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by Jay

After a brief absence from the site, I decided it was time to get back into the movie reviewing gig by reviewing the new Harrison Ford/Josh Hartnett flick HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE. I figured: 1) Its a movie starring the man responsible for providing 2 of my childhood heroes. 2) Its a movie starring quite possibly the best actor of his generation (again, referring to Ford). And finally, 3) After a string of ass roles, said actor has to have a hit on his hands.

I absolutely, positively revel in Harrison Fords work. He has brought to life so many wonderful charaters in sci-fi, drama, and adventure that his career highlights rank unbelievably high in my personal rankings of "must see" movies. He is, in effect, my absolute favorite actor. I will see anything he does. In recent years, it has been painful to be a Harrison Ford fan. This movie has not ended that run, I'm afraid.

HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE tries to re-invent the "cop buddy" movie in a way that I didn't even think Hollywood would try to change it. Rather than just having the movie take place in Hollywood and leaving it at that, it injects every cliche that we have ingrained in our brain about Tinseltown into a cop movie. The town's cliches become a character in the form of very thin jokes.

Ford plays Joe Gavilan, a three time divorcee who dabbles in real estate transactions while seeking out the bad guys. He's a good cop whose made some mistakes financially and has all his money tied up in a real estate deal that he cannot get rid of. He has been partnered up with Hartnetts character, KC Calden, for four months and is none too happy about it considering the fact that his partner can't hit center mass on a target to save his life (which, of course, it eventually needs to). That, coupled with the fact that Calden wants to be an actor instead of a cop truly grates on Gavilans nerves. They are assigned to investigate the murder of an up and coming rap group that was slain after a performance at a dance club. Now, thats the MAIN STORY, the one they should have focussed on. The one that may have made a good picture.
Instead, we are torn in ten other friggin directions while trying to figure out what happened to the group. Gavilans financial situation, Gavilans real estate situation, Gavilans divorce situation, Gavilan being investigated by internal affairs, Gavilan boning the lead investigator in his internal affairs situations girlfriend (that was difficult to type), Caldens women, Caldens yoga practices, Calden trying to be an actor, Calden trying to nail his lines for a performance later in the week, Calden trying to get over the loss of his father who was a cop killed in the line of duty under suspicious circumstances. --This movie goes so many places in such a boring manner that by the end of the flick you have A.D.D.

The script is awful. At the time Ford agreed to do the flick, there wasn't even a script completed. That should have been a hint and a half for Harrison that this was a big no-no. The chemistry between Ford and Hartnett is very thin. There is no witty repartee, there is no forming of a lasting bond, there is no "I am really glad to have you as a partner" moment. Hell, even at the end, the characters are literally going off in different directions to apprehend bad guys. Weak, weak, weak.

I do have to say, the last twenty minutes of the film are tolerable. The climax elicits the chuckles that the writers wanted to get throughout the film. However, by the time you get there, you've already checked the watch and, if you had one handy, popped the cyanide pill.

I wish I could have written a stellar review for my hero. I wish I could tell you that you'd laugh your ass off if you saw this movie. All I can say to you is go see MATRIX: RELOADED again--at least that movie confuses you in an enjoyable way. This will confuse you in a way that you shouldn't have to pay for. In addition, remember that there is another Indy Jones flick on the horizon, and maybe, if the stars align correctly, I'll have my favorite actor back at that point in time. As it stands, the last few years, he has been a shadow of his former self. And it has been painful to watch, believe me, I have seen all there has been to see.

IT'LL MAKE A KILLING ON DVD

by: Shawn

Am I the only one that thinks that Harrison Ford has been in a slump for, oh about a decade? Sure, he's gotten lucky here and there (What Lies Beneath, I'm looking at YOU) but he seems to be caught up in generic Hollywood Blockbuster land. Well, what a great way to get out of said slump by making fun of it. Hollywood Homicide is in no way a great film, not even a really good one. But at least for once Ford looks like he's having some fun now that he's taking jabs at himself.

On the surface, this flick is your average buddy cop flick. An old pro is teamed up with a young upstart. When someone starts killing off the hottest up-and-coming rap artists, hijinks ensue. Josh Hartnett does a pretty good job at the sidekick role he's given. Granted, the screenplay has trouble deciding on who to give the focus to (the script was likely focused on Hartnett, but when Ford signed on rewrites were made to give him a bigger role), and entire subplots are either forgotten or quickly written off but again both leads seem to be having fun. That counts for a lot here, because the film doesn't have much else going for it.

Fords' hard luck case cop/real estate agent does steal the film (I would have liked a film just about this character a whole lot more). He spends the film juggling the homicide case, a real estate deal, and a new girlfriend (Lena Olin) who for once (okay, twice but as I said What Lies Beneath is a special case) is age appropriate for Ford. Of course the girlfriend is a psychic and ends up helping them solve the case, but with all the goofiness that's going on the whole "murder case" thing takes a distant third place in the plot.

Overall, Hollywood Homicide is entertaining for what it is. It's a mindless, goofy summer film that I'm sure will find a better following on video than it did in the theaters. Most of all, it's nice to see some of the mischevious fun that made Harrison Ford a star in the first place. Let's just hope he remembers it for his next film.