It's odd that This film has all the Coen elements, comedy and mystique, including soundtrack and stellar set design - all the usual values of a masterpiece... But this one feels vacuous here and there, perhaps because it's so close to being a period piece but isn't. And I cherish Coen period pieces.Hank's work is great here, great, as is Wayan's, but something is just off.. I really don't see Tom Hanks as a good fit to the Coen bullpen, nor Simmons really.Look, even a weaker Coen Bros. film is better than most other's strongest efforts. It's good for a re-make.

The Ladykillers (2004): Dir: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen / Cast: Tom Hanks, Irma P. Hall, Marlon Wayans, J.K. Simmons, Tzi Ma: One of the best of the Coen Brothers, which proves that even they can create a masterful remake. It is a hilarious caper about a group of thieves who charm an elderly woman as gospel musicians while using her cellar as a base for their operation to tunnel to a casino. It contains the skill of Joel and Ethan Coen whose credits include such impressive films as Blood Simple and The Big Lebowski. Their film is a remake of the 1955 classic starring Alec Guinness but thankfully the Coens use style and witty writing to pull off one of the best remakes to come. Tom Hanks leads the heist sporting a funny accent and a charm that delights Irma P. Hall who allows them to shelter there. Marlon Wayans works as a janitor inside the casino and is the inside guy. J.K. Simmons plays an explosive expert who has a medical bowel condition. Tzi Ma plays a character called the General, and Ryan Hurst plays an unintelligent football player of few words. This is a great collaboration of actors playing thieves hindered by their victim's unconditional devotion to God. It shows the consequences of crime with a peculiar reference to God in that Hall is a Christian woman who believes that the wayward direction is headed right where the thieves dump the body bags. Score: 10 / 10

Tom Hanks took on a role left untouchable by Alec Guiness. (A quote from a place I can no longer find.) If you haven't seen the 1955 version, please do. For this to have been taken on by the Coen brothers too..... My goodness, the hubris. 1955 has Alec Guiness, Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Frankie Howerd, Jack Warner and Kenneth Connor. How on earth anyone is giving the 2004 version 6.1 stars is just nuts. Please, please, please, please, watch the 1955 original. And for anyone else out there with similar plans, only broach the idea of a remake if you can actually make it better. If you can't, don't. And as for Hanks as a 'great actor' which I've repeatedly seen written, watch 'Big' a few times and then try telling me that. OK, that's unfair, but seriously this remake is just horrible and awful and dreadful.

The Coen brothers have had an extraordinary career carving out their own niche beyond Hollywood's borders in Indieville. Gems like "Fargo" and "The Big Lebowski" remain eminently watchable but not what you'd call mainstream. So a remake of a much-loved Ealing comedy might have seemed like a safe bet to the brothers but alas, the gentle charm and innocence of the original has been lost in a whirlwind of cartoony performances and a barrage of four-letter words.Sleazy oddball charmer G.H. Dorr (Tom Hanks) answers the advertisement for a room to let at the home of Southern widower Marva Munson (Irma P Hall). He explains that he and his fellow musicians need somewhere quiet to practise and Marva's basement provides him with the ideal location. But Dorr's interests lie not with the arts but with the cash deposits stored in a nearby underground vault by a floating casino. Dorr and his various accomplices (Marlon Wayans, J K Simmons, Tzi Ma and Ryan Hurst) begin tunnelling their way to ill-gotten wealth but when their scheme is discovered by Marva, they soon decide that one of them has to silence the old lady for good...Despite the wave of criticism, there is much to like about "The Ladykillers". The gospel music provides a real boost, infusing the picture with an energy that the plot itself lacks. Performances are also top-draw - Hanks is certainly memorable as Dorr but he is upstaged by genuinely funny turns by Simmons and Wayans, who I normally can't stand. Hall, for my money, is the film's MVP as she provides a warm, homely centre for the movie but one with a steely exterior when the situation demands it - much like Katie Johnson did in the original. There are also several laugh-out-loud moments of subtle comedy that work, rather than the usual attempts of going overboard by Hollywood films. However, there are problems - pacing is dreadfully slow and the film's reluctance to differ too much from the original merely highlights a lack of imagination from the Coens. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but what benefit is there in remaking a perfectly good film for modern movie-goers? Did it do Gus Van Sant any good remaking "Psycho"? There are other flaws as well. While Wayans is much funnier than normal, his constant swearing jars wildly with the old-world charm of the film in general and he simply doesn't fit in. There is also a sense that the film thinks its funnier than it actually is - Hanks' performance is good but too much for the role, the opposite of Alec Guinness' performance which was understated and much funnier. The whole film is filled with clichéd characters like the choir master who looks like a young Little Richard and farcical scenarios that simply wouldn't happen. In short, none of it feels real which was what made "Fargo" so good in the first place. However, I'm not going to mark a film down just because it is a remake. There are laughs to be had here, although fans of the Coens will be disappointed with "The Ladykillers". But would I watch it again or hunt down the DVD like I did with the 1955 version? Nope.