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Reviews
Aquaman (2018)
Trident = Tri = 3 = ?
How many times can you show a 5 pronged spear and continue to call it a Trident?
Durant's Never Closes (2016)
Running Wild Films hit the mark hard in the forehead
As indie films go, Travis Mills and the gang at Running Wild Films hit the mark hard in the forehead with Durant's Never Closes. Tom Sizemore is bombastic as always harking back to his better days as Michael Cheritto in Heat, and before he seemingly threw away a potentially great acting career. Kudos to Mills for drawing a real character out of him in the role of legendary Phoenix restaurateur Jack Durant. Jon Gries as Dizzy Dean (? who would have thought of that?) adds an oddball tangent in a way only he and a few other oddballs could. The story is a bit choppy and it took me awhile to realize that the story was unfolding a series of scattered vignettes. Is Durant's' life passing before his eyes as he lay dying – or is he already dead? I'm still not 100% sure and that's part of the charm in this neat little throwback to an era when the line between good and evil was blurred by post war values and ambitions. A time when it wasn't always clear if the power players in The Valley of the Sun were wearing white hats or black, or both at the same time.
Shades of Jim Jarmusch peek through in Mill's directing skills and I for one look forward to more from this creative team.
On a side note: The re-creation of the bar at Durant's is in a word, astonishing. Having spent many hours in the iconic mid-town steak house over the past 20 years, I can tell you, it was like actually being there. Well done.
Satan's Triangle (1975)
Dougs Smile
I saw this as a young adult while in the Army in Hawaii. I was sick in bed one day and stumbled across this flick just as it started. I have always remembered this film because of the ending. When Doug smiled while bobbing in the water, I just about froze with chills. The Marlin floating below deck was trey creepy too. It was the only time I have ever seen this film. This was in 1976 so its been 30 years and I can still see that expression on his face. I've probably seen hundreds of horror films since and forgotten most of them, but Satans Triangle stands out as one of the best low budget creep fest's to date. well done. I miss Doug McClure.