Had a chance to catch The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 at a screening earlier this week. I’ll shock obsessive cinephiles by confessing that I haven’t seen the original. The opportunity just never presented itself. So, I have no idea how this remake compares.
The new version is fairly undistinguished. Denzel Washington, as an New York transit official who inadvertently finds himself in the middle of a hijacking of the title vehicle, is very good. But he’s always watchable.
The movie is basically a showdown between New York City authorities, with Washington’s character acting as their mouthpiece, and a group of calculating criminals, led by John Travolta. Pelham’s strength lies in the interchange between Washington and Travolta. And the filmmakers don’t seem to trust this. Director Tony Scott forces the action and tries to manufacture tension. The ticking clock is rammed down the audience’s throat to the point that it started to elicit laughs. For the sole purpose of generating a car and motorcycle crash, a ridiculous non-chase action sequence is jammed into the middle of the movie, There’s no other reason for it to be there.
The most fun in the movie comes from John Travolta as the caper’s crazed mastermind. How do we know he’s crazed? He’s not above blowing away a hostage when the powers-that-be decide he should stop talking to Washington. How’s that for deranged?
Travolta doesn’t hold back. You can tell he’s really relishing the part. And this got me to thinking... is there any better movie character than a crazy villain? Sure, rule number one in movie making is the better the villain, the more memorable the movie. But, most movie villains have a motive for why they do what they do. Why even Austin Power’s Dr. Evil, as odd as he is, is in it for the payoff..... “ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!”
Not so with psycho movie villains. What makes them so appealing is that we don’t know why they do what they do. And therefore, we are never quite sure just what they are capable of doing. After all... they are INSANE!
So, call me crazy, but I thought I’d offer my top picks for the best psycho movie villains of all time. Here they are, in order of dementedness.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
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#8 - Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) Fatal Attraction (1987)
You have to wonder how many marriages stayed on the straight and narrow because of this movie. Close’s delicious portrayal of a lunatic woman who doesn’t know the meaning of one night stand takes the phrase “hell hath no fury... like a woman scorned” to a whole new level. And pity the poor people or bunnies that stand in her way.
“I'm not gonna be ignored, Dan!”
#7 - Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) Kiss of Death (1947)
How cold is Udo? Well, when he can’t find the guy who squealed on his gang, in frustration, he sends the stoolie’s wheelchair-confined mother sailing down a stairwell to her death. Talk about anger management issues! It’s Widmark’s first film, and what a debut it is. His portrayal of the sadistic gangster with a hairpin trigger temper is so creepy, even his laugh makes you shiver.
“You know what I do to squealers? I let 'em have it in the belly, so they can roll around for a long time thinkin' it over.”
#6 - Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) Misery (1990)
All Annie wants to do is show novelist Paul Sheldon just how much she enjoys his work. So maybe it is a bit overboard to take a sledge hammer to his ankles and hold him captive. A different kind of psycho villain, Bates, in her Oscar-winning turn, proves that the most unassuming menace can be the scariest.
“I am your number one fan.”
#5 - Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) Taxi Driver (1976)
Maybe we’re so afraid of Bickle because we know him too well. We are there every step of the way as he unravels and descends into a violent rage. And the fact that it could happen so easily and completely is cause enough for feeling unsettled.
You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talking... you talking to me? Well I'm the only one here.
#4 John Doe (Kevin Spacey) Se7en (1995)
We see the lion’s share of this deranged killer’s work before we even meet him, so we are sufficiently creeped out when he appears on screen. But what makes Spacey’s John Doe so memorable is that when he does finally show up, he saves his most heinous act for last.
“I visited your home this morning after you'd left. I tried to play husband. I tried to taste the life of a simple man. It didn't work out, so I took a souvenir... her pretty head.”
#3 Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Sure, you eat a few people and everyone calls you crazy. Hopkins’ Oscar-winning turn is the shortest in history for a Best Actor win, but he is mesmerizing in every second of the 16-plus minutes he is on screen. The power in his performance is undeniable. So brilliant, so manipulative, so insane... what’s not to like?
“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.”
#2 - Norman Bates (Tony Perkins) Psycho (1960)
How crazy is Bates? The name of the movie says it all. Alfred Hitchcock, the master of creating mayhem out of ordinary situations, is at the top of his game. This 1960 shocker is still as powerful today -- despite the countless imitations that have been made since. Perkins’ soft-spoken Bates seethes with a demented undercurrent that makes our skin crawl. And that’s even before we meet his mother!
“She might have fooled me, but she didn't fool my mother.”
#10 - Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) Reservoir Dogs (1992)
What can you say about a guy who cuts off a cop’s ear and then starts pouring gasoline on the open wound? Just don’t ask him if he needs a match. Michael Madsen’s psycho is certainly the most memorable thing in Quentin Tarantino’s explosive debut. And don’t tell me you can listen to Stealers Wheel’s Stuck in the Middle with You without feeling just a tad squeamish.
“I'm gonna torture you anyway, regardless. Not to get information. It's amusing, to me, to torture a cop.”
#9 - Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) White Heat (1949)
Blame it on the headaches or the fact that his father died in an insane asylum, but Cody Jarrett certainly sets the bar for deranged movie criminals. But don’t take our word for it. Ask the poor guy stuck in the truck of Jarrett’s car who complains about how stuffy it is and that he needs some air! Oh, that’s right, thanks to Jarrett, you can’t ask him. And is there a movie villain with a better death scene?
“Made it, Ma! Top of the world!”
The Joker (Heath Ledger) The Dark Knight (2008)
Without a doubt, The Joker is the best thing in this blockbuster. Heath’s Oscar-worthy portrayal of Batman’s most infamous adversary truly makes us believe that he is void of a moral compass and capable of any and all things twisted. A smoldering powder keg, we can’t wait to see what kind of anarchy he’ll unleash next.
“Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the... little emotions.”
And... movies #1 psycho?
