Genres

Visitors Review

Mark Zalenski 2012-05-21 06:18:40

An excellent video rental that continues to improve with age

I do not often review films, but a reading of the reviews on this sitedating mostly from the time of the release spurred me to add my twocents. A friend introduced me to this film about a year ago; since thenI have viewed it five or six times. Each of these sittings revealed newlines, more nuances of acting and direction lying just beneath thesurface of what is, as others have already noted here, a simple story.Parodoxically, a movie filled with profanity and toilet humor may havefailed in the eyes of many because it is too literate and too subtle. Ialso suspect many of the naysayers for this Ladykillers remake set inthe Deep South are partisans of that region. A Mencken-like satire ofsouthern social and religious institutions ("The State of Mississippihas, in its infinite wisdom, declared that no wagering take place uponits shores") and a mocking of liberal hubris (Garth Pancake's FreedomRider speech) probably helped to ensure that a large portion of theaudience below the Mason Dixon were offended. Added to this are theusual folks everywhere who would have movie language reflect anearlier, more gentile time. Like many Coen Brothers brothers films, this effort seems to appealmore to the guys thus making it even more specialized--a guy flickwhich relies more upon timing and dialog than it does on action andstoryline. Tom Hanks' excellent portrayal of a half-learned,anachronistic sociopath is one of his best in my opinion but my ladyfriend of the time found him too creepy and smarmy, adding perhaps afurther, unintended nuance to the title.

2012-05-21 00:11:55

a bit disipointing

this movie was ok but it had way to much cursing and it was not funny.this movie is not sutible for young chirlden.the only reason i am giving this movie two stars enstead of one is because it had tom hanks.if marlon wanes would of been left out this movie it would be a preaty good film.

Derek Gilbert 2012-05-16 13:10:56

Another excellent morality play from the Coens

Miss Sugarpuss clearly didn't get it. The problem with this movie, interms of its commercial appeal, is that the film's message is tooovertly Christian for most secular viewers, and there is too much foullanguage for most Christians.Still, the bad guys get theirs in the end, and the protagonist, Irma P.Hall was absolutely perfect as Marva Munson.Just as they did in their earlier films, especially The Hudsucker Proxyand O Brother Where Art Thou, the message here is the struggle betweengood and evil, sin and salvation, with good decisively triumphing inthe end.Unlike most contemporary movies, which would have ended with Marvadriving off in a brand new Porsche or something, her joy at being toldto keep the $1.6 million pilfered from the casino behind her home isbecause she can give it all to Bob Jones University to do the Lord'swork.No wonder it only got an average 6 out of 10.

michael h 2012-05-15 18:47:23

Weird and disjointed, but still quite funny

Many of the reviewers who responded very negatively to this film whereeither: (A)Fans of the original and biased against a remake (B)Put offby the harsh language (C)Upset at the weirdness and wanted a morestraight forward brand of comedy (D)Tom Hanks fans, expecting a moretypical performance, or Tom Hanks haters who just can't enjoy anythinghe does.If you like a movie that's not afraid to be a little strange andeccentric, you'll probably enjoy this. The plot revolves around a gangof mismatched criminals trying to tunnel from the basement of aclueless old woman's house to the river-side vault of a riverboatcasino.Tom Hanks is excellent as Professor G.H. Dorr, the ringleader. He'ssort of a 1920's Southern gentleman in modern times. Or is that hisdisguise? He never seems to break character, so maybe he's a littlecrazy as well? The remainder of the heist gang is just as eccentric.There's the strangely creepy Chinese General, an expert at tunneling.The hothead, unreliable "inside man" who's a janitor on the riverboat.There's the hired muscle who might be a little mentally challenged.Finally there's the explosives "expert" who's rather clumsy.One thing that is distracting about the film is it's never clear inwhat decade this all takes place. Professor G.H. Dorr seems to be fromthe 1920's. The old, Bible-thumping African-American woman who owns thehouse is out of the 1950's. The working class maintenance staff of theriverboat is definitely from modern times. It seems this diverse,mismatched cast of characters was randomly picked from differentmovies. It takes a while to get used to, but it somehow comes together.Professor G.H. Dorr gives some wonderful rambling speeches. He's quitean expert at talking nonsense and making the gibberish sound believableto the small town rubes. When the heist goes bad, things take amurderous turn. It was enjoyable to see the inept criminals killed offone-by-one, usually by happenstance.Looking back, this movie is very hard to categorize. It's partly aheist movie, the comedy element waivers from clever to lowbrow, and thefilm is also a little surreal (with the strange mix of characters fromdifferent times). If you're up for something weird, eccentric and alittle goofy, check it out with an open mind.

jdean-9 2012-05-05 22:17:14

Coen Bros are great!

I have seen all the Coen brothers filmsand have most of them in my collection.In my opinion Ladykillers is one of their best.I laughed through the whole film.It may well be one of the funniestmovies I have ever seen.I also thought the soundtrackwas very good.I am looking forward to their next film, I thinkthe Coen Brothers are the most creative filmmakers around.

Michael O'Keefe 2012-05-05 03:06:33

A mastermind and a plan. The plan comes undone.

Those wild men Joel and Ethen Coen remake a 1955 classic(TheLadyKillers) starring Alec Guiness and Peter Sellers. If this was candyit would be double dark chocolate with nuts. This is a slow startingdark comedy that turns into a knee slapper. Tom Hanks plays ProfessorG.H. Dorr who's criminal mind develops a clever crime. The professorrents a room from a nice church-going Marva Munson(Irma P. Hall). Hegathers a motley crew in the basement with every intent to dig a tunnelin order to rob a New Orlean's riverboat casino. Things are almostperfect until the once unsuspecting landlady discovers what has takenplace.Things really get funny, or course in a dark way, when each of the crewattempts to kill the landlady. And each to the man in turn lose theirown life trying. Prankish comedy at its best. Also in the cast are:J.K.Simmons, Marlon Wayans, Ryan Hurst and Tzi Ma. George Wallace asSheriff Wyner is a hoot. This a very different Hanks role to say theleast. Certainly it is Hanks that draws attention to the movie...evenif this isn't even close to his best work.

mxracer157 2012-05-05 22:12:24

you brought your bitch to the waffle hut

well, hanks is a great actor. he plays many different rolls in all hismovies. in this on,e he plays a bad acting southern professor crook.definitely his best movie ever. the writing is alright, but somehow,hanks falls flat. he is a wonderful actor. but in this he simplystinks. i guess its tough to picture him being a bad character. but,even though he plays one, he doesn't pull it off collectively. the bestacting job of the movie is the old black lady. she plays a god fearingChristian woman. she loves the lord and bob Jones university. bob Jonesloves her too because at the end they receive 1.6 million dollars fromher. the sheriff is quite funny, reminds me of how a sheriff would actwith an elderly patron that they try to keep happy who has a few mentalissues.

2012-05-05 04:48:35

The Coen Brothers remake the classic Ealing comedy

That the Coen brothers would want to remake any movie, let alone the classic 1955 British comedy "The Ladykillers," is surprising enough. After all, when you think of "Raising Arizona," "Fargo," and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" you think about their flair for being original, so why would they indulge in a remake? The answer might be that they got Tom Hanks with his pair of Oscars to step into the Alec Guinness role. Guiness had the likes of Peter Sellers and Herbert Lom as his partners in crime while Hanks has to make due with Marlon Wayans and J.K. Simmons, which is as good of a way to capture the differences between now and then as anything.Hanks plays Goldthwait Higginson Dorr, supposedly a professor of Latin and Greek, who dresses like Colonel Sanders and talks like a cultured silver-tongued devil. The plot is similar to the original in that Dorr rents a room from a little old lady so that he and his partners can pretend to be holding music practice in the root cellar as a cover for tunneling their way to riches, which this time are to be found in the cash room of a river boat casino (fortunately the cash room is on dry land and not on the boat). Dorr's partners in crime consist of Gawain MacSam (Wayans), a foul-mouthed hip-hop janitor who cleans the casino, Garth Pancake (Simmons), an explosives expert whose plans are always just a bit off; the General (Tzi Ma), apparently an expert tunneler who honed his skills in "French Indo-China"; and Lump (Ryan Hurst), a big, strong football player who has taken way too many blows to the head. But these guys do not stand a chance against Marva Munson (Irma P. Hall), the little old widow lady whose home is the base of operations for the gang and who has no compunction about slapping Gawain on the side of his head (her minister already explained from the pulpit that sometimes there is nothing else to do). Marva goes to church regularly, still has conversations with the portrait of her dearly departed husband, and shows up regularly at the local police station to complain about her cat begin up a tree and other problems. The gang has to get the money despite the idiosyncratic problems of each of its members, but then they have to get the money past the old lady, and that is just not going to happen (even though for some reason that passeth understanding Marva thinks that Bob Jones University is an appropriate place for a black woman to send a donation every month). Ultimately what we have with this 2004 film is the story from the original Ealing comedy dressed up with the wacky characters we have come to expect from the Coen brothers, which is not a bad example of cinematic cross-breeding. The nonsense of the proceedings is entertaining enough in its odd little way for anyone willing to accept that a remake that is not going to be able to surpass the original (some people cannot get past the idea of a treasured film being remade, and often they are right in their thinking). Marva and Dorr are never boring and Hanks certainly lays on the eccentric affectations in his flowery speeches. Hanks proves how good he is in this role when the situation forces him to declaim a poem by Poe, which he does quite charmingly. I might refrain from hitting anybody on the side of the head after watching this movie, but I must confess to a sudden and intense desire to have waffles. Forthwith.

supah79 2012-05-01 06:08:32

One of the few Coen flicks I actually enjoyed

I'm not a Coen brothers fan. They make so called smart movies for smartpeople. That can be a good thing (Oliver Stone, Michael Mann or David Russelfor example), but the Coen brothers have a distinct style (that smellsa lot like snob ism) and you either like it or you don't. I don't. Withtwo exceptions: Fargo and The Ladykillers. Hanks is perfect as the (so called) professor and the supporting castdo their job (although Wayans really does get on my nerves...all thetime). The script is funny and although the irony lays on a bit toothick, but I did enjoyed it. It's definitely worth a view.Where would the brothers be without the always excellent Roger Deakins?

2012-04-30 21:16:25

A Major, Major Disappointment

If you're a fan of the Coen Brothers, this off-kilter remake of a better, 50-year-old British comedy will more likely bring a tear to your eye than a chuckle to your lips. Everything that was so right about "Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?" is what is so wrong with "The Ladykillers"--acting, pacing, dialogue, characterization--even if both films use the same platform of comically inept criminals on the loose. Here, Tom Hanks proves once again why he is overrated as an actor, opting to turn his Professor Dorr into a strange amalgam of theatrical scenechewing and non-sequitur ticks and gestures rather than create someone of flesh and blood. It doesn't help that he's surrounded by, perhaps, the most forgettable cast ever in a Coen Brothers' film--even the stunningly dull "The Man Who Wasn't There" managed to bag actors of some depth and charisma. With the exception of Tzi Ma and, maybe, Pickles, the cat, everyone in "The Ladykillers" is either forgettable or downright annoying, especially Marlon Wayans, whose ghetto-ized, beanpole punk ranks among the worst offenders. Even fellow Ohio State alum J.K. Simmons and the often charming Irma P. Hall seem flat and lifeless--and I know they can turn in great performances. The shell of the 1955 version's story remains here, as a misfit gang plots to use an innocent, if self-righteous, boarding-house landlord's basement as the starting point for a subterranean robbery. When she catches on to their plot, things heat up, as the gang must decide what to do with her. That it takes four fifths of the film to get to what is, essentially, the major conflict is probably the biggest problem with "The Ladykillers" and by that time, I'd simply lost interest. Even a good, if underused, soundtrack and a couple of funny bits involving a donut shop robbery gone wrong and the Wayans character being chastized for his big mouth aren't enough to justify spending time with "The Ladykillers."

2012-04-30 05:46:19

Excellent, Great Tom Hanks Performance

I really don't understand people saying that Tom Hanks's performance was was not good or that he overplayed the part. I think his performance was just right. I do agree that the bad language was not needed, and did not help the movie. This is the only reason that I give it four stars as opposed to five. I barely even know who the Coen brothers are, but I found this movie better than the original, which is a rare thing.I think the story was very well done, and the ironic conclusion was very well executed.

teacherjoseph 2012-04-29 19:00:39

This is a " remake"

This film is a remake(no mention of this fact by Coen Bros). Theoriginal film,obviously called "The Lady Killers", is "the last greatEaling comedy".Anyone interested in the original film can find it onIMDb under that name. Would the film fall under the category of"PLAGIARISM" rather than (unmentioned) "remake"? In the "original" film(1955), Alec Guiness plays the leader of a gang of thieves who fooltheir "dotty landlady" into believing they are musicians while they arereally planning a robbery.The film gave a first major role to PeterSellers as one of the gang, but when everything goes wrong,it's thelittle old lady, a WONDERFUL performance by Katie Johnson,who emergesthe winner. The "original" film is also the "winner" rather than the"remake"

AViewOfYou 2012-04-26 23:03:30

Vastly underrated film - and better than the original

I saw the remake and then, later, watched the original.I thought the remake was better and funnier because it worked on morelevels. I enjoyed the acting in both but the writing and directing werefar better in the remake.I am a huge fan of the Coen Brothers and no fan of infantile pottyhumor. The Coens are careful listeners and lovers of American regionaldialects and personalities as they showed in the movies Fargo, OBrother Where Art Thou, and Intolerable Cruelty. What some people don'tseem to appreciate about "The Ladykillers" remake is that it revels inthe completely different ways that each character speaks. Itintentionally used totally over-the-top extremes of language from theProfessor, to Gawain, Pancake, and Mrs. Munson. Given the absurdity ofthe plot, I think it was totally OK to push the extremes of thecharacters and their language. It created all kinds of great set-upsfor comedy.As the situation played out and as the pressures and conflicts built,it was hilarious to see these characters trying so hard (and mostlyfailing!) to get through to each other. It created much bigger laughsfor me than watching the British cast play it straight.I thought the character Mrs. Munson was great as a stronger (and moreirritating!) personality and it's ridiculous to claim that she wassomehow less vulnerable if the gang really wanted to do her in. She wasevery bit as oblivious to the danger she was in as she smacked Gawainaround when he used "hippety hop" language.Alec Guiness, as the gang leader of the original, was a cool, collectedcriminal who slowly became unraveled as things went out of control.However, I thought Tom Hanks, as the Professor with no criminalexperience, was just as funny as his plans went wrong and he tried sohard to use his useless academic knowledge and language, in trying tohandle the gang. I loved when he tried to explain the philosophy behindthe short straw to Gawain. It reminded me of a scene in the movie "TheRundown" when Chistopher Walken is trying to explain the concept of thetooth fairy to a bunch of South American lowlife criminals.I loved the whole Mountain Girl ("Swiss Miss") scene at the Waffle Hutand the the touching story of how Pancake and Mountain met at anIrritable Bowel Syndrome singles gathering in the Catskills.I didn't like the gag with the painting of the husband changingexpressions but, for the most part, I found the remake to be very funnyand in fact funnier when watched for the second time because so much ofthe humor comes from the fact that everyone is speaking a totallydifferent language. I know that it didn't get great reviews but I canonly say that I loved the writing of the movie and think it would workgreat as a stage play as well.I found the original to be funny but not nearly as many real laughs asthe remake.

biggin-1 2012-04-26 10:17:43

surpringly, pretty good

To be honest, I really did not think that I would like this movie. Itkind of has that progressive Quinten Tarintino kind of vibe like PulpFiction. It starts of a little slow, but the humor and plot improve asthe story goes on. I never saw the previews for the movie beforewatching it, and I was pleased after I watched it. The movie includes agreat variety of characters who play off each other in an extremelyunique way. It really is a kind of odd and unrealistic story, but itall comes together. There is consistent humor. Although I do not knowall of the character's names, they all do an excellent job. Theexplosives expert's comment throughout the film ("Easiest thing in theworld") fits in perfectly. I have never seen the original version ofthis movie, but this one does the trick and is definitely worthchecking out!

kevin j woods 2012-04-22 03:11:58

All this and a fart joke too.

I should first point out that at no point have I wanted to suck off theoriginal version and while (under Par 12biii of the EU Entertainment ReviewAct 2004) this makes it illegal to comment on it I won't tell if youwon't.I enjoyed this movie it was fun had good dialogue, great actors, loved thedead dog at the beginning and the general was cooler than you should be witha hitler moustache.All in all a rare treat among all the comedies out this year aimed atbraindead pre teens, and something you can actually watch without feelingembarrassed about not having any kids to watch it with.Go see it immediately because it might not be there next week and you willregret it.

gws-2 2012-04-21 15:46:18

he Coen brothers at their best

I am amazed at how many low scores IMdB voters have given this movie. Ithought that it was funny stuff, in a class with the Coen brothers best. Based on some ofthe comments here, I suspect that a lot of the folks who down-rated "The Ladykillers"were not familiar with the Coen brothers oeuvre, saw the movie only because Tom Hanks was in it,and were not impressed by the Coen brothers scatological and irreverent humor -- the boyscan be profane and shocking. For those of you who appreciate what the Coenbrothers do, though, I suggest that you see "The Ladykillers" soon. Highly, highly recommended, 10 out of 10.

colonel_green 2012-04-20 16:11:40

Definitely not formulaic

This was an odd film, like the Coens' Intolerable Cruelty. Tom Hanks isathis finest, as are the other actors. Tzi Ma as The General steals theshowfor me. Excellent music accompanying a finely shot film. Not foreveryone(swearing is a concern) but a must-see for those who enjoy an offbeatpieceof cinema. While it can be too quirky for its own good at times, it isgenerally very entertaining, and a literate motion picture. G.H. Dorr'squoting of Edgar Allan Poe is riveting. And the great repeating imageryofthe garbage barges foreshadow the ending. Irma Hall is excellent as thelandlady who loves God and her deceased husband, and is thought by many tobe a bit off. And one must mention J.K. Simmons, a great character actorwho does his usual quality work. The Coens have still gotit.

Voivod-2 2012-04-20 01:00:55

Unfunny and moronic piece of junk

First of all, DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE WITH YOUR FAMILY.Secondly, don't bother watching this movie period. To be succinct aboutit, this is an awful movie. The characters are crude and idiotic socialstereotypes, and the "jokes" are stupid, low-brow attempts at humor,clearly the results of intense effort on the part of the writers tomake funny gags, but which fail so miserably that it is nauseating andconsistently embarrassing to watch. I'm not easily offended, but thiswas so offensively moronic that I was unable to stomach hardly any ofthis movie. It tries to cover the cinematic bases, but fails at all ofthem: it tries to be both old fashioned and modern, and fails at both.It tries to be funny and fails. It tries to be engaging, and fails. Ittries to be classy and fails. It tries to be evocative, and fails. Ican't think of a single area in which this movie succeeds. It cannot berecommended in any way.

historyteacher_sj 2012-04-09 21:07:26

disappointment

Tom Hanks is one of greatest actors but this movie was verydisappointing. Language ruined it - not funny - profanity / obscenitiesmuch overdone.BTW Saucier MS is a real community - it is close to Pascagoula no wherenearMemphis and no where near MS River. It is close to MS Gulf Coast.Casinosin MS are much larger and fancier than the one in the movie and neverempty(especially those on MS Gulf Coast. All have hotels such as Beau Rivagewith 1800 rooms, Imperial, Grand with 1000 rooms, et. al. Come see therealthing.I was looking forward to this movie but disappointed with crude attempt athumor with way too much bad language - a couple of mildly funny sceneskeptrating off very bottom. Hanks was great in a terriblerole.

2012-04-09 17:40:31

must see movie

This review is from: The Ladykillers (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) this is one of my favorite movies and i'm glad i bought it instead of just renting it