Erratic Viewings: Last Man Standing

So you know I am going a bit fanciful notion to keep it loose and easier for me to write. With this wayward view on writing you get to pick and choose a bit more leisure. Howzabout a story of a gunslinger caught in the middle of two warring mobs and deciding who to work for. This is Last Man Standing.

More Colt 45 than Billy Dee Williams!

Stuck in Prohibition a lone man, "John Smith" (Bruce Willis of Moonlighting, Die Hard, Hudson Hawk, The Last Boy Scout, Striking Distance, The Jackal, Mercury Rising, The Whole Nine Yards and The Expendables) walks in to the ghost town of Jericho Texas. The Irish and the Italians are blasting each other for a piece of the action after scaring of decent people. Gotham of the Old West. The Irish want Smith as their new gunsel offering him dough to fight for them. The paddy in charge, Doyle (David Patrick Kelly of The Warriors, 48 Hrs., Dreamscape, Commando, Cheat Shots, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Twin Peaks and Malcolm X) and his enforcer Hickey (Christopher Walken of The Deer Hunter, Heaven's Gate, The Dogs of War, A View to a Kill, King of New York, True Romance, The Prophecy, Nick of Time and The Country Bears) don't see eye to eye about Smith and he leaves it open ended.

Why must I play the eye candy?  Grr.

The Italians led by Fredo Strozzi (Ned Eisnberg of Deadly Force, Hiding Out, Miami Vice, Air America, The Fanelli Boys, Star Struck, Head of State and Million Dollar Baby) tosses Smith an offer and the promise of position of power. Smith lets some info between the gangs for extra scratch remaining neutral. Our ghost town has three whole jobs left, the sheriff, bartender and undertaker. Imagine Raymond Chandler meets John Sturges giving a hybrid of the gritty Old West and the roaring 1920s.

WHAT CRAZY EYE!?!

This film brings suspense and action hand-in-hand and it dawns on me why. Our director is Walter Hill (The Warriors, The Long Riders, 48 Hrs., Streets of Fire, Brewster's Millions, Crossroads, Extreme Prejudice, Red Heat, Another 48 Hrs. And Wild Bill) and this feels like a Peckinpah flick similar with The Wild Bunch or The Getaway, giving elements of suspense, character development, story arc and a fair degree of movie unfolds. With Willis' stoic line delivery, the patented Eastwood squint and the feeling of pure apathy in contrast to Walken's scenery chewing, this flick is pretty damn impressive but it does fall a bit short to be a classic. The pseudo love interest Felina (Karina Lombard of Legends of the Fall, Kull the Conqueror, Deception, The 4400, Secrets, The L Word and Rescue Me) gets pawned off to Smith and there's a bit of chemistry but honestly Hill really just used her for eye candy. A disappointment given the lady can act but it happens.

People of all ages, creed, shape and size will reference A Fistful of Dollars calling this a remake but if you really do your homework, this is a remake of Yojimbo by writer/director Akira Kurosawa (Rashomon, The Idiot, Sword for Hire, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, The Saga of the Vagabonds, Fencing Master, Redbeardm Sanshiro Sugata and The Last Day of Hsianyang). You see Americans, Kurosawa is responsible for The Magnificent Seven, The Outrage and Stray Dog so you may have heard a few of these. Hell, Sword for Hire feels closer to A Few Dollars More than I previously knew. Hell with the level of blood flowing this could be Sergio Corbucci's Django but Willis' still not as cool as Franco Nero. No offense Bruno.

Blood's so thick in the streets, I need sponges.

Fusion of Film: Suicide Kings

Hello folks. Welcome to the Fusion of Film week...which sounds better than saying Grab Bag yet again. This time around I will be bouncing around from various genre of film and film only. I know that sounds a bit limiting to not add TV or video games but trust me you will enjoy it... or I will chase you down with a clown hammer.

I bring you Peter O' Fallon. This producer/director/writer brings everything to his work. Cutting his teeth on Thirtysomething and Northern Exposure gave him an experience dealing both Comedy and Drama which embraces so many emotions to collect and work with. A former mob boss is enjoying the spoils of retirement when he encounters four kids that are interested in being around him and then... things get dicey. This is Suicide Kings.

Eh, I've had stranger Saturday Nights.

Charlie Barett (Christopher Walken of The Deer Hunter, The Dogs of War, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, True Romance, Pulp Fiction, The Prophecy and Last Man Standing) heads to his private table in the restaurant seeing a couple of kids in their twenties sitting at his table Avery (Henry Thomas of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Cloak & Dagger, The Quest, Valmont, Psycho IV: The Beginning, Legends of the Fall, Hijacking Hollywood and Moby Dick) and Max (Sean Patrick Flanery of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Powder, Eden, Pale Saints, Suicide Kings, Simply Irresistible, The Boondock Saints, The Insatiable, The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day and Saw 3D: The Final Chapter) who apologize for snagging his table and ask if he wants to have a night on the town with them and their buddy Brett (Jay Mohr of Saturday Night Live, The Jeff Foxworthy Show, Local Heroes, Jerry Maquire, 200 Cigarettes, Action, Ghost Whisper and Saints Row 2) and they grab the check and get the car.

So lemme do my Walken impression.

The guys try to drug Charlie as he kicks and squirms to get away, they almost wreck the car in the process. Charlie wakes up duct taped to a chair as Brett explains why he has been kidnapped while their buddy T.K. (Jeremy Sisto of Hideaway, Clueless, White Squall, Now You Know, Thirteen, Wrong Turn, Dead & Breakfast, Six Feet Under and Law & Order) checking his vitals as they explain that Avery's sister was kidnapped by a couple of loan sharks that have Avery's marker now want $2 million dollars. Between the guys they don't have it. Brett explains that Charlie is also known as Carlo Bartolucci and $2 mil is pocket change, not to mention his connections to the underworld to find these bastards that snagged Avery's sister.

Charlie's bodyguard Lono (Dennis Leary of Who's the Man?, Gunmen, Judgment Night, The Ref, Two If by Sea, The Thomas Crown Affair, Ice Age, Rescue Me and The Amazing Spider-Man) is pissed getting abducted and starts his own investigation to find friends of Charlie that may know where he went or where he might be. Hiding out at a buddy's house the fellas try to keep it together but each of them are starting to have doubts on this being a good idea... kidnapping a capo.

With the clock ticking, accusations being thrown at one another, Charlie has the boys where he wants them. Off their game and stalling them until Lono gets there and then... all bets are off.

Folks, what can I say to improve this?

From hand held, car mounted some dolly track work all this film is 35 mm in Spherical via Panavision bringing some great looks to it. Leary is wonderful in this play a mob lieutenant. Bitching and complaining about his wife having 300+ shoes when all he has is some running shoes, boots, basketball and now these $1200 Stingray boots that she can't believe he wasted all that money on and so on. Our kidnappers are character actors Frank Medrano (The Shawshank Redemptionm The Usual Suspects, Kissing a Fool and Sleepers) and Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond, Superman: The Animated Series, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, 'Til Death and The Crazy Ones) and I swear their characters are written as Heckel and Jeckel. 

Still grumpy he had to give up smoking.