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Movies / On DVD / Ladykillers
Ladykillers

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Ladykillers (2004)

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Reviews Counted:182

Fresh:100

Rotten:82

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: Hanks' performance in the lead role is inspired, but this is a relatively minor offering from the Coen brothers.

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: It is always difficult to try to recreate a classic movie, so Joel and Ethan Coen took the premise of Alexander Mackendrick's beloved 1955 Ealing Studio caper comedy, THE LADYKILLERS, as the basis... It is always difficult to try to recreate a classic movie, so Joel and Ethan Coen took the premise of Alexander Mackendrick's beloved 1955 Ealing Studio caper comedy, THE LADYKILLERS, as the basis for coming up with their own entertaining and bizarre remake. Tom Hanks stars as Goldthwait Higginson Dorr, Ph.D., a would-be professor who talks his way into the root cellar of Mrs. Munson (Irma P. Hall), where he and his supposed band will practice their "Renaissance music." But they are actually plotting to tunnel through to steal a mint from a riverboat casino. The motley crew of incompetent criminals includes Marlon Wayans as Gawain MacSam, a hip-hoppity thug pretending to be a janitor; J.K. Simmons as movie prop man and demolition "expert" Garth Pancake, who has problems with intestinal bowel syndrome; Tzi Ma as the General, a Vietnamese tunnel rat with a Hitler mustache; and Ryan Hurst as a pathetically dumb football wannabe named Lump. Just when they think all is going well, they run into a curious Mrs. Munson, who smells something funny. The film includes several exhilarating Gospel scenes set in southern churches, and lots of riotous site gags. The Coen brothers have done it yet again. [More]

Starring: Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans, J.K. Simmons

Starring: Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans, J.K. Simmons, Tzi Ma, Ryan Hurst, Diane Delano, George Wallace, Stephen Root

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Screenwriter: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Producer: Barry Josephson, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Tom Jacobson, Barry Sonnenfeld
Composer: Carter Burwell, T-Bone Burnett
Studio: Touchstone Pictures

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Reviews for Ladykillers

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

It is neither terrible nor terrific, just... unnecessary.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/22/04
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Even a less-than-spec Coen movie is a good deal better than the aimless, guileless pap cranked out by mere mortals.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
07/03/04
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Coens have found their stride again.

Full Review Source: FilmFocus | comment Comment
07/20/04
Joe Utichi
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
03/06/05
Independent

The Coens play gleefully with death--accidental, deliberate, fatalistic--while catching us off-guard with startlingly funny touches when we least expect them.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
04/18/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

'Frankly, this doesn't have that Coen magic.'

Full Review Source: Teletext | comment Comment
05/19/04
Annette Dasey
Annette Dasey
Teletext

While being far from the Coens' finest hour, it remains more intelligent and ambitious than most of what currently passes for Hollywood mainstream comedy.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Enjoyable Coen caper, enlivened by a strong comic performance by Tom Hanks.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
07/03/04
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

One of the most bizarre performances of Tom Hanks' long and illustrious career.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
03/26/04
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

When the Coen brothers are capable of making brilliant stuff like Fargo, should they really be spending their time making pictures like The Ladykillers?

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
03/31/04
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

A mirthful and twisted meditation on crime that’s reminiscent in theme to the Coen’s Fargo and Blood Simple.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
03/28/04
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

A comedic tidal wave that gains momentum and mass as it goes along, engulfing contrived story twists and thin characters in an all-out rush.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
03/26/04
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Instead of feeling cleverly obtuse, the movie ... seems desperately wacky.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
03/25/04
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

... second-tier Coen brothers ... technically excellent and never less than entertaining, it doesn't arrest and stun the way Miller's Crossing or Fargo or Raising Arizona did.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/27/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Hey, guys, let's go back to independent movies.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
03/25/04
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The talented but increasingly eccentric Coen Brothers always walk a tightrope between the brilliantly offbeat and movies that are swallowed up by their idiosyncratic mindset

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
04/08/04
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

It's the Coens being flashy instead of truly funny, and much of the problem stems from Hanks' bizarrely over-the-top performance.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/28/04
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Already as dark as London soot, the comedy hardly needed work to bring it in line with the Coen brothers' sensibility, but the remake moves to a beat of its own, one unexpectedly in sync with the gospel music dominating its soundtrack.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
03/25/04
Keith Phipps
Keith Phipps
AV Club

The film offers several big laughs, some of which are so outrageous, audiences will likely be talking about them after the show.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
07/08/04
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
all

Latest News for Ladykillers

October 17, 2008: UK Critics Consensus: Is Burn After Reading A Coens Classic? Does Eagle Eye Have Enough Action, Man?
In this week's roster of UK cinema releases we have the latest addition to the Coen canon in the CIA comedy caper, Burn After Reading, Shia LeBeouf stakes a further claim to the... More...

November 07, 2007: Total Recall: Welcome to Coen Brothers Country
Before expanding wide on November 21, No Country for Old Men (90 percent) will play in select cities this Friday riding a wave of huge expectations. The Cormac McCarthy-based... More...

March 16, 2007: "Ocean's 13" Set to Debut at Cannes
If you wanted to be one of the first to see the year's biggest confluence of star power on a single screen, you'd better start shopping for a ticket to France -- Variety reports... More...

February 02, 2006: Coens Aim to Tackle New "Country"
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joel & Ethan Coen's next film will be an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men." Word is that Tommy Lee... More...

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