Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
Review:
25 years after his last game of pool, The Hustler Paul Newman gets back into it to stake newcomer Tom Cruise. Together with his girlfriend, they go on the road, he teaches him everything he knows about hustling and thereby rediscovers his own love for the game - and not just for making money. Thoroughly unnecessary, the film is nevertheless a well made continuation of Fast Eddie’s story, artfully directed by Martin Scorsese. The film is much more entertaining than its predecessor, but ultimately doesn’t pack as mighty a punch.
Random Observations:
The Color of Money at the IMDb
Aside from Newman, nobody from the original film makes a comeback.
There is lots of unnecessary posturing in the film, which is all kinds of distracting.
Tags: 1986, American Film, Bill Cobbs, book adaptation, Bruce A. Young, Drama, english, Forest Whitaker, Helen Shaver, Iggy Pop, John Turturro, Keith McCready, Martin Scorsese, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, minute movie review, movie review, Movies, Paul Newman, Richard Price, sequel, sports movie, The Color of Money, The Hustler, Tom Cruise, Walter Tevis
Posted in Minute Movie Reviews, Movie Reviews, Movies | No Comments »
Sunday, February 7th, 2010
Review:
After the owner and president of Hudsucker Industries jumps out of a window, the board decides to install an imbecile in the job to devalue the stock so they can buy the majority chair. But the man comes up with a brilliant idea (if you have seen the poster, you can guess what it is) and saves the company - at least for a while. But things never work out the way one expects. The film is a hilariously funny comedy that is somewhat diminished by the need to have a halfway coherent plot with a happy ending, resorting to fantasy to manage to get out of the many holes it dug. Nevertheless, the film is absolutely brilliant and should have firmly established the Coen Brothers as the leading comedy filmmakers of their time.
Random Observations:
The Hudsucker Proxy at the IMDb
John Goodman has a small cameo here and is credited as Karl Mundt, the name of his character in Barton Fink.
Also with a small cameo: the always awesome Steve Buscemi.
The dialogue in this film may be some of the funniest in the history of the medium.
I love how Tim Robbins, playing the lead guy, goes around showing people his circle, claiming that it is a great idea.
Sam Raimi, acclaimed horror (and Spider-Man) director, co-wrote the script with the Coen Brothers, almost ten years before the film was made.
I’m fairly certain that this film will prove to be even better on repeat viewings. It seems like one of the things it has in common with The Big Lebowski, which it precedes in many ways.
Tags: 1994, American Film, Barton Fink, Bill Cobbs, Bruce Campbell, Charles Durning, Christopher Darga, Coen Brothers, Comedy, David Byrd, english, Ethan Coen, fantasy movie, Gary Allen, Harry Bugin, I.M. Hobson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jerome Dempsey, Jim True, Joe Grifasi, Joel Coen, John Goodman, John Mahoney, John Scanlan, John Seitz, John Wylie, minute movie review, movie review, Movies, Patrick Cranshaw, Paul Newman, Peter McPherson, Richard Woods, Roy Brocksmith, Sam Raimi, Spider-Man, Steve Buscemi, The Big Lebowski, The Hudsucker Proxy, Tim Robbins
Posted in Minute Movie Reviews, Movie Reviews, Movies | No Comments »