Cool News
Quint reviews Antoine Fuqua's TRAINING DAY!!!
Hey folks, Harry here with our young and crusty friend, QUINT with a look at Fuqua's TRAINING DAY... a film that I'm very much looking forward to seeing someday when they let me out of my padded cell... SIGH!!!!! (that's a really loud and frustrated and aggravated exaltation) However, for the time being I'm live vicariously through all these reports! I hate Quint now! Argh! No I don't... He's too cuddly and fun to tickle. Here ya go....
Ahoy there, squirts. 'Tis I, the mourning seaman, Quint, here. I
mean damn. Victor Wong can't really die, right? Gods can't die, can they?
Here I was all set to write this nice big review of a movie that blew me
away, Training Day, I sign on, check my email and stop by the site to see
one of my all time favorite character actors has exited stage left.
The bombings, the death of Samuel Z. Arkoff and now Egg Shen. How
much more can a crusty ol' salt like myself take? I'm just grateful that the
movie I saw tonight was something special. I saw what I hope to be the first
great film to usher in the post summer blockbuster season. Training Day.
Massawyrm called up, said he had an extra seat on his ticket to
the sneak and invited me along. When we met up at the theater I discovered
that he had been reading up on this film, something I very rarely do, and he
told me the buzz was amazing, that early screenings have yielded glowing
reviews. I had only seen the trailer and had kept away from all reviews and
reports... I've had too many movies ruined for me. Unless I know the
reviewer, I usually wait to read the reviews until after I see the film.
Anyway, I now had higher expectations for the film. The lights
went down and a trailer popped up for 13 Ghosts. Now, the sound and BASS was
cranked up to the Nth degree and boy did that trailer rattle me. I'm a
little nervous about Matthew Lilard and Hollywood's recent history with big
budget haunted house movies, but goddamn if they haven't put together a
freaky trailer. I hope they don't fuck it up.
The movie starts and immediately shows me that there is a very
talented cinematographer on board. The shots in a very normal setting, the
first being Ethan Hawke's small apartment, were set up imaginatively... Ah,
like you give a shit about that. Let's just say the visual tone of the film
is fantastic.
The real meat and potatoes of the film is in the performances of
Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Denzel plays Alonzo Harris, a badass
street-wise NARC, who takes young, rookie Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) on a day
full of tests... It begins with tests of his resolve, of his cop knowledge
and soon becomes a test of his moral fiber.
I don't want to go too long on this review, but I must go into
detail on these two characters. We'll start with Denzel. He plays totally
against type in this film and it works spectacularly. He gives his crooked
cop character dimension, makes him a vicious bastard, but one we can't take
our eyes off of. Yet we do see his facade drop at certain moments in the
film revealing a human being who is at once scared, pissed and eerily
cunning.
I'm tempted to say this is a career best for Denzel. He's always
great, but unlike Hurricane (which I dug) or Courage Under Fire or The Siege
or Glory or even Malcolm X... he's never played this character before. He
almost always plays the good guy, or at least the sympathetic character.
He's vicious in this movie. He's one guy you don't want to fuck with. What's
so disturbing about him and his character is you can't quite put a finger on
what's going on behind his eyes, what he has planned for you.
Ethan Hawke is perfectly matched with Denzel. Where Denzel is the
confident, brooding badass, Hawke is the nervous rookie with his ideals and
morals firmly in check. At once, Denzel starts toying with Hawke, testing
him for weaknesses and strengths. He takes a joy in taking this young rookie
with stars in his eyes, who in the end just wants to be a detective to
better help people, and twisting his idealistic vision on law enforcement to
the point of shattering the young man's dream.
The film is a great loss of innocence piece. Hawke's innocence is
not just simply eroded away, it's ripped from him violently, stomped upon,
spat upon, shit upon, then thrown back in his face. This movie holds no
punches. There was never one point where I knew what was going to happen at
the end.
Denzel and Hawke are backed by a great, great, great supporting
cast. Scott Glen (Silence of the Lambs, Urban Cowboy) is terrific in a small
role as one of Denzel's old buddies and informants. Also a standout is Cliff
Curtis (Escobar in Blow, Bruce Campbell's nemesis in the film within the
film in Darabont's upcoming The Majestic) as gang banger. He is in some of
the best scenes in the movie and he dominates the screen when he's on.
I was blown away by the film. Then the credits started to role and
I was even more blown away when I saw who the director was. It was the man
who made Chow Yun Fat not seem like a God. Antoine Fuqua, who directed The
Replacement Killers directed this superb cop drama. I can see his style in
the film now, but I frankly never would have thought he had it in him. Bravo
to him. He made a great film. I really hopes he keeps it up and have no
doubt he will. It took great talent to make the film I saw tonight and I'm
sure we'll see more great work like Training Day in the near future.
So, there you have it. I cannot recommend this movie enough.
Entertaining, emotionally involving and some of the best performances and
chemistry I've seen in a while. If you're tired of the buttery summer
popcorn movie aftertaste, Training Day is the perfect film to cleanse your
pallet and get you ready for the Oscar rush of the Fall Movie Season.
Keep yer eyes on the horizon, squirties. I have some goodness to
share with you fine folks in the very near future. Some script reviews and
even an interview with the daddy of everybody's favorite '80s horror
series... But more on that later. 'Til that day, squirts, this is Quint
bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
-
+ Expand All
-
The trailer looked great. I can't wait to see something with some grit......
-
And finally a role that makes Denzel the bad guy. I always wondered about how he would go over to the dark side. Will all the ladies still love him? Can't wait. The only other film this summer that was any good was the Others. God bless little known directors.
-
Although the anti-buddy detective flick has been less covered in film, I'm one to argue this is for the reason that too many of these flicks are forgetable. As a matter of fact, none spring to mind now. There was "Internal Affairs", which might've covered similar territory. Still, none within this genre have truly distinguished themselves. This is why after so many misfires, Quint's review gives me hope.
-
as i said in a previous post,hollywood will offer little escape from the constant barrage of 24 hour news coverage of the atrocities of 9/11/01.they will show supreme restraint in opening films that may be upsetting to viewers,or show our police and firemen in a negative light.no more disturbing images will be seen from hollywood until we are able to see them with out breaking down.all new releases will be pulled and re-viewed by the production companies to guarantee the public is not subjected to any visuals we may not be able distinguish from the visuals we have been seeing over and over again on every channel on the t.v. dial.all screens at your local cineplex, until further notice, will be showing a "merry melodies"short subject,followed by "it's a wonderful life"(note:there is a disturbing scene in wich james stuart is contemplating suicide,so please avert your eyes or use the opportunity to use the restroom,or visit the concession stand.)i remain,jonnyaction
-
Sep 18, 2001 1:46:17 PM CDT
Antoine Fuqua's not nothing going for him except a cool name...
by spider99
I'm surprised beyond belief that Fuqua's even still working in Hollywood. The director who's never heard of the wide pan, has given us such unmemorable "hits" like Replacement Killers and Bait. Watch, one day he's gonna get credit for the success of a movie he doesn't deserve. Look at Brett Ratner...
-
Sep 18, 2001 1:46:58 PM CDT
Antoine Fuqua's got nothing going for him except a cool name...
by spider99
I'm surprised beyond belief that Fuqua's even still working in Hollywood. The director who's never heard of the wide pan, has given us such unmemorable "hits" like Replacement Killers and Bait. Watch, one day he's gonna get credit for the success of a movie he doesn't deserve. Look at Brett Ratner...
-
Glad to see Denzel briefly leave behind the 'noble black man' roles and really tear shit up as a bad-ass. Hawke usually gives me hives but I think he'll rule in this.
-
Why or why is he continuously cast as a gangsta'? I can assure you that no gangsta' on the planet looks like Snoop. Maybe a gangsta's rotting corpse, dug up and strung up like a marionette puppet, but there is no living, breathing gangsta' that looks like Snoop. Hell, there ain't even a living, breathing person on this planet that even closely resembles Snoop. He ugly. He very ugly.
-
I can't wait for this movie.. i heard it is getting, or got pushed back due to the WTC event? Anyway, ever since i saw the trailer to this one back in the summer, iv'e been looking forward to it.. i'm really glad to hear it is getting positive reviews. And if you're into hip hop, the soundtrack is pretty good, too. it's got some new pharoahe monch
-
i think brett ratner deserves lots of credit for some of the success of Rush Hour and Rush Hour 2.. his directing is very subtle but you notice it if you look. Especially in the lighting, and the framing of every scene.. It makes the movie feel more comfortable, and in turn makes it easier to enjoy. i'm not even sure if the director is responsible for the lighting at all, but the lighting in Rush Hour is excellent.
-
I don't know about the framing to make things more comfortable bit. Perhaps that's true. But what he definitely brings is his story sensibilities. By that I simply mean he knows what people (esp young wannabe-hip people) like. He knows the kind of dialogue and story elements they'll like and what they won't. Which ad-libbed takes to keep and which to leave out. The kind of tone that has to be maintained. Can't really teach that. On a more mundane level he just knows how to keep the pace moving (esp with Rush Hour 2). The overall effect is a particular kind of hip, jovial, and light-hearted movie. So just because he isn't compelled to use a low-angle, orange-filtered, ultra closeup every time a character so much as picks his noise doesn't mean the director has contributed nothing to the movie. A light tough doesn't equal no touch.
-
Just saw it at a sneak preview tonight, the film is a really incredible genre pic... maybe the best film to come out of Warner Bros since THREE KINGS. I had thought of writing a review in to Harry, but Quint's words are good enough for me... I'm really glad this film lived up to it's trailer's promise, and that even the supporting cast was chosen especially well, right down to the infamous Peter Greene. This is the kind of film we got barraged with at the start of fall of 1999... THREE KINGS, FIGHT CLUB and BRINGING OUT THE DEAD... it's very similar to the last of those films in tone, although Scorsese's film greatly suffers at the hands of Patricia Arquette, giving a terrible performance.
-
It's about time.
-
But he has to be the most 2nd most overhyped director in Hollywood (Michael Bay is the 1st). Paying 5 mil for a guy who hasn't had a hit without Chris Tucker is ridiculous. Not only that, his name appears ABOVE the movie title now. What the hell? I guarantee a normal guy on the street doesn't know who the fuck Brett Ratner is. They didn't go to RH2 because it was a Brett Ratner film. They went because it was a Chris Tucker film (and Jackie Chan). You could've hired a much cheaper music vid director and gotten pretty much the same result.
-
A tremendous film for many reasons but key to this is how it really brings over how mean the streets are. I was frankly scared shitless when Denzel left Ethan Hawkes character in the badlands playing cards with some bad asss mo-fo's and then the denouement to that piece, which I should have seen coming but didn't, was such a righteous deux et machina that I nearly cheered, which at my age would be embarrassing. A truly great film.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 419 total posts 209 posts
- WTF HOLLYWOOD: SOLARBABIES -- 131 total posts 129 posts
- Herc’s Seen Tonight’s Return Of THE WALKING DEAD!! Discuss Also DOWNTON ABBEY, FEAR FACTOR, PAN AM, ONCE, SIMPSONS, DYNAMITE, LUCK, SHAMELESS, BAIT CAR, THE GRAMMYS And More!! Sunday Is Sweeps Day 11!! -- 123 total posts 122 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 124 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 191 total posts 47 posts
- Avid Comic Reader Hercules Does Battle With Tedium During Kevin Smith’s COMIC BOOK MEN! -- 43 total posts 43 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 60 total posts 42 posts
- I am The Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day! No, I’m the Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day! -- 27 total posts 27 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 506 total posts 26 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 77 total posts 24 posts