The Variety Screening Series will feature Iron Cross on Tues Dec 15th at the Sunshine Cinema!

This screening will feature a Q&A with Writer/Director Joshua Newton and Alexander Newton.

Please see their website for more information.

http://www2.variety.com/screening/movie_details.asp?movieid=398&FilmTitle=IRON%20CROSS

I bought some DVD’s the other day. One of them was the 1979 movie All That Jazz, directed by Bob Fosse (Sweet Charity, Cabaret, Lenny). The movie is Fosse’s semi-autobiographical story about a director/choreographer/dancer’s life and career. The film was inspired by a period from Fosse’s life, when he tried to edit his film “Lenny” while staging his 1975 Broadway musical “Chicago”. It’s the story of Joe Gideon, a chain-smoking, workaholic choreographer and theater director who sleeps with all of his dancers. He wakes up everyday with Vivaldi blasting through his cassette player. He has his daily dose of Visine, Alka-Seltzer and Dexedrine and heads to work. His lavish lifestyle is taking him to an early grave, and even though his daughter and ex-wife try to pull him back from the brink, it seems to be too late. Gideon is already flirting with the angel of death, played by Jessica Lange. His condition gets worse and is admitted to a hospital with a severe case of angina. Gideon is bedridden, but it doesn’t stop the cigarettes, women or champagne from flowing. Gideon is playing with death until a massive coronary stops everything. The backers for the broadway play that Gideon is directing have to decide what to do with the production. They realize that the only way they could make a profit with the play is if Gideon were to die and they could cash the million dollar insurance.

All That Jazz is a 1979 American musical film directed by Bob Fosse. The screenplay by Robert Alan Aurthur and Fosse is a semi-autobiographical fantasy based on aspects of the dancer, choreographer, and director's life and career. The film was inspired by Fosse's manic effort to edit his film Lenny while simultaneously staging his 1975 Broadway musical Chicago.

I love musicals. That didn’t sound right… I like musicals that are good. Some are not, and I don’t like them at all. My wife thinks I’m completely gay for watching musicals. I think it’s a genre like any other, and a movie isn’t judged buy its genre, but whether it is good or not. All That Jazz featured an amazing performance from Roy Scheider, great dance scenes, cool 70’s camerawork and… –Well, I can’t think of anything at the moment, but overall a great movie. My rating is a solid 3 out of 5 stars. Maybe even 4 stars. Two thumbs up, if that’s any easier to interpret. Let’s call it 7/10 points and a must see for anyone who likes Roy Scheider or musicals.

Abbiamo cominciato settimana scorsa una lunga e dolorosa discesa negli inferi delle produzione cinematografiche a soggetto supereroistico. Insomma, i film brutti tratti dai fumetti. Se volete scoprire quanto si può cadere in basso, continuate a leggere e puppatevi un’escalation di terrore dalla posizione numero 12 alla 10. Oddio che ansia.

12 The Punisher, Jonathan Hensleigh, 2004

Qualcuno si ricorda il vecchio film sul Punitore con Dolph Lundgren senza manco il teschio sulla maglia? Dai, quello che in italiano non si sa per quale motivo è uscito con il titolo Il Vendicatore… C’è anche una sequenza dove si vede un telegiornale, un anchorman che parla di tale Vendicatore e dietro di lui c’è una scritta gigante: Punisher… No, per dire l’accurataggine con cui era fatto… Eh? Ve lo ricordate? Eh? Era brutto… Ma questo è peggio. Si prende un altro biondo (Thomas Jane) lo si tinge di nero, gli si mette un teschio sul vestito (almeno quello…) e poi si fa di tutto per rovinare la saga Bentornato, Frank, quella di Ennis e Dillon. E tra un pezzo dei Nickelback e uno del chitarrista degli Evanescence, ce la si fa alla grande. Ad uscirne peggio di tutti è proprio il Punitore, qui snaturato in ogni sua caratteristica, soprattutto – diciamo così – “psicologica”. John Travolta, nella parte del cattivo, è semplicemente deprimente. Per la cronaca l’ultimo film dedicato al personaggio, The Punisher War Zone, massacrato ovunque dalla critica e da noi uscito direttamente in dvd, non è per niente male. Cioè, a confronto sembra un film di Orson Welles e a questo ci straspezza la schiena. Non a caso si è dovuti ripartire da zero… Per farvi capire quante cazzate si possono dire in un film, vediamo come ce li cava a spiegare tutto quello che muove Frank Castle nella sua vendetta cieca e senza fine in soli 32 fottutissimi secondi.

Attore di pregio che qui mette a rischio la sua carriera:
Roy Scheider (R.I.P.)

11 X-Men le origini – Wolverine, Gavin Hood, 2009

Diciamolo subito, hanno fatto un brutto casino con Deadpool. Un bruttissimo casino. Non è nemmeno un film discreto in cui han fatto un bruttissimo casino con Deadpool, oppure un film che raggiunge a mala pena la sufficenza in cui han fatto un bruttissimo casino con Deadpool, no, è un grosso film di merda in cui han fatto un bruttissimo casino con Deadpool. E dire che dietro c’è la penna del romanziere/sceneggiatore de la 25esima ora di Spike Lee. Al famoso monologo di Norton davanti lo specchio andrebbe aggiunto “Fanculo te! Sceneggiatore, produttore, regista di Hollywood che quando si ritrova ad dover fare un film sui Super Eroi, invece di attingere da quelle migliaia di ottime storie, si inventa cazzate dal nulla, rovinandomi la giornata ed il mio megasecchio di popcorn”

Perchè diamine Deadpool assomiglia a Voldemort sotto steroidi con un giochino della settimana enigmistica sul petto? Perchè?

(Girano voci sul fatto che in un probabile Wolverine 2 o spin-off su Deadpool si scoprirà che il pelato di cui sopra non sia in realtà Wide Wilson)

Attore di pregio che qui mette a rischio la sua carriera:
Danny Huston

10 The Spirit, Frank Miller, 2008

La totale e definitiva perdita di credibilità per un uomo che per un certo periodo è stato nei nostri cuori… come dire: la conferma della fine di Frank Miller passa sicuramente attraverso questo film. Dopo essere stato incoronato dal grande Will Eisner come suo successore e custode dei segreti della non arte, Miller è riuscito a scontentare chiunque facendo trasparire per altro anche una certa cattiva fede. In barba a qualsiasi rispetto per la fonte originale, al personaggio The Spirit viene applicato in laboratorio il trattamento Sin City (vi ricordate? Si può fare lo stesso anche a Charlie Brown… ) . Il risultato si commenta da solo. Se già il passaggio da carta stampata a grande schermo era stata non priva di difetti per Marv e compagni, figuriamoci in questo caso. Dopo dieci minuti passa la voglia di vivere anche al più entusiasta degli spettatori e l’idea di una possibile uscita in sala di Sin City 2 e Sin City 3 mette paura. Deligato… Fortunatamente non è piaciuto praticamente a nessuno per cui forse Frank Miller per un po’ la smetterà di essere definito un Autore visionario. Ma ne dubito.

Attore di pregio che qui mette a rischio la sua carriera:
Samuel L. Jackson.

Parte 1: dalla 15 alla 13

Adriano & FEDEmc

For years now, God has been plotting against
the dragon, and wants to usurp his throne
as the national emblem of China.

God does not establish permanent dens.

God is not as cute as his tiny red
cousin.

God’s tail is not as long as that
of the sloth bear.

God’s hands have six fingers.

Scientists have recognized only two
subspecies of God.

Teddy Roosevelt
hunted God in the ‘20s.

When captive,
God loses His interest in mating,
and takes Viagra, or watches God porn.

God knows kung fu, but only in movies.

God has recently filled an important
role in China’s global diplomacy.

God is not a native of India,
Israel, Italy, the United
Kingdom, or Utah.

God is black and white.

Unlike most bears, God does not hibernate.

God is often caught in traps set for deer.

It is illegal to own pelts of God.

WORD

animus [an-uh-muhs] n. 1. strong dislike or enmity; hostile attitude; animosity 2. purpose; intention; animating spirit 3. (in the psychology of C. G. Jung) the masculine principle, esp. as present in women

BIRTHDAY

Martin Luther (1483), Winston Churchill (1871), Russell Johnson (1924), Richard Burton (1925), Ennio Morricone (1928), Roy Scheider (1932), Russell Means (1939), Saxby Chambliss (1943), Tim Rice (1944), Sinbad (1956), Linda Cohn (1959), Mackenzie Phillips (1959), Neil Gaiman (1960), Michael Jai White (1967), Tracy Morgan (1968), Warren G. (1970), Brittany Murphy (1977), Eve (1978), Miranda Lambert (1983)

STANDPOINT

While I’m not writing this blog or reading a book or doing something of a social nature or whatever the hell else I feel like, I am a bartender. I like being a bartender. I like serving drinks, talking to people and making them laugh. It’s important to like what you do. For those of you out there who don’t like your chosen occupation, get out while you still can. That’s my advice to you. So there.

In any case, there’s one aspect of bartending that grates on my fucking nerves – listening to people drone on and on about something that matters so little to everyone everywhere and no one yet realizes it.

Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of pointless nonsense about one subject in particular. You see, I bartend in a little town called Skippack. Down the road a ways is a slightly-larger, but no more important, town named Collegeville, cleverly because of the fact Ursinus College is located within it.

But nowadays, no one’s talking about Ursinus. To be fair, it’s likely they weren’t anyway. Nevertheless, there’s only one thing everyone wants to talk about no matter what: the grand opening of the Wegmans, a supermarket that, apparently, has the ability to capture the collective consciousness of everyone within a 45-minute drive.

It’s all anyone can talk about. So automatically I hate it. In general, I have a problem with anything that no one has a problem with. That’s mainly my problem with almost everything.

Here’s the thing. I don’t want to talk about a place you can go to buy food. (a) I’m not particularly dazzled by recollections of an, until now, never before seen selection of cheese. Also, (b) I’m not entirely impressed by the fact there’s a pub inside a supermarket. In addition, (c) I’m not remotely interested in the largest selection of seafood in the area. (These three things, by the way, are almost always offered as the main reasons one would ever go to Wegmans, although not the only ones.)

Granted, I am a single, 35-year old male (temporarily) living in an area greatly overpopulated with parents and children. For parents, it is a unique opportunity to provide for your family and afford yourself a few drinks while doing it, instead of having to wait to get home, unload the groceries, make dinner and put the kids to bed before opening a bottle of wine, or four, and get your buzz on. I am not ignorant of this fact. As I’ve been more exposed to parents as an adult, I’ve figured out that good parenting is directly proportionate to the amount of weekly alcohol consumption. It wasn’t that way when I was growing up but that’s the way it is now. At least, for the most part. Not saying all you parents out there are getting bombed every night. But a lot of you are. I can’t blame you. If I were a parent, I would probably be within your ranks.

In any case, hearing people swap stories about their first (and second and third) trip to Wegmans is about as depressing a level of converation that can be reached.

I refuse to participate.

So I’m not going. Even it means never talking to anyone again. Or, at least, until I move downtown in January. Then, I’ll have to talk to all the single folks about how fresh everything at Whole Foods seem to be. But, somehow, it doesn’t seem like it’ll suck half as much.

QUOTATION

The weirder you’re going to behave, the more normal you should look.  It works in reverse, too.  When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person. → P.J. O’Rourke

TUNE

Sometimes, all it takes is a killer line in a song to make listen to it about 93 times – over and over. Such is the case with Mike Doughty’s tune, “I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress To Keep On Dancing.” It’s a good and quick song that features the line, “I’ll assess the essence of the mess…” Not sure why I like that so much. But I do. And that’s that.

GALLIMAUFRY

→ If you haven’t seen the video footage of University of New Mexico’s women’s soccer player, Elizabeth Lambert, you should. This chick is so completely crazy, I’m surprised I’ve never dated her.

→ Just want to officially thank the Philadelphia Phillies for coming oh-so-very-close to winning back-to-back World Series. I know the whole organization has been waiting for me to weigh in. Once again, I will state Philadelphia is a “baseball town.” I will keep saying that until everyone believes it. Because it’s the truth.

→ In a world gone mad, sometimes I read some news that alleviates all the numbness and actually allows me to feel again. The fact Steven Tyler has officially left Aerosmith was not that kind of news. I’m sure there’s a large group of people out there who care when a middle-aged singer leaves a band that hasn’t contributed anything musically solid in decades. I’m just not a member of that group.  

5) Susan Backlinie in “Lo Squalo” (1975)

Un nome che forse non vi sarà particolarmente familiare, quello della stuntwoman Susan Backlinie, chi sarebbe costei? La prima vittima, nuda, in notturna, del primo capitolo de lo Squalo, ovvio no? L’importanza della Backlinie è testimoniata dalla sua presenza in locandina, mentre nuota tranquilla inconsapevole del terrore che si cela al di sotto di lei: Nessun barbuto Richard Dreyfuss, nessun Roy Scheider o Robert Shaw…. Solo una ragazzetta nuda…

4) Kari Wuhrer in “Anaconda” (1997)

La sua ultima, vana, possibilità di fama mainstream prima di sprofondare nel mare magnum degli show notturni in topless dei canali via cavo Americani. Kari Wuhrer abbandona I sogni di gloria con un’apparizione, al fianco di Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson e Ice Cube nel capolavoro “Anaconda.”

La sua scena sexy di morte è una collaborazione artistica con un certo Jon Voight, che la soffoca a morte con una mossa di karate (Tipico dell’agilissimo John!) prima di gettare il suo corpo senza vita nel fiume (Dove vive, placido e beato, l’anaconda del titolo). Dopo quest’apparizione in un capolavoro dedicato ad un serpente gigante, argomento attualissimo e amato dalla critica, la Wuhrer non apparirà mai più sullo schermo con qualcuno più famoso di David Arquette, combattendo la sua battaglia nel mondo degli C-Movies.

3) Salma Hayek in “Dal tramonto all’alba” (1996)

Al contrario dei suoi personaggi successivi, più avvezzi alla parola, come in “Fools Rush In” e “Frida,” Per Salmuccia il ruolo di Santanico Pandemonium in “Dal tramonto all’alba” fu straordinariamente adatto allo scopo:

La Hayek balla in modo seducente in un minuscolo bikini per qualche minuto con un serpente abbarbicato addosso, si trasforma in un vampire e nel giro di pochi secondi riceve una pallottola in faccia da George Clooney, semplice, lineare ed efficace.

2) Sandahl Bergman in “Conan il Barbaro” (1982)

Ripensando fra sè e sè ad un grande classico come “Conan il Barbaro”, in genere si ricordano solo 2 cose: primo, la scena in cui l’attuale governatore della California e la sua compagna statuaria (La Bergman, appunto) fanno a pezzi tutti i partecipanti ad un’interessantissima orgia cannibalistica, avanzando nella stanza a colpi di spada, secondo la scena in cui Valerie mure fra le nerborute braccia di Arnold dopo esser stata colpita a morte da  una freccia-serpente. (Conan è un capolavoro, non ci sono cazzi…)

Ripensando alle logiche cinematografiche non c’era possibilità per lei di sopravvivere dopo essersi mostrata nuda e aver fatto sesso con il protagonista…

P.S. purtroppo la scena tratta da youtube è tagliata prima della triste dipartita della Bergman

1) Janet Leigh in “Psycho” (1960)

Nel 1960 non era cosa commune andare al cinema ed assistere ad un omicidio, da parte di un travestito (Ommioddio! Spoiler!!) di una splendida donna nuda in una doccia. Almeno non fino all’avvento delle Grindhouse e della loro programmazione creativa. Forse non sarà la scena più sexy della storia del cinema, per gli standard dell’epoca e l’impatto sugli spettatori si guadagna senza fatica il primo posto. Seminale.

Truth be told, Dave, everybody loves a runner.  Nobody likes the gym.

I mean, it’s kind of like, everybody (except for me) loves clean teeth, but nobody likes orthodontia.

First of all, gyms are smelly.  They smell like mildew and Axe body spray — the worst combination of sweet and sour this side of Chinese fast food.  Also, you have to let other people see you naked. That is very unpleasant and is reminiscent of the high school locker room, where someone is always going to get made fun of for not changing underpants or is going to smell all through math because he was afraid to take showers with other guys.

But, more importantly, it is unnatural for people to like machines.  The gym is, in fact, a series of contrived situations in which you use different contraptions to do what you should be able to do all by yourself.  You’re not supposed to ride a bike just to watch television while listening to music.  You’re not supposed to walk without going anywhere.  You’re not supposed to lift things just to prove you have money.  This is why every time someone talks about the gym, someone else always feels guilty.

The guilty party understands that these activities are corrupting of what it means to be a social animal and, further, that they denature us as humans.

That is why we find on K Street, in Washington, DC, a physical fitness complex that lets you look in at everybody on their exercise bikes, just as they look out at you.  It is set there as a sobering reminder of the corrupting influence of lucre on our natural political order, and, further, the humbling reality of our dependence upon the contrivances of government to organize ourselves socially.

Moreover, it is humiliating for us to have to take classes to arrive at something our ancestors were able to do by beating peasants, building pyramids, or batting about the heads of goats with sticks.  Spin? SPIN! SPIN?!?  How could we have turned a word of such childlike wonder into an activity of voluntary soulless destruction?

Running, on the other hand, is how we connect with our forbears. It reminds us of our heritage and speaks to the Apollonian order of civilization.  There is something grand about running.  Natural. Mythical. Sublime.

I am not insensitive to the fact, of course, that we both have within our midst a fair number of people who regularly participate in marathons and thus must seriously occupy themselves with training.  And, just as I’d like their respect for and attention to my serious television-watching hobby, I believe they are owed the same.

In short, then, here are a few DOs and DON’Ts of talking about fitness:

DON’T

• Use the word ’spin’.
• Use the word Nautilus or Soloflex.
• Use the word ‘fitness’ unless it is used as a neologism for discussing your toddler’s temperament.
• Talk about going to a ‘fitness class’ (school, yuck!).
• Discuss yoga, unless it is a way to enter into a discussion about chicks.
• Mention your personal trainer — unless you are Gilbert Arenas.
• Mention self-deprecatingly how long it’s been since you’ve been to the gym (people can always tell).
• Talk about how often you go to the gym.
• Talk about your gym membership.
• Post status updates about when you are going to or coming back from the gym.
• Discuss the number of push-ups, laps, presses, etc., that you have or can do.
• Discuss bike-riding: there’s always someone who doesn’t know how to ride a bike and will feel bad.

DO

• Request support for any amateur or professional sports activity in which you will imminently be taking part.
• Set up a time to meet someone else at the gym (unless you have to mention the word ‘fitness,’ ’spin’ or ‘class’).
• Talk about running, unless you have to enter into the specifics of your running times.
• Talk about those times you played pick-up, full-court basketball with people who were from ten to twenty years younger than you, and how you thought you were going to die after roughly ten minutes.

I think that we can all agree that these are reasonable guidelines that embrace what is beautiful about other people and seek to extract it from the mire of corruption.

Welcome to Dead Or Alive? Don’t take that question too literally. Think of this as my version of “where are they now”, except sometimes they might be six feet under and other times they are judging chili eating contests at State Fairs.

This week, Roy Scheider.

I thought Roy Scheider was dead but then I heard him on a new episode of The Family Guy this past Sunday. So what do you think, is Roy Dead or Alive?

O lume murdara, ingusta, perfida, injusta, anormala, o lume care te neaga sau o lume care iti face pieptul sa se sparga de exaltare, o lume in care te gasesti sau te pierzi, o lume in care poti schimba sau o lume care iti cere sa te schimbi, o lume obsedata sau o lume care te face obsedat, un drog sau o pasiune, vocatie sau nevroza….

Un film realist in unicul mod in care se poate vorbi despre arta spectacolului: in pasi de dans, note musicale, actorie, praf, metafore, simbol, reverie , minunat si minune, halucinatie, derizoriu, satisfactie, incrancenare, revelatie….

“All That Jazz” iti intoarce adevaratul chip al unei magii pe care o cunosti doar pe scena sau ecran, o lume amara si trista dincolo de cortina.

Filmul este autobiografic( insusi regizorul, scenaristul si coregraful filmului), adevarat si sincer, povestea unui artist de geniu pentru care realitatea spectacolului e singura pe care o cunoaste.

O fosta sotie, numeroase amante si multe posibile viitoare aventuri, o fiica iubitoare si talentata, dependenta pastile si tigari, multi fani, un film de lansat, multe repetitii si o imensa dragoste pentru arta sunt tot ce detine un regizor intr-un moment in care ele inseamna doar prea multa presiune.

Jazz si fum, balerine, dansatori, picioare lungi, reflectoare, lumini, culori, costume si trupuri filiforme.

Intalnirea pasionala a unui artist cu propria moarte, un dialog dezarmant….furie, negare, negociere, depresie si acceptare in fata mortii.

Pentru ca un artist moare urcand muntele,  Joe Gideon moare frumos intr-un splendid musical al mortii.

Roy Scheider, un actor care face toti banii si o capodopera cinematografica: all that magic…all that jazz.

USA,1979

Regia: Bob Fosse

Scenariu: Robert Alan Arthur si Bob Fosse

Distributie: Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Leland Palmer, Ann Reinnking, Cliff Gorman, Ben Vereen si multi altii.

Coregrafie: Bob Fosse

Soundtrack: “On Broadway”- George Benson

“Take off with us”- Anthony Holland

“Everything old is new again”- Peter Allen, etc

Premii: Opt Oscar-uri si un premiu BAFTA pentru scenariu, scenografie, costume, muzica si alte multe premii si nominalizari.

Gen: Musical

Den lilla amerikanska kuststaden får oväntat och oönskat besök av en stor människoätande haj i Steven Spielbergs klassiska sjuttiotalsskräckfilm. Sheriffen (Roy Scheider) slits mellan pressen från ortens turismnäring och bättre vetande och får också hjälp i jakten på haj av marinbiologen spelad av Richard Dreyfuss och den råbarkade fiskaren i Robert Shaws skepnad.

Detta är och förblir en av tidernas mest klassiska filmer med en fantastiskt musikaliskt tema av John Williams som är lika starkt förknippat med filmen nu som då. Jag kommer ihåg att jag såg den här filmen som rätt liten knådd och att jag efter detta hade en sjuhelsikes respekt för vatten då man var ute på älven med ekan. Scenerna då hajen plockar tjejen i inledningen samt kalasar på pojken Kintner på sin badmadrass är obehagliga än idag. Att själva hajen ser rätt mekanisk ut spelar i sammanhanget ingen större roll då spänningen så skickligt byggs upp och scenerna är så snyggt klippta med skådespelare som är så klippt och skurna för rollerna. Flera har inte spelat med i någonting vare sig före eller efter Hajen och att använda sig av “riktigt folk” är i detta sammanhang ett smart drag för att förstärka det otäcka och den snudd på dokumentära känslan. Tänker exempelvis på konfrontationen mellan Scheider och mamman vars barn fallit offer för hajen efter att scheriffen negligerat de varningar som givits. Mästerlig film som verkligen håller måttet trots alla år som gått och alla mer eller mindre bedrövliga uppföljare som dykt upp sedan dess.

Betyg: 5

There will be no more baseball at The Corner

Back in April I blogged about the demised of Tiger Stadium, and how they turned out the lights in old ballpark 10 years ago in favor of the new Comerica Park on the other side of downtown. Yesterday I cruised by the corner of Michigan and Trumbull streets (aka The Corner) to check out the final demolition of the old ballpark–a painful process that began over a year ago.

A few other camera-toting folks and a news crew were there. It was not a pretty sight. A portion of the southwest corner of the old stadium remained, its familiar light blue tile the only recognizable element. We may have lost a ballpark, but we gained so much landfill material.

The last Detroit Tigers baseball game at The Corner was on September 27, 1999. Almost a decade to the day another piece of Detroit history is, well, history.

Thought this might be a good time for a little Tiger Town, a 1983 movie by a former Detroiter, shot on location at Tiger Stadium and around Detroit. More about the movie, below.

Taking one last peak through the fence at The Corner

FilMichigan

In each edition of the paper version of the Great Lakes Gazette that we published years ago, I featured a movie made in Michigan—and that was well before the current flurry of filmmaking due to the state’s incentives to moviemakers. I’ll revive FilMichigan as an occasional feature, mixing old movies and the crop of new flicks that are being shot on location around the state.

TIGER TOWN

1983
Written and directed by Alan Shapiro
Starring Roy Scheider, Justin Henry, Ron McLarty, Bethany Carpenter, Noah Moazezi
With appearances (as themselves) by Ernie Harwell, Al Ackerman, Ray Lane, and other familiar local faces (and voices) including Supreme Mary Wilson singing the National Anthem

Former Detroiter Alan Shapiro (who also wrote and directed the movie Flipper, among others) shows off his hometown with affection in this story of a young boy’s (Justin Henry) belief in his hero, a retiring Detroit Tiger baseball player (Roy Scheider) and the aging outfielder’s ablity to finish his career with a bang—and the pennant.

The filmmaker coddles the city in many recognizable scenes, from car plant to café, Eastern Market to the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. Enjoy the ride as the kid makes his frantic way to the ballpark, on a fictional route only Detroiters will know is impossible, if scenic.

During the filming way back when T.J. and I, in a quest for stardom (maybe it was the bribe of prizes being raffled throughout the day) spent an afternoon of filming at Tiger Stadium with a couple of hundred other extras, trying to make it look like there was a real crowd. Any close-ups of us that might have been, however, landed on the cutting room floor. We didn’t win a toaster, either.

This little family film was the first movie that Disney produced for its cable channel. You may be able to find a copy at a library.

Title: Jaws
Year: 1975
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Peter Benchley & Carl Gottlieb, based on the novel by Benchley
Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
Music: John Williams
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Score, Best Editing and Best Sound; currently #108 on IMDb’s Top 250
Length: 124 minutes
Synopsis: Giant man-eating shark.  Boo!
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Subjective Rating: 8/10
Objective Rating: 8/10 (points off for concept and story)

I was quite surprised by this one. Suspenseful, and pretty scary as far as monster movies go. But what really surprised me is that it’s also got strong characters, good dialog, and good acting, expertly filmed. They managed to do without the usually-obligatory waiting around to get to the action part(s) that this sort of story typically has.  Everything in the movie is engaging, regardless of whether the shark is around. And when it is around, it’s pretty crazy fun what they do with it.

I tend to like most movies I see nowadays (with the help of internet recommendation software, Netflix, etc. – I probably won’t even start to watch a movie I’m not likely to like).  But it’s still pretty rare to see a movie that blows me away.  Well here are three recent movies that blew me away.

1.  Sorcerer, which I had only really known from modern pop movie-history as the quintessential “1970s movie that was buried by Star Wars ushering in a new era of blockbuster”, but finally made it to the top of my Netflix queue after what must have been a long and hard struggle through mud and over rickety bridges.

Brutal, depressing movie.  But great and deserves to be remembered for more than opening the same time as Star Wars.  It’s almost a story of redemption of man through hard work and knowhow, kind of the male equivalent of The Devil Wears Prada.  But..um, okay, not quite.

2.   A Little Romance.  Not even sure how I came across this gem but damn I’m glad I did.  The first movie of (13-year-old) Diane Lane, and one of the last with Laurence Olivier.  Probably the best teen romance that I have ever seen.  And it’s so sweet and innocent as well.  A pure pleasure of a movie.

3. Inglourious Basterds, which I just saw today in a theater seemingly packed with senior citizens.  Unbelievable, mindbending experience.  Tarantino’s Star Wars, in my view (which is just a gut vibe I’m getting, not something I can fully explain).  I know this movie will be analyzed to death in the years to come, but it’s almost better to just let the whole thing sink into you, unanalyzed, undissected, as a whole and pure specimen of a kind of movie I have never ever seen before or even imagined in my life.  I’ve probably already thought about it too much in fact.   Here is what I wrote about it to Pastorius (who often has to bear the burden of hearing the first-draft of my reaction to this sort of thing).  I can’t wait to see it again.

It will probably be a very long time before I see three movies in succession that blow me away like this.  (Well, I do have high hopes for Hellboy II: The Golden Army…) 

Considering Dolph Lundgren got famous playing a blond Russian and can definitely act better than Kevin Nash, who doesn’t even have any lines and is terrible, it’s telling Jonathan Hensleigh didn’t bring him back for a small role, an acknowledgment of the far superior 1989 Punisher adaptation.

Whereas that film–and to some extent, the one following this effort–tried to be a senselessly violent action revenge movie, Hensleigh’s Punisher tries to rationalize the comic book character, who’s never been conducive to such analysis. The closest is Garth Ennis’s recently concluded terminating work on the character, which acknowledges the unreality and tragedy of being an unstoppable killing machine.

Hensleigh tries to turn Thomas Jane’s Punisher into a sympathetic hero. He fails miserably and, as a result, gives Jane the worst written role in a movie filled with poorly written roles. When John Travolta, all in all, turns in a better performance than Will Patton, it might very be the end of the world as we know it.

Laura Harring is atrocious. Who else… oh, poor Roy Scheider. Why was he in this one?

The best performance is from Rebecca Romijn. Really. She’s actually totally believable as a regular person with real problems. Ben Foster and John Pinette are both good too, as Romijn’s sidekicks.

Hensleigh is a boring director, but not terrible. His wife, Gale Anne Hurd, probably got him the job. She should have brought in a real screenwriter.

Carlo Siliotto’s music, though inappropriate (it’s heroic), is all right.

CREDITS

Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh; screenplay by Hensleigh and Michael France, based on the Marvel Comics character created by Gerry Conway, John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru; director of photography, Conrad W. Hall; edited by Jeff Gullo and Steven Kemper; music by Carlo Siliotto; production designer, Michael Z. Hanan; produced by Avi Arad and Gale Anne Hurd; released by Lions Gate Films.

Starring Thomas Jane (Frank Castle), John Travolta (Howard Saint), Will Patton (Quentin Glass), Roy Scheider (Frank Castle Sr.), Laura Harring (Livia Saint), Ben Foster (Dave), Jon Pinette (Mr. Bumpo), Rebecca Romijn (Joan), Samantha Mathis (Maria Castle) and Marcus Johns (Will Castle).

A Film Review

Copyright Dragan Antulov 2009

All cliches, even the most annoying, used to be brilliant artistic innovations. That is the impression some older yet celebrated films might give when watched from today’s perspective. One of such examples is THE FRENCH CONNECTION, 1971 crime thriller directed by William Friedkin. Hailed by critics and awarded by Oscar, this film is often mentioned as one of the great triumphs of 1970s New Hollywood and one of the most influential films ever made. Yet, younger generations of viewers, being previously exposed to multitude of films being influenced by THE FRENCH CONNECTION, won’t be aware of its impact.

The script by Ernest Tidyman was based on the non-fiction book by Robin Moore about 1960s international heroin smuggling operation and efforts of New York Police Department to end it. The protagonist, based on real-life policeman, is NYPD detective James “Popeye” Doyle (played by Gene Hackman) who wages his own war on drugs by harassing and arresting hundreds of small-time heroin dealers. Doyle, together with his partner Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (played by Roy Scheider),  stumbles on information about large heroin shipment arriving in New York. They start following local Mafia-connected dealers and notice presence of Alain Charnier (played by Fernando Rey), businessman from Marseille who came  to personally supervise the deal. Doyle is determined to catch Charnier, while Charnier is determined to finish the deal, even when aware of police investigation. All that leads to increasingly violent confrontation between the two.

Most people tend to associate THE FRENCH CONNECTION with legendary car chase scene.  In that scene Friedkin has set the standards for all future action directors to meet, including himself in his later and under-appreciated action thriller TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. This scene is still impressive after four decades, and not because it is spectacular, but because it is realistic. The audience feels thrilled because what happens during that chase looks and sounds like something that could happen in real life. The man who chases and man being chased are hardly supermen; they make mistakes and the outcome of the race is accidental rather than product of someone’s superior skills.

The realism that made that scene effective is the very same thing that made entire film look revolutionary and fresh to early 1970s audiences. In Friedkin’s case, this was one of more iconoclastic manifestations of New Hollywood. He rejected classic Hollywood escapism and offering alternative in gritty portrayals of contmeporary America. This new realism could be seen in use of depressing New York locations, as well as in casting of Gene Hackman, actor who lacked movie star looks, in lead role. The protagonist he plays is hardly a classic Hollywood hero – he gets drunk, uses racist slurs, shows utter disregard for public safety and makes mistakes, some even with catastrophic consequences.

This impression is underlined by casting Fernando Rey as his opponent. Highly respected Spanish actor plays Charnier as a complete opposite of Doyle. At times he is even more likable than protagonist. French smuggler might sell lethal drugs, but he is portrayed as refined, well-spoken and well-beheaved European gentleman who would feel home even at most prestigious social events. One of the best scene occurs during surveillance of Charnier – while he dines in expensive restaurant, Doyle is freezing and feeling hungry in the street. This scene probably spawned one of the more enduring cliches of 1970s and 1980s police films – street-smart but unsophisticated American blue-collar policemen vs. rich, powerful, elegant, well-educated and sophisticated European crime lords.

This scene also gives plenty of hints about filmmakers’ worldview, which is uncompromisingly pessimistic for Hollywood standard. In the world of THE FRENCH CONNECTION crime pays, and the fight against crime, which is always fought by imperfect characters like Doyle, seems pointless; drug dealers get arrested only to be released or replaced by another, even more vicious drug dealers. This bleak view could be seen in ending which looks surprising and unconventional even after almost four decades.

The age, which is often one of the worst enemy of good films, didn’t harm THE FRENCH CONNECTION, at least not so much. Early 1970s setting, for example, in some ways work for film’s advantage. When policemen, not equipped with cell phones, are forced to use low-tech methods of surveillance, their otherwise mundane job looks more excting. On the other hand, music by Don Ellis often sounds underwhelming and diminishes otherwise good impression of the film. Despite that, THE FRENCH CONNECTION is still well-acted, well-written and brilliantly directed film that could be recommended even to those viewers with little interest in history of cinema.

RATING: 8/10

Okay, another top 100 list here and this time it’s movies. As usual, this is a list of my favourites which may have some random choices in it but it’s boring having every list out there the same. So without dragging this longer than it needs to, here is the top 100 films below.

WARNED: potential spoilers will appear if you haven’t seen ANY of these films.

100. ZOOLANDER

DIRECTOR: Ben Stiller

STARRING: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Christine Taylor, Milla Jovovich, Jerry Stiller & Jon Voight

FAVE QUOTE: “How can we be expected to teach children to learn how to read if they can’t even fit inside the building?” – Derek Zoolander

BEST MOMENT: Two words – gasoline fight!

Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) is VH1’s three time male model of the year, but when Hansel (Owen Wilson) wins the award instead. Zoolander’s world turns upside down as his male model friends die in a freakish gasoline fight accident, he decides to retire and goes back to live with his father (Jon Voight), whose dissapointed in him & what he has become. Evil fashion guru Mugato (Will Ferrell) hires Zoolander, he thinks his life has turned back round again, that is until he finds out that Mugato has actually brainwashed him to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia, he needs help from Matilda (Christine Taylor) and his rival Hansel to stop it from happening. The film was released back in 2001 and to be honest, this is a film that Ben Stiller hasn’t better acted in (though there is another film which he directed that is higher on this list). Stiller & Wilson really work well together and Ferrell is really good aswell as the evil fashion guru Mugato. Look out for random guest appearances (David Duchovny, David Bowie & Billy Zane!??). Should check it out and of course at the end, Zoolander does realise that there is more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking.

99. A NIGHT AT THE ROXBURY

DIRECTOR: John Fortenberry

STARRING: Will Ferrell, Chris Katan, Dan Hedaya, Loni Anderson, Molly Shannon & Chazz Palminteri

FAVE QUOTE: “Steve, don’t hit on the bridesmaid. It’s your wedding.” – Barbara Butabi

BEST MOMENT: The dancefloor scene

 

98. COOL RUNNINGS

DIRECTOR: Jon Turteltaub

STARRING: John Candy, Malik Yoba, Doug E Doug, Leon Robinson, Rawle D Lewis & Raymond J Barry

FAVE QUOTE: “I’m freezing my royal Rastafarian nay-nays off!”- Sanka Coffie

BEST MOMENT: Crossing towards the finish line at the end…you’ll get it

  

97. GO

the movie poster DIRECTOR: Doug LimanSTARRING: Katie Holmes, Sarah Polly, Desmond Askew, Nathan Bexton, Scott Wolf, Jay Mohr, Timothy Olphant, William Fichtner & Taye DiggsFAVE QUOTE: "Wow, I didn't know we'd become such good friends, because if we had, you'd know that I give head before I give favors and I don't even give my best friends head so your chances of getting a favor are pretty fucking slim."- ToddBEST MOMENT: A naked Fichtner creeping out Jay Mohr...priceless 96. BRONSONTom Hardy as Bronson

DIRECTOR: Nicolas Winding Refn

STARRING: Tom Hardy, Matt King & Amanda Burton

FAVE QUOTE: “For most people, prison is a monotonous nightmare. But for me, it was finally a place where I could sharpen my tools, hone my skills.” – Charles Bronson

BEST MOMENT: The scene where he takes the library officer & strips naked and shouts abuse at him whilst waiting for the other guards to arrive.

95. MONSTERS INC

 

Mike & Sulley

DIRECTOR: Pete Docter

STARRING: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn & Jennifer Tilly

FAVE QUOTE: “Oh, you should have seen the look on Waternoose’s face when that wall went up. Woo-hoo! I hope we get a copy of that tape. Hey, you all right? Come on, we did it. We got Boo home. Sure, we put the company in the toilet, and, gee, hundreds of people will be out of work now, not to mention the angry mob that’ll come after us when there’s no more power… but hey, at least we had a few laughs, right?” – Mike

BEST MOMENT: Sulley takes Boo home. I see those tears dammit!

94. SIN CITY

 

Marv's going to war

DIRECTOR: Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller

STARRING: Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Devon Akoi, Powers Boothe, Rosario Dawson, Beinicio Del Toro, Carla Cugino, Josh Hartnett, Clive Owen, Brittany Murphy, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jaime King, Rutger Hauer, Michael Madsen, Nick Stahl & Elijah Wood

FAVE QUOTE: “OSo, you were scared, weren’t you Goldie? Somebody wanted you dead and you knew it. Well, I’m gonna find that son of a bitch that killed you, and I’m gonna give him the hard goodbye. Walk down the right back alley in Sin City, and you can find anything.” – Marv

BEST MOMENT: Marv in the electric chair

93. THE CABLE GUY

Steven & Chip

DIRECTOR: Ben Stiller

STARRING: Jim Carrey, Matthew Broderick, Leslie Mann, Jack Black, George Segal, Diane Baker, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson & Eric Roberts

FAVE QUOTE: “Come back here, so that I may brain thee!” – Chip Douglas

BEST MOMENT: The entire Medival Times scene, especially Chip Douglas’ Kirk VS Spock Star Trek moment, utter genius!

92. THE MIST

 

Something ain't right outside

DIRECTOR: Frank Darabont

STARRING: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, William Sadler, David Jansen, Toby Jones, Jeffrey DeMunn, Frances Sternhagen, Nathan Gamble & Sam Witwer

FAVE QUOTE: “If you hit me again, if you dare, you’ll be on your knees to me before this is through.” – Mrs Carmody

BEST MOMENT: Almost sounds cliche saying this, but it does have an ending that will stick with you for quite sometime and fair play to Frank for sticking to his guns in doing this.

91. DONNIE DARKO

ever gone into a cinema & see a big rabbit

DIRECTOR: Richard Kelly

STARRING: Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Daviegh Chase, Mary McDonnell, James Duval, Patrick Swayze,  Jazzie Mahannah, Jena Malone, Seth Rogen, Kristina Malota, Marina Malota, Drew Barrymore & Noah Wyle

FAVE QUOTE: “Dear Roberta Sparrow, I have reached the end of your book and… there are so many things that I need to ask you. Sometimes I’m afraid of what you might tell me. Sometimes I’m afraid that you’ll tell me that this is not a work of fiction. I can only hope that the answers will come to me in my sleep. I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to.” – Donnie Darko

 

BEST MOMENT: The “Mad World” Montage at the end.

Freaky doll

DIRECTOR: James Wan

STARRING: Leigh Wannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Ken Leung, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Shawnee Smith & Tobin Bell

FAVE QUOTE: “Congratulations. You are still alive. Most people are so ungrateful to be alive. But not you. Not anymore.”- Jigsaw

BEST MOMENT: It looks like they’re going to make it….wait a minute, what the fuck? the body that’s been lying on the floor montionless all this time gets up!!! A Franchise is born.

89. PRIATES OF THE CARRIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow

DIRECTOR: Gore Verbinski

STARRING: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightley, Jack Davenport, Geoffrey Rush & Jonathan Pryce

FAVE QUOTE: “Me? I’m dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It’s the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they’re going to do something incredibly… stupid.” – Jack Sparrow

BEST MOMENT: The introduction of Jack Sparrow & the boat sinking.

 

88. BRICK

Brick

DIRECTOR: Rian Johnson

STARRING: Joesph-Gordon Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Noah Fleiss, Lukas Haas, Noah Segan & Emilie de Ravin

FAVE QUOTE: “Ask any dope rat where their junk sprang and they’ll say they scraped it from that who scored it from this who bought it off so and after four or five connections the list always ends with the Pin. But I bet you got every rat in town together and said ’show your hands’ if any of them’ve actually seen the Pin, you’d get a crowd of full pockets.” – The Brian

BEST MOMENT: The baseball slide followed by head to post moment….ouch!

 

87. THE GOONIES

The Goonies

DIRECTOR: Richard Donner

STARRING: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Jonathan Ke Quan, John Matuszak, Anne Ramsey, Robert Davi & Joe Pantoliano

FAVE QUOTE: “Hey, you guys!” – Sloth

BEST MOMENT: The Truffle Shuffle, everytime or Sloth ripping his shirt to reveal the Superman one.

 

86. THE LOST BOYS

Before the Jack Bauer days

DIRECTOR: Joel Schumacher

STARRING: Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Dianne West, Barnard Hughes, Jamison Newlander, Edward Herrmann & Jami Gertz

FAVE QUOTE: “Death by Stereo.”- Sam Emerson

BEST MOMENT: The complete over the top death of the vampire in the garlic filled bath.

 

85. TRADING PLACES

Trading Places

DIRECTOR: John Landis

STARRING: Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis & Denholm Elliott

FAVE QUOTE: “Those men wanted to have sex with me.”- Louis Winthorpe III

BEST MOMENT: Louis pretends to be a  rastafarian as Billy Ray pretends to be a Cameroon exchange student in the train scene.

84. SLUMGDOG MILLIONAIRE

Slumdog Millionaire

DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle

STARRING: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla, Madhur Mittal & Anil Kapoor

FAVE QUOTE: “Maybe It’s Written.”- Jamal

BEST MOMENT: The train montage scene with M.I.A’s “Paper Planes” song and the moment they fall off & roll down the hill & grow older.

83. LETHAL WEAPON

Lethal Weapon

DIRECTOR: Richard Donner

STARRING: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Mitch Ryan, Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Ebonie Smith & Damon Hines

FAVE QUOTE: “Hey, look friend, let’s just cut the shit. Now we both know why I was transferred. Everybody thinks I’m suicidal, in which case, I’m fucked and nobody wants to work with me; or they think I’m faking to draw a psycho pension, in which case, I’m fucked and nobody wants to work with me. Basically, I’m fucked.”- Riggs

BEST MOMENT: The rooftop scene. Do you really wanna jump?

82. JAWS

Jaws

DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg

STARRING: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary & Murray Hamilton

FAVE QUOTE: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat. ” – Martin Brody

BEST MOMENT: Jaws finally appears on screen.

81. 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN

40 Year Old Virgin - The waxing scene

DIRECTOR: Judd Apatow

STARRING: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Catherine Turner, Seth Rogen, Romany Malco, Kat Dennings, Elizabeth Banks & Jane Lynch

FAVE QUOTE: “You know, I may not have had sex, but I could fuck you up. ” – Andy Stitzer

BEST MOMENT: The entire improvised “You Know How I Know You’re Gay?” scene between Paul Rudd & Seth Rogen.

80. GET SHORTY

Get Shorty

DIRECTOR: Barry Sonnenfield

STARRING: John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Danny De Vito, Rene Russo, Delroy Lindo, Jon Gries, Dennis Farina & James Gandolfini

FAVE QUOTE: “Rough business, this movie business. I’m gonna have to go back to loan-sharking just to take a rest.” – Chili Palmer

BEST MOMENT: Chili Palmer throwing Bear down the stairs…then the talk afterwards.

79. MYSTIC RIVER

Sean Penn in Mystic River

DIRECTOR: Clint Eastwood

STARRING: Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, Laurence Fishburne, Laura Linney, Emmy Rossum & Marcia Gay Harden

FAVE QUOTE: “Sometimes I think, I think all three of us got in that car….” – Sean Devine

BEST MOMENT: Dave’s rant about vampires to his freaked out wife.

“I’ll never wear a lifejacket again…”

There are many, many reasons to admire Steven Spielberg’s Jaws.

But for me, the main attraction is the fantastic chemistry and interaction between the three main stars and their characters – Robert Shaw’s Quint, Roy Scheider’s police chief Martin Brody and Richard Dreyfuss‘ marine biologist Matt Hooper.

The most intriguing character of that trinity is undoubtedly Robert Shaw’s enigmatic, world-weary shark-hunter Quint, a grizzled old sea-dog with an Ahab-esque obsession with the creatures.

The root of this obsession is revealed in this chilling monologue about the fate of the USS Indianapolis, a story rendered all the more powerful by the fact that it was based on a real incident (albeit the filmmakers used a little artistic licence to tweak the facts):

Me sorprende descubrir una y otra vez aficionados al cine que todavía no han visto esta película. Sirvan estas líneas para intentar desfacer el entuerto. El director y coreógrafo Bob Fosse (Chicago, 1927) es seguro más conocido por los musicales Cabaret (1972) o Chicago, éste último estrenado en Broadway en 1975 y llevado al cine con gran éxito de público en 2002. Pero no, ésta es la buena. En el musical All That Jazz (Empieza el espectáculo, 1979) se produce ese milagro que llamamos arte.

Son raras las ocasiones en que una persona de talento se siente tan confiada ante la muerte que es capaz de brindar un pedazo de su vida de manera tan evocadora y a su vez, quizá a pesar de la paradoja, tan honesta. All That Jazz contiene alguno de los escasos momentos en que el cine es ventana al trasluz de la vida íntima de las personas con la sinceridad y elegancia suficientes para hacernos felices a pesar de su desenlace. No se la pierdan.

George Benson – On Broadway (All That Jazz, 1979)

Vineshoot

Roy Scheider

From The Graduate Review Jan/Feb 1981

In September’s Playboy interview, Roy Scheider, star of The French Connection, Jaws, and All that Jazz, talked about his est training as an experience of theater: “You come to understand that within each of us is a tremendous beauty, passion, joy, and love for life; you realize that everyone is you… I’ve never had a better time in my life. I never laughed so much, I never cried so much. I was actually dazzled. I couldn’t believe that degree of intimacy could be achieved in a hotel room with 300 people… And I was one of the actors in the show. It was sensational.”

Jaws, 1975 – Direção: Steven Spielberg – Elenco:Roy Scheider,Robert Shaw,Richard Dreyfuss.

Um dos melhores filmes de um dos diretores mais famosos e mais queridos de todos os tempos.

Tubarão, pra começar tudo é o filme mais “toma na cara e vira macho” de Spielberg, talvez o único. Mesmo com toda a questão da família e tudo mais, aqui o velhinho simpático não nos obriga a chorar ou ficar tristes ou receosos, ele apenas faz o filme pela gratificação de fazê-lo, nada mais.

A história é bem simples e brusca, se pegarmos que depois dos créditos iniciais vemos uma moça morrer puxada pra baixo da água por alguma “coisa” enquanto um bêbado na encosta, que não sabe nem se está na praia ou em Las Vegas, não a escuta. Depois descobrimos pelos restos destroçados da moça que ela foi atacada por um tubarão dos mais enormes. Daí começa toda a bagaça.

O chefe de policia tem que tomar uma providência quanto a isso certo? Então decide fechar a praia, nada mais lógico. Mas o interessante é ver que o capitalismo decorrente do nosso mundo esta presente ali criticado pelos realizadores da película. Eles jogam como Raimi jogou recentemente em Drag me to hell toda a culpa dos acontecimentos seguintes na ambição exagerada dos personagens em querer mais grana. O prefeito rejeita o pedido do chefe de policia e não deixe que este feche a praia. Até porque, a cidade é uma cidade turística de verão que ganha dinheiro com os turistas que vão pra lá no verão. E fechar a praia é uma loucura mesmo, é melhor algumas pessoas morrerem comidas por um animal enorme do que a cidade perder um ano de dinheiro.

Spilba (vou chamá-lo assim ta, porque só o chamo assim) cria um dos maiores climões de suspense do cinema aqui, e tudo com um grande “nada” aparecendo nas cenas e amedrontando qualquer um. Sim, um nada. O nosso tubarão só vai aparecer realmente lá pra parte final do filme (final mesmo). Fora isso, Spilba cria uma atmosfera de medo e pânico poucas vezes alcançada depois disso. Na época as pessoas ficaram com medo de ir a praias por causa do filme.

Os atores estão arregaçando tudo e é legal comentar um momento de qual não me lembrava (ou talvez a sessão da tarde tenha cortado) no qual, o nosso chefe de policia querido está acabado diante da mesa do jantar e o clima é pesado de mais e nós sentimos toda a culpa que ele sente (afinal, foi esbofeteado na frente de quase toda a cidade por uma mãe que perdeu o filho mesmo com o chefe sabendo). E mesmo assim, mesmo nesse momento cru e triste, o filho mais novo do chefe o imita, sim cada gesto, o que torna a cena ainda mais clássica e honesta. O jovenzinho é todo o símbolo de que Spilba sempre buscou em seu cinema: família. Sim, e apenas com gestos imitando seu pai o jovenzinho consegue transmitir tanto que nem eu aguentei ver a cena toda sem parar um pouco. Carga dramática e humorada ao mesmo tempo transcendendo o normal em um dos primeiros filmes do cara foi foda.

A cenas eternas de mais, desde a primeira morte, passando pelos ataques do tubarão, pela apresentação do Quint, vindo pelas cenas de aventura no barco até chegar na morte clássica e eterna do tubarão com um tremendo “smile, you sun of…”(“sorria, seu filho da…”), seguido da explosão do protagonista.

É folks, o protagonista é o tubarão, querendo ou não.

Mas o filme é tudo o que todos os fãs dizem mesmo, e eu sou um deles, portanto, vão e vejam se é que ainda há alguém vivo que nõ tenha visto. A única coisa ruim foi não ver com a dublagem clássica da sessão da tarde. Se tivesse ela no dvd eu nem fazia questão de ver legendado, sério, traria uma nostalgia da porra. Mas como foi redublado para quem não curte ver legendado e é besta por isso, no dvd não tem mais a versão da sessão da tarde.

Filme foda, um dos melhores do Spilba junto com Jurassic Park e Indiana Jones, e que tem um dos enredos mais fantásticos que já vi. Comentar também sobre a trilha sacana de John Wlliams que com apenas duas notas crescentes faz meu coração vibrar de tensão até hoje. Pois é, da fotografia aos enquadramentos inteligentes e surpreendentes (me espanto com algumas angulações que Spilba filmou no barco) à trilha sonora o filme se dá bem em tudo, inclusive no fazer divertir e ter medo, que é seu maior objetivo, ainda mais sendo o primeiro grande blockbuster que os EUA já viram em seu verão.

5/5