WIlliam Friedkin Marathon: Sorcerer, Rampage, Blue Chips, Rules of Engagement, The Hunted, Bug.

William Friedkin has received a lot of love from me on the site. He is the man and I continually enjoy everything I see by him. I noticed recently that a crop of his movies have appeared on Netflix instant, so I watched them... and gave a brief run down with my ratings... because that's what I do here at WFR!

Sorcerer
(1977) [Trailer]
Director: William Friedkin [IMDB]

Synopsis: 4 men with checkered pasts are hired to transport highly volatile dynamite through a Nicaraguan forest.

This film is a definite pleaser in my book. Whoever the guy is that's in charge of the explosions in Sorcerer should be given an Oscar. Also the score-- it's incredible. There was a little lag towards the beginning and it took some time for the story to gain momentum, but when it gets going it rules. The truck building scene was awesome, I feel like I could build one now.

There's tons of suspense as the crew travels through the jungle. Two stand out moments for me were... the truck driving across the Temple of Doom bridge and the jerry-rigging of the C4 to blow up the tree.

Rampage
(1987) [Trailer]
Director: William Friedkin [IMDB]

Synopsis: A delusional young man goes on a killing spree. He's taken to court and tries to get off on insanity.

This film's main problem is... it's boring as shit. Seriously... it was so slow and really hard to finish. It stars Michael Biehn from The Terminator, he was probably the best actor of the lot. I don't know what else to say here.... this is definitely a pass.

Snooze city.

Blue Chips
(1994) [Trailer]
Director: William Friedkin [IMDB]

Synopsis: Nick Nolte is a college basket ball coach looking to build a winning team.

Nick Nolte plays a pretty typical coach, or at least what I think one should act like, so I guess that's good. There's a lot of poor acting from all the players and a few believability issues. When Nolte goes to visit Shaq for the first time, he takes a boat, travels through a swamp, then hikes through a field. When he arrives to the town Shaq lives in, it has a street running right through it... why didn't Nolte just drive there? Blue Chips is a pretty average sports drama, not horrible, but not great either.

Rules of Engagement
(2000) [Trailer]
Director: William Friedkin [IMDB]

Synopsis: Tommy Lee Jones defends Samuel L Jackson after he gives orders to attack a group of Yemen protesters.

I was prepared to be disappointed after seeing the ratings score for this film, but it wasn't that bad. There were a few predictable moments but all the performance and pacing were good enough to give it a pass.

The scene where Samuel L Jackson kills the Viet Cong guy was pretty rad and the surge on the US embassy was pretty gripping.

This was a nice blend of a court room drama and war flick, absolutely a decent time waster.

The Hunted
(2003) [Trailer]
Director: William Friedkin [IMDB]

Synopsis: Benicio Del Toro is a crazed ex military assassin and his mentor (Tommy Lee Jones) is brought in to track him down.

This movie could have been so much cooler. It started off and had a sort of Rambo meets Deerhunter vibe going for it, but somewhere along the way it derailed a little. It wasn't awful or anything, just kinda bland.

Two things. The opening scene with the wild wolf caught in a snare and TLJ just walks up and frees it... it's absurd. Also... at the end when Del Toro is being chased by a shit ton of FBI, he finds the time to stop and forge a blade out of iron and fire???? It might have been one of the most ridiculous things I've seen in a serious movie.

Bug
(2006) [Trailer]
Director: William Friedkin [IMDB]

Synopsis: Two people with a lot of baggage hook up and then start to believe the government has bugged them?

Bug is a weird film. It feels dirty, kind of like Killer Joe did. There's some really cool camera work and sound design throughout this. As always, Michael Shannon plays a great crazy person. The film takes awhile to roll out, but when it does, it unfold very quickly. The last 20 minutes are bananas.

The Exorcist

The Exorcist
(1970) [The Greatest Trailer Ever Made!]
Director: William Friedkin (IMDB)

Synopsis: William Friedkin deals one hell of a hand with this thriller about a girl who becomes possessed by the devil.

First... let me start by saying that this is one of the greatest horror movies of all time in my book. It has everything that makes a horror film work... religion, creepy kids, hallucinations, and murder. If you haven't seen this, you're not living life man!

I know I've been on a bit of a Friedkin kick, but I didn't pick this out, my life partner did. We scooped up a new home theater system and this was her selection to test it out. It was a great pick. The Exorcist's sound design deserves a true 5.1 dolby surround sound treatment and the new addition delivered the goods, making this movie experience even scarier. The Exorcist still creeps me out and I can only imagine how terrifying it must have been seeing it back in the 70's... oh yeah that's right... I don't have to imagine. I will leave you with one horrifying image... my old bandmates and I on The Exorcist steps in Georgetown.

William Friedkin Double Feature - "The French Connection" and "Cruising"

William Friedkin has slowly been creeping his way into my favorite directors list for awhile now. With my stance that The Exorcist is one of the greatest horror films ever made and my recent love affair with To Live and Die in LA and Killer Joe, this man is proving to me that he can do no wrong. I decided to sit down with two of his classics and check them out.

The French Connection
(1971) [Trailer]
Director: William Friedkin (IMDB)

Synopsis: Two cops, Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider, track down a drug ring.

This film is extremely straight to the point. I think that's why I enjoyed it so much. It's a police procedural and that's it. There's no real deep character development, no sub plot, and not much exposition. These guys are cops, they found a possible drug ring, they're gonna fuck the criminals up and that's it. It goes right for the jugular. The film is realistic and gritty, New York in the early 70's looked brutal, way more tough than by today's standards.

I'm just gonna talk about one thing real quick then I'm done here. There's a chase scene involving a subway train and Hackman driving a car. It's awesome. It, as well as the chase scene from To Live and Die in LA, are singlehandedly the two best chase scenes filmed in modern cinema. If there is a book to be written called "How to Film a Chase Scene", William Friedkin should be the author.

Cruising
(1980) [Trailer]
Director: William Friedkin (IMDB)

Synopsis: Al Pacino goes deep undercover to infiltrate the gay S&M night club scene in order to find a killer who's been hacking up his dates.

Growing up and watching stuff like THIS painted my perception of gay bars in a certain light... they looked scary. Now that I'm older and not a retard anymore, I realize gay bars are just normal bars. However, I think in the 80's it was a bit different. You probably had your regular gay bars and then you had your S&M subculture hang outs (no pun intended), like the places pictured in Cruising. These clubs, I would imagine, would be shocking to both straight and gays alike. I'm sure sites like these still exist, but I don't think they are as common anymore. I love this film because it shows you a side of New York, in a certain time, that couldn't really be recreated the same way ever again. Everything in this film is so raw, unsettling, and rough.... Central Park has never looked so ominous. Al Pacino is great in his role... some stand out moments for me would be: the dance scene and the end scene where he's staring at himself in the mirror. This film is highly recommend by me, especially if you're in the mood for something shocking.

Killer Joe

Killer Joe
(2012) [Trailer]
Director: William Friedkin (IMDB)

William Friedkin (The Exorcist and To Live and Die in LA) has been in the game for a long time, he's like that aging quarterback that many think should have retired, but hasn't. I for one am glad he hasn't because we wouldn't have this review for you to read and for me to write.

Synopsis: A young man in debt hatches a plan to kill his mother and collect on the insurance, too bad the guy he hired to do the job is a psychopath.

This movie is fucked. There's no other way to put it. DO NOT bring your parents to see this movie. In fact, in it's honor I'm starting a new label titled just that "Do Not Bring Your Parents to See This Movie". I loved this film, absolutely loved it. When I left the theater I had that great feeling of being completely happy, fulfilled, and entertained. This movie is the reason I go to movies. It's submersive and kept me locked into it's crazy tale throughout the whole experience. Matthew McConaughey again, pulls out a killer (no pun intended) performance, but so did everyone else. Gina Gershon and Thomas Haden Church were really funny, Emile Hirsch plays an excellent screw up, and Juno Temple is nude a lot. Killer Joe is the classic tale of greed and how it leads to one's demise, it reminded me a lot of Fargo and Burn After Reading. It's a real fun time, but not for the faint of heart. One thing is for sure... you'll never look at a fried chicken drum stick the same again.

To Live and Die in L.A.

To Live and Die in L.A.
(1985) [Trailer]
Director: William Friedkin (IMDB)

I'm not sure which one of my friends recommended this movie to me or if I heard about it on the movie podcast I listen to, but whoever it was...THANK YOU! This movie was the shit and I'll tell you why right now.

A federal agent in L.A. gets more than he bargained for when he starts hunting down a counterfeiter who's responsible for killing his partner.

Log into amazon.com, check.
Search 'To Live and Die in L.A.', check.
Click on blu-ray of said movie, check.
Add to wishlist, check.
Those were the steps made by me after viewing William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. tonight.

This movie is very gritty and has a certain feel to it that I can't really match to another film. Maybe if Drive, Beverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon, Donnie Brasco, and Miami Vice all had an orgy together, but even those titles aren't really too similar to this film. There's so many cool scenes in this, especially the money counterfeiting montage and after watching it you'll be able to starting printing your own $20's. The car chase scene is pretty incredible as well and I'd say probably the best one I've ever witnessed in cinema. William Dafoe's villainous role is perfect and John Turturro is rad, but there are some flaws occasionally with some of the other actors, nothing to earth shattering though. The score was done by Wang Chung and is definitely dated, but part of me actually kind of liked it. I'm very glad I got to peep this bad boy out and you stop sleeping on it and do the same.

Edit: (6/24 - Rewatch. This movie is a solid 5 star in my book. Just watched it in glorious blu and it's even better.)