Bryce Zabel's MOVIE SMACKDOWN!

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) -vs- The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

  Keeping the Trains Running (Out of Time)  

The Smackdown.  Thirty-five years ago Joseph Sargent's successful blend of suspense, drama and thrills (and even some comedy) set the bar high for action directors to follow, a precursor of films like Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" or Jan de Bont's "Speed."  Inspiration is one thing, though, and a re-make is another challenge altogether. This time out it's director Tony Scott who tackles the film adaptation of the novel by John Godey.  And Godey's premise is a goody -- four gunmen hijack a New York City subway train and demand a huge ransom be paid within the hour.  The money must not be late in arriving because for every minute thereafter, one of the hostages will be shot.  No exceptions.  What ensues is a deadly cat and mouse game of verbal sparring between the leader of the highly armored gang and the unlucky transit official who must do everything possible to delay the inevitable. It's said that Benito Mussolini kept the trains running on time.  Does Tony Scott do the same for the New York Transit Authority?  Or is the original the better ride?  It's time to get out the subway tokens -- all aboard!

The Challenger. As Chester A. Riley might say, "What a Travoltin' development this is!"  Blessed with mega-star power, Tony Scott's version features John Travolta as Ryder, an ex-commodities trader turned ex-con who masterminds a plot to steal even more money than that Bernie guy made-off with.  Talk about a low life.  On the other side of the tracks, the good side, is Denzel Washington, a Walter Mitty sort of fella who is a disgraced MTA official recently demoted to the position of a train dispatcher in the NASA-like central control room for the Big Apple's subway system.  Just his luck that he's the guy who fields Ryder's call for the ransom money.  The razor-sharp dialogue from screenwriter Brian Helgeland allow these two heavyweight actors to engage in a wickedly escalating two-person verbal dance as the clock enevitably ticks down.  Travolta's language is more foul than the waters of Lake Titicaca, but it is believable, edgy, realistic, and quirky -- his randy remarks about taking a Lithuanian ass model to Iceland is classic.  

The Prestige (2006) -vs- The Illusionist (2006)

 Some of That Old-Time Film Magic 

The Smackdown.  Over the hundred-plus years of cinematic history there has been enough movie magic to create a worldwide love affair with film.  Surprisingly, however, since the laterna magica first began projecting moving images there have been remarkably few movies about magic.   The year 2006 was an exception with the near-simultaneous release of two excellent films about 19-Century professional prestidigitators -- "The Illusionist" and "The Prestige."  For someone who loves magic and sleight of hand, this was a banner year worth sharing.  While "The Prestige" made more money at the domestic box-office, approximately $53 million vs. $40 million, "The Illusionist" cost considerably less to make -- $16.5 million vs. $39 million.   Based on their return on investment, and the fact that "The Illusionist" was also the first to appear on the nation's screens in 2006, we'll give "The Illusionist" the designation of "Defending Champion" and "The Prestige" our "Challenger" position.  Now that our rivals are in their respective corners, let's get out the wands and let the magic begin.

The Challenger.  According to Webster's New Twentieth Century Unabridged Dictionary, the word prestige is "a noun that means a delusion, an illusion, a juggler's trick, from praestinguere, to darken, to obscure."  Based on the novel by Christopher Priest, director Christopher Nolan's film certainly possesses those characteristics, but it is much, much more.  "The Prestige" is a brilliantly conceived, beautifully executed character study concerning two rival magicians, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, who are obsessed with outdoing one another in shadowy, gas-lit Victorian England.  What started out as friendly competition becomes a bitter rivalry full of jealousy, obsession and deceit with the death of Angiers' wife (the wonderful Piper Perabo) during the performance of a dangerous trick known as "The Tortured Man." The result is that Angier becomes just that, tortured, a borderline sociopath who becomes obsessed in finding the secret behind Borden's piece de resistance in his new, wildly successful show.  

The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) -vs- The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

Tough-Love, Alien Style

The Smackdown.  Klaatu and Gort are back in the 'hood thanks to the mega-budget re-make of "The Day The Earth Stood Still."  The duo arrives once again with every intention of forcing some extra-terrestrial "tough love" on us.  Keanu Reeves steps into the lead role made famous 57 years ago by Michael Rennie in the original, joined in this go-round by Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates and, surprisingly, John Cleese.  Certainly the overall production and effects budget makes possible images never even imagined back in 1951. But can all this money and contemporary talent add up to make this new "The Day The Earth Stood Still" as enduringly memorable as the old "The Day The Earth Stood Still" that graced the world's screens during the height of Cold War paranoia?   There's nothing to be gained by standing still -- so let's get to it.  Here's the intergalactic Smack...

The Challenger.  The talent behind this new 2008 "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is certainly respectful of the original.  Director Scott Derrickson, producer Erwin Stoff and screenwriter David Scarpa have all publicly commented on how they understand that the earlier version is an acknowledged classic.  And they fully realize that, generally speaking, remakes are about as successful as a Libertarian running for office in the Lone Star State.  (An aside:  We hope Kinky will run for Governor again -- "Why the hell not?")  They also understand that, on rare occasions, a remake actually fares pretty well against the original.  "Sorcerer" compares favorably with "Wages of Fear," for example, as does "The Magnificent Seven" with "The Seven Samurai" and "The Birdcage" vis-a-vis "La Cage aux Folles."  Accordingly, the number of deviations from the earlier edition have been held to a minimum.  Gort is now a biological form and not a mechanical robot.  Likewise, Klaatu is now an alien in a human body, not an alien with a human body.  And, of course, the balance between story and special effects, between character-driven moments and action sequences, has been skewed as well, reflecting the advances in filmmaking technology and, presumably, present-day audience preferences.  Being the challenger against a movie that most sci-fi affecinadoes consider to be sacrosanct, the equavlaent in its genre to what "The Godfather" is to gangster movies, is a tough undertaking.  But then again, a beagle did win at Westminster...

Cold Warriors from Outer Space

Alien-Human Smackdown, 50s Edition

To help us celebrate the holidays this year, on December 12th, 20th Century Fox releases its remake of the classic 1951 sci-fi film, "The Day the Earth Stood Still," starring Keanu Reeves in the role of "Klaatu," first played by Michael Rennie 57 years ago.  Movie Smackdown will, of course, be putting the two films in the ring against each other and maybe even several times in different combinations.  To us, well, this is like an event of historical proportions.

Today we've asked SmackRef Bob Nowotny to get the laser beams flying by introducing us to the joys of 1950s sci-fi invasion films.  We knew he was the right man for the job since he actually believes, and I'm quoting:

"What one cannot argue (at least convincingly) is that any science fiction/alien invasion movie produced after 1959 is the equal of these well respected classics.  Yes, there have been subsequent science fiction films brought to the screen, but they are all pretenders to the crown."

After Bob's Blurb (note to Bob: we gift you this as the name of your next blog), you'll find a brand-new fresh-off-the-bus SmackPoll where you can express your own opinion(s).  Our goal is to find an "Alien Invasion" film winner from the Classic era, and put it up against a similar winner from the Modern era.  This is, admittedly, a pretty ambitious goal for a site run only on blood, sweat and tears but, given the subject matter, maybe the fate of the Earth rests on it.  In the meantime, here's Bob and his alien-infested trip down memory lane.

Swing Vote (2008) -vs- Paper Moon (1973)

"Swing Vote" REAL Election Edition

Editor's Note: After reading Bob Nowotny's review, watching this film just got by me and I didn't catch it until a plane flight yesterday back from London.  What with the election only a few hours away at that point, it had quite an impact.  Man, do I hope Barack Obama gets a clean win tonight so we don't have to go through the fictional nightmare depicted here or real-life 2000 version again.  I doubt this film is going to have a long-term impact and will not be widely watched once real-life moves on with an elected winner.  But I enjoyed Bob's review and the subsequent viewing because of how he doesn't make this about politcs but the relationships between father and daughter.  And, of course, "Paper Moon" is about the Great Depression, something else on our minds these days, yes?  So, here we go again...

The Smackdown.  Ever noticed how precocious preadolescent girls in films are always decidely smarter, more ambitious and more mature than their underachieving dads?  Movies love to tell us kids have the wisdom that adults lack.  Well, maybe a few kids should have told their parentals who are executives at Touchstone that it's risky opening a film that features a father-daughter relationship in the middle of the summer when superheroes, mummies and teen comedies generally rule the box office.  Still, it'll be interesting to see if "Swing Vote" can hold its own against such formidable box office competition -- time will tell.  A question we can answer right away, though, is whether this new Kevin Costner flick holds its own to what many consider to be a classic of this particular sub-genre -- "Paper Moon."  Can Costner get the votes he needs, or will Ryan and Tatum O'Neal con their way to a win? 

The Challenger. In "Swing Vote," Kevin Costner stars as Bud Johnson, a simple guy who pretty much coasts through life with virtually no ambition or sense of responsibility.  After all, what else would you expect from an egg processing plant worker who loses his job to "insourcing?"  Unemployed, unmotivated and uninformed, there are three things Bud does love  -- the King of Beer, the King of Nascar and his precocious, over-achieving twelve-year-old daughter, Molly. Costner teams with young Madeline Carroll in this Capraesque tale of the importance of everyman's vote.  Ms. Carroll is exceptional in her role, and the star-studded supporting cast all contribute to an engaging, timely, thought-provoking film.  Credit must go to writers Joshua Michael Stern (who also directed) and Jason Richman for a screenplay that is better than one might expect, although it requires a serious suspension of disbelief on several occasions. Propelled by the Marshall Tucker Band's driving beat of "Can't You See," the amusing, improbable chain of events which culminates in a presidential election coming down to one single vote in a little two-bit town on Route 66 succeeds in entertaining the electorate.