Ryan's Reviews 17: Last Embrace (1979)

Ryan's Reviews: Last Embrace (released 1979) Ryan's Rating: 3 out of 4 stars.

    A covert agent for the U.S. government, Harry Hanon (well played by Roy Scheider), witnesses his wife's murder during an ambush in a Texas restaurant. Her death causes a mental breakdown and as the film opens he is being released from a psychiatric hospital (ostensibly for government agents) but still suffers from nightmares of the incident and sudden extreme tremors in his hands. Almost immediately he begins to suspect people are after him but is it real or simply paranoia?

    When he returns to his New York City apartment he finds it has been sublet by his "company" to a PhD student studying anthropology, Ellie (Janet Margolin). She gives him an envelope which was slipped under the door with his name on it. The envelope contains a paper with two Hebrew words and a mysterious symbol. Harry takes the letter to a Rabbi (David Margulies) and also a Princeton University Hebrew Studies professor (John Glover) who inform him the note means "Avenger of Blood" and everyone who has received similar notes has been killed. Ellie begins to feel the need to help Harry and Harry soon realizes he needs all the help he can get to figure out what is going on and to save his own life.

    A very Hitchcock inspired film, those familiar with Hitch's work will notice references to his films especially in the last ten minutes but also peppered throughout the story. Last Embrace is an early film by director Jonathan Demme (who later won a Best Director Oscar for Silence of the Lambs in 1991) and released a year before his breakthrough with Melvin and Howard (1980). One of Demme's trademarks are characters who appear to speak directly into the camera but are not breaking the "fourth wall" (think of the scenes between Clarice and Hannibal in Lambs). While it only happens a few times here when I saw it happen a big smile spread across my face. I love seeing a director early in their career finding their hallmarks. He also uses real locations to his advantage, for instance the brief scene in NYC's Paley Park is simply and wonderfully staged to make use of the water feature and water tunnel; the Niagara Falls sequence is also exciting. Aside from his adept use of locale I appreciate the time capsule feel of seeing the areas in 1979.

    This film is ostensibly a Neo-Noir but also a bit of the 1970s paranoia thriller genre and definitely a Hitchcock inspired tale (though the story is based on the 1977 novel The 13th Man by Murray Bloom). It is one of those movies you have to go with the flow to enjoy. For instance the opening sequence seems a bit hokey and over the top but we soon learn it is one of Harry's recurring nightmares so the style quickly makes sense in that regard.

    From a story sense the narrative is not perfect (also some of the 1970s mores are obviously dated) as the plot takes some odd turns and some threads vanish with no explanation. Christopher Walken (fresh off his Oscar winning role the year before in The Deer Hunter) has two brief scenes as Harry's Agency boss but then vanishes completely from the rest of the film. As well when the mystery begins to be unraveled it all becomes a bit too implausible, one revelation comes in such an odd way I thought it was another dream sequence.

    Yet when the film was over I was truly drawn in and cherished the viewing experience. Even with its flaws the suspense works, I cared about the characters, and I would like to watch the film again.

Quarantine Movies Reviews 7: Four small town murder mysteries

Watch out who you chat with in these small towns (really three small towns and a big estate)!

Ryan's Reviews of Cookie's Fortune, Clay Pigeons, Drowning Mona, and Gosford Park.

Janeane Garofalo and Vince Vaughn in Clay Pigeons. pc: IMDB

Clay Pigeons (released 1998) Ryan's Rating ✯✯1/2 (out of four)

I have wanted to see this film since I saw the VHS cover in Blockbuster Video but at the time it was a little older than my sixth grade mind could handle so my family was not going to rent it for me. I never got around to watching it till now (though the Amazon Prime Video version is a pan & scan, seemingly copied from a VHS which maybe takes it all full circle). 

Clay (a young Joaquin Phoenix) is a lazy guy living in a small town (possibly in Texas though the film was shot in Utah) and has been sleeping with his best friend's wife. His best friend kills himself and makes it look like a murder committed by Clay. Soon a mysterious drifter, with a creepy laugh (early career Vince Vaughn), shows up and insinuates himself into Clay's life. Within a week more dead bodies start showing up all with a connection to Clay and then the FBI arrives (Janeane Garofalo) to look into it. This is a mix of Neo-Noir and a black comedy, the opening scene really pulls the audience in and the first thirty minutes are so good that the rest of the film doesn't sustain the greatness of the beginning. On top of that the pace slows down at about the halfway mark. I enjoyed the movie overall, though the ending is not a satisfying resolution and sometimes the country songs on the soundtrack dilute their scenes instead of enhancing them. It is very reminiscent of the 1980s and 1990s independent Neo-Noirs or crime films like Blood Simple, One False Move, and Red Rock West (among many others). If you're a fan of Neo-Noir and have an hour and forty five minutes give this one a whirl.

Cookie's Fortune (released 1999) Ryan's Rating ✯✯✯ (out of four).

Charles S. Dutton and Liv Tyler in Cookie's Fortune PC IMDB

During Easter weekend in a small Mississippi town, a wealthy eccentric woman named Cookie (played by the always lovely Patricia Neal) dies in her sleep and her money hungry sister (played by Glenn Close) claims it was murder. Soon Cookie's longtime friend and handyman (Charles S. Dutton in one of his most appealing performances) is charged with the crime, though most of the town doubts his involvement. This Robert Altman film, like all Altman films, is an ensemble piece with a wonderful cast (including Julianne Moore, and many1990s familiar faces like Liv Tyler, Chris O'Donnell, and Lyle Lovett) and a more whimsical lighthearted approach than I am used to from Altman. And like other Altman films it is more of a character study than a true mystery as the audience knows full well what happened but we are watching to see how the story plays out with the these wonderful characters. It is a sweet funny film.

Drowning Mona (released 2000) Ryan's Rating ✯✯ (out of four).

In a town where everyone still drives a Yugo brand car because it was used for market testing in the 1970s, the most hated resident Mona Dearly (played with gusto by Bette Midler) is murdered when her brakes fail. The sheriff (excellent Danny DeVito) begins to investigate and finds a town full of suspects but all evidence seems to point toward his soon to be son-in-law (pre-fame Casey Affleck). This is a very black comedy, with much of the "humor" being downright mean. Through flashbacks we see events told by different characters and how the story changes depending on which character is speaking. The plot is a traditional small town "whodunit" mystery but run through a wacky filter and by the end I did not really care to figure out who the culprit was. The movie feels too long even at 96 minutes and the excellent cast that includes Neve Campbell (the sheriff's daughter) and Jamie Lee Curtis (not given much to do as a chain smoking waitress). It would have been better shorter and maybe as an HBO TV movie instead of a theatrical feature. There are some funny ideas, like the Yugos.

Gosford Park (released 2001) Ryan's Rating ✯✯✯ (out of four).

Another wonderful late career gem by Robert Altman. At the British Estate of the title a wide array of aristocracy and their servants gather for a weekend party where the host is killed. While there is a murder and a solution, the murder element of the story doesn't really happen till quite late in the film. This is really a "upstairs/downstairs" ensemble piece as we see the lives of the wealthy and their servants juxtaposed. The Oscar winning screenplay by Julian Fellows is a precursor to Fellows later success. He took many of the elements in his story here and several years later created the extremely successful Downton Abby TV Series. An enjoyable ensemble piece that is not really a mystery but just an interesting character study with great cinematography, excellent set/costume design, and wonderful performance by a great cast.

  

Spenser Confidential, rebirth of the hero

Spenser (his first name is never revealed) first appeared on bookshelves in 1973's The Godwulf Manuscript written by Robert B. Parker and starred in forty more books before Parker's death in 2010.

The book series gave way to the TV series Spenser for Hire (1985-1988) with the perfectly cast Robert Urich and Avery Brooks as Spenser and Hawk.  That was followed by four lifetime TV movies in the mid 1990s.

Joe Mantenga starred in three A&E TV movies and also performed several series audio books in the early 2000s.  With the passing of Parker author Ace Atkins took over writing the novels in 2012.

Fans of those previous incarnations of the character (like myself) will find a very different Spenser in the new  Mark Wahlberg movie Spenser Confidential which premiered this past Friday on Netflix.  While much has changed there will be a number of familiar elements for longtime fans.

In this new film directed by frequent Wahlberg collaborator Peter Berg (Patriot's Day, Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon) we find Spenser as a former Boston patrol officer sentenced to a five year prison term for beating up corrupt police Captain Boylan (Michael Gaston).  Upon his release, Spenser is taken in by his old boxing coach Henry Cimoli (a perfectly cast Alan Arkin in the one character taken unaltered from the books) and becomes roommates with aspiring MMA fighter Hawk (Winston Duke).  All Spenser wants is to get his truckers license and move to Arizona to start his own shipping business, yet fate intervenes when Captain Boylan is brutally murdered and an old friend of Spenser's is framed for the crime.  It's time to put those old detective skills to use to clear a friend and stop the bad guys.

Loosely based on Ace Atkin's 2013 novel Spenser: Wonderland the adaptation is written by newcomer Sean O'Keefe and Oscar Winner Brian Helgeland (he also wrote screenplays for the adaptations of LA Confidential, Blood Work, and Mystic River).  The film is entertaining and fast paced, director Berg knows how to stage a fight scene, and is really modeled on the thriller/mystery starring-vehicles of the 1980s and 1990s like Stallone's Cobra, Arnold's Red Heat, Bruce Willis's Striking Distance, and Clint Eastwood's Tightrope to name a few.  It is the kind of movie where a character gets stabbed in the ribs with a shive, then he puts a Band-Aid over the wound and it's like it never happened.

Wahlberg's Spenser is truly a Boston everyman no longer a professional private eye (originally inspired by Chandler's Phillip Marlowe) he is closer to the characters Wahlberg has played in The Fighter and Four Brothers. Retained from the books and previous TV incarnations he is a former boxer with an Arthurian moral code for doing what he believes is right.  Here Spenser is still finding his way whereas in the books he arrived fully formed and changed very little through the years.

Winston Duke's Hawk is a completely new incarnation no longer the ultra smooth fine silk wearing mercenary, here he is a up and coming MMA fighter being trained by Spenser and Henry.  The son of murdered community activists he enjoys organic salads and oat milk and has Spenser's moral code for helping the helpless.

It would be remiss if I did not mention Iliza Shlesinger's scene steaming turn as Cissy, Spenser's former/current girlfriend. Gone is the stuffy psychologist Susan Silverman, in her place is the hard talking take no prisoners small business owner who can argue as well as Spenser can punch.

I hope they make more of these films, as a longtime fan of Spenser.  Parker's novels were what really got me into loving books and pleasure reading, I was a late bloomer in that respect as it was not till the early 2000s when I began gravitating toward traditional novels.  Spenser and Hawk are like old friends that make right what once was wrong and life is just a bit better with Spenser around. 

Story of the Judas Goat

In Honolulu there is an annual event called the Friends of the Library Booksale where for one week every summer this organization uses the McKinley high school cafeteria as a giant bookstore. They fill tables with all types of books: Mystery, Hawaiiana, Fiction, Politics, Biography, Cookbooks, Childrens, VHS tapes, etc.  The items are less than $5 each and on the last two days everything is half price or fifty cents.  There are older editions, out of print titles, diamonds in the rough, as well as a lot of inexpensive books (hundreds of James Patterson titles).  One reason this event is so popular is that there are not very many bookstores on Oahu and almost no used bookstores.  The stores that sell used books are often small or the used section is a tiny area in a regular bookstore.  There are no Half Price Books or Moe's like they have in Berkeley with endless aisles of used titles.  So this annual library books sale is quite an event every summer, and you are almost guaranteed to run into someone you know at the book sale.

I have always been more of a library guy.  I borrow books read them and return for another person to enjoy.  Up until my late twenties I only owned a handful of books most of them reference or required for school.  Truth be told I am still more of a library guy but as I've gotten older I find myself more willing to buy books.  (Side note I do collect items kitschy things, comics, koa items, memorabilia, so why not books).  I had been to this books sale once or twice when I was very little and my mom bought me some random Batman and Superman comics.  Then I did not return until 2005 and I bought a coffee table book "A Day in the Life of Hawaii" and a snorkeling book for a girl I was dating at the time.

It was not until the 2009 book sale when I started my annual attendance and my search for The Judas Goat.  As some of you readers may remember 2009 was a bit of a bad year (click here to read about 2009), by the summer I was at a new job working at Barnes and Noble and trying to find my way in the world.  As I was feeling lost and in a routine I was not super happy with I found myself turning to books more than ever.

Got Books?

I have been a fan of mystery books since I was little (Encyclopedia Brown Anyone?) one of my favorite authors (mystery or otherwise) is Robert B. Parker (he sadly passed away in January 2010, but he died at his desk writing!).  His books were immensely popular (70s-00s) and spawned the TV Series "Spenser for Hire" and the "Jesse Stone" TV Movie series, as well as the big screen western Appaloosa. Parker is the author that made me want to read mysteries as an adult and eventually write mystery books for my in progress Master of Fine Arts degree.  The first book I read of his was The Godwulf Manuscript a true heir to Chandler and Phillip Marlowe.  It is one of the few books I've read more than once.  The novel features Parker's Private Investigator Spenser searching for the medieval book of the title and running into corruption, cults, and murder at a Boston University Campus.

By 2009 I was on the fifth book in the Spenser mystery series: The Judas Goat.  This book is less of a mystery and more of an adventure and character study. Spenser is hired to track down and kill a terrorist group who killed (collateral damage style) a millionaire's family and left the millionaire in a wheelchair.  While most of the books take place in Boston, this entry finds Spenser traveling to London and Canada.  Along for the ride is Spenser's badass friend Hawk who carries a shotgun under his leather coat.

The Hardcover Edition I passed on

So back to me. I attend the 2009 book sale and I went back several times during the week.  One day I find an old hardcover edition of The Judas Goat.  It is a copy that has been withdrawn from the library circulation so it is a little beat up.  There is a 1970s style blue and yellow cover, as well as a cool synopsis and bio that are not on the paperback editions.  I flip through the book and wonder if I should buy it.  Then I think to myself that I'm already reading a paperback copy from the library and was about half way done.  I put the hardcover edition back on the table and move on.  The next day I read the novel in one of those reading frenzies where you can't put the book down and you're up till late at night flipping the pages until the end.  I finish the book, and I loved it.  As I turn out the light on my nightstand I decide to return to the book sale and buy the hardcover edition.

As you probably guessed I went back and searched for hours and could not find that hardcover edition I had put back on the shelf.  Someone bought it during my time of wishy-washiness.  From that day forward I vowed to find myself a used older edition of The Judas Goat.  For the next four years I returned to the book sale searching for this one specific book.  It became something of a game I played with myself in every used book store I went into I checked the mystery section for a copy of this book.  I never found it.  Although I always looked for the book I began to tell myself it would never be, I would never find it.

August 2014. I was in a bit of a funk (actually I guess like all people the funk comes and goes).  On this day the funk was there.  I went down to Berkeley looking to purchase something to make me feel better (I know not the best tactic but it was what I was doing at the time).  I purchased some comic books on Shattuck Ave. Ghostbusters ongoing series (that sadly ended in September 2014) is something wonderful to behold but I still felt a little sad because I had not been reading Ghostbusters just purchasing the issues and saving them to read when I had time.

On my way back to the car I was passing Moe's Books. I had been there several times before and always looked for the book but never found it. I decided to play my game and headed for the basement where the used mystery books are kept.  I scanned the Parker area and I thought I saw the title. I passed it and then my eyes darted back.  There it was on the shelf.  A different edition than I had ever seen.

Finally Found!

I grabbed it, used my Moe's store credit and it was mine.  On the drive home I kept reaching into my bag to see if the book was still there.  I was afraid it might have vanished or all been a dream.  But no I had achieved my goal and my five year search had come to an end.  It is a strange feeling, now when I enter a used bookstore I have no set goal I find myself wandering aimlessly.  Sometimes I still look for The Judas Goat just to see if it is there.  I am not sure why I have decided to tell you all this story.  I guess I could say when you really are searching for something you may eventually find it.  I am truly grateful that I have the opportunity (due to my life and surrounding) to play a book game like this and not worried about starvation and military uprisings.  I guess that shall be my end this is something I want to share because it took up a large part of my life and also to say thank you for that life.  Sorry if that is abrupt, I'm going to go read The Judas Goat now :)