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Reviews
Chance (2002)
Life's like a big jigsaw puzzle you don't have the box to...
"Chance" was a wonderfully refreshing film. Interesting and endearing characters drive the story about a woman and her best friend searching for their place in the world and the strange people they meet along the way.
Amber Benson has managed to write, direct, produce, and star in a great film. Her character of Chance is amazing, and I loved every second she was on screen. However, James Marsters is the one who really steals the show as her best friend Simon. He has some of the best lines and is easily the most complex character, even more so than the confused Chance. He is obsessed with time and death and is apparently down on his luck in the game of love. James is absolutely brilliant in this picture.
The other actors in the film add phenomenal support (although Tressa DiFiglia has a horrible British accent), especially Andy Hallett and Christina Estabrook.
Interestingly enough, the soundtrack consists of music video-like performance pieces by Grant Langston inserted throughout the film. They fit the mood perfectly and add a fresh, new feeling to the film since I've never seen anything like that done before.
Overall, "Chance" is a winner. It's funny, dramatic, endearing, and brilliantly acted.
Beyond the City Limits (2001)
Not very good, but not very bad
To tell the truth, I have mixed feelings about Beyond the City Limits. It had its high and low points, its strong and weak moments. It isn't the best indie film, but it also isn't the worst.
Beyond the City Limits is about two Russian men, Sergei (Brian McCardie) and Yuri (Alexis Denisof), who try to pull off a casino heist with two crooked cops. Unfortunately, the two cops are killed in a shoot-out in a bar. The men need to find replacements soon.
The other part of this film revolves around three women: Lexi (Alyson Hannigan), Helena (Jennifer Esposito), and Misha (Natassja Kinski). Lexi was dating Sergei before being thrown out of his apartment and their heist. Her friend, Misha, tags along. With the help of Helena, who recently moved out on her husband (Todd Field), and another man (Steve Harris), they try to pull off the heist themselves.
The main reason I bought Beyond the City Limits in the first place was to see Alyson Hannigan and especially Alexis Denisof in very different roles than those they play on TV. I was surprised at some of the things they did in this film (Lexi shoots heroin, Yuri gets oral sex in an alley). They were the films main high points.
If you like indie films, you might like this one. If you're a fan of either Alyson Hannigan or Alexis Denisof, you will love this film. The ending seemed kind of... fake. I don't know what it is, but I saw it coming. Otherwise, this is a decent film that deserves some sort of audience.