seeingbystarlight Five merry miscreants: Charlatan Professor, Goldthwait Higginson Dorr (Tom Hanks), Jack-of-all-trades Garth Pancake (J.K. Simmons), a retired General/Donut Shop owner (Tzi Ma), Custodian Gawain McSam (Marlon Wayans), and dumb but adorable, brute Lump Hudson (Ryan Hurst); have all teamed up to rob Mississippi's hottest Casino, The Bandit Queen.For this purpose, The Professor has rented a room in the house of the unimpeachable, and Godfearing Mrs. Munson (Irma P. Hall), a no nonsense widow of strong moral convictions.Under the pretext of being "devoted and passionate musicians of the early Renaissance", the five thieves gain access to the root cellar, in Malva Munson's house.With Gawain as the inside man at the Casino, they set out to tunnel their way to the counting room of said establishment, and rob it blind (while snowing the nice old lady).Mrs. Munson, however is not quite the fool the thieves take her for.When the men make a disastrous mistake which finally leads to her discovering the truth, the well meaning old widow gives them an ultimatum in an attempt to help save their souls which results in events that are catastrophic, brilliant, and totally hilarious.This is the kind of movie that needs to be WATCHED. A mere description of the plot not nearly doing it justice.The script and direction by the Coen Brothers in impeccable. The entire cast is spectacular (especially Tom Hanks, and Irma P. Hall).The gospel music threaded throughout the story, adds tremendously, and always makes me want to see the movie again.This comedy is realistic, funny, and completely original. A classic, and one of the best ever made.So will the miscreants kill the widow?As Garth Pancake is fond of saying:"It's the easiest thing in the world."That may appear to be the case, but God always has a few aces up His sleeve.Originally, Review #45Posted On: December 22, 2009

poeticanarquica If the Coen Bros. were musicians "Ladykillers" would be like the B-Side of "Big Lebowsky" is funny, crazy, and a great comedy with great moments and remarkable interpretations of Tom Hanks, J.K Simmons and Irma P. Hall. It's also a great spin of the 1955 movie.It's unfair some of the bad reviews that said that this is the worst comedy of the Coen brothers, I think the 1st place still be for "Hail Caesar"Ladykillers works. His characters are sometimes like cartoons floating in dark sense of humor, that is the "copyright" of this two genius.Ladykillers is also a nice tribute of the decent and honest people to the black and white America,and his soundtrack is stunning!

jake-law123 The Coen's attempt to recover from the disaster that was Intolerable Cruelty by jabbing at the 1955 black comedy by Alexander Mackendrick resulted in what I believe to be their worst movie.Tom Hanks plays a charming Southern professor who rents a room from landlady Marva Munson, (Irma P. Hall) who isn't aware of him and his crew's plan to rob a casino underground right under her nose. But they aren't quite aware of just how observant she is.This film is so awkward, which I understand was a main intention, but awkward in an annoying way. Casting Tom Hanks, Tzi Ma, and JK Simmons is one thing, but casting Marlon Wayans in an adaptation of this classic? Cmon! Not even the good actors can save it. J.K. Simmons is completely suppressed and annoying, Tzi Ma just says nothing and eats cigarettes all day, and Tom Hanks in his possible worst performance ever snickers and snorts like a pig five different times, as if it's supposed to be an interesting trait of his.The tone is very off putting. It's a goofy light comedy with cheesy, fake characters, while at the same time having people getting blown up and hung. It's all over the place. Erma Hall as the landlady is very entertaining in her scenes and very commanding in her role, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Unfortunately, we don't get much of her. Instead we get forced humor with repetitive gags. To be fair, I wasn't expecting this to be good, but I wasn't expecting to hate it this much. The moment Marlon Wayans robs a store and gets lifted up by his nostrils, I just wanted to cry. The scene where J.K. Simmons blows himself up while testing an explosive on the wall was actually a pretty fun scene to see the house shake from the outside, until we see he loses nothing but a finger in that huge explosion. I know it's a comedy, but in a film like this, suspension of disbelief doesn't apply.Overall, this film is atrocious, not just for a Coen's film, just in general. I'm glad this is as bad as it gets for them because if it got worse, then I'd question their motives.

dahlswede The 2004 remake of The Ladykillers deserves far more attention than it received from some mainstream media critics. This charming film benefits from excellent writing, beautiful cinematography and first rate acting and directing. The use of themes in the film to contrast good and evil makes this remake worthy fare for church groups, community groups and family viewing (although some characters use coarse language that might offend some viewers, the use of the expletives fits the plot and furthers one of the themes of the film).One of this re-make movie's virtues, absent in the original, revolves around the character of the kind hearted Marva Munson, a devout elderly lady with a will of iron, a hot temper and a heart of gold. She epitomizes the strength that surrounds innocence and purity of spirit. The talented Irma P. Hall portrays this character vibrantly. She deserves acclaim for her memorable performance in the film. Tom Hanks as the conniving, pedantic scholar Professor G. H. Dorr also deserves acclaim for his work in this re-make. Unbelievable circumstances in the plot gain credibility through his impressive characterization of a talented man overpowered by the forces of greed.Marlon Wayans as Gawain MacSam also delivers a stunning, sensitive performance. His talent emerges as the events of the film unfold. Although his character displays some negative qualities, the audience develops affection for him. Portraying a complex character so effectively demonstrates great talent. Performances by others, including J.K. Simmons as Garth Pancake, Tzi Ma as The General and Ryan Hurst as Lump Hudson all deserve very high praise.The film makes excellent use of its locale, with captivating imagery that furthers the symbolism in the script. If this film did not garner Oscar nominations, it really deserved that credit. Watch this gem of a movie if you want to see an entertaining, humorous adventure with substance.