Hey folks, Harry here in the land of angels... Decided to come out and see what I could see. Sure nough... I'm seeing alot. Expect some fun discussing here real soon... (once I'm back in Harryland, Austin) Saw that the Cardinal sent this tidbit look at a pair of inuresting flickeroos and decided to vomit it on up here for you good folks to gawk at.
Hiya, Harry
Was lucky enough to catch a couple of movies, one of which is guaranteed distribution in America and another that is being shopped up from Australia, but almost is guaranteed to make it.
The first, "The Hurricane," is the new pic by Norman Jewison starring, among others, Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, Deborah Unger, David Paymer, and, in one of the slickest cameos of the year, Rod Steiger. We were told that it was a press screening and an audience test for international release.
"The Hurricane" has already been mentioned on the site from the festival screenings, but, hopefully, may still see some cuts. Though it is, functionally, the bio-pic of Ruben "Hurricane" Carter, the wrongfully-imprisoned boxer/writer of "The Sixteenth Round," it never decides if it's: #1 a movie about racial politics, #2 a trial/prison-life movie, or #3 a movie about the impact a writer has on a disadvantaged youth. That's pretty much the problems it's having.
The good points are that it is, indeed, an uplifting story and is shot beautifully. A movie of just the book, "The Sixteenth Round," which is credited as one of the sources of the screenplay, would be great enough. However, that's not the case and it gets muddy. That said, Denzel Washington gives, as expected an EXTREMELY strong performance as the conflicted Carter, one of the best he's ever done as he has such a range of things to go through. Give Washington a good character and he shines like no other actor in the biz. The supporting cast wasn't given much to do and newcomer Vicellous Reon Shannon plays the kid, Lasra, pretty well. Dan Hedaya skulks around and is an effective one-note heavy, but that's kind of the story here, a lot of one-dimensional "types."
Maybe it will receive some well-deserved editing and one helluva movie will emerge, but until then, the muddy story-line and one-note characters don't make this the best movie or bio-pic.
As for the Australian box-office winner, "Two Hands," that's another film with a damn strong performance, Bryan Brown. Functionally an exciting "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" or "Pulp Fiction" knock-off, "Two Hands" is the story of a guy who wants to be a heavy in the Australian underworld, screws up royally, and then you get the ensuing fall-out. There is an odd supernatural narration from the hero's brother, but that doesn't detract from the film as a whole.
Heath Ledger, the guy from "10 Things I Hate About You" who was to tame the wild sister, seems to be pretty much at home in "Two Hands." The real star, Bryan Brown, kicks ass every time he opens his mouth. I don't generally feel that way about a certain actor, but it's kind of like Sting's presence in "Lock, Stock..."
So, with a little bit of luck, "Two Hands" will show at a theater near you. The opening credit sequence is worth matinee price of admission as it is.
Sign me - Cardinal Von Funkenstein
