Six Ways to Sunday

6ways-2sunday-56
Arnie is basically half the guys I went to college with.

Cast: Norman Reedus, Deborah Harry, Elina Löwensohn, Peter Appel, Holter Graham, Adrien Brody, Jerry Adler, Issac Hayes, Clark Gregg

Writers: screenplay by Adam Bernstein and Marc Gerald; based on the novel “Portrait of a Young Man Drowning” by Charles Perry.

Producer: Jonathan Demme (one of my favorite directors)

Director: Adam Bernstein

Genre: Crime, Dark Comedy

Running Time: 1 hour, 37 minutes

Released: September, 1997 (October, 1998 in the U.S.)

MPAA Rating: R

It’s a Dark Movie

I’m going to level with you: this is a strange movie. Dark comedy mixed with gangster flick. Disturbing, violent, dark and somehow funny. If you’re a fan of films by the Cohen Brothers (such as Fargo), then you might dig this. In spite of the bloodshed and off-putting subject matter, this film is actually not bad.
Continue reading “Six Ways to Sunday”

Solo

Cast: Mario Van Peebles, William Sadler, Barry Corbin, Adrien Brody, Seidy Lopez, Abraham Verduzco, Farnecio de Bernal…

Writers: Screenplay by David Corley, based on the novel “Weapon” by Robert Mason.

Director: Norberto Barba

Genre: Action (with some Science Fiction elements)

Running Time: 1 hour, 34 minutes

Released: August 23, 1996

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Let’s Be Real

I’m going to be straight with you, my dear readers: this movie is not great. It has its impressive moments, but overall… it’s kind of cheesy. As with Bullet, though, I think it may have impressed me more upon its release in 1996.
Continue reading “Solo”

Bullet


Cast: Mickey Rourke, Tupac Shakur, Ted Levine, Adrien Brody, John Enos III, Jerry Grayson, Suzanne Shepherd… Donnie Wahlberg has a small role, also.

Written by: Mickey Rourke (as “Sir Eddie Cook”) and Bruce Rubenstein

Directed by: Julien Temple

Genre: Crime, Drama

Running Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

Released: October, 1996 (U.S. limited release)

MPAA Rating: There is both an R, and an “unrated” version

Continue reading “Bullet”

Ten Benny

also known as Sweet Jersey, occasionally known as Nothing to Lose

normal_10_bennys_285429

Cast: Adrien Brody, Michael Gallagher, Sybil Temchen, Tony Gillan, James E. Moriarty, Lisa Roberts Gillan, Frank Vincent.

Written & Directed by: Eric Bross

Genre: Drama

Running Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes

Released: April 9, 1995

MPAA Rating: R

Ten Benny is one of those films that is kind of hit and miss. It comes close to greatness many times, but comes close to cheesy nearly as often.

Adrien’s Role: Ray Diglovanni Jr.

On paper, our main character, Ray (Adrien Brody) is… well… an a**h***. The relationship with his long-suffering girlfriend, Joanne, is a troubling one. He seems to have little to no respect for his father (although that changes some), he fails his friends at every turn, and he basically uses his job as a way to make connections for his gambling addiction. Continue reading “Ten Benny”

Rebel Highway: Jailbreakers

Angel and Skinny

A positive thing I can say about Jailbreakers is that Adrien’s character, “Skinny” (that’s the only name he’s ever given) appears right away. So… it has that going for it.

Cast: Shannen Doherty, Antonio Sabato Jr., Adrien Brody, Sean Whalen, Adrienne Barbeau… and what amounts to a cameo from Charles Napier.

Written by: Debra Hill, Gigi Vorgan

Directed by: William Friedkin

Genre: Made-for-TV drama/”B-Movie”

Running Time: 1 hour, 16 minutes

Released: September 9, 1994

MPAA Rating: not rated

Continue reading “Rebel Highway: Jailbreakers”

Angels in the Outfield

adrienbrodyangels

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milton Davis Jr., Danny Glover, Brenda Fricker, Tony Danza, Christopher Lloyd, Dermot Mulroney, Taylor Negron, Adrien Brody, Matthew McConaughey… it’s a big cast.

Writers of the original (1951): Dorothy Kingsley, George Wells, Richard Conlin

This version: Dorothy Kingsley, George Wells, Holly Goldberg Sloan

Director: William Dear

Genre(s): Comedy, Family, Fantasy

Running time: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Released: July 15, 1994 (U.S.)

MPAA Rating: PG

Continue reading “Angels in the Outfield”

King of the Hill

Now, we come to one that is definitely in my top 10 of Adrien’s performances.

lester

Cast: Jeroen Krabbe’, Lisa Eichhorn, Karen Allen, Spalding Gray, Elizabeth McGovern, and Jesse Bradford as Aaron (featuring: Adrien Brody, Amber Benson, Katherine Heigl and Lauren Hill)

Written by: A.E. Hotchner (memoir), Steven Soderbergh (screenplay)

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Genre: Drama, Biography/History

Running Time: 1 hour, 43 minutes

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Released: August 20, 1993 (U.S.)

King of the Hill is, to use an overused phrase: a powerful film.

It gives you an unflinching look into The Great Depression (a time of great economic hardship in the 1930s) from a young man’s perspective.

Continue reading “King of the Hill”

The Boy Who Cried Bitch

 

Adrien in the film
pardon the Dutch subtitles

Cast (opening credits order): Harley Cross, Karen Young, Dennis Boutsikaris, Adrien Brody, Gene Canfield, Moira Kelly

Written by: Catherine May Levin

Directed by: Juan Jose Campanella

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Running Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Released: April 24, 1991 (U.S.)

Rated: Not rated (would be “R”)

Full disclosure: The first time I watched this movie (last November), I basically watched Adrien Brody’s scenes. The second time (this summer), I skimmed through to get the gist of it. This time, I figured I needed to really pay attention to the entire film if I was to review it. So I did. Also, I don’t own this film (I’ve never found an official release), I watch it via YouTube (a VHS rip with Dutch subtitles).

—

In all honesty, this is a very unsettling and dark story and is hard to watch at times. It is almost a cautionary tale about being a more involved parent (and seeking help for your own issues, lest you pass down worse ones).

Continue reading “The Boy Who Cried Bitch”