Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

knight1776 I thought that some of you might be interested in knowing what it's like to actually work on films like these. I was on the crew as a Production Assistant. It was an independent film (not produced by a major Hollywood studio) which meant a low budget. We shot it mostly in Brooklyn where the real Russian mob have been known to operate from. It was an extremely difficult movie to work on because it was poorly managed and there were a lot of jerks on the crew. I think a big reason why so many people acted like they did was because of the utter chaos which stressed everyone out. On most other productions they are probably nicer people. The producers didn't care that we didn't have enough resources to do our jobs because all they wanted to do was keep the budget down. The production coordinator had the nerve to ask me to work on Thanksgiving and then got annoyed when I refused. We worked six days a week at an average of 15 hours a day. Then near the end they laid off a bunch of us, including me because of budget problems. Several other Production Assistants quit beforehand which I can say from experience is not typical, even on low budget movies. They also fired a few other members of the crew. I will admit it was a good film when I saw it and was amazed they were able to pull if off considering how much they screwed up the actual shoot. I invite all comments and questions.

ccthemovieman-1 This was Joe Pantoliano's first starring role, and I've always found him to play interesting guys - AFTER this movie because he's kind of flat in here. His character, "Al Benjamin," doesn't have the normal "Joey Pants" spark to him. Even the narration - and I love narration - is dull. His character also is a little obnoxious to be the "hero" of the story. Unlike others, I was expecting more going into this viewing.His sidekick, however: "Joseph Romero" (Wade Dominguez) is very interesting. Michael Chiklis also was good as a Russian businessman who has been a target of the Soviet hit men.The story is a bit convoluted, concerning the Russian and gas stations being used as fronts for tax purposes. Once again, we get the typical Hollywood cliché of the good cop being a renegade on the force. Overall: fair, at best.

raunchytalented In first place, I am a great fan of the main "star" in this film -one of my favourite cop-thrillers- Joe Pantoliano shines at wisdom gained by one long career devoted to acting in small productions, TV series and indie movies. Of course he is not a conventional "star", he is a real actor turning into real characters in screen, like this one, specially memorable through the last two scenes, although I must say all this story is paced in a brilliant directing way by Avi Nesher. Very important the last performance of sadly deceased Wade Dominguez, Robert Townsend and Elizabeth Berkley, whom I hated her before this.

missy_baxter Well-written independent film gets great performance from Pantoliano in the title role. He is a horse's rear end, but he is an honest horse's rear end working as an IRS investigator. This film is purposefully devoid of glamour, and it gives the story that much more integrity. Wade Dominguez dies while making this movie at age 32 of respiratory failure. What a waste! He is terrific here. Robert Townsend is wonderful as the prosecutor, too. Mike Starr from "Ed" is quite good as Pantaliano's boss.