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Reviews
Brother to Brother (2004)
Awesome Movie!
Watched "Brother to Brother" last night and thought it was excellent. A small movie shot on a small budget that packed more punch than many of the pathetic H'wood Blockbusters I've seen over the past year. You don't have to be black or gay to appreciate the artistry of this film. This is a story of a young black man coming to terms with two different prejudices, his being black, and his being gay. He meets gay writer Bruce Nugent who with other prominent artist of his day pushed the envelope of acceptance on many different levels. The flashbacks to Nugen't youth are beautifully done with period music. While it was obvious that this was a low budget film, that fact didn't take anything away from the movie. It only made me respect the makers even more for crafting such a fine film without the mega-budgets usually given to film makers. Most all of the actors did fine jobs here. Rent/buy this movie, let the studios know that there is a market for this type of film - one with heart and soul.
The Ladykillers (2004)
To say the character Hanks plays is odd, would be an understatement!
The Coen brothers have a sense of humor. Some people get it, some people don't. I'm a little quirky so I guess it's no surprise that I get their humor. If you don't know the Coen brothers by name, you have probably heard of some of their other films: "Raising Arizona", "Fargo", "The Big Lebowski", "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" and many others. "The Ladykillers" may not be their best film, but I laughed out loud many times during this movie.
Tom Hanks plays Professor G. H. Dorr a con man. To say he is odd would be an understatement. Irma P. Hall plays Marva Munson who rents a room in her home to the Professor. Conveniently, there is a riverboat casino just blocks from the house where the Professor rents his room. He has hatched a plan to assemble a group of crooks (Wayans, Simmons, Hurst and Ma) to dig a tunnel from the basement of the house to the vault at the casino.
This is a very unusual role for Hanks. He's an excellent actor, so I bought him in this role from the start. His laugh is funny and creepy at the same time. Marlon Wayans is responsible for a lot of the funniest one-liners, but Hall is wonderful as the owner of the house. I liked this film a lot, however it falls short of "Fargo" and "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?".
If you enjoy off-beat humor, you will enjoy this film a lot. A word of caution, there is a lot of rough language here, so much that it received an "R" rating. If you are sensitive to four letter words, you might want to avoid this one.
Watch for the changing expressions on the portrait in Marva's living room - hilarious! If you're still jonesin' for more Coen Brothers humor pick up "Fargo" on your way home. In my opinion, this is their best work.