“Near Dark”, “Sisters”, and “Night Moves”

Near Dark, made in 1987, was the first film to put Kathryn Bigelow’s name on the map.  It’s a vampire film chockful of name actors in early appearances, including Bill Paxton and the Martian-like Adrian Pasdar.  Like all of Bigelow’s films, it’s an above average genre exercise that’s wildly overpraised because it was written and directed by an attractive woman.  Still, Near Dark is well worth seeing for Bill Paxton’s awesome overacting alone.  He’s a big ol’ hamball, and it’s fun to watch.

I haven’t seen a lot of early Brian DePalma, do I decided to do something about that.  Sisters was his first Hitchcock ripoff tribute, and it might be his best, even though I haven’t seen a lot of his other work.  I’m a boob.

Margot Kidder plays a French Canadian chick with a twin sister that’s KER-RAAZZZZYYYYY!!!!  As the crazy sister, it’s almost like Kidder is rehearsing for 20 years down the road, when she was found in LA pissing on somebody’s bushes.  This movie blew me away, and you should watch it and become a better person.  It’s bloody, it’s exciting, it’s filled with great visual flourishes (the split-screen sequences are awesome) . . . See the damn thing!

However, that wasn’t the best film I saw during this recent binge.  That belongs to Night Moves, a 1975 film noir by Arthur Penn.  Gene Hackman is great as Harry Moseby, a detective trapped in a mystery that only gets more bizarre as it goes on.  This would make a fantastic double feature with The Long Goodbye.  This may be one of the best screenplays ever written, and Gene Hackman’s hair is hilarious.  How hilarious?  I’m bald and I’m still making fun of it.

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