3 Guys Pickin'

Sometimes trailers better than movie

by RICHARD DRAKE
columnist

It really bugs me when you go to see a movie and it starts out with the final, dramatic scene and then it goes back to tell the story leading up to that final scene. It just seems like a fabricated way to start the flick. The makers are basically saying, "Hey! Here's the end, now there's no suspense, but here's the story anyway." You've already paid for your ticket, your Junior Mints and went through the trouble of smuggling in your own beverage, you're not going to leave. You're stuck.

I was extremely excited to see "Bandits." It's easy to look forward to seeing a flick that not only has Bruce Willis and Cate Blanchett, but Billy Bob Thornton as well. I know, I know, ol' Billy Bob is a bit of an annoying dude in life, but he is a very good character actor in his own right. My excitement for the flick was blown through the roof as soon as the trailers started. Admittedly, I was ticked off and lost some of my excitement for the movie even before the trailers came on. They did not start until 7:13, a full SIX minutes after the published start time. My time is way too precious to be wasted on a movie starting late; heck, I had to get home in time for "Raw!"

So the trailers finally came on, and what a good group of trailers it was. First, the capacity audience of five was treated to "Ali," starring Will Smith. This flick is gonna rock. It is directed by none other than one of my favorites, Michael Mann. Anybody who's anybody knows that Michael Mann is ... well, he's the man! The guy has to be a stud director if he can make an interesting movie about a tobacco-industry whistle blower, like he did with "The Insider." Very much looking forward to that movie I am, very much looking forward.

Also, they showed the trailer for "Ocean's Eleven," a casino heist flick with a star-studded cast including Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt. I'll see that flick, even though it's directed by Mr. Pretentious Filmmaker himself, Steven Soderburgh. Ol' Steve-o does have his moments though, "Out of Sight" and "Erin Brockovich" were great movies. But I felt that "Traffic," or "Crappic" as it's known now and forever more here at 3 Guys Pickin' was very overrated. Other than the excellent performances by Benicio Del Toro and Don Cheadle, the movie was lacking in many other places. Plus, all it was was Soderburgh doing his best Michael Mann impersonation. And he's no Michael Mann. The third trailer was for "Rollerball," a re-make of an old, crappy James Caan flick. That one is only worth mentioning due to it being directed by John "Die Hard" McTiernan.

Barry Levinson directs "Bandits," and does a nice job I might add. He's shown in the past that he has the ability not only to tell a compelling story, but also make it watchable. Unlike say, Oliver Stone, who CAN tell compelling stories, but rarely does: "Any Given Sunday" anyone? You know a flick is bad when even Al Pacino can't save it. In the past, Levinson has given us the entertaining "Good Morning Vietnam," the inspiring "The Natural," the enigma that was "Rainman" and Demi Moore in "Disclosure." Unfortunately, he also gave us "Sphere," but we can let that one slide.

In "Bandits," Bruce Willis plays an escaped convict with a grin that would melt even the coldest of hearts; for example, the evil and frozen-hearted Rosie O'Donnell (she's not in this flick, thank goodness). His partner is Billy Bob Thornton, who does a wonderful job of playing a gifted hypochondriac bank robber who suffers everything from slight obsessive-compulsive disorder to lactose intolerance. The two break out of jail and begin robbing banks so as to have enough money to move to Mexico and open up a nightclub. Along the way, they become the darlings of America and are dubbed the "Sleep-over Bandits," due to their unusual and ingenious way of robbing the banks. They also pick up Cate Blanchett who is running away from her uncaring, emotionally unattached husband. Blanchett does a tremendous job in the role and is as incredible on the screen as she was in Sam Raimi's "The Gift." Cate Blanchett, wow. Let me say that backwards for effect. Wow.

The movie is filled with the reports of an "America's Most Wanted"-type show called "Criminals at Large," which jumps back and forth between the ending-of-the-flick's reports and the during-the-story reports. The use of "Criminals at Large" was very good with the exception of the ploy used at the beginning of the flick where they have the aftermath "Criminals at Large" episode and then tell the story. Did you catch all that? Like I said before, it really bugs me when a movie starts like that. They just play with your mind during the movie and tweak something at the end to change the end they showed at the beginning.

They did it in "Swordfish" and it didn't work, but it did work in "Kissing a Fool." They've done it in countless other flicks; sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. This time, it worked. Good flick. Bruce's smirk, Billy Bob's eccentric character, Cate Blanchett's Cate Blanchett and Barry Levinson's un-"Sphere"-like directoral effort all combine for an interesting and funny movie.

See it.

Seriously, see it. But don't ever see anything with Rosie O'Donnell. Ever. EVER! Except for "Beautiful Girls" because she's hardly in it and that's a good, good flick even despite her presence.

Comments can be sent to Drake at parthenon@marshall.edu