Ghosts of Mars (2001)

Director: John Carpenter

Cast: Ice Cube, Natasha Henstridge, Jason Statham, Pam Grier

Have I Seen It Before: Never. Three years ago, I was of a mind to watch all of Carpenter’s library* through the summer between my final years of grad school, but time slipped away before I got to this one.

Seems like a long time ago.

Did I Like It: I kinda-sorta wished I had watched this one that summer and let Vampires (1998) go by the wayside. That earlier of Carpenter’s final big-studio releases felt like a mean-spirited swing at the dirt (complete with a star turn from the positively rancid James Woods), and this feels like something of a return to form.

It’s a b-movie at its core, with a budget that can’t quite acquit itself, and a cast that generally seems stiffer than they have proven to be in other films. There’s also the slight problem of this—despite being something of a space opera—being nothing new for Carpenter. One might have been able to call it Escape from the Red Planet (although you probably would have needed Kurt Russell in the Ice Cube role) or even Assault on Planet 4. It’s a western at its core, as most of Carpenter’s films are, and there’s just a flash of hope that he might have been rebounding more fully, and the 2000s could have been his best decade yet. It didn’t come to pass, obviously, and he sat the decade out, largely cashing obligatory checks from remake productions of his earlier, more celebrated films.

That sounds less like a criticism of this movie, and more of the man himself, but I don’t mean it to be. He may have, indeed, had more films left in him, but he may not have felt the need to fight with a Hollywood that was less and less interested in letting him do what he does best. That’s a completely legitimate decision, one I think I even applaud. If I had to face the indignities of spending most of 1992 making a Chevy Chase vanity project I may, too, have thought getting high and playing video games for the last few decades I have left.

*Minus the stuff he did for TV. Honestly, that Elvis biopic he did couldn’t be as good as Halloween (1978), or Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), right?

Spy (2015)

Director: Paul Feig

Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Jude Law

Have I Seen it Before: Several times, which I think alone should be testament to the film.

Did I Like It: I mean, just on spec, any film that is making people MAD ON THE INTERNET can’t be all bad, right?

That last sentiment may sound like faintly damning praise, but the virtues of Paul Feig’s paean to the 50-plus years of Bond films (and there is seldom room for references in the film beyond 007) go beyond the fact that Feig’s oeuvre stands as one of the premiere reasons for assholes to wail on the internet (the latest Star Wars movies and the fact that no one likes them being among the others). 

I’m struggling to even think of another satire or spoof of the spy genre that has worked as effectively. Casino Royale (1967) came at the height of the series popularity, but is a woeful mess more known for being extraordinarily useful as a waystation for particularly difficult rounds of The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon than anything else. Spy Hard (1996) is completely forgettable beyond the rather apt inclusion of a Weird All theme song. And while the first Austin Powers movie might have some charms, what it became has ensured that it’s re-watch value is nil.

Now with Spy, fusing knowing homages to Roger Moore, Sean Connery, and even a bit of Pierce Brosnan in the character of Bradley Fine (Jude Law), but also the later days of Daniel Craig with Rick Ford (Jason Statham). From the cinematography to the music choices, all the way down to small elements of the production design, the viewer feels automatically at home in the Bondian trappings. It also never tries too hard to ingratiate itself in that milieu. It’s perfectly happy being a medium-concept comedy, better made than most in the genre.

Plus, Allison Janney is in it. There’s not a whole lot more else you need to know.