DVD ROUNDUP
Once Upon a Time In Mexico

I have enjoyed Robert Rodriguez' Mariachi films on the level upon which (I think) they were intended-fun action films that aren't meant to be taken too seriously. While the success of his first film, the microbudgeted El Mariachi, seemed to point to greater things to come, Rodriguez seems content to keep producing the same type of movie with bigger name stars and budgets. All the movies are variations on a theme familiar for anyone with even a nodding acquaintance with spaghetti westerns- a laconic musician (Antonio Banderas) drifts into a town squirming under the thumb of an evil villain. Events inevitably draw the mariachi into the conflict and, while he'd prefer a peaceful path, when the chips are down he proves to be a pistolero of damn near superhuman ability. Mucho bloodshed ensues. Rodriguez sticks to the same story here, but increases the scope a bit- with mixed results. On the one hand, it's great that he gives us a bounty of other actors to watch: Ruben Blades, Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, and especially Johnny Depp as an amoral CIA operative are all much more fun to watch than Banderas, whose stoic killer routine doesn't have the presence of, say, Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name. On the other hand, he can't spend enough time with these characters (with the exception of Depp's Agent Sands) to make the audience feel much of anything for them. Salma Hayak, for instance, is relegated to a too-brief cameo- in flashback, no less. The plot moves along quickly; one gets the impression that it's primarily sleight-of-hand designed to keep us from thinking too closely about its holes and inconsistencies.

Many critics have questioned whether Rodriguez' famously DIY ethic has spread him too thin to make a truly great film. Perhaps this is true, but though OUATIM was (as the credits say) "shot, chopped, and scored" by Rodriguez, I don't think these areas are the problem. The film looks about as good as anything I've seen that was shot on DV (with a couple of exceptions where bright explosions reveal some pixellation); the editing is crisp and the fight scenes comprehensible and exciting; and the music is quite good, setting the tone perfectly. I think Rodriguez could use some help in the writing department-he needs to find some ways of freshening up the genre. Homage is fine, but three versions of basically the same movie gets tiring, especially when the first one wasn't really anything new storywise. The dialogue could similarly use a little punching-up; there are some great one-liners in the film, but most seem to be improvised by Depp, who here bolsters his bid for the title of Best American Actor Working in Film Today with another magnetic performance. El Mariachi is still my favorite of the series; but if you're looking for a fun shoot-'em-up that doesn't tax your brain too much, you could do worse than OUATIM.

The DVD release truly shines in the extras department, however. The single disc is packed with so many extras I haven't yet been able to watch them all. There's a commentary track, three 'making-of' featurettes, four deleted scenes (two of which, in my opinion, would have improved the film significantly) with optional commentary, an "inside Troublemaker Studios" feature detailing Rodriguez' company, the informative "Ten Minute Flick School" feature, in which Rodriguez shares some of the insights he's learned by making films himself, and an accompanying "Ten Minute Cooking School" featurette, in which he shows how to make the dish that Depp's character craves throughout the movie. This might at first seem like a strange addition, but as Rodriguez says, "Eating is something you're going to have to do all your life; you might as well learn how to cook well...not knowing how to cook is like not knowing how to fuck." Amen, brother.

Film: 3.5 (out of 5)
Look/Sound: 4.5
Extras: 5


The Italian Job (1969)

After watching last year's mildly entertaining remake I finally got around to checking out the original, expecting it to be superior in virtually every way to the slick Hollywood update. Surprise, the original doesn't hold up that well in most respects. The self-consciously wacky "Swinging London"-era humor doesn't really play all that well, the machinations of the heist (the essential ingredient of any heist flick) are given short shrift, and the supporting cast isn't developed at all (though Noel Coward scores as a cranky criminal mastermind who finances the operation from jail). What's more, there are weird notes of car fetishism (I defy anyone to find a movie with more shots of cars tumbling off mountains) and outdated nationalism (look at the resourceful Brits make fools of the stupid Italians!) that leave a sour taste. And the literal cliffhanger of an ending is just plain annoying (accompanied by an equally annoying theme song in the English "music-hall" style popular in the sixties).

What does the film do right? Well, the famous Mini-Cooper chase through the gridlocked streets of Turin is as good as advertised. Michael Caine looks good in his swingin' suits, and is likable as ladies' man and ambitious thief Charlie Croker (if Mark Wahlberg had but a fraction of Caine's charisma, the remake would have been infinitely better). Coward's absurdly nationalistic Mr. Bridger. Most of all, this version has a quirkiness that's completely absent from F. Gary Gray's Hollywoodized remake. Witness Benny Hill's turn as a computer hacker with a fetish for large women. Bizarre as the character is, there's nothing that interesting in the remake.

The picture and sound are great, and there are a fair amount of extras for an older film that doesn't exactly rate the deluxe treatment. Check it out if you're a car-chase completist or a big fan of swinging-London-type films. Want to see Caine as a '60's British criminal badass in a good movie? Rent the original Get Carter (but, unlike The Italian Job, stay far, far away from the remake!)

Film: 2 (out of 5)
Look/Sound: 4
Extras: 3.5