Only now does it occur to me... SEA OF LOVE (1989)

Only now does it occur to me... that not only does SEA OF LOVE offer the trappings of a kinda-mediocre-but-fun sex thriller in the FATAL ATTRACTION/BASIC INSTINCT/SLIVER/BODY OF EVIDENCE vein, not only does it feature Al Pacino and John Goodman as hot-doggin' detectives,

who prefer to work outside the system––much to chagrin of their straight-laced boss, John Spencer (of course),

not only does it feature an extremely young and quippy Samuel L. Jackson,

Credited in the role of––no joke, unfortunately––"Black Guy"

not only does it contain an absurd GODFATHER reference alluding to the restaurant cop-killing of Sterling Hayden,

 

Pacino: "What is she gonna do, confess? Shoot me? We're in a restaurant!!"

not only do Pacino and Ellen Barkin offer the most hilarious, post-9 1/2 WEEKS, food-related seduction scene this side of TROLL 2:

 

He was lookin' for Chips Ahoy 

 

She was lookin' for fresh produce, but then she found...

No, not love––she found...

Yellow bell peppers

Oh yes she did

No, we shouldn't, look at all this fresh romaine

Just waiting to go on a salad, perhaps a Caesar

not only does SEA OF LOVE offer all of these sublime and occasionally laughable joys, but it also, and perhaps most importantly, it depicts the best shower curtain of all time––

this beautifully whimsical portrait of rumba musicians who happen to be alligators. Said shower curtain belongs to hardboiled cop Pacino,

whose street cred has never been more crystal clear.

Film Review: THE FIRM (1993, Sydney Pollack)

Stars: 4 of 5.
Running Time: 154 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Gary Busey, Holly Hunter, Jeanne Tripplehorn (BIG LOVE, WATERWORLD), Paul Calderon (Q&A, THE KING OF NEW YORK, PULP FICTION), Tobin Bell (SAW), David Strathairn (HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, THE RIVER WILD), Hal Holbrook (THE FOG, MAGNUM FORCE), Wilford Brimley (THE THING, HARD TARGET), Paul Sorvino (GOODFELLAS, DICK TRACY). Based on the novel by John Grisham. Screenplay by Robert Towne (CHINATOWN, THE LAST DETAIL), playwright David Rabe (HURLYBURLY, STREAMERS), and David Rayfiel (THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR).
Tag-line: "Power can be murder to resist." Hmmm. I think the tag-line department was phoning that one in a little bit.
Best one-liner: "It's not sexy, but it's got teeth!"

Well, I'm continuing Hitchcock pastiche/homage week with something a little less obvious. Maybe because it so frequently has the 'feel' or NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE 39 STEPS, or SABOTEUR, or maybe it's just because it has Gary Busey and I felt like it, but regardless, here it is.

I get the feeling that most people watch THE FIRM because they either like John Grisham, Tom Cruise, or the more sensational aspects of the legal system.

America's infatuation with 'Tom Cruise running' continues.

Well allow me to furnish you with 9 ALTERNATE reasons to check it out:

#1. It begins like a TWILIGHT ZONE. Though I knew it wouldn't take the supernatural route, having kindly old Hal Holbrook rolling out a foreboding red carpet in an eerily over-eager job recruitment process is Serling-ly terrific.

I think I saw this on the back of a phone book once.


#2. Wilford Brimley. It's always nice to see Willy get a meaty character role he can really sink his teeth into: '93 was a big year for him- he was the crazed Cajun uncle in HARD TARGET and here, the nefarious head of firm security.

Wild Willy is not fucking around. And he doesn't like it when you call him 'Wild Willy.'


#3. If the legal thriller's not really your style, you can always pretend that it's SOUL MAN 2, and that Cruise is the C. Thomas Howell character, post-Harvard graduation.

#4. Gary Busey. Toned down a tad by the studio, the Buse' is still toothy, potent, and full of inimitable Texan moxie. He's not in the film for long, but whenever he's on screen, you are having a goddamn ball. He even works in an unscripted Julio Iglesias reference. (I'm kinda reminded of THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY when he works in the name 'Chihuahua Garbanzo.')

Busey is apprehensive and about to mention 'Julio Iglesias.'


#5. Holly Hunter. Oscar-nominated for the role, she's dressed like Dolly Parton and making more wig changes than Louis XIV. She's almost as nuts as Busey, and I love it. Which leads me to:

#6. Busey and Holly making out. Did I mention she plays his secretary?


SCHLERP

#7. Cruise doing backflips with a breakdancin' kid on the street. Later, when dejected, he woefully passes by the same kid- no backflippin' this time.

#8. Skeezy Gene Hackman. Always golden. The poor guy was basically typecast post-Lex Luthor, but you get the feeling he loves it.

#9. Ed "I could kick your teeth down your throat and yank 'em out your asshole" Harris.

ED HARRIS IS WATCHING YOU

Eating Saltines, radiating profanity, and with Paul Calderon as his sidekick- yeah, it's intense.

Ed Harris eyes Strathairn with disdain.

In all, it's a solid Hitchcockian thriller with enough (Busey) screwiness and (Harris) intensity to keep you on board. Four stars.

-Sean Gill

Film Review: Q&A (1990, Sidney Lumet)

Stars: 4 of 5.
Running Time: 132 minutes.
Notable Cast or Crew: Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton (Romero's THE DARK HALF, KINSEY, ORDINARY PEOPLE), Luis Guzman (THE LIMEY, THE SUBSTITUTE, TRAFFIC), Armand Assante (THE ODYSSEY TV miniseries, JUDGE DREDD, STRIPTEASE) , Charles S. Dutton (SE7EN, CROCODILE DUNDEE II, SURVIVING THE GAME), Paul Calderon (BAD LIEUTENANT, COP LAND, PULP FICTION), Jenny Lumet (Sidney's daughter, writer of RACHEL GETTING MARRIED), Fyvush Finkel (PICKET FENCES, NIXON), Rubén Blades soundtrack.
Tag-lines: "When the questions are dangerous, the answers can be deadly. " Seriously. What the hell kind of tag-line is that?
Best one-liner: "You know, we knew you was a punk then but you're being a punk now. Yeah, detective, come on, you couldn't find a fucking Jew in Rockaway. You know, you got a badge and a gun but you're still a punk so shut the fuck up."

Q: Has Sidney Lumet ever made a bad movie?
A: Maybe just once. But we're not here to talk about THE WIZ, we're here to talk about Q&A.

Q: So how is Q&A?
A: It's pretty damn brilliant. It's Abel Ferrara gritty, it's got the Lumet police procedural, melodrama, and man vs. the system we've seen in SERPICO and PRINCE OF THE CITY, and it's got a ridiculously good ensemble cast.

Q: How ridiculously good?
A: Nolte is a goddamned powerhouse as the closeted, completely vicious, macho old-school cop. He's corpulent, terrifying, and larger than life.

Nolte terrorizes hookers...


...and Timothy Hutton...

...with great ease...

...and sinister flair.

Armand Assante, Luis Guzman, and Paul Calderon shine, as always, and Timothy Hutton is formidable as our entry point into this world of cigar-smoke-filled-room deals, gleeful corruption, and good-old-boys' protections.

Q: Does Lumet ask the tough questions?
A: He leaps headfirst into a world of racism, homophobia, trans sex workers, and rampant police corruption, so...yeah. He doesn't gloss over any detail, showing a sick, prejudiced, oligarchical world that's unlikely to be cured by anything short of an apocalypse.

Q: Well, if you're gushing all over the place, why just four stars?
A: Well, I'll tell you. Q&A falls in that span between 1990 and 1994 when the 80's were getting awkwardly phased out and it became especially evident in film music. Wang Chung feels perfectly natural in TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. because that's supposed to be the aesthetic- 80's summer heat, gently pulsating beats, and lots of pastels. The musical mess that Ruben Blades concocts here is not tied to anything, works against the aesthetics, and definitely undermines the film. Something like a Howard Shore score (think his soundtrack for Cronenberg's CRASH) would have been a perfect fit.
Anyway, the film also ends on a note that screams studio intervention. So overall, four stars, but still a brilliant film. It's all there in the Q&A.