The Rabbit Hole

Mikey Rourke & Willem Dafoe Crossover DVDs

Jason and I had a Mickey Rourke Willem Dafoe crossover DVD party tonight. Jason gave the films we watched tonight to me for Christmas last year, I believe it was, that or my birthday, but I’m pretty sure it was for Christmas. I’ve been waiting since then to watch them, because there were four movies altogether, and we had to wait until a time when we could start early instead of the usual 10:00 at night. Which we don’t have that much time to do since the only night we can is Monday, and I usually give piano lessons until late Monday night. So I was thankful for the holiday so that way I could tell my students, take the day off, while I was really conspiring to spend some QT with brother Jason.

First we watched Point Blank (new), a low budget action flick that is beneath star Mickey Rourke, and co-stars Kevin Gage, Frederic Forest, and James Gammon. It’s not a bad flick when one takes into consideration the type of movie it is, it’s just disconcerting that a fabulous actor like Rourke would be in a flick like this. Although his presence does elevate the drab and laughable acting by the local Texans who make up the hostages in the mall that a group of escaped cons, lead by Ruddy’s (Roake) brother (Gage). To make sure his brother doesn’t get hurt, Ruddy, an ex-Texas Ranger/ex-merc, makes his way into the mall to take out the bad guys before the Texas Rangers go in, or the FBI comes in to screw things up “like they did in Waco”. His brother ends up dying anyway, at the hands of the sleaze ball who was behind the whole breakout anyway (Paul Ben-Victor). This is where Rourke escalates the acting, not only in this movie but in pretty much every action flick that’s ever been made, as he breaks down and actually cries real tears (as opposed to the scrunching of the eyes seen in most of these flicks whenever emotion is called upon).

Next up was A Prayer Before Dying (new), a “thriller” according to the cover, which turned out to be more a very interesting drama about an IRA operative (Rourke) who decides to quit after one of his bombs blows up a school bus full of children instead of its intended military target. But to get out of the country with a new identity, he has to pull a hit for a local mobster, who runs a mortuary/crematorium-not as a cover. Rourke’s character does the hit, but it’s witnessed by a priest (Bob Hoskins) who’s in the cemetery where the assassination takes place. Rourke later takes refuge from the mobster in the priest’s parish where he meets and falls in love with the priest’s niece. A little convoluted, but very entertaining and well executed all the same.

Third on the list, as well as the film which brought together the fabulous actors showcased in our DVD marathon tonight, was The Animal Factory (new). As far as prison flicks go, this one (directed by Steve Buscemi) is excellent. Even Edward Furlong isn’t bad in it. The film is follows Ron Decker (Furlong) who gets sentenced to five years in the penitentiary for possession of marijuana (harsh much?). Being a young, skinny kid, he’s obviously going to be the apple of some poop chute banging residence of the state. So he falls in with Earl Copen (Willem Dafoe) and his buds who take care of the new kid, without him having to worry about them turning him into their broad. Willem Dafoe gives a terrific performance in this movie, he totally embraces the character. And unrecognizable and hilarious in this film is Mickey Rourke as Jan the Actress, I think the name and setting of the film explain the name. Jan is Ron’s cellmate to start with until Copen gets Ron moved to his block. Rourke is spot on with the mannerisms, as he never over plays it, making the portrayal (which could have been played way over the top) so believable that I’m still can’t believe it was the buffed up Mickey Rourke. Copen and Ron develop an almost father son relationship, which seeing Ron’s real father (John Heard) in a few scenes, it’s obvious why Ron cleaves so strongly to this new older male figure in his life. The title (taken from the novel the film is based on) is all but lost in the film, however. It’s supposed to mean that prisons are factories that turn people into animals, instead of rehabilitation centers for the criminally deranged. However, since the two main characters, Ron and Copen, are shown as caring and sympathetic, as are most of their circle of friends-the only deranged people are the rapists who try to butt plug little Ron-this theme does not really come across.

Ending the night was To Live and Die in L. A. (new). Willem Dafoe is absolutely marvelous as the artist/counterfeiter villain of the film. William Peterson (CSI) is also good as the Secret Service agent who tries to take him out. The film itself, however, is rather messy, with subplots running here and there seemingly in a hurry to get nowhere. The death happens too suddenly, and the impact of bullets look like someone is throwing rotten tomatoes at the actors’ faces. The performances by Peterson and Dafoe, however, make this flick worth the time to watch.

It wasn't until The Animal Factory that I realized how many movies these two guys have been in together. There's The Animal Factory, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and White Sands. And if you add Danny Trejo into the mix you get three movies too, Point Blank, Tha Animal Factory, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (all three with Mickey Rourke and the last two with Willem Dafoe).

Two episodes of Roswell.