Courteney Cox

  • Masters of the Universe (1987)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2022) I’m old enough to have been in the right age group when the Masters of the Universe toys came out (but never played with them), when the tie-in series was broadcast (but didn’t watch it) and when the film was released (but didn’t see it until now). As a result, I’m approaching Masters of the Universe without any sentimental or nostalgic attachment… and I strongly suspect that any reaction to the film hinges on that. From most perspectives, the film is flat-out terrible. The script is for kids (how could it be otherwise, trying to sell toys?), the execution is constantly hobbled by the state of 1980s special effects technology, the acting is unequal and the film doesn’t have much to keep adult audiences interested. If you’re in a generous mood, you can sort-of-see the elements of a cult film in the results: an obtuse mythology begging to differentiate between true fans and casuals; Dolph Lundgren muscling it up as He-Man but being outclassed by Frank Langella chewing universes of scenery as Skeletor. Courteney Cox has an early role here, and Meg Foster is often arresting as the villainess. While Masters of the Universe doesn’t do much to dress up its mercenary intentions, it’s handled with a blunt candour that’s sometimes disarming. Still, it’s weak sauce compared to the other fantasy films of the 1980s, and if you’re going to play in the overblown campy registry, then you’ll always lose a head-to-had comparison with Flash Gordon. Not coming to Masters of the Universe with a pre-packaged liking, I’m left underwhelmed.

  • 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)

    3000 Miles to Graceland (2001)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, August 2017) I gave 3000 Miles to Graceland a pass when it first came out, discouraged by the terrible reviews and probably captivated by some other film (let me check … ah yes: Monkeybone came out that weekend, followed in the next few weeks by The Mexican, 15 Minutes, Enemy at the Gates and Memento, all of which I saw at the theatre). Sixteen years later, the film is not quite as bad as I thought it would be. Part of it, I think, can be explained by Tarantino fatigue dissipating—3000 Miles to Graceland is a very stylish, very violent road movie, and writer/director Demian Lichtenstein seems eager to work in more or less the same stylized criminal comedy subgenre that had movie reviewers burnt out by 2001. Here in 2017, the thought of an unseen Tarantino-esque film can be interesting because there are comparatively fewer of them being made. It’s no accident if 3000 Miles to Graceland is far more interesting in its first half-hour than the sometimes-grating hours and a half that follows: It’s also the most deliberately stylized act of the film, the one that most closely apes the exuberant crime comedies of the time. That casino shootout is bloody fun (helped along by a bouncy turn-of-the-century techno soundtrack) and the way some characters are abruptly dispatched gives a welcome initial sense of unpredictability to the film. Kurt Russell is instantly likable as the anti-hero, while Kevin Costner does push his persona outside his comfort zone by playing an irremediable villain. (Compare and contrast his performance in 2016’s Criminal.)  Courteney Cox is sexier than expected, while the unexpectedly good cast is rounded out by familiar faces such as Christian Slater, Kevin Pollak, David Arquette, Jon Lovitz, Thomas Haden Church and Ice-T. The best moments of the film have a good rhythm to them. But then the film goes on, and on, and on, becoming steadily more ordinary along the way. The promising Elvis-themed casino heist becomes a revenge road movie with awfully convenient plotting, with the stylishness and unpredictability flying away in the distance. There is, in the end, a lot of wasted potential—and even clinging to what works or almost works in 3000 Miles to Graceland can’t quite save it from mixed feelings.