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The Green Mile
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
Tom Hanks, David Morse, Michael Clarke Duncan,
Bonnie Hunt |
| MPAA Rated: |
R |
| Released By: |
Castle Rock
Entertainment, Warner
Bros. |
| Web Site: |
www.thegreenmile.com |
| Kiddie Movie: |
Don't even think about bringing them. |
| Date Movie: |
Sure. |
| Gratuitous Sex: |
Some talk. |
| Gratuitous
Violence: |
Very graphic scenes of prisoners being
electrocuted. |
| Action: |
Not really. |
| Laughs: |
Some adult chuckles. |
| Memorable
Scene: |
When John Coffey gets rid of/exhales the
Warden's wives illness. |
| Memorable
Quote: |
One early on, while the old folks are watching
Jerry Springer, and the one dude says "A bunch of
inbred, trailer-trash. All they ever talk about is
fucking." And an exchange between Paul and John:
John - "Was your Mrs. pleased?" to which Paul
replies "Several times." |
| Directed By: |
Frank Darabont |
| Produced By: |
David Valdes, Frank Darabont |
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The Green Mile
A Movie Review |
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I can honestly say that I forgot "The Green Mile" was based
on a work by Stephen King until about mid-movie when it got
a little weird. The trailer showed a prison movie about a
miracle that was to come to the green mile, the holding
block of prisoners waiting for death row, but it is that
Stephen King influence that the trailer doesn't show. Not
that that's a bad thing, but the trailer just misses a lot
of the point about the movie.
Tom Hanks is in another great role as Paul, the head
guard on the green mile. But this time it isn't Hanks who
steals the scenes, it's Michael Clarke Duncan as John
Coffey, the man put on death row for a crime he didn't
commit. As the story opens we see Paul in an old folks home,
with a secret to tell and he finally finds someone to tell
it to. We find out Paul was that head guard on death row,
trying to keep calm in a place where the prisoners know they
are going to die.
It's hard enough for him to deal with the prisoners
sometimes, but it's even harder for him to keep Percy, a
complete asshole of a guard, in line. Enter John Coffey a
really, really, really big dude, convicted of murdering two
little girls, who is afraid of the dark. Paul is pretty sure
John is innocent, but there isn't much he can do about it.
Paul is also suffering from a horrible urinary infection
that for the beginning of the movie will make most men in
the theater squirm just a little every time Paul tries to go
to the bathroom. In any case our story begins to unfold more
as John heals Paul's pain, and Paul really begins to realize
that John is a healer, an honest to God, for real, healer.
He sucks out the illness and breathes it into the
atmosphere, and it is at this point that I remembered the
Stephen King connection. Weird but cool.
Well, as the story plays out we get into the life of the
men on the green mile, some very sorry for the things they
have done, others not sorry at all, and how a mouse brings a
little joy to a bleak place befriending some of the
prisoners (he's a much cooler mouse than Stuart Little).
There is more to this story, a lot more (the movie's almost
three hours although it didn't really seem that long), but
in telling you I'd just be giving away most of the cool
twists and turns. I'll just finish the story wrap up by
saying the movie shows that sometimes having a really cool
gift can really be a nightmare.
"And the Oscar goes to…" "The Green Mile" had an early
buzz as a contender for many of those little statues but I
don't see it happening. Now don't get me wrong, I highly
recommend you see "The Green Mile", but it's not one of
those movie I think the academy people will think is great,
maybe just a little weird. And maybe that's too bad, at
least I hope not for Michael Clarke Duncan, who I thought
was great in "Armageddon," (yea, I liked "Armageddon,"
phhhhffffttt!) but is just phenomenal as the gentle giant in
"The Green Mile." Hanks does another great job, as usual,
and the intertwining of the inmates and the guards is a
great story, but the movie just misses a mark here and
there. But go see it anyway.
Well, let's wrap this up. 4 ½ stars out of 5 for
"The Green Mile." I really enjoyed the movie, it didn't seem
like three hours, and thought Percy got what he deserved.
That's it for this one! I'm The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!! |
