1- THE VOICE OF THE NIGHT By Dean Koontz. : First published in 1980 under the pseudonym Brian Coffey, and later released under his own name in 1991, The Voice of The Night is one of Dean Koontz’s best, yet least known, novels. It is one of his most understated books, and his only coming-of-age tale. Read or listen to the full review here.
Clint Eastwood returns as actor and director with Cry Macho (2021), a sweet, gentle, and charming little film, which, in its own modest, easy-going way, achieves so much with seemingly little effort. But although Eastwood is a notoriously fast worker, his movies, with very few exceptions, are almost always a smooth ride, and easy on the eyes. Cry Macho is a prime example of these trademark qualities of an Eastwood film.
Cry Macho tells a simple tale: 1980. Texas. Mike Milo, a washed-up rodeo star and horse breeder, reluctantly agrees to help his ex-boss and benefactor to bring his half-Mexican teenage son home and out of his abusive mother’s reach. So he crosses the border to rural Mexico, finds the troubled boy, and, together, they journey back to Texas. But their journey takes an unexpected turn or two. The plot is little more than a collection of road-trip movie cliches, and the script, especially some of the dialogue, doesn’t really add much that is fresh or original to the mix. But Eastwood is a smart, restless filmmaker, and it’s easy to see why he was attracted to the material, despite its shortcomings. In his hands, Eastwood turns this tired script, which has been floating around Hollywood for decades, into an exercise in charming filmmaking.
From the endearing performance of most of the cast, especially Natalia Traven as Marta, the lovable den mother; and Eduardo Minett as Rafo, with his tough kid posturing and moving dedication to his pet rooster, Macho; and, of course, Eastwood himself, who gives himself one of his most likable characters in a long time as Mike Milo, everyone involved seems to be having a blast.
And, in many ways, Milo’s character, and the film itself, is spiritually linked to one of Eastwood’s favorite films, 1980’s Bronco Billy, about the leader of a wild west show, a middle-aged dreamer who loves show business, the old west, and horses. Milo could be Bronco Billy gone to seed. A burnt out man who has lost his hopes and dreams, and who, by befriending the teenage Rafo, a hopeless outcast like himself, starts to find his way again. No wonder Eastwood uses the same font he used on the Bronco Billy poster for the Cry Macho titles.
Cry Macho is a film out of time. A film that would have been right at home in the early 1980s or 1990s. Now, it’s understandable that it struggles to find an audience, at a time when nihilism is trendy, and negativity is bankable. But Cry Macho, despite its flaws, is a spellbinding, humane film that feels old and new at the same time, and is Eastwood’s best film in years. Highly recommended.
Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of several short films and a feature, which was released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon. Find him on Twitter @AFKhalifa and on Facebook @Dark.Fantastic.AK·Writer
Master filmmaker Clint Eastwood continues his series of films about underdogs and the wrongfully accused, with Richard Jewell (2019), a compelling, well-crafted drama about the eponymous character, a security guard during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, who was wrongfully accused of planting the bomb that injured dozens and killed two during the event.
Paul Walter Hauser portrays the character as a conscientious if eccentric man obsessed with American law enforcement, a man whose ultimate dream is to become a police officer. But due to his weight and laconic, childlike manner, people take him for granted, that is, till he finds himself suspect number one in a terrorist attack. Hauser, in his first starring role, is a wonder to behold, stealing the movie with his understated, touching portrayal of a well-meaning ne'er-do-well with passion to spare. And as the events surrounding his character grow more and more troubling, Hauser imbues Jewell with layer upon layer, subtly communicating a wealth of emotions with a look or a phrase. Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates (in one of the best performances of her career as Jewell's mother) deliver ample support, but this is Hauser's show.
For Eastwood, this is yet another understated triumph, another story of injustice well-told, although this time the true story's implications are more troubling than usual, with the damning portrayal of the media and the FBI and their reaction to the Atlanta bombing the stuff of nightmares. No wonder the movie received little if no love from the mass media. It is a "politically incorrect" film with a troubling message about how the American media builds up heroes to sell papers, and then viciously tears them down to sell more papers, destroying people's lives in the process, and how governments are glaringly fallible when it comes to dealing with acts of terrorism, focusing on knee-jerk, headline-grabbing actions in place of seeking the truth. In this day and age, this makes Richard Jewell a brave film about a brave man who dared do his job well and never lose faith in what he believed in.
Ahmed Khalifa is a filmmaker and novelist. He is the writer/director of the feature film Wingrave, released on Netflix, and the author of a number of novels and short stories, including the YA horror novel, Beware The Stranger, available on Amazon.
Compelling, smooth mystery/thriller, with Eastwood in fine form as actor and director. The performances are top-notch across the board, the story intriguing, and the pacing just right. A throwback to Eastwood's efficient, tightly directed films from the 70's and early 80's. They sure don't make them like this any more.
Intriguing "Southern Gothic" from director Clint Eastwood, with engaging performances from an all-star cast, including John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, and Jude Law. But it's also a meandering, overlong film, and one which fails to bring the most out of its source material (it is based on the fascinating non-fiction book of the same name). Still, an interesting misfire from a master filmmaker.
Clint Eastwood's second Weird-Western (after the superior High Plains Drifter [1973]), is a dark, mystical re-imagining of Shane (1953), and a pacey, stylish, compelling film, with good performances, and a strange, dream-like mood. Eastwood shines as "Preacher", who may or may not be a ghost or an angel, with a masterfully understated performance. And the visually majestic finale is unforgettable. The film's only faults are the annoying, underwritten female characters, and a one-note plot.
Released just before Clint Eastwood hit it big and became a household name with Dirty Harry (1971), The Beguiled (1971) is an American Gothic masterpiece set during the Civil War. It features one of Eastwood's finest and most complex performances, as the charismatic interloper who awakens the sexuality of a number of women in an all-girls boarding school, with dire consequences. Under Don Siegel's tight direction, this deceptively simple tale becomes a layered, tense psycho-sexual Gothic nightmare, with strange voice-overs, sudden bursts of violence, and disturbing incestuous overtones. Although Eastwood teamed up with Siegel on three other projects (Coogan's Bluff, Dirty Harry, and Escape From Alcatraz), this is their most idiosyncratic, atmospheric collaboration, and one to savor again and again. A highly recommended classic.
Dark, compelling psycho-sexual thriller, with Eastwood in a memorably different and edgy role as a cop with twisted sexual tastes, hunting down a serial killer who targets women. Atmospheric, unusual, and full of suspense, this is one of Eastwood's most daring and provocative films. Highly recommended.
N.B. Although Richard Tuggle is credited as writer/director, Eastwood, who produced the film, took over the reins and directed the majority of it.
One of the finest prison movies ever made, Escape From Alcatraz (1979) is a suspense masterpiece. It's masterfully directed by maverick filmmaker Don Siegel, with fine performances by Clint Eastwood, Fred Ward, Larry Hankin, and Patrick McGoohan, and a nuanced, well-written script by Richard Tuggle (who would later on direct Eastwood in the hit Tightrope (1984). This is an unmissable, compelling, near-perfect suspense picture, and arguably Eastwood's second best collaboration with Siegel after Dirty Harry (1971). Based on a true story.
Considered by many to be one of Eastwood's few failures, The Gauntlet has a lot to offer despite its flaws. Like the majority of films Eastwood directed in the 70's and 80's, it has an offbeat, original quality to it, which is rare for mainstream Hollywood films, especially ones with a star of Eastwood's caliber. In one sense, it's Eastwood's version of a blockbuster action-movie, filtered through his penchant for quirky storytelling and stories focusing on strong-willed, independent individuals and their battle against corrupt bureaucracies. But don't let all that fool you into thinking this is high-brow stuff. Not at all. The Gauntlet is mainly Eastwood having fun tinkering with the action/chase movie formula. And to some extent it works. Where it doesn't wholly work is in the credibility department. This is the kind of plot that requires Costco-sized doses of suspension of disbelief. But, considering the film's over-the-top tone and a comic-book inspired poster by Frank Frazetta featuring a muscled Eastwood, what did you expect? An entertaining misfire from a master filmmaker.
Hugely underrated, High Plains Drifter is a terrific, confidently directed, occasionally eerie, ghost-story/Western, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. One of Eastwood's most audacious and stylish films, and a horror/weird Western masterpiece. Unmissable.
