Are you suggesting, madam, that there exists a law compelling a gentleman to lay hold of canine bowel movements?
– Leopold, Kate & Leopold
Reviews – Movies: K
RATINGS KEY
0/5 – Terrible. Not worth the eyestrain.
1/5 – Bad. Only watch it if there’s nothing else on TV.
2/5 – Okay. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either.
3/5 – Average. Rent it and watch it once.
4/5 – Good. Worth watching a few times (or even buying).
5/5 – Excellent. Watch it, buy it, quote it, love it.
Kate & Leopold (2001)
1/5 | Reviewed 9.13.06
An aristocrat (Hugh Jackman) from the late 19th century falls through a time portal to the 21st century, where he meets a quirky workaholic (Meg Ryan) and teaches her to appreciate the finer things in life. Or something like that. Much as I hate fluffy romantic comedies starring Meg Ryan (or any cutesy, blonde, girl-next-door variation thereof), I could imagine that this kind of plot would have a lot of potential—fish-out-of-water jokes involving the befuddled time-traveller, amusing miscommunications as those around him try to grasp his otherworldlinesss, and plenty of sweet love scenes as the jaded modern woman falls for the chivalrous knight-in-armor. Unfortunately, no such luck.... they tried, I think, but it did not work. Can a film be both too straightforward and ridiculously complicated at the same time? This was. Meg Ryan’s brittleness grated so much that it was completely impossible to believe that anyone, anyone at all, could fall head-over-heels for the shrill and annoying Kate in under a week. Hugh Jackman turned in a decent performance as the cultured and intelligent Leopold, trying valiantly to add dimension to what was essentially a paper-thin role. In short, the lack of originality was stunning, even for a light throwaway film like this. It’s all summed up in the title—despite all the interesting puns, phrases, and charming wordplays they could have come up with, they could only think to name it after the two main characters. Yawn.
The Killing Time (1988)
4/5 | Reviewed 11.12.07
I normally don’t go for movies with titles like this, because they all-too-frequently disappoint me—I turn them on expecting a wicked bloodbath, and end up with some touchy-feely relationship melodrama instead. But this one actually delivers on the grimness—the very first minute has Kiefer Sutherland shooting a twitching victim in the desert (well, technically he shoots the victim in the back, but... you knew what I meant). So I’m not giving anything away when I tell you that Sutherland plays a REALLY. CREEPY. PSYCHO. in this movie. And, ultimately, he’s one of the more sympathetic characters in this story, which is peopled with bad eggs, vengeful relatives, and otherwise decent guys plotting murder and frame jobs. I can’t explain the plot in further depth without spoiling some of the surprises—suffice it to say that it takes a fairly common plot and gives it a nice wicked twist. A lesser film would have hidden the twist until the very end, trying to add an extra punch to the climax; this film, though, has the sense to let us ride along on with all the characters, realizing that it’s the characters that add depth and suspense to what would otherwise be a fairly typical thriller. Sutherland is at his sociopathic best as the young killer with a deranged sense of justice; Beau Bridges initially seemed like an odd pick to be the “hero” of the tale, but he pulled it off quite well. A good pick for mystery/thriller fans, and a must-see for Kiefer Sutherland acolytes.
