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Don Winslow and Savages - Dave618 - 07-01-2012
Anyone else excited to catch the film adaptation of Don Winslow's Savages? I read both Savages and it's prequel, The Kings of Cool, and thought highly of them both. I'm starting to read other Winslow books, going back to his Neal Carey series.
Savages, for those who don't know, is about Ben and Chon, two Laguna Beach pot growers who've developed some killer herb due to Ben's degree in Botany. They share a common girlfriend/sex partner, O (for Ophelia). The Mexican drug Cartel makes an offer to Ben and Chon--either sell us your primo weed at cost and allow us take over your customers/territory, or you can have your heads chopped off. (The cartel sends them an mpeg of a row of decapitated heads.)
Ben and Chon decide they'd rather just quit then work for the Cartel. Elena, the matron of the Cartel, and someone you most definitely don't want as an enemy, orders O to be kidnapped and held until either Ben and Chon work three years for the Cartel or come up with a flat payment of twenty million dollars.
That's when Ben and Chon decide to rob the Cartel, in disguise, to produce the extra cash needed to buy O's freedom.
The film version stars Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, and Blake Lively as Chon, Ben and O. Salma Hayek, John Travolta and Benicio Del Toro also star as Elena, Dennis, a crooked DEA agent, and Lado, a stone cold killer who works for Elena.
The film opens July 6. It'll have some serious competition with Spidey, but I will definitely be choosing Savages over Spidey, at least as to what film I'll be seeing first. I'm a sucker for intelligent action films and I liked the book quite a lot, so I'll be going to see this with high hopes (no pun intended).
Don Winslow and Savages - Medusa - 07-01-2012
We just saw the trailer last night for this. Looks pretty exciting.
Don Winslow and Savages - Dervish - 07-05-2012
I normally don't like movies like this but for some reason I'm planning on seeing this one. Something about the preview just draws me in.
Don Winslow and Savages - Dave618 - 07-07-2012
I caught Savages last night. I thought it was a highly entertaining and absorbing film. It had a lot of violence and gore, which'll have the action buffs pumping their fists in the air, but it had intelligent and quirky dialogue and characterizations as well for those of us who like a little substance with their style--and the film has a lot of style: the soundtrack and cinematography are ear and eye catching, respectively.
The cast did an admirable job; Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson really did a great job bringing Chon and Ben to life. I hope this film breaks the run of bad luck Kitsch has had recently with his career: John Carter and Battleship were financial flops. But I think, based on some projections I've read, Savages will probably not even break the top three for it's opening weekend, which is disappointing, because there is quality here.
Del Toro was intriguing and sleazy as Lado, and Travolta was very believable as Dennis, a corrupt DEA agent. The character provided some welcome comedic relief although it was initially disconcerting to see what the balding and overweight Travolta looks like without his hairpiece and girdle. Except for Blake Lively, the cast was spot on. I don't think Lively really got the character of O, but that could have been Stone's fault more than hers. The O of the book seems more the "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills" type of Southern California young female, and almost nonplussed by her kidnapping at times, finding it more an inconvienence than anything. Lively is more the Hippie-Earth Mother type, and seems terrified at being kidnapped and held for ransom. Although she does show some defiance later in the film.
There were some minor differences from the book, but that's to be expected with any film adaptation. Most were minor, but the ending will likely enrage and/or bewilder some fans of the book. I thought it was cool, though. Stone sort of lets the audience have a choice of which ending they prefer.
All in all I'd highly recommend the film. I have no problem with the superhero craze at the theaters (although I wish it had happened when I was ten years old, when I would have enjoyed it more. As a comic fan in the early Eighties we had to make due with Adam West reruns and Superfriends) but one of the drawbacks is that these mature, more realistic action films often get overlooked and flop. Which is bad, because then Hollywood will be more likely to pass on these kinds of projects.
Don Winslow and Savages - Dervish - 07-15-2012
I agree with Dave (though I haven't read the book). Though I feared I might be making a mistake in seeing it I quickly got into it and left after the credits glad I did.
I'll add that I enjoyed the divided loyalties of so many characters, from independents, to cartel members, to the DEA agent. The characters (including villains) had more depth to them than what I normally expect from a movie like this.
And having a drug dealer ("Mr. Nothing Personal") being something of an innocent do gooder was refreshing, too, though I felt bad for him as he lost his innocence and remember thinking, "Too bad he can't call Repairman Jack." :o
Don Winslow and Savages - Dave618 - 07-16-2012
Yeah, Ben is my favorite character in the film (and the 2 books). I love the fact he was using large chunks of the money from selling weed to do so much good. It was horrible it had to end that way for him, unless you choose to believe the second ending
lol