Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Apparently this film was made because a bunch of musicians realised that it would be more profitable to make a film than to hold a big tour. I'm not a fan of any of the artists in this film; but to be honest, I'd rather them have done the show - because at least then I wouldn't have had to suffer it! Quite what this film is supposed to be is anyone's guess - the humour isn't funny, and the Leone spoofs aren't very well worked. The violence isn't shocking and the story isn't interesting - so what's the point? It's a shame really because the idea of a bunch of punks getting together and making a film has 'cult' written all over it, but unfortunately this lot couldn't deliver something worthy of the name. There's barely anything good I can say about this movie - not even the desert setting looks nice. There's a small role for Dennis Hopper, which is always nice; but the rest of the performers are all pretty dire. It would seem that the cast and crew thought that their mere presence would lead to a good film so the story isn't important. They were wrong, Straight to Hell is a sprawling, boring mess of a film and it's one that I don't recommend sitting through.

This apparently (I say apparently because I honestly have no idea why this film was released, let alone made) was an attempt at a spoof of spaghetti westerns, something like Blazing Saddles, albeit with no discernible gags and no discernible plot. It looks like something you would get if you took a bunch of indie actors and post-punk musicians to a holiday resort, got them drunk, then asked them to improvise a series of disconnected sketches based around spaghetti westerns with "they're all addicted to coffee, ha ha ha" as the only direction given. Which for all I know, is probably exactly what happened. The cast at least look like they had a good time of the "Look at me I'm in a film" ilk. It is very much like watching amateur video of a private party, and about as much fun for the audience. I am a huge fan of the Clash and the Pogues and Jim Jarmusch, and this is truly an amazing cast, but a cast does not make a movie. I must admit, though, that it was fascinating to see Courtney Love of all people being plucked from obscurity years before she became famous and put into a leading role in this film, despite looking even more hideous in her youth than in middle age. Although she was even less talented an actress than she was a musician or stripper, for me the only laugh in this chode of a film came unintentionally, when one of the characters says, referring to Courtney Love: "You have a beautiful wife." The cast, and the excellent Pogues theme song "Rake at the Gates of Hell" were the only things I enjoyed about this movie, and are the only reason I'm not giving this a minimum score. The one good thing about this movie's release is that it killed the talentless Alex Cox's directorial career.

Alex Cox has brought the world a punk opus to fruition. This film truly exemplifies Cox's love for punk rock, D.I.Y. attitude and his love of the lens. Irreverent and loving, this film slam dances between obvious farce, and poetry. Equally a ridiculous and sincere ode to Sergio Leone westerns and "fuck you if you don't like it" story lines (inept bank robbers hiding out in an enclave of coffee addicted banditos with English accents in Almeria, Spain) this amazing film is hard to absorb for those that might want a linear storyline. Rated R for violence, (Peckinpaw would be proud) and language (there is actually no "obscene" language whatsoever, which shows you how much the ratings board actually watched this film), this satirical work of art needs to be viewed by any discerning film Normand. The cameos alone will give any indie film geek goosebumps!

This is the only movie that accurately portrays people with a coffee obsession. This art-house, spaghetti western is vivid and almost completely incomprehensible. (Why would a group of violent cowboys stop from shooting at the intruders? Because the coffee is ready! Thick, rich, beautiful coffee - you can almost smell it as they are pouring it.) If you liked Mystery Train, and who didn't, this film is definitely worth watching if only to have someone else to drink coffee with...