The Killing of Randy Webster

The Killing of Randy Webster ~ This one is another lost telemovie that I remember from my youth that I thought I would never find again. One thing that made it stand out to me was the soundtrack by April Wine, a band that I had liked back in the day. Hardly anyone remembers them now.

Though largely forgotten on the mainstream rock scene, the Canadian band April Wine is still active, and had more than a few hits way back when. Among them were the Dungeons & Dragons flavored Lorence Hud cover "Sign of the Gypsy Queen" and the power ballad "Just Between You and Me" as well as my personal favorites "All Over Town" and the cleverly titled "If You See Kay." There were others, and for a very very short time in the early eighties, April Wine, with its great rock logo, was hot.

The soundtrack was not the only thing that makes this film stand out. It's also one of the lost few not found on video or DVD with any reliability. Luckily it does run on some of the nostalgia networks and is also on YouTube. It also stars three actors - Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Penn, and Anthony Edwards - who would all appear again together a year later in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

The Killing of Randy Webster, a true story based on a 1977 Shreveport LA murder of a teenager by a police officer, is actually quite relevant in this age of Ferguson and "Making a Murderer." What are the facts, and who really did what? Hal Holbrook stars as the teenager's father trying to get to the truth, through a Rashomon-like maze of contraindications and controversy. Also look for a younger thinner Dixie Carter as the mom.

The movie is painfully both a product of television movie of the week-ness and the 1970s, but that doesn't ruin what is a powerful story once it gets going. Later in the movie it becomes more a father's quest and a legal drama, with Holbrook getting the bulk of the emotional action.

I have to confess that The Killing of Randy Webster wasn't as good as I remember, but the concept and the music still hold up in my book. Worth seeing if you can find it.

Dark Knight Rises Prelude

Everyone knows basically what happened Thursday night in Aurora, Colorado. The tragedy that is being called by the news media, the 'movie massacre,' is now inextricably tied to the film The Dark Knight Rises.

I was up late Thursday night when I heard about it on the top of the hour news during Coast to Coast AM, and immediately clicked on the television news. Like 9/11 or Columbine (not all that far from Aurora) I was one of millions glued to my TV watching and waiting. I finally dozed off to images of the tragedy.

Later that afternoon, I kept plans to see The Dark Knight Rises despite everything. Things were a little different at the theatre. Bags were checked, we weren't allowed in to the theatre until just before the show, and nobody was in costume. I think this may actually be the end of that. No more costumes, and maybe even no more midnight release showings.

Another difference was that there was no chatter before the movie. No one was talking. It was very disconcerting. Usually on opening day, everyone is excited, not this day. I suppose everyone was thinking about the shootings.

One specific preview, for Sean Penn's new film Gangster Squad made children jump, women gasp, and grown men scream. It depicted men with guns shooting through a movie screen and then into the audience. I hope Warner Bros. has the sense to pull this preview for the time being. The audience was shocked and horrified.

I am left numb. I enjoyed TDKR but am unable to write about it yet. Maybe tomorrow or the next day. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this tragedy and their families and friends.

That Time of Year Again

The last few weeks of the year are here and it’s time for Hollywood to roll out their finest stuff in hopes the Academy will take notice and bestow an Oscar on these films. There are a lot of them out there.

Doubt is getting a lot of hype. Milk and Gran Torino promise career performances from Sean Penn and Clint Eastwood respectively. The much talked about reverse-aging epic The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is out there as well. There’s also Will Smith in Seven Pounds, Tom Cruise in Valkyrie, the animated Waltz with Bashir from Ari Folman and Revolutionary Road from Sam Mendes.

Like I said, there are a lot of them, and this is the way it’s been at the end of the year for the last couple decades. The studios want their Oscar hopefuls in the Academy’s faces right before nomination time, and for the most part, this simple ploy usually works. Mark my words, most of the above flicks will make up the majority of the noms this year.

This is bullshit in my opinion. Time of year shouldn’t matter. A good movie, an Oscar-worthy movie, is Oscar-worthy no matter what time of year it is released. If these studios had any reall balls they would release all of these in January. If a flick is really that good, the Academy will remember it come December. And if not, if the Academy is that dim-witted and memory-handicapped, why are they allowed to vote?

Regarding Henry

A Video Review of Regarding Henry

Copyright 2002 Glenn Walker

Harrison Ford is one of the best living actors today. Everything he appears in bears a certain standard of quality and his skill as an actor is always top notch. Such is the case with Regarding Henry.

Unlike other actors in similar roles; Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, Tom Hulce in Dominick and Eugene, Sean Penn in I Am Sam, Adam Sandler in all his films; there’s an unwelcome urge to laugh at the mentally challenged. Here, with Harrison Ford, that doesn’t happen. Here you can only marvel at his performance.

Ford stars as Henry Turner, an evil lawyer (is there any other kind?), who is shot in the head and goes into a coma. Upon awakening and rehabilitation he becomes a new man, a kinder, gentler and much better husband and father. We watch him confront his past and his sins and make a new start.

Annette Bening as Henry’s wife and Mikki Allen as his daughter hand in equally excellent turns. Bill Nunn as Bradley the physical therapist gives the performance of his life and makes you wonder why we haven’t seen the like since.

This is an excellent film that should not be missed.