Friday, December 19, 2003

To Live and Die In LA

Watched William Friedkin's To Live and Die In L.A. the other night and dug it very much. It's sort of an L.A. answer to Friedkin's French Connection, and while it's not as good as that film, it's still a really cool 80s movie artifact, and a cracking good thriller. The story of an obsessed Secret Service agent on the trail of an evil, murderous yet brilliant and talented counterfeiter, the movie screams 1980s - from the vivid color scheme to the score by Wang Chung. No, that's not a joke, Wang Chung scored the movie - you may vaguely remember the almost-hit title track. While the film definitely displays plenty of Friedkin's trademark style and obessions, it could almost be mistaken for the work of Michael Mann. Willem Dafoe and William Petersen are both terrific in the film, playing basically unlikeable characters. Petersen's the hero and we're supposed to like him, I guess...but he's pretty much a louse, not unlike Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle in French Connection. It may not suit all tastes, but I really enjoyed it.

Boston says the A-Rod deal is dead, Texas says it still has a chance. I no longer know what to think, or even what to root for in this issue. The AL East should be a wild ride in 2004.

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