"... Time to die."

On January 23, 1944 in Breukelen, Utrecht, Netherlands, was born Rutger Hauer: an amazing actor, once referred to as "a Dutch Paul Newman". 

His IMDb page (linked to his name above) shows 173 credits, but it was Paul Verhoeven's Soldier of Orange (1977), about the Dutch Resistance in WW2, that introduced him to me ... 

Cropped from image at https://www.filmlinc.org/films/soldier-of-orange/

In The Hitcher (1986) he was a chilling psychopath (more of an elemental force than a man), who seemed to have stepped right out of a Stephen King novel.  HIGHLY Recommended ...

From https://www.virtual-history.com/movie/film/8522/the-hitcher

But MY favorite of his many roles is the replicant Roy Batty, in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982) ...

Cropped from http://www.teladoiofirenze.it/cinema-teatro/30-anni-di-blade-runner/attachment/blade-runner-rutger-hauer-as-roy-batty/

Although an adversary (NOT a villain), he is nothing less than the heart and soul of this movie about a soulless future; facing his (ENGINEERED) demise thusly ...

From https://et.glbnews.com/07-2019/52780338982960/

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.  Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.  I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.  All those moments will be lost in time ... like tears in rain ... Time to die."

27 JUL 2019 - Piece of trivia found on IMDb ...
Rutger Hauer came up with many inventive ideas for his characterization, like the moment where he grabs and fondles a dove.  He also improvised the now-iconic line "All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain".  He later chose "All those moments" as the title of his autobiography.

He left us on July 19, 2019 (age 75) in Beetsterzwaag, Netherlands.

RIP Sir; you WILL be missed! :(

-

"... and call off Christmas!!!" - (R.I.P. Alan Rickman - 14 JAN 2016)

There actually was something really good in Kevin Costner's  Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991).

That something was Alan Rickman, as the Sheriff of Nottingham.

 from www.fanpop.com

In a previous post, I kinda dumped on The Syfy Channel a bit, for the inclusion of distinctly non-science fiction items in its lineup, including that movie.

(In a conversation with a clerk at Barnes & Noble, I learned that a writer, asking one of the people running The Syfy Channel about why they had changed their name from The "Sci-Fi Channel", was told that "Sci-Fi" is considered shorthand for "Science-Fiction", implying that would be the content;  whereas "Syfy" is in fact just a totally meaningless bit of noise, and gives them license to schedule whatever they wish.  Okay ... )

Back to Alan then.

Of all the people in this movie, he alone appears to be actually having fun, being so deliciously nasty.

After the Sheriff  has said he'll cut out Robin Hood's  heart with a spoon ...
Guy of Gisborne: "Why a spoon, cousin?  Why not an axe?"
Sheriff: "Because it's DULL, you twit.  It'll hurt more."
(Said with a sneer that only Alan Rickman can manage; he has an absolute lock on that.)

Sheriff: (to a wench)  "You.  My room.  10:30 tonight."
Sheriff: (to another wench)  "You.  10:45 ... And bring a friend."

Upon hearing from a scribe about the relationship Robin Hood has with the people...
Sheriff: "Just a minute. Robin Hood steals money from my pocket, forcing me to hurt the public,  -- and they love him for it?"
The scribe nods.
Sheriff: "That's it then.  Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings,  -- and call off Christmas!!!"

One thing I'll always wonder: Was that last parting shot scripted?
Or, was Rickman on a roll at that time and he just ad-libbed it?

At times, he seems to be in an entirely different movie than the rest of the cast is, and almost succeeds in making this bloated epic truly watchable.  Unfortunately, as with Ian McShane in the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, he can't do the job all by himself. 

What put him on the map was his role as Hans Gruber (one of the all-time great villains) in Die Hard  (1988), opposite Bruce Willis...

 from aveleyman.com

Problem with getting on the map that way is the danger of typecasting.  In Quigly Down Under  (1990), opposite Tom Selleck, he played a villain with a mustache almost fit for twirling.  He seemed to be at the top of any list for playing a back-stabbing, conniving SOB, and got quite a bit of work as such.

But, that's not the only side to him.  Right after "Quigly", he appeared in Truly Madly Deeply (1990), wherein he was a ghost hanging around his girlfriend who really needed to get on with her life, but found it a bit difficult with him and his ghost friends around all the time, watching videos (what else do you do with all that time in the afterlife?)  It was a sweet, warm role totally unexpected for the guy who played Hans Gruber.

His latest work has been as Professor Severus Snape, the "Darth Vader" of the Harry Potter series...

 from www.examiner.com

He's actually the most tragic figure in the story, very multi-layered (Yes!  I'm quite aware that I use that phrase a lot;  I'm drawn to characters that rate it).  Rickman succeeds in the challenge of taking a character you've learned to hate, and making you almost weep for him near the end of the last movie.

What can I say?  The man is simply so damned good.

(Originally published 2102 CST 08 AUG 2011)
-
UPDATE Thursday, 14 JAN 2016:  I've just learned that Alan Rickman has left us today...  

...  FAR TOO SOON.  Rest in peace, Sir.  :-(


For his LAST performance in a live-action film ...

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

"NEVER tell a soldier ... (Updated 28 JUN 2016)

... that he does not know the cost of war."
~Alan Rickman as Lt. General Frank Benson in Eye in the Sky (2015)

A FINE way to go out!
frown emoticon
-

Gary Farmer - Contrary Warrior

Saw Farmer Monday night (01 Jul 2013) on one of my favorite TV shows; A&E TV's Longmire (based on Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire mysteries and about Sheriff Walt Longmire of the fictional Absaroka County, in Wyoming).

In episode 6 of season 2, "Tell It Slant" (I'll get to that title in a moment),  Walt looks out his cabin window one morning, to see an Indian riding by, seated backwards on his pony and wearing a ceremonial  mask. The Indian greets the sheriff with “Sweet dreams, sheriff!  It’s a beautiful night to be born!” 

Walt's reaction is to radio in to the station.
 Walt: "Ruby, it's me. I think we may have a dead body.”
 Ruby: "Where?"
 Walt: "I have no idea."

So, who is that guy?  And why does Walt react that way?

On arrival at the station, being told of no reports (yet) of a body, and being asked, "Why?  Do you want there to be one?" ...
 Walt: "Think I got a tip -- sort of."
 Deputy: "You think?  From who?"
 Walt: "A heyoka."
 Deputy (snorting):
   "You mean the drunk guy who walks backwards around the square?
   "That one?"
 Other deputy: "Excuse me?'
 Walt: "Cheyenne man who lives in the area.  He's something of a"
 Deputy: "head case"
 Walt: " a Sacred Clown. Cheyenne call him 'Contrary Warrior'; 
   "he does the opposite of what you expect."
 Other deputy: "Why?"
 Walt: "You see, the whole idea is to force people out of their comfort 
    zones;  make them examine their beliefs."
 Other deputy: "That's annoying."
 Walt: "If I just heard him right, then we have a dead body somewhere."

Well, Walt did hear him right and a body is soon discovered. It turns out to be that of a local psychic who called herself Cassandra, and when they learn that her real name is Cynthia Two Rivers, Walt goes calling on her brother Aaron Two Rivers (Gary Farmer) who is in fact our Contrary Warrior.

Walt brings along a Cheyenne named Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips) who is proprietor of The Red Pony tavern and cafe, an expert tracker, and is Walt's best friend.

Henry is somewhat less than impressed with Aaron's claim as Contrary Warrior, believing Aaron's visions to come from the bottom of a bottle rather than from any spirits on high.
 Henry: "The last real Contrary Warrior died in 1974."
 Walt: "And this would make Aaron?"
 Henry: "A pest -- with pretensions."

After an interview with Aaron that was inconclusive ...
 Henry: "You can never tell when he is telling the truth."
 Walt: "Well, he's just like everybody else, then. 
    "At least, he's up front about it."
 Henry: "Before I banned him from The Red Pony, Aaron Two Rivers
     used to drink his fill, and walk out the door backwards -- without 
     paying. His 'contrary' act is less charming than you think."

About that title ...

It's actually from an Emily Dickinson poem:

Tell All The Truth
  Tell all the truth but tell it slant,
  Success in circuit lies,
  Too bright for our infirm delight
  The truth's superb surprise;

  As lightning to the children eased
  With explanation kind,
  The truth must dazzle gradually
  Or every man be blind.

So, basically, tell the truth, but tell it gently. If you come right out with it, it could be too surprising. Better to break things to people in a roundabout way rather than just drop a truthbomb.   (~From episode guide on aetv.com)

A truthbomb is at the heart of the murder here.

"Longmire" has become one of the few television shows I make an effort not to miss. But, be warned;  if you're looking for slam-bang action from the "blow em up real good" school of movie making, this ain't it. It's more laid back and character driven. If you're patient and just let it sort of wash over you, I think you'll find it absorbing (as I have).

There's a a bit of coincidence in my seeing this episode when I did.

When I posted "Toughest Pawnee" ... (about actor Wes Studi) I may have accidentally started a series of these things about American Indian actors. The post resulted in an email from an Air Force buddy recommending the movie Smoke Signals (1998), about life on the reservation.

I got the DVD of "Smoke Signals", absolutely loved it, and posted "Big truck just went by. ...", about it and the actors in it (including Gary Farmer). A comment to that post recommended yet another movie, Powwow Highway (1989), which I ordered and got a little while ago, and finally watched just before seeing the "Longmire" episode above.

Gary Farmer strikes again ...
In "Powwow Highway", Indian activist Buddy Red Bow (played by A Martinez (Adolph Larrue Martinez) who has a recurring role on "Longmire" as lawyer Jacob Nighthorse) has to make an emergency trip from the reservation in Montana to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to bail out his sister who has been busted on drug charges...

A Martinez as Buddy Red Bow - from veevr.com

His best friend, Philbert Bono (Gary Farmer), has visions (like Aaron, but probably from another source) and feels the need to get ready for an important journey of his own, for which he needs a "war pony".

Gary Farmer  as  Philbert Bono

(from nativeamericanactors.tumblr.com)

Seeing an ad on TV from a local used-car hustler, his idea of a "war pony" is one of the rusting hulks on that dealer's lot.  He makes an offer to trade what's in his pocket (including what appears to be a large plastic-wrapped bundle of weed (most likely the source of his visions).

Philbert finds his "war pony" 

(from randallhassen.wordpress.com)

Learning of Philbert's "war pony", Buddy decides a meeting is in order ...

From amazon.com

Gary Farmer as Philbert, A Martinez as Buddy, and YES, that is Wes Studi in the black hat. Graham Greene is also in this movie. But, this is a year before "Dances With Wolves" and neither of them appear for more than a couple of minutes.

Buddy needs a ride to Santa Fe, and offers to pay Philbert for the gas.  So, off they go ...

On the road - from imcdb.org

Buddy is anxious to get to Santa Fe, suspecting that his sister's drug bust was an entrapment to get Buddy away from a Council meeting on the reservation where an important vote was coming up.

But, there are a lot of detours along the way as Buddy discovers (after being committed to this trip) that Philbert is on a spiritual quest of his own.

It doesn't help things much that Buddy is a hard-nosed rationalist, who is not put at ease by Philbert's absolute faith that things "are going to work out just fine. You'll see!".

This is kind of a journey of discovery for Buddy (and for the viewer), with Philbert as spiritual guide. 

As this movie was released 24 years before the "Longmire" episode above, Gary Farmer has proven to have been mostly a Contrary Warrior for over a generation now.

Find it and give it a look. Well worth the trip.

-

Slim

"Target in sight!  Where in Hell is Major Kong?" ...

From thescoopblog.dallasnews.com

Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece Dr. Strangelove (1964) is loaded with first-rate performances, from Peter Sellers (in three roles), Sterling Hayden, and George C. Scott.

But, the most iconic moment in the movie is owned by Slim Pickens riding that H-bomb to the target and into eternity.

How on earth did he even get there?  By a combination of serendipity and pure accident.

Rodeo Days ...
Once upon a time, 12-year old Louis Burton Lindley, Jr. wanted to become a rodeo performer.

As he was born June 29, 1919, in Kingsburg, California (a bit south of Fresno), that time was probably 1931.  Child Protective Services didn't even exist, child labor laws were different then and many children of that age worked for wages on farms and ranches so this was not at all unusual.

He told a manager of a rodeo that he had his father's permission as long as he didn't use his real name.

Supposedly, the manager told him that he might as well call himself "Slim Pickins" as that was all he could look forward to in wages on the rodeo circuit. Louis said that was just fine with him. The manager wrote down the name, spelling the last name with an "e" near the end instead of the "i", and thus came Slim Pickens into our world.

He did pretty well on the rodeo circuit, and became a rodeo clown; perhaps the most dangerous job in the profession. When a bull rider gets thrown, that bull may decide to wheel around and finish the job.  If you are the clown, your duty is to get that bull's attention, draw him away from the thrown rider (to you instead), and Oh, by the way, because of that word "clown", try to entertain the crowd while running for your life.

He did that for almost twenty years, when his distinctive Oklahoma-Texas drawl (although he was pure Californian*), his height (6'-3") and general appearance got him in a role in Rocky Mountain (1950) starring Errol Flynn.

(* 01 DEC 2018 - Found THIS at https://truewestmagazine.com/slim-pickens/ :    His father, Louis Sr., was from Texas, and his mother, Sally Mosher Turk, hailed from Missouri, which altogether explained his drawl.  ;-)

The Days of the "Singing Cowboy" ...
Nope, I'm not aware of Slim ever singing, but that might have been interesting. In the 30's thru the 50's we had the likes of Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, (even John Wayne went through this with other people dubbing in the singing (as he couldn't sing) and the guitar (as he couldn't play one either)).

In those times, the hero usually had a comic sidekick; often a bit murderous - The Cisco Kid (not even remotely like the cold eyed killer that O. Henry wrote of in "The Caballero's Way", from which the TV show claimed origin) had Pancho, whom the Kid had to keep from shooting anyone with whom they came in conflict, and Roy Rogers had George "Gabby" Hayes, who was equally ready to commit murder on occasion.

Among the ranks of the Singing Cowboys was Rex Allen, ...

Slim Pickens and Rex Allen - from bobnolan-sop.net

... and Slim became his sidekick. While not so ready to ventilate people as the other sidekicks, if you wanted to make a new window in a saloon wall by putting someone through that wall, Slim (kinda slim in those days, with shoulders like a bull) was always willing to oblige. He did dozens of these and other comic roles until ...

"Calm down, Slim. There's someone I want you to meet"  ...

As Deputy Lon Dedrick - enlarged from thelin.net

Marlon Brando got involved with a western, One-Eyed Jacks (1961), he eventually went on to direct. I'm not going to spend much of this post on that movie, except for the essential parts that led to Strangelove.

There's a story, I've had no luck at all in confirming, that when Slim was called in to read for the part of Deputy Lon Dedrick, while waiting for the interview a cowboy type next to him began ragging him in various and insulting ways until Slim finally stood up and invited him outside to settle things; at which point Brando walked up, laughing, and told him, "Calm down, Slim. There's someone I want you to meet". That cowboy was one of the stuntmen and Brando was trying to see if Slim could be convincing as Dedrick (a cowardly bully and one mean son-of-a-bitch; quite a departure from his earlier roles). As Slim got the role, apparently he passed.

Part of the serendipity mentioned above was that Stanley Kubrick was originally set to direct, before he decided that he simply couldn't work with Brando and his (costly and time-consuming) quirks, and left the production. Kubrick had met Slim, seen him at work and would later remember him.

"Stay on the bomb run, boys. I'm gonna get those bomb-bay doors open if it hare-lips everybody in Bear Creek!" ...
I mentioned above that among the performances in Dr. Strangelove were three by Peter Sellers:  RAF Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (who's trying to deal with Sterling Hayden's General Jack D. Ripper), President of the United States Merkin Muffley, and Dr. Strangelove himself.

Sellers was also meant to play the B-52 pilot USAF Major T. J. "King" Kong. During the shoot, Sellers fell and badly sprained his ankle, making it very difficult (almost impossible) to work within the confined sets of various parts of the B-52.

Remembering Slim from his aborted One-Eyed Jacks experience, Kubrick thought he would be perfect and gave him a call. Slim responded by flying to London, only to discover that, OOPS!, he didn't even have a passport. Slight delay while the U.S. Embassy sorted that out.  A lot of the Brits weren't quite sure what to make of him, thinking that his habit of going around in jeans and a cowboy hat was "method".  Nope, that was just "Slim". :-) ...

After the experience with Strangelove, Slim noted that "the parts, the dressing rooms, and the paychecks all started getting bigger. It's amazing what a  difference a single movie can sometimes make."


"What did you do before becoming a stock detective, Mr. Beige?"
   "I was a horse thief."
"Why'd you quit?"
   "I got caught." ...

As Henry Beige - screencap from DVD

That's from a very laid-back modern day western set in Montana, Rancho Deluxe (1975) in which Jack McKee (Jeff Bridges) and Cecil Colson (Sam Waterston, who much later played District Attorney Jack McCoy on "Law and Order") are low-grade cattle rustlers, poaching an occasional steer from a wealthy rancher and selling the meat.

When that rancher has had more than enough, he hires legendary former-rustler-turned-stock-detective Henry Beige (Slim) to deal with it.  This is Slim's best role since Strangelove and is the main reason to give this one a look.

Slim left us on Dec 8, 1983 (after a long battle with a brain tumor), in Modesto, California. He was 64.

"When that man died, they broke the God-Damned mold."
That's from the movie Lone Star (1996), about someone else, but it sure applies here.  As does this from the same movie ...

"Never be another like him!"
-

"Toughest Pawnee" ...

... is how actor Wes Studi (a full-blooded Cherokee from Oklahoma) is listed in the credits for Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (1990).

In it, he plays the lone survivor of a Pawnee raiding party that has not fared so well in a skirmish with the Sioux. Before the surrounding Sioux close in to finish him off, he takes his moment to loudly try to educate them about their ancestry, personal hygiene, sexual habits, and whatever else he feels they might need enlightenment on.  For a brief moment or two, he owns the movie.

(This movie was also the introduction (for most of us, although he'd been acting for 14 years by the time it came out) to Canadian Indian Graham Greene, as Kicking Bird. I mention him because he's gonna show up again, below.)

Magua say, "Understand English very well." ...

Wes Studi as Magua - from nativeamericanactors.tumblr.com

If "Dances with Wolves" was the first movie in which I saw Studi, Michael Mann's absolutely wonderful Last of the Mohicans (1992) was the one in which I really took notice of him.

An English Officer, leading some troops and a few civilians from Albany to  Fort William Henry, has given an instruction to whom he believes to be a Mohawk scout, not knowing that Magua is a Huron who was taken in by the Mohawks after his village was destroyed by English soldiers. So, you could say that Magua has serious issues with the English.

The Officer punctuates his instruction with, "Do you understand?". After hearing Magua mutter something in Huron (NOT at all complimentary) he asks, "What did you just say?".  Magua, looking straight at the Officer he's leading into an ambush, replies, "Magua say, 'Understand English very well'."

Wes Studi is mesmerizing here, playing an adversary who has reasons for being what he is.  I truly think he deserved a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination for this. He probably wouldn't have won as Gene Hackman took it for his role of "Little Bill" Daggett in "Unforgiven" that year and was pretty well unbeatable, but he should have at least been nominated.

"NOW what?!!!" ...

Wes Studi as Hanover - from weirdwildrealm.com

... would make a fine alternate title for a guilty pleasure of mine, Deep Rising (1998), in which Treat Williams appears to be having the time of his life playing a boat captain for hire, in the South China Sea, who keeps finding plenty of reasons to utter that exclamation.  

Famke Jannsen ("Goldeneye", "X-Men") plays a con-woman on a floating casino, apparently playing her in Sandra Bullock mode.

And, Wes plays Hanover, the leader of a pack of mercenaries who hire the boat to launch a bit of piracy against that casino, only to discover it wrecked by a monster, with only a few of the passengers (including Jannsen) and crew still surviving.

In truth, to call this movie "dumb" is a disservice to the word. But, it is a "fun" dumb, and makes you wonder, "Where the Hell is Mystery Science Theater 3000 when you really need it?".  This is absolutely perfect material for it.

As for Studi here, he has a demise (earned) that is worth the price of admission by itself. If his kids ever saw it, I'll bet they just ate it up. :-)

"That's not very Navajo." ...

Wes Studi as Joe Leaphorn and Adam Beach as Jim Chee

from italychile.blogspot.com

Author Tony Hillerman wrote a series of novels, set in the Navajo Nation ...

from nnrecovery.navajo-nsn.gov

from destination360.com

... and mostly about Sergeant Jim Chee and/or Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn; both of the Navajo Tribal Police.

Chee is very enamored with the old ways, wants to become a spiritual healer and still has superstitions around bodies and burial sites.

Leaphorn is almost a polar opposite; having been born on the reservation but raised outside of it.  He has little tolerance, and even less patience, with those superstitions; preferring reason and logic.  

One of his quirks is the map of the reservation he keeps on his wall, using pins with different colored flags to mark the locations of various crimes and incidents. He once admitted that he doesn't know how it helps him to solve crimes other than the fact that it seems to help him think.

Four of Hillerman's novels have been made into one film and three made for TV movies; thanks to Robert Redford's production company.

The Dark Wind (1991) was a theatrical release, with Lou Diamond Phillips and Fred Ward as Chee and Leaphorn, respectively. Nice piece of work; worth seeking out.

But, the really good versions are the three that were made for PBS's American Mystery series: Skinwalkers (2002), Coyote Waits (2003), and A Thief of Time (2004).  These are the ones pairing Adam Beach and Wes Studi.

In "Coyote Waits", we run into evangelical Christian/con-man Slick Nakai ...

Wes Studi as Joe Leaphorn and Graham Greene as Slick Nakai

Modified from avalon-medieval.blogspot.com

When we meet him here, he's using his Cadillac as a taxi, delivering someone to Leaphorn's house.  When Leaphorn inquires about his driving a taxi, Slick mentions losing his permit to set up his revival tent on reservation land.

Leaphorn: "I heard about that. Something about a collection plate."

Slick: "Everything I get, I give to God. Everybody knows that. -- 'cept you."

(Slick is also in "A Thief of Time". I've a reason to bring him up. You'll see.)

In "Coyote Waits", Chee and Leaphorn are investigating the apparent killing of Officer Delbert Nez (a close friend of Chee's) by Ashie Pinto.  Local Defense Attorney Janet Pete (also Chee's current girlfriend) has gone to Leaphorn's office to get his take on the situation.

On seeing the familiar map on Leaphorn's wall, with its colored pins ...

Janet Pete (seeing three yellow ones that Leaphorn uses for "oddities"):
 "What about those yellow ones?"

Leaphorn (pointing to each in turn): "Here's Ashie Pinto's shack.
 "Here's where Officer Nez lived. --  And, here's where he died."

Janet Pete: "Forms a triangle."

Leaphorn:  "Very large triangle. Two Navajos, who might as well have lived on two different planets -- they met here. I don't think it was by chance."

Janet Pete: "You're sure about that?"

Leaphorn: "Nothing happens by chance."

Janet Pete: "That's not very Navajo."

Leaphorn: "No. That's me."

Now, I love these movies and consider Joe Leaphorn as my favorite of Wes Studi's roles.

But, not everyone agrees.  Here's the reason I referred to Greene so much.

A visitor to the IMDB page for "Coyote Waits" wrote a review, in which he stated preference for Graham Greene as Joe Leaphorn, noting that in the books, Leaphorn had a way of interrogating you by putting you at ease and letting you talk and ramble on and on, while he's just sitting there and taking it all in, quietly putting the pieces together.

In contrast (he noted), Studi's version would look at you as if wondering how your scalp would look on his lodge pole.

I suspect that reviewer would take this photo ...

Wes Studi as Joe Leaphorn - from pbs.org

... and declare, "I rest my case!"

Ok!  I have difficulty in arguing with that.

But, Hell!  I still like the guy. :-)

-

Devil in a Blue Dress (Revised)

Saturday, 23 Feb 2013 - I revised this post to add a couple of pictures, remove one that didn't really belong and to fix up some quotes.

Recently, Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle teamed up in Flight (2012), in which Denzel played an airline pilot who, when his plane malfunctioned in mid-air, managed to successfully crash land it, saving 96 of the 102 passengers and crew on board.

The sticking point, of course, is the six that did not survive.

It turns out that Denzel's character has a drinking problem, kept well hidden for years. That brings up the possibility of manslaughter charges.

Don Cheadle plays a lawyer for the pilots union, assigned to protect him from those charges, who is in awe of the pilot's performance in the incident, but is clearly disgusted with the man as a person.

Denzel has played bad guys before ("Training Day" and "American Gangster" come to mind) but this time he's brave enough to risk his image by playing an asshole. Don't recall him doing that before.

A powerful film, with strong performances by everyone, but it's not what this post is really about.

Washington and Cheadle were together once before,
in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995),...

From samefacts.com

... directed by Carl Franklin (who also did One False Move (1992) with Bill Paxton in one of his few starring roles, and Billy Bob Thornton as a very scary crook).

Walter Mosely wrote a series of novels about black detective Ezekiel ("Easy") Rawlins, of which "Devil" was the first.

The story is set in 1948. Rawlins, a  WWII army veteran, has moved from Houston to the Watts area of Los Angeles, to work in an aircraft factory and is paying a mortgage on a house. When he loses that job and is desperate for money, a friend introduces him to DeWitt Albright (Tom Sizemore) ...

From forums.filmnoirbuff.com

... who offers him a couple of hundred dollars (in a time when a rental or mortgage payment might have been $50.00/month) to help him find the missing fiance of a local politician.

That fiance, Daphne Monet (Jennifer Beals) ...

From rollingstone.com

... has disappeared into the black community and Albright figures that Rawlins may have a lot more success than he would asking questions there.

Accepting the job, Rawlins soon finds himself in a "Chinatown" situation (the subtext of that movie being "You never knew what was going on.") in which people are killed, the local police become very interested in him in connection, and he is threatened by Albright and his goons...

Screencap from DVD

Back in Houston, Rawlins had a trigger-happy, dangerous as a rattlesnake friend, Mouse (Don Cheadle)...

From guardian.co.uk

... Because of those character traits ("If you got a friend that you know does bad things -- I mean real bad things -- can you still keep him as a friend? You think that's wrong?" - Reply: "All you got is your friends.") he's kinda kept his distance from him, but knowing he's in way over his head, decides it's time to give him a call.

Mouse arrives just in time ...

Screencap from DVD

... to help Rawlins in a confrontation with a local gangster upset by Rawlins poking around, shooting said gangster in the arm resulting in his departure.
(YES! That is a British Mark VI Webley service revolver in .455 caliber that Mouse is holding.  As this is three years after the end of WWII, a lot of them found their way over here, brought back as souvenirs by returning soldiers. It's not far fetched for Mouse to have gotten hold of one. While not quite as powerful as our .45 Colt or .45 ACP, nevertheless it does throw a big fat heavy bullet that makes a big hole and is a proven man-stopper. In short, it gets the job done. Mouse probably found it suited him perfectly.)

Rawlins (all his misgivings returning): "You ain't been in my house five minutes, and you've done shot somebody already!"

Rawlins finally meets with Daphne a couple of times, only to have her taken away from him at the second meet by Albright and his goons. Rawlins and Mouse go hunting for her, with the assistance of an associate of Albright whom they capture and force to tell where they might be.

They find them and a bloody gunfight ensues. I don't know what mean streets director Carl Franklin grew up on, but the violence and gunplay in his movies have a feel of someone who has either actually seen it, or more likely heard about it. Ugly and messy...

Screencap from DVD

Returning to their car, with Daphne, Rawlins looks for that associate mentioned above: "Where's *****?, Mouse"

Mouse (like a kid who's done something he shouldn't):  "Huh?"

Rawlins: "Where *****?"

Mouse: "Uh - he's - uh - right there."

Rawlins (seeing a body on the ground): "What happened?"

Mouse: "I ain't had no time to be tyin' him up, Easy."

Rawlins: "What?"

Mouse (defensively):  "Look, you just said 'Don't shoot him, right?"

Rawlins: "That's right."

Mouse: "Well, I didn't. I just -- choked him."

Rawlins: "WHAT?!!!"

Mouse: "Well, how am I gonna help you out if I'm back here foolin' around with him now?" -- If you ain't want him killed, why'd you leave him with me?"

As Rawlins was told before, "All you got is your friends."

Don Cheadle has been first-rate in everything I've ever seen him in, but Mouse is my absolute favorite of his roles. He is what makes this movie worth seeking out.

Note: If you click the IMDB link for "Devil", you'll see they only rate it 6.5 out of a possible 10. With all due respect for the morons who so rated it - wrong, Wrong, WRONG!!!

Hunt it up and see for yourself.
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A Good Day To Die Hard

I wanted to title this post (about Bruce Willis' latest) "Hokahey Hard" in a parody of Lakota Sioux but learned that wouldn't fly because of this from http://www.native-languages.org/iaq21.htm ...

... which Hollywood believes has the meaning "It's a good day to die!" in Sioux. That isn't true either--"Hokahey" is a man's exclamation in Sioux, similar to the American expressions "Let's do it!" or "Let's roll!" The reason people think it means "it's a good day to die" is that the Lakota Sioux leader Crazy Horse famously exhorted his troops "Hokahey, today is a good day to die!" Which meant something like "Let's go men, today is a good day to die!"

Ok, then. With that out of the way, what about the movie?

This latest installment of the "Die Hard" franchise succeeds beautifully at what Arnold Schwarzenegger almost pulled off with "The Last Stand", and what Sylvester Stallone barely even tried for in "Bullet To The Head" : To make a put brain in neutral and enjoy piece of fun from the blow em up real good school of movie making.

Bruce's John McClane character flies to Moscow to get his grown son Jack out of serious trouble, only to find that Jack is working for the CIA and trying to stop weapons grade uranium from falling into criminal hands. Much violence and mayhem ensue.

Jack is played by Australian actor Jai Courtney (who also has a major role in Tom Cruise's excellent (and highly recommended by me) "Jack Reacher")...

From ew.com

He is an excellent actor and has a powerful screen presence, at the moment mostly as another Vin Diesel. As we already have one of those, when he gets around to defining just what a Jai Courtney is, I suspect he'll be even better.

This is someone to watch.
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Presence ... (Updated)

... is a not-easily defined quality, of an actor, that absolutely compels your attention when he or she shows up. One either has it or not. If not, it ain't something that can be bought.

A little over two years ago (May 2010) I published The Return of Mickey Rourke, shortly after seeing "Iron Man 2", noting ...
(Of course, if he ever saw this post, he'd probably refute my title with, "I never went anywhere; you just weren't paying attention.")

What follows here is that post cannibalized, tweaked, and greatly expanded with pictures and a lot more exposition of why I chose those examples. The new title reflects the shift in focus of the post.

In the movie of Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears (2002), Ben Affleck was tapped to take over the role of Jack Ryan (following Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford), and had the misfortune of having Liev Schreiber playing Mr. Clark in scenes with him, ...

... about which a Houston Press review noted,
  "We can't take our eyes off Schreiber,
    and we can't keep our eyes open when Affleck's around."

           (Mon, 05 Nov 2012 - see update at bottom of post)

That's a perfect description of what this "presence" business is about.

Japanese superstar Toshirô Mifune (of samurai movie fame) had it in spades, ...

Toshirô Mifune as Tajōmaru in "Rashamon"

(from nighthawknews.wordpress.com)

That picture of Mifune is from Rashamon (1950), America's first introduction to him as the bandit Tajōmaru in the movie that won an Honorary Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film of 1951 (the year of its release in the USA). In it, a samurai nobleman and his wife are captured by the bandit, the wife raped, and the nobleman killed in a duel afterward.

The story is told from the viewpoint of four people involved before, during, and after the event, sliding from a magnificent tale of heroism and swordplay to a brutal horrifying brawl in which two scared-out-of-their-wits men fight until one is dead. As the bandit, Mifune is electrifying in all of his incarnations.

He played many samurai roles (earning the nickname "the fastest sword in the east" and had a natural, matter of fact coolness about him. In one of those movies, his character is sitting, eating from a bowl of rice, as some toughs begin sneaking up on him to rob him. Clearly aware of their approach, he casually reaches up and plucks an annoying mosquito out of the air with his chopsticks and continues eating, at which point the toughs must have remembered some other place they needed to be, as they left.

That scene was parodied a bit when he was in a Charles Bronson western, Red Sun (1971). In it, a priceless ceremonial katana (samurai sword) is being delivered as a gift to President Grant. Mifune is a guardian and when the sword is stolen, he teams ups with Bronson to go and get it back. Finding a place to stay, Bronson mutters something about "damned mosquitoes". Mifune (in full samurai regalia, including a katana and its companion short sword), freezes, listens quietly and notes "ONE mosquito", draws the short sword -- Whit!  -- and concludes "NO mosquito!".

I doubt even John Belushi (who almost made a career of impersonating him in skits on Saturday Night Live) would have had the gall to pull that. :-)

... as did Sean Connery ...

Sean Connery as O'Bannion in "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure"

(from findingconnery.wordpress.com)

Before becoming James Bond in Dr. No (1962), a young Sean Connery appeared in Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959) as O'Bannion, a henchman to a very bad guy (wonderfully played by Anthony Quale). Although only a supporting role, he was one of those you couldn't take your eyes off of.

Read somewhere (but have no idea if it's true) that Connery impressed the producer and director so much they actually wanted him to become the next Tarzan, after Gordon Scott's contract expired, but a call from another audition resulted in an interview and a contract for this obscure role in something called "Dr. No".

Bond film producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli said of Connery after his first interview with him "He walks like a panther" as he observed him leaving to get into his car.

Had he not been sidetracked into Bond, what a Tarzan he might have made. :-)

American actors Lee Marvin ...

Lee Marvin (seated) as Walker in "Point Blank"

(from caseymoore.blogspot.com)

“When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man.”
   ~The opening line in Firebreak, by Richard Stark

What has that got to do with the Lee Marvin picture above? Bear with me.

Author Donald Westlake wrote crime novels under his name, and several pseudonyms. When he felt in a really gritty mood, he reverted to his "Dark Half", writing under the name Richard Stark, whose main character Parker was not really a villain; he just wanted what was his and there were people who insisted on not letting him have it. As with The Terminator, if you persist in interfering, he'll swat you like a fly, but if you just get the Hell out of his way, you're no longer even in his frame of reference.

The first Parker novel (The Hunter) was filmed as Point Blank (1967), with Lee Marvin playing the character (renamed Walker).

Another Parker novel (The Outfit) was later made as (strangely enough) "The Outfit" with Robert Duvall as Earl Macklin (what in Hell is wrong with Parker as a name?).

Later, the name curse continued with "Point Blank" being remade as "Payback", with Mel Gibson as Porter.

PORTER?!!!

It's bad enough that they can't even manage to stay with the guys name. The other problem is the miscasting of Mel Gibson. He's a fine actor, and can do many things well, but playing Parker just ain't one of them. I genuinely feel that Lee Marvin's character could use this one as a dust rag.

Such is life in the movie business.

BTW - If I caught your attention with the "Dark Half" reference, Stephen King knew of the Westlake/Stark connection and Westlake's description. His novel was in honor of him, and even used the name George Stark for the "Dark Half" of his writer.

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Update - 02 Oct 2012 - After much wondering about what the problem was with the name "Parker", an answer ...

On the Ain't It Cool News website, Harry Knowles Blu-Ray and DVD reviews Harry's DVD PICKS & PEEKS - 4th Week of August & 1st week of Sept Catch-up column includes a review of Safe (2012) (starring this elemental force named Jason Statham), about which Harry noted,

"I just can’t get enough of Statham kicking ass, very much looking forward to his take on PARKER."

WHOA!

Checking the IMDB, I find Parker (2013), scheduled for release on 25 Jan 2013, and apparently based on the book series, instead of a particular one of the novels. This item from the Trivia page explains much ...

This is the first film adaptation of a Richard Stark/Parker novel to use the character name Parker. Author Donald E. Westlake (one of his pen names was Richard Stark) declined to allow use of the Parker name, unless the filmmakers committed to a series. Mr. Westlake passed away on December 31, 2008.

Paraphrasing the late Paul Harvey, "So now we know the rest of the story."
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... and Robert Mitchum come to mind ...

Robert Mitchum as Harry Powell in Night of the Hunter (1955)

(From backtomyoriginalpoint.blogspot.com)

Preacher Harry Powell marries and murders widows for their money. Jailed for stealing a car, he winds up in the same cell with a condemned killer and tries to learn from him where the money he stole is. The only ones who know are the killer's young son and daughter. After Preacher is released, he goes to the killer's home town in pursuit of the kids to get that money.

The movie was directed by Charles Laughton (his only effort at directing) and is genuinely creepy (as is Mitchum). Mitchum regarded this among the favorites of his work.

Robert Mitchum as Max Cady in Cape Fear (1962)

(From pdxretro.com)

Adapted from John D. McDonald's The Executioners, "Cape Fear" has Max Cady stalking and subtly threatening the family of Sam Bowden (Gregory Peck), a Georgia lawyer who interrupted his attack on a woman and also testified, resulting in Cady spending eight years in prison. He wants revenge and is determined to get it.

In 1991, the movie was remade by Martin Scorsese, with Robert DeNiro as Cady.

As much as I like and admire the team of Scorsese and DeNiro (a lot), I found Mitchum much scarier because, in their attempt to outdo the original I felt that Scorcese and DeNiro pushed things over the top, almost (and beyond almost) into parody. On the other hand, the type of animal brought to life by Mitchum is all too real.

The bottom line for those guys is that it's not really so much how good they were as actors, but how well they commanded your attention. They were people for whom, if you looked into their eyes, very definitely "someone was home". There was always a feeling of things going on beneath the surface, and that they were capable of absolutely anything.

Now, we can add Mickey Rourke to the list.

He'd been down for awhile, in movies that few saw. His role of Marv ...

Mickey Rourke as Marv in "Sin City" - Screencap from DVD

... in Sin City (2005) probably did more than anything to put him back on the map...

In 2010 he was nominated for the Academy Award for "The Wrestler", losing to Jeff Bridges for "Crazy Heart".

He is easily the best thing about Iron Man 2 (2010), which is a pretty decent show, with plenty of action (maybe too much actually) and really first class work by Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle, but Rourke is a truly worthwhile foe and is what makes it worth seeing.

And, he doesn't even seem to be doing anything special at all; with a twinkle in his eye and a quietly amused smile (as if all of creation is a joke to him, and he gets it), he dominates this movie so much in the scenes he's in that the other actors might as well have stayed home; I doubt you would have noticed their absence had they done so.

Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash in "Iron Man 2"

Screencap from DVD

In that picture, all he's doing is just sitting there, looking at two very large and very tough goons his employer (who foolishly believes he's in control) is threatening him with as minders, and that smile on his face is that of a very big cat who has just been given a couple of mice to play with. Not so good for the mice.

If you get the chance to see it, you will get a true demonstration of what "presence" is in a movie.

Update - Mon, 05 Nov 2012 - It may be time I stopped picking on Ben Affleck.
When the Houston Press made that observation, ten years ago, it was valid, especially for that movie. But he's gotten much better since then. His work as a director  (Gone, Baby, Gone (2007), The Town (2010), and Argo (2012) ) is absolutely first rate, and he has nothing to apologize for as an actor in the last two. At the moment, I now consider "Argo" the best movie of 2012. 

I don't know if I will ever add Affleck as an example of "presence" in an actor;  he's not a showboat that steals scenes from others, but appears to be a consummate professional who works to get it done the best way he can, sometimes submerging himself in the role so you are noticing his character much more than you are noticing him.
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