Repo Man (Alex Cox, 1984)

I've come to Repo Man surprisingly late, given how it contains so many elements I cannot help but love: anti-Reagan social commentary, a cultural snapshot soundtrack (coupled with a willingness to critique the bands it comprises), and a free-for-all style that finds touchstones in the bleakest of noirs, the strangest of '50s-'60s sci-fi and even a bit of Grease. I'm not quite sure it congeals in the final stretch, but then even if all these traits fell into place, the resulting mix would be so strange it might not look cohesive anyway. So many movies these days chase cult film status by also unloading what they can on the screen, but Repo Man has an attitude of ingenuity and self-challenge, not narcissistic promotion. I wish there were more films like it, but I suppose if there were, the lightning-in-a-bottle quality of this curio would be lost.

You can read my longer thoughts on the film at Spectrum Culture.

Brian De Palma: Mission: Impossible

Though not nearly as deconstructive as De Palma's '80s pastiche and travesty, Mission: Impossible feels like a classical, identifiably "'90s," art-for-art's-sake blockbuster, a bit of formal excess that uses the implausibility of the original TV series as an excuse to make no sense whatsoever. Unburdened from the need for logic, the film unfolds as an incessant series of double-crosses, grandiose setpieces and classical techniques. That coherent aesthetic propels the film long after its narrative becomes a mire of betrayal and intrigue.

Sent to intercept a diplomat selling U.S. secrets, the Impossible Missions Force team led by Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), stakes out an embassy with precision planning. But just as everything seems to be going perfectly, tiny cracks begin to form, and in short order sabotage leaves the entire team dead save for Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), who looks mighty suspicious when superiors inform him that they are hunting a mole in the organization. Betrayed by the true traitor and now suspected of treason by his bosses, Ethan has no choice but to flee and clear his name. These betrayals, real and imagined, are but the first in a film where the dead return and mirrored shots always reveal different perspectives.