Mark Sullivan (AnonymeInc@webtv.net)
Mon, 2 Aug 1999 12:24:06 -0400 (EDT)
While I do prefer Lee Marvin in the role, if we're employing
time machines Mel Gibson might not be so bad after all, as
long as it's the Mel Gibson who played Mad Max (in the first
two). At that point in his career, he spoke little and had
not yet developed the campy attitude that now seems to follow
him everywhere. I totally agree with Kevin that Gibson has a
dark side, but it has been too long buried.
As for Bruce Willis, I actually prefer him these days to
Gibson, at least he can be self-deprecating, as in Fifth
Element and, except for its ridiculously overblown ending,
the not bad PI film, Last Boy Scout. After becoming totally
bored with Willis' self-aggrandizement by the end of
Moonlighting, after thinking he was pretty great in the
beginning, this movie brought me back. It opens with him
sleeping in his car. Three kids see him, pick up a dead rat
and place it on his chest. He opens his eyes, but doesn't
even blink, it's like this is his usual wake-up call. This
was one down-and-out PI. And Willis plays down-and-out very
well.
And Kevin, you must admit, Bassinger wears a dress very well.
Look at it this way, when you are as bad as she was in movies
like The Getaway, a merely half-decent performance like hers
in LA Confidential looks pretty damn amazing in
comparison.
For the record, I liked LA Confidential specifically for its
storytelling. I thought it did a great job of trimming
Ellroy's book for the screen (there is way too much there for
just one movie).
Mark
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