Mubi Monday: The Limey (1999)

A very familiar tale of a tough crook visiting somewhere to avenge the death of a young loved one (it's impossible to watch The Limey without feeling that it's under the large shadow cast by Get Carter for most of the runtime), this stands out from many other modern gangster movies for three main reasons. There's the script by Lem Dobbs, the direction by Steven Soderbergh, and, arguably the most important component, a central role for Terence Stamp that allows the film-makers to reference his past via a few well-chosen film clips from the earlier years of his filmography.

Stamp plays Wilson, an Englishman who turns up in L.A. to find the man he figures is responsible for the death of his daughter (Melissa George, shown in flashback, in a non-speaking role). He befriends Ed (Luis Guzmán) and Elaine (Lesley Ann Warren), two people who knew his daughter while she was living in that area, and starts to doggedly pursue a man named Valentine (Peter Fonda). It's pretty clear to him that Valentine caused the death of his daughter, but Valentine is always being protected, by a number of armed goons, as well as his right hand man/head of security (Avery, played by Barry Newman). It soon becomes clear that there may not be enough protection available to him though, Wilson is moving ever closer to him like an unstoppable force.

Although I used to own this movie a few years ago, I never got myself in the mood to sit down and watch the thing. As controversial a statement as it may be, I have never been the biggest fan of Stamp (his wonderfully menacing, and yet also slightly camp, turn as General Zod aside). I haven't actually seen many of his films though, including Poor Cow (which is the film used here to show Stamp in his youth). I should probably make time for Billy Budd,  The Collector, and something like The Mind Of Mr. Soames (especially after enjoying his mesmerising turn in Theorem, which I coincidentally caught on the same day I watched this). Anyway, as everyone else already knows, Stamp certainly has something that makes him very watchable onscreen, and he's a superb choice for the lead role here, even if his performance seems to border on the parody at times, in terms of his full-on cockney speaking style that some other characters struggle to decipher.

As well as Stamp, you get superb supporting turns from Guzmán, Warren, and Newman, as well as one superb scene for the brilliant Bill Duke. George is shown in dreamy visions, and I always like to see her onscreen (although it would have been nice to have more of her, despite her probably being saved from trying to attempt a cockney accent). Amelia Heinle is also a welcome presence, playing Adhara (a new female companion spending time with Valentine). The weak link is Fonda, who is arguably often picked for film roles based on his name and legacy ahead of his actual acting talent. He's just not very good, and that's all the more obvious when he's in conversation with the excellent Newman, who is the first one to realise how dangerous Stamp's character is.

The script by Lem Dobbs is quite relaxed and free-flowing, complemented by Soderbergh's usual low-key approach to the material. Cross-cutting, fantasy sequences, and jittery chronology abound, and there's plenty of sequences that have characters speaking over imagery that either adds some emotional resonance to what is being said or delivers some extra information, either about the history of the characters or the planned revenge. And I don't think I need to mention how good the Cliff Martinez score is.

The Limey lacks something though. Or, I should say, that I thought The Limey lacked something. Until the very last scenes. And that's when it all clicked into place. This isn't just a blend of cinema style and grim nihilism, and it's not just a slice of cool for an elderly Stamp to show how easily he can still strut his stuff. It's actually a look at what can happen when an ever-moving individual full of a drive for revenge realises that the target he is pursuing may show him a refracted reflection of his own past. That's when I was completely won over by it. Having fairly enjoyed most of the journey, the final destination was the undoubted highlight.

8/10

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Escape From L.A. (1996)

People have been getting quite worked up over the past few days after hearing news that the mighty Escape From New York has been lined up for the remake treatment. I can see why that news would be upsetting, but I also think that most people seem to be forgetting that Escape From New York has already been remade on at least two occasions now. The first remake was set in L.A. and directed by John Carpenter. The second one, off the top of my head, was directed by Neil Marshall and called Doomsday.

I know, I know, Escape From L.A. isn't a remake, it's a sequel. Of course it is. It just happens to hit almost every beat from the original movie in exactly the same order. The opening, once again, tells viewers about the disintegration of America and how a certain area of land has been made into a point of no return for most citizens. The danger, once again, comes from the daughter of the POTUS and the one man who may be able to get the job done is, once again, the mighty Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell effortlessly reprising the role 15 years after the original film). Snake is, once again, given very little choice in the matter and ends up using a one-man vehicle to get into L.A. before wandering around and meeting a variety of oddballs as he tries to reach his goal.

The fact that everything is so familiar is both a big positive and BIG negative for the film. Russell is great, in one of his best roles, and the supporting players all bring some fun to the proceedings but the old familiarity breeding contempt adage starts to come true as each scene clearly plays out as a pale imitation of good stuff from the original movie. There are no surprises here for fans of Escape From New York.

There is, however, still plenty of fun. Carpenter, who wrote the script with Debra Hill and Kurt Russell, may not be at the top of his game when it comes to the visuals (a lot of these mid-1990s effects look worse than the stuff in the 1981 film, which at least has a certain retro charm to it nowadays) and makes one huge mis-step with a scene featuring some surfing that has to be seen to be disbelieved, but he throws enough good people onscreen to guarantee that movie fans will at least spend most of the movie with a smile on their face.

Cliff Robertson plays the president this time around, Stacy Keach and Michelle Forbes are the people who give Snake his instructions and try to keep tabs on him, Peter Fonda is a wise old dude, Steve Buscemi is slippery Eddie AKA Map To The Stars Eddie and Bruce Campbell is a creepy surgeon. Valeria Golino has a small role as a woman who enjoys the freedom that living in dangerous L.A. provides and Pam Grier is enjoyable as Hershe Las Palmas. A. J. Langer is the daughter of the president and Georges Corraface is the revolutionary type that she falls in with, but both are overshadowed by the supporting cast, which also includes the great Al Leong and Peter Jason in small roles.

While certainly not as bad as it was made out to be when initially released, Escape From L.A. just isn't a patch (pun possibly intended) on the first film, but it has plenty of enjoyable little moments throughout and shows some strong ideas at its core as it weaves the basic plotline through an America that Carpenter shows to be horribly restrictive and in need of adjustment. It's set in 2013, but it's a 2013 where personal freedoms are kept in check by the government, American citizens are treated like a foreign invader once a judgment has been made and people are controlled by a mixture of lies and misinformation. Thank goodness it's only a movie, eh.

6/10

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Corman's World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel (2011)

It's hard to think of anyone more influential on the current creme de la creme of Hollywood than Roger Corman. He gave a helping hand to youngsters such as Joe Dante, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, John Sayles, Jonathan Demme, Jack Nicholson and many, many more and most of his older b-movies are still viewed by fans with great affection today.

This documentary doesn't really tell you anything new but it does clarify just how great and important in the grand scheme of things the unassuming Mr. Corman really is. It's arguably the case that without this man we wouldn't have half of the movies that we now consider modern classics.

A simple format that works well, this mixes in talking head moments from the past and the present with a number of great clips from the extensive filmography attached to Corman's name, this reminds all movie fans of the radical ideas and movements that have sprung up to push cinema forward. The documentary is, as you would expect, most appealing to fans of exploitation cinema but others should check it out to remind themselves of the humble roots many acclaimed artists grew from.

Director Alex Stapleton moves nice and smoothly through Corman's life, from his very first movies through to his current ongoing relationship with the Syfy Channel, and there are a wealth of soundbites and anecdotes to both entertain and also reveal the warm and giving nature of the man at the centre of the attention.

This may not be quite as much fun as some other recent documentaries focusing on b-movies and exploitation fare (I'm thinking, mainly, of the two superb outings from Mark Hartley that we've had - Not Quite Hollywood and Machete Maidens Unleashed) but it's still essential viewing for those, like myself, who have grown up with a love for the movies of AIP and New World Pictures. A love that tends to grow exponentially in relation to the output of colour-by-numbers mainstream blockbuster movies we get year on year.

8/10

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