In their continuing series, Kyle and Ben sat down this week to discuss their five favorite Kathryn Bigelow films.  When you’re simmering over the controversy that is sure to arise from her latest film Detroit, reflect on this journey through her earlier works.

Near Dark

BEN: It’s funny.  I hadn’t seen this film prior to this year, but I’m glad I got to experience it on a theater screen.  Bigelow’s take on vampires is every bit as fun as Schumacher’s The Lost Boys.  Where Schumacher intentionally brought in a sexual overtone, Bigelow demonstrated her action chops while managing to combine a dramatic story.  Her characters feel real, thanks to her relationship with James Cameron.  Many of the actors he successfully used in prior films make an appearance here including Lance Henriksen, Jeanette Goldstein, and Bill Paxton.  Their respective performances really drive the dangerous side of vampirism.  Adrian Pasdar is Caleb, who unfortunately falls in love with Mae (Jenny Wright) and as their love grows deeper, Mae’s dark secret comes to light.  Tim Thomerson, who made a splash in smaller movies like this, plays Caleb’s dad.  His relentless concern is really the driving force in this film.  I thought it was a lot of fun to see Thomerson and Henriksen square off in the finale.  The film is dated and cheesy, but it cemented Bigelow’s status as a cult-action director with interesting stories to tell.

KYLE: I don’t think it’s cheesy so much as a product of its time.  Bill Paxton gives one of the best performances of his career in this.  I love how it fuses the western genre with the bloated vampire catalogue to create an unforgettable experience.  It’s also shot remarkably well given the time.  One of my favorite parts is that the word “vampire” is never said, yet the viewer instantly knows that this is a vicious band of predators.  This was also Bigelow’s feature debut and it is the template for all of her films.  She’s a filmmaker who is interested in relationships and characters, and how the often overlooked ingredients are usually glossed over in favor of spectacle.  It’s what makes Near Dark work so well.  My only complaint is that the finale is a tad…abrupt given the setup, but regardless, this is a cult classic for all time.

Point Break

BEN: I was too young for this movie, but the allure of this film was just overwhelming.  It still is.  Based on W. Peter Illiff and Rick King’s story, Bigelow’s action sense combined with dramatic tension truly drive this poetic cult classic.  Where she tried to bring in a troupe of actors in Near Dark, here she starts fresh with Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey, and Lori Petty.  The story is amazing, Donald Peterman’s cinematography is truly unmatched as he had to combine a wide range of shots from aerial jumps to bank heists and a lot of foot chases with handheld cameras.  As dramatic and action-oriented as the film is, it is just plain fun.  The actors all looked like they had a blast, especially Gary Busey:  “I don’t know why the agency has to have me train some snot nosed quarterback punk named Johnny Unitas.”  I could go on gushing, but you get the idea.

KYLE: Quintessential 90’s action.  The homoerotic (over)undertones are pure bliss.  I think one of my favorite things is the aesthetic.  Bigelow takes the surfer, California subculture, and builds it into a living organism.  I love how she takes classic crime and noir tropes and updates them for the 90’s.  It is also a testament to her skill how she is able to use both Reeves and Swayze’s well known flaws to her advantage.  This is a wonderful example of a director understanding the limitations of her cast and using them as strengths.  Busey is the standout, bringing his usual captivating insanity to bear and his performance is wonderful throughout.

Strange Days

BEN: Before Virtual Reality exploded, Bigelow gave us Strange Days.  I hate to say this, but I don’t remember the movie very well.  I know I saw it when it first came out on home video and I know that the cast is a veritable who’s who.  I remember it being a bit noir-ish in its Sci-Fi approach.  Ralph Fiennes really lit the screen up while Angela Bassett just drove the story.  I also remember Matthew Leonetti’s camerawork, especially the POV shots during the SQUID sequences.  This was Bigelow’s biggest commercial failure at the box office and from what I understand it nearly derailed her career.  I guess I need to see it again.

KYLE: I think this is Bigelow’s greatest film.  The entire intro sequence is some of the best camerawork I’ve seen in her films.  It is most definitely a neo-noir and probably the best science fiction noir since Blade Runner.  I also see a lot of parallels with Detroit, which I’m screening tomorrow.  Fiennes is just outstanding as the underdog and I love how there’s not a lot of action.  His chemistry with Bassett is remarkable, and as you mentioned, she’s the center of this formidable machine.  Juliet Lewis and Tom Sizemore are also amazing additions, with some of the best performances of their rocky careers.  It’s also a great dystopian film that is extremely relevant of the current climate in America.

The Hurt Locker

BEN: As with James Cameron, Bigelow started to form her own troupe of actors, namely Anthony Mackie and Ralph Fiennes.  She also would continue to use real-life situations, as she did in Strange Days, to influence her future narratives.  And, thus we begin her working relationship with Mark Boal, a freelance journalist who used his real-life experiences to write the script.  Set during the Iraq War, The Hurt Locker features Jeremy Renner, David Morse, and Guy Pearce as part of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team who are trapped by insurgents.  Boal’s story and Bigelow’s direction focus on the psychological trauma which results from the stress of combat.  The film would go on to win best director for Bigelow and best picture for the film, a distinction that Bigelow holds as the first and only woman to have won both.  Barry Ackroyd’s cinematography firmly places us in the middle of the action without losing the sense of perspective.  It’s been awhile since I’ve seen this one too.  I guess I’m due for a revisit.

KYLE: My favorite scene is when Renner and Mackie are trapped by snipers and Mackie is on the Barrett.  When Renner gives him the capri sun to drink, virtually ending their feud through an act of camaraderie is something you don’t see often in war films.  That is the genius of this film.  On the surface it’s a war film, but truly, at its heart, it is about the trauma that our armed forces experience every day when in combat.  The cinematography is outstanding.  You are, as you mention, right in the thick of things.  I remember not breathing for the duration of my screening and I was thinking about the film, about its implications on modern warfare, for days after.   While it’s not my favorite of hers, I think it might be her best made film.

Zero Dark Thirty

BEN: And this is why I enjoy these conversations, Kyle.  Your insight into these films is spectacular.  Our final film is a doozy and it created such a firestorm over its authenticity with the federal government at the time of its release that Julian Assange probably could have leaked it and it would have attracted less attention than Bigelow received for Zero Dark Thirty.  Again written by Boal, who used information he had gleaned from a speech given by former CIA director Leon Panetta during a ceremony is the story of a fictional CIA agent played by Jessica Chastain who is on the hunt for Osama bin Laden after gaining new intel which spurred on the real-life incursion which brought the Al-Qaeda Emir down.  Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, James Gandolfini, Edgar Ramirez, Mark Strong, and Kyle Chandler co-star.  Greig Fraser’s cinematography in the desert is amazing as are his nighttime shots, especially the hand-held action during the final raid.  Thirty represented Megan Ellison’s first major production credit as her Annapurna Pictures independently financed the movie.  This film created quite a controversy with audiences as well, but it was well-received and was recognized with Bigelow’s second directorial Oscar nomination.  Chastain would win the Best Actress Golden Globe and cemented her work in A Most Violent Year, Interstellar, The Martian, and last year’s spectacular Miss Sloane.  She is as tough as they come.

KYLE: I think Jason Clarke was robbed of a supporting nom.  His scene with the monkeys is heartbreaking, and a simple, quiet symbol of the madness of covert warfare.  Chastain is cold, but intimidating in every scene.  I love how the entire film is an extended procedural, with the payoff being the hand held madness of the compound raid.  Hand held apparently plays a big part in Detroit, and I can’t wait to see it.  I think the aspect of this one that works so well is how it is very removed.  Outside of the chilling intro, with actual calls from victims in the towers, the entire film is sterilized; presenting a possible narrative on how the most wanted man in the world was captured.   This is Bigelow at her finest.  Meticulous, artful control and searing, unapologetic presentation.

BEN: Thank you for the amazing insight, Kyle.  A pleasure as always.  Next week we celebrate the life of Jeanne Moreau and a special review of Jaques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

KYLE: I’m looking forward to it!   Also, a shout out to K-19: The Widowmaker.  While it didn’t make the list, it’s a fun film for sure.  See you next week!

I could watch the hysterical comedy The Freshman any day of the week; it’s just one of those comfort-zone comedies that hits its targets, doesn’t over-extend itself, and knows how to land joke after joke with sly comic timing from everyone in the stacked cast, most especially Matthew Broderick and Marlon Brando, in what’s easily his funniest performance outside of The Formula. Written and directed by Andrew Bergman (Soapdish, The In-Laws, Blazing Saddles, It Could Happen to You, Honeymoon in Vegas, Striptease), The Freshman was released in 1990, and was a solid hit with both critics and audiences, but I get the sense that this one really caught on in the Blockbuster-era. It also looks very handsome because William A. Fraker was calling the shots as cinematographer, and he basically did nothing but excellent work his entire career. Also, TriStar Pictures POWER and scene-stealing Bruno Kirby POWER. And let’s not forget about that damn Komodo dragon! And honestly, it’s worth repeating – Brando is a RIOT in this movie, cleverly sending-up his immortal role from The Godfather, with everyone in the cast totally in on the joke and running wild with it. If you’ve not seen this one in a while, it’s definitely worthy of rediscovery.

The Savages is one of those dark comedies which nails a perfect balance between sad and funny, but make no mistake, at times, this is a painful movie to view, as it examines the loss of a parent’s faculties in an upfront and explicit manner. Why has it taken writer/director Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills) a decade to get her next film made (she’s got Private Life set for release later this year)? As usual, Philip Seymour Hoffman was great – when was he not? But it was Laura Linney who stole the entire show. In movie after movie, performance after performance, Linney has proven to be an exceptional actress, absolutely one of my favorites. I submit to you the following titles: Dave, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Primal Fear, The Truman Show, You Can Count On Me, The Mothman Prophecies, Mystic River, Love Actually, P.S., Kinsey, The Squid and the Whale, Breach, John Adams, Hyde Park on Hudson, The Big C, and The Fifth Estate. She’s appeared in even more than that, and each time, she’s been fully committed, extremely emotional, and always engrossing to watch. In The Savages, I’m tempted to say she provided us with her best performance yet, and in my opinion, that says a ton about her work as an actress. Every time Linney appears in something, whether it’s on the small or big screen, the material is instantly elevated, and she’s got this interesting mix of sass and smarts, and sex appeal without being too “much” with any one particular thing. I’m a huge fan.

The film, which has Hoffman and Linney playing brother and sister, is an extremely sharp and poignant story about siblings who have to take care of their ailing father after the death of his girlfriend. Their dad, a tough old S.O.B. played to perfection by Philip Bosco, is suffering from delusions and early Parkinson’s disease. It’s a brilliant performance, actually; never resorting to actor-ish ticks and convulsions or histrionics, Bosco downplays the physical, in favor of the emotional, and the results are devastating, yet somehow never fully depressing. It’s all in the fine details, and this film is a subtly tricky one; you’ll have to see it to know what I mean. There’s no guns or car chases or explosions or bad guys or plot contrivances that get you to the next scene. It’s not glossy or slick, as Jenkins favors chilly winter and gloomy skies over a Michael Bay sunset finish. But this is a film that’s generously written, honestly acted, and modest yet strikingly confident with its direction. And it’s also extremely funny, which helps, because at times, it’s a spoonful of tough love medicine that many, many people will find too close for comfort. But as cinema, The Savages is a small gem, and a film clearly made because everyone involved felt an inherent need and desire to make it happen.

Ridley Scott’s iconic sci-fi classic Blade Runner is one of those motion pictures where its legacy and lore nearly outweigh the finished product itself. Notice I said nearly. This is an all-consuming piece of cinematic art, a film that blew my mind open as a kid, and has continued to haunt and fascinate me as an adult. Seeing Blade Runner projected in 70mm as a 12 year old really did change the way I viewed movies; I knew I had never seen anything like it before and that it was special. It was also one of the first letterboxed double-VHS sets that my family rented from Blockbuster and that just meant it was “better” than any old VHS tape that was laying around. I nervously anticipate Denis Villeneuve’s follow-up, as the imagery on display in the trailer looks eye-scorching (Roger Deakins is the 2049’s cinematographer), but I’d by lying if I said that I’m very wary of long-in-the-works sequels to classic films that are separated by decades. There’s something both handmade and revolutionary about Scott’s original work, and that’s an aspect that can never be replicated. From the mind-blowing visuals that Scott and director of photography Jordan Cronenweth crafted in tandem with the trendsetting production design and art direction by Lawrence Paull and David L. Snyder respectively, to say nothing of the grand and operatic musical score by Vangelis, Blade Runner is an aesthetic masterpiece that feeds into a layered, deeply thoughtful, and engrossing narrative that gives weight to the flying cars and rain-soaked streets and neon-holograms and every other stylistic trick that Scott and his artisans had up their sleeves. It’s a phenomenal movie and an effort that easily ranks as one of Scott’s absolute best, and I’m normally not a “best” and “worst” type of person.