Maybe now Guy Ritchie will make another good film
Add comment October 15th, 2008
Apparently, director Guy Ritchie and ’80s singer Madonna are getting a divorce after nearly eight years of marriage. According to reports, the couple is worth more than $500 million, and most of that comes from Madonna’s side of the bank account.
Before they hooked up, Ritchie was best known as the director of such cult hits (but not blockbusters) as LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH. Since their marriage, Ritchie has released 2005’s REVOLVER (which got terrible reviews and died at the box office) this year’s ROCKNROLLA (slightly better reviews, still dead at the B.O) and, of course, the 2002 “comedy” SWEPT AWAY which (a) starred his wife, (b) died at the box office, and (c) got a whopping FIVE PERCENT score over at Rotten Tomatoes. (To put this in perspective, that’s the exact same score the Paris Hilton movie THE HOTTIE & THE NOTTIE received.
So what’s my point? My point is this: Now that Ritchie and Madonna are headed for splitsville, maybe Ritchie can go back to making movies people — and by that I mean me, specifically — want to see. He’s currently filming a Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr., so maybe this’ll be something interesting, something that showcases his distinct talents. I’m not saying LOCK, STOCK and SNATCH are great art, but they are imaginative crime movies that put some invigorating twists on the old genre.Â
Just check out this card game from LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, where our hero realizes he’s made a horrible mistake and The Stooges’ song “I Wanna Be Your Dog” kicks in on the soundtrack. The feeling of the world slipping out from under his feet is palpable, and the music is the perfect accompaniment. It’s one of the best uses of a pop song I’ve ever seen in a movie…
[kml_flashembed movie="http://uk.youtube.com/v/tyASsU1Wg4Y" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
… and I want to see more stuff like that. C’mon, Guy — time to get back to work.Â
