Movie Review - Ladron Que Roba a Ladron

Today's review is my first of a film in a foreign language, 2007's Ladron Que Roba A Ladron. I had never heard of this movie until I saw a trailer for it before 3:10 to Yuma, which was also released by Lions Gate. The trailer looked interesting, and reminiscent of the Ocean's Trilogy, so I figured I'd give it a shot. And I'm glad I did.

The film is about two thieves who decide to rob a modern day snake-oil salesman who is ripping off immigrants via infomercials for products that don't actually work. The plan is to disguise themselves and a crew as day laborers because very few people bother to pay attention to the illegal immigrants who clean their toilets or park their cars. The subtitles translate the title as "To Rob a Thief," although a more accurate translation would be "A thief who robs a thief."

The plot is actually more like The Sting than the Ocean's films, although for the most part it is actually funnier than either of those franchises. The thieves find that all their old partners aren't willing to work with them anymore for various reasons, so they instead have to build a crew from actual day laborers instead of polished professionals, to hilarious results.

The film moves along at a good pace, and there are plenty of unexpected twists and turns in the plot that most won't see coming. The only negative thing about the film is a pro-illegal immigration stance it seems to take that sometimes over shines the well scripted plot. Overall, however, I found this movie to be a pleasant surprise. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of caper films.
Grade: 7
(All films are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being cinematic perfection, and 1 being a direct-to-DVD sequel of a Disney movie.)

Sequel Saturday - Ghostbusters & Ghostbusters II

This week's Sequel Saturday will focus on Ivan Reitman's 1984 masterpiece and 1989 travesty Ghostbusters I & II.

What I find most interesting about these films is that essentially the same creative team produces both films, and the original actors resumed their roles for the sequel, but the two films vary wildly as far as quality goes. Where the original's jokes succeeded, the continuation feels flat and emotionless.

Ghostbusters (1984)

The brain child of original Saturday Night Live cast member Dan Aykroyd, Ghostbusters eventually became a collaboration between Aykroyd, director Reitman, and co-writer (and rival SCTV alum) Harold Ramis. Aykroyd and Ramis would also star in the picture, along with fellow Saturday Night Live funnyman Bill Murray and Yale School of Drama graduate Ernie Hudson.

Murray by far has the funniest role, that of psychologist and parapsychologist Dr. Peter Venkman, described by Ramis as "the mouth of the Ghostbusters." Aykroyd saved for himself the role of Dr. Ray Stanz, similarly described as the "the heart of the Ghostbusters." Dr. Egon Spengler, "the brain of the Ghostbusters," was portrayed by Ramis himself, while Hudson took on the role of Winston Zeddemore, a role that basically served as a proxy for the audience, in that he joins the others later on and many of their procedures have to be explained to him as they would to the viewers.

The chemistry between all the characters is one of the things that makes the movie work. Without first believing Venkman, Stanz, and Spengler are friends, the film would be asking to much of an audience to suspend their disbelief at some of the more supernatural elements of the films.

Perhaps what makes the first film succeed where the second film fails is in the character of Walter Peck, played with a superb sliminess by serial bad-guy actor William Atherton. In Peck, the Ghostbusters face a flesh and blood foe that the audience can hate, simply because he wants our heroes to fail.

The jokes work (and are still funny 25 years later), the pacing is fabulous, and the then-cutting-edge-effects hold up for the most part. The film's 107 minute running time left audiences wanting more.

Ghostbusters II (1989)

Unfortunately, after five years of waiting, the follow-up audiences received was the astonishingly inferior Ghostbusters II. Despite the return of the same creative talent both in front of and behind the cameras, the film fails on this fundamental level: Columbia wanted a sequel because the first made more money. By all respects, the first film could have served as a perfect stand-alone sci-fi comedy. But Reitman, Ramis and Aykroyd returned only reluctantly, seeing the first film as their complete cohesive vision.

Ultimately the studio won out and this film was made. It fails more often than it succeeds, changing the focus from the scary ghosts in the first movie to the more marketable slime, which had been featured heavily in the cartoon series released between the two films.

Also contributing to the creative failure is the fact that the Ghostbusters don't really have a physical enemy against which they can fight. They lose their relatability as a result. In order for a film to work in which suspension of disbelief is so important, there must be some link to the real world with which the audience can identify.

Although there are some jokes that are funny, the film is no where near as laugh out loud hilarious as it's predecessor, and it's climactic action involving the Statue of Liberty just feels silly.

New Classic Review - Galaxy Quest

By request, today's review is of the hilarious sci-fi/comedy Galaxy Quest.

Galaxy Quest tells the story of a group of actors from the Star Trek like-tv show of the title. They find themselves assisting an alien race who, believing the show to be a documentary, have modeled their entire society after it.

Tim Allen plays the selfish and egotistical Jason Nesmith, whom the aliens confuse for his über-confident character on the show, Commander Peter Taggart. He is the first to make contact, and is then faced with the daunting task of getting the rest of the cast to believe him. He eventually convinces the others to join him, and they find themselves facing off against the evil Sarris (Robin Sachs). Hilarity ensues.

Allen's co-leads in the film are Sigourney Weaver, of Alien fame, and Allan Rickman, arguably most famous for his turn as German baddie Hans Gruber in Die Hard. The supporting cast includes Tony Shalhoub, Darryl Mitchell, and Sam Rockwell. Everyone turns in fantastically funny performances, straddling the line between straight comedy and parody. Everyone also handles themselves well in the film's action scenes.

Completely underrated in the film is the side-splitting Enrico Colantoni as Mathesar, the leader of the alien race that worships Nesmith and his cast-mates. He delivers his lines in a strange sing-song manner that is half humming, It's difficult to describe, but it's effective as hell.

Also of note is the fantastic special effects the film boasts. Indeed, the shots of the ships battling it out at the end is more convincing that some of the effects in most of the Star Trek films. Part of what makes those special effects and action scenes work is David Newman's rousing score, which at times seems to be written to be overly bombastic and loud, just as the scores in other space movies tend to be.

All in all, thanks to Dean Parisot's excellent direction and a witty, tongue in cheek screenplay by David Howard and Robert Gorden, Galaxy Quest succeeds in being not only a jovial parody of space films, but a decent space film in it's own right. The only negative I see is that the movie was at one time edited to have an edgier PG-13 rating. I think it would have been interesting to see the original cut, which was also supposed to be more serious, to see how the two compare.

Grade: 8

All movies are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being cinematic perfection, and 1 being anything directed by William Shatner.)

New Classic Review - The Rundown

Today's classic review is of one of my favorite action movies of the last ten years,The Rundown. From the opening nightclub scene (which features a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger), director Peter Berg crams more action and humor into the film than seems physically possible.

The film begin with "retrieval expert" Beck (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) on a mission from his employer Billy Walker (William Lucking) to collect on a debt from a professional quarterback who "gambles like Pete Rose." The quarterback tries to rebuff Beck with a measly $1,000, even though the debt is fifty times that. Beck reluctantly informs Knappmiller, the quarterback, that he needs his championship ring as collateral on the loan. Knappmiller responds by spilling two drinks in Beck's face.

In the first of many understated bad ass moments in the film, Beck calls his employer and informs him that he doesn't want to get the ring from Knappmiller. See, Knappmiller has five of his teammates with him, whose vital stats we are give by very clever Sports Center style graphics. The reason Beck gives for not going through with the job is "I don't want to hurt these guys." Eventually, Walker persuades him to get the job done, and he does, demolishing all six football players in the process (two of whom were almost seven feet tall).

Tired of Walker short changing him, Beck demands to be released from some un-spoken debt he's been working off. Walker agrees, as long as Beck travels to Brazil to bring back his son, Travis (Seann William Scott), whom Billy has had to bail out of some trouble. Along the way, Beck joins forces with sassy local bartender Mariana (the exotic Rosario Dawson), and finds himself on the wrong side of a disagreement with Cornelius Hatcher (Christopher Walken. Yes, really.), the owner of the local mining town where Travis has been searching for a priceless artifact. Hatcher and his henchmen are after the artifact, which Mariana wants to help free her people from Hatcher's iron grip.

Beck makes a deal with Mariana to get her the artifact, known as "El Gato," in exchange for her to act as his guide to get back to the airport where he has a plane waiting to deliver him and Travis back to Los Angeles. Things don't go according to plan, with Travis and Beck getting captured by rebels, and Mariana eventually getting kidnapped by Hatcher. Beck has a crisis of conscience, and decides to save Mariana, leading way to the spectacular final scene of the film.

Although only Berg's sophomore effort (after 1998's awful dark comedy Very Bad Things), The Rundown is a well-shot, decently paced action comedy. There are a few stylistic edits that seem a bit much, these are infrequent enough to not hinder the movie as a whole. This could have been because Berg seemed to be struggling to find a balance between the TV directing he had been doing, and the extremely stylized signature method he employs in his followups Friday Night Lights and The Kingdom.

As far as the film's star goes, Johnson impresses with not only his physicality (although everyone expected him to be strong, he also proves himself to be very quick and agile), but his comedic timing, which is something even veteran actors of years struggle with from time to time. Even though some of the dialogue is stilted and some of the actors are weak at times (Scott especially seems to have problems with some of the more serious scenes), Johnson's charisma and instant likability more than make up for it.
Grade: 8
(All movies are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being cinematic perfection, and 1 being worthy of the phrase "I've seen better film on my shower curtain.")

Classic Review - Princess Bride

By popular demand, today's review is of another classic movie, The Princess Bride.

Directed by Rob Reiner, and written by William Goldman, adapted from his novel of the same name, The Princess Bride is a twist on the token fairy tale. The main narrative of the movie is actually presented as a story within a story. Bookending the tale, and interspersed throughout, is a grandfather (the great Peter Falk) reading the book to his young grandson (Fred Savage) who is recovering from a particularly bad bout of pnemonia. The boy is disinterested at first, but as the story goes on, he finds it more and more fascinating.

The story itself begins with simple farm boy Westley (the always underused Carey Elwes) who finds himself hopelessly in love with Buttercup, the girl whom he serves (pre-Penn Robin Wright). Eventually, she discovers that she loves him as well. Westley sets off to make the fortune that will allow him and Buttercup to marry and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, Buttercup soon receives word that the ship on which Westley was traveling was besieged by The Dread Pirate Roberts, a viscious and merciless buccaneer who is known for leaving no prisoners.

Heartbroken, Buttercup accepts a marriage proposal (more like demand) from Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), next in line for the throne of Florin. Before the wedding, she finds herself kidnapped by three mercenaries, intent on starting a war between Florin and the neighboring Guilder. Unexpectedly, they find themselves being pursued by a mysterious man in black who, after defeating each of the men in their strongest element (one by sword, one by strength, and one by trickery), reveals himself to be non other than Roberts himself.

I don't want to go any further into the plot, for fear of revealing some of the it's most intriguing twists, but all the loose ends are tied up by the time the movie is finished. Clocking in at a brisk 98 minutes, the movie manages to pack in action, romance, intrigue, espionage, and quite a few laugh out loud moments, thanks mostly to the superb comedic timing of Elwes and Mandy Patinkin as the world's (second) greatest swordsman Inigo Montoya. Also notable in the cast is Christopher Guest as the sadistic Count Rugen and the ever-comical Wallace Shawn as the mercenary leader Vizzini.

If you couldn't tell by the ridiculous names, Goldman intended the story to be one told to children, as evidenced by the "real world" story featuring Falk and Savage. However, there is enough humor to keep adults more than entertained throughout. Despite some lackluster effects and an overly synthesized score by Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler, this is a strong movie that breaks many of the standard fairy tale conventions while still managing to have a happy ending. The movie's strongest message is simply "love conquers all," including death, a lesson we learn at least twice throughout the course of this fantastic yarn. Oh, and never cross a Spanish sword-maker's son. That's also very important.

All in all, this is one of the few movies with gags that will still make me laugh as hard on my 200th viewing as they did on my first. This is the kind of movie I hope to one day share with my children, both as entertainment and as a shining example of the artwork that is film-making.
Grade: 9
(All movies are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being cinematic perfection, and 1 being Mystery Science Theater-worthy.)

Classic Review - Back to the Future

I've decided to start my blog with a review of what is probably my favorite movie of all time: Back to the Future
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Back to the Future, directed by Bob Zemeckis and co-written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, was released on July 3 of 1985. Even though I was only 3 at the time, I can't ever remember BTTF not being a part of my life. From the betamax copy my parents owned that we would watch as a family on a TV the size of a Smart Car, to the collector's DVD set that now sits on my shelf, this movie feels like it's as much a part of me as any of the houses in which I've lived or the friends I've made. Through thick and thin, Marty, Doc Brown, and that souped-up DeLorean have always been there to wow me with special effects (when I was younger) or cheer me up with a few laughs (once I was old enough to get all the jokes). Watching the movie again recently, I found that it wasn't just nostalgia that kept bringing me back, Back to the Future is actually a damn fine movie.

For those of you who have been living in a cave for the last 24 years, Back to the Future is about a boy named Marty (Michael J. Fox) and his car. The car happens to be a time machine invented by a scientist friend of Marty's named Doctor Emmett L. Brown (Christopher Lloyd, in a role deserving a best supporting actor nomination). Through a series of bizarre circumstances, Marty ends up in 1955, on the path to erasing his existence by causing his mother (Lea Thompson) to fall in love with him, instead of his father (Crispin Glover).

But that's just the surface. What it's "really about," as they say in the movie business, is how who our parents were when they were our age dictates what kind of person we will grow up to be. See, Marty finds out his father was insecure and nerdy, causing Marty later in life to exhibit those same characteristics no matter how hard he tries to be different. "What if I'm no good? What if they say 'get outta here, kid, you've got no talent.' I don't know if I can take that kind of rejection," Marty tells his girlfriend Jennifer after he and his band suffer a particularly disasterous audition. Through his travels, Marty finds his father uttering the exact same sentiments in 1955 in regards to his previously secret science fiction writings. What Marty doesn't know until he takes this strange journey is that his parents were actually a lot like him, and probably know more about what he's going through than he ever realized.

The underlying theme to all three BttF movies is that while history repeats itself, it's never too late to chart another course for your life. The mistakes you've made can form you into the person you will become just as much, if not more so, than your successes.

Of course, being produced by Steven Spielberg, the movie is also about kick-ass effects (for 1985) and hilarity. Certain lines are still funny enough that I find myself having to pause the DVD to give myself time to laugh, lest I miss another joke or gag.

The next time you're sitting at home, bored, and you need something to pass the time, you can do a lot worse than Back to the Future. If you haven't seen it in a while, I can assure you: it still holds up. Give it a shot.

Grade: 10

(All movies are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being cinematic perfection, and 1 being most Julia Roberts movies)