Kill the Irishman (2011)

Did this movie escape your radar? If so, it is well worth the watch.  The long list of big names makes this story increasingly interesting as it unfolds.

Ray Stevenson is the constant in this equation.  The common thread, and a very good one. Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, Christopher Walken, Finnula Flanagan, and many others play a mix of Cleveland organized crime figures in the late 1970s.

Tony Lo Bianco, Robert Davi, Steve Schirripa, and Paul Sorvino among others play their New York connected Italian competition.  All do a super job.  This is a great all-star cast.

With a great mix of archival news footage this story unfolds as it happens.

Watch this with anyone who has lived in or been to Cleveland.

The Milagro Beanfield War

If you have not seen this, or have not seen it in a while, I recommend another watch. Robert Redford's second outing as a director and few, if any, saw this. It is a clever, charming dramady.

Chick Vennera plays a down and out guy who has lost the water rights to his Grandfather's bean farm. The ghost of his grandfather still haunts the place and inspires the locals to rebel against the evil land developers. Not a novel theme but a fun story told in a lovely way.

Sonia Braja plays a local activist who embodies the fighting spirit of the ghost and guilts the local newspaper man/ lawyer John Heard into formalizing the action. Great performances by everyone.

Well-played bit parts are played by Rubén Blades, Christopher Walken, and even Freddy Fender. Melanie Griffith even has a scene or two. Fun stuff.

The main thing to enjoy here is the subtle but power blend of music and character development. The soundtrack has stuck in my head for over 20 years. It still makes me smile.

This is an old story along the lines of David and Goliath. What makes is most worth another watch is great performance by some familiar names in one of the very early independent films. This was Redford's first big effort after the foundation of the Sundance Institute and it sets the bar very high.

Watch this with someone who has lived in New Mexico and they will explain.

Blast From The Past

Director Hugh Wilson has not told many stories, but he has some very good ones to his credit. "Blast From The Past" is among them. His first work to receive national attention was on television as the creator, writer, and executive producer of WKRP In Cincinnati. If you have seen it, you will recognize his hand in everything since. Comedy with a very sharp edge, is his tool and his gift to us.

Imagine a Cal Tech physics genius with a tilt towards the doomsday propheteers of the 1950s. So, he builds not just a bomb shelter, but a bomb fortress where he and his family can survive for 50 years if necessary. When the unimaginable happens, he and his family are prepared.

Christopher Walken (Deer Hunter, Milagro Beanfield War, and Catch Me If You Can) is perfect as the over-prepared patriarch, and shows us just what being a father in the 50's was all about.

Sissy Spacek (Carrie, Coal Miner's Daughter, and Raggedy Man) starts out as June Cleaver and ends up as Roseanne Conner. Ouch. But, along the way I totally enjoyed her transformation, and I even found myself empathising with her.

The story however, is really about the son, born to the above couple shortly after sealing themselves inside the bunker. Brendan Fraser (Encino Man, With Honors, and Crash) is allowed to go back to the surface to search for a suitable wife among whatever survivors there might be.

Who does he find among the thriving metropolis of LA, oblvious to the fact that a family is living underneath them, but Alicia Silverstone (this is the only thing she has done that I like aside from the old Aerosmith videos). Somehow these two complete opposites find each other and make it work.

Supporting these four main characters is a wonderful cast Angelenos, all of whom locals should recognize as their friends and neighbors. The night club scene alone is worth the rental. No folling, trust me.

Watch this movie with someone who remembers the 1950's.