Honeydripper (2007) - Sayles' warm Alabama blues yarn

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Warm images of vivacious actors and the musical theme are front and center on this poster for John Sayles' Honeydripper

Pine Top Purvis' Alabama bar is on the downturn in competition with a more popular newer establishment circa 1950, when a young man rides in to town on the train, bringing with him a gift for a different type of guitar-playing.

 

Honeydripper is written, directed and edited by great New-Yorker filmmaker John Sayles (Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980)).

Sayles' fiery lines and some warm, dedicated performances from Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)), Charles S. Dutton (Android Cop (2014)), LisaGay Hamilton (The Blacklist (2019, TV-series)), young Gary Clark, Jr. (Elvis (2022)) and Yaya DaCosta (The Nice Guys (2016)) as China Doll, who have great chemistry, and Stacy Keach (Tokyo Trial (2017)) as the bastard local sheriff, all help make this slowly paced yarn worthwhile. Along the way you may think to yourself that, for the kind of story this is, it really isn't that great of a tale. But the aforementioned qualities make it work fine nonetheless, up until the film's marvelously rocking culmination. Sayles chooses to hold back in terms of violence and pathos, and his ode to early rock also works without these popular spices.

 

Related posts:

 

John Sayles: 2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Casa de los Babys (2003) - Sayles' great adoption drama 

The Howling (1981) - Colorful escapade from Dante, Sayles et al. (co-writer)

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Estimated 5 mil. $

Box office: 544k $

= Box office disaster (returned 0.10 times its cost)

[Honeydripper premiered 10 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 123 minutes. Shooting took place from September 2006 - ? in Alabama. The film opened #61 to a 9k $ weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #55 and in 26 theaters (different weeks), grossing 267k $ (49.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 168k $ (30.9 %) and Spain with 85k $ (15.6 %). The film won a National Board of Review award, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Sayles returned with Amigo (2010). Glover returned in Be Kind Rewind (2008); Hamilton in Deception (2008); and Dutton in The Third Nail (2007). Honeydripper is fresh at 69 % with a 6.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Honeydripper?

Nick of Time (1995) - Good performances in taut Badham thriller

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A high-stakes dilemma  is attempted as baiting tag-line on this ocher-colored poster for John Badham's Nick of Time

A young male accountant has his daughter taken hostage in Los Angeles, and the kidnappers demand that he kills the state governor during her soon to begin campaign event! - What will he do!?!

Nick of Time is written by Patrick Sheane Duncan (The Pornographer (1994)) and directed by great English filmmaker John Badham (The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976)).

It is a well-made, exciting thriller in Hitchcock style at times; one that creates a paranoid tension, which may make you wonder, if the plot is really merely the result of an insane protagonist's wild delusions.

Johnny Depp (Benny & Joon (1993)) and Christopher Walken (Kiss Toledo Goodbye (1999)) are good, and the film has sharp supporting performances from Charles S. Dutton (Threshold (2005-06)) and Marsha Mason (I Love Trouble (1994)) as the governor. Parts of the plot don't completely add up, but basically it is solid. The entire film takes place in real-time, (meaning that the plot plays out minute-for-minute in the total 90 minute playtime), and this is a high-wire act that also succeeds pretty well here.

 

Related post:

 

John Badham: Dracula (1979) - Badham's sensuous, exceptional adaptation

 

Watch a 4-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 33 mil. $

Box office: In excess of 8.1 mil. $ (North America only)

= Uncertain but likely a mega-flop (projected return of 0.45 times its cost)

[Nick of Time was released 22 November (North America) and runs 90 minutes. Depp was paid 5 mil. $ for his performance. Shooting took place from April - June 1995 in Toronto, Ontario and in Los Angeles, California. The film opened #9, its highest placement, to a 2.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 8.1 mil. $. Regrettably the international gross numbers have not been made public. With a projected world total gross of 15 mil. $, the film ranks as a mega-flop. Roger Ebert gave it a 2.5/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. Badham returned with Incognito (1997). Depp returned in Divine Rapture (1995, short) and theatrically in Donnie Brasco (1997). Nick of Time is rotten at 31 % with a 4.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Nick of Time?

Legion (2010) - Stewart's religious action horror nonsense

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+ 3rd Worst Movie of the Year

Paul Betttany with wings on this brooding poster for Scott Stewart's Legion

God has lost faith in humanity (for some unknown reason), and so He sends his army of angels to annihilate us. But one woman is pregnant with a savior, and one angel fights for us.

This blasphemous mess is served with terrible dialog, (courtesy of writer Peter Schink (Gotham Cafe (2005), short) and co-writer-director Scott Stewart (Dark Skies (2013))), which is so sentimental and thick as to be completely ridiculous. The only extenuating element of this awful film is some of its effects, namely a couple of its monsters, an old lady zombie and one weirdo with very long arms and legs.

Related posts:

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 26 mil. $
Box office: 67.9 mil. $
= Box office success
[Legion was released January 22 and runs 100 minutes. It was filmed in New Mexico from August 2008 - February 2009. The film opened #2 with a 17.5 mil. $ first weekend, (behind Avatar, dropping to #6 in its 2nd week), in North America, where it grossed 40.1 mil. $ (59.1 % of the total gross.) Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Russia with 7.3 mil. $ (10.8 %) and Spain with 3.2 mil. $ (4.7 %). A spinoff series titled Dominion was headed by Stewart for SyFy in 2014 and got canceled after its second season. Legion is rotten at 19 % with a 3.8 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Legion?