What started as a modest side project evolved into one of director William Friedkin’s very best films and one of the unheralded masterpieces of the 1970s. Released in 1977, “Sorcerer” was Friedkin’s feature film follow-up to his enormously popular “The Exorcist” and it couldn’t be a more different movie. Given the massive success of “The Exorcist”, Friedkin was pretty much given carte blanche for whatever he chose to do next.

But as his vision grew, notoriously so did his budget. Friedkin’s insistence on filming on location deep in the jungle and his intense dedication to a documentary-style authenticity led to expensive shoots and costly delays. To make matters worse, the movie was not well received by critics. And its troubles were only compounded when it released in the same window as George Lucas’s groundbreaking “Star Wars”. As a result, “Sorcerer” earned back less than half of its production budget.

Here’s the thing, while Friedkin’s ambition pushed production to (and sometimes past) its limit, that very ambition is the fundamental reason “Sorcerer” is a truly great movie. His determination to shoot on location and his commitment to realism cements the very foundation of the film and impacts everything including the austere visuals and nontraditional storytelling. As for the critical response, there has been a significant reassessment in recent years with the movie finally getting the positive appraisal it deserves.

Written for the screen by Walon Green (his first script since penning 1969’s “The Wild Bunch”), “Sorcerer” is based on Georges Arnaud’s 1950 novel “Le Salaire de la peur”. Of course “Sorcerer” isn’t the first adaptation of Arnaud’s book. That honor belongs to director Henri-Georges Clouzot’s acclaimed 1953 thriller “The Wages of Fear”. Many have referred to “Sorcerer” as a remake of Clouzot’s film. But Friedkin rejected that notion, stating his focus was always on Arnaud’s original source material.

The film opens with a prologue that plays out through four vignettes. Each is dedicated to an unsavory criminal and the crime that put them on the run. In Mexico, an assassin named Nilo (Francisco Rabal) neatly executes an unsuspecting target. In Jerusalem, a terrorist named Kassem (Amidou) is the only member of his group to escape after detonating a bomb in the city. In Paris, a crooked businessman named Victor (Bruno Cremer) is about to be charged for fraud. And in New Jersey, an Irish gangster named Jackie (Roy Scheider) gets in hot water after his crew steals money that belongs to the Italian Mafia.

Among its several themes, “Sorcerer” is a cynical treatise on the inescapable hand of fate. That comes fully into focus once all four men end up in the same small impoverished South American village of Porvenir. Friedkin and his cinematographer John M. Stephens (who took over for Dick Bush) render the village with jaw-dropping authenticity. Every frame is teeming with detail and there is a tangibility to everything – the sweat, the rust, the grime, the despair.

Porvenir is essentially a forsaken spot marred by poverty, corruption, and unrest – a place where hope is as foreign as prosperity. There our four criminals take on aliases and go about their individual lives, laying low and working menial labor for low pay. But fate reemerges following a massive explosion at a nearby oilfield that’s ran by an American oilman named Corlette (Ramon Bieri).

To extinguish the raging fire Corlette needs to cap the oil well. But he needs dynamite to do it. And the only available dynamite is miles away in an old shed deep in the jungle. To make matters worse, the dynamite has sat in crates for nearly a year and is seeping nitroglycerin making it dangerously unstable. But Corlette is desperate. So he heads back to Porvenir in search of four experienced truck drivers, offering a big payday for anyone willing to transport the dynamite to the oilfield.

The offer brings together Jacki, Victor, Kassem, and Nilo, each needing the money if they’re ever to get out of Porvenir. And that sets up the tension-drenched second half which follows the four men as they attempt to navigate two trucks, carrying three cases of dynamite each, across 218 miles of mountainous jungle terrain. Along the way they face muddy roads, treacherous bridges, and torrential rainstorms, all while transporting cargo that the tiniest vibration could cause to explode.

This is where Friedkin’s filmmaking reaches its pinnacle as he creates scene after scene of white-knuckle suspense. None are more harrowing than them crossing a dilapidated suspension bridge as their trucks are battered by violent winds and sheets of rain. Meanwhile the character work remains strong as the four strangers bound by fate are forced to work together if they’re to have any hope of surviving. Nothing close to friendships ever form, making their relationships feel more grounded. And we find ourselves thoroughly invested in seeing these ‘bad guys’ through to the end.

With “Sorcerer”, William Friedkin pushed aside all traditional methods of big screen storytelling to make something uniquely timeless. Its world is cruel and forbidding; its characters are flawed and unglamorous; its story is dark and downbeat. But those are hardly faults. “Sorcerer” remains top-tier cinema and a true 70’s hallmark that’s highlighted by immersive storytelling, strong performances, and extraordinary craftsmanship. And as the film’s more recent reassessments have shown, those are the kind of things that never age out.

VERDICT – 5 STARS

Mere weeks before I was set to graduate from high school in 1989 Cameron Crowe made his directorial debut with the teen dramedy “Say Anything…”. At the time teen flicks were a dime-a-dozen and they often fell into many of the same categories. You had the genuinely funny comedies, the schmaltzy fluff, the all-out raunchy ones, etc. Many of them relied on the same tropes, the same character types, the same jokes, and the same basic storylines.

But “Say Anything…” felt different. A big reason is because Crowe gave us authentic and relatable characters rather than annoyingly shallow caricatures. He clearly cared for them which carried over to his audience. Also, he didn’t rely solely on the popular teen movie or rom-com formulas of the time. There are a few familiar beats, but Crowe’s interests lie beyond them. It wasn’t enough to earn huge numbers at the box office, but the movie has stood the test of time.

Crowe’s script is laced with good humor which is well delivered and almost always comes at just the right time. Yes, there’s a sweet romance and plenty of teen-oriented drama at the story’s center. But it’s the well developed and emotionally layered characters that keep us invested. Crowe makes them easy to connect with and even easier to root for.

The story begins on graduation day at a small Seattle, Washington high school. John Cusack plays Lloyd Dobler, an average everyday student with no clear vision for what he wants to do with his life. He’s a straightforward guy who has a thing for Diane Court (Ione Skye), the class valedictorian. On paper they’re far from a perfect match, which Lloyd’s best friend Corey (Lili Taylor) is happy to point out.

Both Lloyd and Diane have their own struggles which Crowe takes time to explore. Aside from his uncertainty about his future, Lloyd’s parents are overseas, leaving him to live with his sister and nephew. Their absence creates a void for the rudderless Lloyd. Meanwhile Diana is the smartest girl in school which has distanced her from her entire class. She doesn’t have any close friends and her lone confidant is her caring father Jim (John Mahoney).

As you can guess, Lloyd and Diane eventually connect. Their feelings towards each other are genuine yet their personal problems complicate things in a variety of ways. Interestingly, the story features a lot of talk about honesty. Lloyd is honest and sincere which plays a big part in his connection with Diane. Meanwhile her relationship with her father is built entirely on honesty and trust. And just like in real life, when trust is broken it can often carry heavy consequences.

Cusack shines as Lloyd, relaying ample amounts of teen enthusiasm and nervous energy while bringing an innocence and vulnerability to his character. Skye gives an overall good performance despite going a little too big at times which can make her stand out for the wrong reasons. Mahoney is especially good as Diane’s father, dodging many of the conventional ‘movie dad’ traps and playing a bigger role in the film’s second half.

“Say Anything…” is now 36-years-old but it still maintains a freshness within a genre that has often felt tired and stale. It’s a film that examines teens through a fair-minded lens, seeing them as regular people with real-world feelings and their own complexities. Cameron Crowe’s screenplay still hits its marks and his direction is sharp. And while it still feels very much like a 1980’s movie, it has a grounded human quality that never ages out.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

The title says it all in “Survive”, a fun and fittingly propulsive French feature that mixes disaster and survival thriller elements into one entertaining cocktail. Directed by Frédéric Jardin and written by Matt Alexander, “Survive” follows a stranded family of four fighting for their lives following a cataclysmic global disaster. It’s nothing you would consider strikingly original, but it remains enjoyable throughout.

“Survive” opens with some table-setting script that reads “Since its formation, the Earth has experienced five mass extinctions. The sixth is just beginning.” And just like that we get a good idea of the experience we’re in for. Jardin and Alexander don’t waste time digging into the hows and whys of the catastrophe that’s set to unfold. Instead they take a straightforward genre approach – setting the stakes, building tension, and ratcheting up the peril for a taut and fast-paced 85 minutes.

Somewhere off the coast of Puerto Rico, Cassie (Lisa Delamar), her husband Tom (Andreas Pietschmann), and their two kids Julia (Émilie Dequenne) and Ben (Lucas Ebel) are spending a few days on their mini yacht in the Caribbean Sea. After a fun evening celebrating Ben’s 13th birthday, their trip takes a terrible turn when the Earth’s poles suddenly reverse. Burning satellites begin falling from the sky and the changing currents below sends the ocean waters rushing inland.

As the winds and waves violently ravage their boat, the family is knocked out. They wake up to find what’s left of their boat grounded on a ridge of what was once the ocean floor but is now a vast desert wasteland. Obvious questions immediately come to mind that the movie never attempts to answer. Just know that the ocean now covers the mainlands presumably wiping out huge numbers of the planet’s population.

Stunned and stranded, the family now must figure out how to survive. The first thing Tom does is get the radio working. He makes contact with a fellow oceanographer named Nao (Olivier Ho Hio Hen) who was deep sea diving when the waters retreated. Nao informs them that his instruments indicate the water will come rushing back within a week’s time. Left with no other options, the family sets out on the long and arduous trek to Nao’s submersible vessel that sits miles away.

If racing against the clock wasn’t enough, their journey grows even more perilous with the sudden appearance of a creepy stranger (Arben Bajraktaraj). And then there are the thousands upon thousands of flesh-eating crabs from the deep, starving and driven mad by the oxygen. They make for an admittedly goofy yet wildly entertaining addition that speaks to the movie’s genre affections.

Jardin deserves a lot of credit for what he accomplishes with a reportedly meager budget. Shot on location in Morocco, Jardin creates vast and desolate landscapes that provide a fittingly forbidding setting which he uses to great effect. And the digital effects we get are used strategically and help ramp up the excitement. Sure, it’s all pretty silly and the character choices don’t always make sense. But the family dynamic adds some emotional stakes while the crisp pacing never lets our eyes wander from the screen.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

Seeing the Tyler Perry stamp on a movie tends to prompt certain expectations, many of which aren’t especially flattering. But say what you will, Perry has firmly established himself within the industry as an actor, writer, director, and producer. And I’ll give him credit, he certainly doesn’t let bad reviews or criticisms slow him down. He’s still pumping out entertainment and making a lot of money in the process.

His latest feature is “The Six Triple Eight”, a historical World War II drama about the all-black and all-female 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Perry writes and directs the film which is interesting considering nothing in his filmography indicates he would be the person to tackle this kind of project. As it turns out, this feels like Perry’s best work to date though it’s not without its faults.

“The Six Triple Eight” is based on an article in WWII History magazine called “Fighting a Two-Front War” by Kevin M. Hymel. Perry begins the story in 1943 as a small-town African-American girl named Lena Derriecott King (Ebony Obsidian) falls for a persistent Jewish boy named Abram (Gregg Sulkin). After some schmaltzy courting, Abram reveals he has joined the Army and is about to be deployed. He gives Lena a promise ring and asks her to wait for him to return. He promises to write her, but his letters never come.

Lena’s life forever changes when she gets word that Abram has been killed in action. Shattered, she decides to join the army herself, against the wishes of her concerned family. She’s sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia where she immediately runs into the numerous barriers facing military women, even more for women of color. Before heading into active duty with the Women’s Army Corps, Lena and her unit are put through basic training under the tough but inspiring Major Charity Adams (Kerry Washington).

In addition to Lena, Perry adds several other characters to the unit. Most struggle to get any firm identity other than the outspoken and crass Johnny Mae (Shanice Shantay). The young women form a tight-knit bond which is strengthened by the adversity they face. That adversity is seen clearest in the skeptical and dismissive General Halt (Dean Morris) who refuses to give them a meaningful assignment. But things change after Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt step in (Sam Waterston and Susan Sarandon in glorified cameos).

The 6888th finally get called to duty but not in the way they expect. They’re tasked with sorting through tens of thousands of letters that have been collecting in a warehouse for ten months. They’re letters written between soldiers and their loved ones back home that have yet to be delivered. At first the ladies see their task as meaningless, as do the men who assigned it to them. But they quickly start to see the importance, especially when they find a letter written from Abram to Lena.

It takes some time for “The Six Triple Eight” to find its rhythm, but once it does Perry surprises by how effectively he captures the heart of the story. Meanwhile the performances do what’s needed with only Washington and Obsidian standing out despite some shaky dialogue. The movie also looks good with a lot of detail put into the period-accurate costumes and production design. It helps add a true-to-life texture the movie needs.

Yet “The Six Triple Eight” still feels like a small part of a much richer story. It’s as if Perry is merely scratching the surface of the inspirational true account. It’s even more true with the characters who we barely get to know beyond their immediate circumstances. These issues keep the movie from resonating as strongly as it could have. But Perry deserves credit for putting this moving real story to the screen even if it doesn’t get the full attention it deserves.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

I was barely one-year-old when the opening ceremonies kicked off the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. The games were being held in Germany for the first time since the country had been freed from Nazi rule. But the horrific events that transpired overshadowed the actual competitions. In the early morning hours of September 5th, eight armed members of the Palestinian militant group Black September slipped into the Olympic Village and took eleven Israeli athletes and staff hostage.

“September 5” chronicles ABC Sports’ live coverage of the shocking attack and the subsequent 18-hour standoff. Director Tim Fehlbaum crafts a gripping and fast-paced thriller that respects the memories of the victims while scrutinizing some of the decisions that led to the event’s violent conclusion. But at its core “September 5” is a taut journalism procedural that goes to painstaking lengths to recreate what it was like inside the ABC Studio in Munich during the unprecedented crisis.

Fehlbaum puts together a strong and well-tuned cast who all seem to understand their assignment. The trio of screenwriters which includes Fehlbaum, Moritz Binder, and Alex David pen a screenplay that zeroes in on the professional pressures and the emotional toll the broadcast team faced during a moment in history that forever changed television news. In the process, they’ve helped make one of the most riveting edge-of-your-seat thrillers of the year.

The ensemble’s actions and interactions are vital gears steadily turning to keep the propulsive story moving forward. It all plays out in real-time and is mostly set on that eponymous date. Just a few hundred yards from Munich’s Olympic Village, ABC has set up a studio that is broadcasting a live sporting event across the world for the very first time. ABC Sports president Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) runs the show, often standing in the back of the control room monitoring his team of producers and intervening whenever he sees fit.

One of those producers is newcomer Geoff Mason (John Magaro) who is about to take on his first live television broadcast for the company. Among the sizable crew is the seasoned and cautious head of operations, Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), the chief technician, Jacques Lesgards (Zinedine Soualem), and the crew’s German translator, Marianne Gebhardt (Leonie Benesch). Their day starts out pretty routine. That is until the echo of gunshots are heard coming from the Olympic Village.

Almost immediately reports begin pouring in and the crew starts parsing through them in order to piece together the truth. They narrow the gunfire down to the Israeli quarters and confirm that terrorists are holding several athletes and coaches hostage in two apartments. From there the decision is made to take the story to the world, providing on-air coverage of breaking news while offering live camera shots of the apartments and the surrounding chaos. Suddenly Geoff finds himself managing more than volleyball and boxing.

The story has a natural tension baked into it as the crew attempts to navigate truly uncharted territory. But several other concerns help ratchet that tension even higher. There’s their battle with ABC’s news division who wants to take over the story. There are the questions of journalistic ethics and responsibilities as they face new unknowns. And things really intensify after they realize their efforts to keep the public informed may be putting the hostages in danger.

In addition to the incredible recreation of the studio in all its 1972 glory, Fehlbaum gives his movie the illusion of being shot on high-contrast 16mm film stock. He also incorporates a ton of archived audio and video of legendary sportscaster Jim McKay and newsman Peter Jennings along with other related footage from ABC Sports. All are effective choices that help with the immersion.

While the hectic operation of the studio is fascinating to watch, Fehlbaum maintains the human element of his story by showing how the unfolding events weigh on his characters. The very nature of events doesn’t allow them a lot of time to process, but Fehlbaum ensures that we understand their struggle. It’s those small but crucial strokes of humanity that make “September 5” more than just a stone-cold procedural. It’s an in-the-trenches examination of journalism’s search for truth and the talented but fallible men and women at the center of it.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has endured extensive persecution for his politically charged and socially conscience art. He’s been arrested and imprisoned multiple times, banned from leaving Iran, smeared by his adversaries, and even brutally flogged. Now he stands in exile from his home country, having fled earlier this year after being sentenced on national security charges.

His latest film is “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” and it too offers an unflinching perspective on problematic systems and the oppression that comes from them (often violently). Rasoulof shot his film in secret over the course of 70 days, directing, writing, and producing what is a straightforward and unvarnished feature that tackles its heavy subject matter through the heartrending plight of a once tight-knit Tehran family.

A superb script and lights-out performances bring to life this quietly searing domestic drama with its strong political underpinning. Missagh Zareh plays Iman (Missagh Zareh), an honest but ambitious lawyer who has worked for 20 years with the current government regime. As the movie begins, Iman receives a promotion to be a state investigator which is one step away from being a revolutionary court judge. Iman’s promotion has big implications for their family including a nicer house in a better neighborhood and a more prominent social status.

But Iman’s new job also requires that his wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) and their two daughters, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki) change their lifestyles to fit the new expectations. Iman’s new position brings more scrutiny from the government. And that can end up putting their family in danger, especially once the details of his work is fully brought into the light.

It turns out that Iman wasn’t hired for his years of experience or his judicial prowess. His predecessor was fired for refusing to approve a death indictment and his superiors want an investigator who will approve judgements without such lengthy processes as examining evidence. In fact his first assignment is to sign off on the death penalty for a case he has yet to read over. And the complications only mount from there.

Interestingly, much of Iman’s moral crisis takes place off screen while he’s away at work. During that time we’re left with Najmeh and the girls as they navigate issues of their own. Freedom protests break out across the city and are met with heavy state-led suppression by the police. And as the rallies give way to riots the violence quickly escalates. Rezvan and Sana find themselves involved once their best friend Sadaf (Niousha Akhshi) is arrested. Najmeh is caught between protecting her daughters and standing by her husband who is tasked with prosecuting the protesters.

The film’s central conflict is between a father loyal to the theocratic regime and his two daughters who begin speaking out against the oppression they witness. But it’s Najmeh who turns out to be the centerpiece and her personal journey is easily the most compelling. Golestani’s performance runs the gamut of emotions as her character gradually evolves into a much different person. She’s presents a gripping portrait of someone caught amid the political and the personal.

While Rasoulof steadily builds up the intensifying domestic drama, he frequently injects cellphone video taken from real protests which emphasize the truth of what he is depicting. It adds a significant layer of reality to what’s unfolding with the family. At 166 minutes the film extends itself a little too far. And it can be a bit unwieldy and overt in its messaging. But the burgeoning sense of fear and paranoia remains palpable, even as Rasoulof’s final 20 minutes veers dangerously close to Hollywood thriller territory.

VERDICT – 4 STARS