Jackie Brown

Rum Punch & the Delfonics

"Didn't exactly set the world on fire, did you, Jackie"

For me Jackie Brown is an important movie in my life, in fact I really shouldn't be putting it on here as I can watch this film at any time of the day, however this film is not for everyone so 2AM it is... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5pfU3Sd3Aw

I first watched this film 1998 in a hotel while on holiday in Las Vegas and I was just hooked, it introduced me to blaxploitation, Elmore Leonard, Pam Grier, Max Forester and a f**king good sound track.

So here's the plot....its a little complicated so I'm just gonna give you the bare bones, if you have a brain you'll discover the rest for yourself.....

Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) is smuggling money into the USA from Mexico for gun trader Ordell Robbie (Samuel Mother F**king L Jackson) using her job as an air stewardess as cover.

Beaumont Livingston also works for Ordell, he is a bit a of a loud mouth and after being arrested and bailed he is shot by Ordell (don't worry I'm not revealing a plot twist you see it coming) Jackie is then arrested by the ATF so Ordell transfers Beaumonts bail bond to her and for this he needs bondsman Max Cherry (Robert Forster) Jackie is picked up by Max and they form a connection. Jackie plans to steal the money and retire with it, letting Max in on the plan she spends the rest of the film juggling Ordell and the agents (Michael Keaton & Michael Bowen) playing them off against each other. Ordell, thinking Jackie is on his side, drags his on/off girl friend Melanie (Bridget Fonda) and his former cell mate Louis (Robert Deniro) into the plot.

I don't want to give the end away (sometimes I do, but not this time) but lets just say things go tits up and not everyone gets out alive.

When watching this film the first thing you need to do is forget that this is a Quentin Tarantino film as this film its not a "Quentin Tarantino" film, this is why I think its never really made the impact that his others have made. Jackie Brown was the first film for Tarantino to direct since Pulp Fiction, inbetween he had been involved in films such as Natural Born killers and Dusk Till Dawn, so he had set a trend of being associated with very violent films with lots of blood not to mention a thumping soundtrack, when Jackie Brown came out there was lots of hype about the swearing (epsecially the use of the "N" word) and Tarantinos homage to the Blaxploitation genre so people went to the cinema with certain expectations that were not really met, there was no blood, not much shooting (ironic given this is a film dealing with gun running) and really the "homage" to Blaxploitation is really in the visuals and sound track, what you have instead is a well crafted film, its slow pace wouldn't bother fans of shows like The Wire, Sons of Anarchy or Mad Men.

Jackie Brown is an adaptation of the Elmore Leonard book Rum Punch, which was a sequel of sorts to his earlier book The Switch (its rumored the film Ruthless People was based on it) usually with adaptations people always say "see the film first as the book is better and you'll only be disappointed". This film is one of the exceptions, the book is great and the film only compliments it, yeh sure there are changes but on the whole they are smart moves, the setting is changed from Miami to L.A. which is a good idea because being how the book is very atmosphere heavy Tarantino went with his stomping ground and knows how to bring out the best in the back streets of L.A. giving the film a real sun worn look, he also changes the focus of the book mainly on Jackie (hence the title change) and we follow her story, this is a smart move as when there is so many twists and turns it could get messy. The biggest change that was made was changing the character of Jackie from a blonde white woman to Pam Grier, you'd think it would alter the character alot but it really doesn't, Jackie is a woman who, although still beautiful, has seen better days (in the book I picture her as Kim Basinger) Grier nails this character and makes it her own, she is smart, warm, sexy and tough, her performance is incredibly layered, she also holds herself well against her co-stars having great chemistry with all of them.

The other actors all bring their parts to life, Robert Foster as Max Cherry is perfectly cast, he plays so well against Pam Grier is make you wonder why these two have never been paired before or since, he has this resigned sense of "seen it all before" when it comes to all the danger and violence.

Samuel L Jackson plays the gun runner Ordell Robbie, I love Jackson but sometimes I find him a bit "samey" when watching him you kinda know at some point in the film he will stand up and declare he's had enough of these mother f**king snakes/sharks/Carrie Bradshaws/Jedi, however in Jackie Brown he has this on the downlow and turns in a very menacing performance, and what a I like is that when you first see Ordell he gives it all the Samuel L Jackson stuff with him showing Louis a TV show about guns declaring "AK-47. The very best there is. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherf**ker in the room, accept no substitutesDeniro, as Ordells friend Louis, was giving a half assed performance, that was until I read the book and realised not only was he perfect casting but his acting is brilliant, as Louis he acts like he has given up the will to live, he seems as if he is just going along with the plan just because there's nothing else for him to do. Bridget Fonda playing Mel makes up the last of the trio of crooks, having read the book she's the only one who doesn't really capture the character, Melanie in the book is a party girl past her prime, in my head I see an older Lindsey Lohan playing the part, Fonda is a little to classy, to well kept to have let her self go none the less her version of Melanie stays suitably immature. I always forget Michael Keaton is in this film, I don't know why because his performance is good, he has this enthusiasm that makes him seem younger than his years. Chris Tucker makes a great cameo as Beaumont at the beginning and succeeds in showing the audience just how lethal Ordell is.

Alot of people say Tarantino is an overrated director or that he is good at just doing "shoot em ups"

I however feel he is very underrated in certain areas, I think his films are beautiful, he has a style that I don't think will be appreciated until his later years, for example the 50s dinner scene in Pulp Fiction, the climax of Kill Bill Vol 1 and the opening of Jackie Brown, they are just so beautifully shot.

Ahh the opening, I love it, its so bold, Pam Grier standing there on the conveyor belt as the stark mosaic of LAX mural passes her by, with this retro back ground its like Grier is stepping out from the 70s where she has been hiding all these years....take a look.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BWA1T78WpI&feature=related The film has all the elements of a Neo Noir with a wonderful scene of Jackie drinking in a red lit bar giving you a sense of the murky world she is trapped in.

image by regted

Another thing that Tarantino does well is a the sound track, yes they are always popular and everyone finds them cool, but Tarantino really picks songs that work, they mean something to the scene, in particular I think Jackie Brown has one of the best soundtracks, not as iconic as Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill no, but the songs really work, aside from the opening credits there is one scene in particular where Jackie & Max talk about getting old, in the background plays the Delfonics and it just makes it lovely to watch seeing these two people chatting it almost feels like this could be about the actors as well as the characters.

Stand Out Day Player

My stand out day player in the film is Hattie Wilson as Simone, Ordells older lover. Simones big scene is where she entertains Louis by dancing to the Supremes, as she shakes herself to Baby Love Louis rocks himself back and forth in his arm chair mesmerised by the sight before him. Later Simone does a runner with some money so we know shes a smart bitch. In the book there is more of her but alas we just have to make do with this little scene, shes great though.

To sum up....

All in all I find Jackie Brown sings to me, all the players are lonely in their own way, they are people whose youth has long since left them, the money represents one last chance for them to make a new start, I like that aspect, I like how life doesn't always work out how you want it to be. As I said before if your looking for a Tarantino movie this won't be it and you don't get much violence, however when it is used it makes it all the more shocking, one characters death in particular I remember having quite an impact even though you don't see anything. The high light of the film for me though is when Max first sees Jackie, Tarantino once described this part as where the white audience see Max fall in love with Jackie and where the black audience fall in love with Jackie, which is true in some ways, but I fell in love with her at the beginning - the moment she hit the screen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MaHwTCdlfM

The Blue Dahlia

Dahlias and Dead Girls

"Every guy's seen you before somewhere. The trick is to find you"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzuaR5YuOdY

I love film noirs I find them oddly comforting, have no idea why but I do, so when I decided to do this I had many to choose from, and I went with The Blue Dahlia.

The reason why I like it is that its just so simple to watch the plot basically is this:

Johnny (Alan Ladd) returns from the war to a find his wife is in the middle of a wild party, yes Helen has become a party girl (she also has taken to dressing like Draculas Daughter) Despite going through a war Helen really couldn't give a sh*t that he is back and basically implies shes had more meat than a butcher, after clashing about her life style he leaves her and flees to the coast, hitching a lift with Joyce (Veronica Lake)
The next morning he awakes to find the radio announcing his wife has been murdered and he is suspect number one.
The rest of the film deals with Johnnys quest to find the truth as the list of suspects grow, including his mad friend Buzz and Joyces estranged husband Eddie. This being 1940s Hollywood naturally it ends with a kiss, but the rest of the story is quite dark for its time.

Elizabeth Short

I love the background to this film, Raymond Chandler was having so much trouble writing the script that he fell off the wagon and demanded a crate of scotch in order to finish the script and
rumor has it the title of the film inspired the name "The Black Dahlia" that was given to the L.A. murder victim Elizabeth Short.
All the actors hold themselves well, Doris Dowling vamps it up as Helen Morrison, from what I gather Helen seems to have gone from Jennifer Aniston to Angelina Jolie after the truma of losing her son and is now the best ride in town. William Bendix almost steals the film as the shell shocked Buzz, Bendix is such an underrated actor, despite playing a character who gets angry when he hears "that Jungle music" his portrayal of a man with a violent mental illness is both believable and sensitive.
Speaking of mental illness Veronica Lake was being slowly destroyed by her own. In the days when such subjects were taboo, Lake was self-medicating her schizophrenia with alcohol and bad taste in men, there were also rumors of a wild sex life with random strangers (which only makes her hotter). Though she made other films The Blue Dahlia was really Lakes swan song as one of Hollywoods leading sirens it never got any better after that, she died almost forgotten, unhappy and alone at the early age of 50. Alan Ladd had more luck in his career yet like Lake he to was plagued by demons though what these were remain unknown, the pressures of Hollywood probably never helped, also like Lake he never made it past 50 dying of a drug overdose, it was ruled accidental but he had tried to shoot himself the year before so you join the dots.....

However saying that I find these two on screen to be a charismatic combo, they made not have had the heat of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall (Big Sleep) or the depth of Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray (Double Indemnity) but my god they were iconic, Veronica Lakes look has become the standard for any femme fatal, for any more proof you only have to look at Kim Basingers Oscar winning performance in L.A. Confidential.  Lake once described herself as a "sex zombie" and never thought much of herself as an actress, she was doing herself down I think, both her and Alan Ladd have something going on behind the eyes, maybe its their demons, what ever it is I find them so watchable. I would like to add Lake was HOT and can hold her own in the looks department.
Many of you may find this film lacking in some areas, it may not have the plot twists of say The Big Sleep or Double Indemnity, its may not have the melodrama of Mildred Pierce or The Postman Always Rings Twice, and some may find that the best Ladd and Lake film is This Gun for Hire, however it has something, it has atmosphere.In this film Hollywood is a dark place, you can almost feel the humidity. Theres something about L.A. when it comes to film noirs, maybe it's the heat, the people in noirs are cold hearted, soulless, dazzling, lonely, ready to explode like a dormant volcano, just like the City of Angels in which they inhabit, reality and fantasy become one. All this adds up for a most watchable film, if you like film noirs there are loads to choose from and this won't be the last to pop up on here, I got my copy of the film in the Film Noir Collection, it should be on Amazon, look it up its a great collection and is a great way to start watching these films.

Stand out day player

For me its Helens boozy friend "drunk lady at the party" who flings herself at Johnny, she only confirms that Helen is now a slut because she hangs out with lushes. Drunk Lady seems nice I have to say and she is really happy to see Johnny (at least some one is) ....if only he relaxed, had a drink and went with her






To sum up....
Los Angeles. Its the middle of the night. Somewhere, while the innocent sleep, Barbara Stanwyck plots to murder her husband, Humprey Bogart tries to crack a case, on a lonely highway drive Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, on the run from fame, heading to nowhere.
This may not be the perfect film noir but The Blue Dahlia is perfect at 2am.

Image by Regted

Dahlias & Dead Girls

Mother F**kers - 10 Pop Culture Mothers from hell

In the small hours I've started to ponder many things I've seen in the day, after watching Sons of Anarchy it got me thinking about bad ass mums in TV & Film so I made a list.....I just like to add that the women who play the characters are all dam good actresses.

First the honorable mentions

Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway) Mommie Dearest
Should really be number 1 but it was just so obvious, also if the daughter in the film was mine I'd slap her to.

Alien Queen Aliens
See above, plus I'm trying to stick to humans.

Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft) The Graduate
Sleeps with her daughters boyfriend and has a cool theme tune.

Sara Lisbon (Kathleen Turner) The Virgin Suicides
Suffocates her children to death by shutting them away from the world.

Padme (Natalie Portman) Star Wars
What you doing dying just because you had a argument with your baby daddy! Silly cow. She was a mother from hell but in a different way.

Sally Jupiter/Silk Spectre (Carla Gugino) Watchmen
The former Superhero turned into a gin soaked slut during her retirement, taking out her troubles on her Superhero daughter.

Lois Griffin (Alex Borstein) Family Guy
Was in the list but I'm keeping to real people, however being a drinker, slut, thief, gambler and other dirty things such as leaving an upset Meg with a bottle of pills means she needs a mention......and a spanking!

Angela Channing (Jane Wyman) Falcon Crest
The Ex Mrs Ronald Regan spent the 80s acting as an evil puppet master over her family, destroying lives at will for the sake of her beloved grapes.

Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand) The Sopranos
Can put the fear of God into Tony and his family with just one look, that's enough for me!

Judith Flick (Colleen Camp) Election
Though only seen briefly, Judith Flick makes her impact on world by creating a weapon of mass destruction in her daughter.





10) Mimi Slocumb (Susan Sarandon) - Igby Goes Down

The dying, pill popping, WASP who shouts at doctors when she doesn't get her drugs. Mimi spends the film repressing her love for her children in order to keep them in line, you spend most of the film looking for a trace of love coming from her, to her credit she gives you just a little.

Best Moment: Sitting on her maids face while telling her off




9) Gemma Teller-Morrow/Peggy Bundy (Katey Sagal) - Sons of Anarchy/Married with Children

I had to do a tie here just cause Sons of Anarchy is my favourite show at the moment. Shes a lazy tart in MWC and a tough bitch in S.O.A. -a Lady Macbeth in Leather, this is one woman you don't want to mess with. Good girl!

Best Moment: S.O.A. Walking away from a rape with her head held high
Best Moment: MWC Punching Al's new bride








8) DeDe Pritchett (Shelley Long) - Modern Family

Has a habit of trying to strangle her husbands new wife and sleeping with her daughter Claires limo driving ex-boyfriend. When bored she likes to use her Claires emotions as target practice. Only the former Diane Chambers could do this role justice, Shelley Long you've been gone to Long,  I wana see more DeDe on my TV!

Best Moment: Talking about her sex life to her children




7) Mirianda Hobbs (Cynthia Nixon) - Sex and the City

Oh where to start with Miranda, look this woman didn't even care if her kid was a boy or a girl. She seems to resent him as much as she does Steve (though lets face it the wimpy sh*t deserves it "Mirwandaa I love woo" oh shut the f**k up and grow a dick!), in fact the only person she seems to care about is Carrie, a little to much if you ask me *wink*.
Here's my proof of what this awful woman was up to during her pregnancy......she didn't know I was filming her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbvH8-KG2MQ&feature=related

Best Moment: Screaming "Mommy's cumming!" as she has sex while her poor child sobs in the next room.




6) Evelyn Harper (Holland Taylor) - Two and a Half Men

No wonder Charlie Sheen is so f**ked with this She-Devil slut as his mother.

Best Moment: Everytime she walks in the room









5)Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter) Arrested Development


The mad head of the Bluth family, she abuses drugs, drink, her money, staff and children - "I don't care for Gob". Her biggest rival is Lucille 2 (Liza Minnelli)

Best moment: When challenging her husbands mistress to a drinking contest she knocks back a drink and then announces "that one didn't count" now that's class!








4) Betty Draper (January Jones) - Mad Men

Shes like a Pet Cemetery Grace Kelly, a preening soulless ice queen. She spends her days smoking and dreaming of more punishments for little (future f**k up) Sally. You can just see the Mommie Dearest in her eyes.


Best Moment: Putting Sally in the closet






3) Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel-Geddes) - DALLAS

An evening at Southfork, the family are eating dinner

image by regted

Lucy: Granmama I've been riding Ray like the worlds gonna end and now I've found out he's my uncle
Miss Ellie: whats that you say dear? Your having trouble at school?
Bobby: Mama last night I murdered a hooker that looked like Pam
Miss Ellie: That's nice Bobby please pass the salt

J.R.: Mama I've started a major war in another country, snorted 20 grams of coke off Sue Ellen's sisters tits, put a hit out on Bobby and sold Southfork to a bunch of Arabs from Abu Dhubi
Miss Ellie: Now J.R. I won't have any business talk at the table

Jesus no wonder they were such a f**ked up family with her at the helm

Best Moment: Telling off her boys and the Cartel for their shady dealings "We may be right and we may be wrong but we're Ewings, we stick together, and that's what makes us unbeatable"




2) Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) - Gilmore Girls

Please woman just shut the f**k up.
God I just want to get a car and drive it over to Stars Hollow, find her, then pluck out her eyes and sew her mouth shut.

Best Moment: When she was beheaded by terrorists






1) Mary Lee Johnston (MoNique) - Precious

image by regted

Oh my god shes horrible, shes so nasty shes almost unwatchable. What a performance from Mo'Nique, the girls in Hollywood who spend their time throwing up, getting botox and appearing in films about love need to take a look at Mo'Nique in this film and realise that this is what an actress is all about.
So here's to you Mrs Johnston -the utter Mother from Hell!

Best Moment: Making Precious hand over the baby only to throw it to the floor

VAMP Vamps & Strippers

Vamps & Strippers

"You have to put umbrellas in the drinks. See? That's class!"

An obvious one I know but most of them will be. Vamp is a film from my childhood, its was one of those films that was shown in the middle of the night, usually at the weekend, along with Shocker, Basketcase, Nightbreed and the rest, I use to watch these films with the sound on low and they started my 2 o'clock morning hobby. So I think it right that Vamp should be my first, it is my Citizen Kane of "late night 80s low budget horror"

Take a look at the trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBHaW4ePu80&feature=related

Its best not to look to hard at the film as you will find holes, hence the reason I watch it late. The whole film has a nightmare quality about it which I think helps rise above the so bad its good tag. The film starts out as what seems to be a teen road trip movie, AJ (horndog) & Keith (sensible) promise a stripper for a frat party, the addition of Gedde Watanabe from sixteen candles as rich boy Duncan only adds to the light hearted teen fun. Taking along Duncan and his nice car they go in search of the After Dark Club, driving along sunny Hollywood Boulevard they spin the car after nearly having a crash and end up in a strange part of town with the sun going down -its all very Wizard of Oz. They find the club in a  somewhere in downtown L.A. and after fighting off a strangely dressed street gang (who I like to call David Bowie & his merry gang of New Romantics) they make their way to the club. Inside Duncan drinks alot, AJ eyes the sleezy strippers including one with a whip and Keith meets "Amaretto" - who he went to school with, Amaretto is not her real name and Keith cant remember what it was. The club is treated (and I use the term loosely) to a performance by Katrina (Grace Jones) - and its not your normal strip tease. After seeing her strip/dance/art installation/mad/no tits performance AJ goes in search of Katrina as he must have her for the frat party (frankly I'd have gone for the one with the whip), AJ is led to her lair by a cute BUT DOOMED asian girl & basically he becomes dinner for Katrina/Grace Jones in a rather scary scene. Meanwhile Keith cant find AJ and has cottoned on to the feeling something isn't quite right, Amaretto thinks she can help and they go back to her apartment she shares with another stripper - I think....I'm a bit unclear on her living situation. Meanwhile the Vampires realise AJ wasn't alone (a big rule for Katrina) the cute asian girl must pay for this is a shocking scene that is a little ruined by the Grace Jones' distracting head dress/TV aerial. Keith realises he's in the Vampire part of town, all hell breaks lose Keith must now fight for his life as he trys to escape, this has him running back & forth leading to confrontations with the David Bowie gang, being attacked by Vampires (all of a sudden they are EVERY WHERE) including a little child Vampire who I find very creepy, dealing with poor Duncan (BOOM) guessing what Amaretto's real name is (I'll tell you now, its Alison) dealing with AJ (guess what he's become) and a final fight in a pink highlighted sewer with Grace Jones. As its an 80s film needless to say the ending is upbeat with Keith having no interest with the consequences and is more interested in kissing Amaretto/Alison, "relax I'll take of everything" he remarks as he struts off into the sunrise with Alison- oh thank god for that Keith as there are still fucking shit loads of Vampires hanging around including that vicious little child one, plus you need to inform the police that you have torched the local strip club, blew up a car and the two guys you went on a road trip with are now both dead....kinda.

God I love this film.

Some people consider this film "so bad its good" but I don't agree. What saves it is its murky dream like quality, its bright colours make almost sickly and the surreal element reminds me a little of Lynch like Blue Velvet or Twin Peaks (which came later) the Hitchcock influence is obvious. The pink and green lighting is a stroke of genius and I for one think this film could contend as a Neo Noir, just take a look at Vertigo for the lighting influence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q8VhPT-VcM

From the moment the car spins the film completely changes into this nightmare world and that's where I find the film to be scary rather than the vampire part. What adds to this is the level of the actors emotions, Keith seems to be the only person to realise how dangerous the situation is, from Amaretto being unconcerned to AJ being only a little pissed about being a vampire, it just reminds me of a bad dream where no one else gets it.

Keith writing KICK ME on her back

Grace Jones is excellent as the head vampire, unlike other singer/models who act she really gives herself to the role. Making the character speechless was a masterstroke, it makes Grace and her co-stars act harder to understand what Katrina wants, it also adds more weight to her character making her to eye of the storm as the chaos happens around her. Katrina's "sexy" strip is also something to be seen, I remember at the time not getting it but as an adult I think its amazing, where else in a low budget comedy horror would you witness an art performance piece styled by Keith Haring using a cast of Dolph Lundgrens body as a chair for Grace to hump. Not having Grace do a sexy strip once again adds to the character when taking something away, I feel its almost as if Katrina has been around for so long she has transcended language and sexuality, these things are for mere mortals something she is not.

Amaretto

There really isn't a bad performance from any of the actors, Chris Makepeace really holds the film together and just glides through the madness, Dedee Pfeiffer (an endearing actress who never really got her moment) keeps Amaretto on the right side of dumb giving a performance that seems like a forerunner to what Cameron Diaz will do in the next era, I honestly think if another actress had played this role the character would have been so annoying it may have ruined the film, Rob Rustler nails his part and given his other roles (Weird Science included) keeps this film firmly in the 80s (not a bad thing) I love love love Sandy Baron as the Vegas loving, blood sucking club owner, he has a couple of good scenes which give him layers in fact he wouldn't be out of place in the Sopranos, he plays off well with Grace Jones and they have good chemistry, an odd pairing with their only common interest  being their need for blood, watching him feeding from her while muttering "its a dirty habit" is quite unsettling, it gives him depth which elevates the film some what, he also has (for me) the most memorable moment in the film where he eats bugs from a glass bowl. Gedde Watanabe is sadly wasted and his exit comes from nowhere which is a shame.

Stand out day player

This has to be the vampire bus driver, I find him really creepy I think it has to be his happy cartoon face with the vampire features, you can just imagine being the last person left onboard the bus only for him to turn round with that face *shiver* ....I know Im such a pussy








To sum up...........

So if you want to see a film that has vampire strippers, Grace Jones, a Dolph Lundgren chair, art influences by Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, Michelle Pfieffers sister, the jock from Weird Science, a bug eating old guy, Hitchock lighting, a gang that are inspired by David Bowie, all set in a VERY 80s downtown L.A. then this is the film for you. But only watch it at 2 in the morning

This film is available on DVD, I got it in a special presentation package by Arrow Film which sadly is not for sale in the USA, I love a good DVD presentation and this doesn't let me down so check them out http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk

image by RegTed

The word is Vamp is going to be remade but I cant see working for those who have seen the original, the film works because of the era its set in and the actors that are used anyway Vamp has already been remade........ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bBay_1dKK8