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Reviews
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Director's Cut! Director's Cut!
I'm not going to bother reviewing the actual film because everything's been said already. But maybe somebody important will read this: give us a Director's cut on video/DVD so we can see the stars that weren't used like Mickey Rourke, Bill Pullman, Lukas Haas, Martin Sheen, and Jason Patric(?) And
so we can see more of John Travolta and George Clooney. If they won't do this for Apocalypse Now, at least do it for The Thin Red Line.
Firecreek (1968)
Underrated but great
Firecreek is one of the most underrated great westerns ever because it doesn't have a lot of flash. It's just gritty and tense. I think this is the best small-town-sheriff-gets-pushed-too-far western. Fonda proves he is better when he's bad (pre-Once Upon a Time in the West) and Jack Elam is always a plus. The real surprise is Gary Lockwood (2001) in a powerhouse performance of pure evil. Jimmy Stewart of course is the sheriff and I didn't really like him as an actor until I saw this film. The final shootout is great, pitchfork and all. Firecreek isn't for all tastes, but I recommend it, especially for noir-type fans.
Internal Affairs (1990)
A well textured cop film
Internal Affairs is a big-budget, star-laden, integral version of some of those made-for-cable softcore thrillers. Richard Gere gives his most evil performance(and one of his best) as a corrupt cop and master manipulator, and Andy Garcia is his IAD adversary. This movie's got good atmosphere, camera angles, and of course acting delivered with jaw clenching conviction (particularly by Garcia). Billy Baldwin also is good as Gere's partner and his fate is one
of the most disturbing scenes in recent cop film history. I was
reminded of Q&A in this movie's graphic imagery. I'm amazed Garcia isn't more of a star after this.
Dead Bang (1989)
A funny, witty cop-action film
Being a Don Johnson fan, I liked this film. It's also got a good director(John Frankenheimer). Johnson's a Dirty Harry-type cop this time with all the stereotypical trimmings of the role i.e. divorced, drinks, never sees his kids, no personal life etc. This movie's got action, it's witty, funny, satirical, and it's fact-based but it's not Serpico. William Forsythe is particularly laughable as an FBI straight-man.