Lucky Number Slevin
Starring Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu
Written by Jason Smilovic and Directed by Paul McGuigan


First of all, let’s get one thing straight. I am a sucker for dark comedies with cool trailers that feature a slick tune with fun percussion instruments and an ensemble cast of players shooting off cheeky one-liners. Think anything from Tarantino and his British shadow, Guy Ritchie. So needless to say there are probably a lot of suckers like myself for these kinds of movies since Tarantino is practically a rock star and Guy Ritchie, well, Guy Ritchie married Madonna. Enough said. So, when a movie comes along like Lucky Number Slevin, us suckers are so there and we expect a lot when the lights go down.

The first thing I noticed about this film is how literally it took the joining of two genres. When someone refers to a genre of film that is made up of two genres, for example, a “romantic comedy”, we usually assume that the film is a nice blend of each of those genres. With Lucky Number Slevin they take that theory a little too, well, as mentioned, literally. The film can be categorized as a “dark comedy” and indeed it is split right down the middle as one. For the first part of the film it is a comedy. For the second part of the film it is dark. Very dark. So that whole idea of blending genres into one harmonious vehicle kind of went out the window. Actually under all the misguided advertising for this film which, depending on which show you were watching when you saw the trailer, was sold as either a comedy crime caper or as a dramatic crime thriller, but in my books I saw it is as a dark comedy.

Josh Hartnett (40 Days and 40 Nights, Pearl Harbor) is perfectly cast as Slevin, the not-so-lucky guy as opposed to what the title of the movie would suggest, who ends up in quite a predicament with two crime bosses. Crime boss number one is known as “The Boss” and is played beautifully by Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby). Crime boss number two is played by the majestic Sir Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast) and is known as “The Rabbi”. Why is he called “The Rabbi”? Well, because he is one. Watch the film and you will get it. Now what do two big city crime bosses want with a guy like Slevin? The answer is they don’t technically want him. Because he had an incredibly unlucky week where he lost his job, found his girlfriend getting nasty with another guy, and got mugged -- he goes to find some comfort by visiting his old friend Nick. Now Nick happens to be a big gambler and unfortunately a big loser as well. So the crime bosses actually want Nick, but with the horrible luck that Slevin has, he gets mistaken for Nick, who happens to be missing, and hence beings the premise of the film where Slevin must payback The Boss by carrying out a hit on The Rabbi’s gay son for him and he must payback The Rabbi by coming up with some big cash in a small amount of time.

But don’t feel too bad for Slevin. Nick’s neighbor, which is now technically Slevin’s neighbor, happens to be a sweet and quirky Asian girl by the name of Lindsey, played by Lucy Liu. Lindsey, who works at the city morgue, seems to be on the lookout for adventure and love, so when Slevin explains his case of mistaken identity and the missing case of Nick, she is all over him and his situation. Oh, and wait, there is Mr. Goodkat. The infamous assassin played by the infamous Bruce Willis, who is like the key to everything since he seems to be pulling-the-wool over all the characters in this story.

If you known these kinds of films as aforementioned, you know that the story is never as simple as it appears (I don’t want to be a jerk and give you a bunch of spoilers). You also know that you can expect some great twists, great violence, good chuckles, and fantastic dialogue. Although I did mention Tarantino’s name earlier and his name is synonymous with great dialogue; I would have to say that the dialogue in Lucky Number Slevin is not quite Tarantino, but more David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, Heist). It is less Tarantino in the sense that Tarantino likes to have his characters deliver grand monologues filled with pop culture references, whereas with Lucky Number Slevin, the dialogue consists more of witty uzi-like back-and-forth wordplay. Some of the scenes are paced a bit slow and get a little carried away with dialogue battles, but the scenes of violence and aggression that accompany them more than make up for that.

If anything, Lucky Number Slevin is definitely worth checking out for the playful and fun dialogue. The plot is complicated and a little two “sectional” to make a coherent and solid film -- but again, like I said, I am a sucker for these kinds of films and if you are too, it is definitely worth checking out.


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: Great action, hilarious one-liners, and very cool characters.

The Bad: Story structure went out the window when making this film.

The Law: If you like cheeky dialogue and cool Tarantinoesque films, then definitely worth checking out.

I love movies.

I love talking about movies. I love talking about movies more than I like talking about myself. So from now on I will be writing about them. I will write about whatever it is I happen to be watching. Everything from Risky Business to Run Lola Run. From Star Wars to Elizabethtown. I hold no prejudice to any movie.

For my first movie, I have chosen, "In Good Company".

I hope you enjoy my point of view.

Sincerely,
Law



In Good Company
Starring Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson
Written and Directed by Paul Weitz


If Jerry Maguire were to have a child, In Good Company would be his son or daughter. Now, I am not talking about the actual man, Jerry Maguire, but the movie. In Good Company is like a mini-Jerry Maguire. The movie has many similar characteristics like it’s father, but manages to find a personality all its own -- which is what makes it an entertaining and touching piece of work.

Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy) manages to bring us some very real and touching moments with great humour in this very insightful look at the world we work, live, and love in. Think of him as the guy in school who used to tell sick jokes, but once you got to know him you discovered a sweet interior. Topher Grace (That 70’s Show) leads a pack of very likable actors in this tale of world dominating corporations and the romantic ideal of being something real and doing the right thing even if it means losing your high paying job and sweet Porsche.

Topher Grace plays Carter Duryea, a twenty-six year old executive at a major media corporation, who made his mark in the world by heading a very successful campaign for selling cellphones. On the other side of the world is Dan Foreman, played by the always strong-but-sensitive Dennis Quaid. Foreman is the father of two girls (one of which is played by the lovely Scarlett Johansson) and the husband to a newly pregnant wife, played by CSI’s Marg Heldenberg. Foreman is the head of the advertising department at a major sports publication and has been at the job now for twenty-three years. Foreman loves his job, but that job is now going to be the job of Mr. Carter Duryea, after his company gobbles up Foreman’s. This premise is not that original considering we see this storyline in the business section everyday, but what is original is that Foreman’s daughter, Alex, after enrolling into NYU and moving to the big bad city, falls for and seduces Carter behind her father’s back. Now, dating your father’s boss is not that crazy of an idea, but dating your father’s much younger boss sure is.

The first time Carter and Alex meet in the elevator on Carter’s first day at work, he tells her that he is “scared sh**less” and that he doesn’t know what he is doing. A moment of honesty amoungst many that he has in front of her and only her (now what girl wouldn’t fall for that). Now we all know that men are not that honest on a regular basis and Carter is no exception. For most of his life he has been a slick facade. His co-workers think he is a cool, dominating, smooth-talking kind of guy and to his wife he is pretty much the same. He tries to convince her that he can change and will eventually take her on a honeymoon, but she doesn’t buy it and heads for the door and an eventual divorce. Queue the soul-searching scenes and the journey of a man looking to be “real” (cough, cough, Jerry Maguire).

Carter has his youth, lots of money, and a nice Porsche. Dan has a wonderful family, but none of the above. In real life, this usually is not really a big problem, but in the sugary world of the movies -- this is always a problem. So, naturally Carter envies Dan’s life and spends the movie trying to find all the answers to all his questions from him, while Dan worries about tuition fees and if he has enough man left in himself to raise another child -- not to mention the cow he has when he discovers that his sweet and innocent daughter is sleeping behind his back with his boss.

We can all agree that we live in a tumultuous time, searching for some kind direction or reassurance that everything can and will turn out okay in the end. A world where we can find harmony at work and at play. Unfortunately that is not going to happen anytime soon, so feel free to jump into the world of In Good Company, where at least for 109 minutes you know you will feel inspired and maybe even just might fall in love with this modern day tale of romance.


THE RUNDOWN:

The Good: An insightful and funny look at modern day work and play.

The Bad: You’ve seen a lot of the situations and scenes before.

The Law: Check it out for its insightful look at relationships and likable cast.

So here is a story I wrote about Expo 86 that was chosen to be featured in The Province (a Vancouver newspaper) this Sunday.



EXPO 86 - The Beginning of Something

I was only eight years old. Up until a year earlier, I had been an only child. Now I was brother to my sister, Michelle. I didn’t know it then, but that was just the first of many exciting things to come. The year was 1986. Mr. T, Starship, and Top Gun were the coolest things on the planet. I remember my mom telling me that we would be expecting a lot of visitors from out of town that year. Several uncles, grandparents, aunts, and a guy I had never seen before all visited that year. I couldn’t figure out why they were all coming to Vancouver all of a sudden, but the moment I stepped foot onto the Expo 86 grounds; I realized why. They all came to see the most exciting thing on the planet... Expo 86.

My dad had just started a new job, my mom was pregnant again, and being a big brother was turning out to be pretty cool. Just as I thought things couldn’t get any better -- along came Expo 86 and the coolest mascot ever... Expo Ernie! I loved that robot and I loved seeing him at Expo. I must have visited Expo like a million times over the course of the summer and each visit was more special than the last. Never in my life had I seen so many people from so many different places in the World and never had I experienced so much entertainment and excitement. As far as I was concerned, Expo 86 was heaven.

Twenty years later, my dad is still working at the same company he started at in 1986 and I am the big brother of Clement and Michelle. Expo 86 is over, but in my household it still lives on. My dad tells of how it was the year he got his job, my mom tells of how it was the year she had my brother, my sister speaks of hugging Expo Ernie, and my brother knows it as the year he was born. For me and the city of Vancouver, Expo 86 will always be the beginning of something special.