Wednesday, January 25, 2006

R.I.P. Christopher Penn & Reservoir Dogs




On Monday, I bought a copy of Reservoir Dogs at Best Buy. I had it on VHS but felt the need to get the DVD.

I watched it that evening. It took me back to that first time I saw it in the early 90's. I was 12ish. It was surreal. It was bloody. Curses were flung. It was the film that invigorated music use during films. Who was rocking Stealers Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle With You" before that infamous song? It jumpstarted careers: Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, and that old video clerk Quentin Tarantino.

But the actor who played the glue in this film has now passed. The ultimate sleazy middleman Nice Guy Eddie is gone.

Christopher Penn was first noticed as Kevin Bacon's sidekick in Footloose and will probably be recognized more often as Sean Penn's huskier brother but Mr. Penn had some excellent performances himself. He just lurked in the backdrop more often then not.

He didn't go down to Katrina, gun in hand, and help people in a rusty boat that eventually sank. He may never have been nominated for multitudes of Oscars but he was the glue of one of my personal favorite films and seemed like a nice enough guy.

Two little Reservoir tidbits from IMDB:

  • Tarantino originally wrote the role of Mr. Pink(played by Steve Buscemi) for himself.
  • The word fuck is used 252 times.
And to quote one of those uses by Mr. Penn: "Okay, first things fuckin' last! "

Christopher Penn was 40 years old.

The Commitments - Best Irish Film Ever?

Saw The Commitments last night for the first time. People have raved about this movie to me for years. It's a nice film, pretty funny. But's more That Thing You Do! than Trainspotting - Director's Cut (Collector's Edition).

It's not even the best Irish movie I've seen this year. That honor goes to Bloody Sunday, the gritty drama that retells the horrific historical event that U2 sang about and still does. Alot. (It is their best song after all). The film is intense, gut-wrenching and moving, much in opposition ot the song. Do yourself a favor and rent or buy Bloody Sunday ASAP. You won't be disappointed.

The film does lumber a bit but perfectly portrays the two sides of the battle and builds up to the pentultimate moment of tragedy.