STRANGE DAYS

(October 1995, U.S.)

New Year's Eve 1999, the end of the twentieth century. Hard to believe there was ever a time that this was considered the future, even by just a few years. What I don't find hard to believe was that even by the middle of the 1990s, the prospect of the new Millennium was greeted with skepticism and dread in our vision of humanity. Despite this film's conventions of film noir and science fiction, it's implications of voyeurism, violence, racism, rape and abuse of police power hit home on a powerful and emotional level. One reason may be that the Los Angeles riots of 1992 following the Rodney King verdict were still fresh in our minds only three years later, and I suppose the entire O.J. Simpson event didn't help matters, either.

STRANGE DAYS is set in the last two days of 1999. The city of Los Angeles, while gearing up for the party of the century, is also on the verge of social and racial implosion. Among the war zone mayhem is a black marketeer of SQUID discs (and former LAPD officer), Lenny Nero (played by Ralph Fiennes), who deals in illegal recordings from a person's cerebral cortex that allow the user to experience the recorder's memories, feelings and physical sensations onto a MiniDisc-like device for playback. Whatever your fancy or fantasy is, Lenny can get it for you for a price. Meanwhile, a young prostitute named Iris, and friend of Lenny's, is on the run from two LAPD officers determined to kill her. Temporarily escaping her predators, it's revealed that she's wearing a SQUID recorder headset, which in some creepy sort of way, actually does reveal a squid. Trusting only Lenny with its content, she drops her SQUID disc in his car for him to find later and inevitably reveal the "big secret" she'll be killed for later on in the film. While Lenny and his friend Mace (played by Angela Bassett) prowl the city trying to figure out why Iris was killed, the city is on violent edge over the recent slaying of famed rapper Jeriko One (played by Glenn Plummer), though the public believes his death to be the result of a gang war.

Although Lenny and Mace are in possession of the disc that the two rogue officers are now trying to kill them for, they still have no idea what's on it. By the time Lenny has seen the disc and is horrified by what he sees, we the audience still aren't let in on it until Mace watches it, her first time experiencing playback, something she disapproves of. We see what she sees, and that's the brazen execution of Jeriko One for his anti-police song lyrics and activism which incited protests against the LAPD, by the same two murdering police officers who chased down Iris after she was there to witness the execution and ran for her life. The fate of this disc is now in question; release it to the already unstable public and it will surely incite a citywide riot. On the other hand, this sort of fatal injustice by the LAPD should be seen by the public, despite whatever war it may ignite. As Lenny and Mace fight for their lives amidst the chaos of the night, secrets, plot twists and the betrayal of friends are revealed. And of course, because Hollywood demands that some form of good come out of any form of hell, justice is served when the honest police commissioner sees the secret disc and charges the two rogue officers in question with their crime, right in the middle of the crowded streets of New Year's Eve. Friends become lovers (practically) and the new century of 2000 is greeted with the cliché of a kiss.

STRANGE DAYS was conceived by James Cameron as far back as 1986, but motivated by sensationalized figures of the early '90s as Lorena Bobbitt and Rodney King. As fast-paced sci-fi and tech noir, it may still fall short of a later comparison as THE MATRIX, even with its sense of urgency and desperation. But one must consider the time period and the new era we were headed for. In the film, humanity is progressively being traded in for technology even as we in real life were being sucked into the new world created by men like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. It's Mace's strong female character (let's remember that the film is directed by a woman, Kathryn Bigelow) who explicitly reminds Lenny (and us) that, "This is your life! Right here! Right now! It's real time, you hear me? Real time, time to get real, not playback!" The performances are top notch, particularly by Ralph Fiennes, in his second film role since SCHINDLER'S LIST. Why he never played a tough cop again after this film, I'll never know, because he seemed made for such a role, despite the overall sleaziness he successfully brings to a guy like Lenny Nero. In fact, except for the good nature and strong inner strength of Mace, it would seems that everyone in STRANGE DAYS is sleazy, from Max Peltier (played by Tom Sizemore), to Philo Gant (played by Michael Wincott), and right down to Lenny's love interest Faith (played by Juliette Lewis - what has she really done lately?). Her role and performance are nothing necessarily special that couldn't have been done by a far more gifted actress, but I suppose in the world of sleazy, she's just the right type. And I must say, I certainly don't mind seeing her naked while rubbing lotion all over her breasts (small that they are)...

Despite whatever feelings and implications of hope that STRANGE DAYS may attempt to convince us off by the end of the film and the beginning of a new dawn, the sleaze and downfall of our humanity is the feeling I continue to take away from it. Considering what we've managed to become in the last eighteen years since our own true Millennium, can you hardly blame me??

Favorite line or dialogue:

Max Peliter: "Hey, cheer up. World's gonna end in ten minutes anyway."

STING, THE

(December 1973, U.S.)

In 1973, I was six years-old, which means I basically knew nothing about the movies. I knew not what was hot and what was not, and as far as I was concerned, "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin was a new and popular tune and the history of the Great Depression was still an education that was years away. Paul Newman and Robert Redford were unknowns to me, as well. In fact, it's pretty safe to say that in 1973, the only entertainment that existed for me were SESAME STREET and MISTER ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD on PBS Channel 13. THE STING would not exist for me until the night of November 5, 1978 when it premiered on the ABC Sunday Night Movie. I remember it began an hour earlier than the usual broadcast start time of 9 pm, which meant I could stay up to watch a lot more of, if not all, of the movie on a school night.

Although I had some knowledge of what a con artist was (though as a kid, I would have called such a person a cheater), I didn’t fully understand the intricate plotting of the cons and scams that took place in the old city of Chicago during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Still, there was a degree of fun and pleasure involved in watching a group of men that included Newman as Henry Gondorf and Redford as Johnny Hooker, who were scheming to con a large amount of money from Chicago gangster Doyle Lonnegan (played by Robert Shaw) who was responsible for the murder of their friend, Luther Coleman, a con artist and grifter himself. The film took its time in developing up the sets, the schemes and the performances that would ultimately bait Lonnegan into believing that he was betting his money on legitimate horse races. In the end, when they managed to pull off their con and I learned that Hooker was only pretending to be dead after Gondorf only pretended to shoot him, I felt a huge smile develop on my face, as if I’d been privileged to be let in on the whole thing in the end. This was, perhaps, the first time I learned what the craft of the twist ending and the big pay-off meant in screenwriting. In this case, it meant the good guys won and the bad guys lost, and that’s what was most often fun about the movies, even on television.

Today, the late George Roy Hill's film continues to prove just how effective the on-screen chemistry was between the late Paul Newman and Robert Redford. It was their second (and last) film together after BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID in 1969, and it’s a real shame they never worked together again. It’s a simple film that easily influenced others like it of crime, cons, scams, and heists, though none of them, in my opinion, come close to the charm and grace of THE STING. It can be called a stylish costume piece, but there’s also that right touch of deception and nastiness to remind us that it’s not just a tale of the innocence of a forgotten era, but rather a twisted reminder that in life, it’s not necessarily how you play the game, but how you ultimately win it.

THE STING won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1973. As much as I love the film, I still think that honor should have gone to George Lucas's AMERICAN GRAFFITI (with all due respect to THE EXORCIST!).

Favorite line or dialogue:

Doyle Lonnegan: "Your boss is quite a card player, Mr. Kelly. How does he do it?"
Johnny Hooker: "He cheats."

STEVE JOBS

(October 2015, U.S.)

Since late March, I've posted nothing but STAR TREK and STAR WARS films. I have to say, it's somewhat of a relief to be back on the planet Earth again (sort of).

I live in among a small minority of people who do not praise the giants of our modern technological world as heroes. Men like the late Steve Jobs and Bill Gates mean nothing to me. Perhaps my negative attitude is derived from the fact that I've never adapted well to the machines and devices of the 21st century that everyone else around me seems to be addicted to like junkies. Sure, I a computer for my job, for my writing and I own an iPod (two, actually) and an iPhone (for only two years now), but that still doesn't mean I don't enjoy the times when I can simply read a good book and listen to my favorite classic rock radio station without the need to check my Facebook status. Still, my purpose here is to judge the world of movies, and if they happen to take me inside the life of the man who seemingly revolutionized the entire way we live our lives today (damn him!), then so be it. But like so many other so-called biographical films on the life of any person, we have to take its content with a grain of salt regarding how much is accurate and how much is simply based on "true events".

I can start off by telling you that Danny Boyle's STEVE JOBS is a far greater improvement over JOBS (2013) which starred Ashton Kutcher as 'ol Steve (not that Demi Moore's ex didn't bear a striking resemblance). Irish actor Michael Fassbender bears little-to-no resemblance, but like Oliver Stone's NIXON (1995), lack of physical characteristics is wonderfully compensated with story structure, dialogue and performance. This is not a film about the life of Steve Jobs, but rather a carefully-crafted three act structure that documents three pivotal moments over the course of Jobs's life on the very day he was set to launch three of his most quintessential products. Act I (as I'll call it) takes place in the year 1984 shortly after Apple's "1984" Super Bowl commercial that made television history. As Steve and his tech and marketing team, led by Joanna Hoffman (played by Kate Winslet) are scrambling around like chickens without heads trying desperately to make their new Macintosh say "hello" to the anxious crowd, Steve is personally tormented by his ex-girlfriend Chrisann Brennan who insists that her five year-old daughter Lisa is his. Steve rants and raves, denying that he's father, while still trying to control a world of technology that seems uncontrollable. Meanwhile, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak insists that Jobs acknowledge the Apple II team in his presentation. Jobs refuses, citing that mentioning a computer he feels is now obsolete, is unwarranted. Well, I suppose any of us that actually owned a Macintosh (I didn't) know of its history and ultimate downfall.

Act II jumps ahead four years to the year 1988, and we're caught up with the progress of Apple and Steve Jobs through authentic news coverage of the past. Following the Mac's failure, Steve was fired from Apple and has founded his new company NeXT. It's another day and another launch presentation, and Steve's personal demons don't seem to have improved. Lisa is nine years-old now and his relationship with her still feels strained, though he hasn't rejected her entirely, continuing to pay for the needs of her and her seemingly unfit mother. Apple CEO John Sculley (played by Jeff Daniels) insists on knowing why the world believes he fired Jobs, feeling they don't know the truth. Through much of the backstage antics, we learn that Steve actually designed his NeXT computer to entice Apple into buying the company and reinstating him. It would appear that the last four years have been spent as a building process for Steve's revenge against those who fired him. I can only say that if that account is accurate, I can't but feel a certain degree of admiration for someone who's not willing to stand by and allow others to betray him without penalty...even if it takes four years.

Act III is now ten year later in the year 1998 and the world is primed for the launch of the all-colorful iMac (again, never had one). Steve is back on top at Apple, is still full of himself, and Scully himself has been fired. Honestly, by this time, I've practically lost interest in the tech world of this film and am more intrigued to see what shall become of Steve's personal life. Lisa is nineteen and on the verge of attending Harvard as long as everyone involved can just get her tuition affairs in order. Steve's final redemption rings true when he finally apologizes to Lisa for the kind of father he's been to her, citing that he's "poorly made" (geez, the guy can't get his head out of the circuits for a moment, can he!). The film ends with his third and final launch of his new product that will continue to keep him on top of the world, but not before a great moment when he confesses to Lisa that he's sick and tired of watching her carry around a large Walkman and promises that he's going to "put a thousand songs in your pocket", thus verbally originating what will one day become the first iPod.

Like many films that depend on real people to carry out a film's actions STEVE JOBS is a highly intriguing and entertaining story in which effective dialogue and almost electric tension from a vivid man like Michael Fassbender and those around him allow the story to be told of a man who's never entirely sure of where he fits into the larger picture of life, both in business and fatherhood. Through the crisis of others, we can't help but feel just how important and critical everything in the computer world really is, even if it means nothing to us personally. I'm not saying this film will deeply affect how you perceive a man like Steve Jobs because that's depends completely on your own realities about him and how much of this film you want to accept as accurate or not. Simply put, STEVE JOBS is riveting entertainment on film because it works in showing us who a man like Steve Jobs could have been.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Steve Jobs: "I'm gonna put music in your pocket."
Lisa Brennan: "What?"
Steve: "A hundred songs. A thousand songs. Five hundred songs. Somewhere between five hundred and a thousand songs. Right in your pocket. Because I can't stand looking at that ridiculous Walkman anymore. You're carrying around a brick playing a cassette tape. We're not savages. I'm gonna put a thousand songs in your pocket."
Lisa: "You can do that?"
Steve: "We're very close. All I have to do really is wipe out the record business as we know it, and we'll be all set."

STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII - THE LAST JEDI

(December 2017, U.S.)

At the end of THE FORCE AWAKENS, I and many other fans were left with high hopes and high expectations for the next film in the STAR WARS sequel trilogy. Luke Skywalker was back and we fully expected him to take his rightful place against the First Order. We fully expected to learn just how Luke's original lightsaber made it off of Cloud City and ended up in the hands of Max Kanata. We fully expected to learn that Rey was very likely the daughter of Luke Skywalker (I mean, let's face it, all evidence from THE FORCE AWAKENS seemed to point in that direction). We fully expected Princess Leia to be dead by the end of THE LAST JEDI because it seemed only logically since Carrie Fisher had died in December 2016, and it seemed only poignant and meaningful that Luke Skywalker's end would inevitably come by the end of EPISODE IX, thus ending the long and legendary saga that's been in our lives since 1977.

Here's what happened instead: Luke Skywalker never even left the island he was exiled on, his lightsaber has still not been explained, Rey turned out to be just what she appeared to be on the surface; the abandoned daughter of junk dealers (at least that's where we are with her character at this point in time), Princess Leia was still alive and well by the end of the film, and Luke Skywalker was gone! So, if it seems that I'm getting things off to a sour note here with THE LAST JEDI, you're not wrong. Like RETURN OF THE JEDI and THE PHANTOM MENACE, the latest film in the new trilogy is exciting and fun to watch, with good moments of darkness and drama that generally live up to our expectations, but flawed in its story, nonetheless. Maybe I'm being too judgmental about a trilogy that's not concluded yet, or maybe I'm just being a sore sport. It's very easy for fans to judge and discuss what they would have done differently, and I'm no exception, but it's still all difficult to swallow when you're expectations are hell and gone from what actually happens.

So just to sum things up here - Rey is still on the island with Luke Skywalker who refuses to leave, content with his daily routine of, well...nothing. The Resistance, led by General Leia Organa and Poe Dameron, spend most of the film escaping attacks from the First Order (not too unlike the plot of EMPIRE, I suppose) who can now track them through lightspeed, while the Resistance ships burn fuel as they try to keep their distance and stay alive. Meanwhile, Fin and his new companion Rose are on their own secret mission to decode and disable the First Order's tracking device. Kylo Ren, son of Han and Leia, is (almost predictably) questioning his commitment to the dark side as he hesitates to fire upon his own mother during a space battle (didn't you also think this was when Leia would meet her doom when you watched the film's trailer?? I did!). Luke inevitably agrees to train Rey in the ways of the Jedi, but it all seems rather lame in comparison to what we've seen before during the prequel days of the Republic. One noteworthy exception to this is the newly discovered ability within the Force for Rey to project her presence to another location and join with others without actually leaving where she is. In other words, traveling without moving. This is an important plot point because it not only serves to show how Rey will influence Kylo Ren's actions against his Supreme Leader Snoke and take his own place in the First Order, but also in how Luke will ultimately fit into the scheme of things as he is repeatedly declared the one spark of hope that will turn the tide against evil in the galaxy, which I suppose turns out to be the greatest disappointment in THE LAST JEDI. As previously stated, Luke Skywalker never leaves the island and his moments of action turn out to be just one great, big illusion. To be fair, though, it is good to see Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher on screen together again, even if it's just for a brief moment, and even if that moment turns out to be one great, big illusion, too.

Like THE FORCE AWAKENS, I'm still asking the question of the purpose of the color red in the new trilogy. On the planet Crait, where the film's final battle takes place, the ground is rich in a red salt content, which splatters all over the damn place like blood in an '80's slasher film. Luke's appearance and confrontations, illusion or not, is exciting to watch, nonetheless, because it's a pleasure to see Mark Hamill back in action any way we can get it. But that pleasure is temporary because we're forced to deal with the fact that Luke Skywalker has passed on following his final battle. His death is peaceful, much like Yoda's on Dagobah. But since Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi were not final or forgotten characters ever after their deaths, I suppose it's safe to presume that the presence of Luke Skywalker isn't finished yet. The biggest question I have right now is how do they continue Princess Leia after Fisher's death? And just what are we supposed to presume is to follow when a STAR WARS film ends with a small child holding up a broom and gazes into space? Do we believe the children are our future...even in a galaxy far, far away?

And so, after eight films, and with the exception of ROGUE ONE, we're all finally caught up in the ongoing saga of what simply began as the story of a boy, a girl and a galaxy. But what are we really left with at this point? THE LAST JEDI is surely a passionate adventure with heroes and villains we've come to regard as traditional, if not cliché, and it can even be accused of lagging a bit in the second half, not nearly packing the same punch as its preceding film. Performances are solid enough, particularly from Mark Hamill who seems perfectly happy to be back home where he belongs, though I seriously question the casting of Benicio del Toro and Laura Dern in roles they don't seem to know exactly what to do with without the constant support of others. I don't know, maybe it's me, but I always felt that STAR WARS films were best helmed by unknown actors, despite the desires of some famous movie actors to have a STAR WARS film under their belt (even Samuel L. Jackson). And let's face it - subtle wit is one thing, but cheap jokes simply don't work in STAR WARS films, in my opinion. I mean, what exactly was writer Rian Johnson (also director) thinking when he decided to have Poe Dameron make what can only be described as a phony phone call in space to Genral Hux at the beginning of the film? I don't think I've seen anything that stupid in the entire saga since See-Threepio's ongoing bad puns in ATTACK OF THE CLONES.

I suppose all I can do is sit back an wait until December 2019 when EPISODE IX finally brings things to a close and confusing issues are resolved. That's my new hope!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Luke Skywalker: "Where are you from?"
Rey: "Nowhere."
Luke: "No one's from nowhere."
Rey: "Jakku."
Luke: "All right, that is pretty much nowhere."