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jimk_9998
Reviews
Lies & Illusions (2009)
Completely on par with a high school production. Alternative title suggestion: "The pointless chase scenes of geriatric hit men with bad hair"
I had high hopes based on the cast and the description, but this is not a thriller. I think it's trying to be a comedy, but not everyone was in on the secret. It's not clear that there was even a script after the opening scenes. You may find yourself mumbling things like, "Why doesn't someone either give him (Christian Slater) some good lines or just make him stop talking instead of incessantly blurting out useless commentary for the whole last half of the movie." The background music was the only redeemingly professional aspect of this whole production. Cuba Gooding tried to do his best. I'm not sure about Mr. Slater. So much of the action and plot was improbable or laughably inept. Argh.
Rise (2007)
Lackluster writing, incomprehensible transitions
I'm an old fan of vampire movies, and when I see names like Lucy Liu, Michael Chiklis, and James D'Arcy, I have expectations of action, energy, and interest. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I am puzzled by other reviewers who thought they saw great action and great acting throughout. What movie were they watching? Not this one.
The role played by Chiklis has no action, and no range. He wobbles into a crime scene, he has some disturbed sleep, he emotes sadly over a picture.
Robert Forster has a cameo, right up front, and that's it for him.
Lucy Liu does some real acting, but that really can't save this one.
Cameron Richardson is quite winsome! She had some tough moments and looked good pulling it off.
Some of the other high impact actors had conversational introductions that made them unmemorable except for their great enunciation.
Some of the spatial transitions involving Lucy Liu's character seemed like an editor wasn't paying proper attention. Probably the best case is where she's getting tucked into a car trunk, unconscious, during a dialog about getting her car and the kidnapper's car to another site and then the scene transitions to homeless people on cots and someone who looks like Lucy, dressed in scrubs (when did that happen?). She sucks the juice out of a fresh corpse, then wanders into the night and onto a bridge to kill herself. What happened to her car? When did she get redressed? Who were those morons who kidnapped her? Was that business about taking her to bishop part of a script that got rewritten? Other odd transitions make you wonder if you're following the same character, or are there multiple characters who, in the failing light, look like they might or might not be Lucy Liu, making you want to go back and review scenes for the wrong reasons.
On the plus side, the sound track and foley work was inexplicably excellent.