Who knew that early September was a dumping ground for otherwise unwatchable movies on DVD? Here we’d hope to offer you something to keep you occupied during the course of these cool late summer evenings, while the rains fall fitfully and the nip of winter has become more than a promise. Tis not to be, though, and more’s the pity.
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One of the great movie disappointments earlier this year, this interminable Coen Brothers remake of the distinctive 1955 British classic black comedy about a bumbling gang of thieves is just about the most tedious, longwinded and uninvolving piece of Southern fried pseudo parody that one could possible imagine from the otherwise generally talented filmmaking team. Tom Hanks is wasted in the bizarrely Shakespearean role of Goldthwait Higginson Dorr, PhD, while the remaining cast members are full of exaggerations, insincerity, and lack of believability. An unfunny, overly stylized mess, this will be the last DVD on the shelf that you’ll want to rent.
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From bad to worse, take the skull t-shirt away and this franchise could be any cookie cutter revenge flick. As the violence takes over, we are left with a protagonist whose genius for sadism makes the villains look like schoolboys pulling the wings off flies. Thomas Jane’s Frank Castle is nothing more than a weapon, a gun that keeps going off til its chamber is empty. When he’s spent, so’s the movie — but not the audience, which couldn’t care less about anyone on the screen. If you loved the Dolph Lundgren oeuvre, then this DVD is for you. Otherwise, give it a miss.
More DVD releases: Kevin Smith’s relatively watchable Jersey Girl lands on store shelves, as does the egregious Soul Plane and the exasperating The United States of Leland. To leave you on a high note, VanRamblngs offers Mayor of the Sunset Strip, a fascinating and sometimes sad documentary about a curious little man and America’s obsession with celebrity.
One final note: Andrew Morrison of Times New Roman Online sends along the information that as an alternative to renting the DVD of Robert Greenwald’s Uncovered: The Whole Truth About The Iraq War you can watch it online. Just click on the link provided. Thank you, Andrew.
