Luis Guzman

Review: The Limey

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“You tell him, tell him I’m coming” 

Just watching Terence Stamp say these words are worth watching this film. Directed by Steven Soderbergh in 1999, The Limey is a neo noir film that may not be as popular as his other films around this time, but it should be.

The film revolves around Stamp’s character Wilson, who has just got out of prison in Britain. Wilson’s daughter has recently died in a horrible car accident in Los Angeles. Wilson has also received a letter from Eduardo Roel, played by Luis Guzmán, about his daughter’s death. Wilson travels to Los Angeles to meet Roel and find out what really happened to his daughter.

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Will Wilson get to the bottom of his daughter’s death? Will he like what he finds if he does?

Look for Nicky Katt playing a hitman and  Lesley Ann Warren playing a friend of Wilson’s daughter. Also Amelia Heinle as the young trophy girlfriend and her creepy evil business mogul of a a boyfriend Peter Fonda are also interestingly great.

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If your a fan of Fonda or Stamp it is a film you will really like.  This may not be Soderbergh’s best film, but it isn’t his worst. I really enjoyed his cinematography and interesting editing for this film. The story is fairly simple with a conclusion that is not surprising, but a fun film to watch none the less.

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Re-Watching a New Classic: Out of Sight

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Out of Sight is best known for the relationship between George Clooney’s Jack Foley and Jennifer Lopez’s Karen Sisco, but it is so much more than that.  I haven’t seen this since it came out in 1998 and just re-watched it.  I remember that Steven Soderbergh directed this Elmore Leonard story.  I didn’t realize this was Soderbergh’s first big budget film, not a bad first try, Though this was a box office flop for the studio. This is also one of my favorite Leonard adoptions, it’s funny but it’s the classic one liners and a few characters that don’t quite fit into society that make it funny, not trying to make it a comedy, that happens way to much with Leonard’s work.  Leonard is a crime storyteller first, funny second.  What I forgot about this film is the rest of the cast is brilliant! Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Catherine Keener, Dennis Farina,Steve Zahn, Albert Brooks, Nancy Allen and Luis Guzmán!

This movie’s most famous scene happens towards the beginning of the film and sets in motion what is to come.  That scene happens after Foley out smarts the prison guards and escapes prison.  When he is getting picked up by his buddy…Buddy, played by Rhames, FBI Agent Sisco is in the parking lot on an unrelated mater.  They steal her car and throw her in the trunk with Foley for the escape.  Their conversation about movies, which includes the classics Bonnie and Clyde, Network, and Three Days of the Condor, and life in general make for an intimate conversation that changes both of their lives.  We find from this scene that there is chemistry between our two leads, and both have a mutual attraction.  Both know this might just be their downfall.

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This gives a different spin on our plot.  Foley can’t keep away from Sisco even though he knows she will eventually put him back in jail and Sisco can’t stay away from Foley, even though she knows she should put him back in jail.  This is also unique because Lopez is not only our femme fatale, but also our hero for good. We have noir’s favorite sport-boxing, bank robbers, kidnappers, magician assistants, ex-cops, F.B.I., Detroit detectives, and a surprise appearance by none other than Samuel L. Jackson.

Enjoy this Leonard romp in the way a Leonard romp should be done.

Favorite tidbit:  Michael Keaton reprises his role as Ray Nicolette in a cameo, Keaton played Nicolette in Jackie Brown(another of my favorite Leonard adoptions) as well.

Review: The Lookalike

bryancyr Movie, Neo-Noir , , , , , , , , ,

RThe Lookalike movie

The Lookalike is a new neo-noir that has just come out on DVD.  The casting is very interesting, it has three actors, known for their comedy and play straight dark characters.  They are Justin Long, Gillian Jacobs and Jerry O’Connell.  I didn’t know if I could take any of them seriously, but they all did a fine jobs.  We have veteran crime actors Gina Gershon, Luis Guzmán and Steven Bauer.  Normal good guy John Corbett also plays against type as one of the baddies.  Scottie Thompson also plays an important role in the film.  I’m not to familiar with her work, but look forward to seeing her in more movies. Felisha Terrell played a smaller role in this, but was a stand out in my opinion.

So a quick idea of what you are getting into without to much of a spoiler.  We have a bar owner/drug dealer that hires a lady to have sex with a business partner to help close a deal.  This business partner wants this particular lady because she is the daughter of an ex-partner.  Unfortunately this lady  accidentally dies before this can happen, so our drug dealer must find a lookalike to take her place.  This part of the story takes place in the first few minutes and we or off on our adventure.

We have drug dealers, cocaine addicts, loan sharks, strippers, informants, a cancer survivor and some shady cops, all with their own stories that all intertwine into one crazy ride.

This film takes place and is shot in New Orleans, a great location for a modern noir film, but it is not part of the story and simply a great looking back drop in this movie. This film is directed by Richard Gray and written by his wife Michele Davis-Gray, This is their 5th film together and their first crime film.  I can see them getting better as they go and hope they revisit the genre in the future.  This is a fun little film for noir fans looking for something new to rent and watch on a snowy winters night.