Flashpoint – Podcasting Them Softly

What do corrupt Texas border guards, missing cash, a Kennedy assassination conspiracy, buried bones and a long derelict crashed Jeep in the desert have in common? Check out Flashpoint to find out, a dusty, forgotten old 80’s thriller with a dope cast, diabolical story and one kicker of a score by Tangerine Dream that only makes the vast desert of the Southwest seem more eerie, and the dirty deeds done under its sun seem dirtier. Treat Williams is the cocky young hotshot patrolman, Kris Kristofferson his salty superior, and after the discovery of the Jeep and it’s dangerous cargo, they’re embroiled in a scary attempted coverup that includes murder, lies and a careful political smokescreen. It doesn’t help that a greedy fellow colleague (Miguel Ferrer) sets his sights on the cash too, heralding the arrival of Kurtwood Smith’s Carson, a pragmatically evil Fed with big plans for anyone who knows about the discovery. Throw Kevin Conway, Jean Smart, Guy Boyd, Tess Harper, plus Rip Torn as a local sheriff and you’ve got a diamond of a cast. Kristofferson is great as the wily veteran who knows a cautionary tale in the making when he sees it, but Smith steals the show and is downright scary as the worst type of guy to be in that position of power, who isn’t even above arguing the twisted morality of his job. This film is as lost to the sands of time as that Jeep sitting out there in the middle of nowhere, but like the Jeep its waiting to be rediscovered. A powerful morality play, a taut thriller with a killer good script and one certified forgotten gem.

-Nate Hill

JUSTICE LEAGUE: FLASHPOINT PARADOX is my first foray into the DC animated feature film series. It’s based upon a graphic novel, FLASHPOINT where The Flash goes back in time, preventing his mother’s death but by doing so he changes the trajectory of events that yields a dead Bruce Wayne, a rage filled Batman in Thomas Wayne who maliciously uses guns as his primary weapons, turning Martha Wayne into the Joker – basically most of all the heroes as we know are villains, and a few villains are heroes.

The animation draws the heroes in an obnoxiously muscular way, and some of the dialogue is almost intentionally lame, but with a voice cast of Kevin Conroy, Michael B. Jordan, Danny Huston, C. Thomas Howel, Kevin McKidd, Nathan Fillion, Dana Delany, Cary Elwes, and Ron Perlman – it’s pretty good.
Seeing the heroic DC Universe flipped, where Batman is killing everyone, Wonder Woman is beheading Atlantians, and Deathstroke and Lex Luther are fighting with Cyborg and the military against the meta-human war between Wonder Woman and Aquaman, all in all it’s a pretty fun watch. PARADOX proposes itself as a rich “what if” in an already interesting universe.

If you are rabidly awaiting the onslaught of the DC Cinematic Universe, this film is a fun introducrion into who the heroes and villains you’ll eventually see on screen are. Or, if you’re like me and don’t know a lot about some of the deeper characters in the DC Universe, this is a quick film that is certainly worth checking out.