Triple 9 - Box Office Review

Dirty cops, the Russian mob, hispanic gang bangers, lots of gun fights, explosions, smoke bombs, abandoned buildings and more are part of what made "Triple 9" an entertaining action film. The pacing on this film was a little slow which was a surprise considering the high volume of action present within. The cast was stacked with talent. The mood and tone of the film were appropriate for the concepts being told. So why did I walk out of the theater thinking, "Eh, not terrible but not great either." Let's explore...

Let's start with probably the largest culprit that lessened my post viewing excitement. The pacing of this film was slow. It wasn't across the board slow either. It would have moments of high energy, edge of the seat, popcorn shoveling, eyes wide open action sequences. Next, the breaks slam down and we're dealing with personal/family tensions that develop the characters and deepen our understanding of the motivating factors of the key players in the film. This happens at what feels like a much slower pace. 

Next up, we have cliche's. I want to be clear that cliche's aren't necessarily a bad thing. If the film is designed to utilize the cliche' characters in a manner that acknowledges the fact that's ok. Comedies do a great job over exaggerating the cliche' new cop on the force who thinks he knows it all. He's a no nonsense, skull busting tough guy. This film seemed to celebrate the cliche' characters and for me personally I didn't particularly care for it. This film led me to believe it's a dramatic look at what the lives of these characters are and the choices their life leads them to in a non comedic way. I rest all the blame for this on the director, who provides the actors instructions on how to portray their characters. John Hillcoat also directed the film "Lawless" which had pacing problems in my opinion. I enjoyed that movie too but I wasn't celebrating it. 

The casting of this film managed to hire several talented actors. Normally, when I post the names I add their IMDB link so you can explore their previous works. As you explore you might find a new film and that might deepen your appreciation for the particular actor, or you might hate it. Either way, you're watching more movies. Since this film has so many talented actors I won't be listing them or their IMDB's but you can click on the link above for the film and peruse there. The casting was the highlight of this film for me. I love seeing all the actors on screen and I was curious to see how well Gal Gadot would hold her own on screen with these other talents. She wasn't in much of the film but her role was pivotal and she performed her character well while seeming believable. I'm curious to see her as Wonder Woman in "Batman VS Superman" but we'll explore that film later this month after I see it. Other than her, I knew exactly what I'd get from the rest of the actors and I wasn't disappointed in their performances. I could've used less cop cliche's but that's not their fault. They were just doing the job the director told them, and they did that well. 

"Triple 9" is in theaters now. I give this film one full magazine of ammunition and a smoke bomb but that's only to make your escape out of the theater and safely arrive at Redbox to rent it. If you enjoy heist films with lots of action and some entertaining plot twists this is the film for you. I enjoyed it but I wasn't walking out of the theater talking to people about it. If you go see it, or have seen it, comment below and share your thoughts.

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Movie Review: Guns, Girls and Gambling (2012)

A Native American artifact is stolen from an Apache casino and now a quirky bunch of Elvis impersonators, crooked cops, blonde haired women, guns for hire and more are on the hunt for it.

I love a good heist movie and I even like a bad one if the story is goofy enough.  This falls into the latter.  There are actually quite a few decent actors in this film and it was cool to see them working together.  Christian Slater totally fits the role as the main character, John Smith, who gets wrapped up in all the silliness that is a movie about Elvis impersonators hunting down a Native American mask.

As in all heist movies, there are twists and turns that I won't get into here, but they do keep you entertained.  At times it looks like things start looking up for John Smith, and then something happens(usually a hit to the face).  Slater's portrayal as the main character was extremely fun and kept the movie going.  His part made me think of his roles from the late 80s/early 90s where his career was at it's peak.

The person who shares a lot of time with Slater is "The Girl Next Door," played by Megan Park.  There was excellent chemistry between the two of them on screen making her a surprise of the film.


If you can get past the first five minutes, you should be fine the rest of the way with this film.  Although I felt most people played their parts the way they were intended, I did not like Helena Mattsson's line delivery.  She's an absolutely gorgeous assassin who quotes Edgar Allen Poe poetry before she shoots people.  Problem is, she doesn't sound confident doing it.  I'm assuming she was going for sensual but there's a crack or something else off in her delivery and it just comes off poorly.

The Elvis impersonators are great with Chris Kattan as "Gay Elvis," Anthony Brandon Wong as "Asian Elvis," Tony Cox as "Midget Elvis"- I mean "Little Person Elvis," and Gary Oldman as "Elvis Elvis."

Powers Booth is "The Rancher" and has a very Boss Hog look going for him.  Dane Cook and Sam Trammell are the Sheriffs.  The film even has Jeff Fahey and Matthew Willig as hit-men with cool nicknames.

Overall, I think that Michael Winnick as writer/director put together an okay film.  It was a lot of fun with cheesy over the top action and goofy lines.  It was definitely better than I expected.

On a scale of up to 5, I'm giving "Guns, Girls and Gambling" 3 Pile Drivers.

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Movie Review: American Heist (2014)

James Kelly(Hayden Christensen) is doing everything he can to get by.  Living in New Orleans post-Katrina and trying to better his life after a stint in prison has proved to make things difficult.  James' situation doesn't get any easier when his brother Frankie(Adrien Brody) is released from prison and gets the two brothers mixed up in a heist.

Sounded promising.  I love a good heist movie so what can go wrong here?  I wasn't expecting this movie to "wow" me but what it did do, I didn't expect.

Nothing.

Okay, maybe not "nothing" but it sure didn't do much.  When I think of a heist movie, I think of something where there's a well thought out plan.  Heck, even if the plan doesn't work, something cool usually happens.

Not here.

I do get that we were supposed to be attached to the inner struggle of Hayden Christensen's character.  The troubles with his brother, winning back the affection of his lost love Emily(Jordanna Brewster), trying to get a small business loan and being a terrible auto mechanic.  He tells Emily he needs to replace the carburetor in her new Fiat.  I do feel that if this was the direction of the film, there should have been more exploration into the lives of those involved in James' life.  Jordanna Brewster was a nice surprise for the film and there probably should have been more done with her.

So with the world taking a crap on James, Frankie is out of prison and gets him in on the worst heist ever.  It didn't even feel like the heist was supposed to be successful as Ray(Tory Kittles), the co-leader of the group, just wants to stick it to the banks and going for a Grand Theft Auto video game looking life.  Sugar(Akon) is the other leader of the group.  Must be because he did the music for the film.   I'm really glad this movie was only an hour and thirty four minutes.

There were also some weird camera angles.  Not sure if they strapped Go-Pro cameras to the actors and told them to bob their heads while they walk.  I don't know where the accents are from either.

Watch at your own peril.  American Heist gets 1.5 out of 5 Pile Drivers.

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