Killing Time With the Coens

The Coen brothers are back with "The Ladykillers," a remake of the 1955 comedy of the same name that stared Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers and Herbert Lom. The story revolves around a Southern professor who puts together a group of thieves to rob a casino. They rent a room in an old woman’s house, but soon she discovers the plot and they decide to kill her, a task that is more difficult than it seems.

Tom Hanks takes over the Guinness role of Goldthwait Higginson Dorr, which instead of being groveling and low-key, is morphed into a strange, attention-grabbing man, who steals the show…and much of the meaning out of the plot. But the plot is rather unbelievable anyway, so this, to me, was a good thing.

Anyway, this character rents a room from a stereotypical widowed little grandma played my Irma P. Hall, thinking that he’ll use this base for his criminal activities. He plans to dig a hole from the cellar to the vault in a neighboring casino.

Did I mention he has four shady friends involved? Gawain MacSam, who is played hilariously by Marlon Wayons, is the casino janitor with a penchant for hip hop. Garth Pancake, played by J.K. Simmons, is an eccentric explosives expert. The General, played by Tzi Ma, is a former Viet Cong tunnel digger. Finally, Lump, played by Ryan Hurst, is the oaf-like baffoon who takes care of the strong-arming. Like Hanks’ character, these guys are also very much over-the-top.

But despite all these great characters, frankly speaking, the movie is not that great. Taken individually, the characters are hilarious, but together, it seems they just bumble around – the movie never really connects on a larger level. There are some extremely funny scenes, however, which make the movie worth seeing. To fool the old woman, they say they’re in classical music quintet. Hilariously unbelievable!

The Coen Brothers’ remake barely resembles the original. Their interpretation skips over the subtlety of the original for a louder, more slapstick version that doesn’t involve as much thinking. Watch the original while sipping a libation and watch the remake with a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

After The Holidays

From May 14
The Ladykillers
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, USA, 2004, 104 min
Starring: Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans
Genre: criminal comedy
An old lady finds out that a gang of thieves is planning to rob a casino. The bandits decide to kill her, but it turns out that it’s easier to rob a casino than to get rid of the old lady. See review.

From May 21
Troy
Director: Wolfgang Petersen, USA, 2004, 165 min
Starring: Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom
Genre: historical drama/adventure
War and love in ancient Greece. Wide-scale and beautiful, just as always.
From May 25

Roger Dodger
Director: Dilan Kidd, USA, 2002, 104 min
Starring: Isabella Rossellini, Elizabeth Berkley, Jennifer Beals
Genre: comedy/drama
Sex and the city. Walking the streets of New York with his 16-year-old nephew, the main character realizes there are a lot of things to discover.

From May 27

The Day After Tomorrow
Director: Roland Emerich, USA, 2004
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Sela Ward, Ian Holm
Genre: thriller/sci-fi
A scientist climatologist sets off in search of his lost son in New York during a new ice age.