Mar. 18, 2004 - 10:47 am
Colin and i were trying to think of things to check out and watch last weekend and this was what we came up with. nevermind the fact that we just played video games for days and didn't around to watching it until last night. he and i were interested in this because of the new Coen Brothers version that's coming out in a week or two starring Tom Hanks. the new version looks to have quite a different mood to it (and acting style), but it should still be the same plotline.
this is a fairly short film about a robbery. an old lady is looking for someone to rent her upstairs room and soon comes across a basically insane looking creepy man with buck teeth. that's Alec Guiness if you can believe that. he moves in right away and tells her that he has some friends who every night play in a string quintet with him. some of the men seem like they're seedy characters, some are nicer. they use the house to plan their robbery and they even involve the old lady without her knowledge. after she realizes exactly what's going on, the ladykillers start killing everyone except the old lady.
it's a slightly funny story, and the acting is decent, but i felt like it was drug out a bit too long. it didn't hold my attention well, the settings were very boring, and the special effects were badly done. it also had a slight bit of interesting cinematography.
i think the best thing about this was the whole weirdness factor of Alec Guiness. i totally didn't know he could creep you out like that if given the proper makeup. it was also hilarious to us when he starts stalking one of his partners at the end of the film. he spoke into a big pipe thing and his voice sort of had a Darth Vader effect. they would also have his voice being thrown out of nowhere as he chased the man sort of a la "Use the force, Luke."
it was an ok movie, but i'll probably say that the new one has a great chance of being better than the original. especially with the Coen Brothers directing.