Movie Review: Arlington Road (1999)

Genre: Thriller  

Director: Mark Pellington  

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope Davis  

Running Time: 119 minutes  

Synopsis: In suburban Virginia, Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges) is a professor specializing in domestic terrorism, and still grieving the death of his wife, an FBI agent. Michael is now dating his former student Brooke (Hope Davis), and they befriend their neighbours Oliver and Cheryl Lang (Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack). Oliver claims to be an architect, but Michael starts uncovering evidence that Oliver is lying about his background, and that he may have violent anti-government intentions. Increasingly paranoid but undeterred, Michael keeps investigating and draws himself and his young son into danger.

What Works Well: Inspired by actual events like the Oklahoma City bombing and the Ruby Ridge stand-off, this is a slick, taut, and clever thriller about the threat living in plain sight and just next door. The Ehren Kruger script keeps the mystery alive by revealing only what is necessary and in small but steady increments, casting doubt not only on Oliver's true nature but also Michael's state of mind. Jeff Bridges (intense) and Tim Robbins (calculating) bounce off each other, and the final twist is a welcome departure from the usual clichés. 

What Does Not Work As Well: On the way to an effective and satisfying resolution, the action becomes frantic and dependent on plenty of back-and-forth traveling and some unlikely perfect timing.

Key Quote:

Michael: You can't ask government to be infallible, but you can ask it to be accountable.

Oliver: I can ask it to be honest.

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Movie Review: Starman (1984)

Genre: Sci-Fi Romance  

Director: John Carpenter  

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith  

Running Time: 115 minutes  

Synopsis: In response to greetings carried by 1977's Voyager 2, an alien visits Earth and crash lands near the secluded Wisconsin house of widow Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen). The alien adopts the form of Jenny's deceased husband Scott (Jeff Bridges), and together they embark on a cross-country journey to Arizona for a mother ship rendevouz. Along the way Jenny educates the alien about human habits, and they fall in love while being pursued by a scientist (Charlie Martin Smith) and a less welcoming government agent (Richard Jaeckel).

What Works Well: This adult-oriented variation on E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial benefits from the learning journey of a benevolent but superior alien. Basic language skills, driving, washrooms, and eating all present opportunities for cute lessons in life on Earth, and provide openings for wonder and humour. Karen Allen delivers an affecting performance as Jenny evolves from victim to teacher to lover. The gap between the expressed desire to welcome strangers and the actual treatment they receive provides a potent thematic undercurrent.

What Does Not Work As Well: The fantastical premise is reduced to a mundane road trip with iffy special effects, while loose plotting skips over fundamentals, including the purpose of the alien's visit. Jenny displays a stunning lack of curiosity about the visitor's home planet, and falls in love due to impersonation. Jeff Bridges' bird-like head movements get tiresome, as does the inability of his supposedly quick learning superior being to stop referring to his new love as jennyhayden. The secondary authority characters are unrefined representations of the good (the scientist), the bad (the government agent), and the stupid (a couple of police officers).

Key Quote:

Starman (describing humans): Shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you? You are at your very best when things are worst.

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Movie Review: The Last American Hero (1973)

Also Known As: Hard Driver

Genre: Biographical Motor Racing Drama

Director: Lamont Johnson

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Valerie Perrine, Art Lund, Gary Busey, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ned Beatty, William Smith, Ed Lauter

Running Time: 95 minutes

Synopsis: In the southern United States, "Junior" Jackson (Jeff Bridges) drives hard and fast on backcountry roads, evading police while transporting whiskey illegally distilled by his father Elroy (Art Lund). When Elroy is yet again imprisoned, Junior has to support his mother (Geraldine Fitzgerald) and brother (Gary Busey). He enters his first demolition derby at the track run by Hackel (Ned Beatty), then graduates to NASCAR racing. Junior tangles with ruthless team owner Burton Colt (Ed Lauter) and fierce competitor Kingman (William Smith), and learns about big league romance with Marge (Valerie Perrine).

What Works Well: Based on the early racing experiences of NASCAR star Junior Johnson, director Lamont Johnson (no relation) soulfully evokes the American dream, where fame and fortune are within reach but only when talent finds a calling. Cinematographer George Silano enjoys the expanse of forgotten country roads littered with men itching for a chase or a fight, and later conveys motor racing thrills with plenty of dusty verve but never at the expense of the people behind the wheels. Jim Croce's I Got A Name perfectly complements the quest for purpose, while Jeff Bridges navigates Junior's growth with a balanced mix of arrogance, confidence, and when necessary, the humility to learn as fast as he drives.

What Does Not Work As Well: Other than Junior, all the other characters are confined to pre-defined notes. A longer running time would have allowed expanded roles for the many other grizzled veteran characters and deeper involvement from Junior's parents (Art Lund elevates every scene he is in, but Geraldine Fitzgerald is largely wasted). 

Conclusion: The satisfying roar of engines propels a classic rise-of-the-underdog story.



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Movie Review: 8 Million Ways To Die (1986)

A moody crime drama, 8 Million Ways To Die features plenty of fiery characters but the flimsy plot lacks both depth and logic. 

In Los Angeles, narcotics detective Matt Scudder (Jeff Bridges) is involved in yet another shooting. His life disintegrates into the bottle, and he loses his job, house, and family. He eventually joins Alcoholics Anonymous and sobers up. Six months later he is contacted by high-class prostitute Sunny (Alexandra Paul). She works out of the home-based casino run by suave gangster Chance (Randy Brooks), but now seeks protection because she fears Chance wants to harm her.

Matt is unable to help Sunny in time: she is killed and he reverts back to drinking. Chance claims to be uninvolved in the murder, so Matt turns his attention to combustible drug lord Angel Maldonado (Andy Garcia), who frequents the casino and is most enamoured by Sarah (Rosanna Arquette), one of the other prostitutes. Matt teams up with Sarah and tries to lure Angel into a trap, but violence awaits.

Despite ample star power and a glitzy visual style, director Hal Ashby is unable to salvage a troubled production. The script was cobbled together from uncoordinated contributions by the trio of Oliver Stone, R. Lance Hill and an uncredited Robert Towne, collectively botching the adaptation of Lawrence Block's book. Gangsters, drugs, alcoholism, gambling, money laundering, and prostitution are lined up and left exposed in a remarkable display of disassociated filmmaking.

8 Million Ways To Die lands as a limp salute to a noir world where all the men are deeply flawed or knowingly corrupt and all the women are cynical or vacuous sex workers. The collection of ideas never gels into anything more than rivals hissing at each other at close quarters, interrupted by prostitutes undressing in attempts to manipulate or survive.

The writing gaps were apparently papered over by plenty of improvisation, and in several scenes it's apparent Jeff Bridges and Andy Garcia are desperately trading made-up lines just to fill in the blanks. Unsurprisingly, Ashby was fired after principal photography.

The few positives include a sun-drenched, too-hot aesthetic, and a couple of beautiful sets representing Chance's casino and Angel's Gaudi-inspired residence (known as the O'Neill House). The climactic showdown at a massive but empty warehouse is an out-of-control but fun collision of pointed guns and agitated profanities hurled in all directions to obscure the lack of substance. 

Bridges and Garcia almost make up for the dross with sheer screen presence, but both Rosanna Arquette and Alexandra Paul flounder in thoughtlessly sketched-in roles. 8 Million Ways To Die is a great title, but unfortunately also a demonstration of demise by dissonance.



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Movie Review: The Morning After (1986)

A frivolous murder mystery and romance, The Morning After attempts an awkward mishmash of genres and never finds its footing.

Washed-up alcoholic actress Alex Sternbergen (Jane Fonda) wakes up in a stranger's bed and finds a dead man next to her, stabbed with a dagger. She phones her estranged husband Jackie Manero (Raul Julia) then flees the apartment in a panic. After a misadventure at the airport Alex bumps into retired and divorced police officer Turner Kendall (Jeff Bridges). A romance develops between the two lonely people, and he tries to help her out of the mess she finds herself in.

Part Hitchcock light, part half-hearted exploration of alcoholism, loneliness and second chances, part ungainly romance with misplaced wisecracks, The Morning After is a full-on mess. Writer James Hicks switches tones with clumsy, aimless transitions, then allows his characters to meander through long stretches of nothingness interrupted by thickets of bland dialogue. Director Sidney Lumet infuses bursts of colour found in the less frilly Los Angeles neighbourhoods, but is otherwise far from rescuing the material.

The opening scene is promising enough, Alex confronted by a bloody bed and an expired creep. But very quickly the pacing unravels. Bad romantic comedy vibes take over as Alex demonstrates her limited acting skills at the airport, then initiates a curbside bumper car routine, before hopping into Turner's car in an it-only-happens-in-the-movies meet-cute. The tension of the opening mystery is lost and never recovered.

Jane Fonda overcompensates with a histrionics masterclass alternating between flimsy displays of frantic victim and depressed drunk. Alex's backstory of a never-made-it actress carries appeal, but Fonda cannot wrestle down the ditzy script and find a sympathetic person within. Jeff Bridges as Turner is more of a steady presence on the receiving end of Alex's gyrating moods, but he does precious little except tag along.

With the script only bothering to introduce three characters it is never difficult to guess who is up to no good, but wait! A fourth character makes an entrance in the final 10 minutes, with about one spoken line of dialogue, in a spectacularly fumbled attempt at a twist. 

Insipid beyond salvation, The Morning After should have just stayed in bed.



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Movie Review: Only The Brave (2017)

A drama and tragedy based on real events, Only The Brave captures the courage of firefighters willing to risk their lives on the frontlines of natural disasters.

In Prescott, Arizona, Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin) is the supervisor for local wildfire Rescue Crew 7. He believes his unit is good enough to earn a "Hot Shot" designation, which would allow front-line deployment, although it is uncommon for a municipal force to achieve the distinction. Eric is married to horse veterinarian Amanda (Jennifer Connelly), and they are dealing with stress related to his frequent absence and her desire to start a family.

Brendan McDonough (Miles Teller) joins Crew 7 as a rookie, determined to clean up his life after his ex-girlfriend gives birth to a baby girl. With the help of his friend and mentor Duane Steinbrink (Jeff Bridges), Eric finally proves his unit's ability and Crew 7 becomes the Granite Mountain Hot Shots. As Brendan learns what it takes to fight dangerous fires, plenty of challenges await, including an unexpectedly dangerous fire near Yarnell.

Building up to a sorrowful loss, Only The Brave sets out to portray the quiet valour of men (in this unit they are all men) who march towards raging fires and the sacrifices of their long-suffering spouses. Director Joseph Kosinski treats his subjects with respect by remaining grounded. From the superintendent Marsh to the rookie McDonough, Rescue Crew 7 consists of proud, dedicated but far from perfect guys. Battling old demons including addictions, absentee fathers and squandered opportunities, the men can be mean, rude, and experts at placing the rigours of the job ahead of family responsibilities.

The script by Ken Nolan and Eric Warren Singer avoids cheap acts of heroism in favour of highlighting discipline, work ethic, long hours, and the drive to overcome exhaustion. The men are rewarded with an invaluable sense of camaraderie built on banter, and in the middle of nowhere, moments of spectacular natural beauty.

Kosinski deploys to the forest fire front lines sparingly, preferring to focus on people instead of action. At 133 minutes, with limited character evolution and pretty basic personal and familial conflicts, the film is quite a bit longer than it needs to be. The visual effects featuring ravenous fires devouring landscapes do provide effective jolts of dangerous energy.

The cast resides in dour manly territory, where scowls often replace conversation. Josh Brolin is suitably stone-faced, his features forged by the heat of countless blazes, his pride in his men equally fiery. Miles Teller accepts a more subdued role, the behavioural dynamics of a fire crew seen through his rookie eyes. Jeff Bridges is given relatively little to do. As the one woman given prominence, Jennifer Connelly represents wives carving out some definition of marriage in the absence of husbands but with the everpresent spectre of death.

An encounter with a snake forever alters the trajectory of McDonough's life. After earning his rightful place as a member of the Hot Shots, he will learn about the various forms of bravery necessary to carry on.

 

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Movie Review: Tucker: The Man And His Dream (1988)

A heartfelt biography, Tucker is the remarkable story of a visionary automobile designer fearlessly challenging the system.

Shortly after the end of World War Two, vivacious Michigan-based innovator Preston Tucker (Jeff Bridges) correctly predicts that owning a car will be a big part of the new post-war American dream. Supported by wife Vera (Joan Allen) and a large brood of children including eldest son Preston Jr. (Christian Slater), he imagines a concept car with innovative safety and aerodynamic features: seat-belts, disc brakes, a rear-mounted engine, a front windshield that pops out in the event of a crash, and steering-responsive headlights.

Tucker: I grew up a generation too late, I guess, because now the way the system works, the loner, the dreamer, the crackpot who comes up with some crazy idea that everybody laughs at, that later turns out to revolutionize the world - he's squashed from above before he even gets his head out of the water because the bureaucrats, they'd rather kill a new idea than let it rock the boat!

Preston turns to New York financier Abe Karatz (Martin Landau) to find investors, and creates a publicity splash by advertising a car that does not yet exist. He hires designer Alex Tremulis (Elias Koteas) and they cobble together a barely functional prototype for a grand unveiling. Tucker secures a large warehouse in Chicago and gets to work manufacturing the car, but the traditional big three automakers sense a threat. Soon Tucker is facing a variety of financial and legal challenges, including from his own board of directors.

Tucker: Isn't that the idea? To build a better mouse trap?

Abe Karatz: Not if you're a mouse!

A long-term passion project for director Francis Ford Coppola, Tucker is a glitzy and spirited slice of the American dream with all the promises and disappointments inherent in audaciously aiming to disrupt the status quo. Sometimes bordering on a puff piece but also carrying hints of Coppola's own career legacy as an outside-the-system idealist, the film is powered by Tucker's driven yet exceptionally amiable personality, eternally optimistic and capable of navigating around any obstacle - or speeding past it.

And Tucker's real-life achievements testify to his vision and relentless pursuit of excellence. Prized for their craftsmanship and exceptional durability, Tucker sedans remained on the roads for decades, and many of their groundbreaking safety features were eventually adopted into mainstream auto manufacturing.

The film rides the post-war nation building wave of optimism and energy to a glitzy showroom shine. With extravagant set designs Coppola brings to life the late 1940s with a flourish, and infuses Tucker with a jaunty style and brisk pacing, wrapping up the story in 110 minutes. 

Tucker: But if big business closes the door on the little guy with a new idea, we're not only closing the door on progress, but we're sabotaging everything that we fought for! Everything that the country stands for!! And one day we're gonna find ourselves at the bottom of the heap instead of king of the hill, having no idea how we got there, buying our radios and our cars from our former enemies. 

But a few areas do fall short. Preston Tucker is presented as almost faultless, and despite the singular focus his principles and philosophies are only articulated at the end of the climactic mini courtroom drama. For most of the film Jeff Bridges is reduced to flashing a goofy smile with an occasional exhibition of temper. And other than Martin Landau's evocative turn as friend and financier Abe Karatz, all the other secondary characters, including wife Vera and eldest son Preston Jr., are shortchanged or reduced to stock representations.

Abe, to Tucker: I want you to know something, Tucker. I went into business with you for one reason - to make money. That's all. How was I to know, if I got too close, I'd catch your dreams.

But the sharp script by Arnold Schulman and David Seidler rides out the rough patches with aplomb. Tucker may have been a better salesman than businessman, but nothing was going to stop him racing around the next corner for the sheer joy of it.

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Movie Review: Winter Kills (1979)

A conspiracy thriller with satirical elements, Winter Kills boasts a superlative cast but fails on all other counts.

Nick Kegan (Jeff Bridges) is the half-brother of Tim Kegan, the ex-president of the United States who was assassinated 19 years prior in Philadelphia, supposedly by lone gunman Willie Arnold. Tim's rise to power was engineered by his wealthy industrialist father Pa (John Huston), who resents Nick's lack of interest in politics. The Kegan empire is managed by a technology and information hub under the watchful eye of the mysterious Cerruti (Anthony Perkins).

Now Nick witnesses the deathbed confession of assassin Fletcher (Joe Spinell), who reveals he was part of the multi-rifle hit squad that killed Tim. Nick retrieves Fletcher's rifle as evidence, and immediately his life is endangered. He seeks the help of his girlfriend and journalist Yvette (Belinda Bauer) to delve into the case, while Pa arranges for Nick to meet with a variety of shadowy characters including eccentric power broker Z.K. Dawson (Sterling Hayden) and mob boss Frank Mayo (Tomas Milian).

Nick learns about the history and Cuban connections of small-time hood Joe Diamond (Eli Wallach), who was hired to kill Arnold. But the more Nick investigates Tim's death, the less sense the entire case makes.

Having overcome a bizarre three-year production history involving drug and soft-core porn money, a murdered producer, and multiple shutdowns due to financial problems, Winter Kills is still a lavish production with a gorgeously rich aesthetic. Director William Richert and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond create grand sets suitable for the unconstrained wealth of the Kegan family, including mansions and private hospital and hotel rooms consistent with the rewards of infinite income backed by hidden corruption.

And the luxury surrounds a cast brimming with talent. Almost every role is occupied by a recognizable name, with none other than an uncredited Elizabeth Taylor making a silent appearance in a couple of key scenes late on. Toshiro Mifune, Dorothy Malone, Richard Boone and Ralph Meeker are among the other performers adding depth and interest in every corner.

But unfortunately, the adaptation of Richard Condon's book falls short where it matters. Winter Kills is intended as a satirical jab at Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories with an added layer of thrills and shocking moments, but never gets the balance right. Too often Richert's script plays straight, dour, and dumb, people dying all around Nick, his life endangered at every turn, and every revelation erasing what went before it. What may have been intended as dry humour contracts into emotionless crustiness.

The self-defeating foolishness of various overlapping and contradictory conspiracy scenarios is the point, but Richert never pauses long enough to properly celebrate the moment. The film blurs into a succession of irrelevant names from the past and present pointing the finger at each other, then dying, with no consequence or impact.

Meanwhile John Huston as Pa is given free rein to munch the scenery with an exhibition of absolute power filled with absurdist winks. Huston appears to be in a movie all his own, none of the other characters sharing the twinkle in his eye.

With Nick maintaining a fast investigative pace and Jeff Bridges shirtless about 50 percent of the time (and sometimes altogether nude), Winter Kills maintains a wacky watchability, but only as witness to the curiously constructed narrative carnage.

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Movie Review: Crazy Heart (2009)

A drama and romance set in the country music world, Crazy Heart is a sincere story about second chances at love and life.

Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is a 57 year old washed up and broke alcoholic country music singer reduced to touring on his own in his beat-up truck and playing at bowling alleys. At a bar gig in Santa Fe he meets Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a single mom to four year old Buddy. She is an aspiring music reporter and interviews Bad before and after his show. A cautious romance develops between them.

The next stop is Phoenix, where Bad accepts the humiliation of opening for country music star Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), who was mentored by Bad early in his career. Despite some tension between the two men Tommy encourages Bad to get back to writing as a way to earn royalties. After a mishap on the road the relationship between Bad and Jean deepens, but his excessive drinking will cause a rift.

A film that drinks deeply from the sorrows and regrets of a derailed life, Crazy Heart is a human profile about still finding hope amidst the carnage. With a monumental Jeff Bridges performance, director and writer Scott Cooper, adapting the Thomas Cobb book, jumps into Blake's pick-up truck and crafts a tender story of broken dreams and an unlikely chance at new love.

At the film's outset Blake is reduced to the loneliness level of human existence. No backing band, a lost family, hardly any friends, and just a smattering of remaining fans, he is the living embodiment of a mostly forgotten has-been, spending his days in derelict motel rooms watching porn. Even drowning his miseries is a challenge, as he cannot afford to buy alcohol and is reduced to the charity of store owners to hand him a free bottle.

From this beginning Crazy Heart charts a course towards something resembling a revival. The intervention of others is crucial. Blake's manager insists he opens for Tommy, who in return demonstrates kindness to his mentor and hints at a potential path to recovery. In the meantime Blake forges an unexpected connection with Jean and her son Buddy, stirring within him a renewed yearning for a more complete life.

The film includes plenty of country music, with soundtrack contributions from T Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton, and Ryan Bingham. Adding to the film's authenticity Bridges and Farrell perform their in-concert songs, and the music never gets in the way of the narrative. Robert Duvall has a small role as a bartender and longtime friend.

With an aesthetic dominated by the wide open skies of mostly rural America, Cooper and Bridges manage a remarkable feat: Bad Blake, despite all his faults, is a human being worth knowing and caring about. Beneath all the flabby grime is a sensitive songwriter and a man who can be rescued. All it takes is a  Crazy Heart to point the way.

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Movie Review: Heaven's Gate (1980)

An epic and lyrical western, Heaven's Gate is nearly as bad as its catastrophic reputation.

Twenty years after graduating from Harvard, James Averill (Kris Kristofferson) is the Marshal of Johnson County, Wyoming. Poor European immigrants are arriving in large numbers to settle and farm the land, creating tensions with a cattlemen's Association led by Frank Canton (Sam Waterston). James' intellectual classmate from Harvard William Irvine (John Hurt) is part of Canton's entourage, but frequently drunk. In the town of Casper, a large number of men assemble, recruited as hired guns by the Association. A target list of 125 settlers is drawn up and a $50 bounty is offered on each head.

Nathan Champion (Christopher Walken) is one of the gunmen, but he tries to scare off the settlers rather than kill them. He also competes with James for the attention of Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert), the local whore and James' lover. Local businessman John L. Bridges (Jeff Bridges) allies himself with the settlers. As Canton's men start to hunt down their targets, the immigrants have to find ways to fight back and the situation escalates towards an all-out war.

Written and directed by Michael Cimino and loosely based on the actual events of the Johnson County War, Heaven's Gate is legendary for all the wrong reasons. Four times over budget, one year late, beset by production problems including rampant animal cruelty, ridiculously long at 3 hours and 40 minutes, and ultimately a financial disaster that hastened the demise of studio United Artists, the film comprehensively ended the New Hollywood era, killing off the concept of celebrated directors having unchecked creative control.

Cimino, fresh off the unexpected success of The Deer Hunter, appeared intent on out-doing Francis Ford Coppola. He exhibited ultra-egotistical on-set behaviour and seemed to measure his achievements by length of film, ending the production at 1.3 million feet (220 hours) to exceed Coppola's Apocalypse Now. The Heaven's Gate music is also clearly derived from The Godfather theme.

All of which would be forgiven and excused if the final on-screen product was any good, but it's not. Heaven's Gate has perhaps 90 minutes of story and 130 minutes of insufferable bloat. Countless scenes contribute nothing to the narrative, and every scene, whether relevant or not, runs for many minutes longer than necessary. The Harvard graduation and waltz, the rollerblading dance, the endless scenes of agitated crowds, the cockfight and the epilogue are some of the more famous examples of the bilge suffocating the film.

To add to the misery, despite the mammoth length the film is fundamentally lacking in any character depth or development. Averill, Champion and Ella are the three main characters, and they remain plastic creations throughout, generating no emotion or empathy, stock passengers in their own story. Kristofferson, Walken and Huppert can all be fine actors, but they drown in nothingness where time and space stand still. Plenty of deathly slow scenes come and go with barely any dialogue, the characters part of the scenery or worse, swallowed by the armies of extras.

Filmed entirely on location and mostly in Montana, the film carries a sickly brown-yellow tinge throughout, taking away from the beautiful epic and rustic settings and the elaborate framing. The sound quality is frequently atrocious, with large stretches of dialogue inaudible and incomprehensible. The ill-defined immigrants speak and shout in their own language, sometimes for minutes on end, with no subtitles.

The final hour does pick up as Cimino finally bears down and the conflict erupts into the open, but redemption is out of reach. Heaven's Gate is an arduous ode to unchecked self-admiration.

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Movie Review: Iron Man (2008)

A superhero origins story, Iron Man modernizes the comic book hero with a savvy narrative inspired by raging cynicism and a world addicted to weapons.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a genius inventor and weapons builder, and the head of Stark Industries, the world's leading armament manufacturing company. On a trip to war-torn Afghanistan with his main US military liaison James Rhodes (Terrence Howard) Tony is caught up in a firefight, wounded and captured by militants. He is kept alive by fellow prisoner and doctor Yinsen (Shaun Toub). Militia leader Raza (Faran Tahir) demands that Tony build him a sophisticated rocket system, but instead Tony and Yinsen secretly develop a small arc reactor to power a protective weaponized suit of mighty armor.

Tony uses his new invention to escape his captors and return to the United States, and having witnessed the ravages of war he is determined to stop manufacturing tools of death. His mentor and business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) is horrified that Tony could jeopardize the company's profits. Trusting only his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Tony retreats to his workshop to design and build  a second version of the power suit, determined to develop the capability to put a stop to war.

Directed by Jon Favreau, Iron Man is a sharp action film benefitting greatly from a coiled Robert Downey Jr. performance enjoying the transformative journey of Tony Stark. The origin of Stark as a callous merchant of death gives the character plenty of distance to travel on his way to superhero status, and Downey makes the ride well worth joining.

Refreshingly the film derives most of its joy from personality rather than mayhem, and a large part of Iron Man is about people rather than machinery. Stark's uninhibited and outspoken sarcasm is a deep-seated character trait. This is a man confident in his own abilities and not afraid to speak his mind whether peddling the latest tool of destruction or announcing his intentions to change the course of his corporation. And this being a more-intelligent-than-most origins story, Favreau has the luxury to measure and space out the action scenes, avoiding the sensory overload that commonly plagues the superhero genre.

When it does come to combat and explosions there is no shortage of villains to dispense with, including heartless Afghan militants and more dangerous foes back home. And with the powered suit still in the development stage, Favreau injects plenty of dry humour as things don't quite work as intended and Stark manoeuvres his new invention into the trouble of unintended consequences.

The supporting cast is talent-rich but relatively static. Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard are game but not provided with enough material to stretch beyond the obvious limitations of their roles.

Fast paced, fun and barbed, Iron Man is an enjoyable blast.

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Movie Review: Hell Or High Water (2016)

A rural heist drama with plenty of soul, Hell Or High Water is a superlative crime film, delving into the us-versus-them psyche where resentment justifies audacious lawlessness.

In rural west Texas, divorced dad Toby Howard (Chris Pine) seeks the help of his older brother Tanner (Ben Foster) to go on a bank robbing spree. The brothers are about to lose their sprawling family property to the unscrupulous bankers, and Toby wants to quickly raise the cash to pay off the lien and allow his sons to inherit the property clear of debt. While Toby is low key and has led a quiet life, Tanner is more unstable, prone to violence, enjoys the thrill of crime and has just been released from prison.

The brothers try to hit the banks early in the morning to avoid customers and casualties, and aim to get away with a relatively small cash amount from each branch. Their exploits nevertheless attract he attention of gruff Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) and his partner Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham). Marcus is nearing retirement but likes nothing more than tracking down bad guys. He sets about trying to predict what the robbers' next move will be, not an easy task in the wide open and sparsely populated terrain dotted with small towns.

Directed by David Mackenzie and written by Taylor Sheridan, Hell Or High Water breathes deeply from its surroundings and creates a complex world where good and evil co-exist in many of the same people. The film is smart and nuanced, tense action sequences sitting comfortably next to rich character development scenes to create a tapestry of rural life where different rules apply.

The three key characters are conflicted and not easy to like, but Mackenzie patiently rounds Toby, Tanner and Marcus into real people with faults and dreams, pursuing their targets as best as they know how. The scenes between the brothers allow the criminals to emerge as men worth caring about, trying to push back against unfavourable economic and social forces.

Meanwhile, Marcus does not even try to hide his colours: he is a politically incorrect borderline racist, with his partner Alberto bearing the majority of Marcus' taunts. Toby and Tanner may have been left behind by the American dream, but Marcus never went looking for any modern version of society: he is happy to be retiring with his caustic attitude towards life fully intact.

The landscape is a big part of the film's ambiance. With New Mexico representing West Texas, cinematographer Giles Nuttgens captures a sun-drenched, sweaty environment simmering under impressively huge skies, forgotten by much of what counts as progress. Here small town main streets look pretty much the same as they did a hundred years prior, and working the land whether to feed cattle or extract oil is still the main occupation. Except that the wide open secondary highways are dotted with signs of an ever lingering recession, with advertisements for loan and bankruptcy services providing the most prominent smudges of colour.

Chris Pine and Ben Foster are the heart of the film, and the two actors find the comfortable space where brothers naturally understand and support each other without necessarily sharing all the same values. Jeff Bridges casts a long shadow as the Texas Ranger who will only fade into the sunset once he solves his last case on his own terms.

Hell Or High Water stands tall on the prairies of rural despair where, with just some squinting, the rewards of crime shimmer as a viable tool to redress the economic balance of power.

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Movie Review: The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

An old fashioned character study that revives the slow-burn spirit of the 1970s with a glossy 1980s radiance, The Fabulous Baker Boys is a thoughtful exploration of the dynamics between three complex performers weighed down by life's expectations.

In Seattle, siblings and pianists Frank and Jack Baker (Beau and Jeff Bridges) make their living with a stale lounge act. Frank is older, married, and the designated worrier and administrator. Jack is single, more effortlessly talented, but also bored and lacking in motivation to do anything about it. With bookings down and prospects dim, the brothers decide to add a singer to spice up their act. After auditioning a large number of women, they stumble on former escort Susie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer), a stunningly beautiful singer with a husky voice and cutting attitude.

With her stage presence and sultry singing, Susie makes an immediate impact, and the trio achieve quick success. Despite Frank's warnings not to ruin a good thing, Jack is unable to resist wooing Susie, and the two gradually slip into an affair that alters the dynamics of the act and threatens their burgeoning fame.

The Fabulous Baker Boys revives the glory of lounges that have seen better days, where smoke and alcohol mix to obscure the dimming light of optimism. Directed and written by Steve Kloves, the film moves slowly but deliberately to define three intriguing characters and circle their lives as expectations clash with lust for something bigger, better and more passionate. While the patient build-up of emotions serves the cause of enriched quality, the film's pacing in the second half does occasionally slip into ponderous mode.

The Bakers have been performing at dives for too long, Frank content enough to make a living for his family, Jack brooding about how unfair life is but never finding the fire to fight back. Susie upsets the rhythm of the boys, first by sparking the show then igniting Jack's heart. She injects new spirit, and it cuts both ways, promising a level of success the Bakers have always longed for but never attained, and threatening the destruction of the long-standing bond between the brothers.

Michelle Pfeiffer has probably never had a better role, and she makes the most of it. It's impossible to look at anything else on the screen when Susie is performing, and Pfeiffer does all her own singing. Her limited but willing range is perfectly suited to an escort taking a shot at another career, and Pfeiffer creates and maintains Susie's memorable aura of scrappy aloofness.

Brothers Jeff and Beau Bridges display the natural chemistry and tension that comes with the sibling package. This is one of Beau's larger roles and he defines Frank as more of a businessman and family man than piano man. Jeff overplays the mopiness of Jack, staying in the shell of angry cool for too long before allowing his intensity to start crackling.

The film breathes deeply from the clingy air of desperation that proclaims incongruity between this trio and true success. Kloves genuinely cares about Frank, Jack and Susie, and the movie's strength resides in allowing the characters to grow into fully-rounded and fabulously flawed people on the screen. The rich human drama is punctuated by jazzy performance numbers, The Fabulous Baker Boys flirting with becoming a musical.

And when Susie delivers Makin' Whoopee in a slinky red dress on top of Jack's piano, the world simply stops rotating for two minutes and thirty seconds, pausing out of respect for one of those magical cinematic moments that comes along once a decade or so. The boys claim to be fabulous; the lady actually is.

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Movie Review: The Big Lebowski (1998)

A piece of classic modern nonsense, The Big Lebowski thrives on an mood of utter pacifist irreverence. The Coen brothers Ethan and Joel create a Chandleresque mystery in modern Los Angeles, through the cracked mirror of a skewed society where the peculiar is normal.

Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) is unemployed, penniless, and extremely mellow in his attitude to life. In contrast, his best friend Walter (John Goodman) is a strung out Vietnam veteran still fighting the war - any war. They spend most of their time bowling with mutual friend Donny (Steve Buscemi). Two thugs break into The Dude's apartment, demanding money owed by Lebowski's wife. Except that The Dude has no wife. Realizing that they have the wrong Jeff Lebowski, the thugs depart, but not before urinating on The Dude's carpet.

Spurred on by Walter, The Dude visits the mansion of the very rich other Jeff Lebowski (David Huddleston), seeking a new carpet. Before long, the rich Lebowski and his personal assistant Brandt (Philip Seymour Hoffman) hire The Dude to help secure the release of trophy wife Mrs. Bunny Lebowski (Tara Reid), who has been kidnapped and is being held for a $1 million ransom. Walter ensures that the planned exchange is a total botch, landing The Dude in a lot of trouble, especially when Maude Lebowski (Julianne Moore), the rich Lebowski's estranged daughter and an eccentric artist, gets involved, along with pornographer Jackie Treehorn (Ben Gazzara).

The Dude is one of the most indelible slackers created for the movies. Larger than life and utterly comfortable with doing nothing, he never lifts a finger in anger, and actually hardly ever gets angry. As his life gets ever more insane, he maintains an inner calmness and just gets on with extricating himself from each successive mess. Perpetually dressed in a jumble of a house robe, old shorts and ratty t-shirt, his face haggard yet still optimistic, The Dude is a one of a kind. Jeff Bridges embodies the role and delivers a memorable performance, dominating with tranquillity.

The Big Lebowski plot is maybe not as original as the main character, but it's close. The Coens draw inspiration from Raymond Chandler's overcomplicated detective mysteries as well as real-life Los Angeles characters to create a convoluted narrative that always threaten to break out of control, but is just held in check. Some distractions, such as the detective in the Volkswagen, do seem like needless clutter, but overall there are a lot more hits than misses. The juxtaposition of 1940s classic elements, like the old rich man in the mansion, his oily assistant, the vixen, the potentially more dangerous sister, and the pornography sub-plot are all easily modernized. Seen through the eyes of The Dude, who just wants a clean rug to bring together his room, they become often priceless fodder for humour.

Counterbalancing The Dude is Walter, a man strung out and unwilling to view life as anything other than a battlefield. In one his more prominent big screen roles John Goodman matches Bridges' coolness with delightfully unhealthy intensity and a misplaced sense of self-confidence. Walter's ideas rarely help the situation, but he is never short on ideas, which makes him a valuable friend to the passive Dude.

The Dude and Walter spend all their spare time (which is all their time) at the bowling centre, where the submissive Donny receives a constant stream of disrespect from Walter. Against the constant crash of balls striking pins, life's little problems are blown into full fledged crises, as The Dude and Walter manage to make every bad situation worse by talking it through.

The other characters are more linear but play their role in adding to the prevailing quirkiness. The rich Jeffrey Lebowski is the spiritual descendant of General Sternwood from The Big Sleep, and his wife Bunny is not far from Carmen, Sternwood's wild daughter. Julianne Moore is Maude Lebowski, the (relatively) more rational family member, echoing Carmen's sister Vivian. Only Maude has the iciness to compete with The Dude's nonchalance, and she is the only one to get what she wants out of him.

The main cast members are surrounded by hoods, nihilists, pornographers, and really strange bowlers. John Turturro as Jesus Quintana goes way over the top as The Dude's next opponent, but even he seems to fittingly belong in a Los Angeles brimming with wackos.

Filled with attitude and a unique brand of laid back energy, The Big Lebowski throws a perfect game.

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Movie Review: Against All Odds (1984)

An overcomplicated romantic drama with neo-noir elements, Against All Odds packs way too much plot around an unconvincing love triangle, but also manages to sprinkle some excellent moments that hint at what could have been a better movie.

Veteran Los Angeles Outlaws footballer Terry Brogan (Jeff Bridges) is reaching the end of his career. Injury prone and considered too old, he is cut from the team, despite having the sympathy of coach Hank Sully (Alex Karras). Deep in debt, Brogan gets no help from his lawyer friend Steve Kirsch (Saul Rubinek) and so accepts an assignment from slimy gambling czar and nightclub owner Jake Wise (James Woods). Wise wants Brogan to find his lover Jessie Wyler (Rachel Ward), who took off on him and stole $50,000 in the process.

Jessie is the daughter of Grace (Jane Greer), the owner of the Outlaws. Grace is married to political fixer Ben Caxton (Richard Widmark), who is working behind the scenes with Kirsch to grease the gears and secure approval for Grace's coveted mountainside development project. Brogan tracks down Jessie in Mexico, and they become lovers, hiding out in the jungle and ignoring Jake's ever more frantic phone messages. Jake finally dispatches Sully to find both Brogan and Jessie, triggering unexpected bloodshed and a return to Los Angeles, as the sordid worlds of football gambling and political corruption collide in a frenzy of blackmail, back-stabbing and violence.

Against All Odds contains several memorable highlights that belong in a better movie. Terry and Jessie make steamy love in a Mayan temple, causing the walls to sweat. Kid Creole and the Coconuts perform the smoothly corrupt My Male Curiosity in Jake's nightclub. Terry and Jake engage in a hair raising, high speed Porsche versus Ferrari duel on the road, weaving in and out of traffic in an old fashioned, dim-witted mano-a-mano confrontation, among the best crazy car chases put to film.

And the closing shot strikes gold. Director Taylor Hackford sustains a long hold on Jessie as she stands on her future and stares longingly as her past leaves her behind, enhanced by Phil Collins' legendary Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now), one of the finest tragic tunes from the films of the 1980s.

But a lot also goes wrong in this movie, a loose updating of 1947's Out Of The Past. There are too many plot threads blowing in the wind and competing for attention. Jake, Kirsch, Grace, Sully and Caxon from a dense nexus of evil-doers, engaged in political corruption, illegal gambling, match fixing, and greedy developers outmanoeuvring environmental activists. With too much going on, the love and lust elements take a back seat and the second half of the film, back in Los Angeles, spirals out of control. Terry gets involved in ridiculous situations to create artificial thriller elements, Jessie's actions are irrational, seemingly manufactured to needlessly prolong a damaged love triangle.

The film finally begins to teeter on the edge of a parody rather than an homage to the film noir genre. Bloodied dead bodies are stashed in bathrooms, guard dogs growl, a minor corporate secretary (Swoosie Kurtz) suddenly reemerges to help Terry break into a safe, guns are waved all over the place, and James Woods as Jake Wise descends into manic intensity mode, blood vessels about to pop as both his love life and corrupt business empire are threatened.

James Bridges and Rachel Ward do generate sustained heat, although Ward's acting is simply not up to par. Her delivery is wooden, almost amateurish, and except for that final shot, she struggles to generate any genuine emotion. Bridges is better, frequently shirtless and more believable as a slightly dim football player with the rug of his life suddenly pulled out from below him. The Eric Hughes script simply forgets to demonstrate any source of attraction between Jessie and Jake, leaving part of the romantic conflict woefully vacant, and reducing James Woods' role to that of slimeball extraordinaire. Richard Widmark and Jane Greer (who starred in Out Of The Past) add welcome veteran sophistication to the supporting cast.

While not exactly a car wreck, Against All Odds is more a lingering curiosity than a good film. There are moments that deserve standing and staring, but also a lot of nondescript debris cluttering the scene.

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The Movies Of Jeff Bridges

All movies starring Jeff Bridges and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

The Last Picture Show (1971)

Fat City (1972)

The Last American Hero (1973)

Winter Kills (1979)

Heaven's Gate (1980)

Against All Odds (1984)

Starman (1984)

Jagged Edge (1985)

8 Million Ways To Die (1986)

The Morning After (1986)

Tucker: The Man And His Dream (1988)

The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Arlington Road (1999)

Iron Man (2008)

Crazy Heart (2009)

True Grit (2010)

Hell Or High Water (2016)

Only The Brave (2017)

All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.
The Movie Star Index is here.