classic film review: excess baggage (1997)
March 28, 2013
This is very cool, it’s a new review of Excess Baggage by Anthony Moretta on Out of the Gutter.
Anthony even made me like the film better and I have a few reasons to have grievances with it, though, you know, it’s my baby even if it’s not quite as pretty a baby as I wanted so I love it no matter what:
CLASSIC FILM REVIEW: EXCESS BAGGAGE (1997):
I don’t know many people who have seen this movie. When mentioned, I get the typical “with Alicia Silverstone?” reply. Yes, and Benicio Del Toro and Christopher Walken. Directed by Marco Brambilla, and written by Max D. Adams, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (with an uncredited re-write by Aaron Sorkin according to IMDB), Excess Baggage came and went with little attention and eventually died on video store shelves, which is where I found it.
You won’t come across many positives when scouring conventional review outlets for this and that may mislead you into thinking it’s not worth a couple of hours of your time. I’m not going to defend my opinion of the movie. I love it. It’s always on my ever-changing list of favorites. That’s only to say that I don’t pay much attention to critics’ reviews. They can sour a film or hype it beyond reasonable expectation, and, either way, taint your own viewing. In fact, 1997 is a good movie year to explore this a bit. That was the year of Titanic, buoyed by a critical love affair and box office spectacle. It won a shitload of awards, too. But 1997 also featured Cop Land, L.A. Confidential, Jackie Brown and Grosse Pointe Blank. All superior films. And those are just what I can remember at the moment. So, I say Titanic can go fuck itself. Now, let’s talk about a real good flick like Excess Baggage.
Here’s the set-up:
Emily (Silverstone) fakes her own kidnapping in order to win the attention of her rich neglectful dad, Alexander (Jack Thompson). Vincent (Del Toro) is a professional high-end car thief, who jacks Emily’s BMW with her bound and gagged in the trunk. Alexander calls in Emily’s caring and shady “Uncle” Ray (Walken doing his best Walken), an unflappable ex-military man who handles Alexander’s dirty work. It’s fair to say that Alexander has made tons of money less than legitimately. Ray is tasked with finding Emily and bringing her home while the cops try their awful best to track her as well. Ray suspects from the go that the kidnapping may not be what it seems and heads out on the accurate assumption that Emily is staging the whole thing.
Vincent and Emily formally meet at his dockside warehouse when she bangs on the trunk to get out. In a panic, he handcuffs her in the bathroom while discussing what to do with his tool of a partner, Greg (Harry Connick, Jr.). They decide it’s best —
indiechat on twitter tonight
March 19, 2013
Join us for Indiechat 3/19 at 9pm EST! Topic: Screenplays
March 19th, 2013 by Kate Tilton
As many of you may know we took over the twitter chat #indiechat. #Indiechat is held every Tuesday at 9pm EST. You can check out our previous chat logs on BiblioCrunch Storify.
This week on #indiechat Kate Tilton (@Froze8) will be will be hosting from the BiblioCrunch twitter account (@BiblioCrunch) with guest Max Adams (@CelluloidBlonde). Max will be giving her tips on screenwriting and answering questions!
Hope to see you there!
About Max Adams:
Max Adams is an award winning screenwriter and author. She has written professionally for Columbia Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, and Tri-Star Pictures. Organizations she has lectured and/or taught at include University of Southern California, Austin Film Festival, Squaw Valley Community of Writers, Film Arts Foundation, New York Film Academy, Gotham Writers, University of Utah, and the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences. She is a former Writers Guild of America, West online screenwriting mentor, is the founder of two international online screenwriting workshops, The Left Door and 5150, is the author of The New Screenwriter’s Survival Guide; Or, Guerrilla Meeting Tactics and Other Acts of War, is a University of Utah associate instructor and is the founder of the The Academy of Film Writing. Her produced feature films include Excess Baggage, The Ladykillers, and One For the Money. You can connect with Max at The Academy of Film Writing or check out her book: The New Screenwriter’s Survival Guide; Or, Guerrilla Meeting Tactics and Other Acts of War. Photo Credit Michael J. Canales.
oh yez fun new book trailer
March 8, 2013
the new screenwriter’s survival guide
March 2, 2013
the new screenwriter’s survival guide
March 2, 2013
