An Olympic Film Review: Personal Best (dir by Robert Towne)

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Like all good people, I am currently obsessed with the Olympics. I was hoping that I would be able to post an Olympic-related film review every day during the games but, unfortunately, regular life got in the way and it didn’t happen. I’ll try to post what I can today and then, for the rest of this upcoming week, I will be concentrating on reviewing films that have been nominated for best picture.

(Interestingly enough, only one Olympic-related film has been nominated for best picture and I reviewed Chariots of Fire years ago.)

The 1982 film Personal Best is a movie that I recorded off of Cinemax last year, specifically so I could review it during the Winter Games. That may have been a mistake on that part because Personal Best doesn’t actually deal with the Winter Games. Though it’s a film about athletes training to compete in the Olympics, they’re all runners, swimmers, and pole vaulters. In short, they’re all hoping to compete at the Summer Games (which, for my money, are nowhere near as much fun as the Winter Games). On top of that, no one in Personal Best actually gets to compete at the Olympics.

Of course, that wasn’t how things were supposed to go originally. While doing research for this review, I discovered that Personal Best had quite a long and somewhat tortured production history. The directorial debut of the famous (and famously slow) screenwriter Robert Towne, Personal Best was originally meant to showcase athletes preparing for the 1980 Summer Olympics. However, shortly after production began in 1980, it was announced that the United States would be boycotting the Olympic Games and the script was hastily changed to reflect that fact. Shortly after the boycott was announced, production was put on hold when the Screen Actors Guild went on strike. In what the New York Times described as being “a ploy to allow the movie to become an independent production and resume shooting during the strike,” Towne filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. The end result of that lawsuit was that David Geffen stepped in and financed the film.

This led to yet another lawsuit, this one filed by Towne against Geffen. Towne claimed that Geffen forced him to sign a “coerced agreement” that not only lost him the rights to a script he had been working on about Tarzan but also left him dead broke. Geffen, in that same New York Times article, is quoted as saying, “Robert Towne took a picture budgeted at $7 million – ‘Personal Best’ – and made it incompetently for $16 million,” and that he agreed to take over financing because, ‘no other studio would pick the film up because Robert Towne had spent $5 million, and there wasn’t a coherent scene in the entire movie.”

I know what you’re saying. “That’s great, Lisa, but what’s the actual film about?”

Personal Best, for the most part, is about bodies in motion. Oh, don’t get me wrong. There’s a plot. Chris Cahill (Mariel Hemingway) is a young runner who hopes to someday compete in the Olympics. She finds herself torn between following the advice of her lover, Torry (Patrice Donnelly) and the advice of her manipulative coach (Scott Glenn) and things get even more complicated when she enters into a heterosexual romance with a swimmer named Denny (Kenny Moore). Both Towne and the film deserve credit for the forthright way that it portrays Chris and Torry’s relationship and also for its unapologetic portrayal of women who are just as competitive and determined to win as men.

But really, the film doesn’t seem to be that concerned with the story that it’s telling. The film itself is far more interested in the images of professional athletes competing and training. This is one of those films that is full of slow-motion scenes of people running down tracks and attempting to jump over hurdles. Most of the cast was made up of actual athletes and Towne’s camera lovingly captures every single ripple of muscle as they move across the screen. Watching the film, it was hard not to be reminded of the way Leni Reifenstahl fetishized athleticism in Olympia. This is a film that loves, celebrates, and comes close to worshiping athletes. That wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that the film lingers for so long on those bodies that it’s hard not to eventually get bored with them. I mean, there’s only so many times you can watch someone jump over a hurdle in slow motion before you don’t care anymore.

And it turns out that, no matter how impressive the athletes may look, you do need to tell a compelling story, especially if, like Personal Best, your film is over two hours long. As written, Chris Cahill is not particularly likable or even that interesting. Her life revolves around competition and she really has no other interests. That may be a realistic portrayal of what it takes to be the best but there’s a reason why most sports biopics are heavily fictionalized. Chris spends a lot of time getting mad and crying and it gets a little bit old after a while. Perhaps it would be different if we believed that Chris actually was one of the best runners in the world but the film never quite convinces us. (It doesn’t help that Mariel Hemingway spends the entire film surrounded by actual track and field athletes. Hemingway does her best with the role but it’s always easy to tell who is actually an athlete and who is just acting.) On the other hand, the coach and Torry are far more interesting characters but both of them keep getting pushed to the side.

Personal Best is a film that will be best appreciated by people who are as obsessed with athletics as the film is.

Music Video of the Day: Beautiful Thing by Alexis Taylor (2018, dir by Edwin Burdis)

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For whatever reason, this video reminds me of the classic Jean Rollin film, The Grapes of Death. Maybe it’s all the ominous shots of what, on the surface, appears to be a tranquil countryside.

Or maybe I just naturally compare everything that I see to a Jean Rollin film.

Regardless, enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Make Me Uncomfortable by Seavera (2018, dir by Josh Harris)

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is definitely one of the creepier videos that I’ve seen this year. Of course, I also recently rewatched a Canadian film called Ticket to Heaven, which was all about strange cults and stuff. This video definitely reminded me of not only that movie but also 2011’s Sound of My Voice.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: The Flood by Katie Melua (2010, dir by Kevin Godley)

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, I decided to go with this music video because it’s been raining non-stop since Monday and I have a feeling that, on Thursday morning, I’m going look outside and discover that I’m right in the middle of a flood myself.

Plus, this video has a bunch of half-naked men doing Spartan stuff with their staffs. That’s always a plus.

Enjoy!

Lisa Reviews An Oscar Nominee: Atlantic City (dir by Louis Malle)

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

(With the Oscars scheduled to be awarded on March 4th, I have decided to review at least one Oscar-nominated film a day. These films could be nominees or they could be winners. They could be from this year’s Oscars or they could be a previous year’s nominee! We’ll see how things play out. Today, I take a look at the 1981 best picture nominee, Atlantic City!)

Welcome to Atlantic City, New Jersey!

It’s a city with a storied past and an uncertain future. It’s a place where old men on street corners can tell you stories about meeting Bugsy Siegel in the lobby of an old hotel that’s just been demolished. The decrepit remains of old Atlantic City co-exists next to half-completed luxury casinos and hotels. It’s a place where business deals are celebrated in the Frank Sinatra Suite and where a woman trying to make a very important phone call might find herself being serenaded by Robert Goulet.

It’s also the home of Lou (Burt Lancaster). From the minute we first see Lou, it’s obvious that he’s a man past his time. He walks up and down the worst streets of Atlantic City, dressed in a gray suit and trench coat. With his white mustache and his coolly professional manner, he looks like he belongs in an old movie and not hanging out in his shabby apartment or drinking in the local bar. When Lou was younger, he was acquainted with all of the big names: Siegel, Luciano, Costello, Lansky. Of course, he wasn’t ever much of a mobster. He used to run numbers. If pressed, he’ll tell some interesting stories but it’s not difficult to tell that he’s lying. (At one point, it’s mentioned that Lou’s Mafia nickname was Numbnut.) Now, Lou is an old man. Much like a condemned Atlantic City hotel, he’ll soon be due for demolition. He spends most of his time taking care of Grace (Kate Reid), the widow of a mobster. When he’s not responding to Grace’s demands, he watches his neighbor, Sally (Susan Sarandon).

Sally is originally from Canada. She came to America looking for a better life and ended up working as a waitress. Under the strict tutelage of Joseph (Michel Piccoli), Sally is learning how to be a blackjack dealer. Someday, she hopes that she’ll be able to move out of her apartment and into a communal house on the beach. Until then, she works hard every day and then returns to her apartment, little realizing that she’s being watched by Lou.

And then David shows up.

David (played by Canadian character actor Robert Joy) is Sally’s estranged husband. Sally knows that David can’t be trusted but she reluctantly allows him and his pregnant girlfriend (Hollis McLaren) to stay with her for a few days. David has stolen a large amount of cocaine from the Philadelphia mob. David wants to sell it but he quickly discovers that no one in Atlantic City is willing to deal with someone who they don’t know. Fortunately, for David, he runs into Lou. Lou, looking for a chance to be a real gangster and also wanting a chance to get closer to Sally, agrees to help David sell the cocaine. Unfortunately, for David, two hit men from Philadelphia have traced him to Atlantic City and are determined to not only get their cocaine back but to also kill David as well.

It may sound like the set up for a standard crime thriller but Atlantic City is actually a thoughtful meditation on getting older, falling in love, and dealing with the fact that things change. Lou is a relic of the past, looking for one last chance to make his mark before, like the older buildings on the boardwalk, he’s demolished and forgotten about. Sally and David are the dreamers, hoping to build a future in America.

Louis Malle directs at a leisurely pace. Those looking for a hyperkinetic gangster film will be disappointed. There’s only two acts of violence in Atlantic City and Malle presents both of them in a low-key, matter-of-fact fashion. Instead, Malle focuses on exploring the lives and dreams of the film’s characters and Burt Lancaster rewards that attention with an absolutely outstanding performance as a dignified man who knows his best days are behind him but who still refuses to give in to defeat. It’s one of Lancaster’s best performances and he was rewarded with an Oscar nomination for best actor.

Atlantic City was nominated for best picture but lost to Chariots of Fire.

An Olympic Horror Film Review: Fatal Games (dir by Michael Elliot)

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Like all good people, I am currently obsessed with the Winter Olympics! As a result, over the past two weeks, I’ve been watching and reviewing a lot of Olympic-themed films. Today, I watched the 1984 slasher film, Fatal Games!

If you look at the poster above, you’ll see that Fatal Games was advertised as being a film about “America’s Olympic hopefuls … competing in the Fatal Games!” That’s kind of true. The Olympics are frequently mentioned throughout Fatal Games but technically, no one in the movie is actually a member of the Olympic team. At least not yet. Instead, they’re all students at a special athletic academy. Apparently, it’s supposed to be a high school, though we don’t ever see anyone taking a math test or attending English class or anything like that. Instead, it appears that everyone at the school spends all day practicing gymnastics, swimming, or running. In fact, it appears that there’s only 20 students at the school and, at most, 5 members of the faculty. Maybe it’s meant to be like that school that all of the clones attended in Never Let Me Go. Either that or it’s just an indication that Fatal Games was an extremely low-budget film.

Anyway, seven of the students have just won some sort of regional competition and now they’re getting ready for nationals! And, if they win at nationals, they’ll get to go to the Olympics. However, they might not even make it to nationals. Someone is stalking the blandly likable athletes and using a javelin to pick them off, one-by-one.

Interestingly, it takes people a while to notice that the number of potential Olympians is steadily dwindling. Instead, people say stuff like, “Hey, have you seen Nancy?” “Not for a few days.” “Hey, have you seen Sue Ellen?” “Didn’t she got to San Francisco to see her boyfriend?”

Well, I guess it’s understandable. It’s not like anyone in the film is going to school to develop their critical thinking skills. They’re athletes. Who cares about all of the people mysteriously disappearing? They have athletic stuff to worry about!

Fatal Games is pretty much a typical mid-80s slasher. Interestingly enough, it’s structured like a giallo. The murderer dresses in black and we get all of the required close-ups of the killer’s gloved hands. The film introduces several potential suspects but doesn’t reveal the killer’s identity until the final ten minutes.

Is it the overly critical track coach?

Is it the creepy doctor?

Is it the nurse who is worried that the athletes are being injected with too many hormones? (Obviously, she’s seen Goldengirl.)

Is it the swim coach?

Or is it her girlfriend, the swimmer who didn’t qualify for nationals?

Is it the gymnast whose grades are slipping?

Could it be the other gymnast who is always telling jokes?

Or the runner who has father issues?

Or is it Joe, the token weird guy?

They’re all given a scene or two to establish that they have a potential motive for wanting the seven aspiring Olympians dead. When the killer and the killer’s motive is finally revealed, it’s so over-the-top and stupid that you can’t help but admire the film for actually going there. The filmmakers obviously said, “Forget trying to make sense. WE’RE GOING FOR IT!”

Anyway, the main problem with Fatal Games is that the murderer uses a javelin and, as a result, there’s a lot of scenes of the killer running through narrow school hallways, carrying this goofy-looking javelin. Don’t get me wrong. Javelins are sharp and scary and I wouldn’t want one thrown at me. But still, when someone spends more than five minutes running down a narrow hallway while carrying a javelin, it just looks silly. Let’s not even think about the logistics of using a javelin to kill someone in broad daylight without anyone else noticing.

That said, as silly and predictable as Fatal Games may have been, there were a few moments of inspired lunacy. I already mentioned the ending, which is so over-the-top and silly that you can’t help but admire it. But there’s also a few shots that are genuinely effective. A scene where the killer suddenly appears in a doorway was handled well. There’s also an oddly dream-like sequence in which a swimmer practices in the pool, little realizing that the killer is floating underneath her. How did the killer get in the pool, with the javelin, without anyone noticing? Who knows? It’s still an effective scene.

Finally, I have to mention that Fatal Games opens with a song called “Take It All The Way,” which is so generically 80s that it’s oddly brilliant. It’s almost as good as Graduation Day‘s “The Winner.”

Fatal Games is currently available for viewing on YouTube.

Music Video Of The Day: Modern Parenting by Creep Show (2018, dir by Chris Turner)

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

“Agck!”

That’s the best way that I can sum up my reaction to today’s music video of the day. This video is for Creep Show’s Modern Parenting and it’s the type of video that makes you want to pick up the phone and call whoever it is that you should call when children are living in deserted buildings and destroying televisions.

That said, I like this video. I like the atmosphere of that deserted building. Being young, alone, and angry is both scary and exhilarating and this video captures that feeling.

Enjoy!

Lisa Reviews An Oscar Nominee: On Golden Pond (dir by Mark Rydell)

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On Golden Pond takes place in a cottage that’s located on a lake called Golden Pond. Hence, the title. As far as title’s go, it’s not a bad one. It’s a film about an elderly couple who spends every summer in that cottage. They’re in their golden years so I guess it makes sense that they would feel an affinity for Golden Pond.

That said, I think that an even better title for the film would be Everything Annoys Norman.

Norman Thayer, Jr. (Henry Fonda) is a cantankerous old man. He’s 79 and not particularly looking forward to celebrating his 80th birthday. He’s a retired college professor. His wife claims that the last time Norma was really happy was when Franklin Roosevelt was elected president. Norman likes to fish and still brags about the time he caught a legendary trout named Walter.

What Norman doesn’t like is having to deal with the world. When he stops to get gas, he loudly complains that, “in his day,” gas only cost eighty-five cents. When he’s told that there’s another “middle-aged” couple on the lake, he says that, unless he’s going to live to be 150, he’s not middle-aged. He gets frustrated because his memory isn’t as good as it used to be. When he goes out for a walk in the woods, he forgets where the path is and he has to return to the house. Sometimes, he calls people by the wrong name. At one point, he struggles to use a landline phone. (I can only imagine how annoyed Norman would be if he was alive today.) Norman doesn’t like to deal with anyone other than his wife.

Ethel (Katharine Hepburn) is Norman’s wife. She loves him. When she hears Norman referred to as being “a son of a bitch,” she replies, “That son of a bitch is my husband.” Ethel is used to Norman and his ways. As she puts it, she understands that he’s like a “lion” who has to roar just to remind himself that he still can. Ethel is … well, basically, she’s Katharine Hepburn.

Ethel has invited their daughter, Chelsea (Jane Fonda), to celebrate Norman’s birthday with them. Norman and Chelsea have a strained relationship. It’s implied that Norman was an emotionally distant and overly critical father and that Chelsea has never been able to forgive him. When she shows up with her new boyfriend, Bill Ray (Dabney Coleman) and his 13 year-old son, Billy Ray (Doug McKeon), Norman barely bothers to acknowledge her. With Bill and Chelsea planning on vacation in Europe, they ask if Billy can stay at the cottage with Norman and Ethel. Ethel agrees. Norman acquiesces.

On Golden Pond is a film that I wanted to like more than I actually did. After all, the film features two classic actors, Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn, appearing in their only film together. (Both Henry Fonda and Hepburn won Oscars for their work here.) Henry Fonda gives a good performance as a strong-willed man who is struggling to deal with his own mortality. As for Hepburn, it’s not a great performance, largely because Ethel is a thinly written role, but she’s Katharine Hepburn so it doesn’t matter. But almost everything about the film — from the tasteful music to the pretty but not overwhelming cinematography — feels more like something you’d expect to find in a television production instead of a feature film. On Golden Pond was based on a play and, with almost all of the action set in that cottage, it really doesn’t escape its theatrical origins. That said, it’s a sweet movie. The love between Norman and Ethel feels real. If nothing else, the film gave the great Henry Fonda his only Oscar.

On Golden Pond was nominated for Best Picture but lost to Chariots of Fire.

A Winter Game Film Review: Goon: Last of the Enforcers (dir by Jay Baruchel)

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here at the Shattered Lens, Leonard Wilson is our resident hockey expert. He can tell you all about the in and outs of the game in general and the New York Rangers in specific.

Myself, I know very little about hockey. Here’s what I do know:

It’s played on the ice and with a puck.
There are a lot of fights.
All of my Canadian friends love it.
It’s a sport that is mentioned many times on Degrassi.
Two hockey players won the 22nd season of The Amazing Race.
Back in 2011, I followed Arleigh’s suggestion and watched a hockey movie called Goon. Surprisingly, I really, really liked it.

Six years ago, I started my review of Goon by admitting that I didn’t know anything hockey so not much has changed. However, while I still may not know much about hockey, I am currently obsessed with the Winter Olympics. And, of course, hockey is a big part of the Winter Games. Since I’m currently watching movies about winter sports, today seemed like the perfect time to watch 2016’s Goon: The Last of The Enforcers and get caught up on the story of Doug Glatt.

Who is Doug Glatt? As played by Seann William Scott, Doug Glatt is probably one of the nicest guys that you could ever hope to meet. He’s not particularly smart. He’s the type who responds to almost comment with a slightly confused smile. He tend to take things literally. But he’s a genuinely sweet guy and it’s impossible not to like him.

Except, of course, when he’s on the ice. Doug is a semi-pro hockey player, playing for the Halifax Highlanders. Even his biggest fans will admit that Doug isn’t the best hockey player of all time. However, no one can throw a punch like he can. Doug’s an enforcer. His specialty is beating up the opposing team. When his coach (Kim Coates) needs to intimidate the other team, he sends Doug out with orders to beat someone up. Doug has no problem breaking someone’s nose but he usually apologizes afterward. He’s known as The Thug.

Doug is married to Eva (Allison Pill), who loves hockey but, now that she’s pregnant, she worries about Doug getting seriously injured. These worries come true when Doug gets into a fight with Anders Cain (Wyatt Russell), a fearsome enforcer on another team. (Anders just happens to be the son of the owner of the Highlanders.) Cain not only leaves Doug crumpled up on the ice but he also injures Doug’s right shoulder, making it difficult for Doug to throw a punch with his right hand. It appears that Doug’s playing days are over. Doug ends up working in the storage room of an insurance company while the Highlanders continue on without him. Adding insult to injury, Anders is soon signed by the Highlanders and given Doug’s old position as team captain.

As much as Doug tries to move on, he keeps finding himself drawn back to hockey. When he runs into a former rival, Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber), who is now making a living as a glorified gladiator, Doug realizes that he can learn how to fight with his left fist. But with Eva not wanting him to fight anymore, Doug is forced to decide which team he’s going to play for, the Highlanders or his family?

Especially when compared to the first Goon, Goon: Last of the Enforcers is an extremely busy film. Beyond Doug trying to adjust to life off the ice, the film also deals with Anders Cain’s relationship with his father, the locker room shenanigans of the Highlanders, Ross Rhea’s attempt to make a comeback, and the antics of obnoxious sports reporter Chad Bailey (T.J. Miller). That’s a lot for one film to deal with and it’s not surprising that the end result is an uneven mishmash of raunchy comedy and sports-themed melodrama. Whereas the first Goon worked because it kept things simple and sincere, Goon: Last of the Enforcers is way too complicated for its own good.

That said, as played by Seann William Scott, Doug is just as likable as he was in the first film and Scott and Allison Pill still make for an adorable couple. In fact, the entire cast does a pretty good job, especially Wyatt Russell and Liev Schreiber. The film doesn’t really work but, for fans of the first film, it’s still enjoyable enough. If nothing else, it’s nice to see how things work out for Doug Glatt.