Cop Out (2010) or, A Couple of Dicks

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Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan are up for some sharp-shooting games in Kevin Smith's Cop Out

QUICK REVIEW:

An unlikely NYPD-partnership gets suspended after a scandalous street debacle, but they then get involved in another hairy situation with some Mexican thugs, as a valuable baseball card, which is to finance the older cop's daughter's marriage, gets stolen.

Tracy Morgan (Top Five (2014)) and Bruce Willis (Die Hard (1988)) have chemistry, and I laughed some to start out with. About 40 minutes into the film, (which is written by brothers Robb and Mark Cullen (Back in the Game (2013), TV-series)), a real, and pretty complicated, plot is attempted to be inserted into the preceding buddy cop tomfooleries, but the audience at that point has no interest in the rehash.
Cop Out has several scenes that are just plain stupid or dysfunctional, and the film grows tedious at some point, despite an atypical, cozy 80s-retro electro-hip-hop score, a throwback to the golden age for the relatively young buddy cop sub-genre, by Harold Faltermeyer (Beverly Hills Cop (1984)).
All in all, Cop Out is a pretty uncool film, clearly an uninvolved left-hand-job from director Kevin Smith (Tusk (2014)), who usually makes small, more or less personal indie flicks. - This was his first hired gig, which he didn't write himself, and it was obviously not a project he felt very enthusiastic about: He has stated that a reason for doing it was that it is the kind of movie his late father would have liked. During shooting, Smith was accused of being uninvolved and far away due to his marijuana-smoking while working. He, on the other hand, badmouthed Willis in a radio program after the production ... Smith was soon back with a much more relevant and dignified film, the great Red State (2011), which I recommend.

 Watch the trailer for the film, which puts it next to some modern classics and then reveals the low quality of Cop Out - ... as a way to get you to see it ... ?

Cost: 37 mil. $
Box office: 55.5 mil. $
= Flop
[Cop Out was first titled A Couple of Dicks, which didn't swing (he-he), then A Couple of Cops, (according to Willis, Cop Suckers was also in play ...), but then Smith thought Cop Out was fun, because it was what the title would be, (a cop out from something sexually suggestive.) You could say the whole film is a cop out. Especially the funny Morgan deserves better as a rising comedy star. The vulgarity was retained somewhat on the film's posters with the tagline ('Rock out with you Glock out'). Cop Out premiered #2 behind Shutter Island (2010) and made 44.8 mil. $ (81 % of its total gross) in the US.]

What do you think of Smith's Cop Out?
Other examples of original filmmakers stepping in it to get to that golden studio paycheck/recognition?

Captain Kidd (1945) - Laughton entertains as the villainous pirate

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A colorful poster for Rowland V. Lee's Captain Kidd

QUICK REVIEW:

A populist pirate gets hired by the king to help a ship by Madagascar around the turn of the 17th century. Instead, the unscrupulous Captain Kidd murders, plots and bombs.

Captain Kidd is an atypical narrative, because the lead is a villain all the way. But he still gets portrayed with depth and charismatic subtleties by the great Charles Laughton (The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)). Captain Kidd is a handsome film, which is actually ripe for a remake in my opinion. (Which is a note I only make on very rare occasions.)
It is written by Norman Reilly Raine (The Fighting 69th (1949)), based on a story by Robert N. Lee (From Headquarters (1933)), and directed by Rowland V. Lee (Son of Frankenstein (1939)). It is a little dated but very gloomy. - A good film.

Watch a short teaser for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Unknown
[I haven't found any information about the commercial results of Captain Kidd, but, please, inform me if you have. The film is in public domain and can therefore be seen and downloaded free and legally here.]

What do you think of Captain Kidd?

Albert Nobbs (2011) - Glenn Close's triumphant, tender tranformation in García's great film

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1 Time Film Excess Award Winner:

Best Song: Lay Down Your Head, Glenn Close, Brian Byrne; Sinéad O'Connor

4 Time Film Excess Nominee:

Best Actress: Glenn Close (lost to Bérénice Bejo for The Artist)
Best Supporting Actress: Mia Wasikowska (lost to Agnieszka Grochowska for In Darkness)
Best Makeup and Hair: Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnson, Matthew W. Mungle (lost to J. Edgar)
Best Song: Lay Down Your Head, Glenn Close, Brian Byrne; Sinéad O'Connor (won)

+ Best Irish Movie of the Year
+ Most Overlooked Movie of the Year

Mia Wasikowska, Glenn Close and Aaron Taylor-Johnson on the poster for Rodrigo García's Albert Nobbs

Albert Nobbs is a UK-Irish co-production that has been in the works for ages: It is a labor of love for its co-writer/co-producer/star Glenn Close (101 Dalmatians (1996)), who played the title character first in 1982 on the stage and won an Obie award for it. The story is based on a novella by Irish writer George Moore (Confessions of a Young Man (1888)).

Albert Nobbs is a waiter at the Morrison Hotel in Dublin. He is proper, introverted, respected and liked. But he carries a heavy secret beneath his spotless suit: That he is biologically a woman. Now, he learns that it might be possible for him to live a more fulfilled life.

Nobbs has a fantastic cast and is a delicious period treat (for those with a hankering for such) with a heart-warming, moving story at its center:
Oscar-nominated Janet McTeer (Hannah Arendt (2012)) is strong as the woman in disguise, who shows Nobbs a way; Mia Wasikowska (Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)) is cheeky and later heart-breaking as a young lady; Mark Williams (101 Dalmatians), Brendan Gleeson (Calvary (2014)) and Pauline Collins (Quartet (2012)) fill out secondary parts superbly; Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Match Point (2005)) has a small, fine role, and, carrying the film, Close is nothing short of stupendous: In Albert Nobbs, she gives one of the most primeval and transformative female performances in years. Within minutes, the way her character has disguised himself in his surroundings is a fact beyond question. Close was Oscar-nominated for her sixth time for this, regrettably not winning her deserved statue this time either. She lost it to Meryl Streep's turn as The Iron Lady (2011) (Margaret Thatcher); also a great performance, but less resonating for me.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla (2014)) does well as a young ruffian who finds employment at the hotel, but becomes a problem there. His role is never villainized, although it easily could have been, partly thanks to Johnson's acting; however, his otherworldly attractive looks are more of a challenge than a gift for him here, as they actually threaten to stand in the way of his performance.

Brendan Gleeson and Glenn Close in one of the many wonderful scenes in Rodrigo García's Albert Nobbs

Rodrigo García (Six Feet Under (2001-05)) has directed Nobbs well. The film has a keen and sensitive eye for all kinds of disguised habits and personal and sexual traits that are kept out of sight by its characters. It is touching throughout; perhaps especially so is Nobbs' naïve and unknowing attitude towards his own status and possible way forward: It underlines the way people at the time really didn't know much about alternative sexualities and gender mix-ups. (Not that people in perhaps most countries have grown much smarter since, though.) With some irony the film lays bare how a woman like Collins' hotel manager was accepted to misuse and slander about all the people beneath her, while they, in turn, could not (as most) live as they were, if they were anything outside of the accepted norm.
Michael McDonough (Winter's Bone (2010)) has photographed the film with subdued grace. It is co-written by Close, Hungarian writer Gabriella Prekop (Házikoszt (1997)) and John Banville (The Last September (1999)).
One of the film's marvelous scenes is one in which SPOILER Close and McTeer go out in dresses for the first time in years, looking at first mostly like a pair of exotic birds, or, more precisely, as men in dresses. Close's running on the beach is also a very wonderful scene.
The film was also Oscar-nominated for its first-rate make-up and wig achievement by Martial Corneville (Synecdoche, New York (2008)), Lynn Johnson (Apocalypto (2006)) and Matthew W. Mungle (This Is Where I Leave You (2014)).
Nobbs has a perfect ending and credit song called Lay Down Your Head, written by Close and Brian Byrne (The Good Doctor (2011)), sung by Sinéad O'Connor (Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), performer).
- Don't miss this one!

Related posts:

Rodrigo García: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Carnivàle - 1st season (2003, TV-series) - Grand but oft clotted-up period mystery show

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: 8 mil. $
Box office: 7.5 mil. $
= Big flop
[Albert Nobbs made 3 mil. $ (40 % of its total gross) in the States. It was, disappointingly, wrestled out of theaters by louder, less tender fare. In its many year-long story of development, Amanda Seyfried and Orlando Bloom were previously cast as the younger hotel-employees. (Wasikowska and Taylor-Johnson are undoubtedly the much better fit.) It is a shame that this fine film couldn't break even at least, so buy it on DVD, Bluray or as VoD today and help it out, - it's a great film!]

What do you think of Albert Nobbs?

Child's Play (1988) - Chucky comes to life in classic, great horror

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The exciting original poster for Tom Holland's Child's Play

QUICK REVIEW:

A really ugly S.O.B. with some black magic expertise elapses violently inside a toy store, and his soul gets transferred into a large doll, whom a single-mom subsequently buys cheap from a vagrant for her boy...

The boy seems extremely dumb at first, but Alex Vincent (Curse of Chucky (2013)) then actually plays him believably through the coming horrors. And two male police characters overdo their Chicago accents, - but aside from these minor detractors, Child's Play is a really terrific horror film, full of dark scenes and an underlying, semi-perverted atmosphere. (A seemingly innocent toy imbued with the spirit of a serial killer goes amok killing ... - you see?)
The laborious doll work and effects are sublime. Child's Play is a catchy classic and franchise-starter: 3 Child's Play and 3 (more humorous) Chucky-films have since been made, with a 4th Child's Play film scheduled for release this year.
Child's Play is co-written by Don Mancini (Child's Play 2 (1990)), John Lafia (The Blue Iguana (1988)) and director Tom Holland (Fright Night (1985)). 
Holland is busy at the moment in pre-production with Killing Frank (2016), an English horror movie with Freddie Highmore and Rebecca De Mornay.

Watch the awesome original trailer here

Cost: 9 mil. $
Box office: 44.2 mil. $
= Big hit
[Child's Play opened # 1 in the States with 6.5 mil. $ and ended its domestic run with 33.2 mil. $ (75 % of the total gross.) It was critically well-received, although the series was and continued to be plagued by accusations that it inspired violence in children.]

What do you think of Child's Play?
And the following sequels?

54 (1998) or, Disco, Baby, Yeah!

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+ Best Music Movie of the Year + Best New York Movie of the Year + Best Period Movie of the Year

Glamorous poster for Mark Christopher's 54

QUICK REVIEW:

We are at New York's Studio 54 disco, and the 80s are right around the corner: A young dreamer from Jersey arrives and is lucky enough to get a job there; sex, drugs, some fame and lots of disco follow.

54 is an excellent guilty pleasure full of lovely young people: Ryan Phillippe (Flags of Our Fathers (2006)) is criminally hot here, and so is Salma Hayek (30 Rock (2009-13)). Neve Campbell (Scream 4 (2011)) does well, and Mike Myers (Wayne's World (1992)) is phenomenal here in his first dramatic movie role as the cynical, superficial impresario of the seemingly never-ending party.
The development of the story is pretty imperceptible, sometimes nearing banality, elegantly avoiding real crises.
54's original 93 min. cut appears as a celebration of Studio 54, disco and good parties. I ate it raw.
However, the film was envisioned quite differently by its writer-director Mark Christopher (Pizza (2005)), who was forced by Miramax to re-shoot and cut out several parts of his original vision, downgrading gay and sex scenes. A 105 min. director's cut, which includes 30 min. of footage that is not in the original cut, has since been released to acclaim. - I really want to see this version as well!
If you want to read more about how a bad test screening and the infamous Weinstein brothers took apart Christopher's original version, you can do so here.

 

Related post:

 

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  

Watch the infectious trailer for the film here

Cost: 13 mil. $
Box office: 16.7 mil. $ (US only)
= Big flop, with some uncertainty
[54 made a paltry 99k £ in the UK, which is the only foreign result I've been able to find. - It was a big flop. Had Miramax left it alone, it might have succeeded as a more risqué film, similar to Boogie Nights (1997). - We will never know now.]

What do you think of 54, original and director's cut, depending on what you've seen?

Cannibal Holocaust II/Natura Contro/The Green Inferno (1988) - Climati's outrageous jungle adventure

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Barbarism and adventure exudes from this original Italian poster for Antonio Climati's Cannibal Holocaust II, [the Italian title means 'against nature']

QUICK REVIEW:

A professor gone missing in the Amazon must still be alive! - A sensationalist reporter and a group of adventure-seeking fellows set off on a danger-filled rescue mission.

Cannibal Holocaust II is a totally unrelated follow-up to Ruggero Deodato's original masterpiece Cannibal Holocaust (1980). This film is even missing cannibals!
Unsurprisingly, co-writer/cinematographer/director Antonio Climati's (This Violent World (1976)) original Italian title doesn't include any mention of the non-existing cannibals, and indeed the Cannibal Holocaust II-title was devised solely for the (somewhat appropriately exploitative) distribution-purpose of cashing in on the notorious earlier film.
Still, the English nonsense-title is actually somehow well in line with the entire film at hand, which is impressively produced with vicious animals of all kinds (a panther, crocodiles, piranhas, snakes galore etc.) and plenty of exotically presented adventure.
The film also has a bizarre 80s-style score (by Maurizio Dami (Top Line (1988)) in the jungle-context and extremely irregular editing.
Cannibal Holocaust II is silly, funny and not-so-disgusting. It is sometimes referred to as the film that ended the Italian cannibal exploitation sub-genre.

Watch a funky, short original trailer for the film here that showcases some of its many qualities

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertainty

What do you think of Cannibal Holocaust II?
Other such nonsense-titled films that you can think of?

Cinema Paradiso/Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988) - Tornatore's timeless masterpiece

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Irresistible Polish (?) poster for Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso

QUICK REVIEW:

Film director Salvatore receives a call from his old mother: His childhood father figure Alfredo has died. For the first time in 30 years, the man returns to his small childhood town in Sicily, where his first love and his love of films were founded.

Cinema Paradiso is a splendid, film-crazed film. "The people in this film are so full of emotions", I have heard one co-audience member say about the film, which is absolutely true: Especially in the flashback sequences, the cast are incredibly vivacious, full of thrill and excitement in the context of a pictorially magnificent film; cinematographer: Great job by Blasco Giurato (Passage to Paradise/Passaggio per il Paradiso (1998)).
It can all be interpreted as a parable about the joys and pains of growing up as well as a declaration of love and a celebration of cinema and of life itself.
Paradiso holds great acting performances from Jacques Perrin (The Chorus/Les Choristes (2004)), Leopoldo Trieste (The Name of the Rose (1986)), Agnese Nano (Barocco (1991)), Philippe Noiret (Les Grands Ducs (1996)), Marco Leonardi (Maradona, the Hand of God/Maradona, la Mano di Dio (2007)) and as Salvatore as a boy, 'Totò', Salvatore Cascio (Everybody Is Fine/Stanno Tutti Bene (1990)). Also Ennio Morricone's (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly/Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo (1966)) strong score deserves recognition.
Paradiso was shot mostly in its co-writer-director Giuseppe Tornatore's (Malèna (2000)) Sicilian childhood village Bagheria. He co-wrote the script with Vanna Paoli (Roma Roma Roma! (1990)).
The film is gripping, touching and funny. - A masterpiece and a must-watch for any movie-lover!

Salvatore Cascio as Totò in Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso

Watch the great original US trailer for the film here

Cost: 5 mil. $
Box office: 12.3 mil. $ (US only)
= Uncertainty
[But reportedly a big hit: The film had a bad release initially in Italy, which prompted Tornatore to cut nearly 30 minutes from the film (for the 124 minute international cut, - a 174 minute director's cut has since been issued on DVD, which elaborates Salvatore's lost love; Tornatore has stated that he loves both versions), and the new cut became a big hit internationally, winning the Best Foreign Film Oscar and other awards. I found two numbers that support its success story: 2 mil. people paid admission to see it in France and 1.3 mil. in Argentina. Some even credit the film with reviving the slumming Italian film industry overall.]

What do you think of Cinema Paradiso?

Night of the Living Dead (1990) - Romero and Savini hash up a superfluous remake

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The persuasive (for horror fans anyway) poster for Tom Savini's Night of the Living Dead

Master director George A. Romero's (Dawn of the Dead (1978)) great zombie classic Night of the Living Dead (1968) received a color-conversion remake 23 years after its release at the behest of Romero himself, who reworked his and John A. Russo's (Voodoo Dawn (1991)) original script for the purpose. The reason was partly copyrights issues concerning the original film, which, due to slobby paperwork, had not turned out the profits for Romero that it should have, (the film was a tremendous hit.) And partly due to a wish on Romero's part to secure control over the first remake of his own classic. For the job, he persuaded his friend, special make-up effects wiz Tom Savini (Day of the Dead (1985), special make-up effects) to take on the job of directing the film. Prior to it, Savini had only directed 3 episodes of the TV-series Tales From the Darkside (1984-88)).

A pair of siblings visit the resting place of their deceased mother but are attacked by living dead. The woman flees to a nearby house, where she fights for survival with some other strangers.

The plot is largely the same as in the original and nothing much has changed in the way of style or tone either. Savini has added some gore and zombies, but not as many as one might have expected. The opening cemetery scene is perhaps the film's most enjoyable, riffing on the original, great scene somewhat humorously.
From then on, the closeness to the original film begins to play as a distracting, ongoing show in the back of the minds of most audiences who are familiar with that film. The color and close repeating of the original's storyline dispels the eeriness that that film had, and what is left seems like a mostly unoriginal rehash of a truly beloved horror movie.

The details:

Fine actor Tony Todd (Candyman (1992)) is good in the role of strong African-American protagonist Ben (originally portrayed by Duane Jones (Ganja & Hess (1973))), who gets a different SPOILER, but still tragic, fate in this new version.
He plays opposite fiery redhead Patricia Tallman (Army of Darkness (1992)), who does alright here but gets stuck with some pretty bonkers material, especially towards the end I thought, as, for instance, SPOILER she addresses the rednecks with quasi-philosophical comments about their barbaric behavior after surviving the zombie massacre.
This remake doesn't seriously hurt anyone in the long run, (Romero's oevre is full of other misfires, which can't detract from his best work), but it is unquestionably redundant and disappointing.
Savini has called the making of it "the worst nightmare of [my] life", because the film's producers made his vision for the direction of the film impossible, which is a sad but not uncommon phenomenon in movies. Since then, he has reportedly been known to show some of his discarded gore material from the film at fan conventions, (the film lost some 'weight' to obtain its R rating.) And Savini has stayed away from directing after Night, besides a short film and segments in two horror anthologies.

Related review:

Tom Savini: Dawn of the Dead (1978) or, Mall of Death (make-up and cosmetic effects, stunts, actor)

Watch the original trailer here

Cost: 4.2 mil. $
Box office: 5.8 mil. $ (US only)
= Uncertainty
[But almost certainly a big flop. The film was poorly received by critics. It made 0.2 mil. $ in Spain. It has since grown in standing among some (overly) nostalgic horror fans. But don't let yourself be fooled.]

What do you think of Savini's Night of the Living Dead?

Charley Varrick (1973) or, The Last of the Independents

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The tagline for the US poster for Don Siegel's Charley Varrick, together with Walter Matthau's participation, could make you think that the film is an action comedy, (which it isn't)

QUICK REVIEW:

Charley and his three cohorts rob the small Tres Cruces bank, but by a coincidence, the bank holds 750k $ in mob money on this particular day. With a dim-witted partner, a goon and the police at his heels, Varrick tries to navigate for safety.

Usually great comedic actor Walter Matthau (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)) works surprisingly well bereft of his crooked smile as the title antihero here; Andrew Robinson (Dirty Harry (1968)) is good as (like in master director Don Siegel's (The Verdict (1946)) Dirty Harry) a psychopath, and Joe Don Baker (The Living Daylights (1987)) is equally commanding as the mob hitman.
Varrick is a hardboiled, efficient, economically edited heist thriller adaptation of a John H. Reese (Pity Us All (1969)) novel from 1968 called The Looters by screenwriters Howard Rodman (Coogan's Bluff (1968)) and Dean Riesner (High Plains Drifter (1973)).
It is marvelously entertaining, another cool and gritty movie from Chicagoan Siegel, a master of American cinema from the 1950s through the 70s.

Related reviews:

Don Siegel: The Beguiled (1971) - Intense, erotic Civil War kammerspiel thriller
Coogan's Bluff (1968) or, Dopes and Hippies, Beat It! 

German poster for Don Siegel's Charley Varrick with Walter Matthau in his robbery disguise

A very differently styled Soviet poster for Don Siegel's Charley Varrick

The action-promising Japanese poster for the movie

The tagline The Last of the Independents was director Don Siegel's title preference for the film, which got dumped by Universal Pictures

Watch the trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertainty
[But reportedly a disappointment. Siegel blamed the poor audience reception on Matthau, who apparently talked badly of the film in public, seemingly because Siegel refused to explain the story more to the audience, as Matthau had insisted it needed. Varrick looks like a typical Siegel-Clint Eastwood movie (of which there were several), and it is likely that it would have become a home-run financially also, if Eastwood had been the protagonist instead of Matthau, for whom this was a highly untraditional vehicle for, and who wasn't normally a film-carrying star.]

What do you think of Charley Varrick?
What is your favorite Don Siegel movie and why?
(Mine is Escape From Alcatraz (1979))

The Constant Gardner (2005) - Meirelles' first-rate third world thriller

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+ Best Thriller of the Year + Best Political Movie of the Year + Most Deserved Hit of the Year

The beautiful poster for Fernando Meirelles' The Constant Gardner

QUICK REVIEW:

An English diplomat falls in love with a wronged fireball of a woman, Tessa, who tracks down a scandal in Kenya concerning a pharmaceutical company. The stakes soon grow very high.

The Constant Gardner is an incredibly exciting international, political drama-thriller spun by Oscar-nominated Jeffrey Caine (Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)) adapted from a solid novel by the great suspense writer John le Carré (A Most Wanted Man (2008)).
The story is presented in quiveringly gorgeous images (by Uruguayan cinematographer César Charlone (City of God/Cidade de Deus (2002))) of humanity and its evildoings.
The film also holds some extraordinary performances: From Rachel Weisz (The Mummy (1999)), - who won her only Oscar to date as the passionate Tessa, - Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)) and Danny Huston (30 Days of Night (2007)).
The only slight minus is that the male protagonist (Fiennes' character) is a little vague in the beginning.
The Constant Gardner is directed by Brazilian master director Fernando Meirelles (City of God).

 

Related post:

 

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch the trailer here

Cost: Est. 25 mil. $
Box office: 82.4 mil. $
= Box office success
[Gardner was 4-times Oscar-nominated, winning one (for Weisz); it was well-reviewed and well-received both in the US (33.5 mil. $ total gross/41 %) and internationally.]

What do you think of The Constant Gardner?
Other pertinent thrillers that you want to recommend?