Mish Mash 27 (Eye for an Eye, The Chaser, Mortal Thoughts)

Eye for an Eye

Really what I wanted to point out with this mid level thriller is the villain portrayed by Kiefer Sutherland (Flatliners (2017)).  They make him so goddamn evil it’s comical.  Sutherland plays Robert Doob, a rapist and murderer which you would think would be enough to set the audience against him but the filmmakers take it much further.  He not only smirks and laughs when he gets off for said crimes but he also threatens to rape an eight year old and pours hot coffee on a dog.  Plus he’s just rude like when he pisses on a lady’s lawn and drives like an asshole swerving in and out of lanes.  Sporting a 90’s greaser look with slick pompadour hair, a gross goatee, A-shirt and a long ass wallet chain only puts this sonuvabitch over the top.

As for the film proper it’s not great.  I think they were aiming for a commentary on how the loss of a loved one through particularly violent and terrible means can change even a rich white liberal woman’s (Sally Field (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)) mind about vengeance, the death penalty, vigilante justice, etc.  In other words if you went through a heavily traumatizing tragedy would that alter where you stand morally on the ol’ eye for an eye sentiment.  And while this is definitely a dilemma worth exploring the movie isn’t subtle about who’s right/wrong, who’s good/bad.  As mentioned in the previous paragraph Doob is such a piece of fucking rat shit with the picture leaving zero doubt that he absolutely committed the crimes he’s accused of that there isn’t this gray area for debate.  Sally Field is absolved of any possible crimes she’s flirting with in striking back because we know her actions are essentially justified.  Anyway, that’s how eye sees it.

The Chaser

Late as hell to the party on this one (what else is new?) but yea, amazing.  This is one of those where you don’t wanna know a whole lot going in.  The basic premise is about a pimp whose girls have been disappearing.  He thinks someone is pulling a human trafficking job by stealing and selling them off as sex slaves.  He gets a lead on who might be behind this so he follows up only to find he stumbled into a fucking nightmare situation (as opposed to the non-nightmare world of slavery (*sarcasm*)).  Twists and turns abound with thrills packed to the gills.  I feel I should clarify it’s a cop film with a (sort of) mystery that (sort of) needs to be pieced together.  So if you were thinking it goes in a sci-fi or supernatural direction it doesn’t.  This thing does get pretty damn movie-ish towards the end however with some ridiculous coincidences but that’s easily forgiven because the rest of the story is so well told and the performances are very strong.  I know I’m being stupidly vague but really, if any of this sounds remotely interesting to you check it out pronto.

*Spoiler section for those who need more of a push* I do want to mention that the events in this picture were loosely based on real life Korean serial killer (and possible cannibal) Yoo Young-chul who murdered as many as twenty people in the early 2000’s (there’s a good doc on these crimes called The Raincoat Killer).  And having this knowledge makes the film even darker and spookier.  It adds a layer of reality you kinda wish wasn’t there but at the same time makes the film even more compelling.  This is similar to the early 80’s Austrian slasher Angst where real life and what’s supposed to be entertaining cinema clash in your brain for an uncomfortably mesmerizing experience.

Mortal Thoughts

In the wake of Bruce Willis announcing his aphasia and retirement I decided to finally pull the trigger on Mortal Thoughts which I had been meaning to watch for a long while.  It’s a thriller from 1991 about the murder of Jimmy (Bruce) at the hand of his wife, Joyce (Glenne Headly (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)), and her best friend, Cynthia (Bruce’s then wife Demi Moore (G.I. Jane)).  The entire thing is told via flashback during Cynthia’s police interrogation and while she fully admits to covering up the crime with Joyce we’re given the impression that she isn’t telling the whole story.  The movie’s fine.  Not remarkable but engaging enough that I was interested in knowing what was gonna happen next.  This shit’s right up my alley so I’m a sucker for it.

Anyway, Bruce gives one of the two standout performances (Headly is the other who pretty much shows up anyone she shares a scene with).  It’s unfortunate that his character is an unbelievable major league piece of crap asshole with no redeeming qualities whatsoever but Bruce plays it wonderfully.  He’s constantly angry with Joyce over anything and everything including something as simple as having sugar in stock for his tea.  He goes from zero to a hundred in seconds and starts yelling then getting in your face then grabbing then pushing and he’s just so infuriating.  But again, Bruce parades the scumbaggery in a way that I was invested in the character despite his appalling behavior (including sexual assault by the way).  There’s even a part where Jimmy is high on coke and pills and because he broke the car radio on a previous occasion (off screen) he starts obnoxiously singing “Kung Fu Fighting” and it’s bewilderingly amusing.  It’s always weird to hate a character a great deal but still want to see more of them.  The picture might be worth checking out for Bruce’s work here alone.