The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

Let’s Get Legal Movie #2

Synopsis: Double tragedy befalls small Canadian town: a school bus full of kids wipes out on an icy road, and then the ambulance-chasers arrive. 

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “Through a skillful weaving of past and present, acclaimed director Atom Egoyan (Exotica, The Adjuster) examines the nature of the human spirit and its capacity for grief, loss and ultimately, redemption.” 

What Did I Learn?: 1) With enough rage and helplessness, love eventually turns to steaming piss. 2) The pied piper wasn’t mean – just very angry. 3) Something’s happening that’s taking our children away. 

You Might Like This Movie If: You've always wanted to see a William Mattar advertisement turned into a full-length feature film.

 

Really?: I realize the coroner’s inquest, and the arrival of Mitchell Stephens (Ian Holm) is tearing the town apart, but Nicole’s (Sarah Polley) action near the end seems incredibly short-sighted and destructive. Why shouldn’t the families of the dead and paralyzed children be able to sue for compensation? This rubbed me the wrong way. 

Rating: I wanted to like The Sweet Hereafter, but I’ve never been a fan of Atom Egoyan’s work. While the TSH is well-written, and filled with complex characters and some impressive performances, it’s also incredibly dark, bitter, and difficult to watch in places. The Sweet Hereafter is a good film, but it certainly isn’t my cup of tea. 7.5/10 stars. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120255/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The Firm (1993)

Let’s Get Legal Movie #1 (Please click the links to read my reviews of The Verdict, Night Falls on Manhattan, From the Hip, Breaker Morant, The Caine Mutiny, A Few Good Men, and Presumed Innocent) 

Synopsis: Ambitious young law school grad joins mobbed-up firm that’s been killing off lawyers. Audience spends two-and-a-half hours wondering why that’s such a bad thing. 

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “Tom Cruise delivers the most electrifying performance of his career in this riveting film based on the international best-seller.” 

What Did I Learn?: The only skill that law firms look for in potential employees is the ability to guess the contents of a sealed envelope. 

You Might Like This Movie If: You figure it must be a two-and-a-half hour music video.[Warning: the embedded video is truly awful]

 

Really?: 1) So, Wilford Brimley – the dude from those old oat bran commercials – is the villain? Was Mr. Rogers unavailable? 2) Mitch McDeere? Avery Tolar? Lamar Quinn? F. Denton Voyles? Was John Grisham smoking something strange when he created these character names? 3) Funny how Mitch is kept very, very busy by Avery, and we never see him do a whole lot of studying, yet he somehow passes the bar exam with flying colours? Where did he find the time? 4) Wow...it’s tough to find competent assassins these days, isn’t it? 

Rating: The Firm is an enjoyable thriller that nevertheless suffers from a few problems. The film is far too long (see: "Synopsis"), its last 30-40 minutes are a convoluted mess that’s nearly impossible to follow, and Cruise has zero romantic chemistry with his co-star, Jeanne Tripplehorn (her scenes with Gene Hackman are much better, in spite of their creepy age difference). 6/10 stars. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106918/?ref_=rvi_tt

The Informers (2008)

Please click the links to read my reviews of two other films that were adapted from Bret Easton Ellis novels: Less Than Zero, and American Psycho. 

Synopsis: Have you ever wanted to go back to 1983 in order to spend a week with a bunch of rich, doped-up, morally-bankrupt narcissists and their spoiled, obnoxious kids? Me neither.

Blurb From the DVD Jacket: "Academy Award winners Billy Bob Thornton and Kim Basinger and Academy Award nominees Winona Ryder and Mickey Rourke star in an interweaving tale, which unfolds in Los Angeles in the decadent ‘80s: a city ruled by addictions of every type – from sex, to drugs, to power – where youth is wasted, where love is fleeting, where every night is a headlong rush to the next orgy of sensation.” 

What Did I Learn?: If you want to bond with your estranged teenaged son, it’s a really bad idea to hit on the girl he just met a few hours earlier. 

You Might Like This Movie If: you really want to step back into 1983.

 

Really?: 1) So, William (Thornton) wants to reunite with his estranged wife (Basinger), yet continue sleeping with Cheryl (Ryder) because he doesn't want to pay the costs of a divorce? How long does he think he can maintain that charade? 2) Wait - a scumbag criminal (Rourke) kidnaps a young boy off the streets in order to sell him into sex slavery, and he gets away, scot-free? That's a very unsatisfying conclusion. 3) From what I remember, the clothing styles of the early 1980s looked a lot like the late 1970s. It's funny how none of the men wear three-piece suits or large aviator-style sunglasses.

 

Rating: See: "Synopsis." With such an impressive cast of performers and a screenplay from Bret Easton Ellis, The Informers should have been a winner, but it's rather difficult to watch. None of these characters are even remotely sympathetic or likeable, and the Mickey Rourke sub-plot made me sick to my stomach. I'll give The Informers a few stars for some impressive performances (Thornton and Basinger are great together) and a kick-ass New Wave soundtrack, but I cannot recommend this movie. 4.5/10 stars. 

Would it Work For a Bad Movie Night?: Maybe. Take a drink any time a sulky kid complains about his/her parental units.

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0865554/?ref_=rvi_tt

Hard Times (1975)

Synopsis: Grumpy bare-knuckle-brawler and enterprising hustler sting thugs for big money in the Deep South. Sorry, that’s the Synopsis for Diggstown!

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “Charles Bronson demonstrates exactly what tough is in this two-fisted action drama about a drifter suddenly caught up in the fight game during the great depression.” 

What Did I Learn?: 1) Some are born to fail, others have it thrust upon them. 2) The next best thing to playing and winning is playing and losing. 3) Every town has somebody who thinks he’s as tough as a nickel steak. 

You Might Like This Movie If: You want to learn about hard times.

 

Really?: Hmm...for a pragmatic, smooth-talking fight fixer, Speed (James Coburn) isn’t very good at maintaining his relationships, is he?

Rating: Written and directed by Walter Hill (one of my favourites), Hard Times is a fun (and unfairly forgotten) film that’s reminiscent of The Sting. Coburn and Bronson portray flawed, but sympathetic characters, and share some great moments. My only complaint would be that that Hard Times tends to drag in places. Highly recommended. 9/10 stars. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073092/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Spartan (2004)

Synopsis: It’s basically 107 minutes of Val Kilmer yelling “where’s the girl?!” before he smashes somebody’s head through a plate-glass window. 

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “FBI. CIA. Secret Service. Black Ops. Robert Scott is all of these. And none of these. His newest assignment: find the possibly kidnapped daughter of a high government official before the story leaks.” 

What Did I Learn?: 1) Never lie to a ranger. 2) The hardest thing isn’t going through the door, it’s coming out. 3) You don’t fake the DNA. You issue a press release. 4) In the city, always a reflection. In the woods, always a sound. 5) You don’t want to go in the desert. 6) People usually fuck up when they try to help. 

You Might Like This Movie If: You figure it must be a documentary about crunchy, aromatic apples.

 

Really?: 1) Wait a minute... the President’s daughter is kidnapped by drug dealers/human smugglers, and his advisors call off the rescue mission because he’ll get a bounce in the polls, and they assume the bad guys will quietly kill her? Why couldn’t they simply sell the girl to a terrorist group to make propaganda films? 2) This movie is awfully similar to that Liam Neeson flick, Taken. 3) Come to think of it, Scott’s (Val Kilmer) dialogue sounds an awful lot like De Niro’s in Ronin, which was also written by David Mamet. 

Rating: Spartan is a compelling, edge-of-your-seat action thriller that starts losing its credibility somewhere in the second act. Still, it’s great for an evening’s entertainment. 8/10 stars. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360009/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_13