Flatliners

Slowly, I've been making my way through Joel Schumacher's films. This is by no means an intentional quest, but one that usually becomes revived through interest in specific actors. For, Schumacher must have some sort of magnetic presence in real life, some quality that convinces great actors to star in his horrid little films. Schumacher's been on a decline commercially. FLATLINERS, upon its release in 1990, was the #1 movie at the box office, but his last two films were practically unreleased, yet 2011's TRESPASS still starred Nicole Kidman and Nicholas Cage. FLATLINERS features a cast of young actors who've reached much higher prominence now. Kiefer Sutherland heads the group of medical students as Nelson. Among his posse of students are Kevin Bacon as David, a reluctantly involved student, Oliver Platt as Randy, who inexplicably exists in the film for nothing happens to his character, William Baldwin as Joe, who records the women he sleeps with unbeknownst to them, and Julia Roberts as Rachel. Nelson comes up with the idea to delve into the science of death. He plans to, with these friends, stop their hearts and keep themselves effectively dead for one minute, then two minutes, then three, in order for them to experience death firsthand, and, presumably, unlock its secrets. This flimsy premise is supported, however, by a group of med students who are better at reviving the dead than anyone in the history of movies other than Jesus Christ. Further endangering an already weak plot is the add-on that each student who undergoes the experience, is revived with their sins haunting them. For David, its a black girl he bullied in grade school, for Joe, the women he's terrorized, and for Nelson, a boy he killed in an accident. What's odd here though, is the total disregard for cohesion. For, the acts of the men on those they've supposedly wronged, are all just as flimsy as the premise they support. David says it himself in the film, but its a quickly disregarded thought. What's at play here are notions exemplified to something that's supposed to resemble reality, or a good story. Beyond this, the film is oddly paced, proving to be very repetitive, and overwrought.

★★ out of Five

Jacob's Ladder

JACOB'S LADDER is a brilliant film. It is one that is consistently riveting and contains an ending that is perfect. The film stars the innately likeable Tim Robbins as Jake Singer. He's a Vietnam veteran who experienced a particularly hazy near-death experience, and who lives in a quasi-hell of fate's making. We gather through flashbacks that something funny happened in Vietnam, and that even Jake doesn't know what exactly that is. His circle of close friends, including a chiropractor and a post-office worker girlfriend, continually support Jake, but his Vietnam baggage is heavy, and he consistently falters. We also gather from flashbacks that Jake once had a loving family: a beautiful wife and three glowing sons. Now, however, Jake lives in a shoddy apartment, works a bad job, and sees demons all around him that are trying to kill him. He sinks into insanity: slowly. This is a testament to the films worth. At no single point is it apparent that Jake has lost his mind, but the gradual descent becomes clearer and clearer. The plot also does this, as we learn more about what may have happened to Vietnam, and what happened to the happier also post-Vietnam times. There is a craft in the film that is admirable, but also an intelligence about the created situation. Jake's descent is never nonsensical, but rooted in a specific statement about Jake Singer's condition. There is a statement within about the worthlessness of a stupid war, a statement about perseverance, and even a critical one of the government. What JACOB'S LADDER achieves is a sad dignity within a proclaimed horror film. It is not only good at getting this point across, but at creating an aura of horror, paranoia, and finally entertainment.
Jacob's Ladder: ★★★★

After Dark, My Sweet

After Dark, My Sweet is a film directed by James Foley. The man has a forgettable name, and that's too bad, for his talent is under-appreciated: as seen in this film and in Glengarry Glen Ross. Perhaps the hidden genius within his films allow for him to go unnoticed. For, in After Dark, My Sweet there are scenes and cuts that you only fully realize later. The film is languorous--steamy under Californian skies and ambivalent. Many of the things that actually happen in the film happen because the characters were bored. They are so empty and lazy, that they allow for insanity to seep into their lives. Consider the main character: Collie (Jason Patric). He is strange and too amicable among those who should not be given a second look. He seems to do things out of a shrug. "What else was I gonna do?". One day at a bar, Collie meets Fay (Rachel Ward) after a scuffle with the barman. She drunkenly takes him home and offers him work, but after Collie meets the odd Uncle Bud, he flees. He eventually returns after fleeing from a doctor who suspects he is insane. Now that he's accepted this odd menagerie of people, he allows the insanity of Uncle Bud to pervade his life. The trio decide to kidnap a young boy, and all goes to hell. This is a noir film, and that was probably inevitable. There is so much anti-life in After Dark, My Sweet that it becomes sort of fascinating. The movie is no easy watch, for it is constantly challenging and languorous. And then at the end, we get to see everything that we have already seen in a new light. After Dark, My Sweet is so odd and contemplative, that it becomes sort of great.