I was searching endlessly for a movie to watch today and I came across one that instantly peaked my interest. Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club) was one of the coolest bad asses in the 80’s and so I decided to watch him in From The Hip for today’s film. Robin Weathers (Nelson) is a trial lawyer in Boston who is sick and tired of taking those types of cases. He wants to be a full fledged defense attorney, but he can’t do so at his firm. That is until he starts to be a rebel rouser in the courtroom which brings him lots of attention and a big win. After that big win, he is given a huge promotion at the firm despite others not wanting him to so they set him up with a murder case they feel he is guaranteed to lose. The film also stars John Hurt (V For Vendetta) as Douglas Benoit, Elizabeth Perkins (Big) as Jo Ann, David Alan Grier (In The Army Now) as Steve Hadley, Darren McGavin (A Christmas Story) as Craig Duncan, Dan Monahan (Porky’s) as Larry, Nancy Marchand (The Sopranos) as Roberta Winnaker, Allan Arbus (Coffy) as Phil Ames, Ray Walston (Fast Times At Ridgemont High) as 1ST Judge, Edward Winter (Porky’s II: The Next Day) as Raymond Torkenson, and the film was directed by Bob Clark (Porky’s).
This film in my opinion is actually two different movies in one and obviously I’ll explain it to you. The film starts off as this outrageous comedy about a jokester using the system to get ahead by fooling his peers. Then the film turns into an serious crime drama for the second half of the film as he ponders whether what he is doing is right or wrong. I am and always have been a huge fan of Judd Nelson and he definitely does not disappoint in this film, but the real dynamic of this film goes to John Hurt. Hurt absolutely raises the bar for Judd Nelson in this film with his brilliant performance which brings out the brilliance in Judd Nelson. John Hurt’s performance in the film is actually exhilarating for a film that otherwise is trying to find it’s identity. The other thing that bothered me about this film is that it takes place in Boston, but was filmed in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. So, I am assuming for the most part that the picture above is not the city of Boston. The only thing that was authentic to the city of Boston was the Boston Celtics memorabilia and the New England Patriots sweatshirt he wears. There are barely any outside scenes shot for this film other than on the roof of Nelson’s roof which is OK, but I love shots of the city of Boston. Don’t however hold that against the film because it is enjoyable to watch. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
Soon enough you’ll figure out that I am a fan of Martin Scorsese (The Wolf Of Wall Street), but I honestly did not know that he directed today’s film. In 1999, Scorsese directed the film Bringing Out The Dead which starred Nicholas Cage (Raising Arizona) as paramedic Frank Pierce. Frank has been on the job for way too long to the point that he is burnt out and the ghosts of patients that he couldn’t save are starting to haunt him whether he is on the job or off. Over the course of three turbulent and mind exhausting nights, Frank will have to try and survive the nights without completely losing his mind in this drama/thriller. The film also stars John Goodman (Death Sentence) as Larry, Patricia Arquette (A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors) as Mary Burke, Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible) as Marcus, Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan) as Tom Wolls, Marc Anthony (The Substitute) as Noel, Mary Beth Hurt (The Exorcism Of Emily Rose) as Nurse Constance, Nestor Serrano (The Day After Tomorrow) as Dr. Hazmat, Aida Turturro (The Sopranos) as Nurse Crupp, Cliff Curtis (Blow) as Cy Coates, and Sonja Sohn (The Wire) as Kanita.
This film is so intense in just about everything and it’s awesome. Nicholas Cage does a great job playing a guy who is just going through absolute hell and looks like he’s been going through absolute hell. This is one of those rare times that I really enjoyed his performance because he’s hit or miss with me. The film is very dark in nature so it has that look that Shutter Island had with it’s dark color tones with the bright reds, etc. I really enjoyed the scenes where every thing is all of a sudden sped up to make them look even more crazier than they are. The film also shows you how dark and dingy the city can be and it shows you sections you’ve never seen before as well. I love how Scorsese almost focuses on that as well like he’s making the city a vital character as well. I have to say that I truly enjoyed the side story between Patricia Arquette and Nicholas Cage because they are both struggling with inner demons while Cage is being haunted by the dead, she is dealing with a dark past of her own. It definitely added a cool dynamic to the film that kept the story rolling. Martin Scorsese is definitely one of my favorite directors and there are a lot of films that I still have not seen that will probably show up on this challenge. Check out the film for yourself, I am giving the movie an B for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 