Neo-Noir

Review: The Last Run

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The Last Run is a neo noir film from 1971. It stars George C. Scott a year after his Academy Award Winning performance in Patton. When asked why he made this movie he said  “I’m doing it because it reminds me of old Bogart pictures.” This film originally started out being directed by the man who made Bogart famous, John Huston. After constant fighting with Scott, Huston quite the film. Richard Fleischer took over as director and the films original leading lady was fired and Trish Van Devere replaced her. Interestingly Scott’s wife at the time Colleen Dewhurst had a small role in this film. Her and Scott’s marriage was pretty much over by this time. Scott would go on to marry his new co-star Devere a year later.

Scott plays a retired mob driver, who takes a job after his wife has left him. We are left in the dark on what this job is, but we know he needs to drive across the border into France. Soon there is a daring escape when a wrecked truck explodes and a prisoner runs to Scott’s 1957 BMW convertible. This escaped prisoner is played by Tony Musante. Musante demands a detour from their intended path to pick up his girlfriend played by Devere. When Scott delivers the couple to his employers, Musante tips Scott off that something is wrong. Scott rescues the couple from sure death and our trio’s adventure begins. We learn a little more about our trio’s history and a love triangle of sorts begins. Will our three make a clean escape? Who will our girl choice?

This film bombed at the box office and was not well received at the time by critics. Not sure why, maybe critics and audiences were looking for something different from the current Academy Award winner. I enjoyed this film for what it is, a simple neo noir with some good performances, an interesting, mysterious plot, and some great car chases. If you are a fan of Scott or other neo noir film of the early 1970’s I think you will enjoy this film.

Article: What Works & What Doesn’t: ‘Chinatown’

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Christopher Shultz over at Lit Reactor has written a very interesting article about Robert Towne’s screenplay for Chinatown. I have not watched this film in many years, but after this article I hope to revisit it soon. What do you think of Shultz’s point of view? Here is a link to the full article:

https://litreactor.com/columns/what-works-what-doesnt-chinatown

Review: New World

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New World is a neo noir from South Korea written and directed by Park Hoon Jeong. Park Hoon Jeong is a writer I have enjoyed before, if you have not seen I Saw The Devil, go do it right now! I will be re-watching that film and posting about it here soon.

This film is based around Jung-Jae Lee’s character as an undercover police officer in the Korean mob. The current mob boss is killed in a shady car accident and a power struggle in the mob begins. The top two candidates to lead the mob are Jeong-min Hwang and Seong-Woong Park. This starts a gang war between the two factions. Our hero’s boss is played by  Min-sik Choi who is the sector chief in charge of bringing down this mafia. We soon find Choi will do anything to gain his own power in this struggle and is maybe a little dirty. This story goes back and forth as we find new alliances and just as you think you know somebody, they will change alliances and who you are rooting for.

The film puts into question where your loyalties should lie. Friendship, family or should you just do your job? Does good and evil come in to the equation? What is good and what is evil in this dark world of crime and violence? This film is an epic gangster film from Korea in the vein of The Godfather or Goodfellas. No, it isn’t in the same class as those two classics, but if you like gangster films, especially those from Asia, you will love this film.

Article in Rolling Stone Magazine: ‘Ray Donovan’: How to Get L.A. Noir Right

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A couple of weeks ago I shared an article from Vulture.com titled The Modern Noir Has Atrophied. Though it had some good points one of the main ones was how Season 2 of True Detective has disappointed.

Today Rolling Stone has come out with an article by Rob Sheffield about how great Season 3 of Ray Donovan is and how it has done modern noir right. Here is a link to the full article:

http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/features/ray-donovan-how-to-get-l-a-noir-right-20150827

This is interesting because I have had a few discussions with noir fans talking about how bad season 2 of True Detective is and nobody is talking about Ray Donovan and how good it is. If you haven’t watched Ray Donovan I encourage you to do so. I agree with the above article, I almost stopped watching after Season 1 but fell in love with this show during Season 2 and Season 3 is amazing so far.

I have not seen Season 2 of True Detective yet and will hold judgement until I do, but I am not surprised that it has been a let down given Season 1 was so amazing! Here is a link to my review of Season 1:

https://everythingnoir.com/2015/04/23/re-watching-the-best-of-2014-true-detective-season-1/

Here is a link to the Vulture article I mentioned before:

https://everythingnoir.com/2015/08/11/article-the-modern-noir-has-atrophied/

Re-watching: Revolver

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Revolver is a film by Guy Richie made in 2005. So on its 10 year anniversary I decided to take another look at it. We have an ensemble cast of neo noir and gangster regulars revolving around Jason Statham.  Luc Besson also helped Richie in the writing of the film.

This film starts out with Statham getting out of prison and looking for revenge on a casino owner played by Ray Liotta. He goes to the casino and wins a bunch of money. He then gets a business card from a stranger, played by Vincent Pastore, on his way out of the casino. He falls down the stairs for an unknown reason and is soon in the hospital. He finds he has a rare blood disease and is going to die soon.  Vincent Pastore and André Benjamin are business partners who have a proposition for Statham to get revenge before he dies. Along the way we meet Mark Strong playing a hit-man for the mob, and Terence Maynard as Liotta’s right hand man. The story pits Liotta against an Asian mob boss along the way and the story twists and turns through out the film. Nobody is who they seem and every reveal just leaves more questions as we go.

This film has a very neo noir filming style with some interesting camera work through out. It also dives into some psychological subjects I will not get into here, because it may be a bit of a spoiler. This film is entertaining, but not Richie’s best neo noir work. If you are a huge fan of his or Statham you will find this film entertaining. The story will leave you thinking about it and it maybe one of those films that is better on a second viewing.

Short Film Review: Lover’s Leap

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I was contacted by writer/director Jonathan Zuck to take a look at his new short film/music video. So I was lucky enough to get a preview of the 7 minute film a few weeks ago. The clip is dripping in classic noir with tons of shadow play, fedoras, a smokey bar and dark streets. Our lead character is a chain-smoking, heavy drinking, hardboiled detective and of course we have a fiery red-head of a femme fatale. We even have a twist with a downer of an ending told in a classic flashback form!

All this is set to the song Lover’s Leap by Exit 10,a band I have never heard of, but based on this song I will be looking for more of their music.

Check out the full video below:

Re-watching Fear

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Fear is a film from 1996 with a two young actors getting their start in the movie business. I think both of them have done pretty well since this film. Mark Wahlberg was more well-known for being a rapper at this time then an actor. This was his first starring role after having a few supporting roles. Reese Witherspoon had a few starring roles under her belt by this time, but most where in low-budget films. This was these two stars introduction to most film goers.

Our two stars were put in pretty good hands with James Foley directing, coming off directing an all time classic Glengarry Glen Ross. Foley has had a pretty good career in the thriller and neo-noir genre. With some classics under his belt and a few misses this one falls somewhere in-between. We also have veterans William Petersen and Amy Brenneman playing Witherspoon’s parents. Alyssa Milano who had already been in the spotlight quite a bit by this time in her career stars as Witherspoon’s best friend.

Fear starts out with our two best friends accompanied by their male friend to a coffee shop in the wrong part of town. This is where Wahlberg catches her eye. We soon realize that Witherspoon lives in an overprotective house while her best friend runs free. Wanting a taste of her friend’s freedom, she soon joins her to go to a party. Here she meets and talks to Wahlberg and after a fight breaks out and the police come in, Wahlberg is her knight in shining armor as he leads her out of the mayhem to safety. A young romance starts until Witherspoon sees a side of Wahlberg that scares her. He is violent and bets up her male friend out of jealousy. This starts a chain of events which pits Witherspoon’s father, played by Petersen and Wahlberg against each other for the love of Witherspoon.

I really liked this film when I watched it back in the 1990’s and after re-watching it I still do. After revisiting it, I can see glimmers of greatness to come. I thought Wahlberg was great as the psycho boyfriend and have always enjoyed his work. Witherspoon  shows her charm and you easily side with her in this film. I also thought Milano was great as wild and free friend that makes some bad choices. Petersen is always good in these thrillers as the average joe that rises to the occasion.

This film is worth watching for fans of Witherspoon, Milano and Wahlberg. It is also a must see for fans of Foley. If you are looking for a modern noir thriller it is worth a look.

Review: Glass Chin

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Variety called this film “Pure Pulp Poetry” and that about sums up this film. This has a lot in common with classic film noir B-films, it was shot over only 18 days on a small modern budget of around $1,000,000. This film is written and directed by Noah Buschel about a down on his luck prize-fighter looking to turn his luck around.   We have a great cast which is allowed to flex their acting talent. The scenes are sparse and not over edited or much background music.  This is a new film recently released on a number of formats, I watched the DVD.

Glass Chin revolves around a fighter who is broke and looking for a way to get back on top. He has lost everything including his fan base and a restaurant he put the last of his money into. We find him in a modest apartment with his girlfriend played by Marin Ireland. He goes out to meet with his old gym owner about helping train an up and coming boxer who is about to get a title fight at Madison Square Garden. He says he will, but he is also having dinner with J.J., played by Billy Crudup later that night to look at a job. The meeting goes well where we meet J.J. who is a gangster and wants to help our hero reopen his restaurant if he goes into business with him. It sounds like he just wants the boxer on his side and use him for muscle. We also meet the bartender played by Kelly Lynch who our hero has eyes for, and the muscle he will be working with played by Yul Vazquez. The first night working for J.J. seems to go pretty smooth, until our hero reads the paper the next day and finds he is in big trouble with no way out.

I really loved this little film and it looks like the critics have too. The general public isn’t taking to it like they should…yet. I really hope this film finds an audience, because it has a lot to offer. This doesn’t have a lot of violence or a big car chase or much action at all, and that maybe what people watching this are looking for. It doesn’t need all of that with great acting, well written dialog, and the struggle of the fallen hero in today’s society. There is a very big fight within our hero, after being a star in the boxing world and everybody loving him, can he go to an ordinary life or is it worth doing what you have to, to get back on top? The acting is top-notch and the washed out neo noir style of filming is visually stunning. New York is a character in this film like a lot of classic films noir, and makes for a great backdrop for both the haves and the have-nots. I highly recommend this film.

Favorite Tidbits: I caught two meta moments in this film, that maybe meant as inside jokes or Easter Eggs.

  1. In the boxing gym the owner tells our hero that H.B.O. wanted to come in and film their fighter training, but declined the offer. Our hero mentions how do you turn down H.B.O.? the H.B.O. of Boardwalk Empire and Girls? Co-star Marin Ireland has appeared on Girls.
  2. One of the people who owes money to J.J., that our hero has to go put pressure on is played by David Johansen, lead singer of the New York Dolls. The Dolls song Trash plays prominently on the soundtrack for the film.

Review: The Silence

bryancyr German Noir, Movie, Neo-Noir , , , , , ,

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The Silence(2010) is a thrilling neo noir from Germany directed and written for the screen by Baran bo Odar. This is based on a book by Jan Costin Wagner. In traditional noir fashion this film starts out with a grim scene that has happened in the past. We than flash forward 23 years where the exact same crime has been committed again. The movie continues to bounce back and forth between the two-time periods to clear up some questions, but leaves us asking more questions in this interesting story of past guilty and differing shades of evil.

We start out with a young girl riding her bike down a country road as two strangers played by Wotan Wilke Möhring and Ulrich Thomsen follow her. Thomsen gets out of the car and chases her down as Möhring watches on from the car. Things don’t just go to far here, they go way to far as the young girl is killed. Möhring helps his friend dispose of the body and we flash forward 23 years. When another young girl goes missing and they find her bike in the same field as the previous crime a retired detective played by Burghart Klaußner thinks it is the same man. He teams up with the current detective on the case played by Sebastian Blomberg. Will our duo solve both crimes? Are both crimes committed by the same people? How has the original murderer and his accomplice not been caught in the last 23 years. How does this crime affect the people in this town?

This film covers some dark material, from pedophiles to child pornography to serial killing. I do have to say this is done in classic film noir style in the way the grotesque is implied and not put on the screen to shock like most modern films. The story is very complex and you will be left with questions at the end, just like a real life case. This film is German, but could have easily taken place in any rural town. I really enjoyed this film and think most noir fans will too. If you are questioning whether you should watch this do to some of its subject matter, I encourage you to give it a try. Like I said this film is not in your face or over the top with shocking scenes, but is an interesting look at a subject way to prevalent in society today.