Great Deal Phoenix [Region 2]
There's no denying that this film is at least semi-formulaic, but the thing is that the writers and the director know how to USE the formula to the advantage of the viewer. That's the difference. Sure you got your obvious good guys and bad guys, but the acting is solid, the pacing is flawless, the characters are juicy, the plotting is strong, and the camerawork is spot on. So what's not to like?
Ray Liotta reins in his often cynically smirky-nasty persona thing to project the character of Harry Collins, a gambling-addicted cop who actually has feelings. Anthony LaPaglia is the bad cop, Mike Henshaw, and, formulaically, all bad--but very very good at being all bad. The babes are not just one-dimensionally hot, but instead, thanks to the presence of Angelica Huston, have substance and character as well as a tough veneer that hides some tenderness underneath. And yes, that's kinda formulaic too, but she's a world class actress who knows how to do this better than a whole lot of others out there.
Harry's gambiling and Mike's debt to Louie--played to smarmy perfection by Giancarlo Esposito (one of the best character actors acround)--results in the gang of four cops (Liotta, LaPaglia, Jeremy Piven and Daniel Baldwin) engaging in some illegal activity to net a lot of fast cash. But since the illegal activity is commited against a guy who himself does a lot of illegal stuff, it's OK, right?
Well, sort of. The main neo-noir plot convention--that things never turn out the way they're supposed to--is followed but again, it's fun to see how they play out in this punchy little flick.
I liked this a lot. This one you watch. Liotta's other neo-noir, Inferno, starts off great and then totally collapses. So that one you don't. But Phoenix works. Yeah.
Low budget flick struggles not to drown in cliches.. - C. Rocklein -
..although I've seen worse. Liotta is the reason I checked this out. I just saw him in BLOW with Johnie Depp. Great. But this one is a low-budget flick that mostly left me not beleiving in the story or the characters. Cliche stuff that was slapped together quickly for the undiscerning masses. Liotta's a likable actor and his charm is the only saving grace in this movie. I still wouldn't recommend it.
A Nice Suprise - Jenna - Anchorage, AK
This was an excellent movie. If I wasn't in a Ray Liotta film festival mood, I wouldn't have even know about it and that would have been a shame. It's now one of my offical favorite Liotta movies. It's one of those domino effect/house of cards movies where one action causes a reaction and the inevitable implosion. Subtle references to Crime and Punishment. The actors are pitch perfect- and believable. When the hammer finally strikes- it doesn't care if you are quasi-moral or a super-villian- it comes down just as hard, interesting.
Rating :
Price on May 25, 2010 10:29:54 : Buy Now!
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Phoenix [Region 2] Overviews
The "Forget it, Jake, this is Chinatown" line in this well-cast contemporary noir comes near the story's end, when a female truck driver tells wounded fugitive-cop Harry Collins (Ray Liotta) that the desert town of Phoenix--built on sand and sustained by diverted water--has "no right to exist." Well, that would explain the sense of blurred virtue and vice portrayed in this film, the tale of a detective with a gambling problem and his three partners (Anthony LaPaglia, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven) manifesting varying levels of corruption. Written by Eddie Richey and directed by Danny Cannon, this expletive-rich and violent movie immediately strikes one as yet another Tarantino knock-off. But a handful of genuinely original ideas and scenes, aided immeasurably by a terrific cast that almost seems to lunge at the roles (including Anjelica Huston as an angry bartender who could let herself drift into an affair with Harry), keeps this drama on track. Yes, the plot does include an obligatory screwed-up heist mishandled by the male principals (wearing animal masks--how original!). But in the hands of Liotta and his pals, it all seems well worth it. Nice marks, too, for Tom Noonan's weird portrayal of a cruel bookie, Giancarlo Esposito's poisonous work as a loan shark, and Kari Wuhrer's all-too-brief scenes as a faithless wife. --Tom Keogh
