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Hard-core gore with funk
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 28, 2002
New releases
Bones (R)
[Photo: New Line Cinema]
Snoop Dogg’s coldness sends down chills in Bones.
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The ghost of a 1970s-era ghetto "fixer" (Snoop Dogg) returns from the dead when his neighborhood is overrun by drug dealers and entrepreneurs opening a retro disco. Director Ernest Dickerson, an early collaborator with Spike Lee, keeps the vibe funky, graphically violent and somewhat nostalgic for the blaxploitation era of cinema.
First impressions: "In exalting the very worst of humanity, Bones displays a special glee and an unusual density of scary imagery. . . . As Jimmy, the rap star Snoop Dogg is every inch the sly, strutting, silky-voiced street hustler, casting malicious sidelong glances through narrowed eyes. His coldness makes him ultimately scarier than most conventional Hollywood monsters with their dripping fangs and slimy lizard fins." (Stephen Holden, New York Times)
Second thoughts: Grossed a measly $7.3-million at the box office. Now, that's scary.
Rental audience: Dogg's posse, hard-gore horror fans.
Rent it if you enjoy: J.D.'s Revenge; Scream, Blacula, Scream.
The Musketeer (PG-13)
[Photo: Universal Pictures]
D’Artagnan (Justin Chambers, right) shares a romantic moment with a peasant (Mena Suvari) in The Musketeer. |
Young D'Artagnan (Justin Chambers) squares off against the evil Cardinal Richelieu (Stephen Rea) and his henchman (Tim Roth) while finding time for romance with a peasant (Mena Suvari). Director Peter Hyams covers all of the usual swashbuckling bases while adding a touch of anachronistic martial arts from master choreographer Xin-Xin Xiong.
First impressions: "History is not the point, and neither is the story. Both exist only to supply excuses for a series of action sequences, which steal the show to such an extent that if you like martial arts scenes you'll admire this movie, and if you don't, you won't. . . . I cannot in strict accuracy recommend this film. It's such a jumble of action and motivation, ill-defined characters and action howlers. But the banquet scene is a marvel of art design. The action scenes are wonders to behold. And when Tim Roth vows vengeance on the man who blinded him, I for one believe him." (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)
Second thoughts: All for one and fun for none.
Rental audience: Students trying to scam a book report without reading the book.
Rent it if you enjoy: Any of the other dozen or so Musketeer movies.
DVD
New and noteworthy for digital players
A $20-million inside joke gets added value
Jay and Silent Bob Strike back wasn't everybody's favorite relaxant, but fans will find a rich treat in three hours of restored material initially rejected by those with no taste for grittiness.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (Dimension collector's series)
In a world of dumb, crudely composed R-rated comedies, Kevin Smith makes the dumbest, crudest ones around without any apologies. That's why fans love his work and why he doesn't have many fans. At least, not many who'll admit it in polite company.
Smith started with a gutter vocabulary and a dream, turning the price of a stripped down Lexus into Clerks, a gleeful assault on good taste and patience among moviegoers who can't get down and dirty. Really dirty. So dirty that the Motion Picture Association of America gave Clerks an NC-17 rating despite its absence of violence and nudity, and only a brief suggestion of sex.
The breakout stars of Clerks were two stoners hanging around a convenience store talking. At least, one of them talks. Good luck getting pot-glazed Jay (Jason Mewes) to shut up. Silent Bob, played by Smith remains, well, silent. Until that eventual moment when Bob speaks and makes the most sense of anyone in the movie.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is the final chapter in the drug-addled lives of these surprisingly popular cult heroes. Smith followed their shambling paths in Mallrats, turned them into comic book superheroes in Chasing Amy, and asked for their sage advice in Dogma. In the process they became the Abbott and Costello of this generation, or at least its Cheech and Chong.
Smith's comedy is an acquired bad taste and the DVD version of Jay and Silent Bob isn't the best place for unfamiliar viewers to begin. Start with Clerks and work your way through the trilogy that turned into five movies. (You know how some people get when they're high.) Smith calls Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back a $20-million inside joke, and he's right. The best jokes are call-backs to the earlier films that will sail past anyone who hasn't seen the first four flicks.
Those who have and still look forward to seeing this two-disc set are in for a treat. Nearly three hours of bonus material are featured, including 42 scenes trimmed for time or MPAA rating concerns. Often the difference is just an extra line of raunchy dialogue that went a little too far for the ratings board or for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) complaining about Smith's preoccupation with gay themes and oral sex jokes. Smith, Mewes and producer Scott Mosier introduce the clips and brush off their politically correct critics.
The trio shares an audio commentary track containing a few nuggets, such as cameo star Carrie Fisher's frustration with Mewes, who remained in lecherous character when the cameras weren't rolling. Much of the conversation is spent recognizing friends in the background, not very interesting for those of us who are strangers. But the movie rocks, so you can switch to the film's audio when things get dull.
The second disc also includes a gag reel of blown dialogue and a section titled "The Secret Stash" with ad-libbed deletions from co-stars Judd Nelson, Will Ferrell and Jon Stewart. A behind-the-scenes featurette and Comedy Central special may be new to some viewers. Two music videos starring Afroman and Stroke 9 must be seen to understand why they didn't make it into heavy MTV rotation. For old school music fans, Jay and Silent Bob's affection for Morris Day and the Time leads to a text-only band history and footage of Day teaching Smith and Mewes how to dance. Oh-ee-oh-ee-oh.
Rewind
Videos worth another look
Zero was more than enough
[Times file]
Zero Mostel as Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. |
Zero Mostel's roles on the big screen were larger than life, just as he was.
Some actors are just too big for the silver screen. That seemed to be the case for Zero Mostel, whose flamboyant roar and broad gestures were better suited to the stage. Director Norman Jewison rejected Mostel for the role of Tevye in the film version of Fiddler on the Roof, even after Mostel's Tony-winning triumph on Broadway, believing the actor too cartoonish for the serious treatment he envisioned.
On the other hand, Mel Brooks saw nobody else but Mostel in the role of a Broadway huckster in The Producers, and Richard Lester never considered replacing the actor in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, another Tony winner. Mostel was expected to upstage everyone and everything around him in those parts. But parts like those don't often come along.
[Times file]
Mostel as Max Bialystock in The Producers.
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Therefore, Mostel's movie career was abbreviated but memorable until his death from heart failure in 1977. Who knows what he might have tackled if his career wasn't stunted by being blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee? Today marks the 87th anniversary of his birth (as Samuel Joel Mostel) in Brooklyn.
For the record, the name "Zero" was a family gag that stuck about his poor school grades. These video selections are proof that Zero can sometimes be more than enough.
Panic in the Streets -- Mostel's screen career began with playing sweaty henchmen, most memorably in Elia Kazan's film noir about the hunt for a plague-infected killer (Jack Palance). Another variation on the type would be Mostel's politically incorrect portrayal of a Damascus merchant opposite Humphrey Bogart in Sirocco.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum -- A conniving Roman slave named Pseudolus (Mostel) must unite two lovers to win his freedom. Great songs including Comedy Tonight and Everybody Ought to Have a Maid. Great cast including Phil Silvers, Jack Gilford and the final appearance of Buster Keaton.
The Producers -- Watch Nathan Lane's impersonation of Mostel in the Broadway version to understand how completely Mostel nailed the role of Max Bialystock. Mostel and Gene Wilder are a terrific combination of pushy and paranoid, conning little old ladies into financing a flop.
The Angel Levine -- Mostel plays a tailor whose dying wife needs a miracle. But can it come from an African-American (Harry Belafonte) claiming to be an angel with a Jewish name? Director Jan Kadar got too arty for such a delicately wry comedy, but Mostel's performance is worth seeing.
The Hot Rock -- Mostel plays a cowardly lawyer and accomplice to a jewel robbery masterminded by Robert Redford and George Segal. Based on one of Donald E. Westlake's "Dortmunder" capers. Not available on home video, but it pops up occasionally as television filler and is worth catching.
Rhinoceros -- Good luck finding this one anywhere. But Mostel's performance in Eugene Ionesco's absurdist play is fondly remembered.
The Front -- Mostel's last good role was a reminder of his past. He plays a blacklisted TV star with a new friend (Woody Allen) posing as a screenwriter, selling scripts on behalf of blacklisted writers. The movie tanked in theaters because people expected a comedy with those stars.
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