Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 27, 1993 TAG: 9303270053
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The right bad guy can turn formula escapism into real entertainment. He (or sometimes she) can transform a good movie into something you remember and want to watch again years later. Note these five - two new releases and three from the back of the rack - that definitely are worth another rental.
" Under Siege," due in video stores Wednesday, would be just another exercise in Stephen Segal-martial arts mayhem if it weren't for the supporting characters, particularly two outrageous villains played by Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey, who steal the movie.
The story couldn't be simpler - "Die Hard" on a battleship - and director Andrew Davis got a fine performance out of the USS Missouri. As the ship is about to go into mothballs, a well-armed, ruthless gang of renegade espionage types takes it over and tries to sell its nuclear weapons to the highest bidder. A cook (Seagal) and a visiting Playboy model (Erika Eleniak) are their only opposition, and it would appear that these two have no chance against the typically overwhelming odds.
Jones plays the gang's ringleader with such zesty relish that you're almost on his side; and, as his henchman (the henchman is always a pivotal role in this kind of movie), Gary Busey is at his out-of-control psychotic best. They're nothing less than terrific, and they seem to be having a grand time while our alleged hero scurries around and thwarts their dastardly schemes.
Yes, it's all pretty derivative. But to counterbalance the connect-the-dots plot, the script by J.F. Lawton ("Pretty Woman," "Mistress") is filled with irreverent humor. Even viewers who, like me, think that Seagal has all the charisma of an eggplant can appreciate "Under Siege" for its cheeky energy.
"Kung Fu Rascals," on the other hand, is a slapstick comedy aimed squarely at fans of the genre. Filmmaker Steve Wang (star/writer/producer/editor/director/ etc.) worked with an extremely low budget and made every penny count. Most of the film is run-of-the-mill, juvenile martial arts, but it ends with a long special-effects sequence that's just astonishing.
Our three heroes - Chen (Wang), Lao Zo (Troy Fronin) and Repo (Johnnie Saiko Espiritu) - are young warriors who are closer to Larry, Mo and Curly than Bruce Lee. They've stolen a treasure map to "the power most big" from the evil Bamboo Man. He has dispatched his porcine henchman Raspmutant, the Mad Monk, to get it back. When all else fails, Bamboo summons the giant Nio-Titan.
That's where "Kung Fu Rascals" becomes so inventive. Nio-Titan is a ponderous stone giant who's almost as impressive as Talos, the bronze man in Ray Harryhausen's "Jason and the Argonauts." But Wang couldn't afford stop-motion animation effects.
Instead, he used a man (Ed Yang) in costume, unusual lenses and forced perspective to create the illusion that Nio-Titan is 30 feet tall. Even when you know the tricks, it works. As for the rest of the film, it's made for a young audience, with lots of "schwing" sound effects and potty jokes, but it's so bizarre and slow in spots that it won't appeal to all viewers.
If, however, you'd prefer to revisit some of the movies' best villains, take another look at the second and third James Bond movies.
In "From Russia With Love," Lotte Lenya and Robert Shaw are letter-perfect as Rosa Klebb, with her lethal brogans, and Red Grant, the assassin. Their initial meeting is one of the grand moments in the Bond series. Later, the big fight between Shaw and Sean Connery (and stunt doubles Jack Cooper and Bob Simmons) on the Orient Express is hard to top.
But the producers came close to topping it a year later with "Goldfinger." Gert Frobe in the title role and Harold Sakata, as Oddjob - he of the deadly derby - may have been the most formidable foes that 007 ever faced. Best scenes: Goldfinger's interrogation with the laser ("I don't expect you to talk, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!"), the knock-down-drag-out inside Fort Knox and, of course, the car-crunching.
Finally, no column about great villains would be complete without at least a mention of Charles Boyer in "Gaslight." Ingrid Bergman won an Oscar for her role in the 1944 film. Boyer was nominated, and though he lost to Bing Crosby in "Going My Way," the screen may never have seen a more despicable monster. As the handsome, manipulative husband trying to drive his lovely wife mad, Boyer is the embodiment of evil. Though he was known best as a romantic leading man, this role was probably his best.
"Gaslight" is one of those movies that gets better every time you watch it.
Next week: The game is afoot!
New releases
The Player: ***1/2 Stars Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Whoopie Goldberg. Written by Michael Tolkin. Directed by Robert Altman. Columbia Tristar (New Line). 122 min. Rated R for strong language, brief nudity, sexual content, violence.
Altman and Tolkin's version of "Sunset Blvd." is a relentless satiric attack on Hollywood and the movie business. It's the story of a shrewd producer (Tim Robbins) involved in murder and studio politics. Dozens of stars show up in cameos as themselves. While this one isn't another "Nashville," it's certainly as good as Altman's better work: "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and "M*A*S*H."
Gas, Food, Lodging: ***1/2 Stars Fairuza Balk, Ione Skye, Brooke Adams. Directed by Allison Anders. (Columbia Tristar) Rated R. 103 minutes.
Sensitive, original family drama about a mother and two daughters still smarting from the effects of the desertion of the man of the house many years earlier. Roadside atmosphere and a script and direction that's witty and touching but unsentimental despite the subject.
by CNB