Get Carter (2000)

Tags

Action, Alan Cumming, Drama, Get Carter, Michael Caine, Mickey Rourke, Miranda Richardson, Movie, Rachel Leigh Cook, Sylvester Stallone

ok, here's the deal...hand over the hat, and I won't kill you...

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Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Rachel Leigh Cook, Mickey Rourke, Alan Cumming, Miranda Richardson

Doreen: So, you ever been to prison?  …for how long?
Carter: How ’bout this weather?
Doreen: C’mon…
Carter: What do you say we change the subject?
Doreen: Alright, fine…you ever shoot anybody?

Jack Carter’s (Stallone) brother has just been killed in a car accident, prompting Carter to leave Las Vegas, where he is a mob enforcer, and investigate the death back home.

Stallone.  You see that name up on the marquee and you pretty much know what you’re going to get.  Punching.  Lots of punching.  Maybe a car chase or two, some guns, unintelligible dialogue, and probably a half-hearted morality lesson as well.

In Get Carter, a remake of a 1971 movie starring Michael Caine in Stallone’s role, the punching and car chases are prominently on display, while the gun play is at a minimum.  As far as a moral to the story goes…well, I’ll leave that for the Lesson Learned section.

Basically, Stallone walks around the movie being intimidating and accusing various people of being involved in his brother’s death.  Everybody denies it, before sending him off in another direction.  Occasionally he beats somebody up or gets in a car chase, all the while avoiding getting even a speck of dirt on his expensive suits.

The lovely Rachel Leigh Cook is Doreen, Carter’s now fatherless niece.  She seems sad and aimless, so Carter befriends her, hoping to steer her life in a better direction.  If you think she might have a secret that will become critical to the plot, then congratulations, you’ve seen a movie before!

This one is pretty much all by the numbers, with attempts at twists that you can see coming a long way off.  I’ll admit though, I sort of enjoyed it.  Not a lot, but more than I would usually like this kind of movie.  It’s too repetitive, with the parade of accusations and denials, but the relationship between Carter and Doreen actually gives it a little bit of heart.

Don’t fret, though, it doesn’t stray from the punching for too long…

If you’re going to kill somebody, do a background check.  Make sure they don’t have any really dangerous relatives living in Las Vegas that would seek revenge at the drop of a hat.

10 – 3 for the repetitive story structure – .5 for boring car chases – 1 for predictability + .2 because I just like Rachel Leigh Cook = 5.7

The Rage in Placid Lake (2003)

Tags

Ben Lee, Comedy, Miranda Richardson, Movie, Romance, Rose Byrne, The Rage in Placid Lake

why is this movie not about ME?

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Ben Lee, Rose Byrne, Miranda Richardson

Placid Lake: You hate that guy, don’t you?
Joel: If I could get away with it, I’d kill him, have his windpipe bronzed and wear it on a chain around my neck.

Placid Lake (Lee) is an odd child, with two free-spirited, non-violent parents.  Placid is picked on constantly throughout school, and his only true friend is Gemma (Byrne), who he’s had a platonic relationship with since they were very little.  After he’s out of school, Placid decides to rebel against his parents, conform to society, and get a job at an insurance company.  Meanwhile, Gemma – who’s always been a much more studious type than Placid – is starting to think that she’d rather explore more of herself than the bookish scientist role that her father has channeled her into.

I think I can trace my general annoyance with this movie directly to the lead performance by Ben Lee.  Placid Lake is not very likable.  Sure he got picked on a lot, for no real reason, but that doesn’t give him license to be such a selfish jerk all the time.  The character and the performance just rubbed me the wrong way.

Thankfully, Rose Byrne is also in the movie, and her cuteness and likability balances things out.  I’d rather have seen a movie all about her.  Miranda Richardson is entertaining as Placid’s mother, and I thought Christopher Stollery was particularly good in a subtle performance as Placid’s boss at the insurance company.  He’s funny, but there’s also a certain sadness to his performance as a guy who’s been broken down by the corporate world and wants to live vicariously through whatever excitement Placid might have in his life.

The idea of someone rebelling against their wild parents by becoming a buttoned down business type is reasonably funny, but it also got old pretty fast.  Plus, the outcome of that story line, as well as the one involving Placid and Gemma, is entirely predictable.  There are some funny moments along the way, but it’s all moving towards one dull, inevitable conclusion.

Don’t jump off of buildings.  You’ll break bones.

10 – 2.1 for the annoying lead character/performances – 1.7 for being overly predictable – .4 for being a little too repetitive with its themes + .2 for Rose Byrne = 6.0