Only now does it occur to me... THE PELICAN BRIEF

Only now does it occur to me...  that you must repeatedly watch the following clip, apropos of nothing:

As far as 90s John Grisham movies with all-star casts go, I don't rate this one as highly as THE FIRM or THE CLIENT, but it's a nice Southern-Fried Hitchcock-style thriller (not to be confused with Crawdad-Lickin' Southern-Fried Sleaze-O-Rama, unfortunately) with a solid James Horner score and nice bit parts from the likes of John Lithgow, Anthony Heald, William Atherton, and Stanley Tucci.  Carry on.

Only now does it occur to me... BIG!

Only now does it occur to me... someone once knocked down Robert Loggia– and lived! Annnnd... exit Loggia. But fear sweeps in his wake. Sure, later he plays 'Chopsticks' on a giant piano with his feet, but this is the man who so frightened David Lynch at his BLUE VELVET audition that he ended up casting Dennis Hopper, who seemed docile and wholesome in comparison. I'd bet anything that to this day, Tom Hanks checks under his bed every night to make sure Loggia isn't there, waiting.

Film Review: C.H.U.D. (1984, Douglas Cheek)

Stars: 3 of 5.
Running Time: 96 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Daniel Stern (HOME ALONE, LEVIATHAN), John Heard (CAT PEOPLE, CUTTER'S WAY, AFTER HOURS), Kim Griest (MANHUNTER, BRAZIL), Christopher Curry (RED DRAGON, LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN), John Goodman.
Tag-line: "Ugly. Slobbering. Ferocious. Carnivorous."
Best one-liner: "Are you kidding? Your guy's got a camera. Mine's got a flamethrower."

C.H.U.D. (CANNIBALISTIC HUMANOID UNDERGROUND DWELLER) is kind of the bastard child of ALLIGATOR (1980) and BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (1970), but it's never quite as good as either of them. In fact, I'm not sure what exactly has cemented C.H.U.D.'s cult status- it's a solid enough little subterranean mutant zombie flick, but it never quite brings enough spectacle, engagement, or unhinged wackitude to the table to really push things over the edge. The cast is solid enough: Daniel Stern (HOME ALONE, LEVIATHAN) is a smart-alecky soup kitchen cook:

John Heard (AFTER HOURS, CAT PEOPLE) is a modern-day Jacob Riis-style muckraking photog, Kim Griest (MANHUNTER, BRAZIL) is the model/girlfriend:

Christopher Curry (STARSHIP TROOPERS, F/X) is the system-fighting cop, and there's a bit part by a young n' smarmy John Goodman as C.H.U.D.-fodder.

The film's heart is definitely in the right place, and there's some nice anti-evil bureaucracy, pro-environment, pro-homeless sentiments interwoven throughout the film (director Douglas Cheek went on to work as an editor on several grassroots liberal documentaries in the past decade). The special effects are pretty limb-rippingly impressive and eye-glowingly memorable (even if they're severely underused),

and there are some fantastically atmospheric shots of manhole covers being ominously hoisted,

but as a whole, this thing never quite congeals into a successful narrative. Endlessly listening to people talk about the C.H.U.D.s just doesn't cut it.

That being said, there are a few choice moments, including my personal favorite, when Daniel Stern is being tailed by a representative of a nefarious government agency. Stern decides to make a phone call, stops at a booth, and inserts his quarter. The leering G-man d-bag rushes up, ejects the coin, snags it, and eats it. Touché.

Still, if you're REALLY hankerin' for a toxic hobo flick, I must instead recommend J. Michael Muro's 1987 masterpiece, STREET TRASH.

-Sean Gill

2009 Halloween Countdown

31. PROM NIGHT (1980, Paul Lynch)
30. PHENOMENA (1985, Dario Argento)
29. HOUSE OF WAX (1953, André de Toth)
28. SILENT RAGE (1982, Michael Miller)
27. BASKET CASE (1982, Frank Henenlotter)
26. THE DEADLY SPAWN (1983, Douglas McKeown)
25. PELTS (2006, Dario Argento)
24. ANGEL HEART (1987, Alan Parker)
23. KILLER WORKOUT (1986, David A. Prior)
22. FREDDY'S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE (1991, Rachel Talalay)
21. THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES (1971, Robert Fuest)
20. FRANKENHOOKER (1990, Frank Henenlotter)
19. HELLRAISER (1987, Clive Barker)
18. GEEK MAGGOT BINGO (1983, Nick Zedd)
17. ALLIGATOR (1980, Lewis Teague)
16. LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN (1971, Lucio Fulci)
15. THE CARD PLAYER (2004, Dario Argento)
14. SPASMO (1974, Umberto Lenzi)
13. C.H.U.D. (1984, Douglas Cheek)
12.
...

Film Review: CUTTER'S WAY (1981, Ivan Passer)

Stars: 5 of 5. Running Time: 105 minutes. Notable Cast or Crew: John Heard, Jeff Bridges, Lisa Eichhorn, Nina van Pallandt, Stephen Elliott, Patricia Donahue, co-producer Larry J. Franco (Kurt Russell's brother-in-law and John Carpenter's co-producer through the 1980's), cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth (BLADE RUNNER, ROLLING THUNDER). Tag-lines: "Cutter does everything his way. Fighting. Loving. Working. Tracking down a killer. " Now there's a studio-imposed tag-line if there ever was one. Best one-liner(s): "I don't drink. You know, the routine grind drives me to drink. Tragedy, I take straight." Absolutely brilliant film from Czech expatriate and Milos Forman-collaborator Ivan Passer. At once a powerfully understated neo-noir, a nuanced character study, and a sharply unforgiving look at post-Vietnam America, CUTTER'S WAY is one of those masterpieces that has been swept under the collective cultural rug for whatever reason. You may rest assured, however, that the Coen Brothers have watched this movie many a time: the influence of its labyrinthine, noirish plot structure; its dark streak of humor; and its colorful, unpredictable characters can clearly be seen in everything they've done from BLOOD SIMPLE to BURN AFTER READING. The acting is superb: in a role that Richard Dreyfuss campaigned for, John Heard is nearly unrecognizable as the sometimes ridiculous, sometimes violence-prone, and sometimes sweet Alex Cutter. Heard transcends his 'character-y' props and trappings (physical disability, gravely voice, eyepatch, and cane) to deliver a completely believable, three-dimensional performance, which is a true feat and a treat to watch. As Richard Bone, Jeff Bridges balances Cutter's mania without sacrificing character flavor, remarkably similar to how his 'Dude' stabilizes the unhinged madness of John Goodman's 'Walter Sobchak' in THE BIG LEBOWSKI. Rounding out the cast is the nearly unknown Lisa Eichhorn as Cutter's long-suffering wife, Stephen Elliott as the possible Bogeyman or perhaps just upstanding citizen, and the always underrated Billy Drago in a bit part as a garbageman. Using his deft direction, lots of natural lighting, and the instincts he honed as a Czech New Wave filmmaker and screenwriter, Passer makes CUTTER'S WAY a subtle, latter-day Noir masterpiece. Five stars. (And as a side note, the similarities with LEBOWSKI are insane: a gun-toting, unreasonable, ridiculous war vet friend convinces slacker Jeff Bridges character to engage in a blackmail plot involving a possibly nefarious, rich, respected public figure (among other noirish subplots) upon Bridges' character's unwitting, tangential involvement in a young woman's peril- umm, maybe the Coens should give a little credit where it's due, instead of saying THE BIG LEBOWSKI draws the bulk of it's inspiration from THE BIG SLEEP. And I'll tell you why they haven't: because it sounds a lot better to say you're drawing upon generic, classic, respected archetypes than drawing entirely upon a little-known, underappreciated 1981 film. It's like when a student filmmaker tries to replicate some of the editing in REQUIEM FOR A DREAM but insists their inspiration is BATTLESHIP POTEMPKIN. All of this being said, however, my only problem with the Coens here is failure to cite sources; THE BIG LEBOWSKI is one of the best films of the 90's, just as CUTTER'S WAY is one of the best of the 80's.) -Sean Gill