Ten Characters Played By: Michael Wincott

First off, we apologize for the delay. Been a long time.
Anyway, we love Michael Wincott. Suave, gravel-voiced, and very talented, he's one of the best at playing those who are off centre. So, here's a look at ten characters played by our man Wincott:

1. Matthew, Curtains (1983)
OK, so he doesn't actually have a single line in this. But the film is an underrated, genuinely creepy little horror, in which a film director (John Vernon) holds auditions for a leading lady in a big house in the woods. Needless to say, someone starts killing the hopeful leading ladies one by one. Wincott plays Matthew, Vernon's assistant, and swaggers into the film, louche and mysterious, sleeps with one of the actresses in the hot tub and is killed off early. All without saying a word. Alright, so maybe Matthew's not his best character. Good film, though.


2. Guy of Gisborne, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
"Might I have the pleasure of your name, before I run you through?"
Now we're talking. The best thing about Kevin Costner's cheesy, overblown version of the Robin Hood story were its villains, played with great relish by Alan Rickman and Michael Wincott. They got the best lines, and they knew it. Wincott's sniveling, cowardly villainy works wonderfully next to Rickman's grand pride and vanity. He'll shoot his mouth off when he's backed up by an army, but he still gets run through by his cousin the Sheriff. And he's stupid enough to question why the Sheriff would threaten someone with a spoon.


3. Top Dollar, The Crow (1994)
"I'm sorry if I spoiled your wedding plans there, friend. But, if it's any consolation to you, you have put a smile on my face."
Top Dollar, the villain of Alex Proyas' superb adaptation of James O'Barr's Gothic revenge comic, is perhaps Wincott's best-remembered performance, and with good reason. In a film that will always have Brandon Lee's shadow hanging over it (He died during filming), the fact is that when Wincott is on screen, you're watching him. As a villain, he's full of contradictions, going from introspective and melancholy to joyful murderous excess at the drop of a hat. That's what makes him impossible to forget. There's the creepy incestuous relationship with his sister, the obviously traumatic childhood ("Dad gave me this. Fifth birthday. He said "Childhood's over the day you know you're gonna die"), the acceptance of Eric Draven's supernatural abilities, and the relish with which he accepts the challenge. The Crow may not be the masterpiece its fans herald it as, but it is an excellent film, and a lot of that is due to Wincott.



4. Conway Twill, Dead Man (1994)
"I'll Tell you one thing: If that there Blake fella keeps on shootin' marshalls I might end up likin' the bastard!"
Wincott's performance in Jim Jarmusch's oddball western Dead Man has a different balance to his previous roles. Conway Twill is a bad man, one of three hired guns charged with hunting down William Blake (Johnny Depp), but his drinking and dirty jokes are nothing compared to the past acts (cannibalism, incest) of fellow mercenary Cole Wilson (Lance Henriksen. Here, Wincott lends a much needed sense of levity to the proceedings. Twill's a simple man wandering through Jarmusch's bizarre landscape, one of the few characters not prone to double meanings and symbolism. He's out of tabacco, impressed by Blake's shooting of Marshalls, and unsettled by his employer's tendency to talk to a stuffed bear. He's funny, and becomes more and more likeable, but is obviously doomed by his decision to ride with Wilson.


5. Philo Gant, Strange Days (1995)
"Paranoia is just reality on a finer scale"
Kathryn Bigelow's sci-fi, written by James Cameron, is an odd one. Not good enough for "cult classic" status, but certainly not bad enough to be completely forgotten. Wincott plays the interestingly named Philo Gant, a record producer who's stolen our hero Lenny Nero's (Ralph Fiennes) rocker girlfriend (Juliette Lewis). Of course, given that he's played by Wincott, he's clearly a bad man, and the prime suspect when brutal murders start happening around Lenny. He's also such an obvious bastard that it's not much of a surprise when he turns out to be a red herring. Still, that's what Lenny gets for having Tom Sizemore for a best friend...Not Wincott's best performance, but he does well with an underwritten part.


6. Rene Ricard, Basquiat (1996)
"When I speak no one believes me, but when I write it down everybody knows it to be true"
Wincott followed his OTT villainy with a wonderfully sensitive performance as art critic/prophet Rene Ricard in Julian Schnabel's Jean-Michel Basquiat biopic. He puts that gravelly voice to a different use as the man who discovered Basquiat and set him up with his first show. Rene is flashy and flamboyant ("My God, you sound famous already) but easily hurt. The scene in which he watches Basquiat sell a painting previously dedicated to him to Warhol's manager (Dennis Hopper) is heartbreaking, as he storms out of the gallery. He reappears at a celebratory dinner, insults Warhol, and delivers the film's central message: "We're no longer collecting art; we're buying people." In a film packed with stars (Bowie! Dafoe! Walken! Hopper! Oldman!), Wincott's performance brings the heart. It should also be mentioned that Jeffrey Wright is terrific in the title role.


7. Frank Elgyn, Alien: Resurrection (1998)
"I'm guessing what you've got going on here ain't exactly approved by Congress?"
There's a lot wrong with Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Alien sequel, scripted for Joss Whedon. Fortunately, Michael Wincott's not one of them. A popular theory is that the gang of crooks that Elgyn leads was a blueprint for Firefly's loveable band of rogues, and it certainly applies for some of the characters (Ron Perlman's Johner is almost identical to Adam Baldwin's Jayne). However, Elgyn is certainly not Captain Mal. You wouldn't get Nathan Fillion referring to one of his crew as "severely fuckable." Elgyn wisecracks his way through the first twenty minutes, showing no concern for the morality of his mission, and proceeds to suffer one of the most frustratingly stupid deaths in the film. Note: If a gun is covered in slime, best to leave it. Don't keep walking down the corridor.


8. Heberto Zorilla Ochoa, Before Night Falls (2000)
Wincott re-teamed with Basquiat director Schnabel for this superb Reinaldo Arenas biopic. It's a small role, but a memorable one. Ochoa introduces Arenas (Javier Bardem) to the literary elite in Havana. In his most memorable scene, Ochoa is forced to testify before a tribunal. As sweat runs down his face and his voice trembles, we're reminded how well Wincott can portray vulnerability.


9. Julius Bicke, The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004)
"As of this moment, I wash my hands of you"
It's fair to say that this film is pretty much a one-man show, with a superb central performance from Sean Penn as the mentally unstable Samuel Bicke, despite good work from Naomi Watts and Don Cheadle. Wincott has one scene late in the film, as Samuel's severe brother. He reveals that Samuel has stolen from him, and disowns him. There's nothing big or flashy here, just a solid depiction of solemn authority. The film's worth hunting down, too.


10. Hayes, Seraphim Falls (2006)
"I never was much for scripture"
The decision to cast Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson in a gritty chase Western is an odd one, no question. However, it's difficult to argue with the casting of Wincott as Hayes, the foul-mouthed, callous gun-hand hired by Carver (Neeson) to help him hunt Gideon (Brosnan). Asked by a young colleague how to spell "wife", Hayes tells him "W-H-O-R-E". It may not be a complex part, but it's a pleasure to watch his obvious discomfort as he and Neeson take shelter in a Christian missionary camp. As for the film, it's underrated but takes an ill-advised turn for the dream-like in the final third.

Top 10 Steven Moffat moments in Doctor Who

As I'm sure you're aware, the new series of Doctor Who airs in just under two weeks time. While I am not oblivious to the fact that many will be mourning the departure of head honcho Russell T. Davies and, more probably, Doctor David Tennant, this new series has me all excited. A fresh-ish start, a new doctor in the form of Matt Smith, a new companion in Karen Gillan, playing Amy Pond. More importantly, this new series will be running under the stewardship of Steven Moffat, the man behind some of the best episodes of Doctor Who since it's relaunch: The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, The Girl in The Fireplace, Blink, Silence in the Library, and The Forest of the Dead. Here are our favourite slices of Moffat-y goodness:


1. "Are you my mummy?"
The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances. The two-parter set in London during the Blitz, as very, very creepy child wearing a gasmask wanders the night looking for its mother. We don't find out what it is until the end of the second part, but we know that it's persistent and dangerous. Did we mention how creepy it is? Moffat also makes great use of Christopher Ecclestone's Doctor, who shows curiosity and bravery while most of us would be running for the door. As an aside, while this list is for Moffat, these episodes remind us what a shame it is that Ecclestone decided to only make one series.

2. The Tardis phone rings
"Don't answer it. It's not for you"
"And how do you know that?"
"Cos I do. And I'm telling you. Don't answer it."
"Well, if you know so much, tell me this. How can it be ringing? It's not even a real phone, it's not connected."
This is a simple little trick, but it works. We know that the Tardis phone can't ring. So how does it feel when it does? Scary.

3. Richard Wilson as Dr. Constantine
Ah, the time honoured tradition of getting a recognisable, respected elderly actor to deliver exposition. As the doctor discovers the abandoned hospital full of corpses wearing gasmasks, Victor Meldrew himself appears, on his last legs, to warn the Doctor. "Don't touch the flesh." The Doctor begins to realise that each patient has the same injuries. "Physical injuries as plague." We also get one of the biggest shocks of the series as the Doctor tries to guess the cause of death. "There wasn't one. They're not dead", Constantine tells him, and knocks over a bin, prompting all of the bodies to sit up. He also gets the first transformation that we see, as he succumbs to the virus.


4. What's ticking?
The Girl in the Fireplace sees the Doctor battling robots looking to steal the brain of the Mistress Pompadour. Near the start of the episode, the Doctor finds himself in a young girl's bedroom in 17th Century France. He approaches a clock on the mantlepiece.
"OK that's scary."
"You're scared of a broken clock?"
"Just a bit scared, just a little tiny bit, yeah. Because, you see, if this clock's broken, and it's the only clock in the room, then what's that....Because, you see that's not a clock. You can hear that in the resonance, too big. Six feet, I'd say. Size of a man..."
Also, there are few things more scary than being told by the man who's just founds something under your bed "Don't look round."

5. The Doctor and Madame du Pompadour
While a lot of the complaints about the flirtiness of the Doctor with his companions can be justified, the chemistry David Tennant has with Sophia Myles in this episode is undeniable. It came early enough in the show's run for the "sad, lonely Doctor" schtick to still be fresh, and the rapport between the two actors is great. Probably has something to do with the fact that they were a couple at the time.





6. Pretty much all of Blink
OK, how do I choose a favourite bit of Blink? Can't really. It's scary, it's funny, it's possibly the best thing that Moffat has ever written. Carey Mulligan is fantastic as the plucky Sally Sparrow, the lead in this mostly Doctor-free episode. It's got great, funny supporting characters in DI Billy Shipton ("Life is short and you are hot") and the nerdy Larry Nightingale. The Weeping Angels are brilliant villains. And the gimmick, don't blink or they'll get you, is brilliantly simple and terrifying. Just a great episode


7. Stay out of the shadows
Like Blink, Silence in the Library has a simple premise: There's something in the shadows that kills people.
"Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark, but they're wrong, because it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada"
"What's Vashta Nerada?"
"It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark."
Moffat continues his run of things that scare children, as remind us that we used to be scared of them too: Losing our mother, realising that something's under the bed, and finally: There's something in the dark. It's also, like Blink and The Girl in the Fireplace, got a neat one-liner that sums up the threat. "Don't blink" for Blink, "What's that ticking?" for Fireplace, and "Count the shadows." for Library. Because, as the astronaut archeologists find out, if you get two shadows, you're done for. "Who turned out the lights?"

8. Miss Evangelista
The secretary to Steve Pemberton's pompous archeologist, Miss Evangelista is well-intentioned but very, very stupid. "My dad said I had the IQ of plankton, and I was pleased." All the crew laugh at her, and we do as well. Which makes it a bit of a shock when she dies first. The crew have to listen as she "ghosts" (her consciousness is briefly trapped in her intercom after her death), and tells them that she can't see. She asks for Donna ("The nice woman") and tells her "What I said before. About being stupid. Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh." Moffat's not just about scares, this scene is impressively touching. Of course, Miss Evangelista comes back in part 2, with her beauty and brains swapped.

9. A brief message from the head librarian
The creepy help points with, as Donna points out, a real face, helpfully sets up the episode for The Doctor and Donna in a wonderfully creepy monotone. "There follows a brief message from the head librarian for your urgent attention. It has been edited for tone and content by Thelman Lux automated decency filter. Message follows: Run. For God's sake, run. Nowhere is safe. The library has sealed itself. We can't. Oh. They're here. Arg. Slarg. Snick. Message ends. Please switch off your mobile comm units for the comfort of other readers."
It's a tried and tested trick, the old discovery of a warning that ends with the messenger's death, but there's a reason it's here. Because it's effective.

10. Doctor Moon spills the beans
For most of Silence in the Library, we're trying to understand the connection between the Doctor and Donna's adventures in the library, and the little girl who seems to be undergoing pyschiatric treatment, who is being told that the library is just in her mind. Near the end of part one, the little girl is told that her doctor would like a word. As she sits and her father leaves the room, Doctor Moon tells her:
"This is important. There's the real world, and the world of nightmares. That's right, isn't it, you understand that?"
"Yes I know, Doctor Moon."
"What I want you to remember is this, and I know it's hard. The real world is a lie. And your nightmares are real. The library is real. There are people trapped in there. People who need to be saved. The shadows are moving again. Those people are depending on you. Only you can save them. Only you."

I know I've missed out several things here, including Alex Kingston's fantastic River Song, and strangely it seems to be heavily weighted towards Silence in the Library, but hopefully this has been a nice reminder of why we should all be very excited about the new series of Doctor Who. Personally, I can't wait.

Our Favourite Werewolf Movies

This is sort of a preface to a review of The Wolf Man. The werewolf film is a bit like the vampire film's weird brother. Emotionally complicated, difficult, but often surprisingly interesting and entertaining. I've always had a soft spot for the lycanthropes, so here, in no particular order, are my favourite werewolf films:

1. The Wolf Man (1941)
Dir. George Waggner
The classic Universal film is a pleasure to watch, as Lon Chaney Jr. returns home after the death of his brother, only to be attacked by a savage beast. The transformation is of course dated but remains pretty impressive, and the film itself is excellent, with a wonderful atmosphere and great performances from Chaney and Claude Rains as his father. Bela Lugosi also has a small role as a werewolf gypsy. It might not reach the heights of Bride of Frankenstein, but this is a superb Universal Monster Movie.



2. The Company of Wolves (1984)
Dir. Neil Jordan
This adaptation of Angela Carter's stories is an odd, dreamlike fairytale brimming with menace and sexuality. Young Rosaleen is advised by her Grandmother (Angela Lansbury) to be wary of young men whose eyebrows join in the middle, telling her stories of dark, brooding men with secrets. Before long, Rosaleen is out walking in the woods wearing a red riding hood....It's visually gorgeous, and still boasts one of the most striking transformations with Stephen Rea revealling the wolf within. The cast also includes David Warner, Brian Glover, and Terrence Stamp.



3. Ginger Snaps (2000)
Dir. John Fawcett
Ginger Snaps took the "That time of the month" joke inherent in werewolf movies and turned it into a darkly funny, gory, creepy and actually rather affecting little film. Sisters Ginger (Katherine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins) are the self-styled outcasts of their high school. One night Ginger is attacked by a monster, and starts to change. Brigitte has to step out of the shadow of her big sister and take responsibility, and action. It's geniunely clever and funny, and we care about the characters. Think of it like a good Jennifer's Body. It also spawned a surprisingly good sequel, and, bizarrely, a prequel set in the 19th century.



4. Dog Soldiers (2002)
Dir. Neil Marshall
Marshall's debut film is about a group of squaddies who are caught in the Scottish highlands by a group of werewolves. Far better than it has any right to be, the action is well handled, it's well-cast (Kevin McKidd, Sean Pertwee and Liam Cunningham star), and it's very, very funny. It does occasionally suffer from it's low budget, but anyone looking for a entertaining action movie with a twist won't be disappointed.



5. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Dir. John Landis
I've already waxed lyrical about this film before on this blog, but it really is excellent. David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are hitchhiking around England when they are attacked on the Yorkshire moors. Jack is killed, but David survives, and we all know what happens next. It's Landis' best work: Funny, scary, and surprisingly dark. It also has Rick Baker's creature transformation, that excellent pub scene (Brian Glover again) and Jenny Agutter going for it. It's probably the best film on this list.



6. The Howling (1981)
Dir. Joe Dante
Made at the same time as Landis' film, The Howling always suffers in comparison to the superior film. However, it's a lot of fun nevertheless. After a traumatic encounter with a killer, reporter Karen White (Dee Wallace Stone) and her husband go to an exclusive retreat run by Dr. George Waggner (Patrick Macnee). However, there's more lurking in the woods than rabbits. Filled with pop culture references, it never quite gels as a whole but there are a lot of excellent sequences. The transformation doesn't match up to Rick Baker's creation, but it's good. Oh, and it has Dick Miller.



7. Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001)
Dir. Christophe Gans
Gans' film is a big hodgepodge of wildly different ingredients. It's a werewolf movie, a lush period costume drama, and a martial arts film. It's also very entertaining. It does occasionally threaten to lose the plot completely, but it's always great to look at. It also has good performances from Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, Samuel le Bihan and Marc Dacascos. When it works, it's great. When it doesn't, it's the best kind of big mess.



8. Wolfen (1981)
Dir. Michael Wadleigh
A werewolf film from the director of Woodstock? Well, it's actually pretty good. A mulleted (and apparently very drunk) Albert Finney plays New York detective Dewey Wilson, who is investigating the brutal murder of two yuppies. There's some interesting exploration of Native American mythology, some decent shocks, and solid supporting work from Tom Noonan (as a creepy wolf expert), Edward James Olmos (as the Native American prime suspect) and Gregory Hines (as Dewey's tech friend). It's a little slow-going, but the "wolf-vision" is well designed, and it's got a good ending. Oh, and Tom Waits cameos!

The Dollhouse Memorial List - Top 5 Cancelled TV Shows

As Jonny has pointed out so well in his rather fabulous article, we said goodbye to yet another Joss Whedon show. Instead of grieving, we should celebrate! And how do we celebrate best? With lists! So here are my top five TV shows cancelled before their time.

5) Star Trek (1966-9)

What with the mass success in spin-off series, motion pictures, t-shirts, video games, action figures and fake languages, it's easy to forget that the originally series of Star Trek was axed after only three seasons. It had to pilot twice for Christ's sake! It has to be said however, I'm not a huge fan of TOS; it hasn't dated terribly well, the episodes are usually over-long and still underdeveloped, however, it does has a wonderful energy about it that some of its successors don't. Where as some later sci-fi shows took themselves a bit too seriously, I don't think that comment can ever be aim at the original Star Trek. Also, I don't think we'll a show do so well out of being cancelled. Even Friends couldn't get a spin-off to work, Star Trek has four (official ones at least - we'll never be able to count the fan made features).


4) Clerks: The Animated Series (2000)

My bizarre up-down relationship with Kevin Smith continues! Back in the days when Mr Smith could do no wrong in my eyes (1994-2004), ABC played two episodes of Clerks: TAS before cancelling it. This would make sense if the, for lack of a better word, colourful language of the feature film was brought to life in glorious cartoon form, but it wasn't. Instead, the show plays like a mash-up of Kim Possible and other later Disney TV series, combined with the, albeit tamed, familiar humour from the View Askew films. In fact, the extent to which this show is child-friend almost adds to the surrealness. There is no swearing, no adult situations, even New Jersey's favourite dope dealers, Jay & Silent Bob don't peddle drugs but rather illegal fireworks. Six episodes is really not enough, especially when considering that everyone seems on the top of their game here - the animation is top notch, Smith's writing has rarely been better or more satirical (although that may have something to do with the inclusion of ex-Seinfeld scribe David Mandel) and the voice cast hit all the right notes. The show makes me nostalgic for things that could have been. Had Jeff Anderson and Kevin Smith not had a huge falling out after Clerks, imagine what else they could have done together! Anderson's deft comic ability is just incredible, had they not fallen out, this man could have been Jason Lee. Think about it. Also, look out for Alec Baldwin's turn as the Clerks' nemesis, Leonardo Leonardo.


3) Arrested Development (2003-6)
Okay, I'm sure Jonny's going to put this down as well, but screw him! I'm my own man and I'll put it down if I want to! *ahem* The fact is that I don't believe there has ever been a more talented ensemble cast for a comedic television show. Even further than that, there have been few shows as sharply and consistently written then Arrested Development. Its ability to be simultaneously topical and irrelevant is something to be in awe of, but more impressive is the very subtle foreshadowing of major plot points, ultimately making each repeat viewing surprisingly fresh. It may have launched the one-role career of Michael Cera, but how could I not forgive it? In terms of quality, this should probably be further up my list but, to be honest, after three (well, two and a half) seasons, it feels incredibly well wrapped up. Sure, there are probably more laughs to be had with the Bluth family, but there are other shows out there that deserved more of a chance to shine.


2) My So-Called Life (1994-5)
Like this for instance. With all respect to John Hughes, his films never had the emotional resonance with me that they did for many other people. I didn't get through my teenage years with the Breakfast Club or Ferris Bueller. Instead, I had My So-Called Life. I'm not going to pretend that I went to a high school with a gun problem or had friends that were living on the streets, the plot of the episodes are almost a secondary feature. The main event, as it were, is the accurate portrayal of teenage emotions. Like Angela Chase, I grew up in a really stable household and also like her, I sometimes wanted to find faults with it - what teenager doesn't? But having revisited the show since those heady days, what really sticks out is how trivial really everything is. Listening to Angela, her biggest problems are on the whole silly in retrospect but, like many of my teenage problems, seemed so important at the time. After one season, I'd just fallen in love with all the characters (even Brian), but there was no conclusion to the story, no closure. Ironically, it may even be better that way, but one more visit to Chase's house should have happened.


1) Twin Peaks (1990-1)
What can I say that hasn't all ready been said, spun backwards, phonetically recited and then spun backwards again. All I'm going to say is that this show was heading to an explosive third season: How much damage will Bob do? Will the town folk stop him? Will Agent Cooper ever be free? What could have been a great good versus evil showdown never happened - even the feature film spin off looked backwards. Oh Diane, will we never see those wonderful trees again? Take it away, Man from Another Place.