The Quick and the Dead (1995) - Raimi forgets a good story in tiring 90s western style exercise

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Two name stars are caught in shadows on this dubious poster for Sam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead

The local king of a small western town promises a fortune to the winner of a shooting competition, which all the local sharp-shooters naturally line up for.

 

The Quick and the Dead is written by Simon Moore (Inside Out (1985, TV-series)) and directed by great Michingader filmmaker Sam Raimi (It's Murder! (1977)).

As the plot outline above suggests, there isn't much of a riveting story to be found in this artificial 90s western, which is closer to pastiche than homage. Raimi meeting the western could possibly mean either gold or horse manure, and the latter unfortunately most resembles the case with The Quick and the Dead.

The film is loaded with elements (sunglasses, the absurdly high reward prize and much else), which is very 1990s, and at the same time the stars stand out like sore thumbs in an environment that never becomes remotely authentic, funny or thrilling, which could have compensated some for the lack of authenticity.

No one esteems themselves here, although young Leonardo DiCaprio (This Boy's Life (1993)) is worth looking at here in the threshold between boy and young man. There are outstanding effects, (among them are bizarrely enormous explosions near the end), and flashy, stylish photography (by Dante Spinotti (Slipstream (2007))). But this style exercise bores more than it excites.

 

Related posts:

Sam Raimi: 2013 in films - according to Film Excess 
Evil Dead (2013) - One hell of a ride (producer)
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) - A fun, eye-popping adventure

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Drag Me to Hell (2009) - Raimi returns to horror in high style
Army of Darkness (1992) or, Medieval Death   

Evil Dead II/Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) - Campbell, Spiegel and Raimi's crazy, gory classic 

 

Watch a 3-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 35 mil. $

Box office: 47 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.34 times its cost)

[The Quick and the Dead was released 10 February (North America) and runs 108 minutes. DiCaprio was paid 150k $ for his performance, - reportedly Sharon Stone (Intersection (1994)), paid it out of her salary, because she so wanted him in the film. Gene Hackman (Lucky Lady (1975)) was paid 1.3 mil. $. Shooting took place from November 1993 - February 1994 in Arizona. The film opened #2, behind Billy Madison, to a 6.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5), grossing 18.6 mil. $ (39.6 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Raimi has stated about his situation after the release of the film: "I felt very empty. And I felt that I cannot continue down this road of style. I need substance." He returned with A Simple Plan (1998). Stone returned in Roseanne (1995, TV-series)) and theatrically in Casino (1995); Hackman in Crimson Tide (1995). The Quick and the Dead is rotten at 58 % with a 5.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Quick and the Dead?

Absolute Power (1997) - Eastwood stumbles with low-caliber thriller

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 + Worst Poser of the Year

 

What looks like a seat belt (!) is wrapped around Clint Eastwood's giant head on this questionable poster for his own Absolute Power

An aging, sophisticated master jewel thief is in the middle of robbing a political bigwig's home, when he accidentally witnesses the US president's causing the death of a younger woman and later receiving help from his team in covering up the tragedy.

 

Absolute Power is written by William Goldman (All the President's Men (1976)), adapting the same-titled 1996 novel by David Baldacci (One Good Deed (2019)), and directed by director/co-producer/star, Californian master filmmaker Clint Eastwood (Play Misty for Me (1971)), whose 19th feature it is.

This crime thriller ranks among the weakest in Eastwood's prolific career. SPOILER The first several minutes pass with him standing in a closet, while Gene Hackman (Banning (1967)) as the president strikes and halfway rapes an innocent woman and then has her murdered. The violent scene combined with the 'impotent' hero (because he just watches the ordeal from the closet) is just not a nice opener.

Absolute Power does nothing to make the president character real to us, and he in fact seems like a pseudo-character in the dark universe that is conjured up. There is an impressive cast, but Absolute Power works at the lowest possible flame, (the kind of film you can watch very late at night with half an eye.) It is simplified and stupid to put it bluntly. The only cast member who esteems himself here is E.G. Marshall (Interiors (1978)), whose last movie this was, SPOILER as the president's likely murderer in the film's ending.

 

Related posts:

Clint Eastwood: The Mule (2018) - Drug-runner true story proves another fine fit for screen legend Eastwood 

Sully (2016) - Eastwood's miracle landing biopic is inert and overrated  2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
Top 10: The best biopic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
American Sniper (2014) - Eastwood conveys an American man and myth in electric masterpiece  
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess   
J. Edgar (2011) - Eastwood, Black and DiCaprio's great, intense biopic   

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Gran Torino (2008) - Eastwood's actor persona comes full circle in absolute smash (co-producer/director/starring actor)
The Changeling (2008) or, The Christine Collins Story  

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]    
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Letters from Iwo Jima/硫黄島からの手紙 [Öjima Kara no Tegami] (2006) - The Japanese side of Eastwood's remarkable WWII two-parter   
Flags of Our Fathers (2006) - Eastwood's Iwo Jima portrayal is captivating and profoundly moving 

Blood Work (2002) - Eastwood churns out uninspired thriller adaptation (producer/director/starring actor)

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

The Dead Pool (1988) - The highly entertaining last Dirty Harry movie (starring actor)
City Heat (1984) - Eastwood and Reynolds wrestle dispassionately in Benjamin's messy period affair (co-starring actor)
Tightrope (1984) - An undervalued Clint Eastwood sex killer thriller (starring actor)
Any Which Way You Can (1980) or, More Monkey Business! (starring actor)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979) - Siegel, Tuggle and Eastwood's phenomenal prison escape thriller (starring actor)
Every Which Way but Loose (1978) or, Honky Tonk Monkey Business! (starring actor)

The Gauntlet (1977) - Locke/Eastwood cast sparks in corny shoot-em-up (director/starring actor)
The Enforcer (1976) - Eastwood teaches revolutionaries a lesson in third, less punchy Dirty Harry (starring actor)
The Eiger Sanction (1975) - Eastwood's mountain climbing dud (director/star)

High Plains Drifter (1973) - Eastwood cleans up red town in great western (director/star)
The Beguiled (1971) - Intense, erotic Civil War kammerspiel thriller (starring actor)  
Dirty Harry (1971) - Eastwood's great, signature renegade cop character comes to life (starring actor)
Coogan's Bluff (1968) or, Dopes and Hippies, Beat It! (starring actor)  
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) - Leone ends his poncho trilogy with certified classic (starring actor)
For a Few Dollars More/Per Qualche Dollaro in Più (1965) or, Return of the Poncho Killer (co-starring actor)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) or, Killer in a Poncho (starring actor)

 

Eastwood talks about the film for 11 minutes in this video

 

Cost: 50 mil. $

Box office: 50 mil. $ - North America only

= Uncertain but likely a big flop (projected return of 1.4 times its cost)

[Absolute Power premiered 4 February (Westwood, Hollywood) and runs 121 minutes. Baldacci reportedly sold the worldwide book and movie right for his novel for 5 mil. $. Ed Harris (Milk Money (1994)) was paid 2.5 mil. $ for his performance. Shooting took place from June - August 1996 in Los Angeles, California, Washington, D.C, and in Maryland, including in Baltimore. It opened #2, behind a 1997 'special edition' re-release of Star Wars (1977), to a 14.6 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#3-#5-4X-#3-#4), grossing 50 mil. $. Without the international gross numbers a theatrical status regrettably cannot be determined. A projected much-smaller-than-needed international gross, leading to a final gross of 70 mil. $ would earn Absolute Power the rank of 'big flop'. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. Eastwood returned with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), and as an actor in True Crime (1999). Harris returned in The Truman Show (1998); Hackman in Twilight (1998). Absolute Power is rotten at 56 % with a 5.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Absolute Power?

Runaway Jury (2003) - Gun violence trial as Hollywood show

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+ Worst Poster of the Year

Formally dressed stars eye each other uneasily under a blurry photograph on this dubious poster for Runaway Jury

A madman mows down 11 people at an office, and a widow to one of the slain subsequently sues the gun company. The principal trial gets a jury, zealous lawyers, - and an X factor ...

Runaway Jury is written by Brian Koppelman (Runner Runner (2013)), David Levien (Rounders (1998)), Rick Cleveland (Nurse Jackie (2009-10)) and Matthew Chapman (Heart of Midnight (1988)), adapting The Runaway Jury (1996) by John Grisham (The Summons (2002)), and directed by Gary Fleder (Kiss the Girls (1997)).
The biggest problem for this over-written courtroom thriller set in New Orleans is that it lacks a hero: Gene Hackman (Split Decisions (1988)) is definitely the villain of the piece; Dustin Hoffman (Stranger Than Fiction (2006)) may have been thought of as the hero, being the lawyer representing the widow's case, (but it is a grotesque case in my opinion.) John Cusack (Adult World (2013)) and Rachel Weisz (Death Machine (1994)) both play manipulative and greedy characters, whose real aim is only revealed in Runaway Jury's poorly closed up ending.
The film also suffers from superficial music video-style editing, which lowers the realism in the material and ruptures any thematic weight it may have carried. Robert Elswit's (Salt (2010)) photography is seamless, and Hackman lets loose; especially he and Hoffman's bathroom scene has the show movie energy that this film is still worth watching for. The American gun ownership issue at the core of the film remains pretty much unchanged today.

 

Related post:

 

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

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

 

Watch a VHS tape teaser for the film here

Cost: 60 mil. $
Box office: 80.1 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.33 times its cost)
[Runaway Jury premiered 9 October (USA) and runs 127 minutes. Since pre-production had started in 1997, filmmakers Joel Schumacher and Mike Newell and stars Will Smith and Edward Norton had been attached at various points. The plot was changed from a tobacco focus to guns following the release of tobacco-focused The Insider (1999). Shooting took place in Louisiana, including New Orleans, and in Los Angeles, California in and around September 2002. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and holdover hit Kill Bill: Vol. 1, to an 11.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another week in the top 5 (#4) and grossed 49.4 mil. $ (61.7 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 3.8 mil. $ (4.7 %) and Italy and France at a shared #3 with 3.7 mil. $ (4.6 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch better than this one. Grisham in 2004 called the film "smart" and "suspenseful" but was disappointed with its theatrical performance. Fleder returned with 11 TV episodes in 3 different TV-series before hitting big screens again with The Express (2008). Cusack returned in Must Love Dogs (2005); Hackman in Welcome to Mooseport (2004) - his final movie; Hoffman in Finding Neverland (2004) and Weisz in Envy (2004). Runaway Jury is fresh at 73 % with a 6.56/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Runaway Jury?

The French Connection (1971) - Hackman and Friedkin burst forth with propulsive NY-set drug thriller

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Gene Hackman's hero Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle shoots a fleeing guy in the back on this great poster for William Friedkin's The French Connection

NYPD drug-assigned detective Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle works largely on the basis of "hunches", - and he is often right. Tired of catching the little fish, he now gets a whiff of something much larger ...

The French Connection is written by Ernest Tidyman (Shaft (1973-74)), based on the same-titled 1969 non-fiction book by Robin Moore (Pitchman (1966)), (which details the uncovering of the large-scale heroin-smuggling from France to the US), and is directed by Chicagoan master filmmaker William Friedkin (Rampage (1984)). It is his 5th theatrical feature.
Gene Hackman (Welcome to Mooseport (2004)) has an authenticity, a masculinity and a fallible quality to him as 'Popeye' Doyle, which makes him outstanding in this film, and Roy Scheider (Executive Target (1997)) is good (as usual) as his partner. The city is used with great care, insight and effort, and in a sense New York's criminal underworld becomes the film's lead character.
Very little happens in the first hour, while nothing seems to corroborate Doyle's hunch, but somehow this wildly macho, realistic mammoth work remains effectively compelling despite this. The central car/train chase scene is intense, (cinematography by Owen Roizman (Straight Time (1978))), and Don Ellis' (The Seven-Ups (1973)) score is often fantastic.
The French Connection is always a great watch and a brilliant thriller.

Related posts:

William Friedkin: Top 10: Best drug-themed movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Top 10: Best crime movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Killer Joe (2011) - Friedkin's dark, intense maybe last cinematic package
The Exorcist (1973) - Friedkin and Blatty's masterpiece, one of the scariest pictures of all time
The Boys in the Band (1970) - Friedkin and Crowley's groundbreaking gay birthday party movie 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 2.2 mil. $
Box office: Reportedly 75 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 34.09 times its cost)
[The French Connection premiered 7 October (Los Angeles, California and New York) and runs 104 minutes. The film's realism was inspired by Costa-Gavras' Z (1969). Many other famous actors and NY columnist Jimmy Breslin were considered for (and some were offered) the Doyle part, before Friedkin settled on Hackman, who got his major breakthrough with the film. Shooting took place in New York and Washington DC and in Rhône, France from November 1970 - March 1971. The film made 51.7 mil. $ (68.9 % of the total gross) in North America. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. The film was nominated for 8 Oscars: It won 5; for Best Picture, Actor (Hackman), Director, Adapted Screenplay and Editing. It lost Supporting Actor (Scheider) to Ben Johnson in The Last Picture Show, Cinematography to Oswald Morris for Fiddler on the Roof and Sound also to Fiddler on the Roof. It won 3/4 Golden Globe nominations, 2/5 BAFTA noms, a David di Donatello award, 1/2 Grammy noms, 2 National Board of Review awards and many other honors. John Frankenheimer directed the successful sequel French Connection II (1975) with returning stars Hackman and Fernando Rey (1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)). Friedkin returned with The Exorcist (1973)). Hackman returned in Cisco Pike (1972). The French Connection is certified fresh at 98 % with an 8.7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The French Connection?

The Firm (1993) - Pollack and Cruise scored big with 1993's lesser Grisham adaptation

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+ 3rd Worst Movie of the Year

Tom Cruise looking ponderous and running in a suit in a steely blue-toned poster for Sydney Pollack's The Firm could really sell a film in 1993

A freshly Harvard-graduated lawyer joins a firm in Memphis that launders mob money, and he soon gets the attention of the FBI.

The Firm is written by David Rabe (Streamers (1983)), Robert Towne (Drive, He Said (1971)) and David Rayfiel (The Morning After (1986)), adapting John Grisham's (The Summons (2002)) same-titled 1991 bestseller, and directed by great Indianan filmmaker Sydney Pollack (Tootsie (1982)). 1993 saw the release of another high-profile Grisham adaptation, Alan J. Pakula's infinitely better thriller masterpiece The Pelican Brief.
The Memphis law-firm is presented as an almost mythical, pompous institution, and the story's point of having this firm laundering the entire earnings of the Chicago mob seems a bit silly. But besides this the narrative unfolds without a hitch, as an intimidating gang of fine actors (including Gene Hackman (Wyatt Earp (1994)), Ed Harris (Sweetwater (2013)), Hal Holbrook (Haven (2001, TV movie)), Jerry Harding (The Magnificent Seven (1998, TV-series)) and others) doodle around to Dave Grusin's jazzy piano score.
Tom Cruise (The Mummy (2017)) leads confidently, but his wife is played without vision by Jeanne Tripplehorn (Steal This Movie (2000)), and since The Firm places considerable weight upon their relationship, - and has a long running time, - it lowers the suspense, which lives best in the film's noirish, cat-and-mouse-like scenes.

Related post:

Sydney Pollack: Eyes Wide Shut (1999) - Kubrick signs off with thrilling, sexually oriented adaptation (actor) 

1993 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Watch a 2-minute clip from the beginning of the film here

Cost: 42 mil. $
Box office: 270.2 mil. $
= Huge hit
[The Firm premiered 23 June (New York) and runs 154 minutes. Shooting took place in Washington, Memphis, Tennessee, the Cayman Islands, Massachusetts, including Boston, Arkansas, and Washington, D.C. from November 1992 - March 1993. Hackman's credit was a matter of dispute, as Cruise's contract stipulated above-title credit for him alone. Hackman got pre-title credit in the film and went uncredited in the end credit scroll and on the posters. The film is reportedly faithful to the novel in most respects but has a different ending. The film opened #1 to a 25.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed atop for another two weeks and stayed in the top 5 for two more weeks (#3-#3) and grossed 158.3 mil. $ (58.6 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch better than this review. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Supporting Actress (Holly Hunter, who won the Best Actress Oscar that year for her performance in The Piano), lost to Anna Paquin in The Piano, and Best Score (Grusin), lost to John Williams for Schindler's List. It was also nominated for a BAFTA, a Grammy and received other honors. A TV-series sequel also called The Firm was released in 2012 and canceled after its first season. Pollack returned with Sabrina (1995). Cruise returned in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994). The Firm is certified fresh at 76 % with a 6.2 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Firm?

Enemy of the State (1998) - T. Scott, Bruckheimer, Marconi ahead of their time in outing NSA in exciting thriller

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+ Best Action-Thriller of the Year + Best Political Movie of the Year + Best Washington DC Movie of the Year

The stars look apprehensive on this undeniably unimpressive poster for Tony Scott's Enemy of the State

A strong Washington DC lawyer experiences a former school buddy confiding his troubles to him before he expires in a wild accident. Soon our man comes in possession of a tape of a murder. - And as a result becomes a hunted man.

Enemy of the State is the 11th film by English master filmmaker Tony Scott (The Hunger (1983)), written by David Marconi (Collision (2013)). It sports an unusually strong cast and is a high-charged political action-thriller, which hooks with intense scenes between Jason Robards (Parenthood (1989)) and Jon Voight (The Champ (1979)), who plays the super-villain here. Will Smith (Shark Tale (2004)), Philip Baker Hall (In Good Company (2004)) and Gene Hackman (Superman (1978)) are such professionals that the plot works even when it becomes a bit contrived and feeds us unlikely strikes of luck. As with several other Scott films in the action-thriller genre, Enemy of the State is edited at a fast pace throughout, which at times becomes exasperating.
The issue of the right to privacy versus the consideration for national security continues to be a mined and hot topic. In Enemy of the State, the evil, governmental mass-surveillance side, as represented by the NSA, attain an almost Communist glow, - they steal our protagonist's blender and seem to have a wish to literally own everything, - which is a clever perspective in an already very entertaining film.

Related reviews:
 
Tony Scott: Stoker (2013) - Chan-wook Park's over-styled American debut revolts and bores in turns (producer)  

Unstoppable (2010) - T. Scott's mechanically exciting final movie
Déjà Vu (2006) - T. Scott cuts a helluva suspense-cake!
Domino (2005) - T. Scott's bounty-hunter biopic a complete misfire, mega-flop  

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Days of Thunder (1990) or, Very Little Thunder

Watch a short trailer for the film here

Cost: 90 mil. $
Box office: 250.6 mil. $
= Box office success
[Enemy of the State premiered 18 November (New York) and runs 132 minutes. Smith declined to star in Brian De Palma's Snake Eyes (1998) in preference for Enemy of the State. Shooting took place in Maryland, mostly in Baltimore, and in Washington DC and California from November 1997 - April 1998. The film opened # 2, behind The Rugrats Movie, to a 20 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it 'had legs', spending a total of 4 weeks in the top 5 and grossed 111.5 mil. $ (44.5 % of the total gross). Comparisons were drawn between this and Hackman's turn in Francis Ford Coppola's acclaimed, similarly themed The Conversation (1974). Roger Ebert agreed with Film Excess in awarding the film 3/4 stars. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has announced that he is producing a TV-series based on the film. Enemy of the State is fresh at 71 % with a 6.4 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Enemy of the State?