Lumbering_Jack

I really loved this film. You can't beat a movie like this, with the dripping campy delivery by Rhoda. Great stuff. I watched this shortly after the AFI Heroes & Villains list came out, and was surprised to see that not only was Rhoda not in the top 50 Villains list, but she wasn't even on the nominating form. Too bad because this a film where you really end up hating the antagonist and are hoping that someone really clobbers her! That's what makes a great villain. (Incidentally, my wife and I watched this shortly after we found out she's pregnant. Wish us luck!)

You gotta love a film who's main character tells just about every person he meets that he's a hero and God has a plan for him. Simon isn't bragging when he does this, he's just telling people what he knows to be true.

It's that and its subtle humor makes "Simon Birch" such an enjoyable film. This is a simple story of a boy finding his long-unknown father, but it's wrapped in questions of God and how He works. And these questions are all brought up by a Forrest Gump-type of character who has a wisdom far beyond his ability.

Most of the film's charm is from Ian Michael Smith, who plays Simon, and the way he delivers his wisdom. Instead of a questioning tone, he acts like he's known for a long time and just felt like reminding you.

Smith is supported by his co-star, Joseph Mezzello, who helps keep the film from focusing too much on the cuteness of Smith as he spouts off about God and the human condition. Instead, Mezzello brings a youthfulness that offsets Simon's maturity.

The movie's atmosphere also adds to its success. "Simon Birch" drags you back in time to an America where life was about the baseball game, church, riding bikes, swimming and getting in trouble.

It's all this: Good actors, a time long gone and an enjoyable and thoughtful script that make "Simon" something special. So try him out, he fits any occasion. ... Oh yeah, it's also nice to see a movie set in Maine that doesn't involve Stephen King -- but I'm sure he would've liked have been the guy who wrote this great story.

7/26/00

"Suicide Kings" is really trying to be "The Usual Suspects." Really, really trying.

The problem is that it's really, really bad. It's God awful as a matter of fact.

Instead of being a clever, suspenseful movie full of interesting characters, it's a boring, uninteresting film with indistinguishable characters. It also tried to have a surprise twist ending, and I must say the filmmakers did deliver on that. Well, they kinda did. It was a surprise and a twist, but it certainly wasn't clever. It was just plain stupid.

The cast, which includes one-time stars Sean Patrick Flannery and Henry Thomas, stalled-stars Jay Mohr and Jeremy Sisto and I'll-make-any-film-for-money stars Christopher Walken and Denis Leary, are all wasted with terrible, uninspired dialogue.

"Suicide Kings'" younger stars, who could've brought a lot of neat depth to the film, only offer whiney characters that just don't go anywhere or give you anything to be sympathetic to.

I really wish the film were better. As a viewer, I kept giving the film more brains than it had. Some of my erroneous thoughts about what could have happened, but didn't ... They didn't really cut off Walken's finger, they drugged him and told him it was (they would've shown him a cadaver's finger)... At the end, Denis Leary tries to take over the mob by shooting Walken, so he can ascend in the ranks ... Ira somehow being involved, and just playing dumb ...

Ah! Enough of that, just take my word for it, this film isn't worth seeing. You have my word.

7/20/99