is the Coen Brothers’ latest flick with Tom Hanks as
a charlatan/sleazy con guised as a professor with a love of chamber
music. He assembles a gang of quasi-experts to pull off a heist on the
gambling river boat that can be tunneled to be his unsuspecting landlady
(Irma Hall). Hanks as Professor GH Dorr and his cast of cronies pretend to
practice music in the cellar as the big dig progresses. The Professor is
challenged repeatedly by his gang as well as landlady—able to rationalize
and come up with an excuse for just about anything that gets in his path.
Through a series of mishaps, one by one, each meets his fate with the
great garbage heap in the river. There are laugh-out-loud lines here,
but, this is not the typical nice guy Hanks movie viewers may expect—lots
of swearing.
Who Should See It?—not
kids and probably not Gramma. 2 Golden
Eggs.
Return to Top
is Nia Vardalos’ (Connie) attempt for comeback
after the television fiasco of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Starring with
Toni Collette (Carla), Stephen Spinella, Dash Mihok and David Duchovny,
there’s lots of fun throughout. A takeoff on the Julie Andrews
Victor/Victoria, Vardalos and Collette are two struggling Chicago dinner
theater performers who accidentally witness a murder and run. Once in the
car, they conclude that Los Angeles is the place to hide—no culture, class
and they can sustain invisibility. Once there, they stumble upon a drag
queen bar, morph their song and dance routine and become the “who’s who’
of the club scene.
Duchovny plays the straight brother of one of the
duo’s pals; Connie is attracted and would like to escape her drag queen
persona. Lots of costumes—where did they get all that makeup?—and fun
lines—this isn’t a bad way to spend two hours. Debbie Reynolds makes a
cameo.
Who Should See It?—teens
and up. Gramma will get a kick out of it.
3 ½ Golden Eggs.
Return to Top
is most likely this year’s battle drama. Produced
by Ron Howard and Mark Johnson, an unlikely cast is brought together to
play out the birthing of Texas as part of the US vs. Mexico. Billy Bob
Thornton plays a kind, sensitive, thoughtful and musical David Crockett
(not Davy!—and he fiddles on the roof!) with Dennis Quaid as hard-nose
General Sam Houston (stiff and almost bug-eye in this role), Jason Patric
as drinking til the end James Bowie and Patrick Wilson at Lt. Col. William
Travis who is the Alamo’s commanding officer. Set in 1836, 200 men held
off thousands of Mexican soldiers under the command of General Antonio
Lopez de Santa Anna—portrayed as a Napoleonic look alike—for 13 days.
Crockett is the last to die. The Alamo has a rich history—the first hour
drags and movie picks up the second hour as the battle scenes begin. I
wanted to really like it—I didn’t.
Who Should See It?—preteens
and up. Gramma probably won’t love this.
2 ½ Golden Eggs
KILL BILL, Vol 1
Released in time to set up Part 2, this has all the original action
plus a few extras. Quentin Tarantino’s film is, well, odd. Weak on
the story side, I have to admit, I was fascinated by it. It’s a violent
cartoonish type of flick where the babes do all the kung fu and related
stuff—the dudes are almost invisible. Uma Thurman is the main chick
seeking revenge, and revenge she does. Most likely, Tarantino went
through his Rolodex of violent scenes, and puzzle-pieced this baby
together—everything from an old fashioned samurai to Clint Eastwood
spaghetti type westerns. No nudity, but blood—buckets of it. The end
caught me by surprise . . . and is the setup for Vol 2.
Who Should See It?—not
kids, not Gramma. 3 Golden Eggs.
HAUNTED MANSION
Released in 2003, Walt Disney Pictures dips into its Magic
Kingdom and pulls out another ride. If it worked for Pirates of the
Caribbean, why not the Haunted Mansion (let’s forget that the Country
Bears didn’t)? Starring Eddie Murphy as “I’ve never met a deal I couldn’t
love” Realtor Jim Evers, along with wife Sara and two kids, the
venture/ride really begins when Sara is beckoned to the right zip code in
New Orleans—a rundown mansion that houses secrets everywhere. The creepy
butler Ramsey greets Sara and to his dismay, finds that she has brought
the family. Not in the plan . . . but he will deal with it.
Introducing Sara to the love-struck owner Edward Gracey, Ramsey begins
to weave his web—and there are lots of them. Sprinkle in a few ghosts,
creepy doors and places, mysterious storms, and talking heads and you’ve
got The Haunted Mansion. There are laugh-out-loud and a few jump out of
the seat moments. Extra scenes.
Who Should See It?—it’s a
family movie, no nudity or blood —anyone who got on the ride at Disneyland
or Disney World can go, OK for Gramma In the initial screening, my
preview audience applauded. 3 Golden Eggs
