Bad 4 Good: Teen angst at its early 90's best

 

The early 90s was a tough time for heavy metal. Granted, the rise of grunge music pushed away lots of crappy acts, but other worthy ones got lost in the shuffle of musical trends. Bad 4 Good could count as one of this victims. The band was formed under the guidance of guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, and consisted of four talented teenagers from 11 to 16 years old. Lead singer Danny Cooksey was known for his 2-year stint as redheaded kid Sam McKinney in Diff'rent Strokes, while guitarist Thomas McRocklin had appeared as "Lil' Stevie Vai" on Vai's video "The Audience is Listening" (see it here).

Refugee's album cover

The band released their only album, Refugee, in 1992. The lyrics aren't particularly deep. They cover all the obligatory subjects of rock songs of that era. From the rebellious nature of "Bangin' Time Again" and Phil Lynott's cover of "Nineteen", to the surprisingly sex-charged "Rockin' My Body", or the eco-friendly "We're Gonna Fight". There are also a couple of solid power ballads in "Slow and Beautiful" and "Nothing's Great About a Heartache". The latter is particularly good, at least for my 80s taste. The album even features a rap/heavy metal fusion called "Felony".

There's also an interesting song called "Terminate" with lyrics that seem inspired by the Terminator films. The song includes lyrics like "built like a hearse, seven times Mr. Universe" and "he's crying tears of metal in the 21st century" or "he'll look you in the eyes and tell you that he'll be back". Considering that Cooksey had a small role as John Connor's friend on Terminator 2, which was released the same year as the album, it's possible that the song was intended to be sold for the soundtrack, but didn't make it.

Despite the seemingly cliché and formulaic nature of the lyrics, the boys more than make up with their talents. Cooksey has a strong, grave voice that lends itself perfectly for screams and wails, but also for strong vocals, while McRocklin, who was a Vai protege, shows how much he learned from his mentor. Bassist Zack Young and drummer Brooks Wackerman aren't left behind either. Although evident in most of the songs, these talents are better showcased in the instrumental headbanger "Tyre Kickin' (Ya Makin' Me Nervous)".

Bad 4 Good disbanded shortly after the album release, and their members moved on to other ventures. Cooksey has become a prolific voice-actor, Wackerman is playing drums for Bad Religion as well as other bands, Young has played for several bands like A.I., while McRocklin quit the business allegedly "fed up" with the industry. But still, as a perennial lover of 80s heavy metal, this is an album I gravitate towards a lot. If you are a fan of 80s metal, the album is a must to listen to; and even if you're just a heavy metal/rock fan, period, you should give the album a try. Grade: A-

(All the pictures belong to Interscope, its parents and affiliates)

Compliance: A tough, uneasy watch

Some films are fun to watch, while others are a thrill, edge-of-your-seat experience. A few, however, are just too tough to watch, because of the subject matter or the way it is handled (Requiem for a Dream comes to mind). Compliance falls in this last category, not because it is a bad film; far from it. But because it is done so well, that you can feel the uneasiness of the characters involved.

Compliance follows a prank call that goes too far, involving Susan (Ann Dowd), who is the manager of a fast-food restaurant and Becky (Dreama Walker), one of her young employees. The prank caller pretends to be an officer investigating a theft that might involve Becky, but also hints at a possible bigger bust involving her brother as well. As the prank goes on, the situation gets more out of hand until its tragic consequences. Now, it may sound like a simple premise, but the film turned out to be one of the most uncomfortable watches I've had recently. 

The film successfully establishes Susan as a meek, insecure woman which makes the caller's manipulations more believable. Dowd's performance is nothing short of great, but she's not the only one. Pat Healy is disturbingly good as the caller. His cold, carefree performance makes it all the more unnerving and creepy; and Bill Camp, who plays Susan's fiancee, is equally great. Finally, kudos to Dreama Walker for another great performance in such a tough role. She held her own and managed to make Becky's descent into a scared, confused, and vulnerable victim a believable one.

As the film reached its climax, it begins to push the boundaries of plausibility. But after reading the events it was inspired on and realizing it all happened almost as it was seen on the film, it puts things in perspective and only makes it harder to stomach. As I told my wife in the end, reality is scarier than fiction. One starts to wonder "What would I have done if I were in that situation" and, the way things are presented in the film, one can understand why things went as far as they did. Most people are condemning the manager for allowing this to happen, but as they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Overall, a really good film with great performances all-around, but one I don't see myself rewatching anytime soon. Grade: A-

(All pictures belong to Magnolia Pictures and its affiliates)

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Beasts of the Southern Wild is the first of the nine Best Picture nominees that I've seen. The film follows the lives of a fictional community in the Southern bayou in the middle of a storm and the resulting flood. It focuses on two characters: 6-year old Hushpuppy (Quvanzhané Wallis) and her father, Wink (Dwight Henry). Their lives aren't conventional, to put it mildly. At least from the perspective of the average viewer. They live in extreme poverty and Wink wouldn't be on the run to win "Father of the Year". But he does try, within his abilities and resources, to take care of his daughter.

Their lives get more complicated as Wink's health begins to worsen due to an unspecified illness, and due to the threat of a huge storm that approaches. The latter leaves their community flooded and their residents scrounging for food, while the former progressively weakens Wink.

The film felt a bit weird at times in that it feels like a documentary at times. There's a realistic and raw approach to it, in terms of directing, that I think benefits the story and its characters. But in the midst of it all, there's also a certain beauty and mystique to the images on screen. Kudos to first-time director, Benh Zeitlin, for that, and for pulling some excellent performances from both Wallis and Henry. Not that it was necessary, but reading about their real-life stories only adds weight to the strengths of the film. I would go as far as to say that, as impressive as Wallis' performance was, Henry was more deserving of a nomination.

The weakest part of the film, IMO, was the addition of a fantasy element with the approach of the "Aurochs". The director chose to integrate that into the main story, but I don't think he succeeded with it. To be honest, I don't think it was necessary, or that it could contribute much to the overall result. In the end, there was a disjointedness, a lack of cohesion and clear purpose between both parts. At least from my perspective.

But still, the film manages to hold its own on the strength of the two lead characters and their interactions. I really enjoyed that. Grade: B+

(All pictures belong to Fox Searchlight and its affiliates)

Gridiron Gang

I caught Gridiron Gang much in the same way that I did Bullitt a week or two before: unexpectedly while channel-surfing. The difference is that Bullitt was a pleasant surprise, whereas Gridiron Gang is the epitome of mediocrity. Which is a pity cause, after reading about the subject matter, it really deserved a better treatment.

The film follows Sean Porter (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), a worker at Kilpatrick Detention Center. Frustrated with the fate that befalls most of his young detainees upon being released, Porter starts a football team - the Kilpatrick Mustangs - with some of them to teach them discipline, teamwork, and leadership. And so begins the endless parade of sports films clichés: the reluctant participants, the motivational speeches, the lack of equipment, the personal struggles of the kids, the inevitable bonding, the administrative obstacles, the crucial game, the inspirational halftime speech, etc. etc.

Some parts still work, at least a little; and Johnson  has some moments here and there. But everything is so bogged down by predictability and melodrama. I lost count of how many shots of teammates patting themselves in the sunset were on the film, or how much the dramatic, crescendo music was overused, but it was overkill.

The final game pushed all the known buttons. Most of the key players are given the chance to shine, but the team still falls behind by halftime. If you don't know what will happen after that, or if you didn't know it after 30 minutes of watching the film, you haven't seen enough movies. Meh.

In the end, we see documentary clips of the real Sean Porter and the real Mustangs, which kinda puts in perspective how some scenes from the film were actually inspired by real events. As a matter of fact, it made me curious to actually watch a documentary about the real events, instead of a cheesy, predictable, soap-opera like version of the story. Grade: C-  

(All pictures belong to Columbia Pictures and its affiliates)

NCIS: Shabbat Shalom & Shiva

(This review includes spoilers)

I really wasn't planning on making a blog entry on NCIS at this point. But two excellent episodes changed that with a spray of bullets. Still, I've gone back and forth for the past 1-2 weeks trying to write a review for them, without much success. I'll just say this, the two episodes in question - "Shabbat Shalom" and "Shiva" - were among the best I've seen from the show.

The first episode featured the return of recurring character, Eli David (Michael Nouri), who secretly comes to the US allegedly to visit his daughter Ziva (Cote de Pablo). However, there are ulterior motives to his visit, namely a meeting with Arash Kazmi, an Iranian ambassador and childhood friend. To make matters worse, Eli, who is trying to make amends with his daughter, has also been involved in the murder of an undercover reporter.

Through its first acts, the episode was solid. I've always thought that Eli is one of the most interesting characters to watch, mostly because you never know his motivations. His character has, for lack of a better word, a complex background and a complex psyche. His penchant for mind games and backdoor talk never allows us to really trust him, which is why his meeting with Kazmi seemed suspicious, to say the least. Eli's personality also adds layers to his relationship with Ziva, which is, again, complicated to say the least. Let's put it in perspective, this is the man who raised his children to be professional killers, and even ordered Ziva to kill his half-brother, in order to gain the trust of a federal agent.

But the climatic events that set this episode apart occurred in the final act. When that shower of bullets hit the Vance's home, I literally jumped off my chair. A very intense moment, plus the director decided not to take us inside the house yet, but instead to follow Ziva on her pursuit of the hitman. This only added to the suspense and expectation of what had actually happened inside. When Ziva and Gibbs returned to the scene of the crime, they found Eli dead and Jackie mortally wounded. I had a feeling somebody would end up dead, but I never thought they would off two key characters in one episode. That was a bold move.

Now, I've never been a huge fan of Cote de Pablo's performance (which I consider sometimes uneven and spotty) or her character, but you probably are cold-blooded, if you at least didn't have a lump in your throat at the scene where she finds her father dead. Just thinking about it gives me the chills. Her performance at that moment was flawless, and the emotion in that scene was heartbreaking. Probably one of the best moments the show has had in its ten years

The follow-up episode wasn't as intense as this one, for obvious reasons. But still, it was a worthy follow-up as the team investigated the possible suspects, which included Kazmi, a Swedish entrepreneur, and finally, Eli's own protege, Ilan Bodnar (Oded Fehr). I think that the best thing this episode did was successfully setting up a worthy antagonist that will probably be the focus of the rest of the season. But the scenes of grief of Ziva and Leon were great moments as well.

I've been a huge fan of NCIS for several years now, which is evidenced here by my previous endless babbling on the show as a whole. But still, I can be the first to point the flaws of the show, like I did once the tenth season started. However, this two episodes were steps in the right direction. Up until now, the first half of this season had been average, for the most part, although still entertaining. This two episodes were proof that the show can still deliver.

(All pictures belong to CBS and its affiliates)

Bullitt: Good, old fashioned action

 

I caught Bullitt unexpectedly on TCM a couple of weeks ago, when I was channel-surfing. What a surprise it turned out to be. I mean, I had heard about it, but I never expected to enjoy it as much as I did.

The film follows Lt. Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen), who is recruited by politician Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) to provide protection to an important surprise witness he plans to present before the Senate in a hearing about organized crime. But things go awry when a pair of hitmen storm the safe house where the witness is staying, mortally wounding him. Bullitt sets out to capture the men responsible while investigating the truth behind the witness.

Most people know this film for its iconic car chase, which occurs around the middle of the film, when Bullitt pursues the pair of hitmen across the streets of San Francisco. But, as great and cool as it was, the film has so much going for it beyond that. The film took a really mature approach to the genre that made some modern cop films feel like cartoons, and the authentic and sober take on the police/investigative aspect was a breath of fresh air. Oh, yeah, and that car chase.

The performances aren't any less. I was particularly impressed by Robert Vaughn's slimy portrayal of Chalmers. And even though McQueen plays Bullitt as a mostly emotionless, tough cop, as the film progresses one can appreciate the subtleties of his performance. If anything, I think that the part where Bullitt's girlfriend (Jacqueline Bisset) rants on him after stumbling upon a crime scene he's investigating felt forced and a bit awkward. In a way, I felt as if it had come out of nowhere, just to add some sort of "personal conflict" to Bullitt's persona. But that's a small complaint.

Despite some intricacies to its plot, Bullitt is a pretty straightforward film. It doesn't rely on gimmicks or other cheap tricks, but rather on the tension and intrigue it builds. I was initially leaning towards a high B+, but the more I think of it, the more I liked it. I will settle on an A-, but even that's bound to change with time.

(All pictures belong to Warner Bros. and its affiliates)

Leverage: The Long Goodbye

(This review includes spoilers for the last season)

In my opinion, there are two kinds of shows one can enjoy. Those that are both masterfully crafted, with great performances, that manage to thrill you in many ways; and those that perhaps have less than loftier goals, but still manage to steal your heart. Leverage will surely be on the latter group for me. This isn't to say that Leverage isn't necessarily masterfully crafted, or that it doesn't have great performances, but its approach is light compared to the likes of, say, Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones. 

Perhaps being on that latter group is what made me go "Aww, man!" when I realized that the show had been cancelled after closing its fifth season. I've been watching it since 2010 or so, and loved it since. For those that don't know about it, the show follows Nate Ford (Timothy Hutton), an insurance investigator that retires after the untimely death of his son. Eventually, he becomes the mastermind in a group of con artists that dedicate themselves to help people by conning big corporations (sorta like a more modern A-Team).

The team is comprised by Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman), an actress/grifter who becomes Ford's love interest; Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane), a former military/mercenary skilled in beating the shit out of everyone; Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge), a young and smart hacker; and Parker (Beth Riesgraf), a thief and cat burglar with little to no socializing skills. One of the strengths of the show is, in fact, the chemistry between the cast. From the first season, you actually believe their relationships. From the brotherly banter between Eliot and Hardison, to the love relationship between Nate and Sophie, or the innocent romance between Parker and Hardison. That's what holds the show together for me, so kudos to the cast for their performances.

Other than that, the fast pace and light approach are part of its assets. The show flows with an Ocean's Eleven-like vibe, it never takes itself too seriously, and the humor is always present. There are several running jokes among the characters to amuse regular viewers, and the action is solid. Also, for the most part, the cons are ingenuous, even if by later seasons, they've grown more ludicrous and implausible.

This season, its fifth, saw several changes in the show. Most notably, the team moving to Portland, and the relationship between Hardison and Parker, which was being hinted at during the last seasons, is formal. I have to say that, by the middle of it, I wasn't that crazy about the season. Not that it was bad, far from it. But it was more on the average side. The episode that changed this for me was "The Rundown Job". Probably one of the best episodes of the show, it had only half of the team (Eliot, Parker, and Hardison) in New York trying to stop a potential nuclear threat.

I felt like that episode really elevated things, and the ones that followed were pretty good. It all led to the finale titled "The Long  Goodbye Job", where we find out the real reason for the team moving to Portland. Plus, the return of recurring character James Sterling (Mark Sheppard), a former colleague of Nate that now works with Interpol, added to the impact of it. For the first 20 minutes, the final episode seemed to raise the stakes with one of the most intense cons the show has had. However, once the truth behind it all is revealed in the latter half, it kinda felt like a cheat at first. But when you think about it, since most of what was happening was being shown through Nate's "story", it works better. Plus, the reveal of the true con had me smiling, and the ending capped that smile with the endearing goodbye of the team.

Overall, I can acknowledge the show's weaknesses. But then again, I don't think the show aimed to be a very thought-provoking one. What it succeeded for me was in being a damn entertaining one. It also succeeded in creating a connection with the characters. Which, like I said, led me to feel sorry for its cancellation. Still, I think five years is a good run for any show, let alone one that maybe doesn't have the respect or praise that other more known shows have. Farewell to Nate, Sophie, Eliot, Hardison, and Parker. You'll be missed.

(All pictures belong to TNT and its affiliates)