Category Archives: 1993

Cracker (1993)

From NetFlix:

Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald smokes, drinks, gambles and cheats on his wife. He’s also a brilliant criminal psychologist, or “cracker.” When not evading his personal demons, he uses his particular genius to track down Manchester’s worst criminals.

Be prepared to intensely dislike the “cracker” Eddie Fitzgerald. Arrogant stubbornness is his chief characteristic. For example, despite the fact that gambling is one of his many faults which have contributed to his marriage problems, he defiantly refuses to stop gambling. At least half the story time revolves around his personal failings. What on earth does his wife see in him? Possibly she values his often very clever sarcastic comments.

Nonetheless, the mystery plots are well-written. Each full story requires several episodes. Kathy and I watch the series using NetFlix streaming in order to get subtitles. Unfortunately, the DVD versions do not carry subtitles. In fact, many offerings from NetFlix are subtitled only in the streaming version.

Not all stories are about serial killers. Today’s detective series seem more often than not to center around a serial killer. However, as usual, the stories are violent. If you want “non-violent” then try Pie in the Sky.

Acting is excellent and unusual. For example, the second full story has as its culprit a murderous couple in which the man is a stutterer who can only speak when he is furious (which is most of the time).

Different and well worth your time.

Kalifornia (1993)

From NetFlix:

While researching a book on serial killings, writer Brian Kessler (David Duchovny) and his girlfriend, Carrie Laughlin (Michelle Forbes), travel cross-country to the murder sites and unwittingly stumble upon strangers who know the subject firsthand. A pair of hitchhikers (Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis) offer to share expenses for the trip, but Kessler doesn’t realize just how close he is to his subject — even as bodies pile up behind them.

Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis steal this show. David Duchovny was a success in the X-Files, but he is not much of an actor. Michelle Forbes also did well.

But Brad Pitt was sickeningly convincing as homocidal trailer trash. His character Early Grayce was not so much a serial killer as he was a willful out-of-control monster who did whatever he felt like which was usually and often to shoot people.

Juliette Lewis almost trumps Brad Pitt. She plays Adele Corners who is Early’s live-in girl friend. Naive almost to the point of seemingly retarded, Adele remains steadfastly blind to Early’s obvious faults because she feels that he can protect her from life’s dangers. For example, when he shoots someone she just says “Early you are mean”.

Almost entirely this film is a relentless blood bath. Supposedly the conceit is that David Duchovny is researching serial killers and when he realizes just how unhinged Early really is, the author wants to delve into Early’s motivations. This conceit just doesn’t work for me.

Because I had to see Early get his comeuppance, I stuck with the film to the expected end. Only the final body count could not be predicted.

You are warned !

The Pugilist At Rest (1993)

Pugilist 1 Pugilist 2 Pugilist 3

For background on the author Thom Jones see the Wikipedia article.

If you read nothing else from this set of short stories, you must read the short story entitled “The Pugilist At Rest” for which the book is named. The above photos are different views of a Roman copy of the Greek original “Pugilist At Rest” attributed to Apollonius which copy is found in the Palazzo Massimo, Rome, Italy.

It helps if you read each of Jones’ short stories quickly as if you were having a manic attack because that’s fairly close to the author’s reality. Note that he suffers from temporal lobe epilepsy and diabetes. As noted in the Wikipedia, he has two more collection of short stories: Cold Snap (1995) and Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine (1999).

I just finished “Cold Snap” and I assure you it is just as manic as “Pugilist”. There are some wild and very explicit sex scenes. There is a lot of drug use. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Enjoy the roller-coaster ride!

This Boy’s Life (1993)

From NetFlix:

Moving from one unhealthy relationship to another, Caroline (Ellen Barkin)
and her son, Toby (Leonardo DiCaprio), roam the country and finally end up
in Washington state, where she marries Dwight (Robert De Niro), a modest
mechanic. But Dwight fails to be the role model she had hoped for , and
Toby is desperate to escape from under his heavy, abusive hand. Michael
Caton-Jones’s gripping drama is based on Tobias Wolff’s autobiography of
the same name.

I am not trying purposely to watch DiCaprio films, it just keeps happening. He IS a good actor. But in this film, in my humble opinion, Robert De Niro gives the best performance of his career. He plays an utterly despicable father to perfection. I was on the edge of my seat the entire film waiting for his comeuppance. I called this a “feel good”, but that is true only at the end. You just get more and more fearful for DiCaprio’s future until the end.

Don’t miss it!

The Buddha of Suburbia (1993)

From NetFlix:

Naveen Andrews (TV’s ‘Lost’) stars in this satirical
coming-of-age tale as Karim, a half-English, half-Indian
teenager who struggles to find his own identity while growing
into adulthood in 1970s London. Adapted by Hanif Kureishi from
his Whitbread Award-winning novel, this BAFTA-winning miniseries
also stars Brenda Blethyn (Secrets & Lies) as Karim’s loving
mother, Margaret.

This TV series (2 discs) takes place in the Thatcher-Beatles era and may be a bit dated for you (bell-bottoms anyone ?) This is the last of the films by Hanif Kureishi that I will watch. His writings always ring true and the story is interesting and well-acted. It could stand some editing. There is a surprising amount of explicit sex. NOT FOR CHILDREN. I felt I had to put this film in the “weird” category only because you really have to want to watch an Indian in anti-colored England find himself. For my money, the best of all the Hanif Kureishi films was “My Beautiful Laundrette”.