Film Review: THE GETAWAY (1994)

Director: Roger Donaldson
Writers: Jim Thompson (novel), Walter Hill & Amy Holden Jones (screenplay)
Running time: 115 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Action/Adventure/Crime
UK Release date: 1^st July 1994

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 9^th June 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

To be honest, I can’t remember how this one got recommended to be but I must try so I can thank the person(s) responsible by shaking them warmly by the throat. By no means a film of any great note, but then I guess you have to see a turkey now and then so you don’t forget just what they look like. I will tell you more of my thoughts after this very brief summary.

When a job goes wrong, professional thief Carter ‘Doc’ McCoy finds himself in a Mexican prison. He persuades his wife, Carol, to cut a deal with crime boss, Jack Benyon, in order to get him out. As part of the payment for this deal Doc has to pull a job for him. Benyon has picked a team consisting of the man the double-crossed Doc in Mexico, Rudy Travis, and a young kid, Frank Hansen. Before they pull the job, Doc tells Carol it will be their last; he wants out of the business. The job goes pretty well and they meet up to divide the loot. There are double crosses upon double crosses at this point but needless to say, Doc and Carol end up on the run with cops and bad guys on their tail… Can they make it? Well I guess that would be a bit of a spoiler and them Spoiler Police (Mexican Division) aren’t as easy to bribe as they used to be.

Well shot with some nice stunt work; sadly the script didn’t live up to the mechanics of the filmmaking (more on that later). As far as performances go, well everyone did a pretty good job; Alec Baldwin was rough and tough as Carter ‘Doc’ McCoy and Kim Basinger did pretty well as Carol. Michael Madsen (with one of the great mullets) was pretty hateful as Rudy Travis and James Woods was masterful, as ever, as the evil Jack Benyon. Also worthy of note were; David Morse as Jim Deer Jackson, Jennifer Tilly as Fran Carvey, Richard Farnsworth as Slim and finally, sadly underused, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Frank Hansen (blink & you’ll miss him).

A film that tries to deal with some quite adult themes but in the end falls quite short of the mark. There is just too much going on, the main characters are not likeable enough and there’s just no charisma between them. When I find myself looking at my watch I know it’s a very bad sign and my watch has seldom been looked at quite so much. On the plus side, I did like the performance of James Woods, he was particularly loathsome; the trouble is, there wasn’t enough of him. A poor effort over all; an A-list cast but a bit of a B-list movie I’m afraid… NOT RECOMMENDED.

My score: 5.2/10

IMDb Score: 5.5/10 (based on 9,314 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0109890/

MetaScore: NO DATA: (Based on 0 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 33/100 (based on 21 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 30/100 ‘Want to See’ (based on 8,439 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1047985-getaway/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Rudy Travis: It's been my experience that having friends is overrated.

Fran Carvey: What's the plan?
Rudy Travis: The plan is shut up.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site (FR): http://www.martyrs-lefilm.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: BEETLE JUICE (1988)

Director: Tim Burton
Running time: 92 mins (approx)
Certificate (UK): 15

UK Release Date: 19th August 1988

Watched on DVD Sunday 31st May 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I know this is a pretty old film, but believe it or not, I had never seen it before. It’s one of those that somehow managed to escape me. I’ve seen bits and pieces of it when it’s been on TV, but this is the first time I’ve sat down and watched it all the way through. I’ll admit to being a bit of a fan of Tim Burton’s work over the years and so I was keen to have a look at this one.

Adam and Barbara Maitland Live in a beautiful country house that they have decorated themselves. When they die in an accident they return to the house as ghosts. To their horror, the house is bought by a couple from New York, Charles and Delia Deetz, who move in with Charles’ daughter Lydia. Delia considers herself an artist and, with the help of her friend Otho, proceeds to re-model the house. The Maitland’s are now really distressed, what with coming to terms with being dead as well, it’s all proving a bit much. Lydia can see the ghosts and, after talking for a while, the Maitland’s take a liking to her. Help is at hand in the guise of the crazy spirit known as Beetlejuice. But the Maitland’s, at first try to scare the Deetz family away themselves. This all goes wrong when they are enthralled by their efforts and want more! Can Beetlejuice save the day? Guess you’ll have to watch it to find out.

Although it looks quite dated by today’s standards, this is unmistakably a Tim Burton film. A lot of stop-motion animation is used for the special effects which reminded me of the much later Corpse Bride from 2005. Decent performances from all of the main cast, Alec Baldwin as Adam Maitland, Geena Davis as Barbara Maitland, Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz, Jeffrey Jones as Charles Deetz, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and Glenn Shadix as Otho. And, of course, a special mention for Michael Keaton who was great as the mad-cap Beetlejuice.

A pretty entertaining film with some nice touches. It looks a little dated now but it still works. It has the unmistakable mark of Tim Burton and will always be synonymous with Michael Keaton’s portrayal of the over-the-top Beetlejuice. Over all, good stuff, if a little dated: Recommended.

My score: 6.4/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0094721/
Official Site: N/A
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/screenplay/vi2800222489/