"Be Cool..."

Mes Amis

Let's go see Charlton Heston be a Mexican... I loved Get Shorty, I really did. It was, for me, the first time a film captured the Leonard spark with Travolta really getting Chili Palmer down as a character. It was a small film, really, which is why it worked. It wasn't trying to be something it wasn't and it also had Ray "Bones" Barboni (Dennis Farina) who is just always a great hardass (same character most films, but damn is he good at it!). But I'm not excited about Be Cool at all. It feels too late for one thing and for another, well, the book wasn't one of Leonard's best, either. It had its moments but overall I found it pretty forgettable (Still one or two minor blips in a career like Leonard's is nothing to worry about and his latest books show him back on form). And even the reviews there on Leonard's official site seem, well, lukewarm at best. A couple of years back I would have been real excited for this film, but I don't know, it just seems wrong and more than anything its the kind of project I think Chili wouldn't have been involved with. One thing about the book I love, though, is that opening scene where they're talking about the sequel to the movie they made about Chili's adventures in Get Shorty... The movie execs called the sequel Get Lost if I remember correctly...

Talking of films... Ray Banks is talking about Get Carter over on his website/blog/post-office-hatred-site at the moment. And its a great film, sure, but when he lists great Brit crime thrillers he leaves off one of my favourites - - Face, starring Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone. This is a superb, overlooked thriller from the late nineties that got kinda lost in the system. But despite a cameo by Damon Albarn (Actually, he's very good) this is a superb, tight and gripping crime thriller that I always thought needed more recogition.

Anyway, mes amis, that's all for now.

Au Revoir

Russel