leewebb6051 Reviews

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

Underrated--a flawed but very enjoyable overlooked movie...

[7/10 · 11 September 2015]

I'm not sure I heard a single good thing about this movie when it first came out. When I finally happened to catch it on cable, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

With the exception of his brief role in the opening of 'Sin City,' I generally find Josh Hartnett to be a pretty bland and unexceptional presence on screen. But he's incredibly charming, fun, and likable in this movie and it makes me wish he would take on more of these kind of roles and material in the future. He really shines and shows some genuine star potential here. He pulls off some tricky and fast-paced dialogue banter with humor and ease and manages to hold his own very well while on screen with big-hitters like Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, and Bruce Willis.

The twists, turns, and reveals in the movie, particularly towards the end, start to feel a little forced and contrived. Entire sections of the movie lack focus and urgency in the story telling. But the overall tone and vibe of the movie is so breezy and genuinely fun, it's easy to overlook these flaws and just go along for the ride. As long as you go into this movie with moderate expectations, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. And whether you're a Josh Hartnett fan or not (and I'm generally not), this is easily some of his best work and the only time I've ever seen him bring any real charm, fun, personality, and/or something special to a role.

The Devil's Hand (2014)

I want to say better than average, but nah, just average.

[5/10 · 18 March 2015]

This movie had some promising elements and very good production value. Despite what seems to be a modest budget, the lighting and technical aspects of the filmmaking on display here are all pretty top notch. The young female leads are also pretty strong and the fundamental idea behind the story seems like solid starting point.

Unfortunately, there's really not many more positive things I can think to add. The way the story unfolds is completely predictable and not even slightly interesting on any level. It's pretty much the same old same old that you see in any "powers of the devil"-type horror movie. No new ground is broken.

And while the movie is far from being terrible, it's just as far away from being good and ends up as a textbook example of genre mediocrity.

Faults (2014)

Great concept and interesting start, but loses steam and fizzles out at the end.

[6/10 · 18 March 2015]

I started off really loving this movie and was really hooked by the opening scenes setting up the main character, who is played to perfection by Leland Orser. A washed-up "expert" on cults and brainwashing, his character is sad, funny, and interesting all at the same time. You also really empathize with him and feel his sense of desperation and frustration at the start of the movie.

As the story unfolds, a mother and father approach him offering desperately needed money if he would be willing to kidnap their daughter from a cult and reprogram her back to "normal."

So far so good and everything leading up to his character retrieving the girl and beginning his treatment seems promising. Unfortunately, the movie slid downhill from there (at least for me). I was expecting a more interesting series of twists and turns and looked forward to seeing the enticing cat and mouse mind game that the movie seemed to be setting up. Instead, the movie just kind of got inexplicably stranger and ended up taking a path that I felt was a bit too predictable and unsatisfying.

It's worth checking out for Orser's performance and character alone. I just wish they had done a bit more with it and carried the quirky and unique tone that was established early through the entire film.