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Reviews
The In-Laws (2003)
SERPENTINE!!!
There are absolutely no words to adequately describe just how truly awful this movie is. Being a huge fan of the 1979 original, starring Peter Falk and Alan Arkin, curiousity got the better of me...
I guess curiosity really did kill the cat!
As hilarious and genuinely funny as the original is - I still consider it to be among the funniest films I have EVER seen - this remake is the complete opposite. Whereas Peter Falk and Alan Arkin made a terrific onscreen team, Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks simply don't have it. There just isn't the same chemistry. One of the things that made me laugh so much at the original was Alan Arkin's straight-man performance vs. Peter Falk's "is-he-or-isn't-he insane?" In this one, you'll find nothing of the sort. Albert Brooks (in the Alan Arkin role), whose character is now a podiatrist (as opposed to being a dentist in the original), just doesn't bring in the same laughs...you won't see him running down the street screaming "There's no need to shoot, I'm a podiatrist!" or anything like that. And worse, Michael Douglas (in the Peter Falk role), the secret agent father in law to be who hasn't yet met the in-laws, has a pointless sidekick, played by Robin Tunney, something that I felt weakened Douglas' character...as if the already inept script didn't already do a fine job of that!
Worst of all was David Suchet's French arms dealer who suddenly develops a crush on Brooks' character, was nowhere nearly as entertaining as Richard Libertini's performance in the original...hell, even Senor Pepe had more comedic charisma than Suchet in this one, and Senor Pepe was a friggin' HAND PUPPET, for crying out loud!!!
All in all, this has to be one of the worst movies I have ever paid good money to see (thank God I only paid $5!). If you haven't seen the original, rent it and save yourself the anguish of sitting through this mindless claptrap of a movie. If you HAVE seen the original, and were contemplating a trip to the cinema to check this one out, I have one word for you: SERPENTINE!!!
Cedric the Entertainer Presents (2002)
Been There, Seen That...
I checked out "Cedric the Entertainer Presents" last night for the first time, at the behest of several co-workers of mine. Well, what can I say? Do the words "In Living Color" ring any bells? Except, "In Living Color" was more of an ensemble cast, whereas "Cedric the Entertainer Presents" merely serves as a self-indulgent ego stroke to an already obviously inflated ego- "Original Kings of Comedy"??? GET REAL!!! Not only is "Cedric the Entertainer Presents" not funny, it's not even entertaining! It's been done before, and done WAY better by the Brothers' Wayans.
Oh, and a note to Cedric...people who usually refer to themselves by what they "do" (i.e. Cedric the Entertainer), usually it means that they aren't very good at it and need to convince people that they actually are...some food for thought.
Red Dragon (2002)
Excellent Movie Driven By Oscar-Worthy Performances
I just got back from seeing "Red Dragon" and I must say right off the bat, it was MUCH better than last year's "Hannibal" and definitely much more on par with the multi-Oscar winning "Silence of the Lambs". Unlike "Hannibal", which was primarily driven by the gore and carnage of Lecter, "Red Dragon" was much more driven by the performance of its tremendous ensemble cast, headlined of course by Anthony Hopkins, once again reprising his most famous role as Dr. Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter. This time out, however, Hopkins' role is more of a supporting character, although he is absolutely central to the plot. Edward Norton's performance as Will Graham was tremendous to watch as well, but it was Ralph Fiennes' performance as "The Tooth Fairy" which truly took centre stage. Fiennes turns in a tour-de-force performance as the psychopath pursued by Graham and admirer of Lecter. He is very well complimented by Emily Watson as Fiennes' character's blind would-be girlfriend. I loved how the ending perfectly connected this film to "Silence", as it is definitely much closer in nature to than it is to the disasterous "Hannibal". Let's hope the Academy keeps this in mind at Oscar time.
Do Not Disturb (1999)
No mystery here...
In fact, "Silent Witness" was so bad that it was hilariously funny. Right from the opening (and obviously really badly computer generated) shot of the airplane from the outside to the neatly (and almost too conveniently) orchestrated ending, and all the silly chase scenes (which I think were supposed to be nailbiting and intense, but instead played out on screen like a Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote cartoon!) in between, "Silent Witness" has to be one of the funniest (albeit unintentionally so) movies I've seen in a long time. And maybe it's just me, but I was under the impression that Dutch people had Dutch accents, but like I said, maybe it's just me. William Hurt is a great actor completely wasted in a movie like this. Jennifer Tilly is...well, Jennifer Tilly! My question to Denis Leary: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???
Gosford Park (2001)
Don't waste your money
I just got home from seeing Gosford Park, and I can sum this one up in just a few words.
It's a rental for sure.
For starters, there were too many characters to keep track of, and not enough reasons to really give a damn about any of them. Granted, it was my first experience watching a Robert Altman film, and knowing that Altman is known for his large ensemble cast movies, I should have expected this. However, Altman being the accomplished film director that he is, I'm sure even Altman could have given me reasons to care about the characters, their backgrounds, their relationships, or anything else. He failed miserably.
The only real glimmer of hope in this movie comes in the form of Steven Fry's dim-witted investigator. However, he enters into the mix far too late in the film, and for me, far too late to really garner any interest I might have lost. Maggie Smith manages to slip in the occassional sharp-tongued one-liners, but they are way too few and too far between. Ryan Phillipe was just annoying, plain and simple. Everyone else was your typically stuffy English, save for the equally annoying film producer from California who wouldn't shut up or go away. By the half-way point of the movie, I was wishing he'd be the murder victim. Yes, that's right...the murder doesn't even happen until more than half way through the movie.
As a movie, "Gosford Park" definitely should rank among the year's worst films. As a cure for insomnia, I highly recommend it.