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Reviews:
Hit
and Run Entertainment: Bandits
by
Christian De Matteo
HUGE
I saw this twice within a week. I enjoyed it
so much watching it with my beautiful girlfriend,
that I decided that all my friends needed to see
it, so I set up a date for them to all go see it
with me within a few days. I loved it just
as much the second time, if not more.
Directed by the great Barry Levinson (Diner,
Rain Man), the film is a wonderful tribute to Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, playfully joking
with some of that film's more classic element, but
never lowering itself to plagiarism. It is
simply an homage to classic crime buddy flicks,
that adds its own elements to the genre.
Told almost backwards (not in the Memento
fashion of backwards) the film begins at "the
end" jumps back a bit and starts you on the
path to what you think you already know. My
initial reaction was that I wished I didn't know
what I was heading to, but I soon got so sucked
into the film that I forgot what I thought I knew
until the end.
What truly brings this script to life is the
incredible chemistry of the astounding cast
Levinson is working with. With Bruce Willis
and Billy Bob Thornton doing excellent performances
as the two leads, meshing quirky personalities
with realistic ticks and vices, our new favorite
bank robbers becoming a real presence in the
tradition of Parker and Longbaugh (Butch and
Sundance). Cate Blanchett soon steps in to
add another dash of spice to the mixture, bringing
her mind blowing acting ability as a fed up, under appreciated
house wife to a corporate type insensitive
lug. Her husband, as he should, plays a very
minimal part. Finally thrown in is Troy
Garity as Willis' cousin and we have our heros,
the Sleepover Bandits, one of the most inventive
and exciting crews to ever come across the
celluloid, each character well felt out and
bizarre and lovable in their own ways.
From one of the greatest (and most musically
perfect) jail breaks on film, to Billy Bob's great
paralyzed dancing to the astounding triangle that
emerges, mixed in with phenomenal "interview
footage", Bandits is by far one of the
most fun movies to come out since the very
different Men in Black, a movie that made
me extraordinarily happy and is one of my top five
of the year. As a follow up to the genius
that was Liberty Heights, Barry Levinson is
doing an excellent job as near as I can tell.
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