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THE DUKES OF HAZZARD / Jay Chandrasekhar (2005)

July 9th, 2005 by Scott Marks

Jay Chandrasekhar’s THE DUKES OF HAZZARD (2005)

The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)

Directed by: Jay Chandrasekhar

Written by: John O’Brien, John O’Brien

Cast: Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott, Alice Greczyn, Steve Lemme, Michael Weston, Mitch Braswell, Michael Roof, Jessica Simpson, Rusty Tennant, Dolan Wilson, James Roday, Heather Hemmens, David Leitch, A.J. Foyt IV, M.C. Gainey

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Running Time: 106 min.

Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

During the compulsory closing credit blooper reel The Dukes of Hazard’s reason d’etre is finally given utterance. Joe Don Baker, veteran star of Southern-fried seventies classics Walking Tall and Framed, blames a blown take on Jessica Simpson’s “titties.”

What reason, other than the juvenile promise of Ms. Simpson’s pulchritude, can there be for watching this network slobber given a big screen makeover? Did drooling retardates across America start a letter scribbling campaign? A die hard Jackass fan, even I didn’t feel the need to see Johnny Knoxville stretch. Perhaps the “director” had embarrassing, blackmail-worthy Polaroids of Warner Bros. studio heads frolicking naked with Cub Scouts.

As updated by series creator/writer/rocket scientist Gy Waldron, not much has changed. Brothers Bo (Sean William Scott) and Luke Duke (Knoxville) run moonshine through the backroads of Kentucky in the General Lee, a DayGlo-orange ‘69 Dodge Charger complete with optional roof-sized confederate flag.

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THE BROTHERS GRIMM / Terry Gilliam (2005)

July 8th, 2005 by Scott Marks

Heath Ledger & Matt Damon in Terry Gilliam’s THE BROTHERS GRIMM (2005)

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

Directed by: Terry Gilliam

Written by: Ehren Kruger

Cast: Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Lena Headey, Peter Stomare, Monica Bellucci, Petr Ratimec, Jonathan Pryce, Barbora Lukesová, Anna Rust, Jeremy Robson, Radim Kalvoda, Martin Hofman, Martin Hofmann, Josef Pepa Nos, Harry Gilliam, Miroslav Táborský, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Marika Sarah Procházková, Mackenzie Crook

Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1

Running Tme: 118 min.

Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller

Rating: ★★★½☆

Don’t expect the obligatory studio-damning follow-up documentary. For a change, over the top (and frequently over budget) director Terry Gilliam received final cut.

His first completed film since 1998’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Gilliam reportedly tinkered for two years while Miramax repeatedly shuffled opening dates. In wide release at last, The Brothers Grimm is a visually dazzling Byzantine blockbuster of a thrill ride aimed at, joy of joys, adult minds.

Finally, a contemporary fantasy film that shuns the Hollywood notion that action and adventure must solely be geared for teenage boys. Given their similarities and dark underlying preoccupations, Walt Disney is likely to be applauding horizontally in his cryogenic chamber.

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