This Week in 'Ku: Finding a Common Thread

pReviewKu:

I wonder what exactly was going through Matt Dillon's mind when he sat down to read the scripts for his upcoming Armored (due out December 4th) and Takers (February 19th). I think it was something along the lines of, "I wanna be the only actor to have back-to-back features about armored trucks and robbers, only in one movie I'll be the bad guy, and in the other movie, I'll be a cop. You know, just to mix things up a little bit." Neither movie strikes me as memorable or inspired, but if I had to pick which one I'd rather see it would probably be Armored, as it seems a little more inventive in its use of armored trucks. Also, the supporting cast of Laurence Fishburn and Jean Reno seems more up my alley. Takers, on the other hand, co-stars Paul Walker and Hayden Christensen. Nuff said. You gotta love the trailer, though. It's colorful, full of cliches, and it features the enduring trope of cool guys walking away from explosions. I think this definitely earns its place in the pReviewKu slot for the week.

ReviewKu:

This weekend, I saw the sci-fi thriller Pandorum, starring Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid. Although it was thin on story and even shorter on heart, the movie still managed to prove decent thanks in good part to the solid performances and the interesting, ReviewKu worthy premise, which you will see below. If you went into Pandorum expecting it to break new ground, you will be disappointed, but let's just say that I've paid full price to see far worse movies.

After seeing Pandorum, I thought my theme for the week was set: "Movies featuring pale, scary creatures that eat people." But then a wrench was thrown into those plans when I got the opportunity to see Matt Damon's and director Steven Soderbergh's latest film, The Informant!. While I could certainly spin things to accomodate this movie into the pre-existing theme (white, sorta creepy guy eats people's money?), I decided that I could perhaps be a little less disingenuous about it. Because, like Pandorum, The Informant!--or more appropriately, Matt Damon's performance (which was brilliant and Oscar-worthy, by the way)--actually reminded me of one of his other movies, which you will see below.

These two movies also have something else in common: they weren't quite what I expected them to be. I thought Pandorum was going to be awful; it wasn't really awful at all (even if it was a tad mediocre). And I thought The Informant! was going to be something along the lines of Office Space meets the FBI, but it ended up being far more fascinating, and a bit more unsettling than that.

Yes, leave it to me to find commonality between Pandorum and The Informant!. Anything for you, 'Ku-spirators. See you next week.

Takers

Contains so much douche
They should change the title to
Massengill Ultra

Pandorum

Cavernous settings
Ugly, albono monsters:
The Descent...in SPACE

The Descent

Like Deliverance,

It made me want to avoid
The Appalachians

The Talented Mr. Ripley

More awkward moments
Than on the day I gave up
My virginity

The Informant!

Minus the murders,
He's almost like Tom Ripley
Plus fifty Big Macs

This Week in 'Ku: Buddy Cop Flicks

pReviewKu:

Sifting through recent movie news, I stumbled upon something that ended up setting the tone for this week's theme, Buddy Cop Movies. And that particular piece of information was about an upcoming Eddie Murphy film: Beverly Hills Cop IV.

Now, I know what you're saying. There isn't a damn thing Eddie Murphy has touched in the last, oh, ten years that hasn't ended up smelling like rancid feces, so why bother paying attention? Okay, maybe exceptions can be made for Dreamgirls and the Shrek movies, but those weren't exactly "Eddie Murphy" movies, either. The man still seems to be able to perform as part of an ensemble cast, but I've all but given up on his starring vehicles. I believe if he wants to resurrect his career from the Pluto Nash dimension, it might be a good idea to abandon the campy (that's a kinder word than I originally had in mind) "family" movies and either continue getting supporting roles in more good ensemble casts (like Dreamgirls), continue doing animated work, or return to his roots. Beverly Hills Cop III was almost universally panned, but Brett Ratner (the director on board) realizes that and says he is doing his best not to repeat that movie's mistakes.

But maybe I'm being too optimistic here. After all, we're talking about a "Part Four" of something, which is almost always a bit of a failure, and we're talking about Eddie Murphy, whose recent career choices have actually DEFINED that word. Furthermore, the movie will be directed by Brett Ratner, which puts the quality of the final product on somewhat tenuous ground. While there are certainly worse directors in Hollywood, he is far from the best and actually pretty much wedged in mediocrity. However, I will give him credit where credit is due in that he has made some entertaining movies in the past, and he has experience with this particular genre. Rush Hour (at least the first one) was not bad, and if he can capture that spirit and make it a tad bit grittier, he may be onto something. Finally, Murphy really just needs some work with a known director again, even if it is a middle-tier guy like Ratner. That could make all the difference. Or maybe I'm just living in a dreamworld in thinking this whole charade worth a damn. Maybe all I really want deep down is an updated rendition of Axel F.

ReviewKu:

This brings me to the current theme for the week, Buddy Cop Movies. This is a genre that seemed to have its heyday in the 70s and 80s, and then turned pretty stale in the decades that followed. Looking at a lot of websites featuring the best of these films, the only one that is consistently on the list post-1988 is Bad Boys, and I will have to politely disagree there, and not only because it was made by Michael Bay and I have an admitted bias, but also because it was the seed that spawned the most horrific sequel of all time--Bad Boys II. Indeed, I am punishing the father for the sins of the son. But really, if you wanted a better example of a good post-80s Buddy Cop movie that features Will Smith, I would easily go with Men in Black. Still, I think there is something about the old days--perhaps the political and economic climate--that made these flicks shine, and it's fun to look back and remember when movie cops did whatever it took to get the bad guys (even if it was ridiculous or downright illegal), and we thought that was pretty darn okay. A more modern example of what time and politics have done to the buddy cop movie would be Training Day, where plot and morality become so entangled that fun gets shunned from the equation. Training Day is indeed a good movie, and there isn't anything wrong with asking the questions of its viewers that Training Day does (and Denzel Washington was brilliant in his role), but I think the paradigm for these types of films has definitely shifted. Sadly, I think Buddy Cop movies have gone the way of the Western: dormant with periodic fad-like resurgences that either bring back the good old days, or remind us that maybe some things are best left buried.

Below are some classics mixed with a good head scratcher. Pat Morita and Jay Leno? Really??

Enjoy! Until next week 'Ku-spirators... Keep it reel (haw!)

Beverly Hills Cop IV

If this sequel fails
Maybe Murphy could remake
The Golden Child...