THE GOOD STUDENT (2006) ** ½

Tim Daly stars as Mr. Gibb, a shy, lonely, sexually repressed teacher who has a crush on his prize student, a perky blond cheerleader named Ally, played by Hayden Panettiere.  After Ally has a fight with her boyfriend, Mr. Gibb agrees to give her a lift home, even though he knows it goes against professional ethics.  When she vanishes without a trace, he quickly becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance.  Mr. Gibb then takes it upon himself to look for her, which only makes him appear guiltier than before.

The Good Student was produced by Kevin Spacey (which explains A LOT, actually), and it’s anchored by a solid cast.  Daly delivers a fine performance and makes his sad sack character likeable, even if he’s tempted by questionable desires.  The supporting players are equally good.  Panettiere is ideally cast as the object of his affection, even though she doesn’t stick around for very long.  I also enjoyed seeing Dan Hedaya as a nosy janitor.  It’s William Sadler who steals the show though as Panettiere’s sketchy father who uses his daughter’s disappearance as a marketing ploy to drum up business for his used car lot.  If you’re like me and believe the world needs more movies in which William Sadler plays a sleazeball, then this one has you covered, even if it isn’t completely successful.  Also, speaking as a huge Wings fan, it was fun to see Daly once again in a leading role.  

Sure, the story itself is rather thin, and the tone is a little funky too.  (It often plays like a cross between a Lifetime Movie and a Coen Brothers knockoff.)  The cheap production values don’t do it any favors either.  However, the cast alone makes The Good Student is an agreeable, if a tad forgettable comic thriller. 

AKA:  Mr. Gibb.

THE FIGHTER (2010) ***

David O. Russell’s The Fighter is less a biopic of real-life boxer Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and more of a white trash slice of life piece.  While it hits all the notes of your typical sports movie (bloody boxing scenes, training montages, romantic subplots, etc.), it seems like there’s more focus on Mickey’s family squabbles than his boxing career.  The title makes you think about his rise to prizefighting glory, but it’s more about him dealing with his crackhead brother Dicky (Christian Bale), his overbearing manager mother (Melissa Leo), and his loudmouth sisters.  Meanwhile, his new girlfriend (Amy Adams) fights to make her voice heard throughout all the familial screaming and shouting.  

Your enjoyment of The Fighter may hinge on your tolerance of Mickey’s annoying dysfunctional family unit.  His mother’s meddling and his sisters’ screeching are bound to grate on the nerves.  You have to wonder if he was adopted because he’s so reserved next to his feral siblings.  (He’s actually their half-brother, which I guess is about the only explanation.) 

Despite the film’s flaws, Bale is electric.  He handily steals the movie from Wahlberg with his heartbreaking performance of a former champion (who once knocked out “Sugar” Ray Leonard) turned crackhead.  It’s one of his all-time best.  In fact, they probably could’ve made a whole movie about his character appearing in a crackhead documentary, which seriously takes away from the boxing sequences.  Even though the scenes of addiction are often hard to watch, it’s impossible to take your eyes off Bale.

So, therein lies the conundrum.  Do I take points off because of the revolting characters and unpleasant subject matter?  Or do I recommend it solely based on the performances alone?  I think I’ll go with the latter.  As long as you don’t expect a heck of a lot of boxing, you might enjoy it.  Otherwise, the bulk of the film feels like you’re trapped at someone else’s family reunion and can’t escape. 

MARRIAGE STORY (2019) ****

Noah Baumbach’s gripping, engrossing, devastating Marriage Story is reminiscent of a John Cassavetes movie.  At times it feels like a documentary.  You’re like an invisible observer on the frontlines of a family in crisis.  You get to see the implosion of a marriage firsthand and witness all the little painful details that most movies leave out.  This is one of the best films of the year.

It starts out with Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) in therapy.  There’s an argument, and she storms out of the office.  They know the marriage is over and decide to do things amicably and not hassle with lawyers.  Then she decides, well… maybe I’ll get a lawyer.  Charlie, perplexed by her decision, scrambles to get a lawyer of his own.  As with any fight, whether it takes place in the kitchen or the courtroom, things escalate, and Charlie and Nicole try to figure out how to carry on with their lives as they drift apart from each other.  

This is the most realistic depiction of divorce I have ever seen in a motion picture.  It almost plays like a how-to manual on what to do the moment you and your spouse separate.  Honestly, Baumbach should’ve called this Divorce Story.  I imagine it will hit close to home for a lot of people.  I know there will be a lot of triggering elements here for many viewers, but if you need a good, cathartic, ugly cry, Marriage Story will do the trick.

The film is often painful, uncomfortable, and cringe-inducing, but then again, so is real life.  The big fight scene between Charlie and Nicole feels spontaneous, unscripted, natural, and organic.  You never see the acting or hear the dialogue.  You’re just watching two people you’ve grown to care about having mutual meltdowns.  Driver and Johansson are stellar throughout the movie, but they are truly next level in this particular sequence.

My favorite scene though comes when Johansson gets her sister to serve Driver the divorce papers.  This sequence is constructed like something out of a horror movie and is just as effective.  The tension builds and builds, and the punchline is unexpected and devastating.  

The supporting cast is aces too.  Ray Liotta is great as Driver’s pit bull of an attorney, as is Alan Alda as his congenial first lawyer.  Julie Hagerty gets a lot of laughs as the mother in-law who plays both sides.  It’s Laura Dern who steals the movie though as Johansson’s ball-breaking attorney.  Remember in The Last Jedi when she kamikazed herself into Kylo Ren’s fleet?  This time out, she does a Holdo Maneuver on his finances.  

The only debit to an otherwise perfect film is Randy Newman’s intrusive musical score.  It rarely fits the scene and often threatens to drown out the dialogue.  Other than that, Marriage Story is, for me, Baumbach’s best work.

LOWLIFE (2018) **

As you all probably know, I’ve been watching a lot of El Santo movies lately.  When I saw this advertised, I thought it was going to be kind of like a modern version of the classic Lucha Libre cinema.  As it turns out, that’s not the case.  It’s more of a Pulp Fiction variant as it consists of a handful of interconnected crime stories. 

This first story focuses on a former Mexican wrestler named El Monstruo (Ricardo Adam Zarate) who is now reduced to acting as a doorman for a back-alley bordello.  The second tale is about a struggling motel owner (Nicki Micheaux) who is seeking an organ donor for her dying husband by any means necessary.  The third centers around a guy (Shaye Ogbonna) whose best friend (Jon Oswald) emerges from a long prison stretch with an extremely problematic face tattoo.  In the final tale, all the stories come together for a violent climax.

The set-up had potential, and there are some clever moments along the way, but overall Lowlife just doesn’t quite work.  Much of the black humor lands with a thud, and the tone is rarely consistent.  Most disappointing is the character of El Monstruo.  In Pulp Fiction, it didn't matter when we didn’t see the big boxing match because the rest of the movie was so breathtakingly original.  Here, we just feel shortchanged by the lack of Lucha Libre action.  What makes it worse is that El Monstruo, who is prone to violent fits of rage, blacks out whenever he goes on rampage, so we only see the aftermath of the bloody carnage he wreaks.  If anything would’ve saved this movie, it would’ve been some serious masked Mexican wrestler action.  Even with the benefit of a worthy Mexican wrestler, I’m still not sure Lowlife would’ve been highly recommended.

THE SISTERS BROTHERS (2018) *** ½

The cute title makes The Sisters Brothers sound like it’s going to be a comedy.  Sort of a Step Brothers Out West kind of thing.  While there is some levity and humorous moments along the way, this is more about struggling with grief, living with trauma, and the burden of fraternal ties.  

The Sisters Brothers are a pair of henchmen who do dirty deeds at the behest of the shady “Commodore” (Rutger Hauer).  Charlie (Joaquin Phoenix) is the de facto leader, a hard-drinking, trigger-happy scoundrel that maybe likes his profession of tracking and killing a bit too much.  Eil (John C. Reilly) is the more sensible of the two, but just because he’s often the voice of reason doesn’t mean he isn’t just as quick and deadly with a pistol.  Although he’s fiercely loyal to his brother to a fault, Eli’s constantly searching for an opportunity to leave his life of bloodshed behind.  Charlie, on the other hand, revels in it, perpetuating the cycle of his family’s violent past.  

Their target is a chemist (Riz Ahmed), who has figured out a formula for finding gold.  He takes up with a detective (Jake Gyllenhaal), who turns on the Commodore in search for buried treasure.  Once the Sisters catch up to them, greed takes over and the four men form a shaky alliance that could end bitterly at any moment. 

There are shots and scenes here that evoke Ford and Huston.  Whereas their films were more about perpetuating the myths of the Old West, director Jacques (A Prophet) Audiard is more concerned about how men cope with the legacy of violence.  Even if there’s more on his mind than just the standard cowboy stuff, Audiard still gives Western fans plenty of gunplay and shootouts. 

Reilly is fantastic.  He gives one of his career-best performances as the introspective, protective, and loyal Eli.  Phoenix is phenomenal as his brooding, volatile, drunken brother Charlie.  His performance in this is somewhat similar to his role in The Master, and with this, Joker and I’m Still Here, he delivers another memorable performance of someone stricken with mental illness and alcoholism.  

This will not be a movie for all tastes.  It’s deliberately paced and has some serious lulls in between the violence.  Also, it’s sad to see the usually charismatic Rutger Hauer wasted in what is nothing more than a cameo, even if his character casts a long shadow story wise.  These are minor quibbles in the long run as there are plenty of affecting moments along the way.  Besides, how can you pass up a movie that stars Dewey Cox AND Johnny Cash? 

AKA:  Golden River.

THE BEASTS OF TERROR (1973) **

A pair of criminal lovebirds are on a joyride when they are abducted by the henchmen of a mad doctor and taken back to his lair.  There, he uses his captives for his zombification experiments and sells the female zombies into white slavery.  Since the police are powerless to stop these brutes, they call on everyone’s favorite Lucha Libre superstar, El Santo and his loyal sidekick Blue Demon to help crack the case. 

The set-up sounds ideal for an El Santo adventure.  A film that features a couple of thrill-killers, a mad doctor, and zombie sex slaves sounds like a recipe for success to me.  Unfortunately, El Santo and Blue Demon are more or less supporting players in this one.  In fact, it takes almost twenty minutes for either of them to finally show up, and even then, the duo spends nearly half the movie in their car, either on a stakeout or tailing the suspects.

While The Beasts of Terror boasts having three wrestling scenes, it’s rather disappointing as they are all much too brief to have any real impact.  (One is probably less than thirty seconds.)  There are also no musical numbers to be had, nor are their any dance routines.  Well, there’s a drunk girl who dances wildly twice.  I guess I should’ve said there’s no CHOREOGRAPHED dance routines.

The lack of El Santo and Blue Demon in this one gives me the feeling that this was an unrelated (possibly unreleased) movie that producers padded with newly shot footage of the two famed masked wrestlers.  I mean they never once make contact with the kidnap victims and when the tragic ending occurs, they just stand around off screen before shaking hands and getting in their cars and leaving.  You could’ve easily edited them out of the film, and it would’ve have affected the plot in any way.

The meat of the movie feels like a Mexican version of an American exploitation picture.  There’s a skeevy scene where one of the kidnap victims seduces the villain’s hunchback assistant to win her freedom.  Nothing is ever shown, but it’s probably the only real memorable moment in the whole flick.  The score is funkier than usual, which helps, but overall, The Beasts of Terror isn’t a terribly vital entry in the El Santo filmography.

AKA:  Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Beasts of Terror.

ALTITUDE (2017) ***

This week, I was a guest on Matt Poirier’s Direct to Video Connoisseur Podcast discussing the career of Dolph Lundgren.  As part of the discussion, we decided to give a new-to-us Dolph flick a look-see and compare notes.  While there’s a part of me that wishes we had chosen a movie that took better advantage of Dolph’s talents, I have to admit that Altitude is surprisingly, a lot of fun.   It’s a throwback to the airplane actioners of the ‘90s such as Passenger 57, Executive Decision, and Air Force One.  There’s even a little bit of déjà vu from Non-Stop as well.  (Man, it makes me feel old to say something from the ‘90s is a “throwback”, but oh well.)  You can listen to our full discussion here: https://www.talkshoe.com/episode/8308715?fbclid=IwAR2ZQf92_CtPZzqm5DC1JEqN_UJcw4BZzNf2sgiW_WC4RyJA0aS5kE1fJ3Q

Denise Richards stars as a demoted FBI agent on a cross-country flight back to DC to work a crummy desk job.  While onboard, she’s approached by a passenger who offers her $50 million if she can get him off the plane safely.  As it turns out, a gang of thieves has hijacked the plane and are planning to crash the bird to cover their tracks.  With the crew members indisposed and confronted with an incompetent air marshal, Richards takes it upon herself to stop the bad guys and save the passengers.

They say there aren’t enough good roles for women of a certain age, but Altitude plays like a manifesto to prove the naysayers wrong.  This is an excellent vehicle for Richards, who’s at the top of her game.  She’s a lot of fun to watch, and to my pleasant surprise, makes for a credible action heroine.  

Of all the actresses in Hollywood, I was not expecting Denise Richards to get a Totally Unrelated Badass Moment scene.  Usually, these are reserved for the likes of Clint Eastwood or Steven Seagal or someone like that.  And what a badass she is.  This scene cleverly uses her sexpot image to usurp the audience’s expectations.  It begins with a man taking people hostage inside an office building while having phone sex with an unseen sexy woman.  When he finally asks her what’s she’s wearing, the filmmakers cut away to Richards outside the building surrounded by FBI agents holding the phone to her ear and saying, “Kevlar!”  Naturally, this leads to the big moment when she storms into the building, diffuses the situation, and takes down the gunman.  

From the opening moments, Altitude announces itself as a quirky actioner that doesn’t quite play by the rules.  Many films like this have a clever opening, but quickly fall into the same repetitive lulls that most DTV actioners run into.  Not this one.  It’s constantly a little bit better at every turn than you’d expect.

You make think I’m crazy, but it’s similar in some ways to Dolph’s classic Showdown in Little Tokyo.  Not only does Altitude move like lightning and has zero fat on it, it’s clearly having fun turning traditional action genre clichés on their ear.  What’s refreshing about the film is that the women are much stronger and competent than the men.  Most of the male characters are seen as buffoons or corrupt, while the women are more than capable, smart, and funny.  While Richards is excellent in the lead, it’s Greer Grammer (Kelsey’s daughter) who steals the movie as Dolph’s henchwoman Sadie.  She has a lot of screen presence, kicks some serious ass (she even believably intimidates Dolph), and is just plain fun to watch.  

Even though Altitude has fun messing with the conventions of an airplane action movie doesn’t mean it fails to deliver the goods.  Everything you’d want to see in an airplane actioner is here:  There are evil flight attendants, fights that occur in the cargo hold, and bad guys getting sucked out of the plane.  It’s as every bit as good as Die Hard on a Plane but with Denise Richards could be.  

On the downside, I will say that the action suffers from poor camerawork and fight choreography.  I can almost write that off though, due to the cramped, claustrophobic quarters inside the airplane.  Unfortunately, you don’t get to see Denise square off with Dolph, but she does fight against UFC star Chuck Liddell.  The CGI is also terrible, and the shots of the airplane often looks like something out of a video game.  That too is forgivable, mostly because the film is so fast moving.  Although it takes place in a cramped, confined space, the movie never feels like it’s repeating itself.  The plot always has forward momentum, and there are no unnecessary scenes to bog the pace down.   

I kind of felt bad spending a whole podcast devoted to Dolph Lundgren talking about a movie in which he had such a minor role.  Even though he spends most of his screen time sitting down in the captain’s seat flying the plane, he still delivers a strong performance.  As a die-hard Dolph fan, I did find it funny that the picture on his character’s ID badge was nothing more than Dolph’s IMDb photo!  

In short, Altitude is one DTV action flick that flies high!  

AKA:  Hijacked.  AKA:  Turbulences.  AKA:  Altitude:  Die Hard in the Sky.