Identity (2003) - Mangold succeeds with crafty thriller

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Mortal danger, mystery and scares are teased on this deft poster for James Mangold's Identity

Ten strangers meet at a small hotel on a very rainy night, soon facing someone unknown that starts eliminating them one by one.

 

Identity is written by Michael Cooney (Murder in Mind (1997)) and co-produced and directed by New-Yorker master filmmaker James Mangold (Heavy (1995)), whose 5th feature it is.

The semi-psychological, somewhat baloney-ish plot is a bit hole-ridden but fair, with some  Se7en (1995) inspiration dripping off it. But the pay-off is considerable, and Identity is staged highly professionally. 

Amanda Peet (Gulliver's Travels (2010)) is lovely here, and the editing is tight. And God, how it rains in this modern high-concept thriller.

 

Related posts:

James Mangold:  The day after the day after ... the 2018 Oscars

Oscars 2018: Predictions and Film Excess' favorites

The Greatest Showman (2017) - Brace for an infectious musical show (executive producer/director (reshoots))

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

The Wolverine (2013) - Many good elements in Mangold's Japan-set superhero adventure actioner 
Knight and Day (2010) - Diaz and Cruise invigorate Mangold's action romance

1999 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Girl, Interrupted (1999) - Girls with mental problems explored in compassionate, strong film 

Top 10: Best cop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
Cop Land (1997) - Stallone faces corruption and turns in some good acting in fine crime drama 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 28 mil. $

Box office: 90.2 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.22 times its cost)

[Identity premiere 23 April (Los Angeles) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including in Los Angeles. Angelo Badalamenti made a score for the film, but it was replaced with one by Alan Silvestri. The film opened #1 to a 16.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent 2 more weekends in the top 5 (#3-#4), grossing 52.1 mil. $ (57.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 5.2 mil. $ (5.8 %) and Germany with 4.7 mil. $ (5.2 %). Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Mangold returned with Walk the Line (2005). John Cusack (Reclaim (2014)) returned in Runaway Jury (2003); Peet in Something's Gotta Give (2003). Identity is fresh at 63 % with a 6.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Identity?

Groundhog Day (1993) - Rubin, Ramis and Murray's irresistible comedy masterpiece

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+ Best Comedy of the Year + Most Deserved Hit of the Year + Best Pennsylvania Movie of the Year

Star Bill Murray is literally caught inside a clock on a beautiful morning - with attractive co-star Andie MacDowell looking sweetly skeptical in the right corner, on this poster for Harold Ramis' Groundhog Day

A weather man with big city egocentric proclivities, - which is understating the fact, - is sent to cover the annual Groundhog Day phenomenon in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He hates it there. And his loathed day then mysteriously repeats itself the next day. And the next day ...

Groundhog Day is written by Danny Rubin (Stork Day (2004)) and Illinoisan master filmmaker, co-producer/co-writer/director Harold Ramis (Caddyshack (1980)).
Bill Murray (Cradle Will Rock (1999)) is wonderfully sarcastic and at the same time touchingly real as Phil Connors, on the cusp of another chapter of his career here. Andie MacDowell (Happiness Runs (2010)) adds sweetness, and Stephen Tobolowsky (Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005)) is hilarious as hearty local Ned 'Bing!' Ryerson.
Groundhog Day is a perfect film, which shows the potential height for a high-concept fantasy comedy and is both really funny and equally thought-provoking. The movie's main idea is that life is what you inject it with personally on a daily basis; a simple dictum that is nevertheless rendered highly evocative and with a depth that is normally not found in a mainstream comedy. This is also why Groundhog Day rightly ranks among the absolute best comedies of all time.

Related post:

Harold Ramis: 1993 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Top 10: Best fantasy movies reviewed by Film Excess to date

Caddyshack (1980) - And you thought golf was boring?

Watch an original trailer for the film here

Cost: Reportedly 14.6 mil. $
Box office: 70.9 mil. $ (North America alone)
= Big hit with domestic gross, but overall more likely a huge hit (returned 4.85 times its cost in North America alone)
[Groundhog Day premiered 4 February (California) and runs 101 minutes. Rubin and Murray attended Groundhog Day in secret to prepare for the filming. Shooting took place mainly in Woodstock, Illinois, some distance from the real Punxsutawney, as well as in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and in California from March - June 1992. Murray was bitten by groundhogs twice during shooting, requiring him to get a rabies shot. He was going through marital problems at the time and continued working on the script with Rubin while alienating himself from long-time friend and director Ramis. The two broke their relationship after the movie and didn't speak again for over 20 years; not until Ramis was on his deathbed did they reconcile. Murray was reportedly paid 10 mil. $ for Groundhog Day, an overwhelming share of the film's cost. Several religions have embraced the film and claimed it for their beliefs. The length of Connors' repeated Groundhog Day has been calculated by one Internet site to last around 34 years. The film opened #1 to a 12.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 for another 2 weeks and then managed another 5 weeks in the top 5, grossing 70.9 mil. $. The international gross numbers are not public information, but even if the film was met with a very muted international reception (15 mil. $ for instance), it would rank the film as a huge hit. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, but later elevated it to his list of Great Movies. The film won a BAFTA but otherwise went under the major awards radar. IMDb's users have voted it in at #248 on the site's Top 250, sitting between Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Drishyam (2015). The film was adapted into a musical for the London stage in 2016 and later Broadway. Ramis returned with Stuart Saves His Family (1995). Murray returned in Mad Dog and Glory (1993). Groundhog Day is certified fresh at 96 % with an 8.05/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Groundhog Day?

Freaky Friday (2003) - Lohan/Curtis delight in M. Waters' solid body swap comedy

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+ Best Fantasy Movie of the Year

Colorful hijinks is promised from the two game stars, who have swapped outfits on this poster for Mark Waters' Freaky Friday

A mother and her teenage daughter don't get along and mock each other. Now fortune cookies from a Chinese restaurant cause them to switch bodies, until they learn to respect and love each other again.

Freaky Friday is written by Heather Hach (What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012)) and Leslie Dixon (Pay It Forward (2000)), based on the same-titled 1972 novel by Mary Rodgers (The Rotten Book (1969)), which was previously adapted as the hit movie Freaky Friday (1976) as well as a same-titled 1995 TV movie. This one is directed by great Michigander filmmaker Mark Waters (Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)).
Freaky Friday distinguishes itself as a surprisingly good and funny high-concept chick-flick fantasy romcom; it is totally banal and predictable but well-made.
The story is handled very well, and the film has funny scenes (like the talkshow and rock concert scenes) and good performances from Lindsay Lohan (Just My Luck (2006)) and especially Jamie Lee Curtis (Scream Queens (2015-16)), which make it thrive. Body language and phrases are aptly swapped between the two characters, making this a funny and well-written hit for all.

Related posts:

Mark Waters: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011) - Waters and Carrey's great family movie 
Mean Girls (2004) - Lohan, Waters and Fey's high school satire triumph

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 20 mil. $
Box office: 160.8 mil. $
= Huge hit (returned 8.04 times its cost)
[Freaky Friday premiered 4 August (Hollywood, California) and runs 97 minutes. Jodie Foster, star of the 1976 iteration, declined the offer for Curtis' role, which Annette Bening was then signed on to play but dropped due to family obligations; Curtis only got the role 4 days before filming began. Filming took place in California, including Los Angeles, from October - December 2002. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release S.W.A.T., to a 22.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 4 weeks in the top 5 (#4-#4-#2-#4) and grossed 110.2 mil. $ (68.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 11.9 mil. $ (7.4 %) and Germany with 6 mil. $ (3.7 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, in line with this review. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe. Waters returned with Mean Girls (2004). Lohan returned in 3 shorts before her next theatrical appearance in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004), Curtis in Christmas with the Kranks (2004). Freaky Friday is certified fresh at 87 % with a 7/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Freaky Friday?

I Feel Pretty (2018) - God bless Amy Schumer

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+ Best Comedy of the Year + Best New York Movie of the Year

Amy Schumer looking great but more importantly looking as if she feels like a million bucks fills out the poster for Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein's I Feel Pretty

Renee is a young woman in New York, who works on the online side of a major, upscale cosmetics company and struggles with low self-confidence. When she hits her head in a spinning class accident, the result is a booming self-confidence, as Renee is certain that her looks have suddenly drastically improved.

I Feel Pretty is the feature directing debut for writer-directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (Never Been Kissed (1999)), who have been writing partners for over 20 years. The film is a high concept comedy (think Freaky Friday (2003), Shallow Hal (2001), Trading Places (1983) or Big (1988), the latter of which is actually used actively in two very funny scenes in the film), which seems like it could have come from a typical joke from the film's propellant star Amy Schumer (Snatched (2017)).
But whereas Schumer's on-stage act would have made crude payoffs off of the 'fat girl in the spinning class' accident', the filmmakers wisely create sympathetic characters with issues that ring true here, present them with sincerity and never ridicule. I Feel Pretty feels like the perfect film for Schumer, who is terrific, and whose character's body insecurity reflects feelings and problems that so many will identify with the world over. There is a sorry irony in the fact that Schumer's wildly hyped first film Trainwreck (2015) was cruder and less meaningful but a bigger hit, while I Feel Pretty is a more buoyant, rounded and resounding film - but also a much more criticized and less commercially successful one.
Renee builds a romantic relationship with Rory Scovel (Good at Life (2015), TV movie), who also feels very real as Ethan, who does zumba and has his own self-image insecurity. Renee leaves her crummy office existence with funny co-worker Adrian Martinez (Focus (2015)) to rule the company's reception with a surplus of positive energy that baffles its privileged, attractive CEO Michelle Williams (A Hole in One (2004)) and brother Tom Hopper (Leopard (2013)). In her free time, Renee also injects a new vivacity into her group of friends played by the very affable pair, Aidy Bryant (The Big Sick (2017)) and Busy Philipps (Vice Principals (2016-17)).
I Feel Pretty is a great time out whether you go by yourself or with friends, it is a real crowd-pleaser; it has many infectious laughs and an uplifting message of self-appreciation and a wider understanding of what can be pretty and attractive, which it hits home with a wealth of 
charm. Don't miss it.

Related posts:

2018 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2018 in films - according to Film Excess

Watch Schumer present the film and a trailer for it on Ellen here in this video

Cost: 32 mil. $
Box office: 88.4 mil. $ and counting
= Box office success (2.76 times the cost)
[I Feel Pretty premiered 19 April (Australia, Israel, Lebanon, Singapore) and runs 110 minutes. STX Entertainment bought the North-American distribution rights at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival for 15 mil. $. The film opened #3, behind holdover hits A Quiet Place and Rampage, for a 16 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#3-#4) and grossed 48.7 mil. $ (55.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 7.1 mil. $ (8 %) and Australia with 6.8 mil. $ (7.7 %). The film gets no French release, as the French rights have been sold to Netflix, who debuted it on their streaming platform there on 20 July. It has one market left to open in: Italy on 22 August. Kohn/Silverstein do not have an announced next project yet. Schumer is set to star with Steve Carell and Nicole Kidman in Rebecca Miller's upcoming She Came to Me, which has no production or release dates out yet. I Feel Pretty is rotten at 34 % with a 5.1/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of I Feel Pretty?

Ruby Sparks (2012) - Dayton & Farris' high concept romcom failure

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An effective, well-made poster for Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Farris' Ruby Sparks

 

A successful, lonely writer with writer's block completes an assignment for his shrink and in doing so creates the fictional female character of his  dreams in reality!

Ruby Sparks has its moderately funny patches, but this basically high-concept romcom has perched itself wrong; on the low-budget-quirky-indie chair, - replete with discordant, foreign language music and an eccentric parent couple, - instead of a higher chair, the mainstream approach. It is also problematic that the protagonist's writing issues take up as much space in the film as they do. It is fundamentally hard to get genuinely interested in this character, the central rock of Ruby Sparks, and the affluent Los Angeles milieu he resides in. To make matters worse, the film isn't romantic, because the titular character isn't a real person in the film but only a figment of the writer's imagination.

Paul Dano (L.I.E. (2001)) attempts to pull up the funny factor but spends the majority of the film looking like an owl. Zoe Kazan (Meek's Cutoff (2010)), who also wrote the film, her first and only movie writing job to date, is sweet enough as Ruby Sparks, but the film is regrettably failed. It is directed by great Californian directors and marrieds Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Farris (Little Miss Sunshine (2006)).

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Estimated 8 mil. $

Box office: 9.1 mil. $

= Big flop

[Ruby Sparks was released July 25 and runs 104 minutes. Filming took place in LA and Big Sur, California from July - August 2011. The film opened #28 to a 140k $ opening weekend in 13 theaters, expanding to 261 and #17, grossing 2.5 mil. $ (27.5 % of the total gross) in North America. Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Australia with 1.6 mil. $ (17.6 %) and the UK with 1.2 mil. $ (13.2 %). Ruby Sparks is certified fresh at 79 % with a 7.1 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Ruby Sparks?

The Bucket List (2007) or, We All Deserve Better

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Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson head the no-brainer by Rob Reiner, The Bucket List

QUICK REVIEW:

Two elderly gentlemen meet at a double room in a hospital, because they both are dying of cancer. They make a bucket list and start to see the things they miss in life.

From beginning to end this is an unreal concept-movie. The two distinguished leads, Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption (1994)) and Jack Nicholson (The Shining (1980)) cannot salvage the fortune cookie-wise scenes of Bucket List from their lameness, but they do make the film bearable and sporadically enjoyable.
The human relations are portrayed mostly well in the movie, but the whole setup is nauseating and ridiculous: The Great Wall in China, the Himalayas and the Taj Mahal are all visited by the two, (for how could anyone have lived fully without having seen these sights (...)), - without any other tourists in sight!

Suddenly, fat Nicholson is sitting on a pyramid. Both he and Freeman look fit as a fiddle, until they suddenly wear bald-masks that look ridiculous.

Jack Nicholson, director Rob Reiner and Morgan Freeman

Bucket List is directed by fine actor-director Rob Reiner (Stand By Me (1986)), but it is definitely a mistake, and best forgotten. A film that wants to be profound, but more resembles something idiotic: The Bucket List. 

Related reviews:


Morgan Freeman: Batman Begins (2005) or, Modern, Dark, Smooth Batman
Bruce Almighty (2003) - Carrey makes laughter in well-made what-if-you-were-God-comedy 
Amistad (1997) or, Must ... Free ... Slaves!
Driving Miss Daisy (1989) - A warm and funny film about friendship and life
Jack Nicholson:  About Schmidt (2002) or, Dear Ndugu...
Hells Angels on Wheels (1967) or, The Troglodyte Outlaws!
Rob Reiner: Actor: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - A helluva movie!

Watch the film's trailer here

Budget: 45 mil. $
Box office: 175.3 mil. $
= Big hit

What do you think of The Bucket List?

48 Hrs. (1982) or, Reluctant Partners!

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A nicely painted,, in-your-face style poster for Walter Hill's 48 Hrs. with its 1980s quality radiating heavily from it

A drunken San Francisco cop named Jack Cates hunts a lunatic cop killer on a tight deadline and gets a new partner to help him in drug convict Reggie Hammond, who himself has a standing debt with the bad guys.
 
Both characters in 48 Hrs. are racists, basically, but charming racists. The chemistry between debuting Eddie Murphy (Beverly Hills Cop (1984)) and Nick Nolte (Cape Fear (1991)) in this possibly the first buddy cop comedy ever is real and palpable. The many arguments they have are almost solely fueled by racial tensions and prejudice. - Now, whether major hit 48 Hrs. let gas out of a tense racial discussion in the US, or predominantly enhanced the sense of division, I can't evaluate. In any regard, it is a highly entertaining, testosterone-filled high-concept movie that works.
48 Hrs. is written by Roger Spottiswoode (The 6th Day (2000), director), Larry Gross (We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004)), Steven E. de Souza (Blast (2004)) and Californian master co-writer/director Walter Hill (Red Heat (1988)).

Related post:

Walter Hill: Another 48 Hrs. (1990) - More of the same from your buddies Murphy & Nolte

Watch a theatrical trailer for the film here

Cost: 12 mil. $
Box office: 78.8 mil. $ (North America only)
= Huge hit (returned more than 6.56 times its cost)
[48 Hrs. was released 8 December and runs 96 minutes. Clint Eastwood (Escape from Alcatraz (1979)) and Richard Pryor (Silver Streak (1976)) were originally contacted to star. Filming took place in California, including LA and San Francisco, from May - August 1982. Also feature-debuting with the film was producer Joel Silver (Demolition Man (1993)), who also since became a powerful Hollywood figure. Paramount execs were worried the film was not funny enough and too violent and promised Hill he would never work for them again. (He still directed the sequel for Paramount 8 years later.) The film opened #3, behind The Toy and Airplane II: The Sequel, to a 4.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for an awesome 13 more weeks, climbing to #2 for 5 of those weeks. It seems likely that its world gross neared or maybe even passed the 100 mil. $ mark, but those figures are not public. Murphy was Golden Globe-nominated as Best Acting Debut - Male. Hill returned with Streets of Fire (1984). Nolte returned in Under Fire (1983), Murphy in Trading Places (1983). 48 Hrs. is fresh at 93 % with a 7.3/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.] 
 
What do you think of 48 Hrs.?
What id your favorite buddy cop movie?

17 Again (2009) or, Teentainment Deluxe

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+ Best Fantasy Comedy of the Year

A preppy Zac Efron fronts this enticing French poster for  Burr Steers' 17 Again

A down on his luck, 37 year-old divorce-stricken man magically turns into his 17 year-old self and regains his sense of living and priorities.

17 Again is a wonderfully executed high-concept romcom/guilty pleasure for all lovers of Zac Efron (Me and Orson Welles (2008)), closeted or otherwise, written by Jason Filardi (Bringing Down the House (2003)) and directed by great Washingtonian filmmaker Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down (2002)). 
Efron is feisty, cute and funny in the film, and he gets backed up by lovely young actors Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl (2008-12)), Sterling Knight (Monster Heroes (2010)) and Hunter Parrish (Still Alice (2014)), as well as older, gifted comedians Leslie Mann (This Is 40 (2012)), Thomas Lennon (Knight of Cups (2015)), Matthew Perry (Mr. Sunshine (2011), TV-series) and Melora Hardin (Transparent (2014-15)), the wonderful comedienne oft remembered as Jan from The Office (2005-13).
17 Again is perfect, breezy marketing of the US of A for the world, a shining, delicious joy.

Related posts:

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 40 mil. $
Box office: 136.2 mil. $
= Box office success (returned 3.4 times the cost)
[17 Again premiered 11 March (Sydney, Australia) and runs 105 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles, ending in January 2008. The film opened #1 with a 23.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#4) and grossed 64.1 mil. $ (47 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 18.3 mil. $ (13.4 %) and Australia  with 10 mil. $ (7.3 %). Roger Ebert agreed with Film Excess and awarded the film 3 out of 4 stars. Steers returned with Charlie St. Cloud (2010), also Efron's subsequent feature. 17 Again is rotten at 56 % with a 5.4/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of 17 Again?