"AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS" (2004) Review

”AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS” (2004) Review

The year 2004 marked the umpteenth time that an adaptation of Jules Verne’s travelogue movie, ”Around the World in Eighty Days” hit the movie screen. Well . . . actually, the fifth time. Released by Disney Studios and directed by Frank Coraci, this adaptation starred Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Cécile de France, Ewan Bremmer and Jim Broadbent. 

This adaptation of Verne’s novel started on a different note. It opened with a Chinese man named Xau Ling (Jackie Chan) robbing a precious statuette called the Jade Buddha from the Bank of England. Ling managed to evade the police by hiding out at the home of an English inventor named Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan). To keep the latter from turning him in to the police, Ling pretends to be a French-born national named Passepartout, seeking work as a valet. After Fogg hired “Passepartout”, he clashed with various members of the Royal Academy of Science, including its bombastic member Lord Kelvin (Jim Broadbent). Kelvin expressed his belief that everything worth discovering has already been discovered and there is no need for further progress. The pair also discussed the bank robbery and in a blind rage, Phileas declared that that the thief could be in China in little over a month, which interests “Passepartout”. Kelvin pressured Phileas Fogg into a bet to see whether it would be possible, as his calculations say, to travel around the world in 80 days. If Fogg wins, he would become Minister of Science in Lord Kelvin's place; if not, he would have to tear down his lab and never invent anything again. Unbeknownst to both Fogg and “Passepartout”, Kelvin recruited a corrupt London police detective named Inspector Fix to prevent the pair from completing their world journey. However, upon their arrival in Paris, they met an ambitious artist named Monique Larouche (Cécile de France), who decides to accompany them on their journey. Ling also became aware of warriors under the command of a female warlord named General Fang (Karen Mok), who also happens to be an ally of Lord Kelvin.

I might as well make this short. ”AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS” did not do well at the box. In fact, it bombed. In a way, one could see why. In compare to the 1956 and 1989 versions, it took a lot more liberties with Verne’s original story. Phileas Fogg is portrayed as an eccentric inventor, instead of a Victorian gentleman of leisure. He takes on a bet with a rival member of the Royal Academy of Science, instead of members of the Reform Club. Passepartout is actually a Chinese warrior for an order of martial arts masters trying to protect his village. Princess Aouda has become a cheeky French would-be artist named Monique. And Inspector Fix has become a corrupt member of the London Police hired by the venal aristocrat Lord Kelvin to prevent Fogg from winning his bet. Fogg, Passepartout and Monique traveled to the Middle East by the Orient Express, with a stop in Turkey. Their journey also included a long stop at Ling’s village in China, where Fogg learned about Ling’s deception. 

Some of the comedy – especially those scenes involving Fix’s attempts to arrest Fogg – came off as too broad and not very funny. Also, this adaptation of Verne’s tale was not presented as some kind of travelogue epic – as in the case of the 1956 and 1989 versions. The movie made short cuts by presenting Ling and Fogg’s journey through the use of day-glow animation created by an art direction team supervised by Gary Freeman. Frankly, I thought it looked slightly cheap. I really could have done without the main characters’ stop in Turkey, where Monique almost became Prince Hapi’s (Arnold Schwarzenegger) seventh wife. It slowed down the story and it lacked any humor, whatsoever. I am a major fan of Jim Broadbent, but I must admit that last scene which featured his rant against Fogg and Queen Victoria on the steps of the Royal Academy of Science started out humorous and eventually became cringe-worthy. Poor man. He deserved better.

Did I like ”AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS”? Actually, I did. I found it surprisingly entertaining, despite its shortcomings. Jackie Chan and Steve Coogan made a rather funny screen team as the resourceful and clever Ling who had to deceive the slightly arrogant and uptight Fogg in order to quickly reach China. Cécile de France turned out to be a delightful addition to Chan and Coogan’s screen chemistry as the coquettish Monique, who added a great deal of spark to Fogg’s life. Granted, I had some complaints about Broadbent’s performance in his last scene. Yet, he otherwise gave a funny performance as the power-hungry and venal Lord Kelvin. It was rare to see him portray an outright villain. And although I found most of Bremmer’s scenes hard to take (I am not that big of a fan of slapstick humor), I must admit that two of his scenes left me in stitches – his attempt to arrest Ling and Fogg in India and his revelations of Lord Kelvin’s actions on the Royal Academy of Science steps.

There were many moments in David N. Titcher, David Benullo, and David Goldstein’s script that I actually enjoyed. One, I really enjoyed the entire sequence in Paris that featured Ling and Fogg’s meeting with Monique and also Ling’s encounter with some of General Fang’s warriors. Not only did it featured some top notch action; humorous performances by Chan, Coogan and de France; and colorful photography by Phil Meheux. Another first-rate sequence featured the globe-trotting travelers’ arrival at Ling’s village in China. The action in this sequence was even better thanks to the fight choreography supervised by Chan and stunt/action coordinator Chung Chi Li. It also had excellent characterization thanks to the screenwriters and the actors, which included Chan, Sammo Hung and Daniel Wu. One particular scene had me laughing. It featured Coogan and the two actors portraying Ling’s parents during a drunken luncheon for the travelers. 

I wish I could say that this version of ”AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS” is the best I have seen. But I would be lying by making such a statement. To be honest, all three versions I have seen are flawed in their own ways. This version is probably more flawed than the others. But . . . I still managed to enjoy myself watching it. The movie can boast some first-rate performances from the cast – especially Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan and Cécile de France. And it also featured some kick-ass action scenes in at least three major sequences. Thankfully, it was not a complete waste.

"AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS" (2004) Photo Gallery

Below is a gallery from the 2004 adaptation of Jules Verne's novel called "AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS". Directed by Frank Coraci, the movie starred Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Cécile de France, Ewan Bremmer and Jim Broadbent:

"AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS" (2004) Photo Gallery

"TROPIC THUNDER" (2008) Review

"TROPIC THUNDER" (2008) Review

While playing a small part in Steven Spielberg’s World War II drama, ”EMPIRE OF THE SUN” (which ironically starred a young Christian Bale), actor/comedian Ben Stiller had come up with the idea of a group of prima donna actors filming a Vietnam War film. Over twenty years later, Stiller’s idea came to fruition in the action comedy movie, ”TROPIC THUNDER”.

Stiller and fellow co-writers, Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen, created a hilarious and very original story that began with a series of fake commercials and movie trailers. The commercials featured Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) promoting the "Booty Sweat" energy drink and "Bust-A-Nut" candy bar. Then the movie continued with a series of movie trailers that included Tugg Speedman's (Stiller) latest film, “Scorcher VI: Global Meltdown”, and another for low-brow comedian Jeff Portnoy's (Jack Black) film, “The Fatties: Fart 2” that spoofs Eddie Murphy's portrayal of multiple characters such as in “Nutty Professor II: The Klumps”. But the final trailer – and the funniest in the bunch – featured Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downy, Jr.) and Tobey Maguire as two gay medieval monks in a parody of films like “Brokeback Mountain” called ”Satan’s Alley”.

But the meat of the story featured the three actors, the rap singer and character actor Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel) as co-stars in ”Tropic Thunder”, a movie adaptation of the memoirs of a disabled Vietnam War veteran named "Four Leaf" Tayback (Nick Nolte). The movie’s production is spiraling out of control and rookie director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) seemed unable to handle the prima donnas or keep the movie on schedule. Cockburn is ordered by studio executive Les Grossman (Tom Cruise) to get the production back on track or risk having it shut down. With inspiration from Tayback, Cockburn drops the spoiled actors into the middle of the jungle, where he installs hidden cameras and special effect explosions rigged by pyrotechnics man Cody (Danny R. McBride) so he can film "guerrilla-style". The actors have only a map and a scene listing to guide them to the helicopter waiting at the end of the jungle. Shortly afterward, the director is blown up by a land mine left by the French, but thanks to his preceding diatribe, only Lazarus realizes his death was real. Even worse, the actors ended up in the middle of the Golden Triangle, the home of the heroin-producing Flaming Dragon gang, led by Tran (Brandon Soo Hoo). And Cody and Tayback end up as prisoners of the Dragons. As for Tran and the Dragons, they believe the actors to be DEA agents.

”TROPIC THUNDER” not only struck me as a parody of the Hollywood movie industry, but also a parody of the lengths human beings go to create illusions about themselves. Tugg Speedman is a failing action star who had earlier attempted a serious role in order to save his career. I can only assume that ”Tropic Thunder” is his second attempt. Yet, he seems incapable of facing the possibility of being a has-been and has to depend upon his agent, Rick "Pecker" Peck (Matthew McConaghey) to maintain his ever deflating ego. Portnoy resorts to drug addiction to deal with the realization that his past success mainly came from his talent from flatulence humor. Lazarus is an Oscar-winning Australian method actor who has a bad habit staying in his role even when the cameras are not rolling. For ”Tropic Thunder”, Lazurus deliberately undertook an operation to change his skin pigmentation in order to portray an African-American sergeant. Naturally, Lazurus’ role produces resentment and anger from Alpa Chino, the rapper trying to break into films. But even Chino is projecting a façade about himself, which his fellow co-stars manage to break through near the end of the film. The only one in the bunch who seemed real is young Sandusky, the drama student who seemed to be the only sane head in the bunch. Yet, despite the fact the film bursting with Hollywood phonies, the biggest phony turned out to Tayback, who had never seen combat during the Vietnam War or was disabled. Even worse, he had spent the war aboard a Coast Guard ship that never left the U.S. He had originally written the book as a tribute to the U.S. servicemen.

I have to say that I felt more than impressed by the cast. Ben Stiller portrayed one of his best roles as Tugg Speedman, a Hollywood veteran struggling to save his career. Yet, his sanity nearly goes down the toilet when Tran and the Dragons force him to replay the scenes of his failed drama, ”Simple Jack”. By the time he is found by his fellow cast members, Speedman had gone by the way of Colonel Kurtz. I must admit that I usually have difficulty finding Jack Black funny, but I must say that Jeff Portnoy was probably one of his better roles – hilarious without being over-the-top. I realize that drug addiction is nothing to laugh about, but his and Sandusky’s attempts to help his deal with withdrawal and reject the temptation of the Dragons’ own heroin were rather funny. Nick Nolte and Danny McBride made an amusing comedy team and I especially enjoyed their interaction when Cody discovers that Tayback is not a Vietnam veteran, but a phony. Matthew McConaghey did one of his best roles as Speedman’s always eager agent. And Tom Cruise must have had a blast portraying the arrogant and overbearing film producer, Les Grossman. He was hilarious. A member of my family was surprised to discover that the balding, foul-mouthed man was actually Cruise.

Most critics have lauded Robert Downey Jr.’s performance as the method actor Lazurus, who spends most of the movie trying to act like an African American. RDJ was hilarious. In fact, I can honestly say that he was the funniest member of the cast. His most hilarious moment came on the heels of an argument between Lazurus and Chino, when he breaks into a litany about the black man’s 400 years of oppression (damn, has it been that long?) that ends with him singing the theme to ”The Jeffersons”. It took me nearly five minutes to recover from my laughter. But Downey’s take on Kirk Lazurus could have ended in disaster without the presence of Brandon T. Jackson. His Chino not only expressed anger at Lazurus’ portrayal of a black man, but provided some pretty sharp zingers at the Australian actor. Another funny scene featured Chino’s insults about Lazurus’ Australian background. What made the scene so humorous were Lazurus’ protests against Chino’s insults, while maintaining his charade as a black man. Weird.

I believe that Ben Stiller should be proud of ”TROPIC THUNDER”. Not only did he give an excellent performance, he also co-wrote and directed what I believe should become a comedy classic. That’s right. A comedy classic. ”TROPIC THUNDER” is one of the best comedies I have seen in years – along with the British action comedy, ”HOT FUZZ”. I also feel that it is Stiller’s best movie since the police parody, ”STARSKY AND HUTCH”. Hell, it is better than the 2003 movie he had co-starred with Owen Wilson. The cast was superb. So was Jon Toll’s photography of the island of Kauai, which stood as both Vietnam and Cambodia. Stiller, Theroux and Cohen had created one hell of a comedy.

"THE OTHER GUYS" (2010) Review

”THE OTHER GUYS” (2010) Review

One could not imagine two such diverse Hollywood talents such as Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg co-starring together in a summer action comedy. I certainly could not imagine such a scenario. And after watching the trailer for the new comedy, ”THE OTHER GUYS”, I had approached the film with a little bit of trepidation.

Directed by Adam McKay, ”THE OTHER GUYS” told the story of two mismatched New York Police detectives – Allen Gamble and Terry Hoitz – who become determined to rise from the police department’s running joke in order to become the city’s top police detective, following the deaths of the city’s top cops, Highsmith and Danson. Standing in their way are a few impediments – namely their previous inability to form a solid detective team, Hoitz’s bad temper, Gamble’s inexperience in the field and previous position as a forensic accountant, another pair of detectives named Martin and Fosse, and a massive lottery scam operated by a multi-billionaire named David Ershon, who owns money to an investor.

In the end, ”THE OTHER GUYS” proved to be a solid comedy written by Chris Henchy and Adam McKay, and directed by McKay. Narrated by Ice-T, the movie provided plenty of comedic moments that actually made me laugh and some surprisingly impressive action sequences. One of the best scenes featured a bombing of an accountant’s office that left both Gamble and Hoitz slightly wounded. It gave Farrell the opportunity to make sarcastic remarks about similar scenes in other Hollywood action films. Another funny scene featured the over-the-top action sequence featuring Highsmith and Danson, which opened the movie. However, my favorite scene featured Hoitz meeting Gamble’s beautiful wife, Dr. Sheila Ramos Gamble for the first time. Mark Wahlberg proved he could be extremely funny, while conveying Hoitz’s barely controlled infatuation with Sheila and disbelief that she would find someone like Gamble desirable. The movie also explored the personalities and background of both Gamble and Hoitz, allowing the audience to understand their personal demons and the situations that led to their partnership and inability to get along. During college, Gamble became a pimp for a group of female college students-turned-prostitutes. Which in turn allowed his personality to become increasingly aggressive, until he found himself arrested for violent behavior. And Hoitz found himself partnered with Gamble after he accidently shot New York Yankee Derek Jeter during the 2003 World Series. An incident that Hoitz has been trying to live down ever since.

Not everything about ”THE OTHER GUYS” ended up smelling roses. The movie was hampered by at least two sequences that threatened to stop the movie’s pacing in its tracks. One sequence featured multi-billionaire Ershon’s attempts to bribe Gamble and Hoitz with expensive tickets to shows and sporting events in order to stop them from investigating his lottery ticket scam. At first, I found the sequence rather funny. But it threatened to stretch for a longer period than necessary and I found myself longing for it to end. Another such sequence featured Gamble’s attempts to send slightly pornographic messages to his wife, Sheila, using her mother as a carrier. Both he and Hoitz found themselves hiding from their fellow cops and a group of mercenaries, while keeping Ershon in their custody in order to use him to prevent the scam from affecting the police retirement fund. At first I found the scene rather funny, with most of the comedy provided by Mama Ramos’ growing discomfort at the pornographic nature of Gamble and Sheila’s messages. But like the bribery sequence, it threatened to go a bridge too far and I found myself inwardly screaming for it to end. One last problem I had with the movie dealt with its last half hour. Quite frankly, I thought ”THE OTHER GUYS” dragged a bit during that half hour. McKay and Henchy could have wrapped up the story a little sooner. And I found the resolution to the case to be rather vague. Almost confusing.

Both Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg proved to be a first-rate comedy team, much to my surprise. I had feared that Wahlberg would find himself overwhelmed by the comedic aggressions of Ferrell, but the actor proved that he could more than hold his own and be just as funny. And Ferrell proved that he did not always have to resort to his usual manic comedy style in order to be funny. Michael Keaton’s talent for comedy seemed to have resurface this year in both the Disney animation movie, ”TOY STORY 3” and in his role as Gamble and Hoitz’s crusty supervisor, Captain Gene Mauch. In fact, I thought he was so funny that I found myself wondering where he had been for so long. Eva Mendes proved to be just as funny as Gamble’s beautiful, yet off-the-wall wife, Sheila. Steve Coogan, along with Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans Jr. provided comedic support in their roles as billionaire David Ershon and the two leads’ rivals, Martin and Fosse. And both Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson gave deliciously over-the-top performances as the city’s two original and not-so-bright top cops, Highsmith and Danson.

I had a few problems with Adam McKay and Chris Henchy’s script for ”THE OTHER GUYS” and all of them featured the pacing. Two of the comedy sequences stretched longer than necessary. And if I must be honest, I have to say the same about the movie’s last half hour. But the movie also featured some top-notch performances by a cast led by Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg. It also had a solid script ably directed by McKay. Overall, ”THE OTHER GUYS” proved to be a pretty damn good movie.

"TROPIC THUNDER" (2008) Photo Gallery

Below are images from the 2008 comedy, "TROPIC THUNDER". Co-written and directed by Stiller, the movie starred him, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr.:



"TROPIC THUNDER" (2008) Photo Gallery

"THE OTHER GUYS" (2010) Photo Gallery

Below are photos from the new action comedy, "THE OTHER GUYS". Directed by Adam McKay, the movie stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg:



"THE OTHER GUYS" (2010) Photo Gallery