Film Review: FLASHPOINT (1984, William Tannen)

Stars: 4.2 of 5.
Running Time: 94 minutes.
Tag-line: "A wrecked jeep.... A skeleton.... A rifle... $800,000 dollars in cash..."
Notable Cast or Crew: Treat Williams (DEAD HEAT, HAIR, PRINCE OF THE CITY), Kris Kristofferson (LONE STAR, BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA, PAYBACK), Rip Torn (EXTREME PREJUDICE, WILD 90), Kurtwood Smith (ROBOCOP, RAMBO III, THAT 70's SHOW), Kevin Conway (The 90's OUTER LIMITS, F.I.S.T.), Miguel Ferrer (Albert on TWIN PEAKS, ROBOCOP), and Jean Smart (PROJECT X, DESIGNING WOMEN). Music by Tangerine Dream. Written by the underrated Dennis Shryack and Michael Butler (CODE OF SILENCE, PALE RIDER, FIFTY/FIFTY) and based on the novel by George La Foutaine, Sr.
Best exchange: "Like my Daddy always said, 'If you can't get out of it, get into it.'" –"I thought your daddy used to say, 'If you can't fix it, fuck it.'" "He said that, too."

FLASHPOINT is a little known 80's gem from director William Tannen (Chuck Norris' HERO AND THE TERROR and Larry Cohen's DEADLY ILLUSION- not to be confused with F/X 2: THE DEADLY ART OF ILLUSION), who manages to toe the odd line between the sensibilities of Sam Peckinpah and Oliver Stone. I'll be careful not to disclose too much about the plot itself, but suffice it to say that two border patrol agents make a discovery in the desert (see the tag-line) which may or may not bring with it some overwhelming repercussions.


Frequently touted only as a JFK conspiracy flick, the film has significantly less to do with the assassination's cover-up than it does with the powers of the (capital S) System encroaching on the rights of its unwilling subjects. It has an anti-technology slant, to be sure, but only so far as in it is against technology's hijacking by the powers that be for use as, shall we say, a blunt instrument (our heroes frequently feign walkie-talkie malfunction to fleetingly slow the System's bureaucratic juggernaut, which threatens to replace them with robotic sensors).

Meet your replacement.

Orwell tells us "if [we] want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever..."

Well, who's moving to prevent that? In FLASHPOINT, its guys like the 'Nam vet Kris Kristofferson, who'd ordinarily like nothing more than to remain beneath the System's radar:

the intrepid Treat Williams, who believes that inner righteousness will see the storm through:

and the irascible Rip Torn, a sheriff (much like his character in 1987's EXTREME PREJUDICE; he even says the line "The only thing worse than a politician is a child molester," which he would use again with élan) whose hillbilly aphorisms and preference for sour mash disguise a tremendous understanding of the sheer scope of the System's various wheels and gears.

Representing the System is the reptilian Kurtwood Smith, a flag-pin wearin' creep who literally thanks God every day for drugs, murder, and subversion- the general pretenses for said boot stamping.

That oily devil.

Tangerine Dream supplies one of their best, ethereally pulsating scores (on par with RISKY BUSINESS and THE PARK IS MINE!); there's excellent bit parts by Kevin Conway and an always-snarky Miguel Ferrer:

Miguel Ferrer prepares to unleash a blistering remark that will both delight and appall.

there's a certain amount of levity and buddy-bonding:

("Which one you want?" "-The mean one." "You're a sick man."), and it all adds up to an understated thriller that's well worth your while. It's not action-packed by any means, but the payoffs are well-earned and quite satisfying. I'd even say that the mood of the picture has resonated onward and has certainly influenced films such as WHITE SANDS and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. A touch over four stars.

-Sean Gill

Film Review: RENT-A-COP (1987, Jerry London)

Stars: 3 of 5.
Running Time: 96 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Burt Reynolds, Liza Minnelli, John P. Ryan (RUNAWAY TRAIN, CLASS OF 1999), James Remar (48 HRS., DEXTER, THE LONG RIDERS, THE COTTON CLUB), Bernie Casey (SHARKY'S MACHINE, IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS), Richard Masur (MR. BOOGEDY, LICENSE TO DRIVE), Dionne Warwick. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Written by Dennis Shryack (HERO AND THE TERROR).
Tag-line: "Deadlier than Dirty Harry, faster than Cobra..." Why do we have to bring COBRA into this?
Best one-liner: "Merry Christmas!"

RENT-A-COP is so by-the-numbers, it's as if an Apple II-E were programmed to construct an '80s cop movie. It's chock full of maverick cops, snarky hookers, butterfingered rookies, stick-up-the-ass supervisors, merciless killers, evil dudes in mansions, and the buddy who you think is a buddy until you realize he's working for the bad guy. The cast is bursting at the seams with familiar faces: John P. Ryan (Dad in IT'S ALIVE),

John P. Ryan calls Burt Reynolds a loose cannon.

Richard Masur (Dad in LICENSE TO DRIVE and MR. BOOGEDY), Bernie Casey (U.N. Jefferson in REVENGE OF THE NERDS), and a very special appearance by Dionne Warwick...as a pimp! The music by Jerry Goldsmith is laughably epic, sweeping, and full of orchestral emotion: but this ain't GONE WITH THE WIND.

Burt prepares to deliver the one-liner, "Merry Christmas."

At several points, actors (including Burt) look straight into the camera (by accident?). Burt plays Burt; wearing macabre sweaters and butchering his banter (probably cause Dom's not around to slap). It's like a watered down SHARKY'S MACHINE.

Liza plays Liza, and clearly directed and costumed herself.

I guarantee you that the words "fabulous" and "honey" did not appear this much in the original script. Same goes for all the Liza freestyle dancing. At one point she is expected to seriously deliver the line "I jumped on top of him and I DID WHAT I DO!"

"I DID WHAT I DO!"

James Remar (Ajax in THE WARRIORS, Harry Morgan on DEXTER) is kinda doing an 'evil Swayze' routine. We see his stone cold killer doin' his thing for half the movie, and then WHAM––out of nowhere he's doing a half-naked super-sweaty solo dance number! His character name is then revealed to be 'Dancer.' Even for an 80's movie, this is insane.

If you're a Remar fan, you may have to watch this video twelve thousand times.

Now for the kicker: Liza hunts for the killer in a dance club. A guy passes by and––SCHWINK––gooses her. Liza yells into her wire, "Jesus, I just got goosed by some guy dressed as Little Red Riding Hood?!" We cut to Burt on the other end of the line, smiling in secret satisfaction.

And there ya have it- incontrovertible evidence that Burt loves goosing. (See also: my review of STROKER ACE.) Three stars, I guess.

Film Review: HERO AND THE TERROR (1988, William Tannen)

Stars: 3 of 5.
Running Time: 96 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Chuck Norris, Steve James (VIGILANTE, THE EXTERMINATOR), Jack O'Halloran (FAREWELL, MY LOVELY, SUPERMAN II), Brynn Thayer (KANSAS, BIG SHOTS), Billy Drago (MYSTERIOUS SKIN, DELTA FORCE 2). Produced by Golan and Globus. Music by David Michael Frank (EXTREME JUSTICE, ABOVE THE LAW). Written by Dennis Shryack (FLASHPOINT, FIFTY/FIFTY, RENT-A-COP, CODE OF SILENCE, TURNER & HOOCH).
Tag-line: "Heroes hit hardest."
Best one-liner: Norris pretends to be a short order cook in order to catch criminals. Criminal: "These are the worst eggs I've ever had, man!" Norris: "Wait till you try the toast."

"I'm gonna break you like a bad habit, NUMBNUTS!"

Allow me to paint an extremely vivid picture for you. Chuck Norris. Doin' the ole barbell bench press. Sweaty, half-naked, and surrounded by a phalanx of his hetero buddies. They're spotting him, reciting tender words of encouragement. They're words like- "SHOW ME! SHOW ME! TREAT HER LIKE A LADY!!! COME ON! TREAT THAT LADY NICE!!! COME ON! COME ON! JAM IT UP! JAM IT UP!!!"




Just a couple of regular guys helpin' their buddy get his workout on. Well, before we say "God bless Golan & Globus," I have to tell you that this is probably the best scene in the movie. Yeah, HERO AND THE TERROR is probably one of the weaker Norris/Cannon collaborations, but still it's worth a watch if you think a watered-down version of SILENT RAGE sounds like a good idea, which- let's face it- is. Helmed by William Tannen (director of the highly underrated conspiracy flick FLASHPOINT), and co-starring Steve James (who reaches deep down to play a Mozart-loving Steve James) and Billy Drago (who does quite a bit with the role of 'frank, sincere insane asylum doctor'),

this thing should have been a lot better than it is. The 'Norris and pregnant girlfriend talk about their relationship' to 'Norris kicks people in the face' ratio is decidedly skewed, and in the wrong direction. There's a whollle lotta talk about babies and moving in and the intricacies of pregnant lady + Norris sex life, which kinda makes me a little ill.

Gotta love this recurring generic scene: a couple spends their first night in the new apartment- they don't unpack anything, and they get Chinese takeout- using the cardboard boxes as furniture.

Then, there's the villain of the piece, 'The Terror,' played by SUPERMAN II's Jack O'Halloran.

O'Halloran is not just some big lug- he's an exceptionally solid actor capable of true poignancy- look at his role as Moose Malloy in FAREWELL, MY LOVELY. But here, he's totally wasted- just a big guy making scary faces with his teeth. At least it ends on a zany Norris freeze frame (with his arm around a priest!).

The Father definitely looks a little unnerved.

Then we got an end credits duet called "Two Can Be One" which is a total "Up Where We Belong" rip-off. I love it. Three stars.

-Sean Gill

Weird music related side note: The David Michael Frank score is at times excellent and very Philip Glass-ian. In fact, as I listened further, it sounded very Philip Glass-ian, with certain selections sounding almost exactly the same as excerpts from Glass' HEROES Symphony and his score from Scorsese's KUNDUN. (A lot of people like to joke that all Glass sounds the same, but, as someone who's listened to a shitload of Glass in my time, I can differentiate the phases within his work- a task complicated by his propensity for quoting himself, but a doable task, nonetheless). However, this movie was made in 1988, and those two Glass pieces I've named are from 1996 and 1997, respectively. So I did a little research, and found that both Frank and Glass came from Baltimore, and both attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music, possibly at the same time. The wheels are turning, but I have no idea what they're telling me.