Stars: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson, Vinessa Shaw, Wyatt Russell, Nick Damici, Lanny Flaherty, Kristin Griffith, Dorothea Swiac, Joe Lanza, Rachel Zeiger-Haag | Written by Jim Mickle, Nick Damici, Joe R. Lansdale | Directed by Jim Mickle
Texan thriller Cold In July, has been hailed as the new No Country for Old Men. The latest film from director Jim Mickle is based on a pulp thriller novel by Joe R Lansdale, who arguably isn’t in the same league as Cormac McCarthy. But can his film adapattion live up to the hype? Having been a big fan of the brilliant albeit trashy series, Dexter, I was keen to see how Michael C. Hall adapted to the big screen.
The film sets off at a rapid pace, with foundations quickly set for an intriguing puzzle. Our protagonist Richard Dane (along with his dodgy Texan accent), is woken up by a curious noise in his downstairs kitchen.
Texan thriller Cold In July, has been hailed as the new No Country for Old Men. The latest film from director Jim Mickle is based on a pulp thriller novel by Joe R Lansdale, who arguably isn’t in the same league as Cormac McCarthy. But can his film adapattion live up to the hype? Having been a big fan of the brilliant albeit trashy series, Dexter, I was keen to see how Michael C. Hall adapted to the big screen.
The film sets off at a rapid pace, with foundations quickly set for an intriguing puzzle. Our protagonist Richard Dane (along with his dodgy Texan accent), is woken up by a curious noise in his downstairs kitchen.
- 6/30/2014
- by Joe Cronin
- Nerdly
Stars: Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson, Vinessa Shaw, Wyatt Russell, Nick Damici, Lanny Flaherty, Kristin Griffith, Dorothea Swiac, Joe Lanza, Rachel Zeiger-Haag | Written by Jim Mickle, Nick Damici, Joe R. Lansdale | Directed by Jim Mickle
In the middle of the night, a sound alerts a young couple that an intruder has entered their home. Husband, father and picture frame salesman Richard (Michael C. Hall) confronts the burglar and, out of terror more than anything else, shoots him dead. Shortly afterwards Ben (Sam Shepard), the father of the man Richard shot, makes contact with him and threatens his family. Thus begins a thrillingly tense game of cat and mouse that will, of course, change the lives of all involved.
Except that this only covers the first forty-five minutes or so of the film. The narrative runs off in an unexpected direction and takes a twisty path towards its conclusion...
In the middle of the night, a sound alerts a young couple that an intruder has entered their home. Husband, father and picture frame salesman Richard (Michael C. Hall) confronts the burglar and, out of terror more than anything else, shoots him dead. Shortly afterwards Ben (Sam Shepard), the father of the man Richard shot, makes contact with him and threatens his family. Thus begins a thrillingly tense game of cat and mouse that will, of course, change the lives of all involved.
Except that this only covers the first forty-five minutes or so of the film. The narrative runs off in an unexpected direction and takes a twisty path towards its conclusion...
- 6/2/2014
- by Jack Kirby
- Nerdly
Heaped with off-center humor and griddled with offbeat romance, "Home Fries" is a plateful of fun. Starring Drew Barrymore as a pregnant fast-food worker, the Warner Bros. goody should garner big tips from audiences. In "There's Something About Mary"-style dicey comedy, it struts out modestly but demonstrates sturdy legs. This reviewer's favorite film of the year, it should, accordingly, clean up with the screw-loose demographic.
Things have gotten a little gamy at the Burger-Matic down near the silo and tracks. Sally's (Barrymore) gotten pregnant by Henry, an old fart who left her holding the kid. Henry's not a good guy and, behold, a black helicopter stalks him on his way home one night, causing the old bird to suffer a terminal coronary. It wasn't the workings of the Lord -- though the sleepy Virginia locale might indicate such -- but rather the wrath of Henry's wronged wife (Catherine O'Hara), who has inveigled her twentysomething sons Dorian (Luke Wilson) and Angus (Jake Busey) to commit the deed.
Just one small flaw in the plan: The copter's radio transmissions were picked up by the Burger-Matic, and the boys want to make sure no one has an inkling.
That's where things get really nuts and thus complicated as ultraparanoid Angus bullies more level-headed Dorian into getting a job at the Burger-Matic to see if anyone suspects. Here, at the intersection of fast food and tobacco roads, writer Vince Gilligan turns up the satire and goofy mayhem; his script percolates with quirky flourishes and oddball inventiveness. Best, it's all based on logical human behavior, character-motivated rather than plot-contrived. Gilligan milks and stirs the chinks and quirks in each character's personality for most combustible effect. The result is full-scale craziness, which is always goofier when spawned by "normal" people than out-and-out wackos.
While narratively smart, "Home Fries" is visually exceptional. Director Dean Parisot's eye for oddity is droll and deadly. His straight-on take is hilarious: Never resorting to showy, expressionistic flourishes or other cinematic contrivances, Parisot skewers a "normal" site (it could be anywhere in backwater United States) and shows its zaniness.
Although lethally satiric, it's also affectionate -- a welcome relief from the snide, condescending depictions many filmmakers resort to when taking potshots at the burgs. A large pat of the excellence owes to cinematographer Jerzy Zielinski's off-kilter compositions and production designer Barry Robison's dead-on creations. Rachel Portman's musical score, while never ostentatious, is full-blown delirious and amplified by subtle slabs of a wide array of Americana tunery, from Dean Martin to scratchy Delta bursts.
Through subtlety, the talented cast members convey the outrageous. As curly-haired, big-tummied Sally, Barrymore glows with girlish goodness. From her pregnant waddle to her burgeoning smile, she's a gal who warms your heart. As the borderline paranoid Angus, Busey's performance covers all ranges -- from simmer to boil to heat-over. Yet, he's warmed him with likability that is brilliant in its true ringing. Dorian, whose kindly nature inspires much of the screwiness, is played nicely by Wilson. He's the straight man, and by playing it down the middle, he reaches some touching, crazy perimeters. As the Machiavellian mom, O'Hara's performance is similarly steeped in real-life dimension; she is far more threatening than if played in the standard, evil-witch way.
Shelley Duvall and Lanny Flaherty show the range of hues among white-trash folk in their deft portrayals of Sally's hardscrabble parents. There's also a sorry hound dog (uncredited) whose back-of-truck lurchings and drooly burstings bring out the true flavor of a superb batch of "Home Fries".
HOME FRIES
Warner Bros.
A Mark Johnson/Baltimore Pictures/
Kasdan Pictures production
Producers: Mark Johnson, Barry Levinson, Lawrence Kasdan, Charles Newirth
Director: Dean Parisot
Screenwriter: Vince Gilligan
Executive producer: Romi Lassally
Director of photography: Jerzy Zielinski
Production designer: Barry Robison
Editor: Nicholas C. Smith
Music: Rachel Portman
Costume designer: Jill Ohanneson
Casting: Jill Greenberg Sands, Debra Zane
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sally: Drew Barrymore
Mrs. Lever: Catherine O'Hara
Dorian: Luke Wilson
Angus: Jake Busey
Mrs. Jackson: Shelley Duvall
Billy: Kim Robillard
Roy: Daryl Mitchell
Red: Lanny Flaherty
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Things have gotten a little gamy at the Burger-Matic down near the silo and tracks. Sally's (Barrymore) gotten pregnant by Henry, an old fart who left her holding the kid. Henry's not a good guy and, behold, a black helicopter stalks him on his way home one night, causing the old bird to suffer a terminal coronary. It wasn't the workings of the Lord -- though the sleepy Virginia locale might indicate such -- but rather the wrath of Henry's wronged wife (Catherine O'Hara), who has inveigled her twentysomething sons Dorian (Luke Wilson) and Angus (Jake Busey) to commit the deed.
Just one small flaw in the plan: The copter's radio transmissions were picked up by the Burger-Matic, and the boys want to make sure no one has an inkling.
That's where things get really nuts and thus complicated as ultraparanoid Angus bullies more level-headed Dorian into getting a job at the Burger-Matic to see if anyone suspects. Here, at the intersection of fast food and tobacco roads, writer Vince Gilligan turns up the satire and goofy mayhem; his script percolates with quirky flourishes and oddball inventiveness. Best, it's all based on logical human behavior, character-motivated rather than plot-contrived. Gilligan milks and stirs the chinks and quirks in each character's personality for most combustible effect. The result is full-scale craziness, which is always goofier when spawned by "normal" people than out-and-out wackos.
While narratively smart, "Home Fries" is visually exceptional. Director Dean Parisot's eye for oddity is droll and deadly. His straight-on take is hilarious: Never resorting to showy, expressionistic flourishes or other cinematic contrivances, Parisot skewers a "normal" site (it could be anywhere in backwater United States) and shows its zaniness.
Although lethally satiric, it's also affectionate -- a welcome relief from the snide, condescending depictions many filmmakers resort to when taking potshots at the burgs. A large pat of the excellence owes to cinematographer Jerzy Zielinski's off-kilter compositions and production designer Barry Robison's dead-on creations. Rachel Portman's musical score, while never ostentatious, is full-blown delirious and amplified by subtle slabs of a wide array of Americana tunery, from Dean Martin to scratchy Delta bursts.
Through subtlety, the talented cast members convey the outrageous. As curly-haired, big-tummied Sally, Barrymore glows with girlish goodness. From her pregnant waddle to her burgeoning smile, she's a gal who warms your heart. As the borderline paranoid Angus, Busey's performance covers all ranges -- from simmer to boil to heat-over. Yet, he's warmed him with likability that is brilliant in its true ringing. Dorian, whose kindly nature inspires much of the screwiness, is played nicely by Wilson. He's the straight man, and by playing it down the middle, he reaches some touching, crazy perimeters. As the Machiavellian mom, O'Hara's performance is similarly steeped in real-life dimension; she is far more threatening than if played in the standard, evil-witch way.
Shelley Duvall and Lanny Flaherty show the range of hues among white-trash folk in their deft portrayals of Sally's hardscrabble parents. There's also a sorry hound dog (uncredited) whose back-of-truck lurchings and drooly burstings bring out the true flavor of a superb batch of "Home Fries".
HOME FRIES
Warner Bros.
A Mark Johnson/Baltimore Pictures/
Kasdan Pictures production
Producers: Mark Johnson, Barry Levinson, Lawrence Kasdan, Charles Newirth
Director: Dean Parisot
Screenwriter: Vince Gilligan
Executive producer: Romi Lassally
Director of photography: Jerzy Zielinski
Production designer: Barry Robison
Editor: Nicholas C. Smith
Music: Rachel Portman
Costume designer: Jill Ohanneson
Casting: Jill Greenberg Sands, Debra Zane
Color/stereo
Cast:
Sally: Drew Barrymore
Mrs. Lever: Catherine O'Hara
Dorian: Luke Wilson
Angus: Jake Busey
Mrs. Jackson: Shelley Duvall
Billy: Kim Robillard
Roy: Daryl Mitchell
Red: Lanny Flaherty
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 9/17/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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