GradyQ

Sean Astin in RUDY, a brilliant role for a brilliant actor.

The tag line for RUDY is: "if anyone ever says to you dreams don't

come true, you tell them about Rudy." That's just what I've done

since seeing RUDY when I was in high school. In fact, people

don't even have to mention the possibility of a dream not coming

true; at the mere mention of dreams alone I tell them all about

Rudy Ruettiger, and how he dreamed of going to prestigious Notre

Dame University to play football, but was small and not particularly

bright and from a blue collar family, but he didn't give up and he

kept trying, and you know what... I'm going to stop there, because I

didn't warn you folks for spoilers, and I don't want to get blocked.

But let's just say dreams do come true. They did for Rudy, anyway.

Another great reason to watch RUDY is to see the first movie Jon

Favreau and Vince Vaughn were in together. Favreau has a

sizeable part (pun intended) as D-Bob, Rudy's faithful college

buddy, and boy is he chunky in this one. I really have to give

Favreau props for shedding all that weight some time between

RUDY and SWINGERS. I'm not exaggerating, Favreau must have

weighed a deuce and a half back when RUDY was made. Vince

Vaughn plays a football team mate, but it's a very small part. Back

to Favreau, though... he was HUGE. I'm very interested to find out

how he lost the weight.

I went into the theater on a lark, cracking wise at the tagline: "He Will Rock You". But sure enough, by the end of the film, I was rocked indeed. Heath Ledger really swung for the fences on this one. I really only have one gripe: no Josh Hartnett. I'm sure he could have played the villain at least as good as the mouth breather they ended up using. To see Heath Ledger and Josh Hartnett sharing the screen would be comparable to DeNiro and Pacino in HEAT, in this filmgoer's humble opinion. Another thing that isn't a gripe, more a curiosity... did anyone else notice how hot Shannyn Sosamon's handmaiden was? They kept building up Sosamon because she was the lead, but then she was always seen with that stunningly beautiful handmaiden who made her look plain and homely in comparison. I found it a bit distracting.

POINT BREAK is a lot of fun, hugely enjoyable and actually well made. Kathryn Bigelow's directs with such energy its easy to overlook POINT BREAK's shortcomings, which are plenty. A group of surfers rob banks to finance their "endless summer", following the waves with the seasons. Enter Special Agent Johnny Utah (Reeves), a man with an unlikely name and a look in his eyes that Lori Petty tells me is a "kamikaze stare" but I thought was just a blank look. He's an ex-college football hero who can pass as a young surfer to infiltrate the group. Utah and his partner, the irrepressible Angelo Pappas (Busey), work to catch the tight knit group of surfers, as Utah takes surfing lessons from Lori Petty to better his chances of "blending in". Of course, the surfer/bank robbers in question end up being Petty's ex-boyfriend, the enigmatic Bodhi (Swayze) and his cohorts. Utah bonds with them and soon begins to buy into Bodhi's surfer mysticism. The best thing about this film is the action. The second best is the questionable casting choices. Reeves' Johnny Utah is constantly being credited with traits that he obviously doesn't have, causing one to wonder who the part might have been written for. Petty sounds like the surfer girl from Jersey. Swayze is utterly hilarious as Bodhi, and why is he always trying to pull some karate in movies? Does he even know any karate? Another topic for another day. Gary Busey is at his Buseyest in this one, post-motorcycle wreck. Also, kudos to any film that works in the line: "I'll see you in the next life." That's a line I like because when you hear it you know these guys aren't planning on seeing each other for a long time. Any movie that has that line in it I generally like.

YOUNG GUNS 2 was a stunning achievement, a sequel that managed to surpass its brilliant predecessor, 1988's YOUNG GUNS. YOUNG GUNS 2 follows the story of Billy the Kid, already an outlaw and now riding with the cow thief Pat Garrett. Garrett is offered the position of Sheriff by the Governor, who finds himself constantly cowed in his efforts to catch Billy the Kid. In the Governor's mind, you must hire a thief to catch one, hence Garrett is the perfect choice. Pat Garrett, who has long planned to go respectable, siezes the opportunity and turns on his friend and partner. What follows is a great western adventure, rich with themes of sin and redemption and the tragedy of brother against brother. That alone makes a great flick. But then YOUNG GUNS 2 offers the question... what if Pat Garrett was conflicted about his choice? What if he still had feelings for the Kid? What if he let him go? This is good stuff, folks. The leads do the material justice, with Estevez jumping back into the role of Billy like an old and comfortable suit that still fits perfectly. William Petersen gives a nuanced performance as Pat Garrett, a man driven by both loyalty and selfishness. Of course no review of this film should fail to herald the talents of Lou Diamond Phillips. Phillips is an actor who constantly seems to raise the bar for himself, and YOUNG GUNS 2 is no exception. His Chavez is MORE spiritual, MORE effortlessly wise... dare I say MORE Indian than he was even in the first installment. Hopefully, Phillips will be with us for a very long time. Kiefer Sutherland, Christian Slater, Balthazar Getty, and Alan Ruck round out the talented cast. So finally, do yourself a favor with this one, YOUNG GUNS 2 is an amazing film experience.

This may come as a shock to some who read this, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say YOUNG GUNS is the second greatest movie ever made. I say second because it was only eclipsed by the monumental effort that was YOUNG GUNS 2. YOUNG GUNS follows the early career of outlaw Billy the Kid (Emilio Estevez), who seeks revenge after his mentor John Tunstall (Terence Stamp) is killed by a powerful business competitor (Jack Palance) and his cronies. Billy and his gang of "Regulators", a group of young toughs who also worked for Tunstall, are deputized by the local constable to bring the killers in, but instead go on a rampage of vengeance. What's great about YOUNG GUNS is not just the punchy script by John Fusco, nor the crisp direction by Christopher Cain, nor the film's dubious message about the meaning of pals... those are great, don't get me wrong, but the true brilliance of this film lies in the performances. What was going on in 1988 that was so great that Emilio Estevez didn't win an Oscar? Who beat him? His turn as the Kid was truly a Heath Ledger caliber performance, and one that is largely overlooked. I tell you, when I mention this to people every day my comments seem to fall on deaf ears. People either aren't familiar with the film or have a generally poor impression of it. I think it's also worth noting that Lou Diamond Phillips as Jose Chavez y Chavez was not just a hodgepodge of American Indian pseudo-mysticism, but a well researched and soulful character.

He really gave it his all, too. In his big speech about how his family was slaughtered, I could just tell... Lou Diamond was feeling it. Well guess what, Lou Diamond? I was feeling it too. But enough convincing. I think the work should speak for itself. Just give the old disc a spin one night, and treat yourself to cinema's best kept secret.

Fascinating and controversial film about the most well regarded person ever to have ashy feet, Jesus Christ. When I first saw LAST TEMPTATION I was a little surprised by all the controversy. I know it showed Jesus to have human desires, temptations, and some of our weaknesses, and that may have offended some, but to me it made Jesus seem more accessible, and ultimately, more Christ like. The thought of a normal person with flaws and fears and uncertainties suddenly given the burden of knowing he is the son of God, and seeing all that he could have if he chose to live as a normal person, and still allowing himself to be crucified for the sins of the world is powerful, powerful stuff. That's a guy who doesn't come around every day. That's a savior. It made this lapsed Catholic think more about good old Jesus than I had in a long time. Dafoe was good as always, his open and caring face perfect for the J-Man. Keitel was powerful as Judas, Jesus' best friend. One of Scorsese's best. Peter Gabriel's Passion ranks among the greatest soundtracks ever.

I have one question after watching this movie repeatedly for close to twenty years... What kind of name is John Matrix? I didn't know Matrix was a surname. What ethnicity is that? If it's a secret alias because of his special forces work, wouldn't he choose something more low key than John Matrix? I can't say this is for everyone, but it's never boring if you like action, and James Olsen's General Franklin Kirby is the best thing since Richard Crenna's Colonel Troutman. He's such a good rip off I almost didn't notice the difference. Almost. Vernon Wells' Bennett was a classic villain. He hated Matrix so bad he loved him. Every scene where Bennett isn't trying to kill Matrix, he's telling some other person how incredible Matrix is and how nothing can stop him. Bill Duke was almost as cool as he was in PREDATOR, and his big fight scene with Matrix was great, gratuitous nudity and all. It's also remarkable just how many guys John Matrix knocks off in the final scene. He's a one man army. He really is that good. Just ask Bennett. I highly recommend COMMANDO.

CLOAK & DAGGER is a wonderful film from the '80s, a touching story about a boy who has an overdeveloped imagination, largely due to his mother being dead and his father being a career military man who often seems too busy for his son. The boy, Davey, has an imaginary friend by the name of Jack Flack who looks just like his dad. His imaginary spy games and tall tales tend to get on his father's nerves, and there is talk of sending him to a psychiatrist. When Davey actually does witness a horrible murder and is given a video game cartridge with top secret plans encoded inside, he tells his father about it and of course he doesn't believe him. He thinks it's just another one of his son's tall tales. Davey soon realizes that it's up to him and Jack Flack to get out of this alive, and a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues with the spies who are after the game cartridge. This film is great in large part due to the gifts of Dabney Coleman. In a duel performance here, he's equally perfect as both Col. Osborne, buttoned up military guy, and as Jack Flack, the idealized, slicker version of the same man. It's really a great father-son movie, with plenty of action to entertain even the dimmest of children. Obviously inspired by the Bobby Driscoll classic THE WINDOW, CLOAK & DAGGER is a timeless classic for the whole family to enjoy.

Taken in by Indians, but still pretty much alone. So goes the godawful narration courtesy of Merle Haggard in this botched Klinton Spilsbury version of the Lone Ranger. You may be asking yourself: ""Klinton Spilsbury, should I know that name?" The answer is no, you shouldn't. The unknown Spilsbury had an eyebrow raising lack of credentials not only before this movie, but since as well. I don't think I've seen him in anything else. Michael Horse was an unspectacular Tonto. The only saving grace is Christopher Lloyd's Butch Cavendish. He's over the top and in top wild eyed form, yet by Christopher Lloyd standards, a subdued performance. The narraration and the fact that they dubbed Spilsbury's lousy voice make this a hilarious, if a little bit sad, experience. I don't mean to harp on the Merle Haggard narraration, but he really goes on and on. He's always saying things the viewer could pick up on just by watching, and he says it in the form of some awkwardly rhyming country ballad. I'm a fan of the Lone Ranger, and I saw this one as a kid and didn't know just how bad it was. They screwed up things that were cool about the Lone Ranger, like his silver bullets. Originally, the Lone Ranger used silver bullets because he never killed, and the valuable silver represented how precious a human life was. In the Klinton Spilsbury version, the Lone Ranger uses silver bullets because Tonto tells him silver flies straighter because it's "pure". In fact, he can't hit a target until he loads up the silver bullets. What kind of weak nonsense is that? They turn it into something magical instead of something powerfully symbolic. Oh well, water under the bridge. I think all parties involved in this fiasco have learned their lesson after the critics and the moviegoing public gave them their just desserts. Klinton Spilsbury sure hasn't shown his face again.

RIO BRAVO is a prime example of masterful filmmaking. The opening segment does a great job of introducing some major characters and what they're about without a single word of dialogue. The movie also has plenty of action and a lot of humor thanks to the always hilarious Walter Brennan. That's one guy's voice I wish I could impersonate, I'd take it on the road and make a mint. Even the music numbers in RIO BRAVO, which I usually loathe in westerns, do not get in the way of the storytelling and actually seem to belong in the story. The casting of Ricky Nelson may have irked some people due to his popstar status, but I'm far enough removed from that time period where I don't even think about it. He'll always be Colorado to me. I thought he was good too, though not as good as Wayne, Martin, or Brennan... but who is, Heath Ledger? RIO BRAVO is neck and neck with THE SEARCHERS as John Wayne's best.

The first and best of the Anthony Mann/James Stewart westerns, this one is about Stewart pursuing a "one of a kind" rifle that is rightfully his, with the intention of killing the man who stole it from him. The rifle passes through many peoples' hands by the end of the film, and each character is interesting in his own right. The Indian Trader who unscrupulously trades guns and rifles to the natives is probably my favorite. I'd like to see a whole movie about that guy. WINCHESTER '73 also introduces a darker side of Jimmy Stewart that wasn't present in his earlier work. He's still the gangly and likeable everyman, but more of an individualist, a man who will not hesitate to take down those who stand in his way. This quality was also present in later films such as BEND OF THE RIVER and THE FAR COUNTRY. This Jimmy Stewart doesn't play the accordion, at least I like to think he wouldn't. The special bond he shares with the man who stole his gun is also a knockout. Great storytelling overall. A classic.

THE FIGHTING SULLIVANS, as it was known by the time I saw it, is a fantastic WW2 era film. It's more Americana than War film, but it's a truly engrossing story about the loyalty of family and the tragedy of sacrifice. The video box calls it a "story of the fighting navy!" That's not really true, half of the story takes place when the Sullivan brothers are boys, and the sinking of the Juneau is only a five minute scene at the end of the film. They're only in the navy for a few minutes of screen time. The relationships between the brothers and their distinct personalities is what makes this film stand out, and no person with a heart beating in his chest can sit dry eyed through the ending when the father goes to work as usual, even after hearing some devastating news. This film pushes all the right buttons and is a wonderful example of just how strongly a film can manipulate your emotions. I can't watch it without getting a lump in the old throat.