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.

Q: The Winged Serpent

Q: The Winged Serpent
(1982) [Trailer]
Director: Larry Cohen [IMDB]

I'm starting to dig into the filmography of Larry Cohen. Last year I reviewed 'The Stuff' and it peaked my interest in Mr Cohen. I decided to check out his next most popular film and cult classic... Q.

Synopsis: It's like King Kong... only with a lizard bird and the dude from Law & Order.

I really liked Q, it has this weird 80's charm to it that makes me nostalgic. The serpent has surprisingly little screen time, which might be a good thing because the effects are pretty dated. What Q lacks in monsters, it makes up for in dialogue. Michael Moriarty's performance is so awkward, but in a great way. It's really something to behold, it's humorous at times, but then he'd belt out a scene that's really impactful. It was quite enjoyable. David Carradine and Richard Roundtree play two ridiculous cops and they're not too believable, but still fun to watch. There's also a nice amount of gore, which I appreciated.

Although the winged serpent may look a little cheesy, Cohen does a good job at working around it. When you're looking through the serpent's perceptive as it flies over the city rooftops, you get some of the best scenes in the movie.

Just like 'The Stuff', this film is an oddity, but one that's worth taking a look at. I'm definitely going to dig up some more Larry Cohen films.

A Richard Linklater Block: Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Waking Life.

I consider myself a big fan of Richard Linklater. There are a few titles I haven't seen of his that I'm going to review right now and then one film (Dazed and Confused) that's a rewatch... although I haven't seen it since high school... so we'll see how it holds up.

Dazed and Confused
(1993) [Trailer]
Director: Richard Linklater [IMDB]

Synopsis: Ride along for the last day of high school in a small Texas town in the 1970's.

This movie is the best. It's so easy to sit back and watch. It unfolds at a nice pace and everyone seems very natural in it. There's no big story arc, but instead, a lot of little ones that seem to keep you interested enough not to really care if it doesn't go out with some huge bang. Matthew McConaughey is so perfectly cast and this is still one of the funniest scenes out there.

Even though I reviewed this first (keeping things in chronological order), it was actually the last of these flicks I watched. One fact that's glaringly obvious about Rich is... the man can write one hell of a film and can direct one hell of a film. He is definitely one of my favorites out there in the game.

Before Sunrise
(1995) [Trailer]
Director: Richard Linklater [IMDB]

Synopsis: Two people meet on a train and hit it off. They decide to spend the evening walking around Vienna and getting to know one another.

Before Sunrise came highly recommend by my good buddy and I trust his opinion on film more than any other... so I knew I was in for a treat. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are amazing in this. Their chemistry seems so genuine and you can feel their desire for one another grow as the movie progresses. The writing in Before Sunrise is probably its greatest strength, all the dialogue seems so believable and real.

Some stand out moments for me were... when Ethan runs back to Julie on the train and talks her into getting off with him, the poem written and recited by the nicely dressed vagrant, and the scene where they pretend to call their friends and tell them about why they're not home yet.

Another steller attribute of this film is its ending. It's perfect. It could have went south so easily, but instead, Linklater decided to take it in a direction that's not predictable and leaves the viewer questioning the future of the couple.

If you're in the mood for love, this is the film for you. Okay, I know that sounded corny... but seriously, this is a great romance that unfold beautifully and is extremely easy to follow. Highly recommended.

Before Sunset
(2001) [Trailer]
Director: Richard Linklater [IMDB]

Synopsis: The sequel to Before Sunrise.... you now find out what happened to the two love birds?

For me, Before Sunset is more of the same, but in a good way. The spark between Ethan and Julie still seems fresh and interesting. The roadblocks now set up in each of their lives throw a nice curveball into the situation.

The ending of Before Sunset is a little more abrupt than its predecessor, but still has the same effect. It leaves things open to interpretation and gives you the ability to form your own conclusion. I really enjoy that indirect style of storytelling.

I am extremely excited to check out the third installment to this franchise coming out later this year, it should be very promising.

Waking Life
(2001) [Trailer]
Director: Richard Linklater [IMDB]

Synopsis: A man travels through a series of dreams.

I loved this film. It's complex, beautiful and thought provoking. It's also extremely philosophical, posing lots of theories and questions on the viewer. That said, it's not for everyone... like my wife... she hated it. If you're looking for some kind of narrative, you'll be highly disappointed. Visually this film is a knock out. It uses the whole rotoscoping technique that Linklater pioneered, but does it on a very basic level at times, which makes the movie look like slices of artwork that should be hanging on your living room wall.

There were a few stand out scenes for me...
1.The man lighting himself on fire and the lead up to it.
2. I liked the nod to Slacker with Alex Jones driving around screaming into a bullhorn/megaphone.
3. The old man who posed the question "Which is the most universal human characteristic - fear or laziness?"
4. The Ukulele guy and his song/speech.
5. It was also cool to see Ethan and Julie's characters from Before Sunset/Sunrise make a cameo.

I actually feel like I need to rewatch this again, there was so much to digest, good thing I just ordered the blu-ray.

The Frighteners

The Frighteners
(1996) [Trailer]
Director: Peter Jackson [IMDB]

As a fan of Peter Jackson, I've been itching to check this title out for a while now. It stars Michael J Fox, who I also quite enjoy... so it should be good right?

Synopsis: A spiritual psychic (MJ Fox), who sees dead people, investigates a series of strange deaths occurring in his small town.

This film was a bit of a disappointment I'm afraid. It wasn't a total loss, but it could have been so much stronger.

One issue for me was the CG... it was god awful. It would have looked so much better if Jackson had used more practical effects... especially the ghost behind the wall stuff (they should have took cues from this.) There were a few unnecessary characters, especially the meathead husband and the FBI guy. The story line is all over the place and I felt like the film could have benefitted from being simplified a bit.

The Frighteners did have some fun moments and Michael J Fox delivered on his end. The score by Danny Elfman was fantastic and Jackson's campy horror style had it's shinning moments. Also the locations were great, there are a lot of creepy houses and set pieces used throughout.

If you're a fan of comedic horror, check this out, it's not a total waste. It's available on Netflix instant.