Noir-vember: The Hot Spot (1990)

I've watched many a hot and steamy neo-noir in my time, as those who know me will already know, but very few of them felt as hot and steamy as The Hot Spot, a Dennis Hopper film that leans so heavily into the tropes of noir that it borders on parody and outright silliness. The fact that it works as well as it does is mainly down to the brilliant cast, but they're helped by Hopper and the writers (Nona Tyson and Charles Williams, working from the source novel, "Hell Hath No Fury", by Williams) having absolute faith in the material. That could have backfired spectacularly, and one character almost shatters the "illusion" every time they're onscreen, but it doesn't. It works, and everyone benefits from the feeling of unabashed gleefulness inherent in the material.

Harry Madox (Don Johnson) is a stranger in town. He's not there long before he gets a job as a car salesman by, well, selling a car and then speaking to the owner of the lot (George Harshaw, played by Jerry Hardin). It's clear that he's a fast-talker and can ladle on the charm. It doesn't take Harry long to notice the beautiful Gloria Harper (Jennifer Connelly), a woman who is getting grief from Frank Sutton (William Sadler). It also doesn't take him long to notice how vulnerable the local bank is when any local emergency requires the staff, all volunteer firemen, to leave the premises. Things could get interesting, especially when Harry is viewed as a potential conquest by the wife of his boss (Dolly Harshaw, played by Virginia Madsen). 

Before I get carried away with my praise for the cast of The Hot Spot I think I should start with some of my minor criticisms of the film. Hopper directs the thing well enough, but he could have worked harder to tighten up the runtime. He could also have livened up the soundtrack, and maybe even the score from Jack Nitzsche. The film is elevated by the performances, and the fact that most of the main players deliver their hard-boiled dialogue with a straight face, but it should have had more reasons to make it worth your time. The production design does well at times when scenes are dark and/or steamy, but there are times when it's a bit nondescript. The town never feels like a potential spring-loaded bear-trap, but we noir fans know that every small town in the middle of nowhere is exactly that for our main characters.

I could try to say that Johnson has never been better than he is here, but that wouldn't quite be true. He's a perfect fit for the role, and he delivers his performance with gusto, but it doesn't feel like a stretch for him. He has given better performances in other movies, but this may well be his best lead turn. The same goes for Madsen, who tears through the entire film ready to chew up both the scenery and any man she thinks could taste good enough. Hardin is very good, Sadler delivers another in a long line of his excellent supporting turns, Barry Corbin always feels very right when he's playing a Sheriff, and Charles Martin Smith does well to remain relatively normal while everyone starts manipulating one another around him. And Jack Nance is welcome in a small role. The weak link is Connelly. She sure looks the part, but she is the only one who doesn't seem able to commit to the tone of the piece, perhaps unhelped by the fact that her character isn't written to be as interesting or complex as the others. It's a shame, especially when the third act falters slightly due to her inability to convince viewers that she may be worth whatever price Johnson's character may have to pay for his interest in her.

I've had The Hot Spot recommended to me many times over the years, and I'm surprised it took me this long to finally get around to it. It's very enjoyable stuff. It's easy to see why so many people would mention it when asked to recommend some noir fare from the more modern era. It's just a shame that a couple of things don't work as well as they could. The success of many moments is thanks to the cast. The minor failures would seem to be thanks to Hopper (for his choices while overseeing the casting, visuals, and music departments). Nothing drags it down too much. It's just hampered enough to stop it from being considered a full-blooded classic.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Her Smell (2018)

I haven't liked everything that I've seen from writer-director Alex Ross Perry. In fact, I really disliked the last time I watched one of his films that starred Elisabeth Moss. But I try to remain open-minded about every film I choose to watch, and I'd heard some other people give positive opinions of Her Smell.

This is the story of a self-destructive rocker (Becky Something, played by Moss) who we watch for the first half of the movie sink further and further into a dark hole. Absolutely narcissistic, deeply unpleasant, and unable to see how her behaviour is negatively impacting the career trajectory of herself and her bandmates, Becky absolutely refuses to get the help that she so desperately needs. Up to a point. The second half of the movie is a quieter, and more fragile, exploration of someone trying to see if they can embrace sobriety without losing their creative spark.

Look, I can completely understand if people struggle so much during the first half of Her Smell that they give up on the film. It's a real chore, forcing viewers to spend time with an absolute nightmare of a main character. It doesn't feel forced though, nor does it feel fake, and all of this bad stuff is there to show how far Becky needs to move forward to escape the perils of her own mentality. It's not just that Her Smell presents that character forced into making a major life decision, but Perry somehow gets you on her side as people observe Becky and wonder about whether or not she can really change her ways.

Moss is fantastic in the lead role, happy to be as horrible and repugnant as possible. She's surprisingly believable as this kind of rocker, and does equally well with the hysterical moments and the much calmer ones. Agyness Deyn is also very good, as Marielle Hell (a bandmate who has been put through the wringer far too many times), and so is Gayle Rankin (playing Ali van der Wolff). Dan Stevens is an ex-partner trying to do the best by a young child, Eric Stoltz is a stressed manager, and other musicians are played by Cara Delevingne, Ashley Benson, Dylan Gelula, and Amber Heard, all fitting nicely into their roles. It would be remiss of me not to mention Virginia Madsen, playing a mother who doesn't really know the right way to deal with her daughter.

We've seen this story before, quite a few times, but I cannot think of a time when it was presented in quite the same way, with the focus being on that worry about a calmed mind losing any creativity. That's a common fear for many artists, of course, but Perry really puts it front and centre here, having the central characters explore and discuss the idea, as opposed to leaving it hanging in the air like an unspoken fear. I appreciated the way this poked and prodded the situation, particularly when showing how a band keeps working under great strain while they hunger for more of the success they have tasted, and I think the ending makes the difficult first half worthwhile. It's a close call though, and others will strongly disagree. 

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: Operation Christmas Drop (2020)

A Christmas movie that tries to maintain that seasonal feeling while being set in a very warm and non-Christmassy environment, Operation Christmas Drop has a tougher time than most making you feel the contrast of the winter chill and the fuzzy warmth of good deeds done by good people. The fact that it comes close, and certainly delivers on the latter part of that equation, is testament to the worthwhile story at the heart of it. That's not to say that it's a great film, and it still suffers in comparison to other Christmas movies that are happy to fill the screen with tropes and shots of snow-covered landscapes, but it does much better than expected at delivering a message of festive cheer.

Kat Graham plays Erica, a young woman sent from Washington to an island Air Force base, with a mission to check the efficiency there and make any recommendations for improvements (which could ultimately lead to the closure of the base). Once there, she is placed in the care of Andrew (Alexander Ludwig) AKA CLAWS, and it's not long until she sees how things are done on the island, with everyone donating their own time and talent to maintain strong relations with the many other islands in the local area. The big focus, the tradition that got the Air Force base noticed in the first place, is the upcoming Christmas air drop, with gifts and supplies being dropped during planned flights that take place at the same time as Santa might normally be making his rounds. Congresswoman Bradford (Virginia Madsen) doesn't see this as a good use of taxpayer dollars, but Erica might eventually see enough positive repercussions from the operation to be able to persuade her that the base should be allowed to carry on doing what it has been doing so well for many years already.

As is often the case with these things, writers Gregg Rossen and Brian Sawyer have a filmography overflowing with films in this vein (well, they seem to have moved between Christmas movies and a series of "Crossword Mysteries" TV films). Inspired by the real events at Andersen Air Force base, so much so that there is a lovely little cameo for Bruce Best AKA Brother Bruce, as well as photos during the end credits alongside text describing the good work done there, Rossen and Sawyer plug a familiar formula into a plot that mixes good cheer and a celebration of the oft-overlooked humanitarian work done by military personell during times they are not in any active warzone.

Director Martin Wood, much like the writers, now has a few of these movies to his credit, as well as work on a number of TV shows (including Virgin River, which everyone seems to have dived into during the past few months), and he handles the material well enough. Without any of the usual Christmas spectacles to make use of, Wood instead makes good use of a script that keeps moving between various characters, including a very cute gekko, and easily conveys the good feeling that can come from helping others in need. Which is arguably much more in line with Christmas traditions than, for example, rushing to try and get your hands on the latest best-selling toy.

The leads are as bland and "safe" as expected, although both Graham and Ludwig become more enjoyable to spend time with as they start enjoying their time together and working more as a team. Madsen makes for an enjoyable "villain" and the rest of the supporting cast includes upbeat and sweet turns from Jeff Joseph, Janet Kidder, Trezzo Mahoro, Bethany Brown, and Rohan Campbell, as well as the aforementioned Brother Bruce.

Not the best film of this kind, but very few of them get close to the top of the tree, but it's enjoyably different. I wouldn't mind seeing other films in this vein, using Christmas as a backdrop for a story that showcases the good work done by some people year in and year out, instead of the many that seem to focus on just one season bringing about a major change in the mindset of a lead character. Let me know of any obvious titles I may have forgotten, and I'll be sure to check them out.

6/10

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The Number 23 (2007)

Jim Carrey has shown a good bit of range over the past few decades. I am not going to list all of his dramatic roles but he's moved quite effortlessly between comedies and dramas for some time now, whether you end up liking the movies or not. As far as I can tell, however, The Number 23 is currently the only thriller he has starred in since becoming a household name (although he has cropped up in thrillers before that time, perhaps most notably rocking out to a Guns 'n' Roses tune in the final Dirty Harry movie, The Dead Pool).

That might be surprising, or maybe it just shows that Carrey knows how to play to his strengths. And thrillers like this one aren't what he is best suited to.

The plot sees Carrey as a man named Walter. He's married to Agatha (Virginia Madsen), he has a son named Robin (Logan Lerman), and life isn't too bad. But then he is given a book, "The Number 23", and starts to become obsessed with it. That number is everywhere, so ubiquitous throughout Walter's life that he starts to believe that the book is somehow speaking to him directly. He is either being pushed towards solving a mystery or being driven towards insanity. Maybe both.

Directed by Joel Schumacher, The Number 23 is just a drab and unexciting rehash of many better films. The script, a first main screenwriting credit for Fernley Phillips, plays things far too safe throughout, neither embracing the potential pulpy fun of the story within a story being read by Carrey's character nor making anything dark or tense enough. This leads instead to scenes of Carrey portraying the character he is reading about, sometimes doing an okay job of it and sometimes being cringe-inducingly unsuitable for the role.

When he's playing Walter in the here and now, Carrey isn't bad. He's an everyday kind of guy, believable when acting normally. The problems come whenever he's broodily playing the saxophone or starting to scribble the number 23 all over his face. Madsen and Lerman both do well in their roles, even if the former feels a bit like stunt casting, considering her most famous role on film could also be described as someone who starts to look deeper into a story until obsession consumes her. Danny Huston is ill-served by the script, although he does his best with his very limited screentime, and Lynn Collins and Rhona Mitra both help to flesh out the story within the film.

I didn't have a strong reaction to this film as the end credits rolled, and can only assume that I was previously passive when I first viewed it (although I can't remember, which shows how much of an impression this film made on me). As I began to write this review I figured that I would be polite and unflattering, and remind everyone that this is a decidely average piece of work. But it's not. The more I think about it, the more it has to be pointed out as a below average experience. Not a terrible film, although I know some who will disagree, it's just a competently made disappointment.

4/10

Buy 23 copies here.
Americans can get it here.

Better Watch Out (2016)

Better Watch Out is the kind of film that you will enjoy more if you know very little about it. So, with that in mind, I am going to be very brief and vague in my plot summary. Briefer and more vague than usual, anyway.

The basic plot revolves around an attractive babysitter (Ashley, played by Olivia DeJonge) and her doting charge (Luke, played by Levi Miller). The two find themselves being terrorised by a dangerous stranger who has managed to cut off the phone lines AND the internet connection, leaving Ashley and Luke completely cut off from anyone who might be able to help them.

Written by Zack Khan and Chris Peckover, with the latter also taking on the directing duties, Better Watch Out is, as so many others have already said, a gleefully dark dance through Home Alone territory. If Kevin McCallister had been using baseball bats and guns instead of Christmas decorations and toys then you would see even more similarity. But it's also the differences here that make this such a fun film, as the script starts to play with and subvert the preconceptions that it deliberately planted in the minds of viewers. In fact, before even seeing one frame of the film you may have already seen the tagline: "You might be home but you're not alone."

Cast-wise, this is pretty spot on. DeJonge is believable as a babysitter that a teen lad could fall for and also someone who could be plucky and resilient when the need arises. Miller is a typical teenager, in many respects, and his performance is pitched perfectly between youthful silliness and extreme irritation. Ed Oxenbould is less annoying here than he was in The Visit (although I know a lot of people liked him in that role), playing Garrett, a friend of Luke, and there are solid supporting turns from Aleks Mikic, Dacre Montgomery, Virginia Madsen, and the ever-watchable Patrick Warburton.

Yet, due to a few different factors, this ends up not fully realising the potential that Khan and Peckover have buried at the heart of everything. It's hard to pinpoint all of the minor flaws that stop it from being something truly great but at times it isn't as much fun as it should be, at other times it isn't as nasty as it could be, and throughout many scenes it isn't quite as smart as it would like to be.

It's also unfortunate that a delayed release now has this coming out here in the UK just a couple of months after the superior The Babysitter (which has similar subversions to standard "babysitter in peril" movie tropes, although it lacks the extra fun of the Christmas trimmings). That film was sharper, funnier, and more violent (but only just), and it's a shame that Khan and Peckover didn't develop their screenplay much further beyond the Home Alone rope-a-dope.

It's still well worth a watch though, and I'd recommend picking it up when it gets a shiny disc release. Because it's always good to have even more options for your Christmas viewing selection.

7/10

UK folks, get your Home Alone fix here.
US readers can get a similar set here.
Citizens from elsewhere... I'm sorry, I can't create links for every national outlet (I would if I could, honest).

Sci-Fi September: Dune (1984)

I was taken to see Dune when it was first released in cinemas. I was about 8 or 9. My mother and her partner, I assume, thought that this was going to be the next Star Wars. I can't remember every minute of the experience, but I can sum it all up in one word. Boredom.

Revisiting it now, about 30 years later, I can sum it up in two words. Interesting failure. It's still boring in places, but the visual style does keep it worth at least one viewing and there's something enjoyable about watching something so gloriously messy.

I'd attempt to explain the dense plot if I thought I could. Let's face it, the film itself has an opening narration from a young Virginia Madsen that tries to explain a hell of a lot to viewers in the space of a few minutes so I don't think a few sentences here will do any better. Let me just say that the whole movie is a bit like Dallas in space, with a magical spice replacing oil, Kyle MacLachlan as a Bobby Ewing figure (albeit one with the potential to become much more powerful than anyone else around him), and Gordon Sumner (AKA Sting) appears in a metal codpiece at one point, just to haunt your nightmares for years.

I really couldn't begin to run through the entire cast of characters and their relationships to one another. This is one dense film. MacLachlan is the lead, he's the character you get to stick closest to throughout the entire movie. His parents, played by Jurgen Prochnow and Francesca Annis, also play a large part in the proceedings. And then there's a love interest in the shape of Sean Young. The main villain is a boil-covered, rancid Baron, played by Kenneth McMillan (it's worth checking around for other articles that make the case for Dune being one of the most homophobic movies of the decade, based on that character alone).

Adapting the mammoth novel by Frank Herbert would have been no easy task, but David Lynch seemed to think he was up to it. Sadly, he wasn't. He does much better in the role of director, mainly thanks to the impressive visuals of the movie that he allows to take centre stage, but that clunky screenplay is the wobbly foundation that sets this sci-fi house of cards tumbling.

The performances often don't help either, with MacLachlan just not impressive enough in the lead role. He's an actor with a very particular style, one that works in the right roles (Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks spring to mind) and really doesn't in the wrong ones, as we see here. Sting is another weak link, and the least said about Alicia Witt's turn the better, although I don't hold that against her (she was only 9, it was her first movie role, and Lynch seems to have helped in creating the performance he required). McMillan is a lot of fun as the repellent Baron, and there's fun to be had in the performances from great names such as Patrick Stewart, Jose Ferrer, Dean Stockwell, Max Von Sydow, Siân Phillips, and Everett McGill.

There's an enjoyable soundtrack from Toto, with a decent contribution from Brian Eno, some impressive creatures from the great Carlo Rambaldi, and a few darker sequences that hint at a very different approach to the material that Lynch may have been more comfortable with. None of these things, sadly, can make up for the many problems that drag the movie down.

But at least it inspired Fatboy Slim to sample the line: "walk without rhythm, and we won't attract the worm" - allowing me to end with THIS music video

5/10

http://www.amazon.com/Dune-Blu-ray-Kyle-MacLachlan/dp/B00371QQ0M/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1411739580&sr=1-2&keywords=dune

Sci-Fi September: Electric Dreams (1984)

Ahhhhhhhhhh, Electric Dreams, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

If this movie was any more '80s then it would be delivered to every household with a set of deelyboppers, a SodaStream machine, and some legwarmers. The focus of the story is that technological wonder, a household PC, there's a small role for Maxwell Caulfield, the soundtrack features Culture Club and Phil Oakey, and Virginia Madsen has that whole '80s look working against her - as everyone else in the '80s did.

The plot is quite simple, and also quite beautiful once you get past all of the cheesy trappings. A young man (Lenny von Dohlen) gets a home PC and starts setting it up to improve his life. He does this by becoming a technical whizz in mere moments, despite knowing very little about the latest technology at the start of the movie, and then manages to balls it all up by spilling some liquid all over his new toy. The PC isn't destroyed, but it is changed. It's now different from other computers. It's more advanced, and also more curious about emotions, and even love. The fact that the new neighbour (Madsen) is an attractive young woman who plays the cello, resulting in a fantastic musical moment mixing the classical sound with a synthesised accompaniment, results in the computer getting some ideas way above its station. Well, you don't always act rationally when you're in love.

Written by the brilliantly-named Rusty Lemorande and directed by Steve Barron, this is a film that sacrifices any sense of reality in favour of movie magic. The fact that it makes this clear from almost the very beginning, probably at the time when the lead character becomes a PC expert in seconds, means that viewers can decide whether to go along with it or not. I went along with it, and am glad I did. There's plenty I could pick apart here, but it's a film that I've always had a soft spot for. Perhaps it's because I saw it back when it was first released, and will therefore always have some nostalgic affection for it, but there's enough fun to be had for those in the mood for light entertainment.

Von Dohlen isn't an ideal leading man, but he has moments when his bumbling schtick works well enough. Madsen, on the other hand, shows that she always had that star quality. She's very easy to like, and even manages to keep viewers onside as things get more and more unbelievable. Caulfield puts in another wonderful little turn, despite the fact that he's underused, and fans of Miriam Margolyes will not want to blink if they want to see her in the role of "Ticket Girl". And the main voice of the computer? It's Bud Cort. Bonus points.

As well as those artists already mentioned in the paragraph above, fans of electronic music will be delighted to hear that Giorgio Moroder contributes a few pieces to the soundtrack. The highlight is a scene that I've already mentioned, but there are other moments to tickle the eardrums of his many fans.

Think of it as a time capsule from the decade that taste forgot. Or think of it as an oft-forgotten forerunner to Her. But do think of it when deciding upon what to watch some time, even if it's just the once.

7/10

With amazing special features like, ummmm, interactive menu and scene access, Region 2 is your only option at the moment - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electric-Dreams-DVD-Virginia-Madsen/dp/B001QXZ81G/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1411246123&sr=1-1&keywords=electric+dreams

The Haunting In Connecticut (2009)

I used to absolutely love haunted house movies. They would always entertain me and also scare the pants off me at the same time. The Amityville Horror (both versions), The Changeling, The Legend Of Hell House and The Haunting (1963) are a few of my favourites. Yet the tide of my opinion has been turning over the past 5-10 years. I think the fact that so many of them nowadays are labelled "based on a true story" or "based on the horrifying truth" or "based on the book based on the facts told to the neighbour by some previous owners" has turned me against them. Because, it seems, the more that they purport to be based on fact the easier it is to spot how false it all feels.

Here are a few common factors to spot in any modern haunted house movie "based on a true story" - the family is already under some kind of stress (emotional or financial), someone always helps them when things get a lot worse and, coincidentally, when the family unit is weakened. Kids are usually at the epicentre of events (this is often explained away by the fact that puberty and raging hormones encourages supernatural activity or some other hogwash). And, of course, most of the facts are based on testimonies as opposed to any actual, ummmm, evidence.

Like Mulder, I still want to believe. It's just getting harder and harder to remain a wannabe believer.

This movie doesn't help.Written by Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe, and directed by Peter Cornwell, it checks off all of the factors just mentioned and then puts them together to create something dull, unscary, predictable and borderline incompetent (just count the amount of "jump" scares that don't work because of the way that the camera moves and/or scene blocking indicate what's about to occur).

It's a shame because this movie wastes a damn good cast. Virginia Madsen is always someone I enjoy watching onscreen (and sorry to be so shallow but is she getting even finer in her 50s??) while Martin Donovan is solid enough. They play the parents to a cancer-stricken young man played by the excellent Kyle Gallner. Amanda Crew is an acceptable young actress and then we have a supporting turn from the superb Elias Koteas. They're all left floundering.

The poor script isn't laughably bad but it's just dull and seems to be two steps behind the viewer. The CGI is sometimes okay but usually overdone and distractingly fake. The direction is awful. The only fact that rings true by the time the end credits roll is that you shouldn't waste your time on this.

3/10.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haunting-in-Connecticut-the-DVD/dp/B0027UY836