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Reviews
Killing Them Softly (2012)
Killing Me Softly
**** Contains Spoilers****
To start, I really enjoyed the opening and setup of this film. Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) a heroin addict, the character dynamic were a great set up, including the suspenseful robbery of a poker ring ran by Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta). But while they're in the clear, Russell mouths off about the robbery to an associate of Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) who is hired by Driver (Richard Jenkins)who is an emissary for the mafia to take care of Frankie, Russell and the guy who hired them Johnny "Squirrel" Amato (Vincent Curatola) to carry out the robbery.
Sounds like a basic yet interesting set up for a crime film right?
Here's where it looses its momentum and direction:
After being beat up by two local gangsters, Markie is killed by Jackie in a drive by shooting. Jackie then decides that he can't kill Frankie or Russell so they hire a known outside hit-man Mickey Fallon (James Gandolfini)to do the job. Jackie meets Mickey at a restaurant, which is just one big scene of incoherent rambling about the characters wife and how he was in prison. Another scene later they're in his hotel room, after he slept with a hooker he goes on another pointless rant. I think in both scenes Brad Pitt only had a few lines. Eventually Jackie becomes frustrated and carries out the hits himself, while he has Mickie arrested. Mickie's character was pointless to the whole film. Anyways, Russell winds up getting arrested at a bus stop where he brilliantly stores his heroin in a locker. We never see the character again. Jackie confronts Frankie at a bar, which was a brilliant scene. He convinces Frankie the option of helping him track down Johnny "Squirrel" Amato and gives him the option of killing Johnny instead of him. The two ride in Frankie's car. Frankie waits as he witnesses Jackie kill Johnny in a parking lot at an apartment complex. They drive back to a parking garage where Jackie kills Frankie. The film ends with The Driver at the bar watching Obama's victory speech on television. Jackie goes on a rant how he's not getting paid enough, then rants about Thomas Jefferson. The movie ends.....
I forgot to mention, that this film shows ads and plays audio from John McCains speeches and clips of Obama throughout the entire film, it was overkill to let the audience know it's 2008. I understand the movie had this undertone of the economy but hell... it was distracting in the films message.
Overall this film had a great start but lost it's momentum thanks to Mickey's pointless character and incoherent rants, political propaganda in the backdrop and a dissatisfying ending.
Star Quest: The Odyssey (2009)
If ratings went into the negatives I'd give it a 10
Space Quest, the final frontier of bad films. I wouldn't even consider this a "B" movie, it'd be a "C" movie for crap. The acting is horrible and the Captain Tanner looks like an emotionless action figure. I mean of all the science fiction films this one has stars that MOVE with the ship, even though they're billions of light years away this gives the illusion that it's snowing in space. Also the ship lags like hell whoever did the CGI doesn't know how to RENDER properly. The "cyborgs" in this look like they just took a few computer parts and slapped it on their bodies. The fight scenes look like a rock'em sock'em robots match. I don't get how in the future a "hyperdrive" can be broken due to a modern washer... though I admit the bridge of the ship looks pretty decent. The intercoms sound like they're talking out of a toilet. I understand this is a low budget indie film that got distribution but it doesn't justify the fact that it sucks. If you pay money to see this or not it is a waist of 90 minutes of your life regardless....