edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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Nothing Else Shaking

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"I remember exactly where and when I first stumbled upon The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which is even more shocking considering I was drunk. It was during my third year of law school in the fall of 2000 when, on any given night, the odds were distinctly in favor of me being drunk. But this was a rare night, however, as I didn't immediately pass out when I got home. Instead, I found myself laying on my bed in a mildly drunken stupor, flipping through the channels in an attempt to find adequate background noise to the impending pass-out.

"And that's when I came upon a scene with these two dudes talking in a diner. From the tone and color of the film, it was obviously a 70's flick. And having no idea who Robert Mitchum was, it wasn't until later that I realized he was the one giving this absolutely engrossing monologue about why he's so careful when buying illegal guns. And as drunk as I was, I was so roped in by this simple monologue that I willed myself to a semblance of sobriety so I could stay awake for the next 80-odd minutes watching what is one of the best low-down gangster flicks out there." -- From a recent piece by Seth Freilich on Pajiba.com.

When in doubt on a slow news day, bring out Eddie Coyle!

Flashback<< previous | next >>Travers-ing Knight

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 25, 2008 at 4:08 PM

comment #1

berg says ...

I dig the way you bring up this excellent 70s film multiple times (every year) ... don't forget Fingers or Parallax View

Posted by berg at June 25, 2008 5:30 PM

comment #2

CinemaPhreek says ...

It's great, until he can't contain himself and decides to breathlessly go into the plot details, ironically fucking those of us who have been hearing him rave about this movie for (not kidding) over 10 years but holding out for letterboxed version (first laserdisc, now DVD) to see it.

And for this bit of cinema loyalty Wells will then piss on us and mock us when we complain that it ain't fucking raining.

Posted by CinemaPhreek at June 25, 2008 6:12 PM

comment #3

Edward says ...

How great was Robert Mitchum. His line readings are so on. My mom always disliked him, because of his droopy eyes and the fact he was busted for pot. I was always a fan; maybe starting my anti-establishment ways even when I was a young kid, because I like Mitchum.

Posted by Edward at June 25, 2008 9:44 PM

comment #4

corey3rd says ...

I'm holding out for the remake with Sly in the lead.

Posted by corey3rd at June 25, 2008 10:01 PM

comment #5

lazespud says ...

Hey, the guy from pajimba managed to talk about Eddie Coyle without ruining the ending. See! It IS possible!

Posted by lazespud at June 26, 2008 12:48 AM

comment #6

JapAdapters says ...

Mitchum's Boston accent is sublime in this movie. It's the best put down on film out of someone not actually from Boston. Gets me every time.

Any word on the Criterion rumor?

Posted by JapAdapters at June 26, 2008 8:43 AM

comment #7

George Prager says ...

Available for download at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Friends-of-Eddie-Coyle/dp/B000IBUP6A/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=digital-video&qid=1214499605&sr=8-2

I saw this at a Drive-in when I was a youngster. I don't remember much.

Posted by George Prager at June 26, 2008 10:02 AM

comment #8

roman says ...

Thank the lord for premium cable/satellite movie channels.

A Richard Jordan tour de force, and I'm gonna go out on a limb having not scoured his complete credits, and say that anything with Alex Rocco is gonna be awesome.

Posted by roman at June 26, 2008 11:42 AM

comment #9

Richardson says ...

I'm going to go against the grain, Roman, and *not* point out that he was in 'Find Me Guilty', which I enjoyed for what it was.

However, he *was* in 'Smokin' Aces', and that was just a pile of shit.

Posted by Richardson at June 26, 2008 2:08 PM

comment #10

Richardson says ...

Other movies I didn't know Alex Rocco was in:
'The Country Bears'
'The Wedding Planner'
'Dudley Do-Right'
'The Pope Must Diet'

Gotta love that voice...

Posted by Richardson at June 26, 2008 2:09 PM

comment #11

George Prager says ...

As a child I came to know Alex Rocco from "The Grass is Always Greener over the Septic Tank" and the TV series "Three for the Road" where he and his sons (Leif Garrett and Vincent Van Patten) hot the road in an RV.

Posted by George Prager at June 26, 2008 3:34 PM

comment #12