The Osterman Weekend (Two-Disc)
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Movie Reviews of The Osterman Weekend (Two-Disc)
Movie Review: Our Friendship is (Probably) OVER!
Summary: 3 Stars
This one works only about half way. So 2.5 stars really. But I round it up to a 3.
There are signs of Pechinpah's filmaking throughout, but the story gets in the way, and that counts for a lot.
As to why these guys are friends, why they meet continually, why some of them are dealing with the KGB, why Burt Lancaster's character sets John Hurt up, why John Hurt follows through with the plan when he knows the truth, etc., etc., remain unanswered. This is the part of the story that doesn't work.
The acting is alright. Rutger Hauer is fine. Steely and equipped with essential hair. Pre-"Coach" Craig T. Nelson stands out, but not only for his stellar moustache and command of martial arts, but for his substantive presence as the eponymous friend. The other friends Dennis Hopper and Chris Sarandon must have had creative conflicts, or more established characters in the novel, because their parts end too neatly, Hopper never gets to shift beyond third, and Sarandon (one could claim here he IS Mark Ruffalo's father) is all venom and vitriol. John Hurt is too good an actor to be bad, and represents an English FBI agent (whose wife's brutal murder opens the movie) bent on torture well. His penchant for being cast as a talking-head-on-a-screen, like he did recently in V for Vendetta also works here. Perhaps it is his ability for seething unabashed cruelty. Burt Lancaster is fine as well, neither here nor there as the shadowy figure of power.
The film does have well paced and suspenseful action sequences, standard Peckinpah slow-motion violence, and an ultimately oppressive use of technology as communicator and omniscient weapon of mass destruction.
Not bad, a decent rental, certainly a dated technological piece, with illuminative hair and style for an actioner....
Movie Review: Acceptable thriller of the "political paranoia" variety
Summary: 3 Stars
In this '80s thriller adapted from a novel by Robert Ludlum (of Bourne series fame), John Hurt plays a CIA operative whose wife is murdered on the orders of a manipulative high ranking CIA official with designs on the Presidency (Burt Lancaster). Himself not adverse to a spot of manipulation, Hurt enlists the help of patriotic gung-ho investigative journalist John Tanner (Rutger Hauer) to help him unmask one or more Russain spies from three likely candidates who just happen to be Tanner's best buddies from college: Craig T. Nelson, Chris Sarandon and Dennis Hopper. Tanner's house is re-wired with hi-tech surveillance gear prior to the friends' annual weekend get-together. But Hurt's intentions are not quite what they seem... This was Sam Pekinpah's last movie, and his name and the A-list cast lend the material a quality it doesn't quite deserve. The plot isn't quite as clever as it thinks it is, or needs to be. Still, the performances are good. Hurt and Hauer are perfect foils for each other, and much of the entertainment comes from Hurt's Machiavellian turn. The film remains interesting today for its exploration of the notions of surveillance, voyeurism, the insidious nature of TV news (especially editing). Peckinpah serves up his usual precision-perfect set-pieces and generally has a lot of fun with firearms and exposed breasts.Movie Review: i hope this is the beginning....
Summary: 3 Stars
it's daft, tired and hollow... But i find this Peckinpah movie quite entertaining, but i've just taken an oppurtunity to say the following:I hope this is the beginning of a 'Peckinpah collection' from anchor bay, a double disc edition of his most neglected masterpiece 'Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia' would be greatly appreciated. I find 'Convoy', 'The Getaway', 'Junior Bonner', 'The Killer Elite' and 'Cross of Iron' all either tedious, revolting or both. They are all available, but not Peckinpah's last real achievement, strangely a film derided by even some of those that write books about him. It's time this ugly but wonderful, totally unorthodox love story was given a new life on DVD, restored. It's both the most typical and atypical film Peckinpah made.
Movie Review: Peckinpaw
Summary: 3 Stars
I have to admit that what I liked about this movie was the fight scene in the kitchen. I am really into martial arts and I think that one reason is seeing Sam Peckinpaw's work back in the 1970s and 1980s, while I was growing up. He was the master of the slow-motion action shot, and we now see it in the films of John Woo and other directors. This is I think a pretty mediocre film, directed by one of the great directors, and like I said, that one scene really stuck in my mind over the years. It is a watchable film overall.Movie Review: Sam the Master strikes again!
Summary: 3 Stars
Ok so it's his last film: It's good, those of you who don't like it--have been watching too many Die Hard type flics: The action in here is Top notch, and the use of the crossbow is unique in modern cinema: Good acting, good story, Good Movie! A 2 disc set is most welcome! Watch for it on late nights! Cheers T: