Posts by Brent Lorentson

Paul Schrader is one of my cinematic heroes and despite his numerous accolades I feel he’s one of the most underappreciated artists to work in film. He has a way of capturing the underbelly of society through his writing and visuals that very few can equal. When he and Martin Scorsese worked together on Taxi Driver that was such a perfect pairing, it’s Schrader’s best screenplay he’s ever produced, and I know this is a controversial take but I feel it’s also Scorsese’s best film. Hardcore would be the second film that Schrader would go on to direct, eventually he’d end up with 27 directing credits, but Hardcore for me is his standout film where he worked as both writer and director. This film isn’t for everyone and despite it being released in 1979 the subject matter remains provocative but for those willing to take a walk into some seedy areas this is film that will take you for a ride you won’t soon forget.

In 1987 when Malone was being released, the peak of Burt Reynolds’ career was behind him. He was still successful and was doing films and TV shows after that, but there was a distinct change in the quality of the films he was putting out. At this time there was a bit of a shift with what an action hero looked like. Guys like Reynolds and Bronson were being nudged aside for Stallone and Schwarzenegger. This was the rise of the action hero who reigned well into the late 90’s. Thankfully the smaller studios understood there was still an audience that wanted to see Burt Reynolds on the big screen, and that’s where Malone fits in. It isn’t a film that is trying to be anything special, and I feel its ultimate fault is that it is so generic, so familiar, that it becomes so forgettable at the same time.

Steve McQueen is one of those actors who will always be an icon of the silver screen and an actor who just personifies cool. The Getaway (1972) is easily my favorite film of McQueen’s. He has several other films one could argue that are “better”, but for me it will always be the Sam Peckinpah classic. Over his career he’s played a variety of roles from being a cowboy, a detective, a race car driver, to a professional thief and so forth, and for the most part I could believe him in all of these roles, but Nevada Smith is the first time I had to put up my hands and just go “are you kidding me?” For some reason they felt the audience would buy that a 35-year-old McQueen could play a 16-year-old half-Native-American character. Now if you can get past that kind of absurd casting and just go into the movie and accept as a western / revenge film, then Nevada Smith is a helluva good time with gunslinging action with beautiful locations and a terrific cast.

When it comes to writing crime, I don’t think anyone has ever done it better than Elmore Leonard.  When you look at his books and you see the number of quality films and TV series that have been adapted from his work, it is pretty impressive. 3:10 to Yuma, Out of Sight, Jackie Brown aka Rum Punch, Justified, Get Shorty … I could keep going, but that’s just a glimpse of what the man is responsible for. I discovered his books in high school, and I have been a fan ever since. When he passed away in 2013, it was a pretty sad day for me. He was an icon and one of my major influences on becoming a writer. So when the chance came along to review the release of the 1986 film 52 Pick-Up, I was more than eager to get my grubby paws on this one. This isn’t my first time watching the film. My first time was back in the 90s when I picked it up on VHS at the local mom & pop video store, but to be fair, I don’t think I’ve seen it again since.

Fritz Lang is an iconic Hollywood director who was successful in the silent era and was able to transition and be successful into the “talkie” era. His work in Germany is what he is most known for, Metropolis (1927) and M (1931) but in 1934 he fled Nazi Germany, even after being offered to be the head of the German Cinema Institute and came to America where he signed a contract with MGM studios where his career flourished despite having a reputation for being difficult to work with. He’s a director that if you go to film school you will learn about, and you’ll either appreciate his films or find yourself falling asleep during them.  Despite my appreciation for M and Metropolis, I have to admit I really never explored the filmmaker’s work beyond those films, so when the chance came to check out Human Desire, I was curious to see how it was.