Prime Time: The Dukes Of Hazzard (2005)

There were two movies made in the mid-2000s that were based on TV shows that were, in turn, based around a car in a starring role. Well, two that I can recall, off the top of my head. Starsky & Hutch was the first, in 2004. The second was this one. It's not really a surprise to find that both were reworked for comedy. It's also not really a surprise, for those who know how easily pleased I am, that I tended to enjoy both. What IS surprising is that this film turned out as well as it did, considering who was involved in front of the camera.

Mind you, with taste being as subjective as it is, the very people I enjoy seeing in this movie may be the very reason that others never want to see it, and think it should be consigned to the bargain bin section of Hell. And if you're already thinking that then you should probably not rush to see it.

Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott play Luke and Bo Duke, the rough 'n' ready heroes of our story. Well, they are the characters that we tag along with, and they are the humans who look set to put a spanner in the works of any plan by 'Boss' Hogg (Burt Reynolds), but the real star is the General Lee, the car that Bo uses to cause vehicular carnage and stay one step ahead of pursuing baddies, or those wanting to shoot Luke because of his unchecked libido.

Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar (of Broken Lizard fame), this works well because of good casting, gags that range from decent to groan-inducing, and a number of sequences that allow for some great car stonework. You also get appearances from many of the other Broken Lizard troupe members, which helps.

Written by John O'Brien, the script manages to retain the essence of the show thanks to the way it uses the main characters, even while twisting them all slightly to up the comedy quotient. Knoxville and Scott may not be your favourite actors, and may not be absolutely perfect in these roles, but they're a decent fit for a couple of moonshine-running lads who can always try to excuse the irritation they cause with a big grin and air of childishness.

The rest of the cast fit just as well, whether it's Jessica Simpsons turning heads as Daisy Duke, Burt Reynolds as the villain of the piece, M. C. Gainey as his main henchman, who also happens to be the local Sheriff, and Willie Nelson as Grandpa. There are also fun turns from David Koechner, James Roday (playing a cocky ex-resident of the county back to take part in a local race), an underused Lynda Carter, and one or two others.

The soundtrack has some great selections, the chase sequences are genuinely entertaining, and the plot feels like the kind of thing that could have happened in a feature-length episode of the show, which is sometimes the best you can hope for from a movie reworking a beloved TV show from the past. This may not be the best film that anyone here is involved with, but it's fun stuff, nothing more, nothing less.

6/10

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Noir November: Thief (1981)

It's the classic premise. The career criminal about to step away from his life of crime as he's about to reach his main goal, yet he's held back from doing so by someone who knows just how good he is at his job. In this instance, James Caan is the titular thief, Robert Prosky is the awkward guy who wants Caan to keep realising his potential (for the sake of them both), and Michael Mann is the director making a great impression with his usual blend of cool style and attention to detail.

From the opening scenes, this is a film interested in showing you the lifestyle of a thief as a proper career. It's not just a film that gives you a main character and just enough of a sketch to believe in how he lives his life, it IS his life.

Whether he's on the job, confronting someone who owes him money, delivering some choice moments from his personal history to a woman he wants to develop a relationship with, Caan is never less than perfect in the role, one that remains his best ever. And the finale of the film, the last ten minutes alone . . . . . . . . . . . well, I won't spoil anything for those still to experience the movie, but they're absolutely in line with the character, making everything equally brilliant and heartbreaking. Prosky is an avuncular figure, until revealing his true colours, and he's fantastic in portraying the full range of the character, with those hooded eyes making even his more charming moments hold a certain sinister undercurrent. Tuesday Weld is the woman who Caan wants in his life, and she's very much his equal in terms of how up and down the journey through life has been. James Belushi puts in a sweet performance, as the young assistant who helps Caan get results. He may not be onscreen for very long, but he does well. And then there's Willie Nelson, popping up for mere minutes to show how loyal Caan is with the few that he decides to love and protect.

Based on a book by Frank Hohimer ("The Home Invaders"), Mann has taken the lifestyle, the tools of the trade, the focus needed by the main character, and created a screenplay that distils everything into a near-perfect, tense experience. The fact that he also supplies Caan with one of the greatest cinematic speeches since Shaw told two fellas about his time on the USS Indianapolis is nothing to be sniffed at either. I can only assume it's often forgotten by film fans collating greatest movie moments because it happens to take place in a diner, and Mann eventually gave people THAT diner scene from Heat, meaning that his own success has cast a large shadow over his back-catalogue.

As he has shown throughout most of his career, Mann knows how to do a crime film. The fact that it's great will be no surprise to anyone who has ever enjoyed his work. The fact that it's SO great, as his first feature, is the surprising part, making you realise that all of his more recent, and celebrated, outings have just been trying to maintain that high standard that he set himself straight out of the blocks.

A film to watch, own, and watch again. I'm sure I will get even more out of it when I have time to give it a rewatch.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Thief-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray-DVD/dp/B00GBT62PQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1413745811&sr=1-1&keywords=thief