Crimewave

OK it's 'early' Coen Brothers AND Sam Raimi, BUT it's also a classic. A surreal Laurel and Hardy like black comedy horror. One of the few films I can come back to again and again. I love watching it with some one who is watching it for the first time, just to watch their reaction! God bless Brion James and thanks to Paul Smith for making me laugh so much. A ridiculously cool film even though all involved seem to shun it. Bruce Campbell is a total heel and try to spot Huggy Bear as the blind man. There are many clever scenes involving all manner of slapstick, including the unlikely survival of a severe drop from a tenement block ( almost Spiderman ), a carpet pulling extravaganza and more more more. I give it a modest 10

If Abbot and Costello or the Three Stooges were alive in the 80's you'd bet they'd make a film very similar to Crimewave.I wasn't expecting much after reading If Chins could Kill(Bruce Campbell's must read biography) but I still forked over the 10 bucks for a copy of it on Ebay.Yes The plot is bizarre and the humor is hit and miss sometimes but the movie is very enjoyable.Crimewave is fun to look at visually and it looks like the cast had fun with their performances.Paul Smith and Brion James do a lot of physical comedy much like Raimi's idols The stooges,and.Bruce Campbell's Renaldo the Hell has little screen time but every minute of it is terrific.Raimi's direction is probably some of the best of his career,he knew what he wanted and it looks very much like a 40's/50's detective movie/comedy.Crimewave has a slick sense of humor and I really think it was unfairly treated by it's creators,go find a copy it's a must for any Raimi/Canpbell fan...

A smash-and-grab cut-rate showpiece from green-yet-enthusiastic director and co-writer Sam Raimi and his writing partners, brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. Loosely-hinged tale concerns an inmate at Hudsucker Penitentiary who swears he is innocent of murder, telling his fateful story while strapped to the electric chair. Raimi and cinematographer Robert Primes treat the camera like a brand new toy, seeing its possibilities as endless. Their visual satirizing of cheap noirs and late-night thrillers is initially quite impressive; however, without a bigger budget and a sharper sense of narrative, the film simply can't sustain itself. "Crimewave" is full of whiz-bang effects, but the slapstick motifs and vignettes hold no weight--it's just a doodle. Paul L. Smith (who does a funny slow burn) and Louise Lasser have a wonderfully silly extended chase sequence, and there's a funny pay-off after the end-credits. *1/2 from ****

"Crimewave" is a bizarre film, written by the Coen Brothers and directed by Sam Raimi. The plot is just strange... two criminals kill the owners of an alarm company and then begin killing the witnesses to the crime. Done in slapstick comedy style... This film has Sam Raimi written all over it. His crazy zoom camera shots, the inclusion of Bruce Campbell as "the heel"... and the very over-the-top silliness. The only other time the Coens really tread this path was with "The Hudsucker Proxy" (which is, in all fairness, the better film)... and that, too, had Raimi's involvement. I suggest this film is worth seeing. While not the Coens' best, not Raimi's best, it's an interesting little film, bizarre, and a good showcase of early work from those involved.