There's really no other way to say it, this movie was disappointing. The plot sounded very intriguing and like a film version of an X-Files episode: Fashion Photographer Laura Mars has psychic powers beyond her control that allow her to see through the eyes of a psychopathic killer that's on the loose. This was an early project for legendary horror director John Carpenter who wrote the film's screenplay. The movie stars Faye Dunaway, a young Tommy Lee Jones, and one of my favorite character actors Brad Dourif, the great character actor Rene Auberjonois is also in he film (playing quite possibly the funniest/best character of the film). The film has a good 1970s vibe present throughout the majority of
the film (the cars, the fashion, the architecture) and the film has good cinematography (a bit like some of the Giallo greats), but there is a large portion of this film that is really boring, and a lot of it probably could have been cut out. I fell asleep in the middle of the movie, woke up and finished it without missing a beat (the same thing happened when I watched Heat [1995]), I feel like if you're doing you're job of making the movie correctly then I should have had to re-watch what I slept through. Also this movie's plot has been done many times before, so I wasn't too surprised when the twist was revealed at the end because for a seasoned movie buff like myself, it was pretty easy to figure out (for lesser film buffs though it might be more difficult). The other notable thing about this movie is the theme song by Barbara Streisand "Prisoner," which I guess was somewhat of a hit for her. Overall though this was a mediocre movie and I give it a 3/5; You can Watch the Trailer below:
I thought I had heard of every movie on Bravo's list of 100 Scariest Movie Moments and thought I had seen all of Michael Keaton's best movies, turns out I missed this gem on both counts. It's a virtually perfect thriller on all counts and it would be a perfect movie if not for some overacting on Matthew Modine's part early on. Michael Keaton is a perfect creepy sociopath and San Francisco is such a beautiful city, and this film does a good job showing both those things. The film shows parts of San Francisco and the Pacific Heights neighborhood you don't normally see, as well as some different angles of the Golden Gate Bridge. Michael Keaton is this creepy neighbor who rents an apartment then locks himself in refusing to pay rent, leave or communicate with anyone 98% of the time, and he's ruining his landlords' lives and there's nothing they can do to stop him. Melanie Griffith did a very good job as well in this film, and oscar winning great director John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy, Marathon Man) adds another classic to his roster. I give it a 4.75/5 (the full movie's on youtube for those interested in it) you can view the trailer below:
The second Crichton film I saw recently was the movie Coma (1978) it was not written by Crichton but was directed by him and based on the best selling novel of the same name. When patients go in for routine surgeries but come out in Comas, a doctor grows suspicious and does some investigating of her own. The cast was great featuring Richard Widmark and a young Michael Douglas, Ed Harris, and Tom Sellick. This one is a little slow and boring at times (the majority of the film has no musical score), and the plot can be fairly predictable at times as well (it's really similar to a film called Green for Danger [1946]) but production value is top notch (cinematography, editing, acting, what music there actually is, etc.). The film wasn't as futuristic as Looker, but it was interesting and believable in the sense that corrupt crooked things happen by those you should trust quite often (i.e.rarely trust the government, stuff like that ). I give this a 3.75/5. Also in case you can't tell what's in the background of the image up top, there's another view of it above to the left. Though a lot can be predicted about this movie, it does have a surprise or two so I will not explain the image or any more about the film. View trailer below:
