Will Pfeifer's Blog, page 7

Movies I Watched in April, Part 1

How about this? April has only been over for a handful of days and already I'm posting the first installment (of three) of movie recaps. Enjoy! (And don't get used to it.)


Such a bizarre title. The movie’s not that odd, not nearly, but it is a bit strange. A mixture of deadpan comedy and gangster hijinks, it could only have been made by Warner Bros., circa 1938, after the Production Code forbade the sort of nasty violence that made Edward G. Robinson a star but before the studio figured out what to do with its next big star, Humphrey Bogart, who plays the heel this time around. The story concerns a Park Avenue doctor (Robinson) who, in researching the criminal mind, takes over a gang of burglars and guides them in their crimes, examining them before, during and after to aid his studies. Naturally, he’s a genius at it, outfoxing cops and crooks alike (Robinson is best when he’s playing the smartest guy in the room), and naturally he falls (sort of) in love with the femme fatale fence, played by Claire Trevor. (She, Robinson and Bogart would re-team a few years later in a much darker crime drama, “Key Largo, and Trevor won theOscar for that film.) The rest of the "Clitterhouse" cast is rounded out by such Warner Bros. stalwarts as Allen Jenkins, Ward Bond and Maxie Rosenbloom, and the whole thing ends in a pre-“Catch 22” catch 22 situation, where Robinson can be acquitted if he’s insane, but if he wants to be acquitted, it proves he’s sane (or something like that). It’s not a classic, but it’s a lot of fun. Don’t let that name stop you from watching it.

This is such a swell little comedy it’s almost hard to believe it exists. It’s talky but never boring, over-the-top but never too-silly and glides along on the backs of two character who, in a lesser film, would be utterly unbearable but here are completely endearing. Alan Arkin (playing a tightly wound dentist) and Peter Falk (playing a CIA operative with a screw loose) are, no kidding, one of the greatest comedy teams in movie history, bouncing off each other brilliantly, with Arkin delivering the perfect deadpan reactions to Falk’s relaxed insanity (though, admittedly, Arkin gets more hysterical as the plot gets crazier). And, not that those two need it, but the movie continually refreshes itself with new jolts of comic energy – James Hong’s enthusiastic pilot, Richard Libertini’s madman general and Ed Begley Jr.’s nonchalant government agent. So many great scenes (“Serpentine, Shelly! Serpentine!”) and so many great lines (“I saw things. They have tsetse flies down there the size of eagles.”) and so many great characters. It deserves a spot on any all-time best comedy list you can imagine. (And if the poster puts you off, don't worry -- the movie itself is nothing like that idiotic sell-job.)

We Pfeifers are big fans of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (and I’m a big fan of Wes Anderson in general), so we wanted to catch this one on the big screen where we could appreciate the director's obsessive attention to detail. And we were not disappointed. This stop-motion marvel is even more meticulously constructed than “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” with a future Japan lovingly brought to life with every dog tag,every bit of debris and every piece of poisoned sushi wrap rendered in beautiful, painstaking detail. Admittedly, I didn’t find myself quite as emotionally invested in “Isle of Dogs” as I did in “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” Maybe the language barrier – which is only occasionally bridged by infrequent subtitles – was to blame, but at any rate, I still enjoyed the movie quite a bit and even got a tiny lump in my throat when a certain dog, at long last, plays a certain game of fetch. It’s a rich, rewarding story with several narrative surprises built in, and the voice cast – including Bryan Cranston (legitimately great), Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, Greta Gerwig, Francis McDormand and, as Atari, the brave boy at the center of it all, Koyu Rankin – is top-notch. But it’s the visuals that steal the show, here, with Anderson creating his most complex, most elaborate setting yet, each scene packed (and I mean PACKED) with details I can’t wait to catch on a rewatch. Oh, and the title is a pun, in case you didn't notice.
Up next: A rewatch of "The Last Jedi" and a dark, dark crime drama co-starring, of all people, Bill Cosby.

Movies I Watched in March, Part 3

The month of April is over, so I might as well stop screwing around and finish the movie recap for March...


Allie’s latest rewatch of the Harry Potter movies (which managed to skip my personal favorite, “Prisoner of Azkaban”) somehow ended on the initial film in the series as she showed it to her grandma (my mom) for the first time. Mom enjoyed it a lot (probably more than most of the movies I showed her at Allie’s age), and though I’m still not wild about it, I have to admire how most of the pieces are put in place right from the start, with little hint at how dark things will eventually get. This one (and the follow-up, covered here) are really kids movies, with lighter action, sillier comedy and more kid-oriented subject matter, like school, sports and making friends. I’m still not crazy about how the scenes with the Dursleys are played. (They’re so cartoonishly mean to Harry, which works, I guess, as the backstory in a children’s book but doesn’t fit into the larger picture – I mean, Harry should have them trembling in fear by episode three or four. And why doesn’t he just stay at Hogwarts over the summers? I realize this is all probably explained in the books, but I’m reviewing the movies here, Potter-nerds.) And I definitely prefer Michael Gambon as Dumbledore over (the late) Richard Harris, who plays the role in the first two films. But otherwise, though "Sorcerer's Stone" is the least of the series, it’s still not half bad. I’m sure I’ll wind up seeing it again during Allie’s next rewatch, and honestly, I’m not completely dreading it.

I went into this one with high expectations, considering it's the second movie from Armando Iannucci, the guy behind "Veep," "The Thick of It" (the brilliant, British precursor to "Veep") and "In the Loop (the big-screen spin-off of "Veep"), all masterful political comedies. How high were my expectations? I've been looking forward to "The Death of Stalin" ever since I heard he left "Veep" to work on it, and I ordered a Blu-ray from Amazon's British branch because I had no idea when the film would finally arrive in the states.

So, how was it? Pretty damned great, I'm happy to say -- very funny, very (very) dark and one of the smartest movies I've seen in a long time. The whole thing (as you may have guessed from the title) focuses on the myriad power struggles that took place after Soviet dictator Josef Stalin died suddenly in 1953. Matters were so  tense that his various underlings spent a startling amount of time figuring out how to proceed politically while the dying Stalin lay on the floor of his bedroom before anyone called for medical professionals. That grim comic energy fuels the entire film, with razor sharp dialogue expertly delivered as nightmarish action takes place in the background. This is the sort of movie where we're expected to laugh at the arguments between Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) and KGB chief Lavrentiy Berea (Simon Russell Beale) while innocent Russians are rounded up to be shot -- or worse. And, thanks to the skill of Iannucci and his collaborators, we do. Or at least I did. This is the sort of comedy you either find funny or don't. If you don't, there's nothing I can say to convince you. It's like "Dr. Strangelove," which dares the audience to laugh at the death of nearly everyone on early. The stakes in "The Death of Stalin" aren't quite as high, but they're a lot more personal. That's partly thanks to the excellent cast Iannucci assembled: Buscemi and Beale are nothing short of amazing, speaking in their natural accents, which might strain credibility for a few seconds but quickly reveals itself as a way to connect more directly with the audience. They get strong support from Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Palin (who co-starred in "Brazil," another nightmare comedy) and Paddy Considine. Special credit goes to Jason Isaacs, probably best known as Lucius Malfoy in the aforementioned Harry Potter movies. Here he plays tough-as-nails General Georgy Zhukov, and he's a comedic revelation, hilarious in ways I never expected him to be. Everyone is good -- great, even -- but he steals the show.

Movies I Watched in March, Part 2

Watched this one with my old Out of Theaters podcast compadre Billy Kulpa, who loves the modern James Bond movies but hasn’t watched many of their spy-tech cousins in the “Mission: Impossible” franchise. He liked this one. I liked it too, though I'd seen it before, and what struck me this time around was how stripped-down these movies really are. Though there are some nods in "Ghost Protocol" to the ill-fated marriage Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt had in the last movie, aside from some amusing banter (mostly between Hunt and Simon Pegg’s Benji), the “Mission: Impossible” movies find their (very entertaining) groove by jettisoning virtually all unnecessary character elements and focusing on the action – usually built around a handful of truly impressive set pieces. This one has the prison escape, the break-in at the Kremlin, the sandstorm chase, the elevator-car-garage finale and, most memorably, Cruise hopping around the outside of the Burj Khalifa Tower, the tallest building in the world. (And no, it wasn’t a stunt double or a CGI trick.) Whatever you think of Tom Cruise’s acting ability, his offscreen antics or his public persona, you have to admit this is a stunning bit of stuntwork. Even on a small screen, it’s vertigo-inducing.


For some reason, Allie’s been on yet another Harry Potter kick lately, which means she’s been doing an out-of-order rewatch of the series, and – if I happen to be in the room, I’ve been rewatching them, too. I’ve gone on record as not being a huge fan of the first two, Chris Columbus-directed films, but I am impressed by how they put all the pieces in place and how damned inviting Hogwarts must seem to a kid – moving paintings, colossal feasts, a sport that involves flying, quirky teachers, Christmas decorations and an ever-present sense of high-stakes adventure and endless discovery. Though there’s danger and (a bit) of death, things don’t really get too grim in these early installments, making them fine for the kids who are a little younger than our heroes. And speaking of our heroes, the crew of casting directors who worked on these films deserves some sort of special Oscar for choosing Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint to carry the series. It’s still amazing how well it all worked out.

Coming up: More Harry Potter and one of the best -- and darkest -- comedies in years

Movies I Watched in March, Part 1

This is really one of the all-time greats, isn’t it? My love of Billy Wilder usually focuses on “The Apartment” (probably my favorite movie), but this mesmerizing, intelligent noir is right up there, too. And just as “The Apartment” revolves around a trio of characters, “Double Indemnity” pulls the same trick more a decade and a half earlier – and both movies happen to feature Fred MacMurray as a member of that trio. Here he plays insurance agent Walter Neff, a guy who’s not necessarily evil but is certainly willing to be led down that path. Thankfully, Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck, giving a performance for the ages) just happens to be looking for some poor schmuck to help her kill her husband. It’s a talky film with little action, but the talk is top-notch, from Neff’s sardonic narration (really, did anyone do narration better than Wilder and his co-writers?) to the amazing speech Neff’s pal, played Edward G. Robinson (the third person in the trio), gives to his stuffy boss explaining how Mr. Dietrichson couldn’t have committed suicide by jumping from a slow-moving train. (Ending with the unforgettable line, "Next time, I'll rent a tuxedo!") The whole movie is packed with murder and betrayal, but somehow it manages to be one of the most purely entertaining movies in Hollywood history. If you've never seen it, correct that immediately.


Speaking of Edward G. Robinson, he gives a lot of dramatic speeches in this movie, too, though it’s not nearly as polished and low-key as “Double Indemnity.” That’s not a slam, though – the frantic, overheated, borderline offensive style is perfect for this still-shocking portrayal of tabloid newspapers circa 1931. I’ve written about “Five Star Final” before on this blog (check here for a full review), but it’s one I always enjoy shining the spotlight on. The pre-Code movies released before 1934 are notorious for their scandalous content, but this movie really takes the cake, both for its overall plot (sleazy tabloid digs up a murder story from the past, resulting in a double suicide) and for its specific moments (hyping a planned – and no-doubt deadly – taxi race, promoter Ziggy Feinstein brags he’s going to let “an Irishman, a Jew and a Wop win”!) The whole movie is full of that sort of stuff, things you can’t believe made it to the screen 80-plus years ago. Boris Karloff plays a sleazy defrocked minister, Ona Munson plays an ex-hooker-turned-“reporter” who’s hired for her curvy figure, and Eddie G. plays the editor trapped in the middle of it all, alternately wallowing in the sleaze and feeling guilty about it. (He endlessly washes his hands.) When he finally has enough in the film's final scene, he tells the publisher he can “shove it up his –” with that final word replaced by the crash of the phone as he hurls it through a window. But we know what he said. We know exactly what he said.

Coming up: Those crazy kids at Hogwarts and Mr. Tom Cruise

What I Watched in February, Part 3

Now that it's (damn!) April, I really need to finish the February movie wrap-up. So here goes, quick and dirty...


I've been obsessed with the National Lampoon to one degree or another since my college days, when the actual Lampoon was on its last legs as a magazine but the vintage humor of it's 1970s heyday was exactly the sort of dark, smart comedy I was craving. I've read just about every issue in one form or another, and I've read every book I could find about the magazine, including "A Futile and Stupid Gesture," Doug Karp's biography of Doug Kenney that formed the basis of this Netflix film. Kenney was a legit comic genius, a Harvard grad who helped found the National Lampoon and wrote some of its best pieces, then co-wrote "Animal House" and "Caddyshack," then either fell or jumped off a cliff in Hawaii in 1980 at the tender age of 33. (Harold Ramis legendarily joked that he fell while looking for a place to jump.) This movie covers all of that and more, with Will Forte as Kenney and a pretty amazing cast as everyone else, including Domhnall Gleason as Henry Beard, Thomas Lennon as Michael O'Donoghue, Matt Walsh as Matty Simmons, Joel McHale as Chevy Chase (nice bit of stunt casting there) and Martin Mull as the old version of Kenney that the actual Kenney never lived to be. It's fast-paced, fairly funny, and if you're a National Lampoon obsessive (like me), you'll have a good time watching infamous NatLamp moments brought to life. It does fall into the standard biopic trap of trying to make it all mean something in the end, but at least it tries to be different with constant breaks in the fourth wall and a sloppy, shambling vibe that makes the more cliched moments easier to digest. If you stumble on this and want more, I highly encourage you to check out the actual documentary "Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead" (also on Netflix, I believe) and then read Karp's book as well as "Mr. Mike: The Life and Work of Michael O'Donoghue" by Dennis Perrin, which covers some of the same ground but is even better. Then, for god's sake, dig up a copy of "The National Lampoon 1964 High School Yearbook," which Kenney co-created, which is, no kidding, one of the best things I've ever seen in print. No kidding.


As a lifelong horror fan, I love the fact that a no-kidding, honest-to-god monster movie actually won the Best Picture Oscar. Did it deserve to? I don't know, having only seen two of the nominees this year (the other being another horror movie," Get Out.") But I do know that, more often than not, the movies that endure, the ones people talk about decades later and the ones whose stories, visuals and big moments resonate throughout time? Those are the genre flicks, the films noir, the sci-fi epics, the comedies and, yes, the monster movies, so I'm more than happy that Guillermo del Toro has a gold statue on this shelf for this somewhat sexed-up reimagining of "The Creature from the Black Lagoon." It's a fine film, that's for sure, with gorgeous visuals, strong performances and just the right mix of melancholy, suspense and wonder. (Strangely enough, the one thing the movie isn't is scary.) I really loved the scenes del Toro just cut loose, like black-and-white dance number or the flooding of the apartment during our mismatched lovers' big night together. I've seen hundreds of monster movies over the years, but I can honestly say I've never seen one quite like this. (Oh, and near the beginning, we glimpse the name "Stromberg" on a plaque in the science facility -- that's gotta be a nod to the sea-obsessed villain from "The Spy Who Loved Me," right?)


It's solid, entertaining superhero movie, hitting that middle-of-the-road level of quality that Marvel manages to achieve with ease every time out. Good, strong villain from Michael B. Jordan, plenty of interesting side characters and the Black Panther himself has just enough sly humor to avoid the trap of being a boring-but-noble hero. The downside? Some surprisingly wonky special effects and an ending that, like a lot of Marvel movies, degenerates into a bunch of computer-generated characters fighting each other in a confusing crowd scene. (I'm already dreading something similar in "Infinity War.") If I sound a little lukewarm about "Black Panther," that's perfectly fine -- because clearly, this one wasn't made with me, a white, 50-year-old guy, in mind. If, on the other hand, I were a young African-American boy or girl, I think my head would've exploded with delight and inspiration. Those are the kids "Black Panther" is aimed at, and even if Disney is just targeting an untapped market, the effect is going to be a positive one. I've been looking at superheroes who look like me since before I can remember. Now it's their turn, and the fact that this is the most profitable superhero movie ever made has to mean something. Like I said about "The Shape of Water," it's the genre films, the one aimed at the crowds, the ones designed to entertain -- those are the movies that have a real, lasting impact.

What I Watched in February, Part 2

When something as visually impressive as this movie doesn't make much of an impression, I guess we're finally living in the world where the technical accomplishments of modern digital animation are taken for granted. I remember a few decades ago when the now-fairly-crude-looking backgrounds of "Toy Story" looked amazingly lifelike to my mid 1990s eyes, but now the genuinely breathtaking backgrounds of "Moana" are just, well, backgrounds. It's a fine film, hitting all the mandatory notes of believing in yourself and not judging a book by it's cover, but I have to admit, I can't remember much of it a few weeks later. (Whether my 50-year-old brain or the current animation glut is to blame, I can't say.) Still, it'll pass a few hours, kids will like it, and you get to hear The Rock attempt to sing (and it's honestly pretty endearing). Nice design on the villain, too.


Continuing the semi-official 1970s disaster movie marathon that also included "The Towering Inferno" and "The Poseidon Adventure" (which I just realized I completely forgot to write about -- quick review, it's possibly the least fun of the three while also being the best actual movie), I slogged through this 1974 blockbuster that, believe it or not, was NOT produced by Irwin Allen. It uses the same formula as "Inferno" -- take a star-studded cast, spend a looooong time introducing them, then wreak havoc upon their location, in this case, downtown Los Angeles. The cast is admittedly mind-boggling in a distinctly 1970s way, with Charlton Heston leading the way, followed by Lorne Greene, Ava Gardner (as Greene's daughter!), George Kennedy, John Randolph, Genevieve Bujold, Richard Roundtree (as an Evel Knievel type daredevil), Barry Sullivan, Lloyd Nolan, Victoria Principal (in a crazy afro wig), Walter Matthau (in an uncredited cameo wearing a wild pimp outfit) and, sealing the deal, '70s mainstay Marjoe Gortner playing a maniacal grocery clerk/National Guard soldier. The effects aren't convincing, but they're BIG, and the whole thing was originally presented in Sensurround, meaning the theater shook during the quake scenes. It's not good, not by a long shot, but it's as concise a picture of pre-"Jaws" big-budget filmmaking as you're going to find. The strangest thing about it? The whole colossal mess was directly by Mark Robson, who edited Val Lewton's "Cat People" and directed Lewton's "The Seventh Victim," arguably two of the smallest (but best) movies Hollywood ever released.


You know, Sylvester Stallone used to be in some pretty interesting movies. Take this 1981 police thriller where he and Billy Dee Williams are cops on the trail of an international terrorist played by none other than Rutger Hauer. It's before movies like "Rambo, First Blood: Part II" and "Cobra" took over Stallone's persona, so he gets to play an actual character here, and though he shouts his way through too many scenes, he still manages to make "Deke DaSilva" (that name!) semi-interesting. Hauer steals the show, of course, in his American film debut, and the intriguing cast also includes Lindsay "Bionic Woman" Wagner, Persis "bald woman in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" Khambatta and, in a blink-or-you'll-miss-it cameo, adult film star (and decent actor) Jamie Gillis. The whole film has a nice New-York-at-its-worst-vibe, and there's a great little twist ending I won't spoil here.

Up next: The end of the February recap, including a "National Lampoon" biopic and not one but two theatrical releases.

What I Watched in February, Part 1

Here goes, at long last...


February's semi-accidental David Mamet month continued into March with a viewing of this 1997 comedy that, though it was made before the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, actually told the story of an administration that staged a fake war to distract from a presidential sex scandal. Real-world parallels aside, it's a damn smart movie with late career best performances from Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman (this, and not that terrible "Meet the Fockers" movie is the comedy that duo should be remembered for). It's all fueled by a whip-smart script from Mamet and Hilary Henkin (based on the book "American Hero" by Larry Beinhart) and smooth, unobtrusive direction from Barry Levinson. Check this one out, people -- it's worth another look, even if the Clinton era feels a million years away.

Low-budget, performance-heavy documentary centered on the Sex Pistols' 1978 tour that's a fascinating, entertaining slice of history if you're into this sort of thing (and I obviously am). Besides the Pistols footage (which includes their legendary final flame-out at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom), the film also includes live material from the Dead Boys, Generation X and other bands of the era, plus plenty of stuffy authority figures bemoaning the Pistols, the music, the kids and the fall of civilization. It's most notorious for the interview segment with Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungeon, with Sid (sporting a swastika T-shirt) and nodding off on a heroin binge while Nancy raises nasally whining to an artform. To sum up, if you don't care for punk, you'll hate the whole movie. If you do like punk, you'll probably love it. Just like the music, in other words.


I've seen it before, of course, in the theater and on Blu-ray, but HBO put it into rotation, so I watched it with the kid, figuring she might enjoy its mix of crazy, videogame inspired action and offbeat comedy. And she was right. What's more, I was reminded once again just what a wild ride this movie is -- one of the most purely entertaining movies of the 20th century and proof that Edgar Wright is possibly the best fun filmmaker working today.

Up next: Disney animation, a vintage 1970s disaster flick and Sly Stallone not playing Rocky or Rambo.

Buy My Comics, Make Me Rich: THE LIBRARIANS #4

The final issue of my run on THE LIBRARIANS arrives in stores tomorrow, wrapping up the four-part "In Search of" story with the scope expanded to, dare I say, epic proportions. Rodney Buchemi kills it on the art (really, people, I wrote some crazy stuff for him to draw, and he more than delivered), with colors by Weslei Manuel, letters by Troy Peteri and invaluable editing by Anthony Marques.

Check out this preview, then buy your copy Wednesday at your local comic shop -- or online straight from Dynamite here.

Movies I Watched in January, Part 3

And here, with February almost over, is the final installment of the January Recap. Timely as always!


Mamet month (which, I assure you, somehow happened largely by accident), continues with this great little crime movie that features a wonderfully twisty plot and peppy performances from Gene Hackman, Delroy Lindo, Sam Rockwell and Danny DeVito. I don't know if it has any deep meaning, but it's sure fun in a nasty way, and Mamet's dialogue is typically top-notch. The line that gets quoted a lot is DeVito's "Everybody needs money -- that's why they call it money!," but my favorite comes a little later, when DeVito asks Hackman "Don't you want to hear my last words?" and Hackman coldly responds "I just did." It's that sort of a movie.


And finally, Mamet month winds up with the movie that put him on the map (as a writer/director, at least). Less violent than "Heist" and less serious than "Homicide," it set up the template for Mamet movies where each con is hiding another con, and that one's hiding another con. (See also "Heist" and "The Spanish Prisoner.") That formula is reliably fun, at least in Mamet's hands, but it was fun and fresh here, and Joe Mantegna became a bonafide star playing cool-as-ice Mike, the conman you root for no matter how much time he spends stealing money from innocent people. Lindsay Crouse (at that time Ms. Mamet, I believe) delivers a solid performance as a very tightly wound psychologist, but you can't help but prefer Mantegna and his jolly crew of con artists (including Ricky Jay). "House of Games" is such a well-made, entertaining movie that it actually rewards repeat viewings, even when you know the twists that lie ahead. Keep an eye out for the late, great J.T. Walsh and a small (and very early) performance by William H. Macy.

I remember this movie getting a lot of buzz back when it was released in 1981 (and when I was a tad too young to see it) as a shocking look at how crime ridden New York City was. I'm sure the Bronx was in rough shape back then (hell, NYC was in pretty rough shape in 1987, when I spent a college weekend there), but the movie itself looks pretty bland and by-the-numbers after watching dozens of cop movies and season after season of shows like "NYPD Blue," "Hill Street Blues" and "The Wire" (which I realize wasn't set in New York, but you get the idea). There are some moments meant to make us gasp, like when a bad cop tosses an innocent teen off a roof, but mostly the movie is too meandering and episodic to generate any real tension. Paul Newman is charming, as always, and Ed Asner brings a touch of Lou Grant to his role as a crusty captain, but the movie never really clicks. Pam Grier has an odd supporting role as a hooker killing cops, but after seeing her in "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown," you wish she'd been given a little more to do. Still, as an artifact of an era, it's worth a look.

Movies I Watched in January, Part 2

Part two of the January recap…


Purely, as you may have guessed, a “get out of the house” movie, but one that, all things considered, wasn’t too terribly bad. Four algorithmically diverse high school students somehow (a) all end up in the same detention (b) get assigned to clean out an old storeroom and (b) accidentally get transported into the titular videogame whereupon they (a) learn to get along, (b) learn some life lessons and (c) learn how to win and escape. There’s nothing really surprising about the movie, but it’s entertaining enough, and if you had any doubt about Dwayne Johnson’s supernatural charm, “Jumanji” should dismiss it once and for all. It’s the sort of movie that almost hits the mark, and I wish I could go over the script and punch it up a bit. It’s close, frustratingly close.


For some unexplained reason, I went on a David Mamet kick this month, with this being the first of three Mamet films I watched in January (along with reading his brand-new novel, “Chicago”). It never seems to get the love of “House of Games” or his more con/heist-oriented movies, but I’ve always found it fascinating and surprisingly powerful. Joe Mantegna plays a tough cop who stumbles onto the murder of an elderly Jewish woman (a murder he resents having to investigate) and finds himself drawn into an ominous conspiracy involving Jewish history, modern Nazis and deep, dark religious undercurrents. Obviously, Mamet is working out some of his own issues as Mantegna goes deeper and deeper into the plot, and though some people hate the ending, where our hero loses virtually everything, I think it’s great, a powerful, startling punch in the stomach that leaves you questioning everything you’ve seen before. “House of Games” is more fun, and “Heist” is faster and punchier (reviews of both coming up next), but “Homicide” might be Mamet’s most mesmerizing movie.


Conspiracy movie are, by their nature, usually pretty odd, but I’d argue none of them are quite as odd as this one, a 1979 fictional look at the Kennedy assassination starring, among others, Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Sterling Hayden, Anthony Perkins, Dorothy Malone, Ralph Meeker, Eli Wallach, Joe Spinell, Erin Gray, Elizabeth Taylor (!), Toshiro Mifune (!!) and a few others. It’s full of elaborately staged, big scenes and elaborate twists and turns – too bad it doesn’t add up to something more special. Oh, it’s entertaining while you’re watching it, and it’s never quite predictable, but in the end, it doesn’t pack the wallop you’re looking for in a conspiracy movie. Still, worth checking out if you’re looking for something different … because, trust me, this one is definitely different.

Up next: Two more Mamet movies, plus Paul Newman plays cop on the (very) mean streets of New York.