Poolhall Junkies (2002)
The Basics: Drama/thriller starring Mars Callahan, Chazz Palminteri, Rick “Don’t Call Me Ricky” Schroder and Michael Rosenbaum. And Christopher Walken. Gotta love Christopher Walken. Rated R for language and some sexual content. And probably for Christopher Walken. He’s the thinking man’s Chuck Norris.
Help Wanted: Young, cocky guy who can “run the table” needed to take on hotshot, nationally ranked pool champ for pride and money. Sharp hustling skills a must.
Job Description: Johnny Doyle would likely be a nationally-ranked pool player, if he hadn’t dedicated his life to mastering the art of the poolhall hustle. Once he gets out from under the thumb of his ego-obsessed mentor, Johnny tries to make an honest living…but escaping the life of a poolhall junkie is never easy.
Random Trivia: There were no camera tricks or special film editing used for any of the billiards shots in the film, although many of the special "trick shots" were performed by billiards legend Robert LeBlanc, who appears as professional "Bobby LeBlanc" in the film.
And I Quote: Joe: “You beat them, you take their money, you call them names to their faces... and they love you. I don't know how you do it. I never saw anything like it. Beating a man out of his money, that's easy. Anybody can do that. But beating a man out of his money and making him like it... that's an art. That's an art of a true hustler.”
Curt’s Take – Not a Priority: This film was a bit of a roller coaster. There were moments where the writing was decent…but those moments were outnumbered by what I felt was largely a formulaic and predictable story/script. At several points, I was spot-on in calling what was going to be happening in the next scene, and even in the “comedic timing” they were going to use to try to transition to that scene. The acting wasn’t great, with only
Christopher Walken really standing out as giving a truly enjoyable performance (I’m half-tempted to give it a
Worth Considering, just because he’s in it). So, if you like movies that center around billiards and hustling, check this out…otherwise, you’re not missing much…except the pseudo-comeback of Rick(y) Schroder.
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Flyboys (2006)
The Basics: Action/drama starring James Franco and Jean Reno (and several other lesser-knowns). Rated PG-13 for war action violence (World War I, to be specific) and some sexual content (basically, there’s a French brothel).
Help Wanted: Americans who are drawn by the heroic and romantic allure of being the world’s first fighter pilots needed to join a French fighter squadron to battle Germany during the first World War.
Job Description: Blaine Rawlings, an orphaned rancher from Arizona, sees newsreel of footage of French fighter pilots and (since America hasn’t joined the war yet) decides to go to France and fight for the Allies by enlisting in the Lafayette Escadrille fighter squadron. He and his fellow Americans are quickly thrown from the thrills, heroics and romanticism of biplanes and barnstorming into the reality of the battlefront.
Random Trivia: The real Lafayette Escadrille had a pair of lion cubs as mascots. One was indeed named "Whiskey," as in the film. The other, appropriately enough, was named "Soda."
And I Quote: Skinner: “So how many planes do you have to shoot down to get back in father's good books?”
Lowry: “Just mine.”
Curt’s Take – Worth Considering: There used to be two things that would, without fail, grab my attention in a film…courtroom scenes and poker playing scenes. I think I can now add to that list dogfights. No, not the Michael Vick type…I’m talking about
aerial combat between fighter planes. I’ve never been a huge fan of
Top Gun, though, so I think in this case it was the vintage biplanes that did it for me. Just like the men who crossed to France to join the Escadrille, I think I’ve got a soft spot for the romanticism and heroicism that surrounds planes in the early part of the 20th century. Even with that, the story helps puts a face to a small number of the lives that helped the Allies in the early stages of the Great War, and does so in a really enjoyable manner. Try to catch this if you can.
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The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
The Basics: A cult comedy/horror starring Jack MacGowran, Sharon Tate, and Roman Polanski (who also wrote and directed). This film was unrated by the MPAA, but is pretty light on language and violence…I’d place it at a PG or PG-13.
Help Wanted: Professor and young assistant needed to investigate vampire sightings in extremely rural Transylvania. Must be able to provide own crucifixes, garlic and stakes.
Job Description: Professor Abronsius and Alfred (his protégé) visit a remote Transylvanian village on their quest to find and destroy vampires. As it so happens, the village they stumble upon is frequented by a local vampire, and the two undead hunters must venture into the castle of their foe in order to save the family of a local innkeeper. But who exactly is the predator and who is the prey?
Random Trivia: Sharon Tate replaced Jill St John, who withdrew shortly before shooting. She would later go on to marry Roman Polanski…and ultimately would prove to be one of the victims of the nefarious “Manson Family.”
And I Quote: Shagal [
as a young woman tries to fend him off with a cross]: “Oy vey, have you got the wrong vampire.”
Curt’s Take – Not a Priority: I think I remember stumbling upon this on cable several years ago, but not really understanding the humor. Here it is, probably a good seven or eight years later, and I’m still not sure why this is considered a “
cult comedy classic.” Maybe it’s the 1960s approach to humor, but I just didn’t find it that entertaining. It wasn’t
bad, per se…just not really engaging or interesting. Still...there are worse ways to spend your time, I suppose. And there are much worse vampire movies out there.
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Bottom Feeders (1998)
The Basics: Action/crime movie starring not much of anyone…except you might recognize John Saxon (but I doubt it). Rated R for violence and language.
Help Wanted: Getaway driver needed for amateur crime caper. Prior criminal experience a plus.
Job Description: Plank McCall gets recruited by his cousin Earl into helping a group of amateur criminals loot a poker game frequented by some pretty unsavory (but wealthy) local characters. And while the gang over at
Ocean’s Eleven can handle an intricate plot with many participants and moving parts…this group has to commit the plan to memory through Dr. Seuss-like rhyming verse (e.g. “He drives around back, as cool as can be…and waits for his buddies who he’s happy to see”). So, needless to say…things don’t go that well. Now, various members of the gang are on the run…but who will betray who, and who will live to tell the tale?
Random Trivia: Also released under the name
Criminal Minds.
And I Quote: Plank: “I do gotta get over to Grace’s, Tammy. Um, I need to…uh, borrow...a car. You got any neighbors you don’t like?”
Tammy [
pointing to another double-wide]: “Well…they always yell at the kids.”
Curt’s Take – Don’t Bother: Poor cinematography. Poor writing. Poor acting. There’s nothing really positive about this…and I
love heist movies (I guess you can add that to courtroom dramas, poker games, and aerial dogfights). There were some decent
ideas in the story, yes…and that’s all that really keeps this from getting a rating of
Run in Fear. It’s just that translating the idea into a script and then onto screen didn’t really go off that well. It’s like the morons in the film decided to, as their next joint venture, produce this movie. Bad idea.
Peter Gunn (1958)
Random Trivia: This was one of the first television shows to have its own original score and it was the first to feature modern jazz for a soundtrack. Previously, producers used generic music scores that were used in many television productions. RCA released an album of music from Peter Gunn, featuring the title song and other pieces. It reached #1 on Billboard's chart, stayed there ten weeks, and stayed on the list for the next two years. It was so successful that RCA put together a sequel. Henry Mancini received an Emmy nomination for the theme and won two Grammys for the album.
