The Running Man.
Resurrecting the Champ
Callow sportswriter Erik (Josh Hartnett) rises to the occasion by rescuing an old black homeless man (Samuel L. Jackson) being roughed up by frat boys. And when the old man tells stories about having once been a world boxing contender, Erik has his ticket to rise in journalism. Or does he? Resurrecting the Champ (2007) is a swiftly paced, smartly written film leavened with humor and pathos and featuring some savvy acting by Jackson.
Winter Passing
There must be a lot of indie film funding in Manhattan because—for at least a quarter-century—that island’s bars and DJs, pigeons and bohemians on park benches, has seen its share of quirky youthful comedies. One of the latest entries stars Zooey Deschanel as an aspiring actor who reluctantly visits her J.D. Salinger-esque dad (Ed Harris), hoping to sell his letters to a publisher. Winter Passing also stars Will Ferrell as dad’s roommate.
Heroes Shed No Tears
Hong Kong director John Woo made his name in the ’80s for hard-knuckled gangster flicks grounded in notions of loyalty and vengeance. Heroes Shed No Tears (1986) was among his early international successes. Although low-budgeted and full of mock heroics, Woo already had a good sense for cinematography and the choreography of carnage. The story concerns a band of idealists and mercenaries sent into the Golden Triangle at Thailand’s border to root out heroin traffickers.
The Running Man
Carol Reed directed one of the greatest films ever, The Third Man (1949). The Running Man (1963) can’t come close and yet is not without interest. The story concerns a life insurance scam that unravels when the allegedly dead husband and the wife who collected the cash run into her insurance agent while hiding in Spain. The intrigue builds: does the agent (who never met the husband) suspect? Is he falling in love with the wife?
