saicalum

Chris Mazzei's Devious Beings turns on itself like a Moebius strip-the story arc is actually a series of orbits. Think of each character as an electron circling a dense nucleus in which self- preservation vibrates the whole. All the performances are strong and discrete-Mazzei somehow manages to navigate his actors through a complex, violent landscape that's dark all day long. It's not absolutely perfect, but he takes two or three movies worth of typical Hollywood clichés and stacks them with both style and skill. Andre B. Blake is the conflicted protagonist who plays and gets paid, but Robert Gossett is the main reason to check out this movie. His performance as the villain Damone is diabolical.

George Segal's career encompasses a large body of work, spanning decades. I've seen only a few of his movies. "The Hot Rock" was a great ensemble comedy. "Terminal Man", timely and dark, pegs the other end of the spectrum. It's safe to say the 1970s were about challenging the Old Guard. In Hollywood, this meant reinvention and the search for Truth begun anew. From industry insiders all the way down to you and me it's understood "truth in film" is synonymous with or defined as risky and unprofitable, something other than standard fare. And though overused, the phrase 'they don't make 'em like that anymore' is applicable here, because "Born to Win" was produced for reasons other than profit. Its story is roughly drawn and its characters hunger for a pure, painless resolution that you know will never come by the end of the first scene. George Segal is at the center as J, a heroin addict who spends his time visualizing new plans for his next fix. All other characters within his orbit advance his desparation. There's a very palpable truth in the uncertainty the characters feel. They live, but have no lives. Segal's character has never called a shot in his life, yet he knows from years of experience how it will turn out, with him behind the 8-ball. Karen Black plays the love interest who extends to him the hope of salvation, only to be swept under. Hector Elizondo, Robert De Niro, Paula Prentiss and JJ's main junkie pal Billy (Jay Fletcher) exist to keep the downward spiral swirling. A refreshing and enjoyable film for people who feel a nostalgia for challenging, resonant stories that strike a chord as pure as a tuning fork.

If you have a dark world view and a great deal of patience,

Dangerous Game might be the flick for you. It made me think

about the individual scenes that make a film, and the performances therein that elicit a particular response in the viewer. The whole movie is difficult to watch-at times I had to look away.

On the surface one might dismiss it as Crackhead Cassavetes.

But Keitel's character Eddie Israel and real-life director Abel

Ferrara's intentions run parallel-both men lead their actors on a

descent into a personalized hell. The script on occasion seems

ponderous and repetitive-at some points it seems as though

director Eddie Israel's film-within-a-film consists of only one

scene. James Russo (always creepy to watch) is a tightly-wound

sickening knot as Burns, and Madonna's portrayal of Sarah as

victim is an equally punishing one, both for the actress and the

viewer. And when Keitel hits you with the signature half-whine,

half-howl we hate to love him for, the fat lady has sung. There isn't

one weak performance in this film, but it's not fun at all. You

wonder why this is called entertainment. It's entertaining in the

same way watching two strangers nearly come to blows is

entertaining-you end up feeling good because it's not happening

to you.