24 Grapes of a Gangster

Or, "You knew we'd get there sooner or later." And actually, if I'd been running a little quicker, I would've made this yesterday's entry. Yesterday, you see, was the birthday of Tobin Bell...who stars in the Saw films (he's 67. Talk about your golden years).

Bell can dominate a scene (heck, an entire movie) while hardly ever leaving a sickbed, or seriously disturb you even while wearing a black velour v-neck shirt. His voice alone terrifies.

The link above is to what may be my favorite performance of all of Jigsaw's many "Game Over" tapes--although it's from IV, which started a downward spiral of the series (I'm hoping VI is a ninth-inning rally). Click it. You know you want to.

At the start of V, Scott Patterson's character is locked into a room with Jigsaw's corpse.

You don't want to be locked into a room with Jigsaw's corpse.

That is what you (or I anyway) call presence.

I still stand stubbornly by my belief that the Saw series requires a better class of actor than the wriggling asses and pretty faces-male and female-that make up your Texas Chainsaw Massascream 3's. Bell is the most obvious (tho not the only) example.

I wish he got more critical respect (especially for the second and third installments) but, while not being privy to his bankbook, I suspect there are, shall we say, certain other compensations.