DOUBLE FEATURE: THE FURY / FIRESTARTER

Love the column, Josh. Although, I think you downplayed what is really an excellent Brian DePalma film (my second favorite after BLOW OUT), The slow motion escape from the Clinic and the amusement park/tilt-a-whirl catastrophe are brilliant set pieces.  The somewhat complicated story structure and plot ambiguity only serve to heighten suspense and mood.And what you label as early obnoxious camera pans, most DePalma-philes (and Godard!) would call exciting, assured stylistic choices. Also, come on, you didn't dig the score?!! Outrageous! We are in total agreement about Kirk Douglas and Cassavetes--both know how to hit the right tone with their performances. ( Kirk .D. does a fantastic job of pulling the audience into the frustration, paranoia and pain; you feel and almost share the desperation and obsession. It's his last great movie star performance. And of course, Cassavettes just nails the classic slimey bastard)

Assured stylistic choices. Love it. :) That is a fantastically ambiguous way to label it. I am not a De Palma-phile, by any stretch. Can't stand shit like those pans. I more so dig him as a storyteller, and think he used to have an amazing eye for assembling bonkers set-pieces, like said in-door amusement park catastrophe. I actually prefer what he chooses to do with his characters when he gets weird, versus what he does with the camera. The fucking pose he puts Amy Irving in at the end (included in the column) blows me away every time. So out there. So good. Out of no where he crescendos the entire film, then cuts to black. The end. 

Assured stylistic choices aside, I will accept your scorn for the score though. My greatest failing as a film nerd has always been score appreciation.