THE GLADES SEASON ONE: FOUL PLAY IN FLORIDA

One wonders now and then why the characters from various TV shows rarely seem to cross paths. For instance the characters in both VEGAS and LAS VEGAS never seem to run into the folks at CSI. I wondered this as I watched season one of THE GLADES. It would be interesting to witness the intensity of David Caruso as he came up against the smart aleck attitude of GLADES’ Jim Longworth (Matt Passmore).

Longworth is a transported Chicagoan who came to a town in Florida for health reasons: caught sleeping with someone he shouldn’t have been, he could have ended up dead had he stayed in the windy city. As a homicide detective he gets his chance to see enough dead bodies without having to worry one is his own.

The character of Longworth is an endearing one. He jokes and cracks wise at crime scenes while at the same time taking note of everything around him. Those finite pieces of information that others glance over are noted by him as he solves murders most would have difficulty with.

Along side Longworth are two police characters that provide a yin and yang for him. Carlos Sanchez (played by Carlos Gomez) is a coroner who helps Jim along not just in the field but as a friend as well. The two may give each other a hard time but they definitely work well together. The second is Colleen Manus (Michelle Hurd), a tough cop who is Jim’s supervisor intent on keeping a tight reign on him until he proves himself.

While Longworth is out fighting crime and searching for killers each week, we also get drawn into the story of his love life as it is. He meets a young nurse named Callie Cargill (Kiele Sanchez) and they seem to get along. His boyish charm and wise cracks break the frozen barrier she starts with and they become friends first. It seems that Callie has a husband who’s currently in jail but whom she wants to break with. The biggest reason she doesn’t is her son Jeff (Uriah Shelton). As the show moves forward, Jeff and Jim become close, but there’s still that fondness for his real father that keeps Jeff at bay.

Each episode features a new crime to solve, a new murder done by various criminals. Some are accidental, some well thought out in advance, all are solved before the final minutes of each show. The clues are laid out for viewers to try and guess the ending, as most murder mystery TV shows go. But the thing that makes this show different than most is the characters.

These are characters that you develop a liking towards. Each of them, even the hard as nails supervisor Longworth answers to. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses and that helps to make them more believable and more endearing. You want these two men to be close friends, you want Jim and Callie to get together. Now it’s just watching and waiting for those things to happen as well as to see how the crime is solved.

One thing I’ve noticed over the past few years. Some of the best TV series coming out are found on the cable networks as opposed to the big three. Which says a lot about how things have changed over the years. The three main networks are no longer the home for the best there is on TV. This show is proof of that.

With the new season already started, this DVD set is the perfect way to get caught up and find out how it all began. Forget about renting this one, it’s a series that’s worth investing in to keep. The acting is great, the cinematography is well done and each episode features some great writing and directing. In short, they’re doing it right and doing it well. Don’t miss this one, you’ll thoroughly enjoy it.

GREEN LANTERN, EMERALD KNIGHTS: THE CORPS KICKS BUTT

Comic book fans should be in Heaven by now. Where long ago there were just a few options outside of the printed page for them to see their heroes, many are popping up not just on TV but on the big screen as well, far more than at any one time (with the exception of perhaps the golden age of serials). These heroes are also being given a much better reception on DVD as well with some fantastic animated pieces coming out. And just in time for the release of the much touted GREEN LANTER in theaters is this gem, GREEN LANTER: EMERALD KNIGHTS.

For those who don’t know who the Green Lantern is watch GREEN LANTER: FIRST FLIGHT. In short you’ll learn that a group of cosmic brains trusts known as the Guardians forged rings out of the greatest power that exists, that of will power, and entrusted them to those brave enough to wield them throughout the galaxy as a sort of space cop. Yeah you’ll get that in this DVD as well but not as in depth.

At present there is a force that is unstoppable that has sworn vengeance against the Guardians and the Green Lantern Corps, an all powerful entity filled with anti-matter known as Krona. As the Lanterns charge their rings from the central battery, new recruit Arisia (Elizabeth Moss) talks to Hal Jordan (Nathan Fillion), Earth’s Green Lantern, and is told tales of the most legendary of the Lanterns.

Each story tells about the different Lanterns and how their nature has helped to change the Corps from what they were to what they are now. Stories range from the first Lantern to the man who trained Kilowog (one of the more well known Lantern’s for those who read the comic, saw the earlier DVD or who have seen the new movie).

The main point stressed in this direct to DVD feature is that the diversity of the Corps’ make up has helped to make it what it is today. Each different group of aliens has helped to make the whole that much better. A nice idea and one that should take place in today’s world. But not as something forced but as a fact of nature that merely exists. These Corps members aren’t thrust upon the group but meld in to become a part of the whole.

Through each story we see an act of heroism as well. Members are willing to give their lives to do what’s right. They act not because they are told to but because inside they feel the need to do so, that they have no choice but to do the right thing. That’s something missing from so many heroes depicted on the big screen today. Amazing that it has to come out in the form of a comic book rather than in that of an everyday person who makes the choice to do the right thing.

The animation is top notch here as it has been all along in the new DC Universe titles. My copy is the blu-ray edition and the colors just feel like they leap off the screen at you. They’re deep, bright, and dark when need by and just seem to glow just as the light of the lantern does. Cartoons have come such a far way from where they once were.

With any luck we will have the chance to see more stories of the Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Corps. They are ripe for fans of the comic book and for fans of science fiction. At its heart these stories travel into that area more than most comics have currently or in the past. In so doing they have transported us to different worlds to meet different peoples only to discover they’re not quite that different from us inside.

The extras feature a few other animated pieces to enjoy as well as a look at the next DCU animated feature being worked on, BATMAN:YEAR ONE. Based on the Frank Miller comic, it was the story that changed the way Batman would look from then on. Unfortunately we don’t get to see any animation from that, just who’s doing voices and such.

The DCU animated features are better than most. I’d have to say that many appear to be better than those coming from the Marvel comics group. Here’s hoping that they continue to feature quality over quantity and that perhaps we will find ourselves transported once more to the world of the Green Lantern Corps down the road.

THE SEARCHERS: A DARK SIDE OF JOHN WAYNE

I was told that THE SEARCHERS was perhaps the best John Wayne movie ever made. Believe it or not, I’d never seen it before. So when I saw that the blu-ray was on sale at amazon for under $10 I decided what the heck, let’s give it a go. I’m glad I did.

Wayne stars as Ethan Edwards, a rough and tumble man of the west comes home after fighting for the south in the Civil War. As the film opens, we see a woman through the front door of her house, Wayne on horseback riding to the house. This is the home of his brother and his family, a home that Ethan knew before the war. As the film moves on we get the idea that there was once something between Ethan and Martha, his brother’s wife, but nothing is said aloud.

Ethan is greeted by his brother and his family, a nephew, two nieces and a young man named Martin Polly (Jeffrey Hunter) who Ethan saved as a child, the sole survivor of an Indian attack on a wagon train. But the reunion doesn’t last long when the next morning a group of men on horseback show led by Rev. Capt. Clayton (Ward Bond). It seems a group of Indians have run off with homesteader Jorgensen’s cattle and they’re about to search for them. Ethan insists his brother remain home but Martin goes along.

Following the trail they discover that the cattle were stolen for a reason: to get them away from the settler’s homes so they could be attacked. They split when riding back to cover both places. Ethan and Martin return to find the farm ablaze and the bodies of everyone but Lucy and Debbie, the two nieces now presumed kidnapped. This ignites a search that last most of the film as Ethan and Martin head out to rescue the girls.

It would be so easy to offer bits and pieces of the story now, to tell you who makes it when and who doesn’t. But that would take away what is an effective piece of story telling done by master director John Ford. He and Wayne made many movies together and many consider this one to be their best. The way he frames scenes, the way he moves his actors is amazing and in turn presents a story that you don’t realize until it finishes.

Watching the extras also helped me see so many of the things I missed while watching. We’re a movie going public used to extreme violence when watching films these days. This film offers up violent images without actually showing them. The scene where Wayne enters what appears to be a smoke house to find the bodies of his brother and sister in law is gripping. You know how he found them by the look on his face, not by seeing the actual bodies. And in some ways that’s more disturbing.

One thing I was aware of with this film was the subtle discussion of racism involved in it. Made when this was a somewhat taboo topic, Ford and Wayne brought it to the forefront here. Several characters have this discriminatory view of the Indians in the film that carries on to their captives as well. The search for the girls takes 5 years and during that time young Debbie becomes a woman. The question of whether to bring her back or to kill her since she’s been touched in more ways than one by her captor is central to the film. On one hand Ethan is ready to do what he considers his duty in killing her, on the other Martin, part Indian himself, is willing to do all he can to stop Ethan.

This film offered something different for Wayne than previous roles. Before he was the hero, the cowboy, the one guy everyone wanted to be. As Ethan he’s questionable at times whether it’s wondering where he got the money he gives his brother or in the way he handles various situations. As the film progresses we witness a slow change over the years as Ethan’s search for vengeance causes him to do worse deeds than when the search began. He’s not a nice guy but he is someone you wish was on your side.

The entire cast does a commendable job here. Each of them plays their roles note perfect. Veteran actors who starred in numerous Wayne films present themselves here as well as they’ve ever done. Ward Bond is cantankerous and at the same time a viable force for the old west. Hank Worden as Mose Harper portrays the man as perhaps simple but at the same time perhaps not. Maybe it’s a face he puts on to keep out of harm’s way. But the best cast member is Monument Valley.

Like almost all of Ford’s westerns, this one was shot in Monument Valley. Cut off from civilization for real, the cast and crew weathered some truly dangerous moments to bring this film to life. But its worth it was you view some breathtaking scenery. As I watched I thought to myself that while Frederick Remington captured the spirit and beauty of the old west on canvas, Ford was able to do the same on film.

Like I said when I started, the film is available in blu-ray format for under $10 at amazon.com. It’s worth that and more. I may not agree with the idea that this is the best western ever made or even Wayne’s best western, but I will say that it ranks up there in the top. If you’ve never seen this one, make it a point to do so.

FALL DOWN DEAD: FAIL DOWN DEAD

I love horror movies. I always have. When I was a kid I’d love to sneak out and watch the late show knowing full well that I’d be frightened and thrilled. I’ve seen all sorts of horror films, good and bad and even so bad they’re good films. But it angers me to find a movie that takes money that could have been better spent on a half decent film wasted on a piece of drek like FALL DOWN DEAD.

If the fact that it was cliché filled were all I might be more forgiving. But this movie has it all when it comes to bad. Bad directing, bad acting, bad writing…just bad.

The story revolves around Christie Wallace (Dominique Swain), a waitress in an all night diner working hard to save up money so she can move out of the city with her daughter. At the same time we have a concurrent tale going on about a serial killer who takes his victims and uses body parts from them in his attempt to create a piece of “art” played by Udo Kier.

After work on Christmas Eve, Christie accidentally comes across Kier and his latest victim staked out on top of a dumpster and sliced and diced. He sees Christie and immediately decides she has the perfect skin for his masterpiece and attempts to kill her as well. Instead, she drops her purse (oops so much for anonymity) and runs for the nearest building.

She convinces the bumbling night watchman (David Carradine completely wasted here) to let her in. They call for help but the two cops are on hand just moments before the power goes out in the building. For some reason the power has been going out all over town in various spots. Okay, I can get this point in the summer with air conditioners and all but Christmas Eve power outages? Come on.

The killer is in the building and it isn’t long before he starts trying to rack up a victim count. A couple of cheating spouses on an upper floor are brought downstairs and that’s when the killer starts.

There is the slim possibility of a story here and one that could be scary. Instead we have long winded meandering conversations between characters that we don’t get to know and actually don’t care about. It’s as if the writer thought “Hey, Kevin Smith gets kudos for having great dialogue, I think I’ll do it here”, never realizing that there must be a certain amount of action in a horror film as well. To cap it off the few action scenes there are with Kier make you wonder how a geriatric serial killer has the ability to catch people let alone take them on when facing them.

This is one of those movies that even when watched with your finger on the fast forward button you’re bored. Far too predictable and far to long winded to be enjoyed on any level. Avoid this one at all costs.

THE COMPANY MEN: UPLIFTING DOWNSIZE

There are movies that are made that are noted as being timely. These movies take on the day to day stories that many of those viewing them are going through and turn them into stories with compelling characters, events that viewers can relate to and that touch the heart all at the same time. THE COMPANY MEN is just such a movie.

Ben Affleck is Bobby Walker, a sales director for a global transportation company, GTX. He walks into a meeting one morning after a great golf game only to discover that not only has part of his staff been let go but his position is no longer in existence as well. The company, in an attempt to show itself as more profitable, has let go a number of people as well as two departments.

Given severance pay and the assistance of a job placement service, Bobby hopes to find a new job within days. The reality of the matter is that this is not the only company going through downsizing and he is not the only person with the same qualifications. While his wife Maggie (Rosemarie DeWitt in a fantastic performance) supports him in his search, she has a more realistic viewpoint. As Bobby continues to search for that elusive dream job, Maggie is the one that makes the tough decisions and keeps the family together.

But that’s only one story going here. Another involves Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper), a long time employee in his fifties who began with the company on the manufacturing end when they built cargo ships. Phil starts fearful that he will be let go next. With a daughter in college and a luxury home to care for, Phil’s fears begin running his life.

The third story, thus making it company “men”, revolves around Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones), another long time employee and Bobby’s supervisor. It’s Gene’s departments that have been eliminated and he feels for the workers under him. Having started the company with long time friend James Salinger (Craig T. Nelson), Gene thinks the company should be more than just figures. It should have an ethical responsibility to its employees as well. Needless to say the company disagrees.

The movie weaves back and forth with these three businessmen, showing that it’s not just those on a factory floor that are damaged when a company changes its focus. As with most things the trickle down effect touches all, starting at the top. It doesn’t just affect the company itself or the lives of those it employs but the lives of their families as well.

The paths that these three characters take from the start of the film to its conclusion touch the viewer on an emotional level more so than most films I’ve seen of late. You worry about each of them but not the same way. Each one touches you on a different level and the story telling done here is remarkable in the way that it moves you. Be it the young man early in his career or the elderly statesman past retirement age, you feel a concern for each and watch wondering just what they will do next.

All of the actors here do a remarkable job. You feel the pain of Affleck, a man who feels he’s become a loser in every respect of the word as he finds difficulty taking care of his family. Cooper’s despair as he does all he can to hold onto his job can bring tears to your eyes. And Jones’ depiction of a man who thought his company would be different than the rest only to find himself on the outside of the decision making process is one that offers a resilience to all that happens to these three. Kevin Costner as a hard working construction owner and Affleck’s brother in law who sees the worth of work in a hands on basis only does a great job as well whether he’s needling Bobby for not being a working man or giving him a job to help him get by. But the stand out performance to me was DeWitt. You truly believe her character and sympathize with her being there to handle the bills and to help her husband find his way.

This movie does not set out to be a feel good movie and yet by the end it becomes just that. Not in a neat and tidy here’s a big rescue sort of way but in the idea that just when things look their worst a glimmer of hope might just happen. It shows a world in which company men, often portrayed as unfeeling money grubbing millionaires, can also be touched by the necessities of the business world. They are no different than the dock worker or secretary; they have problems and the possibility of losing their jobs too. And in the end it takes people uniting together to find a solution, to endure all the pain and suffering, to get back on track. This movie may not have been tops at the box office, but I found it to be one of the best films I’ve seen all year.

BURN NOTICE SEASON 4: THE PLOT THICKENS

I’ve said that this series is one of the best there is on TV now and I don’t intend to change that opinion. It remains one of the freshest shows in some time with characters that you find yourself not just rooting for but loving along the way. And season four is no different than the pervious three; it remains a great show.

An intro for those who haven’t been watching: Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan) is a spy for the U.S. who suddenly finds himself burned. By burned we mean that he’s taken off the list of active spies and tossed aside with no money, no identity and no history, left in whatever town he was in when he was burned. In this case it’s Miami and fortunately for him he has friends there: an ex-girlfriend Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) who’s ex-IRA with a nasty temper, Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) an old SEAL buddy who sold info on Michel to the FBI and his mother Madeline (Sharon Gless), a chain smoking woman who loves her son but is greatly aggravated in learning what he did for a living. Left to his own devices, Michael and his friends help people in trouble using their talents when no one else will help. At the same time, Weston continues to search for whoever it was that burned him in an attempt to get back into the spy game. Got it?

At the end of season three we had Michael saving the life of the man who burned him and capturing a serial killing maniac who was once a spy just like Michael. But Michael broke a few laws to catch him and is now a prisoner himself, held in a lock up that’s not the normal kind. Instead Michael is introduced to a new “friend”, a man who says that he wants to assist Michael in finding out just who is behind a secret global attack on the country, a person or group that is doing damage from within. Michael agrees to help but at the same time still distrust everyone but his friends.

As the season opens, Michael is given a pass card to gain access to a federal building to obtain information. Before leaving he witnesses the man whose card he had, a spy named Jesse Porter (Coby Bell), being escorted from the building. Michael has just burned another spy, doing to them what was done to him.

Keeping an eye on Porter in the hopes of gaining information, Michael discovers another person in need of assistance and takes on Porter’s case. As it moves forward Porter eventually tells Michael that like him he was burned and that his sole motivation now is to find the man that burned him and kill him. So naturally Michael takes Porter under his wing and adds him to the team. So much so that he eventually finds a place for him to live: with his mother in the garage.

The season continues on with various people coming into the scene in need of help. At the same time Michael and the group continue to seek out the truth behind what is going on in the spy world, who is burning whom, how all of it fits together and keep Porter from discovering that Michael was the man who burned him. By the end who knows, perhaps Michael can discover who he was burned by…but then Porter might find out as well.

Each story features the client and subsequent rescue by the team but at the same time adds bits and pieces to the main puzzle that Michael has been going with since episode one. The amazing thing is that each episode while telling these concurrent stories is filled with action, adventure and an actual story to boot.

The acting...I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this entire team here is a perfect fit. If one were to disappear it would be felt not just by the characters but the viewers as well. They just gel together better than most. That’s rare for most TV series but lately it seems like more thought is going into making a fantastic ensemble in shows than in the past. I honestly can’t imagine this show without the entire team intact.

The new season of this series is about to begin soon. Picking up all four of the previous sets can only help to not just increase your awareness of the show but make you a fan as well. Then you can sit back with the rest of us, waiting in anticipation each week to find out what new case they will assist with and who is behind the whole burn notice plot.

While discovering TV series on DVD is a great thing (and I’ve often talked about how wonderful it is to get into an entire season rather than waiting for the cliffhanger each week) the fact remains that TV needs viewers to keep a show on the air. For me the important thing about the DVD sets is that you can miss a season or half of it, watch the DVD and catch up in time to get back on once more. While BURN NOTICE may not be on one of the three major networks, it goes to show that the cable stations are becoming the place to go when looking for quality programming. Give this series a shot and my guess is you’ll be hooked.

WHITE COLLAR SEASON TWO: CLEVER CON

Last year USA Network rolled out another series that was on the fantastic end instead of the here we go again side. That series was WHITE COLLAR and I talked when the first season came out about how great it was, how the cast worked, the stories worked, etc. The fact is that with season two now out on DVD you can discover just how much better it got and catch up as season three begins.

As with my review for BURN  NOTICE SEASON FOUR, here’s a refresher for those who haven’t seen the show: Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer) is the ultimate con man and a gent who seems to always find a way out of trouble. In prison and placed there by FBI agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay), Caffrey attempts to escape but fails, caught once more by Burke. But there was a reason why Caffrey, so close to being released, attempted that escape. He talks to Burke and gives him a part of the reason, his girlfriend has disappeared and he’s concerned about her. Burke gets Caffrey a work release deal that has him wearing an  ankle tracker and as long as he co-operates assisting the FBI on other cases, Burke will help him with his problem as well. By the end of season one, Caffrey’s girlfriend Kate was blown to pieces in a plane explosion that he was set to be on as well.

Season two begins with Caffrey trying to find out who was behind the whole situation we saw him in in season one. Along with his best friend and fellow con artist Mozzie (Willie Garson), Caffrey follows the clues to this puzzle while at the same time assisting Burke take down white collar criminals for the FBI. One major piece that comes into play here is a music box that Caffrey comes into possession of. He may have the box but Peter has the key to the mystery that will reveal just why it is so important. And that information will lead to the biggest case the pair have ever worked on and the possible killer of Kate.

Other cast members that come into play throughout the series include Tiffani Theissen as Peter’s devoted wife Elizabeth, a woman that Neal becomes close with, a friend he never really had. But the same holds true for Peter as well. While the pair has been at opposite ends of the criminal world throughout most of their careers, there is a certain amount of respect they share for one another. And as they solve each new case, the bond of friendship between the two builds. But all of that may dissolve by the end of the season as each one plays out their own search for the answers to their important question, never quite knowing if they can trust the other.

The thing that makes this show click is, to start with, the ensemble they’ve collected to play these roles. Not only that, the characters themselves makes the show not just fun to watch but interesting as well. So many times we are presented with characters that you either care for to much or don’t care for at all. Here you worry about each, you care about them all and you root for not only the good guy but the bad guys too. Well at least some of the bad guys.

Each of the actors is perfectly suited for their role. Bomer exudes the confidence that a con man needs, easily fitting into an upper crust society while being from a low level life. DeKay not only looks, feels and sounds like an FBI agent, he comes off as a man who wants to accomplish his job but at the same time has a heart as well. And Garson as Mozzie is a treat. Smart, paranoid and quirky, he completes the main trio of male roles that forms a bond that just works.

If you take the chance with this series, you’ll find yourself drawn in not just by the weekly cases they have to solve, great writing and shows in their own right, but also drawn into the whole mystery that began with the very first episode ever. This is a well crafted series that will hold your interest better than most offerings on TV these days. Who could ask for more from a show?

RAWHIDE: SEASON 4, VOLUME 1: HITTING THE TRAIL AGAIN

There was a time when westerns were a staple of the small screen. Each week a different tale of the old west unfolded before a number of viewers that has seemed to dwindle of late. Be it a secret service agent for President Grant or a riverboat gambler, the variety of westerns on TV was great and helped jump start the careers of many famous movie stars. Perhaps the most notable example of this was Clint Eastwood who began his career on RAWHIDE.

Previous seasons have come out on DVD in the past and they’ve just added the first volume of season 4. Having not seen the earlier ones, I can only tell you that this one comes off as the perfect example of the early TV western. The stories are simple yet deep at the same time. The acting isn’t nearly as bad as some comedies seen on TV right now and the ideas presented are well thought out and valuable for a younger viewing audience while remaining entertaining for adults as well.

The idea behind the series was the cowpoke, the drover who rounded up cattle and delivered them to market. Along the way they ran into problems on the trail, made problems of their own at saloons along the way and became an American icon of what a real man was all about.

Eric Fleming starred as Gil Favor, the trail boss that brought together this rag tag group of cowpokes to run the herd. A fair man and a fair boss, he kept them out of trouble while keeping the cows rounded up. His right hand man, his trail boss, was Rowdy Yates (Clint Eastwood), a young man who enjoys the life he leads and helps keep the men in line. At the same time he isn’t averse to joining in on the fun when they hit town though. Rounding out the three main characters of the series was Paul Brinegar as Wishbone, the cook of the outfit. Making sure the men had hot meals and hot coffee, Wishbone was also the conscious of the outfit too, often letting folks know what was really going on beneath the actions of one man or another.

This time around the series begins with the men gathering to take on a herd of beef to market. But by the first episode they’ve lost the contract and are on their own. With enough money to start out with and a plan to gather lose steers along the way, Gil recruits the men to work for him, rounding up cattle and joining with another group on the trail. This time it’s their own cattle going to market.

As things would have it while on the trail stories start making their way into a simple cattle drive. In one episode one of the drover’s is almost hanged by his own brother, a judge. In another a wagon train master who deserted his group and was the sole survivor of an Indian attack must face the mother of one of the victims as well as a mean partner of the same deceased man. Civil War spies, a circus, a Christmas episode and more work their way into the stories on the trail and make this a series that showed the Wild West for the hard work it was but also offered a ride that wasn’t boring either.

In black and white (come on don’t be prejudiced against this format…shows and movies were once made that way so get over it), the series is well shot and well acted by all. Some notable guest stars make their way here as well, some stars before and some later, including Ralph Bellamy and Darren McGavin just to name two.

There are no shows like this on today. As I said at the start, the idea was simple, but stories wound up covering more than you would bargain for in a western. And yet they told a story that wasn’t preaching about anything or condemning anyone while at the same time entertaining. Yes, we could use a show like this today.

The western is all but gone these days not just from TV but in films as well. Even when movies like TOMBSTONE, SILVERADO and 3:10 TO YUMA do big business, it’s as if no one notices. Perhaps one day Hollywood will realize that westerns can offer the escape today that they did way back when. After all, who would have thought that a movie about pirates would span three sequels? Until that day arrives we will have to be content sitting back and watching the classics like this one. And with RAWHIDE you can’t get much better.

DRIVE ANGRY: HELL ON THE HIGHWAY

The craze for 3-D movies is still working its way to the big screen across the country. I’ve found it amusing at times but on the whole I could do away with the need to wear a second pair of glasses let alone the extra expense that a ticket for a 3-D film entails. Perhaps it was that expense that caused DRIVE ANGRY to not be the big hit it was expected to be. This is unfortunate because all in all it was a fun film.

The films starts off with a bang as John Milton (Nicolas Cage) revs down the road in a muscle car intent on catching three bad guys in truck. He forces them to crash, shoots one’s hand off, blasts the second and then threatens the third unless he gives him information. It seems that he is chasing a group of bad guys with one purpose: to save a baby they’ve kidnapped.

As the story unfolds we finally discover that Cage was a very bad man in his own right who was killed and sent to Hell. He escaped when he witness his daughter’s death at the hands of Jonah King (Billie Burke), a satanic cult leader who intends to sacrifice her child on the next full moon in the hopes of bringing Hell to Earth. Milton has set his sights on revenge and only the rescue of the child and death of King will suffice.

As he sets out to track down King, Milton requires a new car having crashed the last one. A chance encounter with a young waitress named Piper (Amber Heard) leads to a ride down the road. When he saves her from an abusive boyfriend after she’s been knocked unconscious, the pair head south for Florida via Louisiana. FL is her destination, LA his.

Along the way the pair is being followed by two different people. The first is a man who refers to himself as “The Accountant” (William Fichtner). In actuality this is Hell’s agent on Earth trying to track down and recollect Milton. Why he can’t just pop in and out where he wants is never explained but like all Hell employed bounty hunters he just follows and kills along his way to catch the escapee.

A run in with the followers of King leads to Piper and Milton being captured. As King speeds off with Piper and the baby having just shot Milton one would think the film would end. But keep in mind that Milton is already dead and a headshot won’t be the sort of thing to stop him.

The film rolls along with tons of car chases and mayhem, explosions and gunfight, until a final confrontation between Milton and King finally arrives.

This is the stuff that drive-in movies were made of back in their heyday during the seventies: cars speeding down the highway, cults that just seem downright stupid, gun battles using guns that never seem to run out of ammo and a smattering of nudity here and there. As I watched I kept thinking of past films like VANISHING POINT and RACE WITH THE DEVIL, to classics of the genre.

The film is filled with completely unbelievable items that you either accept as part of the universe it is set in or just shake your head asking how anyone could expect you to believe it at all. Perhaps the most extreme (and the raciest) is when Milton is in the middle of having sex only to leap up still attached and begin shooting bad guys left and right. Not only does this tell you how unbelievable the film is but also how it got the R rating it deserves as well.

Cage does a great job as the determined tough guy out to take down those worse than him for a noble cause. Fichtner is amazing to watch as the smooth operating collector who feels no remorse taking out various bad guys or telling people he’ll seem them soon, some in years others in months. And Heard plays the young woman sucked into a world she is completely unaware of only to feel the need to help Milton in his quest.

Some will be offended by the whole sacrifice idea (used in tons of movies in the 60s and 70s before it became something to really fear), some will not be keen on the idea of a hero in the form of an escapee from Hell and others will be offended by the bloodshed and nudity. I mention these as a warning for those easily offended. For the rest who are just looking for 105 minutes of pure escapist fun then make sure you give this one a watch.

THE BIG BANG: MORE LIKE AN M-80

Film makers are always trying to take a favorite genre or film and retune it to today’s standards. The problem is that in attempting to take that treasured classic they usually turn it into something it wasn’t to begin with thus losing what they wanted to do in the first place. This is the case with THE BIG BANG, a movie that wants so much to be a film noire detective story but ends up falling short.

Antonio Banderas stars as Ned Cruz, a private eye hired by Anton “The Pro” Protopov (Robert Malliet), a 7 foot tall giant ex-boxer just released from prison for murder. It seems that while in jail, Anton had been receiving letters from a beautiful woman named Lexie, swearing her undying love for him. Once released, he discovered that her address is a vacant lot so he hires Ned to track her down.

The first place they look for her is a strip club where she worked. Anton’s explosive temper gets the better of him and a few beat up bouncers later the pair make a hasty exit. Ned advises him that it would be better if he worked alone at this time and he moves on with his search.

The second person he talks to is an adult film director played by Snoop Dogg. Once more this leads to a dead end as does a talk with a down on her luck actress who hires out to a medical college to portray various mental illnesses. All roads lead nowhere until Ned talks to a mail carrier and finds that the letters sent back to the vacant lot are being forwarded to a small town in New Mexico.

Driving to the town Ned finds out that it’s owned by Simon Kestral (Sam Elliott), a reclusive zillionaire with dreams of physics, ions, and a search for the God particle that have made him build his own particle generator in hopes of creating one. Sure it might result in a black hole where the earth was but he’s searching any way. It is in Kestral’s home that the search finally ends in more ways than one but that would blow the surprise so watch and see to discover what it is.

That is if you don’t mind waiting almost 90 minutes for a movie to get interesting. There are touches here and there that make you continue watching and the art direction and photography are amazing. The film is shot with bright fluorescent coloring and makes it seem to glow in a surreal stylization not seen before. While it does make it amazing to look at, it doesn’t make the twists and turns of the story any more palatable.

The movie tries too hard to be complicated. It delves into topics that are used as metaphors but that don’t do so in such a way that if you weren’t already interested in those topics you wouldn’t catch the comparison. It’s like the old Steve Martin joke from his stand up days where he discusses the size of wrenches and sockets because he thought he was performing for a group of plumbers. If you aren’t a part of the group you don’t get the joke.

The acting is by far the best thing in this film. Given the story to perform, all hands do a great job. Banderas does his best as a tough P.I. and carries it off easily. As the three cops that interrogate him from the beginning of the film to nearly the end, Delroy Lindo, William Fichtner and Thomas Kretschmann are all perfectly suited to the various characters they are offered.

I wanted to like this film and I honestly enjoyed it on a visual level. But having been a fan of film noire and classic hard boiled detective flicks for years I found it a bit of a let down. Still, some may enjoy this one so I wouldn’t totally write it off. If this is the style of film you like then by all means give it a try. If nothing else you’ll see what I mean about the film’s visuals.