The Doors 1991 * * * Stars

Director: Oliver Stone
Year: 1991

Rated R

Rating: * * * Stars

Cast: Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Frank Whaley, Kevin Dillon

After winning two best director Oscars (Born on the Fourth of July, Platoon respectively) at the Academy Awards, Oliver Stone could pretty much do whatever he wanted. So given his affection for 60's nostalgia, he decided to helm this 1991 biopic based on one of rock and roll's all time greatest bands (one of my favorite rock groups as well). The Doors is a prime example of what a filmmaker can do if the vision of what's on screen is entirely his (not necessarily what the remaining members of The Doors themselves had intended). With as much clout as any major voice in Hollywood, Stone made an exercise that veers almost completely away from the storytelling of the band, and instead concentrates on the madness and mystery of lead singer Jim Morrison. The result is a fiery yet saturated, powerful yet overwhelming, and sad yet involving portrait of a musical icon who passed over much too early. Now I gotta warn ya, this thing is over 2 hours long and is exhausting. It's also an ambitious mess (don't worry, this is a compliment) that's filled with every Stone nuance in the book (you almost have to wear dark sunglasses to tackle the look of it). But it's saddled with a brilliant performance by Val Kilmer as the lead. And he anchors this kaleidoscope of late 60's culture bent on entertaining you if you let it. So to make things clear, I am to this day, a huge fan of Oliver Stone's 90's endeavors. He has calmed down a bit as a director these days. And don't get me wrong, I still think he knows what he's doing behind the camera. But I kinda wish the maverick in him would come back (a la The Doors). There is just too much control with his technique in present day. I kinda hate it to be honest.

Anyway, this movie tells the story of the band going from heralded beginnings (guitarist Robbie Kreiger and Jim Morrison were students who met at UCLA film school) to virtual stardom, and then to an eventual break up with the lead vocalist (the drummer, keyboard player, and lead guitarist continued on but the film ends with Jim's death). The Doors chronicles the years 1965 to 1971. Two to three aspects are driven home by Stone to get his point across. One is Morrison's alienation from the other band members (Kevin Dillon as John Densmore, Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robbie Krieger) through his relentless drug/alcohol abuse during their tenure. Second, we get a sort of unclear spiritual journey that Kilmer (Morrison) goes through in the form of flashbacks caused by a drug fueled haze-type behavior. Lastly, Stone puts emphasis on Morrison's relationship with his hippie girlfriend Pamela (Meg Ryan). Their love affair is volatile and dangerous. Just watching them together makes you think that they would not, and could not live very much longer. Finally, there is the music. The concert and studio recording scenes are so well filmed and seem so real (that's because the actors actually learned to play the instruments from what I understand), you get the sense that Mr. Stone really took his time to get the right attention to detail. Oh, and I almost forgot, look for Crispin Glover doing an Andy Warhol impersonation (In the film, Jim meets him at a party). With Velvet Underground's music in the background, it's a wallop of a scene in terms of sensory overload.

To put it all into perspective, if you are a fan of the music via The Doors and don't mind a film that's rough around the edges, this is something worth checking out. The performances are adequate and Kilmer's turn as rock and roll's misunderstood poet is downright Oscar worthy (the reason he got snubbed could have been the film's early release in March). Yes, the overall structure of what's on screen is choppy and somewhat of a downer, but there is a storytelling light at the end of the tunnel. And as usual, Stone likes to wrap things up rather quickly. Is it justifiable after two hours and twenty minutes? Yeah, why not. By then, the audience has embraced the bruised heart of a fallen legend. Morrison is dead but the music of The Doors lives on forever. This film is a raw, battering interpretation of a band who's sound could never be copied. At close to the two hour mark, Frank Whaley (Robbie Krieger) says to Jim, "you said you like pain. Well you run from it every chance you get." Well, I plan on viewing The Doors again and again and believe me, no matter how intense Stone's vision gets, I certainly won't run from it. That's a guarantee.

Written by Jesse Burleson

Point Break 1991 * * * Stars

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Year: 1991

Rated R

Rating: * * * Stars

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty

Kathryn Bigelow was a different director back in 1991. Before the success of The Hurt Locker (2009) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012), she was making films that weren't deemed Academy Award worthy. She was cutting her teeth with raw unflinching action flicks like Blue Steel (1989) and this screw loose guilty pleasure known as Point Break. I've seen it many times and honestly it just never gets old. It belongs in a time capsule. Point Break represents a lot of beliefs I have about the possibility of what an action film can be because it goes completely over the top and throws everything in it but the kitchen sink. Yes, it's a movie that is choppy in shape and form. But it has bombastic originality along with a handful of important jaw dropping key scenes that make up for its shortcomings. Initially, when I first set foot in the theater over 20 years ago for my first screening of Point Break, I was dumbfounded. I was completely taken aback by the casting (Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Patrick Swayze), the plot, and the fact that the initial viewing left me cold, like I had seen a film that an average audience would stay away from (the theater was small, it was Friday night, and there were 8-10 people in the seats). Over time, I've grown to surrender to Point Break's giddiness as full blown cinema. It stands the test of time and breaks every film making rule in the book. You think the director, the stars, or the production staff cared, well they didn't. I have one word for these people, bravo!

The story begins with our hero, Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves in a his first starring action film role) entering his first day as a FBI agent in sunny Los Angeles. Right away, he gets paired with an over the hill aging veteran named Angelo Papas (played with improv overload by the likable Gary Busey). The two of them team up to try and catch a group of bank robbers who may or may not be surfers. Oh and I almost forgot, they also dress up as the ex-presidents with masks and all, only taking money out of the cash registers (apparently the vault takes too much time). Throughout the full running time of two pulse pounding hours, Reeves character befriends a local named Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) and romances a spunky surfer girl Tyler Endicott (Lori Petty) all the while going undercover and bruising his "whoooaaa" like ego in the process. I'm not gonna lie, his performance demands attention. As a actor, he tends to be as wooden as aged oak but he's likable in "Break." Bigelow saw something in Reeves that I think most directors would have dismissed as a veritable disaster. But she gave him his shot and he went on to shine later in Speed and the Matrix movies. Also, the pairing of Busey and Reeves as law enforcement associates is something I initially thought was some kind of nocturnal joke, but it works. Busey, with his purly white fanged teeth, runs amok with this character and becomes Utah's scary, perverse uncle. As the movie takes a lot of trippy twists and turns, the two of them form a friendship based on polar opposite attraction. It's the key to the film I think because ultimately it's a buddy cop yarn just like Lethal Weapon (1987) and 48 Hours (1982).

Buddy cops movies aside, Point Break is pure adrenaline and has a harrowing intensity that shows in three key scenes: the sting operation of a drug house followed by mistaken identity, the skydiving scene with no parachutes, and the apprehension of the villain in Austrailia's nastiest waters. I can say that a cult following this flick garnished, is well deserved. Kathyrn Bigelow, a maverick back then and an Academy darling now, deserves praise for this early 90's endeavor. She directed Point Break with reckless abandon and I'm proud to say it owns a special place in my eccentric collection of well worn DVDs.

Written by Jesse Burleson

The Last Boy Scout 1991 * * * Stars

Director: Tony Scott

Year: 1991

Rated R

Rating: * * * Stars

Cast: Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans

After the enormous success of 1988's Die Hard, Bruce Willis continued to flaunt his tough guy, anti-hero persona in The Last Boy Scout. As Mr. five-o-clock shadow Joe Hallenbeck, he teams up with comedian Damon Wayans (James Alexander Dix) to solve the murder of Dix's girlfriend all the while taking down a crooked football team owner. Wayans plays a has-been quarterback and Willis plays a once fallen secret service agent.

With Brucie all guns blazing and at his macho best, this is one gritty, down and dirty action flick that almost defines him more than all the Die Hards combined. There's plenty of great one liners (eat your heart out Schwarzenegger) and stuff blowing up so just sit back, grab some popcorn, and hold on. Oh, and watch for the final, violent showdown at the L.A. Coliseum between Hallenbeck and villain Milo (played by Taylor Negron who actually announces himself as the bad guy). It gives new meaning to the term, "if I get out of this I swear I'm gonna dance a jig." You'll know what I mean if you check your brain at the door and let the chaos spill onto the screen. Tony Scott directed, nuff said.

Written by Jesse Burleson