Category: Directors Un

Evil (2019) s02e06 – C Is for Cop

Is Mike Colter okay? As in, not injured? Six episodes into the season, and Colter’s still got nothing to do—and even less than usual as he’s not bickering with Michael Emerson (who doesn’t show up this episode). Then in the scene where he’s supporting Aasif Mandvi’s subplot, Colter looks pretty uncomfortable in his chair. Though it’s an awkwardly shot scene, with Mandvi trying to talk to Colter about his newfound potential spiritualism without, like, acknowledging he’s starting to believe in the supernatural. Because of his night terrors. Ron Underwood (Tremors, Pluto Nash) is the director, and I was paying attention to his horror chops, but this one particular conversation flops.

And ends up being Colter’s most significant contribution to the episode outside being perturbed boss Peter Scolari wants him to cosign on a white cop killing a Black lady. The A plot is Katja Herbers dealing with the ghost of serial killer Darren Pettie and telling daughter Maddy Crocco to lie for her. Crocco’s the only daughter who appears in this episode and, just like with the last one, seems entirely new to the show despite having been on since the start. “Evil” has done a lousy job defining the daughters solo. Outside a lengthy walk and talk with “Extreme Law & Order” producer Fredric Lehne about mystery tattoos, there’s not much to the killer cop arc. It’s engaging, sure, but because it’s about shitty white people defending killer cops and Herbers trying to be an ally to men of color Mandvi and Colter, but… I mean, she’s still a white lady.

With a cop friend, Kristen Connolly.

Connolly might give the episode’s best acting as it turns in the screws on how her kind of corrupt cop works.

Mandvi’s subplot involves trying to go Dream Warriors on his night terror (voiced by Ciara Renée, suited by Ashley Edner). Renée’s latest tactic is bringing up Mandvi’s previously unknown backstory, which includes genetic engineering gone wrong. Genetic engineering was one of the first season plotlines, and they’ve ignored it so far this season, so maybe they’re bringing it back. Though Mandvi seems somewhat resolved with it after he consults with Colter.

Christine Lahti also seems to have one heck of a character arc brewing—she terrifies Crocco because she’s practicing hipster voodoo—which ought to be fun.

Herbers is outstanding in her arc—Underwood does direct the hell out of it (as much as one can do a done-in-one TV gig)—but it’s just character building. Character building is fine, obviously; it’s just a cop-out of a significant subplot.

It’s a good episode, but it’s one of those “good episodes for ‘Evil’” situations. And, wow, is Scolari good as the piece of shit priest boss. Though I can never tell if he’s in on the joke.

Evil (2019) s01e02 – 177 Minutes

“Evil” doubles down on the debunking of magic this episode. This time it’s about a miracle, not a possession. The heroes are looking into a girl being pronounced dead then coming back to life after a priest whispers to her. Dakin Matthews plays the priest. It’s a small part but it’s nice to see Matthews. He’s a solid character actor.

And this episode is definitely an improvement over the first. The teases of religious explanation are shorter, the debunking is better… though I was shocked how far they take it in the last scene, revealing former priest-to-be Mike Colter gets high on shrooms to talk to God. No wonder it doesn’t matter how much Colter prays about something God never helps; God’s his trip.

Duh.

Sorry.

There’s more with lead Katja Herbers’s night terror demon, even putting her kid in pseudo-danger because nothing says serious network show like the willingness to mutilate children. Herbers and the kids are fine, there are just too many of them. Plus grandma Christine Lahti who apparently goes out partying every night, which is cool, but also means Lahti’s just a constant cameo (I forgot to even mention her last episode); it’s like she’s doing the part as a favor to the producers or network. Anyway. There are so many kids on this show it’s like a seventies sitcom.

Michael Emerson is back—working at the D.A.’s office, planning on reversing all of Herbers’s old cases to let the evil free. Herbers’s boss just thinks she’s a jealous silly woman, apparently unable to appreciate Emerson’s wild performance (he seems like a villain from the “Batman” TV show; he’d be less absurd in a leotard).

Boris McGiver (another fine character actor) shows up as Colter’s higher up at the Church who’s keeping a secret about angel sightings for some reason.

So, better than the first episode, but still sort of uneven. It’s too thorough where it needs some brevity and vice versa.

City Slickers (1991, Ron Underwood)

City Slickers is a mid-life crisis comedy. I had forgotten about that aspect of it. All three principals–Billy Crystal, Bruno Kirby and Daniel Stern–start the movie in a funk. Well, actually only Crystal. The other two’s problems reveal themselves throughout. Especially Kirby. His backstory takes so long to reveal, it strains believability. It’s not believable his friends would know so little about him.

Anyway, in order for the movie to work, it has to be believable these problems will work themselves out at the end and the trio will be able to happily get on with their lives. It’s a comedy after all.

Except it’s not really about the three of them, it’s about Crystal. So if Crystal’s problem can work itself out… the movie works itself out.

And, within the constraints of the film, it does work. Underwood is able to sell it. It doesn’t make up for the dragging parts of the film, but it does make it work. In fact, it’s a somewhat strange resolution. It’s not subtle, though they never verbalize it; verbalizing it would make Crystal’s character a little… unlikable actually.

Underwood does a good job except when he’s repeatedly zooming in for effect. It just doesn’t work.

Crystal, Kirby and Stern are all good. Crystal gets better when he’s dramatic. Jack Palance and Crystal are great together. The supporting cast in general is strong.

Marc Shaiman’s music is a weak spot.

City Slickers has its ups and downs but it’s fine.

2/4★★

CREDITS

Directed by Ron Underwood; written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel; director of photography, Dean Semler; edited by O. Nicholas Brown; music by Marc Shaiman; production designer, Lawrence G. Paull; produced by Irby Smith; released by Columbia Pictures.

Starring Billy Crystal (Mitch Robbins), Daniel Stern (Phil Berquist), Bruno Kirby (Ed Furillo), Patricia Wettig (Barbara Robbins), Helen Slater (Bonnie Rayburn), Jack Palance (Curly Washburn), Noble Willingham (Clay Stone), Tracey Walter (Cookie), Josh Mostel (Barry Shalowitz), David Paymer (Ira Shalowitz), Bill Henderson (Dr. Ben Jessup), Jeffrey Tambor (Lou), Phill Lewis (Dr. Steven Jessup), Kyle Secor (Jeff), Dean Hallo (T.R.), Karla Tamburrelli (Arlene Berquist) and Yeardley Smith (Nancy).

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Tremors (1990, Ron Underwood)

Tremors is a unique film. Even with the derivative setting–the isolated desert town reminds of 1950s Universal sci-fi pictures–and whole “Jaws with giant worms” aspect, it’s a monster slash thriller slash comedy. It starts a comedy and ends one, with S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock’s script full of comedic dialogue, in addition to all the thriller elements. The attention to character is important, but the entire production is high on itself. From casting Michael Gross, who–at this point in his career–was singularly familiar as the “Family Ties” dad, as a survivalist to the ornate effects (the use of miniatures is incredibly well done), it’s certainly under appreciated (and I make this statement about a film popular enough on video to spawn a television series thirteen years after first release).

Wilson and Maddock’s script is economical–if it weren’t for director Underwood’s use of crane shots and the special effects, one would think Tremors was an independent production. The film runs a little over ninety minutes and I’d guess the monsters are hinted at, then revealed, then encountered in the first twenty. Maybe twenty-three. But in the same amount of time, the script introduces all of the film’s characters and establishes the rather important rapport between Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward. Bacon’s probably the lead (since he’s the one incompetently romancing Finn Carter to humorous effect), but Ward’s just as important. Their back and forth makes Tremors enjoyable.

The characters–not just Gross and Reba McEntire’s survivalists, but also Victor Wong’s store owner and Bobby Jacoby’s incredibly obnoxious teenager (the film never really addresses how Jacoby’s living on his own or where his parents are, which gets a little distracting on repeat viewings)–are all perfect. They’re fun to spend time with (Tremors is one of those Tarantino “hang out” movies).

Underwood keeps his camera moving a lot of the time, creating a frantic tone. The viewer and the characters discover things at the same pace and Underwood facilitates it well. In the quieter, static scenes, Underwood’s comedic touches come out. But he can also get in the grandiose landscape–Tremors occasionally feels like a Western, or at least like it’s supposed to feel a little like a Western. Cinematographer Alexander Gruszynski and composer Ernest Troost really help Underwood in making Tremors feel bigger than a lower budgeted, ninety minute monster movie. The film really draws the viewer in and holds him or her for the running time.

Tremors is a modern classic. It occurs to me the “modern classic” might not be based so much on box office gross or artistic import, but on rental returns. Tremors was a video hit. Strangely, DVD hits don’t produce “modern classics,” as Netflix has stamped out the communal video store atmosphere where film discovery could still occur.

But Tremors is a good film and it’s more important for its quality than its footnote in film history (even if it’s got one of the last PG-13 uses of the f-word).

Tremors (1990, Ron Underwood)

When I first rediscovered Tremors, around 1995, it was on laserdisc. In the 1990s, Universal was one of the finest laserdisc companies, probably the finest. They put out a special edition of Tremors and, remembering that I liked it when I saw it on video (everyone saw Tremors on video), I bought it. Probably from the expensive place next to this movie theater… laserdiscs were hard to find in suburbia. At that time, somewhat due to the mad-love for their laserdiscs, but also because Universal still made generally acceptable films back then, I actually believed Tremors was a willful decision–a film to invoke fond memories of Universal’s 1950s sci-fi films. Tonight, I watched Tremors over It Came From Outer Space, also set in the desert….

Tremors, quite nicely, holds up. Perfectly acted, amazingly well-constructed, it’s a shame the team behind it hasn’t gone on to more. They actually went on to more Tremors, during Universal’s 1990s direct-to-video rush… Sequels that are all right. The first film being made for cheap probably didn’t hurt the following films from being cheap either.

I’ve had Robert McKee on the brain all day, reading him for the first time today, all about the deconstruction of a scene. Tremors doesn’t work like that. It has some scenes, sure, lots of them, but it’s mostly action and it’s almost all in one setting. I’m not going to sit around and pick at it–it’s too good–but, for me, thinking about McKee, it’s interesting. I’m reading McKee for fiction writing and McKee writes for screenwriting. So how come he doesn’t work for Tremors? It is–arguably–one of the more lastingly popular films to emerge in the last fifteen years….

Anyway, if you haven’t seen it in awhile, check it out again. I always watch Tremors after dark, though. Don’t know why, it’s just one of those films that you watch after dark.