Pick Me Up (2006, TV movie) - Cohen's so-so Masters of Horror entry

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A well-made sketch of the 'master of horror' alongside an eerie image from the film make up this poster for Larry Cohen's Pick Me Up

 

Somewhere in North America a bus breaks down in the middle of no-man's land. Some passengers hitch a lift with a trucker psychopath, while others are murdered by a highway lunatic. The two meet in the end.

 

Pick Me Up is written by David J. Schow (Mob City (2013, TV-series)), based on his own short story, and directed by Larry Cohen (Bone (1972)). It is the 11th episode of the 1st season of the Masters of Horror TV movie series (2005-07).

Cohen's entry is somewhat entertaining and at times amusing, and at least he comes off as less creatively exhausted than others in the series (like Tobe Hooper for instance.) The visual elements are alright, - especially the great big red truck, - and Michael Moriarty (Neverwas (2005)) is creepy as the trucker killer, while Warren Kole (Stalker (2014-15)) is photogenic as the hitch-hiker psycho.

The cartoon-like nature of the premise goes a bit overboard with lines such as; "Ready or not, here I come!", but what the hell. Though far from credible, Pick Me Up is actually one of the better entries in mostly low-quality Masters of Horror.

 

Related posts:

 

Other Masters of Horror TV movies: 2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Fair Haired Child (2006, TV movie) - Malone turns out another weak Masters of Horror TV movie 

Dance of the Dead (2005) - Hooper's ugly Masters of Horror nonsense
Chocolate (2005) - Flavors, visions and eroticism in Garris' TV movie thriller
Deer Woman (2005) - Landis and son's solid Masters of Horror entry 
Cigarette Burns (2005) - Carpenter burns out in weird, tiresome TV movie    

Haeckel's Tale (2006, TV movie) - Another bland Masters entry

Larry Cohen: Phone Booth (2002) or, Boxed In (writer)

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: None - TV movie

= Uncertain

[Pick Me Up was first broadcast 20 January (North America) and runs 58 minutes. It was Cohen's last job as a director before he died in 2019. Fairuza Balk (Grindstone Road (2008)) returned in Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006); Moriarty in 12 Hours to Live (2006); and Kole in Medium (2007, TV-series) and theatrically in Cougar Club (2007). 3.5k+ IMDb users have given Pick Me Up a 6.3/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Pick Me Up?

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans/Bad Lieutenant (2009) or, Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant

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The poster and title of Werner Herzog's movie, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans unfortunately isn't very appealing

QUICK REVIEW:

Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas (1995)) gets up out of the mire of the many many awful films that he has starred in especially in the new millennium, and shows in Port of Call that he's still got it.
Here he plays an addict on collision course with his surroundings, - the kind of part that he has shown that he masters more than once before.
The first part of this gangster/police drug crime drama is a bit confusing and slow, but as everything slowly begins to clash together in the sad, dilapidated post-Katrina New Orleans, Port of Call rises as a film, and has some likeness to Nicolas Winding Refn's Pusher (1996).
The cast is cool and includes Jennifer Coolidge, Michael Shannon, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer and Fairuza Balk, but those that really distinguish themselves here are the rapper/actor/TV-personality Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner (The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)) and Brad Dourif (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)). And Cage, whose scenes under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol are especially memorable. In Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, he's a really bad cop...

The film is directed by prolific German master director Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn (2006)), who is still very active as a filmmaker, and whose next film is Queen of the Desert (2015) a biopic partially set in Morocco, with Nicole Kidman and Robert Pattinson.
Port of Call is not a remake or a sequel to Abel Ferrara's masterpiece Bad Lieutenant (1992), but a 'rethought', Herzog has stated. He has also said that he has never seen the original or any of Ferrara's films, (almost as though he takes a special pride in that fact.) Ferrara on the other hand has publicly wished that people that make remakes would [be] "all in the same streetcar, and it blows up!" A strange, unpleasant thing to say, and curious since Ferrara has also made at least one remake, Body Snatchers (1993). - Has he forgotten this very forgettable film himself?

Related reviews:

Bad Lieutenant (1992) or, World of Hurt
Nicholas Cage: Adaptation (2002) or, Charlie Kaufman's Fictional Life
Nicholas Cage and Brad Dourif: Amos & Andrew (1993) or, He's Going for the Stereo!

Watch the trailer for this late-night treat right here

Budget: 25 mil. $
Box office: 10.4 mil. $
= Big flop

How did you like Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant?
Abel Ferrara, any thoughts on him?

American History X (1998) - Strong neo-Nazi repentance drama

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+ Best Big Flop Movie of the Year + Best Crime-Drama of the Year + Best Los Angeles Movie of the Year + Career-Killer of the Year: Tony Kaye

 

Provocative and troubling, Edward Norton stares straight at us from this dulled B/W poster for Tony Kaye's American History X with his hand on his swastika tattoo

In the Venice area of Los Angeles, Derek Vinyard is released from prison after serving 3 years for killing two black robbers. His mission: To save his younger brother from repeating his own violent, hate-buoyed, neo-Nazi déroute.

American History X is a great film due to career-defining performances from Edward Norton (The Invention of Lying (2009)) and Edward Furlong (American Heart (1992)) in the central brother roles. Norton is dazzling at times and scary at others as the charismatic agitator and unfortunate rolemodel, and Furlong is perfect as the run-along, apathetic smaller brother.
American History X is a violent, shocking film, and it is loaded with scenes that are played to their maximum effect. It is also a strong and good drama, which has grown in reputation since its relatively small release to become a generational cornerstone film, and its high quality is only impeded by a few minor poor decisions in it.
The film is written by David McKenna (E-Ring (2005-06)) and directed by feature-debuting great English filmmaker Tony Kaye (Detachment (2011)).

 
Related posts:

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Top 10: Best crime movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Edward Norton painted as his character from a frightening moment in the film in the prime of his racial fanaticism

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 20 mil. $
Box office: 23.8 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.19 times its cost)
[American History X premiered 30 October (USA) and runs 119 minutes. Norton turned down a role in Saving Private Ryan (1998), gained 30 pounds of muscles and shaved his head, as Furlong also did, for the film. Shooting took place Los Angeles, California from March - May 1997. The production was beleaguered, as Kaye became so upset with script changes instigated by Norton and Furlong that he took out a Variety ad about it and then unsuccessfully tried to have his name removed from the film. - The Alan Smithee anonymous name reserved by the DGA for such instances was not granted, because Kaye had breached the rule that a director using the name cannot have spread stories of why he wanted the ghost name. His edit of the film was 96 minutes, but the studio and Norton were unsatisfied and took over. Kaye's rage then targeted the studio (New Line Cinema) and their edit, and he reportedly sued them and the DGA for misuse of his name to the tune of 275 mil. $, a suit which was rejected in court in 2000. Kaye disowned the film and was marked in Hollywood for his behavior, which strongly limited his future opportunities. The release was delayed due to all of this but eventually opened to a 156k $ first weekend in 17 theaters, peaked at #13 and in 512 theaters, grossing 6.7 mil. $ (28.2 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch harder than this one. The film was nominated for 1 Oscar: Best Actor (Norton), lost to Roberto Benigni for Life Is Beautiful. IMDb's users have voted into the site's Top 250 list at #33, sitting between Interstellar (2014) and Psycho (1960). Kaye returned with 4 video and documentary projects before B/W war movie Lobby Lobster (2007), which nearly no-one has seen. Norton returned in Fight Club (1999); Furlong in Detroit Rock City (1999). American History X is certified fresh at 83 % with a 7.33/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of American History X?