Recently in B Movie/Low Budget pg.3 Category

Directed by Robby Henson. Billy Bob Thornton, Sela Ward, William Devane, Patricia Arquette, Julie Hagerty, Marcus Lyle Brown, Hill Harper, Thomas Hayden Church. Drama. Synopsis:A disillusioned sheriff of a small Louisiana county becomes involved in the invesstigation of the murder of a transgendered woman at the same time that his personal and political life take a downturn.

A wonderful smaller budget film with a great and deep cast that is well directed with an interesting story. Funny how that recipe seems to work more often than not, isn't it? In the film, we are quickly introduced to Sheriff Darl Hardwick (Thornton) the consummate good ole boy who just wants to do some good, get along as well as he can with his high powered attorney ex-wife (Ward) and daughter, and, of course, get re-elected. Maybe not necessarily in that order.

The intrigue starts very early as Darl and his two deputies Jackson (Marcus Lyle Brown) and CB (Ray McKinnon) investigate a seemingly victimless accident as a truck carrying a large quantity of shoes veered off the interstate. Darl, skeptical of the driver's claim that a woman had caused him to crash the truck, instead seems more interested in dispatching the shoes, for free, to some citizens-likely voters-at the accident scene. After Darl has played Santa Claus for a while, he is as surprised as anyone when, lo and behold, there is the corpse of a woman lying unnoticed by the side of the road. 

As if this turn isn't interesting enough, the plot, as they say, thickens even more when two things are determined: 1) the young woman died of a gunshot, not being hit by a truck and 2) the woman appears to be a hermaphrodite, not a common thing in small town Louisiana.

Things quickly go from bad to worse for Darl, as his handling of the free shoe affair quickly displeases the County Judge and power-broker (William Devane Bad News Bears In Breaking Training), and his sloppy handling of what now seems to be a murder investigation is just another sticky subject between he and ex-wife and County D.A. (Sela Ward The Fugitive).

The film progresses in an excellent fashion, with the key turn being the sudden appearance of a young woman from New Orleans (Patricia Arquette) who suddenly turns up in town looking for her friend, a dancer who she hasn't heard from in a while. Darl, ever on the lookout, takes a shine to this young lady, and is bemused when she claims to be the dead woman's "wife". 

Henson does a wonderful job of telling us several stories inside of one big story at one time, so that we follow all layers and one strain of the movie does not detract from another. From the burgeoning romance Darl has Patricia Arquette's character, to his relationship with his father and long estranged brother (Thomas Haden Church), to the deepening intrigue of the murder investigation that, suddenly, no one except Darl wants to investigate, the result of which results in Darl facing a reelection campaign against one of his own deputies and new favorite of the power brokers.

The film cannot be done justice in a short review, which just might spoil it anyway, but the descent of Darl, a character we both like and are critical of, is interesting to watch as it unfolds in the midst of a new romantic possibility and a murder case that stretches up to the highest levels of Louisiana politics.

Thornton is wonderful, as he always is for those of us who just like him, and the other main actors bring the characters to life in a way that everyone can empathize with and, if any of you have ever worked or been around law enforcement, particularly in the Deep South, like moi , you will find yourself saying, "I know/knew a judge/lawyer/politician/deputy just like that!" Also, I'll bet you'll find yourself hating Devane's character, but loving him in the role, which is something only the real good ones can pull off.

Arquette is fabulous as well, she has long been my fave of the talented Arquette family. Two characters who have relatively small roles but make a huge mark on this film are Sister Felecia (Julie Hagerty Airplane) and Gizmo (Hill Harper). They both deserve special mention.

Ultimately, however, its Thornton who has to carry this film and he does, as he always will when cast correctly.

This film is a triple. The only thing that keeps it from being a home run on DVD is the lack of special features which, with a cast and story like this, would have been a ton of fun and interesting to watch. 

Starring: Dennis Hopper, Kelly Brook, Raffaello Degruttola, Susie Amy, Ashley Walters, Morvin Christie, Hipplyte Girardot, Peter Capaldi, Julienne Davis. Suspense/Drama. 

Synopsis: Nine people are abducted and placed in a house by an unknown man who promises 5 million dollars to the one who will leave the house alive.  The nine people face, struggle with, and are ultimately defeated by  their inability to overcome their differences and by the selfish fight for food and survival.

Some people might consider this a poor(er) man's Saw 2, but it does seem from the information that this was in production back in '03, even before the original Saw. Its always interesting to me to see the natural progression or deterioration of the human condition when people are placed in intense and life threatening situations with others that they do not know. I'm not smart enough to psycho analyze it overall, but it seems to me that its is going to be really good or really, really bad. Simplistic, yes, but I think a fair description of what we expect to see, we just don't know which.

In House of 9, we quickly anticipate that it is all going to hell in a handbasket pretty quickly. The start of the movie deals with a couple of the abductions, but it is important in this type of story to really go overboard with your suspension of disbelief, because we have to believe that several adult people are abducted, almost simultaneously, with not one of them having a clue why or really how...yet they all manage to land in this super secure house at the same time. Well, o.k. Once you get by that, it is possible to enhoy the story...to a degree.

Surprisingly, House of 9 deals very little with any real attempt at escape from the house, the nine heroes are told by a mysterious voice that they are effective participants in game, with the winner walking out with a cool 5 million dollars. (One wonders, since the film is set in Britain, why the offer wasn't for pounds, but if its 5 mil, I guess you don't worry about stuff like that). There is no direction or hint from the Voice as to whether or not they are expected to kill one another, or whether they will encounter some pitfalls from the Voice himself. Immediately, we sense that the Voice might just be counting on the inevitable mistrust, envy, and narrow mindedness that comes in any crowd of humans. We soon see that he is right, which might just be why he picked these people in the first place.

Now, you might think that a gRoup of people containing a priest (Dennis Hopper Hoosiers) and a cop (Degruttola) would not lack for for unquestioned leadership, but you would be very wrong. In fact, only one of the gorup seems to pay the priest the type of respect you might think he'd deserve, former dancer Lea (Kelly Brook). The primary reason that anyone follows the cop's lead is that he has a gun. Ahhh, maybe a hint that the deck has been stacked a little. The angry young aspiring rap artist (Ashley Walters) sure thinks so, as well as the ankle bracelet wearing ex-con Shona (Morvin Christie). The former tennis star (Susie Amy)  makes it real clear that she is not going to lift one finger to help do anything and seems most intent on polishing off the liquor that has been graciously provided by the Voice. The May-December couple (Peter Capaldi, Julienne Davis) seem more concerned with their descent from their previous lofty financial status. Well, that's about it for any interesting subplots, to the extent that you find that interesting.

There is a scarce supply of food provided for the nine members at first, so rationing becomes the name of the game, but, once they start dying, the portions substantially increase.  The deaths come in the three of the four major categories: accidental, suicide (or was it?), and old fashioned murder. Frankly, there is not much sense to it, which was the point, in my opinion. When you get right down to it, how much sense does it make to kill another person?

The acting is uneven, Hopper fans, like myself, will be disappointed. First, he needed to decide whether he was an American priest in the U.K. or an American actor playing an Irish priest. Either would have been fine, but the accent shifts back and forth between the two for most of the movie. Second, the priest thing just didn't work.  Most of the  characters really were not given a chance to develop. The most interesting was Morvin Christie's Shona, the only character who was most evidently not one-dimensional.  Capaldi's Max is the most enigmatic and psychopathic, and its always good to have at least one of those. Kelly Brook's Lea is the most empathic, and its a toss up in my book for most irritating character between Walters Al-B and Susie Amy's Claire.

The ending is both predictable and unpredictable. Predictable because you just know there is going to be a twist and the "winner" will probably only get fool's gold, so to speak, but when that comes, it is a fairly fresh take on the lust for money. Its not thoroughly explained, but it is sufficiently shown so as to let us draw our own conclusions, which I like. I won't play spoiler here, but the one who does walk out with the dough is one you wouldn't have initially thought...unless, of course, you've seen enough movies (say more than three) to realize that there is almost always a formula, and in this type of movie the formulaic ending just all but tells you that it will be one of the "meek" characters. 

You might see this in your video store or online as a horror, but it is most certainly not a horror movie, nor does it pretend to be(except maybe on the DVD cover). I don't think there is quite enough depth in the script for it to qualify as a psychological thriller, after all, we would need to know something about these characters other than their names and occupations in order to get into their psyche, wouldn't we? Its a suspense/drama, and an average one at best. But, you could do a lot worse and, if you watch movies on a regular basis, you most definitely have.

Directed by Lucky McKee.Starring Patricia Clarkson, Agnes Bruckner, Rachel Nichols, Bruce Campbell. Horror/Drama. Synopsis:A troubled young girl is sent to a boarding school that is located next to some woods that harbor old and supernatural secrets.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I was primarily interested in picking it up because it had Patricia Clarkson (The Dead Pool, The Green Mile)  who is an actress that I like but have not seen in many leading roles. I also like horror, which this film was billed as, though I don't know if that is really the best fit for it as it is mostly a drama with tinges of mystery and some horror, with a dose of pure camp and references/homage to the sub genre of "girls in boarding school/prison" theme which specializes in pure titillation. But, The Woods does not go all the way with any of these themes. 

The plot of the film concerns a troubled teen girl named Heather (Agnes Bruckner) who has some issues, including pyromania, an inattentive mother, and the voices she hears. As such, mom and Dad (Bruce Campbell) elect to place her in a remote, yet supposedly elite, boarding school.

Well, Heather, not to mention the viewers, immediately sense that something is not quite right with this school and its Gothic setting next to some foreboding woods. And that does not even take into account the faculty, a group of women who are courteous without emotion and, well, strange. Chief among those is the headmistress, Ms. Traverse (Clarkson). Right from the beginning, Heather seems to be a square peg in a round hole here, befriending only a couple of other misfits in the school, where the girls all seem to bunk down in the same room. And, of course, whenever a protagonist goes into a new school against his/her will in cinema, you know there will be a chief tormentor and, true to form, there is here. Her name is Samantha (Rachel Nichols G.I. Joe: Rise Of Cobra) and she has a strong dislike, in addition to an implied attraction, for Heather from the start, leading to a couple pf physical altercations.

But, the story does not really follow or develop that plot line, as Heather stays in the school and realizes that her parents will not come get her, other strange things happen, chiefly the disappearance of some of the students, which is troubling because no one seems to be overly concerned.

At this point, Heather begins to learn the history of the school and the dark legends of the neighboring woods, with tales shrouded in a belief in witchcraft.

For me, the first part of the film, though relatively slow moving, is the more interesting and better scripted. When things start to pick up in the second part of the movie with regard to pace, it becomes kind of jumbled and harder to follow the plot. Having said that, I can't say that it is an uninteresting film. It is certainly not scary or the kind of movie that will keep you on edge or surprise you, but you can be entertained.

I knew nothing of Bruckner prior to seeing this flick, but I was impressed with her work here as she needs to carry the story, being in almost every scene, and she does. I think Heather needs to be a head strong girl without coming across as a bad girl and Bruckner does this and there is actually some depth and different layers to her character, something you can't count on with a film that is walking the thin line of being a campy pseudo horror flick.

Patricia Clarkson didn't seem to have much to do except be the creepy, foreboding presence that flits in and out of the film until the end, when the whole truth comes out. She does this well and it's a very different type of role for her.

My chief criticism of the acting would be that this story is set in the '60's and, other than some scenes with the girls listening to a transistor radio, you really don't get the sense that this is supposed to be happening 40 years ago. These come across like Generation Y girls in school uniforms to me. But, that could be more of a criticism of the script or direction and, honestly, there are no glaring anachronisms that I saw and I'm not sure how important that is to the film, just something I wanted to share.

After all, witchcraft is timeless, isn't it?  

Directed by Simon Fellows. Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Julie Cox, William Tapley, Raazaq Adotion, Serbam Celea, Alan McKenna. Action. Synopsis: A Navy SEAL gets more than he bargained for when he arrives for an assignment in Moldavia, that he thinks will be uneventful, only to be thrust in the middle of a siege on the U.S. Embassy as communist rebels attempt the overthrow of the democratically elected president.

I like Van Damme. I've always liked Van Damme. Ever since I first saw Bloodsport back when I wore a younger man's clothes. However, he's behind Seagal (and some others) in my book when it comes to pure action heroes. I know some of you disagree with me, judging from your comments on my previous blog. That's great, I want to encourage healthy debate here. Have I changed my mind after watching Second in Command? 

No.

But I will admit that Jean-Claude has aged considerably better than Seagal (who hasn't) and his acting skills have also noticeably improved (nowhere to go but up). This film is a fun one for anyone that goes into it with realistic expectations. Having said that, I will say that it will probably be a little disappointing for Van Damme fans who want to see him kick butt all over the place, there is actually not to much of that and almost no extended martial arts scenes. However, the story and acting are above par for this type of "B" action flick.

Van Damme is a Navy SEAL who has been assigned to duty at the U.S. Embassy in Moldavia, where he wants to take the opportunity to renew acquaintances with an old flame, TV correspondent Michelle (Julie Cox). He does, but soon everthing is, as they say, cast asunder as Communist rebels storm the hotel where Jean-Claude is making whopee, and they set their sights on the Embassy itself as well as disposing the freely elected President (Serban Celea). Jean-Claude manages to spirit the Prez to the temporary safety of the Embassy where he is, as you might guess, the second in command.

What follows is the expected siege of the inadequately protected Embassy, with Jean-Claude, Michelle, and a few hardy Marines (led by the neat performance of Raz Adotion as the Gunnery Sergeant) trying to stave off the Commies until the cavalry sent by the Pentagon can arrive.

Nothing new or innovative here, although there is a twist as to who is with the bad guys, but you could call that with your eyes closed. However, as I said, the story and acting are better than you would think and that makes for a decent flick. The videography is o.k., though I think they tried too hard with the CGI to make this obvious B flick look like a big budget flick.

But, its not too bad. In fact, its kinda' good. If this is what you're looking for.

Directed by Scott Weber. Starring Helene Joy, Jennifer Beals, Ed Begley, Jr., Luthaine Bluteau, Ian Tracey, Emily Hirst. Synopsis: A wife and mother who has moved with her husband to a beautiful, remote location when her old friend unexpectedly shows up and brings with her some secrets and opens old wounds, resulting in a potential tragedy. Drama/mystery.

Desolation Sound is an intense story that makes you think of a modern day film noir result. It is shot on location in British Columbia and the cinematography is beautiful to see, and the story is not bad, either, though the ending was disappointing for this watcher.

Laurel (Helene Joy) is a mother of a young child (Emily Hirst) who is happily married to her husband (Ian Tracey) and does not miss the hustle and bustle of the big city, living in relative isolation in the beautiful environment of the sound. The only thing that might be troublesome is her daughter, who has a penchant for doing things such as climbing out of her window to sleep on the roof.

Circumstances become a lot less ideal when Laurel's best friend, Elizabeth (Jennifer Beals) shows up unexpected and uninvited, basically inviting herself to stay with the family in the wake of her father's death. Its clear that Elizabeth is, shall we say, much more of a free spirit than Laurel. Even though the two are best friends they have not seen each other for a while and it is evident that there is some past tension between them.

Also evident is that there is some, as they say, history between Elizabeth and Laurel's husband, though Laurel is apparently unaware of this. With hubby conveniently gone for an extended period of time, Elizabeth's presence and behavior make her more and more unwelcome, resulting in Elizabeth's matter of fact revelation to Laurel that she had slept with Laurel's husband. This goes over about as well as you would expect and there is an immediate falling out between the two in public, with Laurel slapping Elizabeth and telling her to get out.

Somehow, the enigmatic Elizabeth talks her way back into Laurel's home, just for the night of course, and as Murphy's Law would have it, Laurel's daughter picks that night to have one of her sleeping on the roof episodes, which, of course, gives both women reason to be out on the roof.

They resume their disagreement and one of them is pushed off the roof to her death in an apparent accident.

From here, the story gets more interesting as the survivor quickly realizes that she has to cover up this death and enlists the help of Bennie (Luthaine Bluteau) a creepy, ex-con who lives near the house and works as a sort of handyman for Laurel, in addition to making creepy puppets.

Also thrown into the mix is the town constable (Ed Begley, Jr.) who has an eye for Laurel, which obviously affects his investigation into the "disappearance" of the other woman. The interesting psychological aspect of this story is how the surviving woman slowly but unmistakably takes on the characteristics and even the appearance of her dead friend.

Clearly, more plot details would make me a spoiler, but you've got enough now to decide whether you might be interested in this one or not.

For me, the film had a pervasive dark undertone, even before the accidental (or was it?) death that kind of hung heavy over the flick and made it a little of a downer for me. Its a small cast, with only five characters having any serious or important scenes and dialogue. They do well, especially Beals in her role as the "trouble waiting to happen" one, though Joy's character is portrayed with more depth, solely due to the script. I've never been a big Begley fan, and it was hard for me to buy him as a seasoned law enforcement officer here, but, in fairness, I think this is what the plot intended, making him come off as a weaker, non threatening version of a cop, who might just be willing to put justice behind his own feelings.

Desplation Sound is a decent movie, not one I would give a strong shout out for, but definitely a good artsy type film for those of you who might be interested in seeing something that tries to take on normal human feelings and emotions instead of looking at things blowing up or people being tortured by psychopaths for an hour and a half.

So, if you are looking for a relatively quiet, thought provoking flick, I can say that you could do worse than this one. 

Directed by Charles Adessi and William DeMeo. Starring William DeMeo, Conor Dubin, Raymond Serra, Joe Viterelli, Joe D'Onofrio, Daniel Maugotta. Drama. Synopsis: An ambitious young man, his brother, and their friends grow up in Brooklyn with their eye on becoming somebody in the neighborhood. They start in gambling, extortion, and loan sharking and work their way up to being with  the most established crime  family in the neighborhood, but the cost is understanding the real meaning of family in the life they have chosen.  

Movies about the Mafia have long been among the most popular and endearing in American cinema for decades, and those of us who are fans of the genre just keep coming back for more. Wannabes is yet another foray into the world of Cosa Nostra, with the focus being on some young guys from the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn wanting to become what they are not: part of a crew, part of a family. The story is told mostly in narrative flashback, with the voice of Paulie (Conor Dubin) telling us the story and setting up many of the scenes involving the leader of the group, his brother Angelo (William Demeo) and their friends as they claw their way to respectability in the neighborhood by running their own sportsbook, extortion, and their attempted foray into the lucrative "protection" racket.

Angelo is brimming with ambition and will not be denied, always seeking to push the envelope as far as possible, to the point of getting into a p****** contest, figuratively....(well, you'll have to check out the flick to fully appreciate that clever double entendre) with Vinny (Joe D'Onofrio) the son of Santo (Joe Viterelli ),boss of the number one family in the neighborhood. This presents a problem as the seed of a conflict between the two, especially when Santo brings Angelo's crew into the fold to work for him.

Angelo is so good at what he does that he and his crew become favorites of Santo, with Angelo outshining Vinny. Well, the tension between the two factions of the family grows, especially in light of Santo's obviously failing health. Angleo is doing so well that he demands that Paulie get out of the life, go to school and find a nice girl to settle down with.

Santo's decision to "make" Angelo a part of the family, prior to doing that for his own son, Vinny, is the fuse that sets off the powder keg in the wake of Santo's death. By that time, Paulie is out of the life but finds himself drawn back in as he concludes he must be there for his family and friends.

Wannabes is a small budget film that will not, and does not try, to equal the Godfather or Good Fellas. You really only get the sense of limited budget during the action/fight scenes, of which there are relatively few for a mafia movie. In fact, it might be too easy to classify this as just a "Mob" movie, as it is the classic story of the rise to the top of people coming from the outside, clawing their way up and the choices they make to attain success-however its defined-and the prices they pay for achieving that success.

You'll see some faces you recognize here from other mafia movies, although no superstars. Joe Vitterelli (Mickey Blue Eyes, Analyze This) will probably be the face that jumps out the most, and it should be, as his look was tailor made to play a mob guy, and he did that very well and, in this film, leaves his traditional role as tough guy or consiglerie to be the main man. Joe D'Onofrio is also really good as the epitome of the spoiled son of the boss, more bark than bite and with a sense of entitlement.

Demeo does a pretty good job in his role, although you would expect the leader of a group on the outside trying to get in to be a little more dynamic or physically imposing. Dubin also does well as the brother, Paulie, although it's very obvious that he isn't really Italian. Look for Raymond Serra to steal a few scenes as Uncle Tommy.

Overall, this is a nice little movie, especially for fans of the mobster genre that might be looking for a hidden gem-although this was made some time ago, I had not even heard of it until recently. As for whether its a "gem" , or not, that's up to you. For me, it falls short of that, but I definitely would watch again and would buy it for the collection at the right price. Last, but not least, it was one of the last performances by Joe Vitterelli before he passed away.

Directed by Don Faunt LeRoy. Starring Steven Seagal, Anthony Chris, Sarah Buxton, Maxi Morrow, Nick Mancuso, Kevin Tighe. Action/Drama. Synopsis: A modern day Robin Hood looking to go straight is framed for the robbery of 20 million dollars in the first night of his new job in Las Vegas. He goes to prison, but escapes to gain revenge on the ones who put him there.

I just couldn't resist it, really. I'm an action movie and Steven Seagal fan and, despite the horrid nature of most of his flicks since the turn of the new century, I just feel compelled to check them out, with the full expectation that I will probably be disappointed, to say the least. (See Shadow Man, Mercenary for Justice, Black Dawn) Well, after watching Today you Die, I'm happy to report that there does beat a pulse of desire inside Mr. Seagal and that there is no reason that he cannot still make a legitimate action movie.

Having said that, lets not get carried away here. This is no Under Siege, Above the Law, or Exit Wounds. But, it is a hell of a lot closer than anything else he has made in the last several years. Today you Die, like almost all Seagal/action flicks, has an unbelievably far fetched premise, but its not so bad as to make you giggle ( a la Mercenary for Justice)

In this one, Seagal plays a golden hearted, Robin Hood thief who robs from rich criminals to do good with the ill gotten gain. He and his girlfriend (Maxi Morrow) are looking to get out of that life and just enjoy each other when they relocate to Las Vegas. Seagal gets a-supposedly-legit job driving an armored truck from a "friend" (Kevin Tighe). As you might guess, things go awry right from the beginning as the initial run is actually an inside hold up job of 20 million bucks. But, things don't go as smoothly as everyone hoped and the gig is blown up, with Seagal getting caught and charged with the robbery he had nothing to do with. This is made even more interesting by the fact that no one knows where the 20 mil is, and Seagal is not telling...even as he goes to prison.

In prison, Seagal meets a sympathetic gang leader whom he can trust (Anthony "Treach" Chris) whose helps him to escape. From there, Seagal has to hunt down the bad guys, clear his name, get back with his girlfriend, and, of course, find something good to do with that 20 million.

Of course, no action movie would be complete without  the "bad cop" and in this one, Nick Mancuso fills that role very well, alongside "good" prosecutor Sarah Buxton. The best thing about this movie is that, first and foremost, Seagal does not seem bored, and his chemistry with the likable Treach works surprisingly well. The fight scenes will not make any Seagal fan forget Out for Justice or Marked for Death , but the man does seem to be doing most of his own stunts again, and the director smartly focuses on the blinding hand speed, the one aspect of the arsenal that has not suffered with the prodigious weight gain.

The plot is not bad, provided that you accept what you are looking at, and don't hold it to the All About Eve standard of cinematic drama. Chris and Buxton are good in their supporting roles, as is Morrow, although there is a big hole with her "visions" not being explained or sufficiently tied to the script.

Mancuso and Tighe stand out as the bad guys here, however, it seems like just yesterday that Tighe was the likable John Gage in Emergency , but he has certainly matured into a very good, suave, bad guy.

If you are a Seagal fan, and you have suffered through the dreck of his early 21st century films, you owe it to yourself to give this one a shot. Can I say its real good? Nah, not without stretching the truth, something I refuse to do on this blog. But, it's not real bad, either, or even slightly bad, since it will entertain you for a while. And, that's not a bad deal for a direct to video action flick, is it?