RIP John Heard

[Davey the Fat Boy]

Great character actor. Not sure why the press is identifying him as "Home Alone father" - but he's always going to be Alex Cutter to me.

[Snarfyguy]

Possibly not one of the greatest of the greats, but I always liked him. He had an easygoing amiability and I was saddened to hear of his passing.

Pour some out.

[Sneelock]

oh, you've GOT to see Daniel Stern's Twitter post!
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ente ... 723330.cms
I'm yet to listen to the "I Blame Dennis Hopper" interview he did recently, I suspect it's really good.

[Sneelock]

the last thing I saw him in was "Sharknado" he was good!

[sloopjohnc]

the last thing I saw him in was "Sharknado" he was good!

Me too. He died in my neck o' the woods, Palo Alto. I guess he'd had some minor operation at Stanford.

[Sneelock]

I don't really like Illeana Douglas' podcasts. you'd think she'd ask more better questions. Still, her John Heard interview was interesting. Heard is relaxed and pretty forthcoming. He says he didn't really take movie acting very seriously. His main explanation of his performance in "cutter's way" sort of boiled down to him being an asshole to people. LOL.

[Matt Wilson]

I'm not the big fan of Cutter's Way that some are. It's trying to be some kind of eulogy for the '60s counter culture and if you're looking for that then you'll find it. Heard is very good in that role though. I don't think I ever saw him perform with that level of excellence again.

[Sneelock]

It's hard for me not to judge it against the book. They change a key element which shifts the way you look at the main characters. Still, I think Heard gets that Captain Arab vibe really well. He's going to take that guy down just to take him down. It's as vivid a film character as Heard seemed called on to play.

[Davey the Fat Boy]

I'm not the big fan of Cutter's Way that some are. It's trying to be some kind of eulogy for the '60s counter culture and if you're looking for that then you'll find it. Heard is very good in that role though. I don't think I ever saw him perform with that level of excellence again.

I don't think he was ever given a role as interesting again.

I guess I'm with "some" on the film. Not because of any bullshit about it being an elegy to the 60s, but because I love the whole idea of building a neo-noir on a mountain of delusion. Later The Big Lebowski would pull on that thread for comic effect, but there's a lot more pathos in taking the premise seriously.

[Matt Wilson]

You don't know that it really was a delusion though - as the man's guilt/innocence was never verified. Unless there's more info in the book that I'm not privy to. The Heard character might really have been on to something, right? Or am I not remembering the film correctly?

[Davey the Fat Boy]

I think you are (though admittedly, it's been a while since I've seen it). But I think the point is that it's not important anymore whether they are right or not. A blind squirrel might get a nut and these guys might actually catch a killer. But that would just be a happy turn of events. They are still operating out of their own strange shared internal logic and need.

[Matt Wilson]

True. Well, Cutter is, anyway. Bone seems like he's just along for the ride.

[Davey the Fat Boy]

Until the end...when he has to decide.

[Sneelock]

True. Well, Cutter is, anyway. Bone seems like he's just along for the ride.

well, and he's banging his wife!!
I think Bone (in the movie) is the audience stand in. His confusion at what he actually saw is our confusion.
Cutter is sure of what Bone saw because he needs to get back at some bastards. that's sort of how I see it.

[Matt Wilson]

I think that's how one is supposed to see it. It's not a bad film at all - I just don't feel anything for the characters. Heard is the movie.

[Sneelock]

I basically agree. it''s nice seeing it re-appraised but I don't think it's up to... "Who'll Stop the Rain" or something.
"Cutter & Bone" is a VERY good book and takes that aspect of it a little further. I can see the producer's predicament that to follow the book more faithfully would have made the film seem less original compared to similar films. Still, the film needs a little more than a heroic horsey ride at the end. the lady who played Mo and Bridges are also top-notch. that don't hurt.

[Matt Wilson]

Interesting that you bring up Who'll Stop the Rain as I do consider that to be a better picture - but also not exactly great, if you follow me. They both have similar themes about the end of the sixties and a certain ideology which had faded by the late '70s. I did read the novel Dog Soldiers that Who'll Stop the Rain was based on and there's a great film in there somewhere, I'm just not sure Who'll Stop the Rain is it. I do like it though.

[Sneelock]

I own "who'll stop the rain" ...
On VHS. I can't watch it but I can keep it company.

I think Tuesday Weld is VERY good in it.

[Matt Wilson]

Ive got both films on blu. I've reviewed them right here fairly recently - but I couldn't find my review of Cutter's Way when I looked for it earlier.

[Matt Wilson]

You know what's even better than either film? The Limey from '99. I'm sure you've seen it. There's a slight end of the sixties vibe (mostly from a speech by the Peter Fonda character), even though the picture is more or less a standard thriller.