ladykillers hanks' "best comedy?"

[greyboy]

ive been seeing these reviews pop up on the tv trailers and was wondering:

A) if anyone's caught a screening yet
B) if you all think it will be one of his best comedies (or THE best) yet...

I'm a huge hanks fan, but not sure about this one.....trailer makes me nervous, but coens also add credibility....

[Giles]

NBC 4's Arch Campbell loved it, (he also raved about Intolerable Cruelity which I personally loathed). At the sneak he was at, he noted that the audience laughed alot - I have high hopes for this film, so... my fingers are crossed that this is indeed funny.

[Groucho]

The original is a near-masterpiece. I have high hopes for this one as well.

[greyboy]

well thats great to hear Giles....I haven't seen his review....I'm kind of on the fence about IC, but I guess if i had to choose I would say that I like it....

anyway....my biggest concern about this is (being a pretty big Coen fan) that the Coen's maintain their solid "symbolism" and almost "dark" film tradition, ya know?

[scott shelton]

Hanks is great. A career best? No... But he steals every scene.

The film restores the Coens to the dark and odd material they couldn't quite nail in INTOLERABLE CRUELTY.

It's a good flick.

[REL77]

i hope its as good as Joe Versus The Volcano cause I loev that one .... No really, I do!

[javanut]

I don't have much faith in Ain't It Cool Reviews, but I liked this one I read for The Ladykillers: REVIEW (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=17254)

[ArchibaldTuttle]

there is no way in hell this movie is going to be better than The 'burbs imo, that movie was perfect

[greyboy]

burbs huh? I'm not sure about all that....i liked the burbs and all, but I can name several hanks movies i think are better. tho i do see this being somewhat like that in the sense that both kind of have that hint of "dark comedy."

[Hokeyboy]

Nothing can touch The Money Pit.



Smooth strokes...
Up... down...
Paint!... don't tickle...


And don't smoke!

[Flave]

Rotten Tomatoes doesn't like this movie -- 50% rating as of this writing.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/TheLadykillers-1130976/

Not a good sign.

[Darkfriend]

Never mind "The money pit", this was DA BOMB!!

http://www.juggling.org/movies/Pics/Bachelor_Party.gif

But I definitely plan to go see "The Ladykillers", for Hank's weasel laugh alone.

[RyoHazuki]

Originally posted by Flave
Rotten Tomatoes doesn't like this movie -- 50% rating as of this writing.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/TheLadykillers-1130976/

Not a good sign. The Passion of the Christ is at 50% as well. If its good enough for Jesus, its good enough for Hanks.

[maxfisher]

Originally posted by ArchibaldTuttle
there is no way in hell this movie is going to be better than The 'burbs imo, that movie was perfect

I'm so glad someone else feels this way. I know the 'burbs takes a lot of sh*t, but it's one of my favorite movies of all time (it wouldn't make a best ever list, just a favorite).

"Ray, a femur is a human leg bone." "How do you know that?" "Biology 101."

"Well there's your goddam brownies."

My friends and I always say Joe Dante films are what would happen if someone's slightly-out-of-touch, strange-sense-of-humor father got the money to make a real film.

[steebo777]

I am a huge Coen Brothers fan. I have liked or loved every single movie they've made, save for Raising Arizona which I thought was just mediocre. When I saw The Ladykillers a few nights ago though, it didn't do it for me. The story was fairly flat and the jokes felt forced. The direction and cinemetography were top-notch, but the script just felt like it was missing something. Either that or I missed something the first time around. I will be going to see this again to support my favorite filmmakers and to see if I indeed felt it was average. The one thing that I was cracking up about was Pancake's companion: Mountain Girl. That shit had me rolling.

I thought Hanks played a substandard part in the movie, with his acting being well above average, but not his best by a long shot. The rest of the cast was simply mediocre, except for Irma P. Hall and Tzi Ma. Each time either of those actors were on screen where what made the film for me. Everything they did seemed natural and flowed nicely. When Hanks was onscreen, he was good, but you could tell he wasn't being himself in the part. Tzi and Irma simply felt like they were being themselves and that you weren't watching a film.

Overall I'd give it a **/****

Just my $0.02 though :)

[Giles]

It was quaint.. but nowhere as funny or as riotous as the critics have noted. All the characters seem very one dimensional and stereotypical, the story structually is predictable and is tied up way to quickly - I thought Pickles was a hoot. All I can say is that's definately better than their last film. I would summarize that's it just okay, not great.

[drjay]

The Moviepoopshoot (http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/elsewhere/index.html) review was much less flattering than the AICN one. I'll definitely see this tomorrow, but I wonder how angry I'll be at the Coen Bros.

[dcprules]

I just checked over at the tomatometer and it now has a fresh rating with 60%. Everyone has said it is enjoyable, but some have liked it more than others. I'll be checking it out this weekend, for sure.

[rexinnih]

Anything with the Coens is a must see for me. Hank's best was Bachelor Party so far so let's see how this one goes.

[Frank TJ Mackey]

Originally posted by RyoHazuki
The Passion of the Christ is at 50% as well. If its good enough for Jesus, its good enough for Hanks.

Somewhere, someone is writing that quote from you down as one of the greatest we'll ever read.

Bravo!!

[necros]

I'm looking forward to checking out the ladykillers, but I don't think the Coens can ever top The Big Lebowski

[jasonbird]

Originally posted by Giles
It was quaint.. but nowhere as funny or as riotous as the critics have noted. All the characters seem very one dimensional and stereotypical, the story structually is predictable and is tied up way to quickly - I thought Pickles was a hoot. All I can say is that's definately better than their last film. I would summarize that's it just okay, not great.
My feelings exactly.

Jason

[dcprules]

I saw it last night and enjoyed it, but it took a while. The first half of the movie was interesting, though kind of slow and not really funny. I loved how they set all the characters up. However, the first half or so was really only moderately enjoyable. The last half, however, was great. A lot of laugh out loud moments, really enjoyable, and I liked how it all got tied up at the end. It was really fun seeing Hanks as such a crazy professor always pouring on the charm and intelligent wit he thinks he has. While not one of Hanks' best or the Coen Brothers best, it was still, overall, enjoyable. I'd give it a B-.

[mdc3000]

Originally posted by steebo777
I am a huge Coen Brothers fan. I have liked or loved every single movie they've made, save for Raising Arizona which I thought was just mediocre.

I had to read that sentence two or three times just to believe my eyes....

Anyhow, The Ladykillers was a pretty decent effort from the Coens. Sure, it has a few rough spots where it drags and could have been funnier, but overall, it's got some colourful characters and dialogue, not to mention the over-the-top (in a good way) performance of Tom Hanks, in one of the most unique and interesting roles of his career.

A very good movie...and with the Coens, I find rewatching only makes the movies better, so it could possibly be a great movie... only time will tell.

MATT

[NYSoprano]

Originally posted by mdc3000
Sure, it has a few rough spots where it drags...


The whole movie dragged. People got up and left after a couple minutes. I should have followed but $10.25 is too much to waste and i had hopes that it would pick up, and sadly it never did..."Tom Hanks best performance since Forest Gump" who were they kidding with that tag line!?

:down::down:

[WhoGirl]

Originally posted by Groucho
The original is a near-masterpiece.

Which is why it shouldn't have been remade in the first place. If a movie is great to begin with, why screw with it? If they want to introduce the story to a younger audience, they should have re-screened the original.

I haven't seen it, nor will I fully base an opinion on it until I do so when it comes to cable. But if something's perfect to begin with, doing it again can only be disasterous. I like Tom Hanks... but Alec Guiness was a genius. I doubt from the trailers that Hanks could fill his shoes. Plus the little old lady in the original was hilarious.

BTW: I'm thinking of remaking 'Gone With the Wind.' But this time, the burning of Atlanta will be done with amazing CGI. I mean explosions and fireworks galore. Scarlett O'Hara will be played by Julia Roberts and Rhett Butler will played by John Travolta. Sound good?

[Patman]

I was hoping for a smarter script from the Coen brothers. Yes, there are laughs in this film, but it's characterized as the ol' "the parts are better than the sum of the whole". There isn't a strong cohesive vision and by the time the ending rolls around, I was pretty much done with the film and how everything turns out.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.

[db27]

just got back from this. enjoyed it a great deal, it was very funny.

7/10 imo

Hanks was great, and the old lady was a riot! Haven't seen the original, so I can't comment on the comparisons.

[mookyman]

Saw this last night. A droll, funny little film, though I'm still confused about the Coen's recent transition from offbeat witty to mainstream kooky.

[The Zizz]

I went to see the Ladykillers last night prepared to be disappointed, since reviews hadn't been great and I didn't enjoy Intolerable cruelty very much. I was really pleasantly surprised; my girlfriend and I both loved the movie. 3 1/2 Stars out of 4

[movielib]

Originally posted by steebo777
I am a huge Coen Brothers fan. I have liked or loved every single movie they've made, save for Raising Arizona which I thought was just mediocre. When I saw The Ladykillers a few nights ago though, it didn't do it for me. The story was fairly flat and the jokes felt forced. The direction and cinemetography were top-notch, but the script just felt like it was missing something.
...
Overall I'd give it a **/****

I pretty much agree with you (although there's one more Coen film I don't like: O Brother, Where Art Thou?)

Big disappointment. I'm glad I got a free ticket in the Splash DVD.

[matome]

Funniest Hanks movie? No way. It did have it's moments though.

[Solitary Gamer]

Ladykillers was a slight disappointment for me. It was never as funny as I felt it should be. Much of the humor seemed too obvious and forced. I expected it to be much more clever and witty considering this was a Coen brothers' film. The last 20 minutes of the film are the funniest. This is when the film becomes more of a dark comedy in a vein similar to Danny DeVito's 'Throw Mamma from the Train'. Unfortunately it is too little, too late. Had the movie sustained that tone all the way through, then it would have been more effective. Hanks' performance is one of the best things about the film. It's obvious that he is enjoying the role. However credit must also be given to Irma P. Hall for her effortless portrayal of the elderly landlady. Of the other characters the most amusing is Tzi Ma's General who amazingly has the least to say. The Coens display some visual flair here and there but overall it lacks the originality and inventiveness of their best work. I would still recommend the movie to Coen fans as long as your expectations aren't too high. However the average moviegoer (even Hanks fans) might not derive as much enjoyment from it. My opinion may change on subsequent viewings as it often does with films by the Coen brothers.
**1/2 out of ****

[chente]

I was very underwhelmed by the film even though I'm a big Coen Bros fan. Their characters are usually quirky, not stupid like these ones were. Very one-dimensional character's. There were some good scenes in the movie and a few laughs but the movie just didn't do it for me. I really enjoyed the gospel singing, though. Great stuff. The last 20 minutes of the film were the most enjoyable for me.

[Giles]

Originally posted by chente
I really enjoyed the gospel singing, though.

same here, it made me think what the Coen brothers would do with a musical, say a new version of "Sweeney Todd"

[javanut]

Irma P. Hall and J.K. Simmons were great. So was Hanks. I definitely recommend seeing this movie. It's fun and funny, even if it's not the Coens' best.

[alloy2]

yeah i loved it... don't think that it was hank's funniest, but it was definitely the strangest role i've ever seen him in!!

[Ketamine]

Wacthed it last night. Actually really liked it. Watched with the in-laws so all the "motherfuckers" was a little uncomfortable, but overall very good movie.