Reviews by madstalk

Steve Martin has had his highs and he has had his lows. In recent times they've mostly been lows. His co-star in Bowfinger, Eddie Murphy can be cast in similar terms. A one-time gigantic star that was already beginning to fade when Bowfinger was released. Thankfully, at least for me, Bowfinger bucks that trend.

It works as a comedy on many levels. There are hilarious singular moments (Martin explaining to Murphy his motivation before having him run across a busy Los Angeles freeway) and an entertaining over-arching comedic conceit that mocks the Hollywood industry. It is at times TOO unbelievable but it is always entertaining. One of the few recent Martin/Murphy films that I can thoroughly enjoy.

I love me some bloody gory horror but I absolutely hated this movie. It felt as though the setting was wasted (that was one of my main draws to this film - the thing that set it apart from other vampire movies for me) and the action was mostly predictable and, at times, utterly ridiculous. There are some nice style shots but when your villains are hardly menacing and there' s no suspense a movie like this barely works.

The acting performances are generally pretty good - specifically that of Oliver Platt as George Steinbrenner, but the miniseries bites off way more than it can chew. I was interested in the story of the 77 Yankees but the series kept on taking detours into surrounding New York areas with sloppy examinations of the Son of Sam serial killings, summer heat wave and ensuing blackouts. They might have been meant to flesh out the atmosphere around the team but there was more than enough conflict in the Yankees clubhouse to keep me interested. Add in some seriously sub-par green screen effects that attempt to place the modern day actors into the 70s era Yankee stadium and there are some serious design flaws that detract from the immersion needed to make an endeavor like this successful. Still, when it focuses on the trials and tribulations of Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Billy Martin and, of course, the boss, it works pretty well.

This is definitely a visual tour de force-especially with the new transfer on the DVD's. If you want to be challenged get the four disk DVD edition and watch Ridley Scott's final cut. It leaves more to the imagination than the original (which includes some expository narration and a strange ending). I personally prefer the theatrical cut because my favorite elements of the film was the noirish detective story and the voice-over helped to flesh out the world and give the film that hard-boiled feel. There are some spotty elements - likely due to a relatively small budget and multiple rewrites of the script but I, for one, can forgive them because the setting is so interesting.

One of the under appreciated gems of last year. If you are willing to buy into the joke (and accept that the "sloppiness" is intentional then you will have a great time with this film. Especially if you like a bit of satire with your jive-talking and butt-kicking.