Monday, April 21, 2008

88 Minutes. Again?

88 Minutes

I think titles like '88 Minutes' are a bad thing. They're too literal, too like the on-the-nose titles from the 80s and 90s like, say, 'Total Force', or 'Blunt Instrument' (I made those up off the top of my head but they're actual titles from the 80s and 90s, turns out).

Why does Al Pacino always look like he needs a good night's sleep? Here's Stephanie Zacharek's review of '88 Minutes'. She says of Pacino: He wanders through '88 Minutes' in a baggy suit that looks slept-in, but he's the only thing in it that's remotely awake. Wait a minute. He's the only thing in the movie that looks remotely awake or the only thing in his baggy suit that looks...nevermind. But, really, to me he looks like he needs a week's worth of sleep -- in every movie he does these days.

I'd look sleepy too, I guess. It's just so been there, done that. If the plot is going to be such a retread, recommend a more direct, spelled-out title. How about 'A Movie Where The Protagonist (that's the main character) Finds Out He Has Just Eight-Eight (88) Minutes To Live But Outsmarts The Antagonist (that's the bad guy) And After Some Gunplay And Hot Sex With Really Young Women Lives To See The Credits Role'. That's better than '88 Minutes', don't you think.


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