So let me catch you up on my movie watching from this past weekend....and...in a bit of good news for readers of this column (thank you...both of you)....WE FINALLY GOT OUR COMPUTER BACK!!! Hey, I loved the laptop, but let me tell you how annoying it was to type the column on the laptop and have the curser jumping all over the place, screwing up your typing.
This weekend's movie report:
1) Man on Fire---I remember over 20 years ago, when I was working at the dreaded World Wide News & Books and I happened upon a little trashy pulp fiction book by AJ Quinnell called Man on Fire. It was a very quick read, fluffy as air but lots of fun, and like I was prone to do, I would try and imagine who would make for a good lead actor in the title role. I think at the time I came up with Ryan O'Neal, and in the late 80's they did make a pretty much direct-to-video version with the great and underrated Scott Glenn, but apparently nobody saw it. This year they've made a version with Denzel Washington, who, given the correct role, can be quite a good actor. They also switched the location of the movie from Italy to Mexico (who knows why?)....but other than that its a fairly good adaption of the book....although, like I said...it was over 20 years ago that I read it. That being said....this is one hell of a violent movie. About an hour into it, I turned to the wife and told her that I didn't think that Denzel was the right man for the role....that maybe what it needed was Samuel L Jackson getting angry and self-righteous. But somewhere along the line....old Denzel reaches inside himself and manages to do a pretty damn good job here. He receives typically good support from Christopher Walken (playing a non-psycho!! What's up with that???), Mickey Rourke (gee, Mickey Rourke is in a movie and the characters are trying to figure out who it is that's the unknown bad guy on the inside---you figure it out) and a special mention goes out to Dakota Fanning, who does a great job being more than just a scared little kid. Very lackluster performance though....by Marc Anthony (???!!??), yep, old J-Lo's husband, as Dakota's dad (and not only is there absolutely no family resemblance---Marc Anthony will pass for a Mexican the day that I do). Anyway, this is a good action film...but be forewarned....some of the violence is waaaaay over the top on the ultra violent side. ***1/2
2) Serpico---how the hell did I go this long as a movie buff and never see Serpico?
Beats the hell out of me! Along with The Godfather, this was the movie that really took Pacino and launched him into the stratosphere as a movie superstar. Although he's very good in the role, this movie was more about Al becoming a "movie star" than an actor. Geez, he's got the whole 70's Barry Gibb hairdo flowing towards the end of the movie. Still, big Al is in very good form as the straight cop who refuses to go along with the rest of the force and take a "little something off the top". You see the very early formations of Al's now annual movie explosion. You know what I'm talking about....Al does a slow burn...and then finally explodes.
"It was not....WHAT I WANTED!!"
Yeah, something like that. As good as the performance is, the story itself is amazing.
And New York in the 70's. Geez, the place looks so freakin dingy and dirty. How could anyone watch a movie like this and actually want to live there? ****
3) National Lampoon's Animal House---the pen-ultimate college movie with a star making turn by John Belushi. All of your favorites are here. Otter, Bluto, Dean Wormer, Flounder, Pinto, D-Day, Neidermayer, etc etc. One of those movies where as you watch you find yourself reciting pieces of dialogue.
"Mr. Blutarski......O.O%."
"I can't believe I threw up near Dean Wormer."
"Face it kid...you threw up ON Dean Wormer."
"Mine's bigger."
"Excuse me?"
"My cucumber....its bigger than the one your holding."
"Double secret probation."
"I'm not gonna go schizo if I smoke this, am I?"
There's just a million of them. And even after at least 20 viewings, I sat back and laughed my ass of. The DVD includes a great retrospective on the making of the movie, including a great story about a brawl between the cast and a local frat house, and a only so-so "in-character feature" which updates us on what the characters are doing with their lives. Skip that one. Watch the movie instead. ****
Later,
jeff
No comments:
Post a Comment