Rating: 
Summary: What was the point?
Review: I fail to see the point in this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Usual Suspects meets Pulp Fiction
Review: This is a good film with superb performances by Benicio Del Toro and Ryan Phillippe who are two desperate guys looking to make some easy cash. Juliette Lewis plays the pregnant kidnap victim who is held for ransom and James Caan stars as the bagman. James Caan does a terrific job and plays his part well.Benicio and Ryan play down and out criminals who happen to pick the wrong person to mess with and that is when all the trouble starts. There are numerous gun battles and a lot of blood but the scenes are believable. The film reminded me of a cross between Pulp Fiction and Usual Suspects. There was not near as many twists and turns and being compared to those two fine films is a compliment. What kind of made this movie different is that you really do not have a hero or a villian. I found myself not really pulling for anyone to make it or die. I think it was intentionally made that way. Nobody was a really a good guy and nobody was the bad guy. I guess in reality they were all bad guys! There are also many extras on the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: not enough money to be a supurb film
Review: this screenplay was well written, well acted, and for the most part, well directed. but in the 21st century, a viewer can expect more from the cinemetography department. the camera shots were very basic and could have added so much more to the film and its effect on the viewer. they also didn't seem to use any sets at all. most scenes seemed to be shot at random at the closest hotel. the story is very intriguing. if this movie wasn't just like the usual suspects, people would be dissapointed. but, if it were just like the usual suspects, people would be upset with him being the ... of movie making. definitely worth renting first. i hope that this movie will be remade someday, with more money.
Rating: 
Summary: One of year's best!
Review: Aside from Sophia Coppola's directorial debut with The Virgin Suicides - this debut by Chritopher McQuarre is one of the most assured and well realized of the year and bodes well for another stellar talent crossing over from writing to directing (which is no mean feat)! A must have to go next to Reservoir Dogs and The Wild Bunch.
Rating:
Summary: If you're reading this there's hope you'll buy it
Review: First let me say this. I am giving this DVD 4 Stars because of the extras. Commentary is fine, interviews are ok, except they are sprinkled in the biography portion. To see them you read a page about the actor, you hit the arrow button and you hear a soundbyte from them. Then you read more, and see more. Repeat this over and over and you have the gist of it. But where is the Trailer? I mean there are DVDs that have only a trailer like the Rock and Escape From New York, and call it a special feature. Anyway, let's talk about this masterpiece called Way of The Gun. The first scene is a little harsh. You have the two "heros" sitting on a car exchanging nasty words with a couple. There is some violence towards women, and a couple choice words. But I feel it's there to let you know what to expect from this movie, a warning if you will. The opening credits are a nice throwback to the movies of the 50s and 60s as well. Just who is in it and who did what on a black screen with no fancy fonts. Cut to the movie. You have Ryan Phillipe (in his best role) and Benicio Del Toro (another stellar role for this fine actor) as two criminals living by the day and dollar to dollar. While at the spermbank (they get paid big bucks, but in reality you only get like $50.00 and that's after 3 months of work) they hear about a surrogate mother for a rich couple, and they hatch a plan to kidnap her. And hilarity ensues. I don't want to give away too much, but there is one of the slowest carchases ever, and in a good way. Taye Diggs does an awesome follow-up to Go, and James Caan is great as (almost) always. There are people called "bagmen" (the guy that drops the ransom off) in this film that make Member Only almost cool again. Almost. Sharp dialogue and a nice homage to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the two "heros" go by the last names of Butch and Sundance. Also some creative use of barb wire and some nice twists in character. Do yourself a favor and buy this movie, you owe it to yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent action movie
Review: Lets keep this short and sweet. The Way of the Gun rocks, it is the only modern action movie with any brains to show. Benicio Del Toro is fantastic. 'Nuff Said
Rating:
Summary: Great From Start to Finish
Review: I highly recommend this film. Although it's less of a mind game than "The Usual Subjects," the acting and high-impact plot more than make up for it. The action never stops -- literally. Sure, there's a good amount of blood being spilled on the screen, but this is a much more intelligent film than the usual mindless action plots that come out of big-budget Hollywood studios. It's too bad this film didn't grab the attention it deserves and do better at the theatres, but at least you can see it at home. Don't miss this film.
Rating:
Summary: not quite the usual suspects but still a good film
Review: When I first went to see this movie in theatres, I went with shades of The Usual Suspects in my mind, but knowing that there was no way any film could totally live up to that master piece of a film. Well Christopher McQuarrie's The Way of the Gun gave it a shot, and yes, while not living up to Suspects, it still was a damn good film. In a nutshell, it tells the tale of Parker and Longbaugh (Ryan Phillippe and Benicio Del Toro) and a kidnapping caper gone wrong. Along the way they meet a colorful cast of characters including the kidnapped woman's (Juliette Lewis) pair of bodyguards (Nicky Katt and Taye Diggs), an aging Mafia bagman (James Cann), and quite a few more. Now while the story gets a bit confusing and even lacks a little at time, the real center piece of this movie are the clever, gritty, exceptional, etc. performances delivered by Del Toro and Cann (Phillippe is good to) and the wild action sequences, which in my opinion do not try to mimic the style of John Woo, and have a cool style all their own. And remember the characters in this film were purposely made to be SOB's that the watcher doesn't like. Their all scumbags and that makes it all the better. All in all good film. And thankfully, the DVD does the theatrical release justice on the small screen. Picture wise, the film has been given a quality transfer to the DVD format and is presented in anamorphic widescreen which is always a plus. However, on the edges of the left and right side of the screen is a thin, dark bar that slightly decolorizes the image at the very edge of the screen. Now this film was shot with a filter over the lens and I believe that the lines may be intentional, but who knows, maybe it's just my TV. Other then that the picture is great and the Dolby 5.1 sound presentation is awesome. Watching the shoot out near the end of the movie is amazing; hearing shots coming from every single direction with the loudness of an actual gunshot and not the muffled down gun shot sound effects you hear in some movies is great and the screams of whatever character happens to be screaming or yelling just makes you wince, no matter how loud or soft it may be (be sure to watch out for what i like to call the "crotch shot" delieverd by Phillippe's shotgun to a bagman). This DVD isn't exactly packed with special features, but it does give you the theatrical trailer and a few TV spots, all of which are pretty entertaining. Also, you're treated to the usual behind the scenes featurette and some short cast and crew interviews, and the typical cast and crew filmographies. Lastly, there is a script and story board of a deleted sequence, and while a bit awkward to navigate through, is very entertaining because reading McQuarrie's script for this really lets you know how much he likes to make fun of today's film industry, and all in all the scene is pretty entertaining and wild. To think, Christopher Walken could have been in this movie! So in the end, The Way of the Gun is a great, black comedy, action packed, twist and turn filled directorial debut from Suspects penner McQuarrie, and is brought home on a nicely packaged and presented DVD. A taste of things to come...hopefully.
Rating: 
Summary: Ignore the sad, pseudo-intellectual hype
Review: I have to admit that during the course of reading most of these posted reviews, I was afflicted by spasms of uncontrollable laughter. How can any rational being take the half-baked, insultingly cliched, adolescent dialogue of this miserable movie seriously? In light of the writer/director's pedigree (notwithstanding the ill-conceived mess of the "Public Access" script), along with glowing reviews/cover stories proffered in the likes of "Uncut", I geniunely wanted to like this debacle. I really did. Unfortunately, the aforementioned pseudo-philosophical, unintendedly-hilarious dialogue, painfully insipid direction (and by the way, who, except those with WAY too much time on their hands honestly gives a damn if the way the guns are handled is realistic or not? Since everything else in the movie is so blatantly contrived and inauthentic, it seems a particularly moot point), appalling "acting" (with the possible exception of Benicio, who does a decent enough job with the dreck he's given)and pathetically unoriginal and predictable script, precluded my enjoyment of it, oddly enough. Pointless, witless, and ultimately, incredibly boring. Unless you're under the age of 16, or have an IQ of under 50, avoid at all costs.
Rating:
Summary: Very Violent But Very Stylish; Want To See Benicio In More!
Review: I wish I could grade this a 3.5 because I think that is really where it belongs. However, this movie has a lot going for it so I don't want to send viewers away from it. Accordingly, I will err on the side of a 4 star rather than a 3 star review. The film has a very unusual premise. It involves the kidnapping of Lewis by Ryan P and Benicio D because she is carrying the baby of an elderly mobster through artificial insemination. The "heroes" want millions of dollars in ransom and also seem intent on her never surfacing alive after they get the money. Thus, our two "heroes" do not assume any heroic attributes until neigh unto the end of the movie. Actually, this was refreshing because I thought Benicio D was wasted in "Excess Baggage" where he played a criminal with a really good heart who became the romantic lead. When the leads do become heroic, it is more in the manner of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid that blessedly springs to mind. Every character in this film has his or her own agenda, which typically involves some very intricate deception, both of others as well as of one's self. There is one aspect of this film I could never understand though. The doctor who attends Lewis is the young son of the mobster. Why is having a son so important to this mobster when he already has a son? Also, why wouldn't his son's presenting him with a grandchild be as gratifying as his having another son? Most people of the mobster's age are eager for grandchildren, not children. The elderly mobster father and youngish doctor son needed a lot more work in this movie. I would have been a lot more satisfied if that relationship had been well developed. I needed to see this writer-director's, McQuarrie's, "Usual Suspects" twice because it was so convoluted. I think he could help himself a lot by giving us more set-up and dialogue to aid our understanding in his films. James Caan is good in the film but it must be his 1,000 time of playing yet another aspect of Sonny Corleone.
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