Film Review: TOMBSTONE (1993, "George Cosmatos")

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 134 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Kurt Russell, Terry O'Quinn, Val Kilmer, John Fasano, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Jon Tenney (HOMECOMING), Charlton Heston, Sam Elliott, Dana Delaney, Thomas Haden Church, Michael Rooker (HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER), Harry Carey, Jr., Wyatt Earp (real relative), Robert John Burke (Hal Hartley alum, DUST DEVIL, and ROBOCOP mantle-taker-upper after Peter Weller left), John Corbett, Billy Zane, Billy Bob Thorton, Frank Stallone (Sly's brother and fabulous musician- STAYING ALIVE soundtrack), Robert Mitchum (just did the narration unfortunately), Stephen Lang (MANHUNTER), Christopher Mitchum (Robert's son).
Tag-line: "Every town has a story. Tombstone has a legend."
Best one-liner: "I'm you're huckleberry."

Five reasons why 1993's TOMBSTONE is the best telling of the Wyatt Earp legend (a tale that's been told by everyone from John Ford to a STAR TREK episode to Anthony Mann to a Kenny Rogers TV Movie to Lawrence Kasdan).

#1. 'Staches, 'staches, 'staches.

Every 'stache in this film is authentic, from Sam Elliott's dignified silvery behemoth to Kurt Russell's angry, in-command, lip carpet to Jon Tenney's slimy, roguish dandy.

#2. "I'm your huckleberry!"

Val Kilmer's gleeful, sickly, girlish, fey performance as Doc Holliday. Hands down, the oddest performance in a Western since Marlon Brando in THE MISSOURI BREAKS, and it's completely spot-on. "You're a daisy if you do!"

#3. The redunkulous cast of supporting players. From Powers Boothe to Michael Biehn to Bill Paxton to Michael Rooker to Terry O'Quinn to Billy Zane to Charlton Heston to Billy Bob Thornton to a Robert Mitchum narration, they're all here. And they're all brilliant.

#4. Co-written by John Fasano, director of the infamous ROCK N' ROLL NIGHTMARE (reviewed here). Damn! That's gotta get points for something!

#5. The fact that it's the only film Kurt Russell ever directed. (Everyone says that he usurped control from the ghost-directing George Cosmatos (who "directed" COBRA and RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II for Stallone) and refashioned the script, flow, and structure, even at the expense of his own screentime).

And the film's got all the energy, humility, dignity, sincerity, and intensity that one would expect from Russell, along with one of his best performances since THE THING (and this was his follow-up to CAPTAIN RON). "You tell 'em I'M coming... and hell's coming with me, you hear?... Hell's coming with me!"

-Sean Gill

Film Review: HOMECOMING (2005, Joe Dante)

Stars: 5 of 5.
Running Time: 59 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Jon Tenney, Thea Gill, Robert Picardo
Tag-line: "If I had one wish...I would wish that your son could come back..."
Best one-liner(s): "We're lookin' for a few good men."

Joe Dante has been a purveyor of cogent social commentary since PIRANHA's government cover-ups and ROCK 'N ROLL HIGH SCHOOL's detonations of higher learning. He's does what genre pictures have done best since the 40's and 50's, whether pinko and red-baiting, exposing corruption, or celebrating/exploiting counterculture, B-movies have provided a terrifically unpretentious outlet for reactionary and radical views alike. So out of this tradition (and that of Romero's zombie films with their progressive, albeit nihilistic, commentaries) comes HOMECOMING, which in my opinion, takes these practices to an entirely new level. Dante pulls no punches in his analysis of everything from right-wing thinktanks (Karl Rove, Ann Coulter), Washington media (in frighteningly accurate depictions), rampant political hypocrisy, empty rhetoric, and the new, American flag pin-wearing definition of patriotism. The idea of American soldiers coming back from the dead to vote, the ridiculous spin placed upon it by the religious right (and a secondary spin when they realize exactly WHO they're voting for), and the collective supernatural rage of those who died for a lie has, despite its unearthly underpinnings, the ring of truth to it. And Dante handles it with a perfect, even-headed direction, pendulating between irreverence (a ridiculous Vietnam flashback plot twist and a comical "Spirit of '76" finale) and actual weight (undead veterans face a prejudice that I'm sure hits a little too close to home for real-life, discarded veterans). I believe that this is not only the kind of film that is timely and relevant in its moment, but, unlike films such as the higher-profile FAHRENHEIT 9/11, will continue to resonate as the years pass and the politicians' legacies (or lack thereof) crumble away. Hands down, this is the best Masters of Horror episode, and the only one I would recommend without reservation. Don't forget to vote today!

-Sean Gill