50 lines
4.2 KiB
Plaintext
50 lines
4.2 KiB
Plaintext
has it really been two decades since walter matthau coached the bad news bears ?
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nineteen years and two mighty ducks later , the formula is still going strong .
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police academy graduate steve guttenberg stars as a small-town deputy sheriff corralled into co-coaching the school's hastily formed soccer team .
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his partner-in-crime is the new british " exchange teacher " ( olivia d'abo ) , a lively lass who has obviously seen dangerous minds and knows that the best way to gain the respect of a disinterested , outer-city audience is to teach them something neat .
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like soccer .
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most of the good-natured gags are of the fast-motion variety , such as runaway cows and out-of-control lawnmowers .
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kids will laugh at the occasional belching bit , while their parents peacefully doze beside them .
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other than letting a supporting character named newt go unscathed , what's missing from the big green is a better integration of music and comedy .
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instead of a peppy pop score , which would arguably work to better effect , most of the action is set to a bombastic orchestral score that belongs somewhere else .
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comedy needs music .
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just watch any old bugs bunny short .
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the marx brothers knew it .
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mel brooks knows it .
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unfortunately , the current trend is to " overscore . "
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lush strings and booming brass in every scene , at every moment .
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remember the simple strains of bizet's " habanera " in the original bad news bears ?
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these days , it's usually a bellowing fanfare that threatens to smother every scene in its path .
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much like adding frosting to already frosted cake .
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an awfully big adventure ========================
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the reteaming of director mike newell and star hugh grant is about as far removed as you can get from the lightsome comedy of four weddings and a funeral .
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their second collaboration is a downbeat theatrical drama about a young intern ( georgina cates ) struggling to survive in post-w . w . ii
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liverpool .
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hugh plays the gay director , an * extremely * unappealing character who may alienate whatever fans are left after the nonsense of nine months .
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bleak make-up and thick accents conspire to make this a difficult story to settle into .
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an awful adventure is not without * some * rewards , tho .
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the peter pan subtext is intriguing .
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as is the diverse ensemble cast that includes peter firth , alan rickman , and prunella scales .
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basil !
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devil in a blue dress =====================
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the comparisons to chinatown are easy enough , except for the fact that this film isn't nearly as gripping .
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writer/director carl franklin ( one false move ) is the force behind this accomplished-but-stiff adaptation of walter mosley's crime novel .
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denzel washington is as sturdy as ever , but he's burdened with a miscast supporting cast .
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tom sizemore and scene-stealer don cheadle are both fine .
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the problems start with jennifer beales , who never registers as the plot's femme fatale .
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she's a pretty face and nothing more .
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also underweight are maury chaykin and terry kinney .
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they play opposing mayoral candidates in 1948 los angeles and neither actor commands enough authority to stifle giggles .
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john huston , we miss you !
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fine period detail and a strong sense of humor are a plus .
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they help to overcome a pace that's too polite for mosley's jazzy , swingin' story .
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steal big , steal little =======================
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i can't say much about this one .
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director andrew davis follows the fugitive with a wildly unfunny farce about twin brothers ( andy garcia ) with opposing moral codes .
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they're fighting over their adoptive mother's estate , a 40 , 000-acre ranch worth millions and supporting dozens of migrant farm workers .
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so many different plots are trying to come together--feuding brothers , reconciling husbands , loan-shark hired hitmen--that you have to admire the director's ambition .
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too bad that almost every single person or plot-line is out of sync .
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that is , with the exception of alan arkin .
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he's the best thing in a movie that--despite the work of four credited writers-- * still * manages to waste such diverse talents as david odgen stiers , kevin mccarthy , and joe pantolinao .
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and what the heck does that title mean ?
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