Suicide Kings - 1997

Artisan Entertainment

Directed by Peter O'Fallon

Cast:

Carlo Bartolucci / Charlie Barret – Christopher Walken

Lono Veccio – Denis Leary

Jennifer – Nina Siemaszko

Avery Chasten – Henry Thomas

Max Minot – Sean Patrick Flannery

Brett Campbell – Jay Mohr

T. K. - Jeremy Sisto

Ira Reder – Johnny Galecki

Lydia – Laura San Giacomo

Elise Chasten – Laura Harris

Story: Okay. So this well connected former mobster turned respectable citizen walks into his favorite bar at his favorite hotel and two well dressed punks are sitting at his reserved booth. Charlie Barret, formerly Carlo Bartolucci, turns to the bartender to see what's happening. The punks start to give the bartender some lip, so Charlie pops up and starts to be gracious when the punks, Avery Chasten and Max Minot, recognize him and begin to apologize and offer to buy him a drink. After a little encouragement, Charlie sits in the booth and joins them, and they are joined by their friend, Brett Campbell. The boys make a little small talk with Charlie, and then explain they are meeting Avery's father for dinner and invite him to join them. Since Avery's dad is a well connected financial adviser, Charlie agrees to join the three for dinner, but as they are driving along in Avery's mother's Mercedes, suddenly the boys in the back toss a strap around Charlie while one of them tries to subdue him with chloroform. Charlie is a former mob boss, and does not go quietly, but eventually they get him unconscious and drive him to the house of Ira Reder, a friend who has no idea what they had planned. When Charlie comes around, he is strapped to a chair, and his pinkie finger with his ring has been removed. Avery tells him his sister has been kidnapped, and the kidnappers have begun to send her back in pieces, and for every piece they get of the sister, Charlie is going to lose a piece unless he helps them recover Avery's sister.

Review: A couple of years back, I was looking through a copy of Maxim magazine and I found a list of 20 films saved by having Christopher Walken in them. As you have probably guessed, Suicide Kings was among the 20, actually, I believe it was number 3.

This was Peter O'Fallon's premiere film for the big screen (he has since made only one other, although he continues to direct numerous television series), and there are a lot of things that might have gone a little better. The dialog is weak in spots, the premise of a “made guy” going off with a bunch of preppy kids is a little off the wall, and the overall feel of the film drags from time to time. But that doesn't mean it is a total failure.

As a matter of fact, just the opposite. Needless to say Walken and Leary come off exceptionally well, and the remainder of the cast is believable. Johnny Galecki comes off as Johnny Galecki, which is to say his dialog and acting are better suited to his current role in Big Bang Theory than to the big screen. Jay Mohr, well, I never have like Mohr, so I can tell you his character is passable, but he never quite rises to the level needed for his part. Henry Thomas and Sean Patrick Flannery both give good performances, and are really the two character who draw your interest. Jeremy Sisto as the medical student tending to Walken is more than adequate to the role, and you can see the young actor's ability flourishing into the actor he has become.

As to the film itself, the plot, once you get past the implausible part, is good and moves pretty well, although there is a lot of exposition that seems pointless until you get to the very end. By then, unfortunately, you lose interest, unless you are a die hard Walken fan (guilty as charged).

Since I have the DVD (yes, I pulled it out of the bargain bin at WalMart), I've watched the alternative endings and listened to O'Fallon's comments, and the one that struck me the most was his comparison of the final scene of the film to one in The Usual Suspects. Hmmm. Not even close, Pete.

Rated R for violence, language, torture, and some nudity, this film is one you might want to rent just to see why television directors who are really good at their jobs should stick to television. Definitely a renter, not a keeper, and then only if you are interested in coming away with a very unsatisfied feeling from a movie.

Demolition Man - 1993

Warner Bros., Silver Pictures

Directed by Marco Brambilla

Cast:

• Detective John Spartan – Sylvester Stallone
• Simon Phoenix – Wesley Snipes
• Lenina Huxley – Sandra Bullock
• Dr. Raymond Cocteau - Sir Nigel Hawthorne
• Alfredo Garcia – Benjamin Bratt
• Chief George Earle – Bob Gunton
• Edgar Friendly – Denis Leary

Story: In the very near future, super criminal Simon Phoenix has taken a bus hostage in the war zone called Los Angeles, and only John Spartan, the Demolition Man, is brave enough to defy him. As he bungee jumps out of the helicopter onto Pheonix's stronghold, he gives his motto “Send a maniac to catch a maniac.”. But his nemesis has framed him for the murder of those passengers, and John is sentenced to 70 years in cryo-suspension, the prison of the day, where he will have his behavior modified by synaptic suggestion. In 2032, Simon Phoenix (who is also a cryo-prisoner), has been thawed for his parole hearing in the San Angeles metro complex prison. Suddenly he knows all the passwords, and how to work the computers that never existed when he was frozen. In order to catch the madman, they release John Spartan, who goes about catching Phoenix with all his training and cunning. Unknown to Spartan and the officers of the San Angeles Metro Complex, the “savior” of their community, Mr. Cocteau, has had Phoenix released for his own selfish purposes.

Review: This has got to be one of the funniest action adventure films ever released. And the beauty of it all is the seriousness with which the actors play their roles. Stallone and Snipes are two 20th century macho types in an Orwellian society where everything is monitored and the police are almost superfluous. Bullock is a radical thinker bored with her perfect society, and Leary is just trying to keep people alive...the people who decided they didn't want to be part of the Perfect society. Now it is worth remembering this film was one of the first shameless product promotion films, with Taco Bell being featured in the film as the only restaurant to survive the Franchise wars, whatever those were. I would classify it as a “pre-comic” movie, with all the trimmings...bad guys and good guys, technological oddities, and a lot of great lines. Worth seeing, PG-13 because of a few lines here and there and a couple of brief shots of nudity. Collectible if you like Stallone, otherwise rent it and return it.

The Thomas Crown Affair - 1999

United Artists, Irish DreamTime, MGM

Directed by John McTiernan

Cast:

• Thomas Crown – Pierce Brosnan
• Cathrine Banning – Rene Russo
• Detective Michael McCann – Denis Leary
• Andrew Wallace – Ben Gazzara
• Detective Paretti – Frankie Faison
• Paul Cheng – James Saito
• Anna Knudson – Esther Caňadas

Story: Thomas Crown is a very smart and very successful man. He has his own building in Manhattan, a townhouse filled with Marble, granite, art and sculpture, a personal assistant who tends to his every need, a psychiatrist who gives him marvelous advice, apparently everything a man would want. But he is bored. Mergers and Acquisitions are not enough to challenge him, so he decides to branch out into art theft. And not just any art. He steals, through an elaborate plan of diversion, a $100 million dollar Monet from the wall of the museum where it is housed. Not only does this now involve the police, but also an insurance investigator [“I represent a couple of Swiss gentlemen who would rather not have to write a check for $100 million.”]. A beautiful and unusually bright insurance investigator who soon comes to suspect Crown. The remainder of the movie is a game of cat and mouse, as the two maneuver to see who will come out on top.

Review: John McTiernan is famous for the hard hitting, action adventure films, so the remake of a Steve McQueen classic must have been a challenge. This is a different kinds of drama and suspense, based in the world of the very wealthy. Brosnan is up to the task, and perfectly portrays the well mannered, savvy businessman who is bored to death with the society crowd and craves something more from life. Rene Russo is the perfect foil for Crown, the driven, intelligent, and self confident woman who competes and excels in a man's world. Leary has his work cut out for him, bur rises to the occasion as the street detective who has to keep up with Russo, and is always one step behind. The flow of the film is more even than the original, and the photography and scenery is amazing, from the New York City shots to the island that serves as Crown's hideaway in the Caribbean. The homage of having Dunaway as the psychiatrist (She played Catherine Banning in the original), and retaining the original theme (Windmills of Your Mind – written for the original film and performed by Sting) bring an overall polish to the movie that make it one of the best. Nudity and some language make this a poor choice for the under 14 set, but most teens should be able to enjoy the film with a minimum of giggling and pointing. Definitely a collectible, and one to watch with the wife when the lights are low and the kids are in bed.