Clay Pigeons

Rating:
Summary: Clay Pigeons
Review: I thought this was a very funny dark comedy. Joaquin Phoenix was great in this part and Vince Vaughn was a hilarious psychotic killer. His laugh was both unexpected and fitting for his character. Definitely recommend this video.

Rating:
Summary: a good dark comedy
Review: If you liked Fargo, you'll appreciate this film. Very funny despite the dead bodies that start piling up. Vince Vaughn steals the show as Lester Long, with a creepy laugh sprinkling his unpredictable behavior. You'll feel sorry for Joaquin Phoenix's character Clay for the trouble he gets mixed up in, even though he's far from innocent, which you tend to forget along the way. My 7 year old was drawn out of bed by the sounds of Lester Long's big mouth, and he plopped down on the couch and immediately started laughing at Lester's antics and creepy giggling. The soundtrack was perfect, and you may find yourself with a little Elvis on the brain after you see this...I'll never be able to hear It's Now or Never the same way again....

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Summary: The Tangled Webs We Weave
Review: In a small town out west, a target practice outing with a friend kicks off a chain of bizarre events that lead a man to involvement with murder and an unsolicited alliance with a person of, shall we say, "questionable" character in "Clay Pigeons," directed by David Dobkin. Joaquin Phoenix is Clay Birdwell, a regular guy whose lack of judgment and discretion catches up with him unexpectedly in this dark, maddening tale of morality and fate that is sometimes morose and disturbing, at other times darkly humorous, as it deftly examines the trappings of the tangled webs we humans weave. Clay has become mired in a moral dilemma from which there seems to be no escape, when he meets and is befriended by Lester Long (Vince Vaughn), a trucker passing through town one night. At a local bar, Lester observes that Clay doesn't exactly have a way with women; it gets Lester's attention, which leads to a game of pool and, later on, a casual fishing trip that, like the target practice outing, proves to be a life-altering experience for Clay. Phoenix is perfectly cast as Clay, ably conveying the effects of the dark quagmire into which he is cast by circumstances he is unable to control. His performance enables you to feel him sinking ever deeper as the story moves along, and to empathize with him and experience what he is going through. You realize that he understands his situation, and it becomes a matter of waiting to see if he will make the right decisions, regardless of the inevitable consequences. It creates a tension that makes you want to yell at the screen to tell him what to do. Vaughn is excellent as well as the cowboy trucker with the winning smile, robust laugh and a closet full of dark secrets. There's a menace behind the good-natured facade he puts on that becomes more pronounced as the events unfold. Pretty early on you know what this guy is all about, but somehow it only enhances the anxiety of the whole situation as it becomes a cat-and mouse game (with some unexpected twists) between Clay and Lester. Another notable performance comes from the charismatic Janeane Garofalo, who is surprisingly effective and credible as F.B.I. agent Dale Shelby, who comes to town when things take a turn and begin to heat up. It's a credit to her talent and versatility that she can pull this character off so well. The supporting cast includes Georgina Cates (Amanda), Scott Wilson (Sheriff Mooney), Vince Vieluf (Deputy Barney), and Monica Moench (Kimberly). There are moments in this movie that absolutely make you want to tear your hair out, a credit to the way Dobkin put this project together and delivered it. "Clay Pigeons" is a nail-biter that will keep you going right up to the end (which is terrific); Clay and Lester are characters you're going to remember, and just to make sure there's a brief, inspired reminder at the end of the credits (so stay with it all the way). Relatively overlooked during it's original release, this film should gain new life on video, and deservedly so; this is one you'll be glad you took a look at.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and Chilling...
Review: Janeane Garofalo is so great in this role, as are all the other actors. I would definately recommend this movie. It has a few slow moments but it has a great plot and a wonderful cast that more than make up for them.

Rating:
Summary: Funny and Chilling...
Review: Janeane Garofalo is so great in this role, as are all the other actors. I would definately recommend this movie. It has a few slow moments but it has a great plot and a wonderful cast that more than make up for them.

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Summary: Bloody and disturbing film, with light moments of humor
Review: Janeanne Garofalo is barely given airtime in this movie about a psycho serialkiller and a well-meaning but bumbling fool who ends up taking the rap. The one brief scene that is this films saving grace is of Garofalo and a vibrating bed.

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Summary: Fate goes 'round and 'round
Review: Let's see how the bodies pile up. One is shot. One shoots himself. One is stabbed. No, make that 7 are stabbed. Nope again........a lot more are stabbed. That's right. There is a lot of young and beautiful women being killed. But who killed them? Was it Clay Pigeons (Joaquin Phoenix is superb): stoic, ethical, quiet, and ...? Was is "Lester the Molester" (played so keenly and to utter perfection by Vince Vaugh): charming, lady-magnet, polite, yet deadly? You can ask the dominant, playful, ultra-spunky FBI agent who smokes pot. Or, you can ask the slow-witted and sleepy deputy sheriff who is so very funny in his ineptness. But better yet; why don't you just buy the DVD? This is a perfect movie. It's a thriller/comedy that is set in rural Montana in a town inhabited by the sly, the young, the corrupt, and the innocent. I love this movie and highly recommend it for the acting, the storyline, and the comedy.

Rating:
Summary: When Joaquin was the lesser of two Phoenixes
Review: Maybe I was smoking something when commercials for this flick first came out, but I thought it was marketed as a comedy. This is not a comedy. Unless you want to call it a "black comedy" which basically means violence and murder and sex for no reason is funny or absurd. I didn't like this movie at all. None of the characters are likable and the story is unbelievable. This isn't a sleeper, a cult movie, or an art movie. Its just a bad movie. If you want to see an "exploration of violence" type movie, go watch Kalifornia instead. You have been warned.

Rating:
Summary: OK nothing great
Review: Premise kinda like Strangers on a Train (loosely). I was disappointed...had very high expectations. Vince Vaughn is good, but...I'm really tired of these independent movies that use urban/rural poor folks in amoral violent tales...where murders are presented as entertainment in a detached manner. This seems to be fashionable now. Now I want to see a movie about NYC East Village pretentious filmakers (with masters from NYU) who, by behaving like idiots, become hopelessly enmeshed in a moral quandry that places them in danger. Something Resevoir Dogs like, where they all kill each other in the end. Girls, watch this movie for a scene where Vaugn is wearing nothing except tight underwear.

Rating:
Summary: a freind of lester's anytime
Review: the movie clay pigeons has been getting some horrible reveiws, but i saw it i started to wonder what movie the reveiws were for. this movie is no wheres close to bad.it is EXCELLENT!Vince gives a 100% preformence along with Janeane and Joaquin.everyone should see it!!!to miss it would be a crime.(no pun intended).Lester Long is portryed supurbly, a likeble serial killer that makes you want to like him, that is a hard thing to do and i think Vince kicked a**.Joaquin also is so great at portraying anyone,he gives such an emotional preformance always!Clay Pigeons should have been nominated for an oscar!!!to bad those oscar judges dont see any of the good movies.GREAT SOUNDTRACK!!!!!