143 - The Road To Wellville

Connection To WAYNE'S WORLD - Dana Carvey and Lara Flynn Boyle.

I was looking online after watching this film and noticed the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate is 41%, and a user rating of 5.7 (out of 10) over on IMDB, this surprises me because that's means most peoples opinion of this are average or below average at best - it surprises me because this will be my - I think - third time watching it and have enjoyed it every time.

To be fair, it's hard to tell who the movie was originally aimed at on release - there's sex, naked skin, but none of it is particularly sexual (I did enjoy however as a teenager - Bridget Fonda's nipple in the milk bath scene) and though it's based on a true story (though heavily fictionalized), the subject matter just might not be of interest to true story movie fans.

I could actually see Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Kellogg being distracting to people with his accent and buck teeth but me, personally liked that Hopkins was willing to do something a bit different. Matthew Broderick and John Cusack are enjoyable support but I do wish Bridget Fonda's character was a bit more clearly defined but that was in the writing, nothing to do with her performance. Dana Carvey as Kellogg's adopted son I thought was among the film's more enjoyable performances.

Overall, a film that I think dares to be different - which probably why opinion is so underwhelming as was the box-office, but for me it was a nice (breakfast) treat.

35 - Con Air

Connection To ALAN PARTRIDGE: ALPHA PAPA - Colm Meaney

What I view here is the extended version, which I ain't seen before but I've probably seen the "original cut" possibly close to double figures by now.

It's hard to hate a film like Con-Air - awesome action, characters and one-liners - the movie is a joy from start to finish, I've actually heard it being described as a guilty pleasure but for me that's wrong because there is absolutely no shame in enjoying this movie. I'm trying so hard to not do plane/flying related puns so apologizes if I end up doing it.

For me this was one of Nicolas Cage's terrific trio of action movies in the late 90's which also included The Rock and Face/Off (which some people dislike) in which this one he plays ex-Army Ranger Cameron Poe who in defending his pregnant wife and gets in a fight with some bar drunks killing one of them, he ends up in prison for 8 years which he is paroled for good behaviour.  He is eager to see his wife and his daughter (who he never met) and he is to be flown back home on the Jailbird plane where he will be released on landing. Another of other prisoners including his diabetic friend Baby-O (Mykelti WIlliamson) as well as the dangerous Cyrus The Virus (John Malkovich) and Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames) are being transported to another penitentiary. But shortly after takeout Pinball (Dave Chappelle) ends up inciting a riot and released Cyrus and Dog from their separate containers allowing them takeover the plane.

The thing I always like about many Jerry Bruckheimer produced films is the casting, they always get some good names - Malkovich as Cyrus is a brilliant main villain, bring his Malkovichiness (I know that's not a real word to the role and Steve Buscemi as Garland Greene, the psychopath killer is also another stand out, his scene of playing with the little girl is probably one of the most famous and tense. We also get to enjoy actors like Danny Trejo, Chappelle and Colm Meaney among others.

As for Cage is Forrest Gump accent in this just adds to the charm, he's a great action hero here - sort of a shame that they mostly shot their load here and a sequel would have been pushing, his co-star John Cusack his also great in a rare-action role for him.

Speaking of the extended edition for a bit - I'd say only a few months really got added here and there, Greene killing a guard was not in it before (am I right or did I just forget) and it feels most of the time additional dialogue at the end of scenes.

Criticism time - it's so, so minor you'll feel me stupid for even mentioning it - at the end after the plane as landed in the Vegas strip and the three bad guys escape on a fire engine, Cusack and Cage jump police bikes and chase after them, this part I have no problem with (except maybe the fact Poe is still technically a prisoner at this point) it's a touch into when the fire engine goes past two other police bikes parked we only see them from behind but guess what drops from to the road from the bike - yes two doughnuts - you get it because they are cops... just thought it was a minor thing that was a bit dumb.

Overall extremely enjoyable even after multiple viewings - the entire package is cool (even the syrupy LeAnn Rimes ballad oddly fits in) so I'll just say strap yourself in for one hell of a ride... (damn it)

34 - Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

Connection To THE LADIES MAN - Both are about radio hosts and are spin-offs of television shows, I say that's a good enough connection.

British TV comedy making it to the big screen as been a mixed bag at best - sure Monty Python perfected it - but even if the TV show was a massive classic the stretch to feature length have often been lacking - sure there is still enjoyment to be had because you are spending time with these characters. The 1970's seemed to be the heyday it seems like every other "classic" sit-com had a film (Porridge, Steptoe and Son, Dad's Army are among them). Another problem is whether to take the character out of their comfort zone, taking them out of the comfort zone usually means taking them on holiday whether it makes sense (The Inbetweeners - young lads would go to sunny Spain) or not (Are You Being Served? - have you ever gone on holiday with all your work colleagues even the ones that you dislike), so Alan Partridge coming to the big screen could have mean falling flat on his face...

It's hard to believe I've been a fan of Alan Partridge for 20 years now - Knowing Me, Knowing You was my first experience of him in 1994 (I wasn't familiar with The Day Today or the radio show at the time), I've enjoyed him in his awesome I'm Alan Partridge series and his live shows where Partridge was the main event and was excited to see what the film would offer...

I was not disappointed - this film is funny, Steve Coogan's Partridge may be a touch nicer but the pig-headed ignorance is still there as are some of the supporting characters (Lynn and Michael The Geordie among others) which sees Partridge working at North Norfolk Digital, which has just been brought out and as staff members facing redundancies, Partridge is not bothered but his colleague Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney) fears very much for his job and pleads with Partridge to gatecrash a board meeting to persuade them not to sack pack but Alan inadvertently discovers it's him or Pat who will get the sack and he betrays Pat even writing "JUST SACK PAT" on a flip-chart. Pat is then fired, the owners host a party that evening which Pat enters and holds everyone hostage, Alan escapes to the police and is asked to enter as a negotiator.

I really liked the relationship between Pat and Partridge, Pat's unblinking trust not knowing Partridge screwed him over helps build up tension when you know he will evidently find out, Pat also seems like a good guy deep down gone to desperate measures and they capture that well considering it's a comedy.

The absolute funniest bit for me which had me laughing for ages is a dream moment of Partridge getting the gun off of Pat and an action scene/chase happening which ends up 3 police men taking their helmets off and all being Alan, it's what get's said that was so funny to me I had to rewind back to re-watch to laugh all over again. There's nothing I'd really criticize about the movie because I had an extremely good time watching and would welcome a sequel or some sorts.

Overall, as a long-time fan of Partridge I really enjoyed this, it made me laugh all the way through and had a good central plot, recommend.