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No, it’s not a hex reviewers cast over Hollywood executives to punish them for the awful movies they spew forth onto unsuspecting audiences. It’s a doom critics bring upon themselves: When one sees too many movies, eventually only the extraordinary films can thrill anymore.
What a difference it makes to a movie when it’s real actors — as opposed to, say, studio executives’ personal trainers — blowing things up. The Fugitive stood out in the action movie genre by drawing its energy from the intense performances from both Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones (Oscar winner for a popcorn flick!). And now Ronin shows just how smart car chases and gunfights can be when thinking actors are the ones behind the wheel and behind the trigger.
Jackie and Max are the film’s central characters, and Tarantino (who wrote the screenplay as well as directed) handles them in a surprisingly tender and melancholy way. Both Jackie, 44 years old, and Max, 56, are facing their twilight years never having accomplished much of anything, and that regret — along with an undercurrent of incipient romance — brings them together in a kind of sad, sweet bond.
Barn of the Blood Llama — written (with Kirk Hunter) and directed by the Austin-based West — is the probably the most awful movie I’ve ever seen. I mean that in the best way possible. Shot on more film stocks than Oliver Stone ever dreamed of and “dubbed in English,” Barn is chock full of everything a Texas-size hunk of exploitation needs: bestiality! cheap trampy girls in a convertible! rock-star hitchhikers! fast food! bad acting! llama funerals! brain transplantation! haggis!
I’ve said it here before (I think), but it bears repeating: The biggest sin a movie can commit is to be boring. Truly awful movies, like Con Air or Lost in Space, I can at least enjoying making fun of. But when faced with duds like Speed 2: Cruise Control and Sphere, the heart just goes right out of it for me. Their inane scripts aren’t atrocious, just flat. There are no really rotten performances to ridicule. Their FX aren’t cheesy but aren’t cutting edge. The movies are kinda just… there.
Okay, so The Imposters — written, directed, and produced by Stanley Tucci — doesn’t quite reach the pinnacle the Marx Brothers achieved. The script is clever but the humor is mostly physical, of the “doors open, doors close” kind, with some crossdressing thrown in for good measure. And there certainly is much more raunch than the Marx Brothers probably ever dreamed of filling their films with. But still…
Chris Nielsen (a wonderful Robin Williams) is one of those lucky few: he found his soul mate, Annie (Annabella Sciorra). It was love at first sight for them both, but their bond goes deeper than mere love.
Devil’s Advocate has no idea how unintentionally funny it is. Keanu Reeves as a lawyer? Simply hilarious. Poor Keanu — he’s so cute but he’s just dumb as a post. His performance as hotshot Florida lawyer Kevin Lomax would be embarrassing to watch if it wasn’t so good for a few chuckles.
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