True Romance (Tony Scott)

Into Hollywood with an agenda of their own.

Although directed by Tony Scott, "True Romance" is, from all sides, taken over by Quentin Tarantino's (who have written the screenplay along with Roger Avary) trademark brushstrokes of unrelenting references to B-movies, stylishly vulgar dialogues and killer MacGuffins. The film is also a perfect ensemble exercise of character acting, featuring such greats as Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman and a whole lot of others.

Clarence and Alabama, whose relationship was described almost sarcastically in the film's very title, were perfectly played with the needed air of 'go for luck', 'not a care in the world', 'against all odds' romance by both Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette. Now, when I look back at the very beginning, I think that the complications ironically came from the very manifestation of love between the two itself. When I heard Alabama deliver the line 'It was so romantic' after (SPOILER) Clarence killed Drexl her pimp, they surely are in for some romantic distortions, and so are we.

It all began when Clarence, all alone in a triple billing theater watching Sonny Chiba's (used later by Tarantino as Hattori Hanzo in "Kill Bill") movies, was suddenly covered with popcorn (yes, it was THAT cheesy) via Alabama's clumsy slip. After a small talk, they went for a pie, read some comic books and, as expected, into the anticipated heat of the night.

However, it was then revealed that everything, from the initial encounter (explaining the popcorn trick) up to their sexual climax, were planned and that Alabama was hired by Clarence's boss for his birthday. But then, Alabama was guilty. They hugged each other. After the artificial fling, still, love it really was indeed.

From those basic blueprints, one can see how these initial sequences can also properly fit within the premise of a tiring mid '90s comedy romance film (an everyman falling for a prostitute with a heart). But with brash Tarantino with the pen and action stylist Tony Scott at the helm, expect this romantic idealism be unraveled, be taken down piece by piece, then be put back together. We got here a turbulent love story.

With the help of the cocaine MacGuffin and some satiric intent, "True Romance" also fearlessly entered a part of Hollywood's immoral side, the retaliative urgency of the mob and the egotism in the police division not just to serve as morally imperfect backdrops for Clarence and Alabama's romance but also to give an inexorable portrait of human desperation and the intertwining of situational fates.

And even though I think that the film's climax was a bit rushed and too 'explosive' that it almost seems out of place in great contrast to its carefully progressive, well-written narrative establishment, nevertheless, the film has delivered enough goods to be considerably well-remembered as a high-notched blazing craziness that fully belongs to both the crime and romance genre.

Oh, and you want a definition of pure cinematic gold? Take note of the Sicilian scene. Hopper and Walken on a verbal dance of fear-inducement and sarcasms. Astounding. Just astounding. And after writing this, I've stumbled upon a "True Romance" film review describing the particular scene with the same, exact word (astounding) as I've used. Oh, the beauty of appreciative coincidence.

FINAL RATING

Unstoppable (Tony Scott)

"Damn Ethan Suplee!"

Tony Scott/Denzel Washington action vehicle (with Chris Pine somewhere in the backseat) that inherited its tension and suspense from films likely to have gotten such factors from: Yes, you guessed right, "Speed" and "Die Hard". But this time, there's no lunacy-drowned Dennis Hopper or a smooth-talking but devious Alan Rickman to thwart, but a train of doom propelled into a certain explosive destruction via the incompetence of Ethan Suplee's character aka the 'indirect villain of the film'. The initial relationship between Chris Pine and Denzel Washington's characters was kind of a good-natured version of that in "Training Day". It mirrors Denzel's interaction with Ethan Hawke in the said film enough for me to anticipate him to convince Chris Pine to smoke a joint while they operate on some trains.

Do not get me wrong, their bond, though a bit pushed just for the sake of putting some emotional meat into the characters, is about to head into a very good chemistry. But because of the film's cliched characterizations, both of them transformed into, well, cardboard heroes engaged to save the artificial day once more. And as if implying our ignorance of some heavily complex machinery involving locomotives and railroads, director Tony Scott smartly inserted some perfectly detailed situational graphics and explanations on how the various plans would turn out. Disguised as media snippets. Yes. You reckon how reporters expound certain things to television viewers? That's how it is.

On a different note, I'm also at odds with certain emotions involved in the film, such as all the other characters, except the two leads, clapping and shouting ecstatic cheers ("You can do it, daddy!) every time Chris Pine dodges certain death or when Denzel Washington successfully jumps through tank cars. Come on, you're not watching televised sports. And while they're on the mood for that, they could have distributed some beers and placed bets. It should have sealed the deal for some maximum television entertainment.

And one other thing, as proven with an exclamation point and fully suggested by an epilogue title card, if you're an action movie character separated from your wife and kids and is living a meaningless existence, do something heroic. No, not helping an old lady cross the street. Not even saving a kid from a house on fire. To ensure tearful reconciliatory realization, stop an explosive train. And to regain your daughters' cheery attitudes, receive a kiss from Rosario Dawson. Now you see how paradoxical Hollywood can get in solving certain domestic problems? There's "Unstoppable" for you.

FINAL RATING