Author Archives: Dennis

Knockaround Guys [2001]

Director: Brian Koppelman, David Levien
Actor: Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Seth Green, John Malkovich, Dennis Hopper

This movie is in the same vein as Suicide Kings. Young actors, all up and coming, in a gangster movie.

Barry Pepper is the son of a mafia underboss who can’t seem to shake the reputation of his father [Dennis Hopper] as he tries to make a normal, civilian life for himself. When young, he was tested by his father’s right hand man [John Malkovich] to see if he had the balls to shoot someone. He didn’t, and was thus, never really let in to la Familia.

When, after being rejected for a job-interview because of his father’s reputation, he tries to get back into his father’s business, he gets a shot at an important job of transporting half a million dollars in commission money, meant for the higher capos.

The money gets lost in transit and ends up in the hands of a sherrif of a small town in Montana. Real back-water stuff. So he, together with his three mafia friends roll into town trying to get the money back. They’re off course way out of place, and try to deal with things in a way they would deal with things in Brooklyn.

This movie shows substandard acting from John Malkovich and Barry Pepper, but Seth Green and Vin Diesel really shine. Especially the latter is depicted really well.

Antitrust [2001]

Director: Peter Howitt
Actor: Ryan Phillippe, Tim Robbins

Welcome to a piece of ass. This movie can be summed up in one sentence: “M$ $uxxor$! 0p3n $0r<3 = l337!” and even Tim Robbins can’t save this movie.

Adaptation [2002]

Director: Spike Jonze
Actor: Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Tilda Swinton

This movie is a psuedo-autobiographical story about a man trying to write a screenplay about a book on orchids. He’s a deeply socially disturbed person, very unsure of himself, and extremely critical of his own work.

The screenplay he ends up writing is the screenplay for this film. The star of the movie, is the screen writer of the movie, played by Nicholas Cage, who – after doing a lot of spam – finally makes something worth while again.

Happiness [1998]

Director: Todd Solondz
Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lara Flynn Boyle, Dylan Baker

If I could sue a movie for false advertising, I’d sue this one…Happiness, is not about happiness at all. It’s about failed relationships, loneliness and sexual deviancy. It’s about not getting what you crave, and when you do, it turning out to be a pile of dirt, instead of the pile of gold you were hoping for.

Mr. Solondz seminal work is incredibly well acted, beautifully shot, making very good use of colours to set the mood and the tone of the scenes, and it manages to portray bad people, with dispicable sexual preverences, as normal human beings, who have some serious issues to deal with.

A good movie. Honestly. Go see. Off you go.

The Life of David Gale [2003]

Director: Alan Parker
Actor: Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet

This is a story of a learn’d man falling from grace, in jail for a murder he claims not to have committed, and ending up on death row, about to be executed. He agrees to an interview with a very specific journalist, and tries to get her to expose the real killers. The twist? The man was an avid activist against capital punishment.

Nice movie, very political without it feeling political. A bit too much drama, and far too easy a plot. I had it figured out way to soon. Good for a sunday afternoon.