Money Train

In “Money Train” (1995), a heist gets derailed before it reaches its destination. So does the plot. It was actually a decent buddy/action flick until the director decided to just destroy a bunch of shit instead of having an actual ending. The movie catches several careers in transition. Wesley Snipes was beginning to cool down. Woody Harrelson was moving from TV to movie star. So was Jennifer Lopez, long before her recording career. Chris Cooper was still a character actor, eight years before his Oscar. And last but not least, Robert Blake was shifting from famous actor to famous psychopath.

Chi-Raq

If you took a Sunday newspaper op-ed on Chicago gang violence and tried to turn it into a feature-length motion picture, you would get something like “Chi-Raq” (2015). I don’t fault Spike Lee for trying. It’s a worthy subject and his idea of using the ancient Greek play “Lyisistrata,” in which women use sex as a weapon – withholding it until their men declare peace – is inspired. But as a movie, it seemed more like an unfinished work. Lee has a bunch of creative ideas he is trying to work out on film, but never develops any kind of narrative flow.

 

The Fan

Take the dude from “Taxi Driver” and make him a middle-aged knife salesman with a passion for the San Francisco Giants and their star player. Now make the plot as implausible as humanly possible. Out of the hundreds of people I know in professional baseball, not a single one likes “The Fan” (1996). And we’re talking about a film with De Niro, Snipes, Barkin, Del Toro, Leguizamo and, um, Kruk. The friction between fans who take things too seriously and players who don’t take things seriously enough should make a great story. Instead, it strikes out. Just like that pun.