Rating: Summary: A black man with a gun... Review: A black man with a gun, a cocaine sniffing, adulterous woman who runs an arms company with her cowardly husband. All the elements of your typical anti-gun Hollywood movie and the reason why the left lost the gun-control debate in this country.
Rating: Summary: Just a simple entertaining movie! Review: A desperate man - Wesley Snippes - wounded in his most intimate feelings , betrayed and shocked by his daughter's loss decides to assume the justice according his ethical codes. A man who knows the most detailed issues concerned with explosives, high precision weapons and electronics.
His chosen target will be the seductive wife of an important executive. She is not precisely a special angel and devoted couple.
Despite certain inconsistencies in its dramatic profile and two serious defaults of artistic edition the film gets its goal. A good entertaining with some awesome statements in the overlong cell dialogue between the hunter and his frightened victim.
In the other hand the dramatic parallelism with Phone Booth is more than obvious.
Which are the two faults? . Well, the first of them is Where could Linda Fiorentino get a blanket to cover the corpse of the murdered? Do you really think it was inside the Hot Dogs expenditure?. And the second issue is related to a clever mistake in the make up and stylist hair of Fiorentino . Please watch very carefully in the second third part of the film this detail: if she is enchained to the car after several hours of high emotional tension I guess she must be tired, with a no delineated make up and disordered hair: But not , she looks gorgeous, splendid as if she came from the hairdresser.
These little details may seem unimportant for many people but it delimits the best intentions because you must not bet with the intelligence of the viewer.
Rating: Summary: THE BIG GUNS Review: Guns don't kill...people kill. But, where did the people get their guns? And why would a young child be allowed to walk into a school and kill someone? These issues are at the heart of this film, as this is the supposed motivation for Wesley Snipes in this mainly effective drama. Whether you're a gun control fanatic or one of those good old boys that think having a gun is the next best thing to heaven, this film has its disturbing moments and benefits from a good director and a good cast. Linda Fiorentino at first bothers me with her lack of emotional impact; but as the film progresses, we see why Fiorentino is underplaying her role so much. She is an emotionally wounded individual and only by the film's end do we see what she has struggled through. Snipes is effective but he was almost too restrained to be totally convincing; would have liked to see more of his anger, guilt, and hurt. Oliver Platt is okay, but his performance isn't given enough chance to grow. Likewise, Hart Bochner as the chief of police. The movie is slowly paced and doesn't have quite the emotional impact of PHONE BOOTH which had the marvelous Colin Farrell to propel it. However, LIBERTY STANDS STILL makes you think, and if that's what the director/write wanted, she succeeded for me.
Rating: Summary: THE BIG GUNS Review: Guns don't kill...people kill. But, where did the people get their guns? And why would a young child be allowed to walk into a school and kill someone? These issues are at the heart of this film, as this is the supposed motivation for Wesley Snipes in this mainly effective drama. Whether you're a gun control fanatic or one of those good old boys that think having a gun is the next best thing to heaven, this film has its disturbing moments and benefits from a good director and a good cast. Linda Fiorentino at first bothers me with her lack of emotional impact; but as the film progresses, we see why Fiorentino is underplaying her role so much. She is an emotionally wounded individual and only by the film's end do we see what she has struggled through. Snipes is effective but he was almost too restrained to be totally convincing; would have liked to see more of his anger, guilt, and hurt. Oliver Platt is okay, but his performance isn't given enough chance to grow. Likewise, Hart Bochner as the chief of police. The movie is slowly paced and doesn't have quite the emotional impact of PHONE BOOTH which had the marvelous Colin Farrell to propel it. However, LIBERTY STANDS STILL makes you think, and if that's what the director/write wanted, she succeeded for me.
Rating: Summary: Straight to video FOR A GOOD REASON Review: I can't believe they got Wesley Snipes, Linda Fiorentino, and Oliver Platt to do this ultra-stupid movie. The acting is flat, the story is non-existent, the editing is just ridiculous, and the whole movie is terrible and boring.I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever does. No plot development at all. It's easy to see why this movie never saw theatrical release. I'm just sorry for the investors who sunk their money into this turkey. Not only is the movie awful, incomprehensible and boring, but it's also just a stupid piece of anti-gun rights propaganda. There's supposed to be some stupid message in this flick about how the gun industry isn't doing anything to keep guns out of the hands of kids and criminals, but the movie is so stupid that any message-political or otherwise-is completely lost between yawning and checking your watch. I bet this whole mess was funded by anti-gun activist groups. I don't know why anyone would buy this DVD, but I'm hoping that other people out there do what I do and check reviews on Amazon before they even waste their time renting something..... so here's the nut: DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS STUPID, BORING MOVIE. Don't even watch it on cable.... at the end of it you'll want your time back. I seriously wish I had turned it off halfway through like I wanted to instead of watching the whole thing.
Rating: Summary: Terrible propaganda Review: I'll say it straight out; I'm pro-gun and proud of it. I'm also a lover of nearly any and everything film related, though this movie is just pure garbage. The whole thing is poorly shot, acted, and written anti-gun propaganda. In an awful attempt to be ironic, the movie has ex-CIA agent Snipes (who has starred in more than a few movies that glorify guns) holding gun executive Fiorentino hostage with a sniper rifle. Not only does the movie completely fall flat with it's rapport between the leads (unlike Phone Booth, which has a similar scenerio but is brilliantly executed), but the movie takes the trouble to insist that gun companies are responsible for deliberately giving out arms to gang members. While it's definitely not anywhere near below the anti-gun lobby to lie, the assertion that the gun industry hands out firearms to gangs is so ridiclious that even a detailed look at any anti-gun website won't make the claim. This movie is ridiclious, and instead of trying to make a sensible argument for gun control, it decides to try to manipulate emotion and distort the truth, much like Bowling for Columbine. Unless you're rabidly anti-gun, avoid this at all costs.
Rating: Summary: Terrible propaganda Review: I'll say it straight out; I'm pro-gun and proud of it. I'm also a lover of nearly any and everything film related, though this movie is just pure garbage. The whole thing is poorly shot, acted, and written anti-gun propaganda. In an awful attempt to be ironic, the movie has ex-CIA agent Snipes (who has starred in more than a few movies that glorify guns) holding gun executive Fiorentino hostage with a sniper rifle. Not only does the movie completely fall flat with it's rapport between the leads (unlike Phone Booth, which has a similar scenerio but is brilliantly executed), but the movie takes the trouble to insist that gun companies are responsible for deliberately giving out arms to gang members. While it's definitely not anywhere near below the anti-gun lobby to lie, the assertion that the gun industry hands out firearms to gangs is so ridiclious that even a detailed look at any anti-gun website won't make the claim. This movie is ridiclious, and instead of trying to make a sensible argument for gun control, it decides to try to manipulate emotion and distort the truth, much like Bowling for Columbine. Unless you're rabidly anti-gun, avoid this at all costs.
Rating: Summary: Nice movie Review: Im surprised and disappointed with the the bad reviews on this movie. This is why i am compelled to say my word. Overall, this is a nice movie, that succeeds to keep your interest with barely one location in the whole lentgth. It was a very stylish movie and both the directors and actors did a good job. I don't know how to justify this very well but i have seen good movies and bad ones and it is a shame to say such a hard work art piece is bad. The problem about it is that you would normally expect with wesley snipes a movie with plenty of action and movements but this one is different. Just different, but not bad. And in my personal opinion, very good. Not to say that i own the DVD but that i enjoyed the movie. And about the people who say they don't agree with the message of the movie against the right to bear arms, they should know that a movie is just a movie, and primarily entertainment. Judging a movie objectively means doing so without putting first your personal political prejudices.
Rating: Summary: Could have been worse... or much, much better. Review: Liberty Stands Still (Kari Skogland, 2002) This movie, whose US run was a stint at the Palm Springs Film Festival, is hard evidence that even if you're on the A-list, they still won't release everything you make. Wesley Snipes heads up this thriller, backed by B-listers Linda Fiorentino and Oliver Platt, and still the biggest market it played was Italy; its Japanese release was also limited. Snipes stars as Joe, a disenchanted guy with a sniper rifle and a chip on his shoulder. Through a series of not-so-subtle machinations, he traps the heiress to the company that manufactured the rifle (Fiorentino) and has her handcuff herself to a hot dog cart containing a very large bomb in LA. The film's remaining eighty-six minutes (it's ninety-six minutes long, in total) cut between the growing bond between hostage and sniper and the hostage's various attempts to get help. The above sounds like a setup for a movie that beats one about the head and neck region with a gun control message and has nothing deeper for the average viewer. Such is not the case; Skogland does a decent enough job of keeping the gun-control rhetoric to a minimum and in believable places. The message is still a little overpowering, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. The pace is a bit slow for an action/suspense film, but once you're in the proper position, what is there to do, really, but wait? Perhaps the best way to approach this movie is as a combination of the overly preachy John Q. and the as-yet-unreleased Phone Booth. Snipes takes the same deadpan approach to this character he did with Monroe Hutchens in Undisputed, and minimalism is not the best way for Snipes to go. His best moments are when he's right on the edge of losing control. They are, unfortunately, too few. Oliver Platt, as Fiorentino's husband, does a better job here. Unfortunately, he gets too little screen time, and his character is too two-dimensional for him to do much with. What little he can do is worthwhile, however. Fiorentino is fine, and as believable as can be given the situation. All in all, not a bad way to kill ninety minutes. Could have been better, but could have been much, much worse as well. ** 1/2
Rating: Summary: Lamentable "Sniper" Thriller: See "Phone Booth" Instead Review: Linda Fiorentino, Wesley Snipes and Oliver Platt (in that order) star in this awfully tedious thriller with a questionable political message. Let's not talk about the issues like pro- or anti-gun control for now, because the film (which is directed by the same person who did "Children of the Corn 666" -- quite a damning title) has no thrills or suspence. And at the time of writing this, we have not seen Ms. Fiorentino for two years -- hope it has not killed her career. The story is marginally interesting; I say marginally, for we later are to see much better "Phone Booth." Like Colin Farrell film, the protagonist Liberty Wallace (Linda Fiorentino) finds herself in a big trouble. Someone named 'Joe' (Snipes) aims a rifle at her while she is chained to a hotdog stand where an explosive device is set. And Liverty is a wife of a rich gun manufacturor (Oliver Platt), and Joe claims he lost his daughter because of the gun her company made. The story, which starts promisingly, suddenly loses steam in the first fifteen minutes. And then, it's all about the confusing situations and paper-thin characters whom we just don't care. In terms of thriller, first of all, it is a total failure. See, if the guy Joe is really a good marksman as the film shows, why does he need a bomb in the first place? Unaccountably, the film introduces another 'bomb' rigged to the body of a poor fellow (who is supposedly having an affair with Liberty) which only detracts the tension of the main story. The film rasies interesting questions such as, Is Liberty (or her husband) really responsible for the death of the people killed by guns? The director clearly leans on the left side, which in itself is no problem. But as the character of Joe is so superficial and unconvincing that his logics start to look like that of a monster. He never tells us what happened to the daughter, nor he blames the culprit while he could kill innocent people. There is little sign of intelligence behind his characterization, which is an insult to the victims or survivors of the real murder cases. Of course, the film could be an example of escapism, (like "Phone Booth" again), but the film suffers at that point from the bad acting and awful dialogues with cluttered pace. Wooden performance from the two leads are deplorable, and as to Ms. Fiorentino, we sincerely miss her in "MIB." Need a thriller with snipers? Again I say, see "Phone Booth" instead. And its sniper Kiefer Sutherland is ten times more authentic than Snipes, though -- or perhaps because -- Kiefer scarcely shows his face.
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