Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode (1988)

This is my first video game review on this site.

A while back, I posted a review of The Professional: Golgo 13. Here now is a review of the video game, for the original Nintendo, which introduced me to the character. This was, at least for me, the most complex video game I came across during the 80's. This is mainly due to the countless mazes and story points, not to mention the suggested sex (and this was before video games got ratings). Another part of the game I always got a kick out of were the moments where you can recharge by basically smoking (I'm a non-smoker with a capitol N but I always chuckle at that).

The different characters are also unique in my experience, especially the final boss.

The only word of warning I can give with this game is that the player has to constantly redo the same gunning sequences each and every time they reenter a certain section, which can get tiring. It was obviously the James Bond similarities that drew me to play, and subsequently beat this game. While there have certainly been more complex and, shall we say, more sophisticated games in the decades since, video game buffs should certainly check this one out. Needless to say, I was first in line to get the sequel The Mafat Conspiracy.

The Amityville Horror (1979)

"I checked into the murders. And I checked into the twenty year old boy who killed his parents, and his four brothers and sisters. And when he was at trial, he testified that he heard voices in the house. He heard voices in the house and the voices told him to do it! Now, I was in the house and I heard the voices, too!" -Fr. Delaney.

First off, I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've taken a hiatus for personal reasons, but plan to get back to writing more for this blog and resume work on my next book in the coming months. Having said that, as it is Halloween, here's another review I was hoping to write for Agonybooth.com As anyone who's familiar with this film knows, it was based on a real case in which the Lutz family simply fled their home in Amityville, Long Island in 1975, merely a month after purchasing it. They claimed it was because the house was haunted, although some said it was due to the pater familias George falling behind on payments he had to make. But was is true is that, the previous owners were murdered by their son a year earlier in that house. The murderer, Ronald DeFeo, also murdered his siblings and was subsequently institutionalized. George and his wife Kathy explained their sensational story to journalist Jay Anson, who would chronicle it in the best selling book The Amityville Horror. The story itself became a media sensation, even becoming a subject on In Search Of.... Naturally, this success prompted Hollywood to make a movie about it. The film begins with George (James Brolin) and Kathy (Margot Kidder) purchasing the house shortly after their marriage. Despite the fate of the previous owners, they decide to settle in quickly with Kathy's three children. Shortly afterward, Kathy's pastor Ft. Delaney (Rod Steiger) comes by to bless the house. However, his attempts to do so are thwarted by a barrage of house flies, mysteriously thriving in winter, and a disembodied voice saying "GET OUT!!!" This leads to Delaney quickly leaving the place.

Later, after finding mysterious blisters on his hands, Delaney informs his colleagues Fr. Ryan (Murray Hamilton) and Fr. Nuncio (John Larch) about what happened, but they don't offer any support. Delaney and Kathy attempt to contact each other via telephone several times but all they hear on the line is static. Meanwhile, the Lutzes are becoming unhinged by strange occurrances involving their home, including a toilet flushing black ooze, an incident where a babysitter in inexplicably stuck in a closet for hours, and George constantly stoking a fire to keep warm. The latter causes him to neglect his job and his appearance, which, naturally, makes the family take a financial hit. Once Delaney inexplicably becomes blind, Kathy looks up the house's history at the local library. She discovers that it was built on the site of a Shinnecock burial ground and how George is actually starting to resemble DeFeo, which leads her to return to the house on a stormy night.

She gets assaulted by George as he attempts to kill the children. Fortunately, he snaps out of it so he, Kathy and the kids can escape. He even gets back into their good graces by going back into the house to rescue their dog, Harry. The film was a huge success of American International Pictures, despite some initial critical pans. Personally, I thought the performances were fine and the house spooky, but not overly so (unlike the house in the crappy 2005 Amityville Horror, which overdid everything here with bad acting to boot). What I've always loved about the movie, though, was Lalo Schifrin's haunting musical score. While The Amityville Horror isn't as fun to watch as House on Haunted Hill (1958), it isn't as masterful as The Shining (1980), and it isn't as exciting as Poltergeist (1982), it has a nice, creepy atmosphere so it's understandable why it was successful. I'd take it over its shitty sequels and remake any day.

Superman II vs. Superman II

A while back, one of my colleagues at AgonyBooth.com wrote up a comparison between the theatrical and re-issued versions of Superman II. Here's my take on both versions.

As most Superman fans know, the original plan was to have the original 1978 film and it's first sequel always be a two-part epic. That is basically how it ended up, but one key event took place. Superman director Richard Donner was fired by producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind for basically taking too much time on the original film. This is why the film ends with Superman turning back time, which was supposed to occur at the end of Superman II. However, much of Superman II was already shot, so the Salkinds enlisted Richard Lester to replace Donner, as they had worked with Lester on The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers. However, Donner's firing led to both Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman walking away from Superman II (Hackman's scenes were already shot by this time, which is why he is still seen in the movie). While Superman II was a success, fans were still understandbly upset that the man who helped make the original so great was treated so poorly by the producers. In the years since, there was basically a demand for an original cut of Superman II with Donner getting directing credit. In 2006, the same year Superman Returns was released, that original cut was released and soon made available on home video. Here are the good points of the Donner cut: 1. Seeing Brando as Jor-El, which gies nice continuity with the original film. 2. Having Zod, Ursa, and Non released with the nuke Superman kept from destroying New Jersey, which is a nice bit of irony and better than the generic terrorists threatening Paris. Despite this, however, I actually prefer the Lester cut. The following reasons for this are:

1. The opening scene with Lois trying to prove Clark is Superman is out of place, especially with the flow of the rest of the film.

2. The moment where Lois discovers Clark is Superman doesn't have the heart that it did in the Lester cut and obviously looks like rehearsal footage.

3. Jor-El just magically appearing to give Clark back his powers, despite his statement that doing so would be impossible. The manner in which Clark becomes powerful again in the Lester cut is better done (the crystal Clark neglects to put back) and more effective than his old man basically saying that he changed his mind.

4. Superman turning back time after the bad guys have been taken care of. I realize this was the original ending for the second film, but the ending of the first had a more powerful reason for Superman to change time (reviving Lois). As a result, repeating it here is just repetitive. It also makes the climax less enjoyable as Clark comes across as just a super-bully when he kicks that bully's ass in the restaurant, whereas we could cheer Clark for doing so in the Lester cut.

While I prefer the original version, I certainly encourage anyone who's a Superman fan to check out the Donner cut as it does have some nice moments.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

The recent passing of great character actor Tom Sizemore prompted me to look at one of his best performances, which happens to be in one of Steven Spielberg's best films.

There really isn't much to say about this film that you probably haven't already read or heard elsewhere. Like Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket 12 years earlier, Private Ryan has a horrific but brilliantly crafted opening act that could concievably work as a short film. In this case, following a man in the present day breaking down as he visits a graveyard where numerous veterans are buried, it's a recreation of the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, also known as D-Day. Many consider this invasion the beginning of the end for Hitler's Third Reich. In the midst of this carnage is the group of soldiers that serve as our protagonists. They are led by Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks), whose eyes become the eyes of the audience as this nearly half hour sequence plays out eventually resulting in Miller and his men successfully taking the hill the field they are engaged in. This sequence is all the more overwhelming when you realize that this is simply a small glimpse into how extensive this battle was, as it stetched across the entire northern French coast.

We next cut to the generals at home, who realize that three brothers have died in quick succession in battle. General Marshall (Harve Presnell) sends orders to have a team go and retrieve the last Ryan brother James (Matt Damon), who was one of countless soldiers who were paratrooped into Europe. Hence, finding him won't be easy.

Miller receives these orders and heads out with his men Sgt. Horvath (Sizemore), Corporal Upham (Jeremy Davies), Medic Wade (Giovanni Ribisi) and Privates Reiben (Edward Burns), Caparzo (Vin Diesel), Jackson (Barry Pepper), and Mellish (Adam Goldberg). During their odyssey, Upham attempts to ingratiate himself amongst the men, as he was brought in late in the game for his fluency in German and French. They eventually find Ryan but not before losing Caparzo to a sniper, in another moment nicely reminiscent of Full Metal Jacket.

After fending off more German soldiers with the help of another regiment led by Capt. Hamill (Ted Danson), they find a Private Ryan only to find out he's not the Ryan they are looking for. Our heroes hole up in an abandoned church for the night to get to vent and for Upham to discover that there's a pool among the men to see how much personal info they can learn about Miller. The men resume their quest before the sun rises. After finding out where Ryan is from a passing soldier who is in his regiment, they stumble upon another German contingent and, against orders, Miller orders his men to take them out. They do so, although Wade ends up dying. They consider killing a surviving German out of revenge, although, following Upham's pleas that they spare him, Miller simply sends him off blindfolded while he and his men move on. Before they do, though, Reiben expresses how pissed he is by both Wade and Caparzo's death, taking those Germans out against orders, and all this to save one man. Mellish and Jackson share his sentiment while Upham and Horvath do not. The latter makes that clear as he even pulls his pistol on Reiben when he expresses that he's just going to leave, Ryan be damned!

Fortunately, Miller gets his men to calm down before things escalate. Having revealed earlier to Upham that he knows about the pool, Miller shares some info about himself before expressing that he has no emotional attachment to Ryan but they still have their orders and they should follow them. This convinces Reiben not to leave and they carry on. Sure enough they find Ryan, who is with his regiment at a village with a bridge that they are ordered to protect as they wait for reinforcements. Miller informs him of his brothers' deaths and that he's going home. But Ryan states that he can't just leave his comrades, saying that they have a right to go home as well. In a nice moment, Reiben tells him of Caparzo and Wade's deaths, which prompts Ryan to ask for their names. He is clearly humbled by the fact that two have already died looking for him but he states that his regiment are the only brothers he has left and he can't desert them until reinforcements arrive. Miller considers Ryan's words as he and Horvath walk together and have a brief chat. Horvath agrees with Ryan's sentiments, adding that they should stay and help his regiment out as they wait for reinforcements. Miller and his other men agree. Soon, German troops begin to arrive and the subsequent battle scene matches the one at the film's beginning in terms of impact. Miller, Horvath, Mellish, and Jackson all end up dying before Allied reinforcements finally show up. Miller's last words to the surviving Ryan are to earn being rescued.

This leads to the final scene with the man revealed to be Ryan over 50 years older. He asks his wife if he's led a good life before saluting in front of Miller's grave.

Some have complained about the scenes with the older Ryan (Harrison Young), but I was fine with them myself. This is because they show a man still affected by his war experiences decades after the fact and in tears over the fact that him returning from war came at the cost of good men. As I noted earlier, this is one of Sizemore's best roles. His scenes with Hanks especially hit the mark as Miller, who is rather a quiet man, seems to truly open up only to Horvath during the course of the film. This makes their respective death scenes especially poignant. Like Apocalype Now (1979), this is a war film involving a small group of men on a nightmarish quest to find one man. The film not only deservedly won Spielberg an Oscar for directing, it was also the first of (so far) five films he made with Hanks. The rest of cast is fine, too, including Damon, even though his part is relatively small. The resentment the men carried for his character somewhat spilled over onto the actor as, unlike them, Damon was not required to undergo a rigorous week-long boot camp to prep for the film, led by real life veteran Dale Dye, who appears in the film as one of Marshall's aides.

The Fabelmans (2022)

This is my look at Spielberg's latest film.

I must admit, I was initially apprhensive regarding Spielberg's previous film, West Side Story (2021). I knew he had wanted to make a musical for years but, with a number of classic musicals that have yet to be made into feature films, why would he choose to remake one that was already made into, for many, a classic movie? But, mainly by keeping how sensibilities are in this day and age, Spielberg, like Sir Kenneth Branagh with Henry V (1989), did the impossible and made a version that proved superior to its acclaimed predecessor (not having subtitles was an interesting touch). Spielberg chose to follow that truimph with a semi-auto-biographical story about a boy who discovers his love for filmmaking just as his parents are getting divorced. Anyone who has watched as many interviews with Spielberg as I have may be able to instantly pick certain aspects of the story as it plays out. A boy named Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle) first becomes enchanted with the art of filmmaking after his parents Mitzi (Michelle Williams) and Burt (Paul Dano) take him to see The Greatest Show on Earth (1952).

As the years go by, Sammy, with Mitzi's encouragement, begins making his own movies, starring his three sisters and his childhood pals.

Not long after the family moves to Arizona, though, Sammy's developing filmmaking skills lead him to discover that Mitzi is having an affair with family friend Bennie (Seth Rogan). This eventually leads to the aforementioned divorce, with Mitzi moving back to New Jersey with Bennie. As he deals with anti-Semitism from his fellow high schoolers, Sammy continues pursuing his craft and even dating fellow classmate Monica (Chloe East).

Eventually, Burt encourages Sammy to keep going after his filmmaking dreams as well. The film ends with Sammy getting an interview at CBS about working on the upcoming TV series Hogan's Heroes. This interview leads to Sammy meeting legendary filmmaker John Ford (David Lynch), whose harshly put words reinvigorate Sammy about his abilities.

In one sense, this film has elements of Ed Wood in it, as it dabbles into the appeal of filmmaking. But, much like Spielberg's E.T.-The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Catch Me If You Can (2002), the film shows how divorce can impact a child. One thing I liked about the film was how neither Mitzi nor Burt are portrayed as uncaring. This makes their separation all the more painful when it does occur. The entire cast is great, especially Lynch playing John Ford. The scene plays out pretty much the way Spielberg described the time he met Ford in the documentary Directed by John Ford. But the scene-stealer is definitely Williams, who makes the same memorable mark as Melinda Dillion, Dee Wallace, Frances O'Connor, and Kathryn Morris, all of whom played mothers in the respective Spielberg works Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977), E.T., A.I.-Artificial Intelligence (2001), and Minority Report (2002). It's also not surprising that Spielberg co-wrote the script along with Tony Kushner, who had penned Spielberg's previous works Munich, Lincoln, and West Side Story. The Fabelmans marks the fourth film Spielberg is credited with writing, after Close Encounters, Poltergeist (1982), and A.I. Appropriately, Spielberg dedicates the film to his parents, both of whom passed on just a few years prior to the movie's release.