Creed II

I’ll make this short and sweet, Creed II is a sequel’s sequel and I don’t mean that in a good way.  It doesn’t build off the last installment, further explore the characters we’ve come to know and love, go in a new direction or repeat what we’ve already seen but do it even better this time around.  Creed I was a fine solid movie and it was great to spend time with good ol’ Rocky again.  It didn’t break any ground though and wasn’t particularly memorable if I’m being honest.  But it was fun while it lasted.  Creed II on the other hand is a bland rehash of the Rocky formula.

The script is the main issue.  It’s so goddamn predictable and uninteresting.  I know all the Rockys/Creeds are basically the same but this time felt the most contrived.  All the usual beats are hit like Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station)) learning to not rest on his laurels and get the hunger back, weighing family obligations with a desire to box in a potentially deadly match, dealing with the pros and cons of notoriety, balancing friendships, partnerships, relationships with the constant need to fight other dudes and etc.  It all feels tired and too robotic here.  Plus the countless nods to parts III and IV are distracting (I laughed out loud when they announced the final bout would have to take place in Russia, you know, just like in Rocky IV!).

I’m pretty sure I saw several places pitch the idea that a film about Ivan Drago’s son, Viktor (Florian Munteanu (real life boxing shit)), would’ve been way more fascinating.  There’s a lot more there to dig into and you could approach this tried and true story with a fresh perspective and introduce all new characters and locations and maybe sports is totally corrupt in Russia with boxers taking performance enhancing drugs but Viktor doesn’t do that and has to battle these behemoths clean and some of the refs are paid off and it could be really fuckin’ cool.  

Hell, even an Ivan picture would’ve been better.  It could be like Rocky Balboa but with Drago making a comeback.  And if they did that in 2018 Dolph Lundgren would’ve been only a year older than when Stallone did Rocky Balboa so the timing would’ve been perfect.

Ah well.  Aside from part V this has got to be the weakest in the series.

Mish Mash 17 (The Hurricane Heist, The Boondock Saints, The Dirt, Dark Angel (aka I Come in Peace))

The Hurricane Heist

This is the kinda movie that just doesn’t get made anymore.  You got a simple little action picture premise involving a heist with the specific twist that it takes place during a hurricane on the Gulf Coast.  And while there’s an entire laundry list of items that are stolen from Twister it’s definitely more of a Hard Rain type rip off (and better too).

Based on the poster I thought the whole thing was gonna take place on the road but thankfully no.  The good guys and bad guys run around an evacuated town battling each other in the streets with high winds creating dangerous projectiles out of boats and hubcaps and there’s flooding and almost constant rainfall.  Everyone needs to keep an eye on this shit if they not only want to take down their enemies but flat out survive the day.  Smartly the filmmakers also take the fights inside deserted buildings away from the elements so there’s variety to the set pieces keeping things fresh.  Oh yea, and they’re all fun.

However, this movie does do the very silly thing of turning an everyday Joe into an action hero like recluse computer hacker Sandra Bullock in The Net and mountain climber/wildlife photographer Chris O’Donnell in Vertical Limit.  This time it’s meteorologist Toby Kebbell (Kong: Skull Island) who somehow finds ways to outsmart the professional villains who clearly should’ve killed him in an instant.  But at least Kebbell is teamed up with treasury agent Maggie Grace (The Takens) to increase his odds slightly.  So this is more of a Broken Arrow Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis kinda partnership except the male/female roles are reversed.

Damn guys I gotta tell you, I didn’t think I’d enjoy this as much as I did but it feels like such a slice of the 90’s that I took to it immediately.  For most of you I’m sure you’ll roll your eyes or dismiss it outright.  But in my book it’s another gem from Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious, The Boy Next Door).

The Boondock Saints

Well it only took me twenty goddamn years but The Boondock Saints can finally be crossed off the list.  I have seen Overnight though which chronicles writer/director Troy Duffy being shot out of a fucking cannon from Nowheres-ville to Number-One-A-Lister-Land with everyone in Hollywood wanting a piece of him for his “genius” first ever script until they actually meet him and then no one can stand the fuckin’ guy.  It’s been a long time but I remember the doc being a fascinating Cinderella story and the self-destruction you witness in real time is quite amazing.

As for the movie that caused the initial stir, it’s kinda terrible.  The story and characters are very simple and not nearly fleshed out enough (two Irish brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery (Saw 3D: The Final Chapter)) and Norman Reedus (8 MM)) decide to murder mob goons and bosses because well, I don’t know), the editing is awkward at times, especially the opening credits and almost every scene transition, and it tries so hard to be cool with some non-linear storytelling, awful jokes and nonsensical character gimmicks.  It’s a dumb picture that thinks it’s hot shit which makes perfect sense considering who made the damn thing.

Look, I think I waited long enough to give the film a fair shake but another unfortunate aspect is this movie hasn’t aged well.  It was clearly going for that early to mid 90’s edgy indie vibe that Quinten Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez pioneered.  But this comes off more like an imitation of that style and not a true brother in arms that shows a vision and passion for cinema.  Duffy seems to only be concerned about guns, tough talk, violent shit, goofy moments and much less concerned about story, character development, relationships, motivations, connections, etc.

Perhaps the most implausible fact to comprehend though is that Saints is still a title a lot of folks know.  It never really went away in twenty years.  It’s always streaming somewhere, it gets a high rating on IMDb and the Rotten Tomatoes audience score and a sequel eventually got made with the same principal players ten years later.  In terms of sticking in people’s memories and having a continued presence I gotta admit that’s impressive.  Otherwise, it’s stupid.

The Dirt

If you’re gonna make a biopic on Mötley fuckin’ Crüe it better be entertaining as shit and wow, this delivers.  For a band with such a wild reputation and more crazy stories than anyone else it seems like an impossible task to cram all the zaniness in and still have actual characters with arcs where you care about them.  And they fucking did it!  Each member has their own clear identity, demons they need to deal with, and their friendship and music makes them stronger together.  They fight, they hug, they laugh, they cry, it’s beautiful and tragic all at once.

To be perfectly honest I’m not really a Mötley Crüe fan but from what I know this film seems to capture the attitude and essence of the band very well.  All four original members produced it (based on their book they wrote together) which helped I’m sure.  Plus they managed to get Jeff Tremaine of Jackass fame to direct and he knows a little something about out of control personalities.

If you’re looking for a party you’ve found it.  

Dark Angel (aka I Come in Peace)

Dark Angel (aka I Come in Peace) most definitely ranks third in Craig R. Baxley’s trilogy of features from the late 80’s to early 90’s (the excellent Action Jackson is number two and the bona fide masterpiece Stone Cold is number one in case you were wondering).  And I think it’s the sci-fi elements that don’t quite work.  It feels like a regular urban cop action film that gets sporadically interrupted by some unrelated alien bullshit.

The biggest influence on this picture is undoubtedly The Terminator, but instead of a robot and a human from the future chasing and battling each other all over LA it’s two aliens (that look exactly like humans) chasing and battling each other all over Houston.  We find out later one is a cop and the other is a drug manufacturer/dealer/lord.  This was obviously meant to be the main plot but it feels more like the B story.  Again, the impression I get is that the filmmakers are way more interested in the non-alien shit and reluctantly pivot away every so often.

Even the action isn’t up to Baxley’s high standards with smaller ideas and less impressive sequences on the whole.  Maybe the biggest stunt is a car chase through a mall but it’s very brief and nothing like on the scale of Invasion U.S.A. or The Blues Brothers.  Dolph Lundgren (Universal Soldier: Regeneration) doesn’t get to show off much of his fighting skills either which is a waste.  He mostly squabbles with FBI agent Brian Benben (Radioland Murders) who he’s forced to team up with to help solve his partner’s murder, which remarkably has nothing at all to do with the two aliens brawling around town.  Also, Dolph plays it smarmy here which isn’t the best brand of Dolph in my opinion.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t see this, especially if you’re a fan of Baxley’s other films, but don’t expect the same level of greatness.  I mean it does have the infamous line “Fuck you spaceman!” and it’s just as awkward to read in this context as it is to hear from our hero right before he delivers the (second to last) death blow.  That’s not bad.  The real last line is even better but I’ll leave that for you to discover.

Runaway Train

Oscar “Manny” Manheim (Jon Voight (Heat, Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2)) has been locked away in solitary confinement for three years.  He’s a safecracker not convicted of any violent crimes, but after multiple escape attempts and many other prisoners looking up to him like a god he’s deemed too dangerous to be treated like a normal inmate.  The warden (John P. Ryan (Best of the Best, Class of 1999)) would be more than happy to leave him in there forever but the state of Alaska rules Manny can’t be treated like that anymore.  As soon as he’s let out someone tries to shank him, a desperate move coordinated by the warden, so Manny decides to escape once more.  Buck (Eric Roberts (Best of the Best II, Final Analysis)) tags along for the ride and the two board a train.  Unfortunately they have some shitty luck because the conductor dies of a heart attack and the brakes fail leading to the train careening down the rails picking up more and more speed and facing more and more obstacles.  We got ourselves a runaway train my friends.

The idea of an out of control unmanned train is really cool.  The filmmakers exploit all the dangers very well like having a collision with another locomotive, high speed turns that threaten to tip the cars over, an unstable bridge, our characters moving from car to car while avoiding falling in between them and all that kinda great shit.  There’s also the excellent addition of a panicked group of folks in a control room tearing their hair out over how to switch tracks and other trains around to evade total catastrophe.

All of that is wonderful but what makes this a top tier picture are the characters and performances.  Eric Roberts is so good as a slimy motor mouth punk full of energy.  He’s in prison for raping a fifteen year old girl which adds a grotesque layer to his young-dumb-full-of-cum demeanor.  And this character is essential because we need a contrast to Manny’s wisdom as well as his cruelty.

Manny truly isn’t afraid of anything.  He takes his three year solitary in stride, confronts his assassin head on, breaks out of jail into snowy below freezing conditions and doesn’t give up trying to solve his runaway train problem.  And if you cross him or get on his bad side he’ll cut you down to size both physically and verbally.  We witness this abuse when Buck is unable to climb to the lead engine which could potentially save their lives.  Manny beats Buck within an inch of his life.

Voight is perfect in the role and gives one of the most incredible badass performances of all time.  He’s confident, driven and always has a wild look in his eye.  One of my favorite parts is when Manny delivers a speech to Buck about how he shouldn’t be a petty criminal anymore and get some shitty job and hang on to it like it’s the best thing in the world.  Voight’s passion in the scene jumps right into your heart and you wouldn’t dream of being on that crazy train with anyone else.

There’s one aspect of the film I don’t care for though and it’s how the warden is handled.  He’s a terrible person who doesn’t seem to give a fuck about his prisoners.  Hell, it’s implied that he even tries to murder them if he thinks they’re too much trouble.  And the movie validates his behavior several times throughout.  For example, he doesn’t want to let Manny out of solitary because he thinks he might escape again and then that’s exactly what happens.  He thinks Manny is an animal who will hurt people and that ends up happening too.  At one point he shoves the chief control room guy’s face in a toilet because that dude was curt to him for being preoccupied with finding ways to save people’s lives and dodge further destruction caused by the train.  Of course the control room guy apologies and I think it’s meant to be sort of a comic relief moment.  I wish they either hadn’t made the warden such a mean bastard or show that his brute tactics weren’t all that effective.

You could also argue that Rebecca de Mornay (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Risky Business) being on board the train isn’t necessary.  It’s true that if she were removed nothing would really change.   However, she’s there to convey information to Manny and Buck (and the audience) and helps to move the story forward.  Including this character actually comes off kinda lazy but the rest of the picture is so strong it’s inconsequential.

This was originally written by Akira Kurosawa (yes, that Akira Kurosawa) who couldn’t get it off the ground and eventually gave up.  I don’t know how much of the story remains from his version but that baseline kernel plot is gold.  And I’m sure I’m not the only one that would’ve been interested to see Kurosawa’s take on the material.

But I don’t want to shortchange what we have.  This was directed by Andrey Konchalovskiy (Tango & Cash) and he did a fantastic job.  The plot moves well, the acting is superb and all the gimmicks with the train are a lot of fun and keep you short of breath.

I love this movie for not only taking us on an awesome adventure but also for introducing and letting us spend time with enduring badass characters.  If you haven’t jumped on board this mother then what are you waiting for?

Vertical Limit

Vertical Limit pushes me to the limit of what I’ll accept with its limitless nonsense limiting my enjoyment of the film.  Alright, alright I think I’ve come to the number of “limits” I can use.  I’m limiting myself from here on out so beware, this will be a limited review.

Oh boy, nothing about this movie holds up.  From the casting of leads Chris O’Donnell (Batman Forever, Batman & Robin) and Robin Tunney (The Craft, Empire Records) to the bad CGI avalanches to the cheap looking green screening to the stoner dude bro comic relief characters to the idea of scaling K2 (the second highest mountain in the world) not being dangerous enough so they throw in human bad guys as well (they pulled the same shit in Twister where apparently deadly tornadoes weren’t adequately villainous) and etc.

Then there’s the just flat out stupid shit.  One of the most baffling things is each member of the rescue team that goes looking for the three trapped climbers carries nitroglycerin with them so they can blast away the snow to get to the survivors.  First off, they procure it from a Pakistani military commander guy (I have no idea why the Pakistani army has this stuff and is storing it on K2 to being with) who has absolutely no problem with these foreign visitors taking it off his hands, then they make a point of demonstrating how unstable the substance is where one little gyration will set it off (but of course it’s never really a concern until the movie needs it to be) and then to top it all off the shit is neon green like some cartoony toxic waste goop!  What the fuck?!  The nitroglycerin angle is entirely unnecessary and like something a seven year old came up with.

There are also a couple of weird coincidences.  One is that Chris O’Donnell and Robin Tunney, who play siblings, happen to be at K2 at the same time but for different reasons and neither knew the other was going to be there.  That’s awkward and an easy fix script wise. 

I do kinda love that Paxton yells "fuck you!" at K2

Another coincidence is the fate of billionaire Bill Paxton (Frailty) who’s attempting to climb K2 for the second time.  His first effort resulted in him and a few others being trapped in the snow for days with few supplies while they waited for a rescue crew.  And wouldn’t you know it, the same exact shit happens again.  Look, I know conquering K2 is extraordinarily perilous but this guy has some bad fuckin’ luck to be caught in an identical situation two times in a row where it all almost plays out the same way.  And both times he turns into a heartless beast that wants to save all the water, food and medicine for himself.  This is a character without any redeeming qualities, a pure asshole to the core.

But maybe the worst aspect of the picture is how it yada yadas over two key scenes at the beginning and the end.  At the start Chris O’Donnell, Robin Tunney and their father (Stuart Wilson (No Escape)) are rock climbing but shit goes sideways and Chris has to make a decision to either cut the rope, which will kill his father and save himself and his sister, or not cut the rope and they all die.  *Sorta spoilers here, it’s the opening of the movie though* Chris cuts the rope leading to a comical setup shot of the calm desert floor and then suddenly wham!  The father splats in front of you.  I’m pretty sure that wasn’t supposed to be funny but it certainly doesn’t come off as a serious moment.  The next thing we know we’re on K2.  Chris and Robin were still dangling there off the side of a rockface hundreds of feet off the ground with no help in sight.  We don’t know how the fuck they got out of there.  The film simply moves ahead after the father slams into the earth.

And then they do this again *yes, actual spoilers this time but fuck this movie* at the conclusion of the finale where Chris and Robin are hanging on a rope in a chasm and we don’t see how they get out.  At least this time there’s someone at the top who can help them but last time we saw her she was struggling to hang on herself.  Instead we hard cut back to base camp where Chris and Robin are resting up and everything’s hunky dory.  C’mon movie, you can’t keep fuckin’ doing this.

Not only is the script bad and the production poorly executed but from what I’ve read none of the mountain climbing shit is accurate either.  Everything you’re seeing is wrong.

So this is a bad movie.  Like, yelling at your screen and shaking your head in frustration kinda bad.  Director Martin Campbell had two huge hits back to back with Goldeneye and The Mask of Zorro but completely fucked up his third major Hollywood outing missing the hattrick.  It’s even stranger to me that he went from one of the best action adventure summer popcorn films ever made with Zorro to one of the worst.

I don’t think I’ll be coming back to this one.  Limit reached.

Happy 8th Anniversary!

Well, I guess that’s about how I feel right now, running away from an enormous explosion with a baby in my arms.  The baby being this here blob and the explosion being…every day life?  I dunno where I was going with that.  Whatever, eight years!  Cool.  Thanks to anyone who reads these posts and a double thanks to anyone who comes back for more.  I love ya.  See you soon.

Russian Ark

You know how some films have long takes that can last for minutes (like Rope), or others that appear to be edit free but really aren’t (like Birdman)?  How about an entire ninety min picture done in a single take for real without trickery?  And not a stripped down thing where it all takes place in one room or with minimal camera movements like you’re watching a play, but a full blown production.  Well a crazy sonuvabitch named Aleksandr Sokurov did just that back in December 2001.  And I guess he felt it wasn’t enough of a challenge already so he went for an epic period piece as well.

As the title implies this is a Russian production and takes place entirely in The Hermitage, the famous gargantuan sprawling art museum (2^nd largest in the world) in St. Petersburg.  The story is about a man who is either dreaming or he’s died and wanders through the endless wings of the museum encountering Russian historical figures like Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Nicholas (Romanov) II.  This covers from about the late 1600’s to the early 1900’s.  We never see the narrator whose pov we’re using but he meets a travel companion early on, a French aristocrat who is referred to as the European.  Everyone can see and hear the European but the European is the only one that can see and hear the narrator.  That may sound confusing but it’s not at all when you’re watching it.

The two take in many paintings, philosophize about art and a little about life and overall enjoy the collection and various individuals they run into along the way.  They see part of a stage play in a small theater, converse with a woman about van Dyck, sneak through a grand formal ceremony where Russia is hosting Persia and crash a ball where everyone is having a blast doing the latest waltz.  It’s like those Night at the Museum movies where the place has come to life only it’s not incredibly asinine.

The movie works just on this simple abstract story idea level.  I wanna be clear about that because it gets overshadowed by its impressive technical achievements.  I think even if this were shot in a traditional fashion it would still be very engaging and a great piece.

However, half the film really is about the gimmick of one solitary take.  This is the central premise out of which the project grew.  The story came later and was tailored to be relatively modest so the filmmakers could focus enough attention on how to pull off such a feat.  And it took years of planning and a customized steadicam rig and an immense understanding of filmmaking to undertake. 

Sokurov and co only had one day to shoot because that’s all The Hermitage would allow.  So they had to install sets, props and lighting overnight, get all the actors into costume and makeup (over 1,000 in period dress!) and then break it all down.  They managed to get the magic take on the fourth try.  Each time before that they made it less than twenty minutes.  Cameraman/cinematographer Tilman Buttner (Run Lola Run, Downfall, Hanna, Hitman: Agent 47, Metallica: Live in Concert) was suffering from such extreme exhaustion and pain by the last stretch he almost gave up but got an adrenaline boost when he saw the finale ballroom sequence play out before him with hundreds of people dancing and socializing while the orchestra plays the Mikhail Glinka Mazurka.  He fuckin’ powered through and made it to the end.

The Hermitage is a metaphorical ark that houses the finest Russian (and some non-Russian) art.  Anything within its walls, as well as the gorgeous architecture of the museum itself, is to be preserved for future generations even if there’s a catastrophic flood, you know like in that bible doohickey.  As it turns out though the museum ends up being a literal ark as well (I promise that’s not a spoiler), which is pretty silly but at the same time kinda fitting for this dream we sweep through.

This is probably the most Russian-y movie ever (I honestly don’t know if I’ve seen another Russian picture).  It’s serious at times, lighthearted at times, elegant yet disciplined and arty as hell.  But it’s also about one-upmanship (you have a ten min long take?  I have a ninety min long take!), technical prowess, pride and a statement on Russian culture.  One of the most interesting aspects is how critical the European is of Russia and the narrator doesn’t like it.  Sokurov is saying these things about his own country but he uses an outsider to convey them.

Actual shot from the movie and not a
cast photo after they've wrapped

I was expecting this to be pure gimmick with little to no substance but the film turned out to be a very special viewing experience.  Visually the movie is stunning with jaw dropping attention to detail and floating majestic camera work.  It’s clear that this is meant to be seen on a big screen which unfortunately I was not able to do.  That didn’t diminish its effect on me though.

As much as I want to recommend this guy to everyone I come across I know it’s gonna turn a lot of folks off.  Yes it’s pretentious, yes it’s arty, yes it’s an abstract concept, yes it’s pretty damn Terrence Malick-y.  But I’d still say give it a shot.  It’s an amazing journey.

Stan & Ollie

Stan & Ollie is a weird movie.  There are several reasons for this but the biggest might be how dead on Steve Coogan (Night at the Museums) and John C. Reilly (The River Wild) play the famous comedians.  I really forgot I was watching two actors pretending to be other people and fully accepted what was presented to me without hesitation.

And their charm sucks you in immediately.  The picture starts with the team in their dressing room just bullshitting about ex-wives, how much trouble they’ve caused them and having a few laughs.  Then they get up and take the lengthy walk to the soundstage where they’re getting ready to film the dance scene in Way Out West (which this movie fetishizes the shit out of and ends up showcasing three fucking times throughout, I’ll never understand some fans obsession with it).  Along the way Ollie tries to get Stan to come with him on a trip to Tijuana and Stan makes cracks like “I’m never marrying again.  I’m just gonna find a woman I don’t like and buy her a house.”  You know, real slice of life type shit.

This shot from the dressing room to the set is done in one very long take, or it appears to be, either way it’s impressive as hell.  The backlot is bustling with activity as everyone’s either hauling props, scurrying off to shoot or taking a break in between scenes.  The camera keeps moving from behind Stan and Ollie to the side and in front and all around.  And it’s so elegantly done with the boys playfully chatting away and giving their hellos to passersby that it looks effortless when you know it must’ve been a goddamn nightmare to get right.  If this first seven or eight minutes were it, just a short, it would be incredible and even magical how the filmmakers were able to recreate such a specific mood and actually nail the characters.

However, some people thought there was a full fledged movie here.  And that’s probably the next weirdest thing, there’s no story.  At the end of their career in the early fifties Laurel and Hardy embark on a UK tour putting on live comedy shows.  At first the theaters are only half full but by the end they’re selling out several thousand seat venues.  The thing is they don’t have to overcome some challenge to rise to a high level of notoriety and acclaim again.  It happens because the boys do some extra publicity for the media, word of mouth eventually gets around and once folks find out about the shows they want in.

The bit of story that’s wedged in is fabricated and that’s another weird part.  The film shows animosity between Laurel and Hardy over a film Ollie made without Stan in the late 30’s due to their contracts ending at different times with producer/studio owner Hal Roach.  In real life I don’t know if there were hard feelings over that or the other couple of pictures Hardy did without his partner (although later in the late 40’s) but there was no fight in public where they called each other terrible things and threw shit across the room.  I know the protagonists-fight-before-the-climax cliché is in every single thing that’s released nowadays but come on, the fucking Laurel and Hardy biopic too?  If they had scaled it back to where the pair only had a few brief cross words I could accept it more, but the confrontation is so serious and mean that it feels totally out of place in an otherwise lighthearted movie.

Pretty much everything else that happens is true though from what I understand.  And when I say “everything else” I mean the team goes on a tour, it’s a success and they end their career on a high note.  There’s really nothing to tell.  And it’s not like Stan and Ollie led fascinating lives off camera but the filmmakers fucked up and focused on the wrong era.  They were comic geniuses and amazing performers but they were not interesting in real life, like at all.  Between films Ollie was either golfing or betting on the ponies most of the time and when Stan wasn’t in the editing room essentially re-directing the movie (because he would more or less direct during filming) he was constantly working on gags for the next project and writing scripts.

The final weird aspect I wanna point out is the film itself is a comedy.  Going into this I didn’t realize that.  There are bits like the boys hauling a heavy trunk up a flight of stairs only for it to slide all the way down to the bottom like in their short The Music Box, and Stan and Ollie’s wives are like a comedy team unto themselves with Ida Laurel’s (Nina Arianda (Midnight in Paris)) thick Russian accent and misunderstanding of words or phrases and Lucille Hardy’s (Shirley Henderson (Trainspotting)) quick wit.  Again, Laurel and Hardy used silly wife characters in many of their pictures.  This stuff is cute but not laugh out loud funny.  Sure, ridiculous exaggerated characters were a staple of their films but it goes to show you can’t simply recreate gags and assume they will automatically be funny.

This film isn’t for everyone.  If you’re unfamiliar with the comedy team this isn’t going to get you into them.  A better introduction would be to watch the pictures they made (start with the 30’s shorts).  This movie is pretty much only for die hard Laurel and Hardy fans (and if you couldn’t tell already I might be one of those).  There isn’t an intriguing story or characters that you can latch onto even if you otherwise don’t care who these two guys were.  I mean look, Reilly and Coogan are remarkable but if you don’t know where they’re working from it’s probably gonna be lost on you.  I have to admit this actually isn’t a great film but there are great things in it.  The 100% sixty plus crowd I saw it with seemed to enjoy it.

And seeing Reilly in a huge fat suit and tons of prosthetic makeup and believing that that’s really Oliver Hardy and it doesn’t look creepy as shit ok maybe in a few spots when he turns his head too far or opens his mouth too wide and he got the soft southern accent down and the inflection Coogan gives when he speaks that’s instantly recognizable as Stan Laurel and the rhythm of his speech and his child-like facial expressions and the comedy timing of the two guys, well, it’s an extraordinary achievement.  Just don’t expect a plot of any kind.