Category: Crime

The Last Seduction (1994)

Director: John Dahl

Screenwriter: Steve Barancik

Cast: Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, Bill Pullman, Dean Norris, Mik Scriba, J.T. Walsh, Herb Mitchell and Bill Nunn.

Tagline: She wants it all… & she wants it now…

The Plot…

Bridget (Fiorentino) convinces her husband Clay (Pullman), to steal a load of pharmaceutical cocaine and then sell it to a drug dealer.  When Clay comes home with $700,000 he thinks their troubles are over.  Once he pays off his loan shark,  he and Bridget will still have well over a half million dollars.

While Clay is showering, Bridget steals the money and takes off.  She decides to lay low in a small town under an assumed name.  Bridget learns Clay has hired a Private Investigator to find her, Now needs a plan to get away clean and fast.

When Bridget meets Mike Swale (Berg) she comes up with the perfect idea,  The plan is devious and will kill the lives it doesn’t ruin.  Bridget can’t wait to get started.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

I saw The Last Seduction when it was first released.  I rated it a 4 then. This re-watch earned a 3.  The Last Seduction is good, but not as good as I had remembered.  I think the reason for the lower rating is I’m older.  When I was younger it was easier to believe that Mike could be so taken by the great sex and mystery of Bridget that he left reason behind.

The director, John Dahl was on a roll when he helmed The Last Seduction.  His two previous films were Kill Me Again and Red Rock West.  He co-wrote both as well.

The Last Seduction features standout performances from  Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, Bill Pullman and Bill Nunn. A young Dean “Breaking Bad” Norris also has a small role. (He also had hair!)

The Last Seduction (1994) rates 3 of 5 stars.

The Gunman (2015)

Director: Pierre Morel

Screenwriter: Don Macpherson, Pete Travis, Sean Penn based on THE PRONE GUNMAN by Jean-Patrick Manchette

Cast: Sean Penn, Idris Elba, Jasmine Trinca, Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone, Mark Rylance and Daniel Adegboyega.

Tagline: Uncover the truth.

The Plot…

Jim Terrior (Penn) ex-Special Forces, is a mercenary working in the Congo.  Terrior’s cover is providing security to humanitarian projects.  Terrior has developed a relationship with a doctor named Annie.  Although they’re in love, Terrior hasn’t told Annie his true reason for being there.  Unknown to Terrior, his black ops partner, Felix also has eyes for Annie.

When orders come down to assassinate the Congo’s Minister of Mining, Terrior is given the assignment.  He is to complete the hit and then immediately leave the country.  Terrior does as ordered.

Eight years later, Terrior still carries feelings for Annie.  Although he is no longer a mercenary, Terrior suffers from PTSD.  Now he works in impoverished areas digging wells so villages will have water.  Terrior hopes to make amends for his past.  One day, without warning, a hit squad comes to his job site and attempts to murder him.  Terrior is able to kill them all.

Now Terrior is on a mission to discover why, after all these years, he has been targeted for execution.  Terrior learns that his former partner, Felix and Annie are married.  He also discovers that their former boss, who ordered the hits, has formed a successful international security firm that works for the Pentagon.  As Terrior digs deeper the truth begins to unravel…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

It’s interesting that Sean Penn, like the character he plays, has pretty much turned his back on his profession to do humanitarian work.  Penn is an excellent actor.  He is able to play the quiet as well as the action scenes with equal success.  I wish we saw him do more movies (especially action themed).

I’d never seen Jasmine Trinca before.  She’s very good.  I hope to see her in future films.  Javier Bardem is excellent.  If you only know him from No Country for Old Men, you’ll be surprised to see him in this role.  Idris Elba doesn’t have a huge part, but I always enjoy his work.

Director Pierre Morel also helmed Taken, District B13 and From Paris with Love, so you know we are in good hands.

The Gunman (2015) rates 4 of 5 stars.

Touch of Evil (1958)

Director: Orson Welles

Screenwriter: Orson Welles based on Badge of Evil by Whit Masterson

Cast: Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Ray Collins, Dennis Weaver, Valentin de Vargas, Mort Mills, Victor Millan,Harry Shannon, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Mercedes McCambridge, Joseph Cotton  and Marlene Dietrich.

Tagline: THE STRANGEST VENGEANCE EVER PLANNED!

The Plot…

Miguel “Mike” Vargas (Heston) and his new bride, Susan (Leigh) are visiting a small Mexican/American border town.  Mike is a Mexican Special Prosecutor.  Susan is an American.  Their honeymoon is cut short when a car bomb explodes killing two people.  Although the explosion took place on the US side, the bomb was planted while the car was in Mexico.

Mike tells Susan to go back to their hotel while he assists with the initial investigation.  Hank Quinlan (Welles), the local police Captain, arrives and takes over the investigation.  Quinlan is a recovering alcoholic, and a bigot with a bad attitude.  In short order, Quinlan has a suspect.  He’s a Mexican married to the daughter of one of the victims.  It looks like an open and shut case when two sticks of dynamite are found in a shoebox.  What Quinlan didn’t know is that Mike had accidentally knocked the shoebox over minutes before.  The box was empty.  Mike accuses Quinlan of setting the kid up.

Meanwhile, Susan is stopped before she gets to the hotel.  Her husband is prosecuting a drug case against a major Mexican crime family.  “Uncle” Joe Grandi attempts to scare Susan and sends her to the hotel with a message for Mike to drop the case.  Uncle Grandi learns that Mike won’t back down and that Mike has made an enemy of Quinlan.  Grandi approaches Quinlan and suggests a partnership.  They’ll kidnap Susan and force Mike to do their bidding.

Of course things don’t go as planned for anyone.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Touch of Evil gets better with every viewing.  If someone preferred it over Citizen Kane, I wouldn’t argue.

Janet Leigh is best known for her role in Psycho.  She shows a wider range here and if Norman Bates saw how sexy her character is, his head would explode.

Welles is the powerhouse behind Touch of Evil.  He adapted the novel and made changes to improve the story.  He starred in and directed the film.  When Universal Pictures locked him out of the editing booth, Welles submitted a 58 page memo of suggestions to improve the cut.  Decades later that happened.  The restored version won several awards and a spot in the National Film Registry.

Heston and Welles have a great supporting cast.  Akim Tamiroff as Uncle Joe Grandi is both funny and scary. Welles wanted Dennis Weaver to improvise.  Weaver took that to heart.  His character is all over the place… and I mean that in a good way.  Zsa Zsa Gabor shows up in a blink-and-you-might-miss-her cameo.  While you can have eyes wide open and miss Joseph Cotton’s.  For Mercedes McCambridge’s role, she dyed her hair, adopted an accent and rough look. While some of the folks are only on screen for a short time, their impact is huge.

Touch of Evil (1958) rates 5 of 5 stars.

The Stone Killer (1973)

Director: Michael Winner

Screenwriter: Gerald Wilson based on A Complete State of Death by John Gardner

Cast: Charles Bronson, Martin Balsam, Jack Colvin, Paul Koslo, Norman Fell, David Sheiner, Stuart Margolin, Ralph Waite, Alfred Ryder, Walter Burke, Kelley Miles, Eddie Firestone, Charles Tyner,  Byron Morrow, Frank Campanella and Robert Emhardt.

Tagline: Take away his badge and he’d top the Ten Most Wanted list!

The Plot…

Detective Lou Torrey (Bronson) killed a 17 year old hood who fired first.  Torrey’s shooting is justified, but the heat is on.  Torrey is quick with a gun and pushes past what is legal to get the guilty.  So Torrey leaves the New York City to become a member of the LA police force.

When Detective Torrey comes across clues that the Mafia is planning something big, no one believes him.  As he digs deeper, Torrey discovers that mercenaries are working with the mob bosses.  Soon Torrey is in their sights.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Charles Bronson and Michael Winner hit gold with The Mechanic.  Unfortunately, lightning didn’t strike again with The Stone Killer.  It would however, when they teamed the following year with Death Wish.

The Stone Killer is definitely a ’70s movie.  Detective Torrey is made in the mold of Harry Callahan, but The The Stone Killer is at best a poor man’s Dirty Harry.

If you’re a fan of character actors, you’ll enjoy all of the faces popping up throughout The Stone Killer.  You’ll see Martin “Psycho” Balsam, Norman “Three’s Company” Fell, Stuart “The Rockford Files” Margolin, Ralph “The Waltons” Waite, Alfred “Star Trek” Ryder, Charles “The Outlaw Josey Wales” Tyner, Robert “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” Emhardt to name just a few.

The Stone Killer isn’t one of Bronson’s best, but it does have more high falls than a John Wayne western and a car chase worthy of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

The Stone Killer (1973) rates 2 of 5 stars.

The Ledge (2022)

Director: Howard J. Ford

Screenwriter: Tom Boyle

Cast: Brittany Ashworth, Ben Lamb, Louis Boyer, Nathan Welsh, Anaïs Parello and David Wayman.

Tagline: Don’t Lose Your Grip.

The Plot…

The night before a climb, Kelly (Ashworth) and Sophie (Parello) meet four guys in the cabin across the way.  The guys, less experienced climbers, are going up an easier path of the mountain in the morning.  When the fellas invite the girls over for a drink, they agree to “just one”.  After some small talk and the drink Kelly is ready to head back to their cabin.  Sophie decides to stay longer.

After a few more drinks, Sophie is ready to call it a night.  On the way to her cabin she is attacked by one of the guys.  He tries to rape her.  She scratches his face, In their fight he kicks Sophie. She falls twenty feet onto rocks.  When the other guys show up, they are forced to come up with a cover story.  Sophie was drunk. She fell while showing the guys her climbing skills.  Once they have their alibi, the guys throw Sophie off the side of the mountain.

Kelly had heard Sophie’s cries and arrives in time to see Sophie thrown to her death. The men see Kelly and begin to chase her.  Realizing that there is no help around, Kelly begins to free climb the mountain.  Her only escape is up.  The guys grab gear and head up an easier path.  The rock face is too sheer for Kelly to climb down.  They get ahead of her, trapping her on a ledge just below them.  It’s just a matter of time now…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

The Ledge is an okay way to spend a little less than an hour and a half.  Much of that credit goes to Brittany Ashworth.  She’s believable as a climber and likeable as the character.

What keeps the movie from a 3 star rating are the clichés.  Kelly’s lover, also a climber, fell to his death trying to retrieve her engagement ring.  Now she’s climbing in his memory.  The rapist character is a psycho who has been bullying his three friends since elementary school.  Now as adults they continue to hang with him because they fear him.  He’s so bad that he’s been having sex with one of his friend’s wife on a regular basis for years.  The other friends knew but were so afraid they never told.

Still, the situation of being stuck on a mountain top ledge with a psycho right above you provides an interesting scenario.  If there’s nothing better on, give The Ledge a go.

The Ledge (2022) rates 2 of 5 stars.