Prime Time: Needful Things (1993)

I went for my first proper holiday overseas when I was about 16-17, finally experiencing proper sunshine in the glorious land of Los Christianos in Tenerife. And that first proper holiday overseas meant that I picked my first chunky book that I decided would be perfect to read by the swimming pool. And that book was Needful Things, another Stephen King tale set in Castle Rock, Maine. It was a very enjoyable read.

Then the book was made into a movie, which I always thought for many years was a TV movie (but it did have a theatrical release in the USA), and I was young and naive enough to be optimistic about it.

Watching it now . . . my goodwill towards the story, and goodwill towards many of the cast members, means I still like it more than some other King-based tales (I will never understand all of the love that gets heaped on Storm Of The Century), but I know it’s not actually a good film.

Max von Sydow plays Leland Gaunt, a newcomer to the town of Castle Rock, and the owner of a new store named “Needful Things”. The store seems to have just what people what most, and the prices are affordable. A specific cash amount . . . and a small prank. But Gaunt knows how to make things snowball, with pranks being used to turn people against one another, leading to bickering, fighting, and potentially deadly consequences. Sheriff Alan Pangborn (Ed Harris) is initially confused by the way his friends and neighbours so quickly turn into bloodthirsty maniacs, but he soon starts to realise who is at the heart of a dark and wide-reaching web. He wants to save the town, but he also wants to save the woman he loves (Bonnie Bedelia).

Adapted into screenplay form by W. D. Richter (who has a filmography with titles ranging from the likes of 1978’s classic The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers to the not-so-modern-classic Stealth), Needful Things doesn’t have a premise that works half as well when moved from page to screen. Not that anyone wanting to make money from Stephen King tales has ever been put off by that idea. It’s a hurdle that Richter cannot overcome though, sadly, and nothing is helped by Fraser C. Heston’s pedestrian direction, which makes my memory of this as a TV movie all the more understandable. Nothing here feels particularly cinematic or exciting, despite the best efforts of the cast, and it all just fizzles along to a climax that presents a damp squib when it should be a full firework display.

Von Sydow is a great fit for the role of Leland Gaunt, an elderly man who can deliver a physical shake-up of someone as easily as he can deliver a charm offensive. Gaunt has more fun as those around him become more miserable, and Von Sydow almost always pitches his performance perfectly, despite an odd moment that has him a bit too close and personal with Bedelia’s character. Harris is an excellent Pangborn, a very reliable and stoic figure who fortunately avoids being seduced by the allure of anything that Gaunt has for sale. Bedelia is a bit wasted in her role, sadly, although her character plays a vital part in the unfolding chain of events, and Amanda Plummer is fun to watch, delivering another prime mid-90s bit of Plummer madness. J. T. Walsh is the standout though, playing the kind of shady and sweaty businessman that appears in so many Stephen King stories, a role elevated here by the kind of performance you can rely on from J. T. Walsh. And it’s also worth mentioning Shane Meier, who plays young Brian Rusk, the first customer in Needful Things, and the first person asked to play a little prank in service of Gaunt’s grand plan.

I still like Needful Things. I have that strong attachment to the source material, the premise is a great one, and many of the supporting cast members have one or two moments to shine. I doubt many others will view it as I do though. Part of me knows that it’s not good, a bigger part of me knows that I will never actively dislike it. It feels like a story that has joined me on a journey, as I moved from a voracious reader to more of a cinephile, and that attachment certainly skews my rating slightly.

6/10

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Sci-Fi September: Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)

There are lots of people who love Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. They will tell you that it's one of the best remakes ever. I am not one of those people, although I DO really like the film.

Taking the classic plot, adapted from the book by Jack Finney, this interpretation of the material stars Brooke Adams and Donald Sutherland as the two main humans who stumble upon a subtle alien invasion. People are being copied, with bodies born and developed while the original human being sleeps, and the only indication that anything is majorly different comes from a lack of emotion. Can these two people, accompanied by some scared friends, inform the general public and put a stop to everything before it's too late? Or will they witness the development of a very different kind of i-Pod generation?

Directed by Philip Kaufman, there's no denying that this version of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers mixes the familiar elements of the plot with a number of touches that cement it firmly in the time it was made, the late '70s. Paranoia and cynicism were both running rife at this point. It was, in many ways, similar to the atmosphere of the '50s, which is probably why both versions work so well as two movies that are the same but different (if you know what I mean).

The screenplay by W. D. Richter doesn't waste much time, and builds everything beautifully towards a tense finale. Details are sprinkled liberally throughout every major scene that shows just how the invasion is supposed to move forward, and the science of the process feels much more scarily realistic, and visceral, than it did in the original movie. It's just a shame, however, that a lot seems to happen in such a short space of time, making the third act something of a foregone conclusion once viewers see the rapid exponential growth of the problem.

Adams and Sutherland are both excellent in their lead roles, with both offering believable performances as they stumble upon one oddity after another and eventually piece everything together. They're joined, for part of the movie, by Veronica Cartwright and Jeff Goldblum, who also do some great work. And then there's Leonard Nimoy, a suitable inclusion for two main reasons. One, he's a sci-fi icon. Two, he's best known for playing a character who doesn't show any emotion, making his role both ironic and nicely ambiguous (because it's hard to watch Nimoy onscreen and not still think of him as Spock, a character he will always be so thoroughly intertwined with). Art Hindle plays Adams' husband, and does solid work with his relatively small role.

While the special effects may not be up there with the likes of The Thing, The Fly and other great sci-fi horrors that would appear in the next decade, they're quite impressive. Used sparingly, the practical work is as life-like as it needs to be, without ever being given too much time in the spotlight. This isn't an FX showcase - they serve the story, and that's all (although, for those who have already seen it, there's one detail in the final half hour that remains one of the most enjoyably bizarre ever included in any version of the material).

There's so much to like here that I feel slightly guilty for not liking it quite as much as most sci-fi horror fans. Hell, the Kevin McCarthy cameo alone gives it a bonus point. Yet I just can't help yearning for the simpler, more streamlined execution of the story that we got with the original version. This film doesn't necessarily feel bloated, but the layering added throughout detracts slightly from the beautiful simplicity of the core premise.

Already enjoyed by so many, be sure to give this one a watch if you've missed it up until now. Or people may point at you and make strange noises.

8/10

http://www.amazon.com/Invasion-Snatchers-Collectors-Donald-Sutherland/dp/B000QQJ3Q0/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1410500929&sr=1-3&keywords=invasion+of+the+body+snatchers

Although anyone with multi-region capabilities should really go with the Arrow Bluray release.

You know what you can do if you liked this review, or any of the other reviews here at For It Is Man's Number? Yes, you can buy my e-book, that has almost every review I've written over the past 5 years. It's packed full of gems (the movies, not the actual writing - hey, I know my limits) and very reasonably priced for the sheer amount of content.

The UK version can be bought here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395945647&sr=1-3&keywords=movie+guide

And American folks can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/TJs-Ramshackle-Movie-Guide-Reviews-ebook/dp/B00J9PLT6Q/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395945752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=TJs+ramshackle+mov

As much as I love the rest of the world, I can't keep up with all of the different links in different territories, but trust me when I say that it should be there on your local Amazon.

Big Trouble In Little China (1986)

"When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: "Have ya paid your dues, Jack?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail." 

As much as I try, I just can't help myself. When I visit someone at their home I end up looking at the music, movies and books on their shelves and I end up making snap judgments. If I see a shelf full of CDs by Lady Gaga, The Scissor Sisters and Jessie J, then I don't predict a friendly match made in heaven. If the only books I can see are distributed by Mills & Boon then, again, we probably don't have a lot in common. These judgments are irrational, and often incorrect, but they pop into my mind. If I look at someone's DVD collection and they have Big Trouble In Little China, well, I'd hope that we will get along just fine. It's not just me thinking this way. Kurt Russell says on the DVD commentary track (which is absolutely brilliant, by the way) that you can always tell someone's sense of humour by whether they like this movie or not. So if you're reading this review and you've already seen the movie before and didn't like it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . well, we probably wouldn't fare very well if thrown together on a blind date.

Russell plays Jack Burton, a truck driver who gets himself in the middle of some very strange business indeed when he accompanies a friend (Wang Chi, played by Dennis Dun) to pick up the love of his life (Miao Yin, played by Suzee Pai) from the airport. Miao Yin is kidnapped and Jack and Wang head off in hot pursuit to rescue her from her kidnappers. That turns out to be quite tricky when the men discover that Miao has been specifically chosen by the mysterious and powerful David Lo Pan (James Hong), all because of her beautiful green eyes. While they consider their options, another green-eyed beauty arrives, investigative reporter Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall), and helps formulate a plan that will, hopefully, lead to the rescue of Miao Yin as well as many other women being held against their will. It's just unlucky for them that they don't realise the mystical forces they will be coming up against.

I'm sure that most people who have heard of this film nowadays know a bit more than audiences who went to see it back in 1986. In fact, back when it was first released it was given very little promotion and those who stumbled upon it expecting a standard action comedy would have been understandably bemused.

Big Trouble In Little China is far from your standard action comedy. Instead, it takes great delight in taking the conventions of the action movie and turning them upside down. The most obvious, and most amusing, way in which this is done is with the hero, Jack Burton. He's not really a hero. Jack Burton goes through most of the movie either being ignorant of just what's going on or ineffective when needed most. Wang Chi is the man of action, but the film focuses on Burton, to great effect.

Russell is hilarious in the role, which is one of his best performances in a filmography chock full of great performances. Just listen to him talking on the phone after he loses his truck and tries to make an insurance claim - a lot of the dialogue is slightly faded as if it's just background noise, but almost every line is hilarious, mainly thanks to the delivery from Russell. Dennis Dun somehow keeps a straight face throughout and his character works well alongside Burton. What can I say about the Kim Cattrall of the 1980s that hasn't already been transcribed and kept forever in the legal documents that insist I stay at least two miles away from the woman? James Hong is great fun as David Lo Pan, Victor Wong adds to the entertainment as Egg Shen and Kate Burton, Suzee Pai and Donald Li all seem to enjoy themselves as they get caught up in the madness.

Gary Goldman and David Z. Weinstein wrote the script, but W. D. Richter is the man who extensively adapted the material into what audiences finally saw (it was originally envisioned as a western), and everyone involved in crafting the dialogue deserves praise for putting together something that makes people laugh so often, despite never going for easy gags. The movie is all about the characters, especially Burton, and that's where the humour comes from.

Despite the comedic nature of the material and the influences from Chinese culture and action movies of the past, this is still, undeniably, a John Carpenter film. The framing of each scene, the set designs, the music that he composed to accompany the visuals, the presence of Kurt Russell - this is classic Carpenter in every respect. The fact that the whole thing can be interpreted as an allegory for America and the way its foreign policy has affected so many countries over the years is just a bonus. I don't know if Carpenter ever intended that layer to be there, but there it is.

As cliched as it sounds, Big Trouble In Little China is a film that just seems to get better with age. I think if/when I rewatch it next year I may have to come back here to bump up the rating.

9/10

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