Cut the Cord: Random
May 2024. Volume 3, Issue 3.
Welcome back to Cut the Cord.
Most editions of this newsletter center around a certain theme, from documentaries to films directed by women to exploitation cinema. But, to be honest, it can be a little limiting sometimes. I want to watch some of these great films found on free streaming services, but I have to make sure I watch all of these movies that feature ballpoint pens or movies with Michael Shannon cameos or whatever the theme happens to be.
So think of this edition's theme as themeless, random, a grab-bag, interesting movies because...
Cabin Boy (1994)
A foul-mouthed finishing school graduate mistakenly winds up on an ill-fated fishing boat, and faces the wrath of a crew that considers him bad luck.
Cabin Boy is one of the weirder movies I've seen in a while, if only because I feel bad for writer/director Adam Resnick. He originally wrote it for Tim Burton to direct and I do think Burton would've been the man for the job, but he got Ed Wood and went off to make what is probably the best Tim Burton movie. Resnick steps in to direct (something he didn't want to do) and with a script this wacky and a lead character this unlikeable, it's a tall task.
It feels like a parody, but I'm not sure what it's parodying. It feels like an homage, but I'm not sure what it's homaging. Chris Elliott is wholeheartedly committing to not giving a shit if you like him or not, the whole thing kinda ends up feeling that way. The commitment is impressive, but that's why it's divisive.
The Graduate (1967)
Benjamin, a recent college graduate very worried about his future, finds himself in a love triangle with an older woman and her daughter.
I don't think I really need to tell you how sharp The Graduate is - hopefully you already know. It's one of The Greatest Movies Ever Made. This is really just me telling you that it's now available streaming because it doesn't tend to be. If you haven't seen it, I'm jealous that you get to have that first-time experience.
In a career of great films, this is probably Mike Nichols' best. Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, and Katharine Ross create one of cinema's most fascinating "love" triangles. The ending is up there with the best of them (I promise I'm not hyping it up too much.) And Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack is one of the premiere examples of having one artist/band create the film's soundscape, (one time I ordered the record and the Grease soundtrack was actually inside the sleeve. I cannot overstate my disappointment.)
The Illusionist (2006)
With his eye on a lovely aristocrat, a gifted illusionist named Eisenheim uses his powers to win her away from her betrothed, a crown prince. But Eisenheim’s scheme creates tumult within the monarchy and ignites the suspicion of a dogged inspector.
Despite beating it to the box office by a good two months, The Illusionist will forever be known as the 2006 old-timey magic movie that isn't The Prestige. And yeah, that's because it isn't as good as The Prestige.
But where this film lacks in David Bowie, it more than makes up for it with plenty of Paul Giamatti.
Wait, you need more to sell a movie? How about grand production design, a lovely mystery, and fun little magic tricks? Ed Norton, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell?
You're a tough crowd.
Ladyhawke (1985)
Captain Etienne Navarre is a man on whose shoulders lies a cruel curse. Punished for loving each other, Navarre must become a wolf by night whilst his lover, Lady Isabeau, takes the form of a hawk by day. Together, with the thief Philippe Gaston, they must try to overthrow the corrupt Bishop and in doing so break the spell.
Ladyhawke definitely has the feel of any other '80s fantasy movie, largely because it's directed by Richard Donner, who was always committed to genre. It's sweeping, moody, smoky, it has giant swords and flowy dresses and Rutger Hauer being really serious - you get the idea.
But I'm most interested in Matthew Broderick's performance. He sticks out like crazy. One year before Ferris Bueller and two years before a car accident in Ireland, Broderick is bouncing around hitting people with sardonic quips - it even looks like he wearing a hoodie to match his devilish smirk in the poster. Everything is just so chill, except for him.
The Big Easy (1986)
Remy McSwain is a New Orleans police lieutenant who investigates the murder of a local mobster. His investigation leads him to suspect that fellow members of the police force may be involved.
When We Own This City premiered on HBO a few years ago, my anticipation was through the roof. As a Baltimore City resident and local teacher, I've found The Wire a difficult watch, a little too much a mirror of my life, (I've told this story before, but I'll say it again: my final straw to turn it off was when a scene took place at an apartment building I know one of my students lived in.) We Own This City, a spiritual successor to The Wire all about the City's corrupt cops, seemed like a great way to check in with the work of David Simon and Co. without having to feel bad that I just couldn't make it through their most famous and celebrated project.
I barely made it through the first episode and stopped in the middle of episode two. Too close to home.
The Big Easy, on the other hand, was a great way into this kind of story of police corruption and the dark side of law enforcement. Not only does it take place in New Orleans, a city I've never been to and never plan on living in, but it takes place in an elevated movie version of New Orleans. While The Wire is too Bawldamore, The Big Easy is stylized Nawlins.
Dennis Quaid's accent work is unbelievably funny, whether it's accurate or not, cher. His character is made out to be a hero because he's only a little corrupt. Everything is lit and shot like it knows it's a neo-noir, not like how things actually look. It's a world that only exists in movies. Or New Orleans. Which might only exist in movies, I'm not sure.
Master Gardener (2022)
Narvel Roth is a meticulous horticulturist who is devoted to tending the grounds of a beautiful estate and pandering to his employer, the wealthy dowager Mrs. Haverhill. When she demands that he take on her wayward and troubled great niece, it unlocks dark secrets from a buried violent past.
Master Gardener is a recent Paul Schrader movie through and through. It's about a quiet, reserved gentleman who takes great care in his dying profession, journaling and monologuing his way through a lonely existence. But when an interesting new figure enters his life, his dark thoughts and (perhaps his seedy past) bubble up to the surface.
This time around, the role is given to Joel Edgerton with Sigourney Weaver and Quintessa Swindell in supporting roles. All three are interesting and mysterious. And they get me to care about horticulture, which is impressive.
I absolutely love First Reformed and was rather disappointed by The Card Counter. I would say that Master Gardener falls in the middle, (and it looks like we might be getting one more with his upcoming film Oh, Canada - Jacob Elordi playing a young Richard Gere!) We might not be getting too many more Schrader movies as he's not a young man in the best health, so we should try to appreciate what we have. This is a good one.
Double Feature: The Object of Beauty (1991) and Ripley’s Game (2002)
American couple Jake and Tina are living in an expensive London hotel above their means, incurring a sizeable debt. When they are asked to pay a lavish dinner bill and Jake’s card is declined, he suggests they sell Tina’s tiny, expensive Henry Moore sculpture to cover the debt. After they hatch a scheme to claim the sculpture was stolen in order to collect insurance on it, the sculpture mysteriously goes missing.
Tom Ripley - cool, urbane, wealthy, and murderous - lives in a villa in the Veneto with Luisa, his harpsichord-playing girlfriend. A former business associate from Berlin’s underworld pays a call asking Ripley’s help in killing a rival. Ripley - ever a student of human nature - initiates a game to turn a mild and innocent local picture framer into a hit man.
After the new Andrew Scott version of Ripley came out a few weeks ago, I knew that I wanted to check out the versions of the character I hadn't yet seen: Dennis Hopper in The American Friend and John Malkovich in Ripley's Game - which are both based on the same novel. The American Friend is always checked out from the video store, which left me with only the Malkovich version.
I dug it and found Malkovich to be pretty much perfect casting for the balding version of Ripley. It got me thinking about another film where he plays a sorta-inept sorta-brilliant conman, The Object of Beauty. When that turned out to be another fun watch, I knew I had to recommend this pairing as a double feature. I should do more doubles on Cut the Cord...
Malkovich is such a rat while also having a confusingly intense sexual charisma. He's joined by Andie MacDowell in The Object of Beauty and she's The Object of Beauty. The best pairing in Ripley's Game is with Ray Winstone, who I probably can't say the same thing about. You could, but I'm not going to.
Credit: Each plot synopsis from Letterboxd via TMDb.