Chain of Fools aka "Little Boy, Big Gun"

Thanks to the VCD, a couple of laptops and a VCR, I have now watched Chain of Fools several times--the last two being Elijah's scenes only, cloned off onto VHS. It's hard to review the movie as a whole--I like it a whole lot better than my friend Karen does, that's for sure. It's a comedy, meant to be a very over-the-top comedy, but mostly it just doesn't work. I have a hard time telling how much of it is just a bad script and how much is the lead actor, Steve Zahn, not being able to carry it off. Certainly Jeff Goldblum manages to make his material work, and Elijah Wood is hysterically funny as Mikey, the 17-year-old hitman who is studying for his GED (and, according to one mob leader, has "balls... like pomegranates"). Elijah seems to be having the time of his life breaking chairs over people's heads, kicking down doors, doing whirling high leg kicks, and running while shooting his gun left handed. I'd love to see him do more characters like this that he can have fun with.

The Witness
Boy, this one was hard to get my hands on, and now I see why. It's less than half an hour in length, with no dialogue. Very odd little piece, featuring Gary Sinise and Elijah as a nazi concentration camp guard and the young internee with the haunting eyes. I'm definitely glad I got it, but it's not easy to watch.