At Close Range (1986)
DIRECTOR: James Foley
CAST: Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Mary Stuart Masterson, Christopher Penn, Crispin Glover, Millie Perkins, Eileen Ryan, Kiefer Sutherland, David Strathairn, Tracey Walter, R.D. Call, J.C. Quinn
REVIEW:
At Close Range is a spare, no-frills crime drama that eschews overdramatic embellishments and portrays a dark true story in unvarnished docudrama fashion. Set in 1978 and based on the story of the Bruce Johnston gang (with names changed), it centers on Brad Whitewood Jr. (Sean Penn), an aimless juvenile delinquent who gets drawn into the orbit of his sociopathic father Brad Sr. (Christopher Walken), who runs a local gang stealing tractors and mechanical parts. At first, Senior dazzles the impressionable youth, showing up in flashy cars, throwing money around, giving Brad a sniff of a life that seems a lot more exciting and glamorous than his. It’s not too long before Senior shows a dark side, but it might be just long enough for Brad to be in too deep. Continue reading
One Magic Christmas (1985)
DIRECTOR: Philip Borsos
CAST: Mary Steenburgen, Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Basaraba, Elisabeth Harnois, Robbie Magwood, Arthur Hill, Elias Koteas, Wayne Robson, Jan Rubes
REVIEW:
If a mix of down-to-earth drama about a hard-done-by family struggling during Christmastime and a supernatural fantasy involving Christmas angels and Santa Claus feels a trifle schizophrenic, One Magic Christmas manages to traverse its uncertain terrain about as smoothly as one could reasonably expect. The result is a trifle schmaltzy—what Christmas movie isn’t, unless one’s counting Die Hard—but the screenplay has a level of intelligence, it’s well-acted, and it blends modern problems with an unabashedly old-fashioned feeling.
Continue readingSilverado (1985)
DIRECTOR: Lawrence Kasdan
CAST: Scott Glenn, Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, Kevin Costner, Brian Dennehy, Linda Hunt, Jeff Goldblum, Rosanna Arquette, John Cleese, Ray Baker, Lynn Whitfield, Jeff Fahey, James Gammon
REVIEW:
Silverado is director and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan’s homage to the classic Western, doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel—-it’s not a “revisionist Western”—-but serves up a high-spirited, joyous adventure clearly made with love for a genre that’s an increasingly hard sell these days. If you’re not a fan of the Western genre, it’s unlikely to appeal to you, but those who are may find much to appreciate.
Continue readingWitness (1985)
DIRECTOR: Peter Weir
CAST:
Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Lukas Haas, Jan Rubes, Alexander Godunov, Josef Sommer, Danny Glover, Patti LuPone, Brent Jennings, Angus MacInnes
REVIEW:
Witness is billed as a thriller or a crime drama, but that’s just the plot skeleton. What it’s really about at its core is love and longing, and about how the randomness of life can throw two people into contact long enough to fall in love, even if they can never truly be together. Continue reading