Movie reviews

Movie Reviews this week looks at the comedy The Slammin' Salmon.
The Slammin' Salmon is one of the most craziest comedy movies you will see all year, absolutely hilarious from beginning to end.

It stars Michael Duncan Clarke (The Big Mile) as Cleon "Slammin'" Salmon also known as "The Champ", a retired former heavy weight boxing champion, who has opened a restaurant The Slamming Salmond, where customers are waited on by a very competitive crew of waiters.

The fun begins when Cleon tells the restaurant's manager Rich Ferrente played by Kevin Heffernan (Beerfest), that he owes 20,000 dollars to a Yakuza friend, and Rich must make 20,000 dollars tonight from the restaurant's takings or he will be in for a rollicking.

Rich in his panic conveys to the staff that there will be a prize for the waiter that generates the most cash that night, and competition begins amongst the waiters, Nuts played by the hilarious Jay Chandrasekhar (Beerfest, The Dukes of Hazzard), who normally takes his medication or else he turns into his alter-ego Zongo (and you just know somehow he is going to forget to take his medication), there is an absolute classic scene, where Nuts/Zongo is trying to serve a salmon to one of the customers, but in his mind all the customers at that particular table are cats, he thinks he is lovingly holding the salmon while the cats all feed on it, while he asks "what does it taste like"? But in reality he is forcefully shoving the salmond down the throat of an unfortunate customer.

One of the waiters Connor played by Steve Lemme (Beerfest), used to be the main lead on a TV show CFI Hot Lanta (an obvious parody of CSI: Las Vegas and its spin offs), but he lost his job, and embarrassingly has to go back to waiting tables at The Slamming Salmond, but ofcourse his colleagues especially Guy played by Erik Stolhanske (Beerfest), can't wait for tidbits on others stars in the show, such as Morgan Fairchild who makes a guest appearance as herself.

Mia played by the gorgeous April Bowlby (Two and a half men), is in ballerina school, and aims to win the prize as the waiter able to bring in the most cash, but she is about to get involved in an accident that might ruin her chances entirely. The chef Dave played by Paul Soter (Beerfest), has got his socially awkward twin brother Donnie (also played by Paul Soter) a job as a waiter, and he is also thrust into the competition, but is soon corrupted by Connor, who equally has eyes on the prize, as well as Tara, played by the gorgeous Cobie Smulders (The L Word), a medical student, who along with trying to fight for the prize, has to prevent Nuts from turning into Zongo, by making sure he takes his medication.

The Slammin' Salmond has superb acting, with all the cast in the movie having excellent comedy timing especially Michael Duncan Clarke as the ominous boss, and the movie has great cameos, notably from Sendhil Ramamurty (Dr. Suresh in Heroes) as Marlon Spencer who has brought his girlfriend Samara Dubois played by the gorgeous Oliva Munn; to propose to her, but is about to get into a spot of bother with the engagement ring.

Labels: April Bowlby, comedy, Erik Stolhanske, film review, film reviews, films, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Hefferman, Michael Duncan Clarke, Movie Review, Movie Reviews, movies, Paul Soter, Steve Lemme, The Slammin' Salmon

This is the second movie of the Oscar winner director of the Shawshank Redemption, Frank Darabont. Again this is based around a prison.

It stars Tom Hanks as a prison guard Paul Edgecomb, and Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey a mysterious gentle giant of a fellow from the deep south at the turn of the twentieth century.

Unfortunately for John Coffey there has been a murder of two little girls, and when John is found holding on to the two girls and crying, he is assumed the culprit, and he is tried, convicted and sentenced to death by electric chair in the infamous "Green mile" prison.

What some of the people in the town and notably those in the "Green Mile" prison quarters are about to find out, especially the prison guards is that he has the magic of healing, he proves this on a mouse, who has been stomped on by the jail antagonist "Wild Bill" Wharton whose hero is "Wild Bill" Hitchcock and would not tolerate having anyone say a negative word against him, played by Sam Rockwell(Charlie's Angels). John breathes on the mouse until its tail begins to twitch again with life, but there is an after effect, whenever he heals someone or something, he has to release the bad energy out of himself somehow.

It turns out that the prison warden, Warden Moores played by james Cromwell(L.A. Confidential) has a sick wife Melinda played by Patricia Clarkson (I must say watching her recently in Phoebe in Wonderland she looks exactly the same as she did almost ten years ago), and when John's healing ability is discovered, after helping Paul with an embarrassing problem, he proposes that John pays a visit to the Warden's wife, albeit not telling the Warden at all, only the fellow prison guards who all agree to ship him out at night.

Paul believes in his innocence, and in turn so do the other prison guards, Brutus "Brutal" Howell played by the stalwart David Morse(The Negotiator, Twelve Monkeys), Dean Stanton played by Barry Pepper(Saving Private Ryan) who all see John Coffee's behaviour for themselves and realise he cannot hurt a fly, but is there anything he can do to prevent John Coffee from "riding the light" i.e. the electric chair?

This is a lovely science fiction and fantasy movie, with some unforeseen twists, and viewers will not miss the symbolism of John Coffey whose name is an acronym of Jesus Christ.

Labels: Barry Pepper, David Morse, film review, film reviews, films, James Cromwell, Michael Duncan Clarke, Movie Review, Movie Reviews, movies, Patricia Clarkson, Sam Rockwell, The Green Mile, Tom Hanks