Monday, June 11, 2012

(30) Stars of Summer - Day 11: Clint Eastwood

Grrrr. You kids get off my lawn.

We're over a week into this, but if you're just joining us here are the rules. Check out this list of all the month's actors with links to what's available on Netflix Instant. If you're not a Netflix subscriber, maybe this will help.

Day 1: Jimmy Stewart
Day 2: Catherine Deneuve
Day 3: Christopher Lee
Day 4: Bette Davis
Day 5: Nicolas Cage
Day 6: Diane Keaton 
Day 7: Orson Welles 
Day 8: Catherine Keener 
Day 9: Kurt Russell
Day 10: Pam Grier

16 comments:

  1. The Eiger Sanction (1975)

    The Eiger doesn’t even come into play until the final third of the film, and after some convoluted twists the sanction doesn’t really matter that much. Despite that, it’s a fun and slightly camp thriller that gives Eastwood something a little different to do, and is well worth checking out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Play Misty for Me (1971)

    The original Fatal Attraction features Clint as a D.J. being stalked by Lucille Bluth. It's a change of pace for Clint Eastwood, but not a very good fit; it doesn't help that his character seems pretty much like a total asshole whether he's being stalked or not. Seeing Mrs. Bluth in her younger days is pretty much the only reason to see the movie. I've heard about it for years, but it's not very good. Should have watched Josey Whales.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Play Misty for Me (1971)

    Rats! Beaten to the punch again. I liked this one more than Patrick, mostly because of Jessica Walter's performance - I can imagine Glenn Close taking notes before she went bunny boiling. It also features nice location photography of the California coast. Weirdly, however, the whole thing comes to a screeching halt two-thirds of the way through so we can have a Semi-Obligatory Lyrical Interlude, followed by a short documentary about the Monterey Jazz Festival. And of all the jobs the monosyllabic Eastwood might work at, Disc Jockey seems the least likely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totally agreed on Jessica Walter and on the photography. I probably should have focused on the positives more. I was just surprised at how clunky it was for a movie that I thought had a pretty decent reputation, and how stiff and wrong Clint Eastwood felt in the lead. And what was with that whole third act? YIKES.

      Delete
  4. Before I review my Eastwood movie I gotta comment on what an impressive filmography Clint's accumulated (as actor, director and actor/director) over the past 57 years. Yes, there's a fair share of junk and/or forgettable stuff ("Breezy," "The Rookie," "True Crime," anything before the spaghetti westerns except "Rawhide," etc.) but, from the mid-60's on, even a questionable movie with Clint in it cannot be truly categorized as bad or terrible precisely because he (acting or directing in it) is usually the best part about it. It's a truly remarkable streak for any living actor/director. On to our regularly-scheduled review:

    HONKYTONK MAN (1982) for the first time.

    Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Clint casts his then-13 yr. old son Kyle in the title role of Whit (it's basically his coming-of-age-in-Depression-era-South story) and then, as Whit's down-on-his-luck drifter musician uncle Red Stovall, Clint sings a handful of tunes (including the title song by Marty Robbins) even though Eastwood's singing voice can charitably be described as 'passable' (for both of them). On any other big star's hands these would come across as the acts of nepotism that they are (see 'Will Smith-Jaden Smith'). But, surprise, Kyle is really freaking good as the emotional center of "Honkytonk Man," a sincere, funny, enjoyable and bittersweet (Red's speech about the love of his life that he drove away hits the right tone between sad and darkly funny) cinematic valentine to a time and era of which only memories and its music (watch for cameos by the aforementioned Robbins and Porter Wagoner) still exist today. Neither a sleeper hit or an undiscovered gem, this is 2nd-tier Clint worth seeking out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Play Misty for Me (1971)

    *Sigh* I mostly agree with the other two reviews on this film. It was never a chore to sit through, if only because Clint Eastwood's misplaced intensity makes for some great unintentional laughs. Jessica Walter plays her character as well as the writing permits, but the film's lack of a MUCH needed sense of humor brings every aspect of the production down a notch.

    ReplyDelete
  6. City Heat

    Though billed as a comedy, this prohibition-set crime flick can't seem to decide if it wants to be funny or play it straight. Unfortunately it doesn't really work either way. Tonally it's all over the place, and Burt Reynolds is insufferably smug as a PI reluctantly teamed with Eastwood's stoic cop to take on gangster Rip Torn. There are a few scattered laughs, but not enough to make it worth sitting through.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ^^^ Pretty impressive production design, don't you think? But you're right, on paper Reynolds and Eastwood sounds like it would be a fun odd-couple team-up but the final product is surprisingly chemistry-free.

      Delete
    2. I'll give it that, the production design was strong. It's too bad the movie couldn't live up to it!

      Delete
  7. White Hunter, Black Heart (1990)

    Eastwood stars in and directs this quasi-biopic of director John Huston and the making of 'The African Queen'. Clint gives one of his most atypical performances and the subject matter is most interesting, but the leisurely pace may be off-putting to many viewers. Mostly successful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. In the Line of Fire (1993)

    Would you believe that this was the last movie starring Clint Eastwood that was not also directed by Clint Eastwood? I'm not sure this fact has any bearing on the quality of the film (it's pretty standard early 90s action/thriller fare) but I just cannot believe Clint has refused to work with any director other than himself for nearly two decades. I feel like this should be a bigger deal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ^^^ It's also the only movie since 1975's "The Eiger Sanction" that Eastwood did for a studio that wasn't Warner Bros. ("Eiger" was Universal and "In the Line of Fire" was Columbia Pictures/Sony). Forget Kubrick's meager seven pictures for the studio (two by acquisition of MGM titles "2001" and "Lolita"), Clint Eastwood's relationship with Warner is so strong and tight it's a surprise Columbia and Wolfgang Petersen even managed to get Clint to do "In the Line of Fire" for them.

      Delete
    2. I did not know that! Hmmm...

      Delete
  9. Dirty Harry (1971): Can't believe it's taken me this long to see it. BUT SEEN IT I HAVE! Weirdly, I was waiting for Clint (we're on a first-name basis) to say his iconic line, "Go ahead, make my day," only to realize about 2/3 through the film that OOPS, wrong movie. And, really, I bet most of you couldn't even NAME Sudden Impact if your life depended on it, so DON'T JUDGE ME. Overall, a pretty great (although a bit slow) movie. Love the music.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sudden Impact 1983

    This has not aged well, but it's not a terrible movie. It feels like a parody, since every trope of the tired cop shows up here. The story is a generic too. It's actually more interesting than Magnum Force, but the revenge story feels like every girl with a gun movie I've ever seen. It's not even original, since a lot of the tropes in this movie are borrowed from earlier movies. Not terrible, but not great either.

    ReplyDelete
  11. PLAY MISTY FOR ME

    Mrs. Bluth is CRAY-CRAY, as the kids would say.

    And Dr. Huxtable's mother! You know the nighttime, darling...

    ReplyDelete