Rating: 
Summary: A Movie Not to Be Knocked Around
Review: KNOCKAROUND GUYS is a decent gangster flick that could have been an episode of the SOPRANOS. What makes the film work is the cast and again, Vin Diesel shows he has screen presence. Also, sometimes just being a supporting character or being part of an ensemble is better than being the headliner. This is a pretty good ensemble with Barry Pepper (61*), Seth Green (IDLE HANDS),Vin Diesel (XXX), Dennis Hopper (SPEED), and John Malchovich (BEING JOHN MALCHOVICH). The plot is generic, but again the performances and characters bring the script and story up a notch. A Brooklyn gangster's, (Benny Demaret-Hopper) son Matty, (Pepper) wants to prove that he is up to be being more involved with the family business and is given an assignment to pick up a satchel of cash in Spokane Washington. He recruits his friend (Green), a pilot, to do the pick up with his airplane, but along the way the money ends up in a Montana hick town during a routine fueling stopover. First in the hands of two stoner baggage handlers, then in the hands of a small town corrupt Sheriff and his deputy. Matty then recruits the rest of his friends to retreive it, but it's not that easy because the Sheriff plays hardball. Matty then must call in the artillery, his gangster Uncle Teddy (Malchovich) and his henchmen. Then a a small twist happens when they come into the picture. The performances are restrained and not too over the top, but the Montana characters are stereotypical. The film moves along fine with an even pace and there's a great sequence with Matty and his three friends. They are trying to figure out how to get the money back as they are stuck in the small Montana town. Diesel's character states thay must find the toughest guy in town, beat the hell out of him, and then he'll pass along the information to whoever has their cash. Overall, an entertaining film saved by casting especailly the supporting role of Vin Diesel and a nice performance by the versatile Barry Pepper.
Rating:
Summary: Another Gangster Film That Shows Great Ensemble Cast
Review: Though Vin Diesel would (naturally) attract the attention of the most viewers, he is just one of the great ensemble cast in this decent gangster film. The director team Brian Koppelman/David Levien is also the writer duo of Matt Damon's "Rounders." Like "Rounders," "Knockaround Guys" is atmospheric, and greatly helped by the uniformly good performance from the players though it ultimately goes on the beaten road. The film starts just like an average gangster film; a boy Matty is tested by older member of the family Teddy, who forces the little kid to kill a guy. Then, cue to the present day, in which we see the grown-up Matty Demaret (Barry Pepper). He wants a job, but constantly refused because of his father (Dennis Hopper), the famous boss of the gangsters. To prove that he deserves some respect from his father, Matty takes a job of carrying a bag which should never be lost ... but his friend Johnny Marbles (Seth Green) loses it in the middle of Montana. Matty, Johnny, and two other friends (Vin Diesel and Andrew Davoli) of him fly to the place, only to find that the things are more complicated than they first thought. The clever touch is given to the rather familiar plot by changing the location from New York to Montana, adding the flavor of Western film. In fact, the local sheriff perfectly played by Tom Noonan turns out what is more than these guys expected, sly and determined to get what he wants, kind of character you see in old Western films. In addition, the boys have to handle John Malkovich's Teddy, whose threatening presence can be felt from thousand miles away. What is most impressive is the acting of the cast. If you remember Barry Pepper as the hero of the ill-fated "Battlefield Earth," it is time to forget that bomb. He is superb as the leading character who knows what he wants to do, but cannot because of his flawed personality. Vin Diesel is the same Vin (which is a compliment), whose macho personality gives a fascinating contrast to Barry Pepper. John Malkovich is as creepy as ever, but our special mention must go to Seth Green, whose appearance in Mike Myers's films tend to typecast him. He is also great as a natural-born loser Johnny, who we are sure is going to fail in the end. And he does. "Knockaround Guys" is certainly derivative and clithed, but at least shows that the actors involved clearly know how to be the characters they play. And it is that acting that really counts.
Rating: 
Summary: Make Your Choice...
Review: To make a choice and live with it is a difficult decision to make when one must hurt another in doing so. This is the situation that Matty Demaret (Barry Pepper) is presented with as a child and he find himself unable to hurt others, which causes a dilemma for his mobster father. Nevertheless, Matty requests his father's approval to join the New York Organization and to carry out a small task for him with the help of friends. However, something goes wrong as they carry out the job and they are in trouble with the local police force in the state of Montana. Knockaround Guys offers some interesting dialogues and an appealing story that leaves the viewer with an above average cinematic experience.
Rating:
Summary: perfect movie, with a perfect cast, new or old
Review: knockaround guys is a perfect movie, with a perfect acast, new or old. teh really good performaces were of Vin Diesel and Barry Pepper and I think they could of let Seth Green have a good part but thats my opinion. Its just about kids and their fathers and growing up into the world around them. Seth Green( Johnny Marble) loses a bag and him Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper and Andrew Davoli have to find it before Deniis Hopper and John Malkovich do something to them. it starts off good and ends good. shootout in the end is a real let down though, but afterall its a great flick and I enjoyed it in the theaters and I bought it and I think anyone should buy it if htey are fans of the stars
Rating:
Summary: perfect movie with a first rate cast
Review: Knockaround guys is a perfect movie, with a perfect cast, new or old. The really good performaces were of Vin Diesel and Barry Pepper and I think they could of let Seth Green have a good part but thats my opinion. Its just about kids and their fathers and growing up into the world around them. Seth Green( Johnny Marbles) loses a bag and him Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper and Andrew Davoli have to find it before Deniis Hopper and John Malkovich do something to them. It starts off good and ends good. Shootout in the end is a real let down though, but afterall its a great flick and I enjoyed it in the theaters and I bought it and I think anyone should buy it if htey are fans of the stars
Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable film with a little imagination...
Review: This is a film that deserves some credit for originality because the story and plot are something that the actors obviously had some fun with. Aside from someone getting killed near the end of the film, this is a film with a sense of humor. Vin Diesel, Barry Papper, Seth Green, and Dennis Hopper give good performances. This is a light film that doesn't take a lot of thought to get, which is okay. Without going into a plot synopsis (I'm not going to explain something you can see for yourself), I will say that the story unfolds after Johnny Marbles (Seth Green) misplaces a valuable item earmarked for delivery to the New York mob at an airport in Montana. A contingency from New York headed by of Pepper and Diesel appear and set out in search of the lost item. They do this by first finding the biggest badass in the town and then proceed to beat the cr*p out of him. It sounds like pretty half-baked idea, but then, the story continues to unfold. In the end, there's a little plot twist. One little thing about the movie I thought was cool was that they showed guys - some of the characters - playing handball in the courts outside Central Park. At the end of the film, the Malkovich character has a few things to say about losing at handball (and how much he doesn't like losing) at the end of the film. I could relate. This isn't a five star flick, but I gave it five stars anyway, because it's a good 'B' film, and there really wasn't anything wrong with it. Then again, this film isn't as great as "The Bridge on the River Kwai," but it isn't as awful as "The English Patient," either.
Rating: 
Summary: A coming of age mobster movie?
Review: Summary:
Matty Demaret (Barry Pepper) is the son of a New York mob boss who has been convinced he has no stomach for his father's line of work; mostly by his uncle, Teddy Deserve (John Malkovich). Mobster children not having a stomach for the work is apparently as common as bananas in Central America, so this shouldn't be a big deal, but Matty still wants to work. The problem is Matty's family name prevents him from finding work elsewhere. Thus, the movie begins with him finally convincing both his father and his Uncle (who is his father's second in command) that he can handle a job for the 'organization' since it is only going to involve transporting something and not killing anyone. The mission is to transport some money from the Midwest back to New York. The money is a loan from a friendly mob to help Matty's father as he plugs some of the holes in his operation (someone is stealing his money). One of Matty's close friends, Johnny Marbles (Seth Green), is a pilot, and Matty gets him to make the run. But on the way back to New York with the money, Johnny has to temporarily ditch it when he stops for gas at an airport to avoid the suspicion of some authorities. When he returns for the bag of money, it's gone. Matty then gets two of his closest friends, Chris Scarpa (Andrew Davoli) and Taylor Reese (Vin Diesel) to join him and Johnny in podunk Montana to track down the money. Two stereotyped skateboarder airline employees found the bag and have begun to treat themselves to some of the money. But the father of one of the boys, Sheriff Decker (Tom Noonan), catches up with his son and finds the money. Quickly realizing why Matty and his friends are in town, the Sheriff decides to split the money with his deputy and kill the Knockaround Guys (Matty and his friends). The Knockaround Guys, meanwhile, have begun employing mobster style tactics to get the money back, but Matty has also had to report to his father, resulting in his Uncle Teddy coming out to solve the problem. When everything comes to a head, only Matty and Taylor walk away alive, but with the money. And, as it turns out, Teddy was the one stealing from Matty's dad. My Comments:
I guess this is supposed to be a new twist on the mobster story as the movie is about a bunch of mobster children discovering what it really means to be mobsters. But novelty isn't enough to make for a good story. From the beginning the movie is riddled with problems. Why would Matty's dad trust his son's junkie friend to transport $500,000 when he knows he's a recovering dopehead, and a scrawny one at that? I wouldn't trust the guy with a rock, let alone half a million dollars. And if Matty's dad is virtually all-powerful, why doesn't he just put on a little pressure to get him a job somewhere? Am I naive to think that might work? And then there's the whole Uncle Teddy embezzling from the father thing. Maybe I was the only person that that hit from out of nowhere, but it sure seemed to me there was no set up for this twist. One minute Uncle Teddy was a nice guy, the next he was stealing money from Matty's dad and had every intention of killing Matty himself. It was absolutely unconvincing. I'm thinking it was thrown in there just to make the movie interesting. There are numerous other plot problems as well, including Scarpa deciding not to run and some very slow sequences while the Knockaround Guys are waiting for the sheriff to deal. As far as the acting goes, it wasn't terrible, but neither should it be up for any awards. John Malkovich was a little unique, but I think it's just because he isn't standard mobster material. Seth Green was silly, but hey, that's Seth Green. The rest of the cast was bearable, except when they attempted to deliver philosophical monologues, which just don't seem right coming from someone like Vin Diesel. Overall, the movie is watchable but not recommended. It's slow, full of plot holes, and not particularly surprising or interesting. I might recommend it for Vin Diesel or John Malkovich fans, but everyone else should stay away.
Rating:
Summary: Knockaround one afternoon with this
Review: This is a good film. Diesel, Pepper [who is also great in 61], and Green are equally compelling in this mob flick. It's the second generation mob kids, trying to make a name for themselves, make daddy proud. diesel's character is particularly interesting and I am not a Diesel fan per se. In the director's commentary on this DVD, they mention that Diesel's suggested his character have a large Star of David tattoo on his arm--b/c Jews believe tattoos defile the body, if they have one, they cannot be buried on sacred ground. Diesel thought it would be a nice touch to show that this guy is SO proud of his background, he is willing to give that up to show that pride. The director's share some nice background on the movie during their commentary--including which scenes are directly taken from a mutual friend's life. I particularly enjoyed the "500 fights to be a tough guy" scene AND the director's commentary. Malkovich is priceless here and the appearance by Kevin Gage [Waingro in Heat] is expertly played. Nice film.
Rating:
Summary: Sons of The Sopranos
Review: The casting was great and the story of sons of mobsters trying to make a name for themselves is a interesting concept. The concept of the movie was great but the movie fell trap to a plot-driven movie instead playing their strength of the cast to a charactor-driven story. To me this movie had the potential to be a great movie but it failed to trust their material.
Rating:
Summary: Not Knocking it
Review: Starring: Vin Diesel, Dennis Hopper,Barry Pepper,Andrew Davoli, Seth Green, John Malkovich
Written and Directed by: Brian Koppelman, David Levien
Studio: Newline Cinema (2001) This movie tries something a little different with the gangster plot. It takes a look at four young men who are sons of mobsters and how they try to fit into two worlds; the straight world of the working class, and the other; the realm of crime.
The lead character Matty, played by Barry Pepper struggles with trying to find a legitimate job and finding countless rejections due to being the son of a famous mobster, and also wanting to be accepted by his father. He just isn't fitting in anywhere and feels the need to prove himself to his father after giving up hope of ever finding a real job.
The plot takes Matty's gang (Diesel,Green,Davolito)to a small rural community in Montana in search of a bag of money that was stolen from them during a foiled job given to him by his father. This particular job was given to Matty to prove himself worthy of being a mobster. In Montana, the Brooklyn bad boys are pitted up against the rough country cowhicks. This part of the movie was most entertaining, as you see how two kinds of tough guys from totally different worlds collide. The acting was pretty mediocre by the veteran stars, but the plot was entertaining. Overall, it was a good flick for those who go for the gangster movies.
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