Back in 1999 I saw The Matrix at the same second run theater as I viewed Fight Club in, only The Matrix did not have much of an impact on me. In fact, it kind of bored me. The techno soundtrack, the overuse of slow motion, quasi-philosophical ramblings, borrowed Hong Kong wire work and bullet time, lurchy and impact-less fight scenes, I just didn't get the brouhaha of appreciation and never checked out the sequels. But it was a huge hit, raking in $470 million worldwide on a budget of $63 million. Cementing the status of an unlikely movie icon in Keanu Reeves, new outsider voices of The Wachowki's, black leather and sunglasses galore in future films (hello X-Men costumes) and dudes thinking black trenchcoats and boots was good fashion.
Cut to this month when we watched the flick again on DVD and plan to check out the rest of the sequels. My opinion has mellowed and I can appreciate some of the visual nuances The Wachowski's brought to the film along with blending genres and giving the film a very specific look. There's some great visuals for the sake of being visual but hey, it was the 90's. It's too bad Red Pill'ers has taken on a sad and negative connotation but at least Keanu Reeves is back in the mix after John Wick.
Nothing like starting the week off with a trip to Santa Monica's historic Aero Theatre for an early screening of The Neon Demon! Directed and co-written by Nicolas Winding Refn of The Pusher, Bronson and Drive fame, The Neon Demon has to be the most "what the f*ck" movie I've seen in a long time but is very interesting to watch and gorgeously shot. It's also got the best soundtrack I've heard in a while courtesy of Drive and Only God Forgives composer Cliff Martinez who provides a synth laced The Thing meets Blade Runner blend of creepiness and vast atmosphere. Since the flick hasn't hit theaters yet, I'll just say that TND is a bit of a fairy tale meets nightmare take on the young woman moving to Los Angeles to find fame and fortune gone weird, violent and freaky. Elle Fanning plays Jesse, an aspiring model who quickly becomes the favorite of several revered figures in the industry, much to the chagrin of local talent vying for their big break. As he did with Drive, Refn shoots Los Angeles in ways you've never seen, showing off scenic view points, seedy motels and classic dives throughout. Jena Malone, Christina Hendricks, Abbey Lee, Alessandro Nivola and a funny yet sh!t bag Keanu Reeves round out the cast. The Neon Demon definitely isn't for everyone but if you're into weird, experimental flicks or Refn in general, I think you'll like it.
After the film, Refn and his frequent collaborator Martinez took to the stage, spoiler free:
- Refn wanted to tell a tale of beauty and narcissism, fleshed out the script with female playwrights well known and not Mary Laws and Polly Stenham.
- Shoots chronologically for most part. Gave script to James Bond writers Robert Wade and Neal Purvis for suggestions.
- Props to Jena Malone for going to great depths to find her character early on which changed arc later on. - Elle Fanning impressed him but he was hesitant since she was so young. Some people are just born with it, believes Fanning and Gosling are of the ilk.
- Makes movies very inexpensively to tell the stories he wants. Shoots quickly and uses familiar locations in new ways to save time and money.
- Sees Hollywood studios as a well oiled machine that is redundant but the machine pays well, pays for 90% of the industry and for films like his.
- Views directing as inspiring others while taking credit.
- Martinez jokes that Refn shoots totally different movies than are scripted, usually taking out lots of dialog. He's waiting for the day Refn makes a silent film.
- Martinez recalls many 3:00 AM Skype calls with a chipper and coffee sipping Refn.
- Amazon Studios got involved after an associate from Drive wanted to see the film, flew to Copenhagen for a screening and made lucrative offer after.
- Theatrical is still a big part of the film experience but streaming will let movies live on forever.
- Sees digital as the revolution that lets people create.
More was talked about but hey, see the movie and we'll chat more. Until then, queue the soundtrack.
Spring is officially upon us as of this past Friday, March 20th. The New Beverly has been celebrating the 90's all month and this weekend was screening a traffic titled double feature of Speed and Rush Hour. It was announced last minute on Friday that Rush Hour helmer Brett Ratner would be attending the screening. It's said to have been an informal affair with Ratner talking about the first time stars Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan met, how hard it was to get Michael Jackson's permission to use his music, shared a few directing tips and even mentioned trying to get an Enter the Dragon remake going because he loved the original and Lalo Schriffin's music so much. For some reason reaction has been poor but EtD has already been remade, didn't you see Mortal Kombat? A martial artist enters a mysterious tournament to avenge the death of a loved one, teams up with other fighters with opposite personalities, instead of a muscular Chinese right hand man that kills dudes for fun there's Goro, the four armed prince working for an evil yet manipulative, power-hungry boss. Or when Ninja Assassin was coming out, it was announced that star Rain would appear in an Enter the Dragon update. But when Ninja disappointed at the box office, talk of the new Dragon and Rain's career went away.
Anywho, some friends and I ventured to West Hollywood Saturday for the early show of 1998's Rush Hour and the prime time Speed. It's nice to see the joint cleaned up and concessions are cheap! A Coke and a Twix only set me back $3.50 while popcorn, hot dogs and White Castle sliders are also available. There was a giant Rush Hour poster in the lobby and the pre-show consisted of a 90's Mountain Dew commercial featuring an unknown Channing Tatum. Then, to continue the Chris Tucker theme as stoner/ghetto comedy Friday was screening at midnight, a Dr. Dre music video from the soundtrack played. In it's entirety! Rush Hour follows Hong Kong cop Lee (Chan) as he travels to Los Angeles to find the kidnapped daughter of the consulate while fighting a mysterious crime syndicate. He's teamed up with big mouth LAPD detective Carter (Tucker) and the mismatched duo tick off the FBI and bad guys alike as they figure out the case themselves. It's a classic buddy picture with both leads getting to shine. Chan looks surprisingly beefy in this with a thick neck but classy as well in his black suit and red tie. Trademark acrobatics and "use everything in the room" fight scenes are great along with practical stunts like hanging off street signs on Hollywood Boulevard or falling onto a giant banner from the rafters of the L.A. Convention Center. Also endearing is his chemistry with the up and coming Tucker who's funny, charming and talks too much. Great supporting cast too with Tom Wilkinson, Tzi Ma, Ken Leung, Chris Penn, Mark Rolston, Rex Linn, Elizabeth Pena, John Hawkes and Elizabeth Pena (View In Peace) rounding out a crew of familiar faces and old school professionals. It's Ratner's ability to make a well shot and produced entertaining flick with a solid cast that always keeps me from being a basher. Some people are just jealous of others I guess but if it was so easy to be successful, people would be out living their dreams instead of taking pot shots at others.
Next up was 1994's Speed, one of the surprise hits of that summer. The New Bev is playing True Lies tonight and I think those two would have been a great, summer action double feature. Surprisingly enough, the tag line for Speed is "Get ready for rush hour...". Keanu Reeves, Jeff Daniels, Sandra Bullock and Dennis Hopper star in the intense action flick where mad bomber Hopper exacts his revenge on cop Keanu by rigging a city bus to explode if it goes under 50 m.p.h.. It's a total 90's movie from the cold metal look of Andrei Bartkowiak's cinematography and Mark Mancina's catchy, invigorating yet slightly sad score. I loved the slick, moving shots with cars, motorcycles and choppers moving in and out of frame and the film does a marvelous job of keeping the tension up without wearing you down. There's also a great sense of humor throughout. Keanu is pumped up and heroic, Bullock sassy yet cute, Daniels funny as the older partner, Hopper hammy and eccentric while 4th billed Joe Morton gets to be the cool yet tough commanding officer. The flick goes on for a bit towards the end with a rehash of an earlier ridiculous stunt but for the most part, still a great ride even if improbable if you broke it down. Plus the bus number is 2525 which added together is 50, genius!
The 90's theme has worked out for The New Bev this month with something like 13 sold out shows. Speed was packed as several friends couldn't get in. The Bev is now offering just about half of tickets online with the remaining seats being sold at the door. I'm excited to return tonight for Cutthroat Island and True Lies before Heat next weekend.
Hardcore action thriller John Wick hits theaters this week, critics are surprisingly loving it so we'll see how audiences respond to Keanu Reeves playing a badass hitman in a straight forward, violent as shit, moody action flick. For my full review, head over to Action A Go Go where I contributed my thoughts on seeing the film a few months ago at a sneak preview but only now published in respects to the parameters of the early test screening.
A sold out Arclight Dome audience soaked up the film's relentless action and violence before welcoming star Keanu Reeves, directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, producer Basil Iwanyk and writer Derek Kolstad:
- Kolstad's original script was about a 70 year old man, also hates being in front of people
- Agent received 5 offers on script, suggested not taking highest offer as Iwanyk's Thunder Road Pictures would actually make the film quickly
- Written, sold and produced in 2 years
- Brought Keanu Reeves on, revised, adding many more deaths, original script only had 12, current version probably has 5 times that by my estimation
- Reeves thought his The Matrix stunt coordinators/2nd Unit Directors Leitch and Stahelski would be great to direct, Iwanyk had already talked to them and was about to suggest
- Leitch and Stahelski approach film as Character, Story and World
- Shot in 46 days, ran out of money
- Reeves trained for 3.5 months in martial arts and tactical gun handling with SWAT and Navy Seals
- Reeves was one insisted more people die to make it "MORE!"
- Reeves was quite funny and sweet, thinks the film should be a drinking game, a shot of whiskey for bullet to the head, beer for to the body and tequila for something else I can't recall...
- Leitch and Stahelski very influenced by Asian action cinema, love Tony Jaa and inspired by long shots in camera the Thai filmmakers were able to accomplish
- Working on big movies with David Fincher, Jim Mangold, Wachowski's (on 6 films) was the best film school they could ask for
- Give full props to a reluctant Reeves for being a martial artist and putting in more time training than most black belts
It was a good time and of course more was talked about. I hope the movie does well this weekend and we see more from Leitch and Stahelski. Not sure what it is but Q&A's at The Arclight are always a little stiff. Maybe they try to get too prestigious with it but unless the guests are really into it, things just kind of plod along. Happened with Larry Franco, David Michod & Robert Pattinson, luckily Tim Allen & Dean Parisot (rumored director for Bill & Ted 3) didn't need a moderator to show the audience a good time. The moderator didn't even ask the directors any questions for a while and you could see them about to speak then stopping themselves. Oh well, just another example of what I won't be doing when I'm up there. Thanks to Neither Here Nor There for the pics.
Poised to dominate this weekend's box office is the latest "one man versus the world" action/drama/revenge flick, The Equalizer. 13 years after Training Day, director Antoine Fuqua and star Denzel Washington reteam for what should be a profitable and franchise starting thriller. Based on the 1984 television show that starred Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a retired intelligence agent turned private detective who helps clients equalize the playing field, the film adaptation takes place in modern day Boston and finds McCall up against the Russian Mob. Based on Richard Lindheim and Michael Sloan's 4 season hit, 16 Blocks and The Expendables 2 scribe Richard Wenk and director Fuqua craft a slow burning, stylized, entertaining and brutal thriller for adults.
We meet Washington as McCall one early morning where he's out of bed before his alarm goes off, meticulously preparing for the day cleaning his shoes, making a healthy shake, etc. We watch him go about his day and help his co-workers at the local hardware super store where colleagues try to guess what he did in his former professional life. Unable to sleep at night, McCall frequents a 24 hour diner and befriends street walker Teri (Kick-Ass' Chloe Grace Moretz). After a vicious beating from her pimp sends her to the hospital, McCall makes the fateful decision to try and buy Teri's freedom which leads to a bloody confrontation. The Russian syndicate dispatches intelligent and dangerous fixer Teddy (effectively played by Marton Csokas, who reminds me of Kevin Spacey mashed with Russell Crowe) to find out what happened. With a confrontation looming, we witness McCall display a particular set of skills picked up as a former operative of the CIA or some other shadowy government agency.
While we all expect these kinds of movies to become Tooken which in turn was a simpler, faster take on Washington's own revenge tale Man on Fire, The Equalizer takes it time to get to the action but it's not an all out explosion fest although there are some explosions and walking away from said explosions in slow motion. The character building doesn't feel forced or boring and when shit starts to go down, you're in. The film doesn't take an hour to build up to some crazy, non-stop climax or feel the need to flip a switch and go from drama to action movie to reward the audience for putting up with dialog scenes. Denzel is his usual solid self, delivering quiet strength, intelligent support and "kill your ass dead" physicality when called upon. I was slightly disappointed he didn't utter "My man" or "I'll guarantee ya that" but whatever. The fight scenes are realistic, brief and impactful with mostly small scale stuff involving fists, knives, a few guns and power tools. No overly choreographed fight scenes here which was kind of a bummer at the end as I was hoping McCall and Teddy would duke it out a little bit as we're shown how physically proficient they both are through the movie. Denzel was looking a little paunchy here, I figured a character with his background would be a little leaner but hey, the dude's pushing 60. Melissa Leo shows up for a hot minute as an ally and for an even briefer minute we get Bill Pullman from Independence Day and Lake Placid as her husband in some randomly awesome casting.
Fuqua again demonstrates that he is one of the best action directors working today. Starting with 1998's The Replacement Killers into Training Day, Tears of the Sun, King Arthur, Shooter, Brooklyn's Finest and recent hit Olympus Has Fallen, Fuqua knows how to make a picture look good, fill it with a great cast and provide some shocking action and violence without going into overly cartoon territory. It will be interesting to see what he and Washington come up with for The Magnificent Seven reboot. The Equalizer is a pretty simple and straight forward flick but never feels too serious or ponderous and I'm all for a sequel. It's an interesting progression and continuation of the one man army motif that we've seen played in various ways from Charles Bronson taking it to the criminals of New York in Death Wish, Stallone winning the Vietnam War with a machine gun in Rambo or Liam Neesons tearing through France looking for his daughter to Matt Damon's Jason Bourne racing and fighting his way to the truth. The Equalizer is more enjoyable than last week's adult thriller with Neesons, A Walk Among the Tombstones and it's moody yet vibrant attitude strikes a better balance than the upcoming near over stylized and brooding Keanu Reeves "hitman on the rampage" flick John Wick (that one has a lot more action though). Washington has one of the best track records in Hollywood with 14 films opening above $20 million in the last 14 years. Some might take cracks at his choice of fare and similarity of characters but upon closer inspection you see that's he's challenged himself and entertained us with roles as a desperate father, football coach, crime lord, alcoholic pilot, law enforcement officer and many more over the last couple of decades. He's just good at playing confident without needing to swagger.
Keanu Reeves. The most unlikely movie star of the 90's? I've always liked the guy and his performances in films like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Point Break, Bogus Journey, Speed, The Replacements and The Gift show he's an actor capable of drama, action and comedy. 1999's The Matrix and it's subsequent sequels established him as one of the globe's most recognizable stars but I never got past the first installment and wasn't much of a fan. Since then he's popped up in productions big and small while directing a documentary about film versus digital then again on kung-fu flick Man of Tai Chi which was given a small theatrical release along with Video On Demand. His big budget samurai flick 47 Ronin got lost in the holiday shuffle after a tumultuous production and little critical or fan support. A bit of a recluse and loner, Reeves doesn't seem to be chasing Hollywood leading man status and has been known to give up part of his salary to pay for co-stars and crew.
Lately, Reeves has upped his professional output having replaced Daniel Craig in court room drama The Whole Truth but before then audiences can see him in action film John Wick. Written by Derek Kolstad of Cuba Gooding, Jr., Steve Austin and Dolph Lundgren team ups The Package and One in the Chamber and directed by stunt men and 87Eleven founders Chad Stahelski and David Leitch. Stahleski has doubled Reeves in the past and served as Stunt Coordinator and Second Unit Director on films like The Hunger Games, Killer Elite and The Expendables while Leitch has doubled for the likes of Brad Pitt and Jean-Claude Van Damme then served as Stunt and Second Unit maestro on flicks such as The Wolverine, Escape Plan and upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Jurassic Park reboots. He also played Terry Bogard in video game adaptation of The King of Fighters, which is cool. 87Eleven is the brainchild of experienced stunt performers looking to design and create safe yet uniquely violent, physical, on screen action. They have a gym by the LAX airport frequented by the likes of Jason Statham, Gerard Butler and Ryan Reynolds while fight film staples and martial artists turned coordinators Larnell Stovall (Ride Along, Undisputed 3) and J.J. "Loco" Perry (Vanishing Son, Warrior) are among the staff.
John Wick is the story of a legendary but retired hitman who is brought back to the violent trade when some Russian gangsters mess with him. Contracts are put on his life and Wick must fend off former friends and foes while tracking down the son of a local mob boss who did him wrong in violent, modern day The Punisher and Taken style. With an impressive supporting cast that includes Adrianne Palicki (G.I. Joe 2), Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones) and Willem Dafoe (To Live and Die in L.A.) with appearances by Bridget Moynahan (Tom Sellack's Blue Bloods), Ian McShane (Death Race), Kevin Nash (The Punisher), Daniel Bernhardt (Bloodsport 2), John Leguizamo (Executive Decision) and David Patrick Kelly (The Warriors), John Wick might not rewrite the book on action films but looks to provide a moody, stylized, tactical rough and tumble affair that should console any action fan disappointed by the fact that The Expendables III is PG-13.
From Anthony Hopkins to Hugh Jackman to Daniel Craig, some of today's film best actors began their careers on stage. For some reason I've never really liked plays too much. I've seen a few big ones like Cats and Wicked as well as some small ones in black box theaters to support friends and a few in between. As a film kid in college I crossed paths with the theater department regularly, while some were enjoyable humans many were just loud and obnoxious. It didn't help that I was forced to see a production of Pirates of Penzance for a class where I couldn't understand a fucking word of the sing song performances.
In exactly one month I'll take in Hugh Jackman's one man show at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. To warm up, I attended a small show on Theater Row in West Hollywood. One that was three years in the planning stages before finally attending for a bachelor party, an adaptation of 1991's Point Break. Before she broke new ground with The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, director/writer Kathryn Bigelow gave us one of the greatest action/buddy/thriller's of the last twenty years. Rookie FBI Special Agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) is fresh to Los Angeles and assigned to bank robbery where a band of President mask wearing thieves has hit dozens of establishments and never been caught. A theory that the Ex-Presidents are a band of surfers sends Utah to the beach where he meets wave and zen master Bohdi (Patrick Swayze, from Road House?!). Action, chases, extreme sports, meatball subs, Gary Busey, cold pizza, Narco entrapment, random crazy naked lady attacks and bromance ensues.
The stage play version, dubbed Point Break Live! is a continuation of parody performances of Road House and now Terminator where an audience member plays the lead and reads off cue cards. It's a fun concept with food and drinks available before and during the show so you can make an evening out of it. The first two rows are subject to being sprayed with water, fake blood and other artificial bodily fluids so they make extra money by selling ponchos. The performers interact with the audience frequently in kind of an uncomfortable way if you're not expecting it. I had the impulse of yelling "get your fucking hands off me" but remembered it was just part of the show. Overall it's a fun night and definitely a memorable experience that only Los Angeles would have thought up.
Here's some of Bigelow's gift for intense kinetic action, just missing some screaming:
