the puzzle.

Cage is fun in his role, playing someone who steps up to do what needs done, despite being way out of his depth. Connery is perfect, an old survivor who has retained skills that make him a great ally or dangerous enemy. And Harris holds your attention completely every time he’s onscreen. The supporting cast also includes fantastic performances from John Spencer, William Forsythe, Michael Biehn, Tony Todd, David Morse, and many other familiar faces, all making the most of their screentime. Vanessa Marcil isn’t given much to do, she is “the girlfriend” who helps Cage to explain his personal investment in stopping those rockets being launched.

There’s a superb score, mainly from Hans Zimmer, some great fights that mix fun choreography and moments of brutality, and every interaction between Cage and Connery is gold. You cannot do much better than this if you want a fun action movie to fill a couple of hours during a Saturday evening. Almost an outright modern classic.

9/10

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Netflix And Chill: Disturbia (2007)

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best, and Disturbia can be summed up in one great pitch. It's a teen riff on Rear Window. There you go. It doesn't try to outdo that classic, an aim I think many of us agree would be nigh on impossible, but it very overtly works with the premise, making use of many modern gadgets that can add some extra thrills.

Shia LaBeouf plays Kale, a young man placed under house arrest after punching his Spanish teacher in the face. The main officer who helps to monitor the fitting of his electronic ankle bracelet is Officer Gutierrez (Jose Pablo Cantillo), a relative of the aforementioned teacher. Carrie-Anne Moss is Julie, the exasperated mother who tries to ensure house arrest isn't spent with videogames and iTunes, and Kale's best friend is a young man named Ronnie (Aaron Yoo). There are two neighbours who Kale takes an interest in. One is new, and her name is Ashley (Sarah Roemer). The other is Mr. Turner (David Morse), a man who seems to match a few of the details being read out on the news regarding a killer in the city. It's not long until Kale, Ronnie, and Ashley are working together to observe Mr. Turner with much more scrutiny.

Everyone here has done work that I have enjoyed, for the most part. Director D. J. Caruso tends to make solid entertainment, although this is one of his better films, and writers Christopher Landon and Carl Ellsworth have a filmography that mixes in a number of horror franchise instalments and some fun teen fare. Again, this is one of their better films, but there is more competition over which one would be considered their very best.

LaBeouf does very well in the lead role, he's just the right mix of angry teen and good kid. Roemer is a winning female co-star, although I am not surprised that she didn't go on from this to bag any major roles because she doesn't quite have enough of IT, whatever it is. Yoo is, like LaBeouf, pretty perfect at being an ass at times without making you hate him. But if this was just a teen film with the teens doing decent work it would be okay. The adult stars take it up a level. Moss is great in the mom role, one that could have easily been completely thankless, but Landon and Ellsworth write her a bit better than that. Cantillo does well in his small role, personally interested in the "criminal" kid, but also doing his job with due care and diligence. And then you get Morse. Morse is one of the best actors of his generation, a deceptively low-key performer who can take on a wide variety of roles. This is arguably one of his most fun turns, and he maintains a small, Andy Dufresne-like, smirk throughout much of the runtime.

Some of the plot devices are a bit silly, and there's one extended sequence featuring Yoo in the second half of the movie that really falls flat when it is intended to be a strange extra thrilling set-piece, but the energy, the obvious love for the central idea, and the collection of enjoyable performances all make this one of the best teen thrillers of the past few decades.

8/10

You can buy the disc here.
Americans can buy it here.

Noir November: The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)

Director Renny Harlin had quite a run of movies in which he could do no wrong, as far as I'm concerned. I include Cutthroat Island in that selection (a decent action flick undeserving of its legacy as "the film that sank Carolco" - well, Showgirls also had a part to play there). Shane Black is a writer who has consistently entertained me over the years (from the greatness of Lethal Weapon up the not-as-great-but-still-good-ness of Iron Man 3). And Geena Davis? Well, I've been a big fan of her ever since I fell in love with her in Tootsie, small role though it was. I'm telling you all of this as a way to explain part of the reason why I love The Long Kiss Goodnight so much, which is directed by Harlin, written by Black, and stars Davis.

Davis is Samantha Caine, a housewife who only has memory of her last eight years on this planet. Anything before that is a blank. She has a private detective (Mitch, played by Samuel L. Jackson) on the case, but has resigned herself to the fact that she may never know about any of her old life. Unfortunately for her, it soon becomes clear that her old life is looking to majorly bite her on the ass. Events start to occur that jolt Samantha back to her old self, a woman who used to work as a skilled assassin for the government. As you might suspect, she made some enemies with her past career choice, and some of them are keen to get their revenge.

Davis is a convincing action heroine, and has a lot of fun transitioning from the sweet and innocent Samantha Caine to the foul-mouthed, deadly Charly Baltimore of her past. Jackson does great work as her co-star, with the two sparking off each other nicely in between, and even during, the action moments. The two might not quite make it to the level of previous action movie team-ups, but they're great nonetheless. Craig Bierko is an entertaining villain, irredeemably nasty and always slightly over the top, while Brian Cox and David Morse both play characters who could be good or bad, making Samantha's encounters with them all the more interesting. Yvonne Zima does fine as the young daughter, who may end up in a bit of trouble thanks to her mother, and Tom Amandes is the supportive partner.

There's a decent soundtrack, an unsurprising use of snow and Christmas decorations throughout (it's a Shane Black thing), enjoyable and ridiculous action moments, and plenty of great one-liners (also a Shane Black thing, of course). I can't say that Davis has had a bad film career, but her capability in this always makes me regret that she didn't ever get a chance to truly shine in many other female badass characters. Harlin directs with his usual competence, but the film turns to gold thanks to the great dialogue and the convincing turn from Davis. I love it.

9/10

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Horns (2013)

Based on the popular novel by Joe Hill, Horns is a supernatural drama directed by Alexandre Aja. And a damn fine one it is too. I LOVED the book, it became one of my instant favourites of the past few years, and this movie is a decent adaptation. As long as you remember that things have to change from page to screen.

Daniel Radcliffe plays Ignatius "Ig" Perrish, a young man who isn't very popular in his home town, to put it mildly. He's just gotten away with the murder of his loved one, Merrin (Juno Temple), and nobody believes that he's actually innocent. Well, nobody except perhaps his brother (Joe Anderson) and his best friend, who is also acting as his lawyer, Lee (Max Minghella). And his parents (James Remar and Kathleen Quinlan), of course. Except . . . . . . . Ig finds out that his parents actually have concerns about just what their son is capable of. He finds out after waking up with horns growing out of his head one morning. Horns that seem to cast a spell on the people around him. They find themselves suddenly telling Ig their darkest thoughts. There's a chance that Ig can use the horns to find out what happened to Merrin, but there's also a chance that they will just cause him more pain and suffering than he's already been through.

Written into movie form by Keith Bunin, Horns gets a hell of a lot right for an adaptation. Changes are made that help maintain focus on the most important characters, extraneous background stories are ruthlessly chopped out, and the unfolding "whodunnit" structure is successfully ported over, allowing viewers to make discoveries alongside Ig as he tries to use his new powers to find out what really happened, even if it turns out that he still has some blame to carry upon his own shoulders.

Aja isn't as at ease with the direction here as he has been in with most of his past movies, seeming to struggle with the balance of drama, love and mystery here that he hasn't really had to deal with before now. Don't take this the wrong way, but this is more The Lovely Bones than Satan's Little Helper, although it has the streak of dark humour that helped make the book such a great read.

Radcliffe is pretty great in the lead role, it has to be said. It's another big stride out from the shadow of Harry Potter, and he seizes the opportunity with relish, making a great Ig Perrish (wavering American accent aside). Temple is a good choice to play Merrin, a character who has more of a presence in her death than many others have while living. Anderson and Minghella both do really well, Remar and Quinlan are always good to watch, Heather Graham has fun in a small role, and the always-great David Morse is great, obviously, as the father of the deceased, a man who wants to hate Ig more than his inner gut and heart will allow.

Horror fans may find this a bit lacking, it's not especially bloody and never tense or scary either, but it's something a bit different from the norm, and it mixes the dark and delightful in a way that should please those of us who acknowledge that "the devil has all the best tunes" and, as AC/DC once sang, "Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be".

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Horns-Daniel-Radcliffe/dp/B00O4UAXRM/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1413065972&sr=1-1&keywords=horns

Drive Angry (2011)

Beginning with Nicolas Cage literally driving out of hell, Drive Angry is not a film that you will ever find described by the word "subtle". In fact, it's perhaps best summed up by the scene in which Cage shoots a lot of bad guys while swigging on a bottle of bourbon and having sex with a naked blonde. It's a scene that should be laughably bad, yet it plays out as a sequence that's hugely entertaining. It's still laughable, but in a good way.

What's the plot anyway? Cage plays a man named Milton, a runaway from hell who is being followed by The Accountant (William Fichtner). Milton is determined to stop a baby being sacrificed by Jonah King (Billy Burke), a cult leader who wants to make hell on earth. And on his quest to stop Jonah he ends up gaining a companion in the shapely . . . . . . . . shape of Amber Heard (playing a character named Piper). David Morse appears for a few minutes, Tom Atkins also gets to make an appearance, and Christa Campbell makes quite an impression with her limited screentime, but everyone takes a back seat to the feeling of excess, the CGI effects bandied around to enhance the 3D experience, and Cage going for yet another whacky turn.

I have to take a moment here to mention the one thing that bugs me most about Drive Angry. It's a little thing, yet it sits in my mind and flashes like a big, neon sign. The character played by Amber Heard is, as is made clear quite early on, someone who is both tough and has a strong urge to always do right by people. Her actions, words and general attitude show this. So the fact that the film-makers choose to show her holding a cigarette for one scene, about an hour or so into the movie, just doesn't make any sense. It's as if they thought she'd definitely smoke to make her more obviously tough, and then that decision was reversed at the last moment. Keep your eyes peeled. She holds a cigarette. When next shown, she's still holding it. And then she throws it to the ground, at no point actually smoking the damn thing.

Anyway, ranting aside, the rest of the movie does exactly what it should do. It entertains without ever getting close to any sign of intelligence. The performances from most of the main players are deliriously over the top. Cage is, of course, no stranger to this type of thing, Fichtner has a number of scene-stealing moments, and Burke simply tries to match them (although he can't). Heard is a good addition, mainly because I think she's always a good addition, Atkins is The Atkins, and Morse reminds viewers that not everyone in such a raucous movie has to turn everything up to 11.

Patrick Lussier is the director of this madness, and he also co-wrote the script with Todd Farmer (who gave himself a couple of great moments onscreen, too). I guess the script went something like this: Nic Cage drives, oooohhh Amber Heard, Fichtner is cool, Nic Cage drives some more . . . . . . or sits beside Amber Heard in a car, guns, guns, guns, boobies, boobies and guns and blood and booze, Cage drives again (note to self - he HAS to drive angry, otherwise the title makes us look stupid), Fichtner is cool again, ATKINS, more driving in the angriest way possible, etc. etc.

It's easy to mock this because it's not a good film. Yet, it's pretty great in the way it so unashamedly lays all of its cards on the table from the very beginning and then delivers one ridiculous set-piece after another en route to the grand finale. There are even some RAWK songs on the soundtrack that sound like parodies, somehow just adding to the appeal of the whole thing.

If Trey Parker and Matt Stone ever made an action movie (a non-puppet action movie) then I'd imagine that the end result would be Drive Angry. As difficult as it may be to believe, I mean that as a compliment.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Angry-Blu-ray-Nicolas-Cage/dp/B004EPYZOY/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1404503971&sr=1-3&keywords=drive+angry

Dreamer (2005)

Dreamer is a standard live-action Disney movie that just happens not to actually come from Disney. There isn't one unpredictable moment in it, the music from John Debney keeps reminding viewers that it's all meaningful and life-affirming, and many scenes are shot with an added, warming glow suffusing each frame. Despite these marks against it, I ended up enjoying Dreamer, thanks mainly to a great cast giving decent performances. Sometimes familiarity doesn't breed contempt, sometimes it's just comfortable. Dreamer is just that, a comfort movie. I may not rush to revisit it, but I admit that I enjoyed it while it was on.

Inspired by a true story, Dreamer is all about a horse named Sonador that falls during a big race and sustains what should be a career-ending injury. Horse trainer Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) is angry at the employer (David Morse) who ignored his advice not to race the horse. With his daughter, Cale (Dakota Fanning), by his side, he ends up leaving the stables with the horse, a reduced cash amount for his work and no job. He also has his assistants, Balon (Luis Guzman) and ex-jockey Manolin (Freddy Rodriguez), and a plan to help Sondaor get well enough so that she can at least be used for breeding, even if she will never race again. But Sonador has a strong spirit, as does young Cale, and looks like she may want to race. That will take hard work and money. The hard work isn't a problem, but the money just might not be available.

Written and directed by John Gatins, Dreamer doesn't really have any major flaws apart from the sentimentality and predictability of it all. It's a nice film, probably too nice for many people to be able to stomach.

The big plus point for the film is the cast. Russell puts in another great performance as a decent everyman, Fanning does her usual good work in another film made during the peak of her "wide-eyed years" and the ever-dependable David Morse is as dependable as ever, despite being saddled with (no pun intended) the role of main villain. Guzman and Rodriguez are both a lot of fun, Elizabeth Shue is fine as Ben's wife/Cale's mother and Kris Kristofferson hangs about to be Ben's grumpy father, who may or may not help out and reforge a bond with his son. And then there's Oded Fehr, appearing about 70 minutes into the movie and getting a few minutes of screentime as a character who may as well have been named "plot device #3".

Cynical people should look for hundreds of films that they will prefer to watch before this one, but anyone who can handle the sugar content should find this moderately enjoyable. It's certainly a decent enough family movie so maybe keep it on standby for any time you may have a 7-12 year old in your home.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dreamer-DVD-Dakota-Fanning/dp/B000CSTIIA/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1368707710&sr=1-1&keywords=dreamer