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Capone Says 88 MINUTES Is Such A Mess You'll Want To Do Yourself Bodily Harm After Seeing It!!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
Where do I even begin with this fucking thing?
To call the long-delayed Al Pacino time-crunch thriller 88 MINUTES ludicrous is to insult films or books or plays or haikus that attempt to be outrageous in fun and creative ways. No, 88 Minutes isn't fun-and-playful ludicrous. Its overdrive pace (which still manages to feel achingly slow) and plot is so ridiculous that it feels as if elements from every thriller ever made were thrown into a Kitchen Aid at the Turbo Mix setting. And here's the more obnoxious thing: movies that count down to something and constantly remind you how much time is left are without fail a terrible idea. It's like having a clock right next to the screen reminding you how much movie is left. Who the hell wants that?
Pacino (looking dead tired) plays Dr. Jack Gramm, a forensic psychiatrist for the FBI, whose testimony in the trial of an alleged serial killer (Neal McDonough) got the guy the death sentence. McDonough swears the entire time the good doctor has lied under oath to secure the conviction, and he's quite convincing. Jump ahead a few years to the date of the execution. A murder with the same m.o. as the original set of killings occurs and suddenly doubt is cast on the conviction. Let's stop here for a second and ask, Why does no one in this movie question the timing of this new killing? It's the damn day of the execution, people! Not only is there a fresh body, but the victim is also a student of Dr. Gramm's. The coincidences are mounting, and still no one really calls these remarkable coincidences into question.
Around the time the body is discovered, Gramm receives a threatening phone call saying that he only has 88 minutes to live, and every so often through the course of the film, the same modulated voice gives Gramm an update on his time left on earth. Rather than use the many resources available to him as an employee of the FBI (or simply lock himself in a safe room until the 88 minutes has expired), Gramm decides to investigate the threats and the murder himself.
Since the voice on the phone is disguised, we can assume the identity of the caller is one of the characters in the film, and there are quite a few from which to choose, most of them good-looking women. There's Amy Brenneman as Gramm's lesbian office assistant, Alicia Witt as his teaching assistant, Leelee Sobieski as his attentive student, Deborah Kara Unger as the dean of the school where Gramm teaches and William Forsythe as one of Gramm's best friends at the agency (for the record, Forsythe is neither good looking nor a woman, but I always love seeing him on screen). I picked out the killer about five minutes after the character is introduced in the film. It ain't that tough.
88 Minutes is a mess. Each step Pacino takes is more idiotic than the last, and screenwriter Gary Scott Thompson (one of the creators of "Las Vegas") and director Jon Avnet (FRIED GREEN TOMATOES; RED CORNER) should know better than to unnecessarily complicate a plot that has this much potential. What's worse, Pacino's next film also features Avnet behind the camera (for the fall release RIGHTEOUS KILL with Robert De Niro), but let's focus on one disaster at a time.
This film might frustrate to such a degree, you'll want to punch somebody or do yourself bodily harm. Sure, you could credit Gramm's behavior to arrogance. It certainly looks possible that he may have fabricated evidence or coached witnesses in the past, but it was all in the name of putting away dangerous criminals. The film skims these weighty topics without diving in and examining any of them.
And that's too bad because a little explanation about motivation on several characters' parts would have gone a long way toward making a much better film out of this material. You know what? I have officially spent way more time talking about this movie than I'd intended, and now I'm done with it. This movie is slick junk, and not the good kind.
Capone
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A Pacino release was worth getting excited about and he actually acted, instead of being a ham.
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for all. my. second...
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Thats right, I said it!
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download this movie a year ago?
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She fucks him to death! If you're gonna go, that's the a bad way to go...
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Cause the babes be slobbin my knobbin BIYATCH!! Oh.. and third?
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You get the point.
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My wife, watching the commercials on TV said "Wasn't that the waste of time movie we saw a year ago?" Me: "Yep." Her: "And they're just getting it out now?" Me: "Yep." Her: "Should have left it on the shelves or sent it to DVD." Seriously, a bad film.
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at last count.
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Thanks for saving me some dough.
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Now, that is a number I like.
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At least there were some hot women to look at, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Deborah Kara Unger, and even Amy Brenneman looked good. The worst part of the movie, aside from the plot, had to be Pacino's hair.
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He plays the ultimate ladies man. Every woman/college girl wants to fuck him. Even the lesbian does too! He's an icky old man with a bad toupee.
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I went because some spy on here said that Al Pacino was hip-hop dancing in it. He danced for like a split second and it looked relatively normal. So I'm guessing they cut that out. :(
Capone is 100% right. And the worst part is, you're gonna love this, there were these old ladies leaving the theater saying how great it was and that you just can't trust those one star reviews. I swear these are the same old ladies that I heard laughing about how stupid 'No Country for Old Men' was and how it was so bad that "they'll probably give it the Academy Award". No lie.
The other strange thing is I sat there trying to figure out how to fix it as I was watching it. I was thinking if they switched Alicia and Leelee, and if (spoilers) all the students were in on it because they were anti-death penalty or something. But then I realized that was that Kevin Spacey/Laura Linney movie. And then I thought they were trying to kill Al Pacino by making him run up all those stairs and look at that ridiculous evil catwoman type outfit Leelee had on. Leather Tuscadero would be ashamed. lmfao -
*spoilers* if you care.. this movie is guilty of having a list suspects, all minor characters, yet one of them is being played by a bigger marquee name. you can figure out right away who the killer is. Bloodworks, that clint eastwood movie, was super guilty of that.. you knew the killer, the motive, and just about everything else in the first 15 minutes. then they spend the reast of the movie dropping 'hints' that just get more and more laughably obvious.
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hmm?
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Yeah, it was like a year ago. I saw it a long time ago after it was leaked. I didn't know they were just releasing it now, that's funny.
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The backlash is going to be deliciously vindicating.
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I remember seeing previews to this back in '06. -
I just watched the trailer for the first time... it has to be him.
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I mean, really, do myself bodily harm? NEVAH!
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What "Awake" was to medical thrillers, "88 Minutes" is to suspense thrillers. Not quite "Showgirls" bad, but still fun for groups of disparate moviegoers to poke fun at and/or enjoy in the comfort of their homes. Absolutely DO NOT pay to see this in theaters -- this is Netflix material. 3 out of 5 stars.If you agree (or violently disagree in a friendly way) let's be Netflix friends! http://www.netflix.com/BeMyFriend/PPI2Jko9KNQcmMT5f0h9
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Why can't you pick a decent film for fauksake, you're one of the world's most respected film actors and you're pissing it away.
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William Forsythe
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That's 88 minutes I WILL get back. Because I'll never actually watch the movie in the first place. See, I'll have 88 minutes of my life...ah fuck it...you get the idea.
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and the fact that they couldn't muster an appealing trailer by string just a few minutes of the 60+ feature film together says all that needs to be said about this cinematic abortion.
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"DID I FIYAA BULLETS AT MYSELF?!!!"
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"You'll want to do yourself bodily harm!" - aintitcool.com
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no good then?
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WAS SO TIGHT IN SCARFACE! Like SOOO bad ass, i mean haven't you seen my sweet jacket?
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He's had 'work done'... badly. Really noticed it in the Righteous Kill trailer. I didn't think he was the type to go down that road, but I guess he feels the need.. Pacino got old, he doesn't even scream anymore. Sigh. This movie was playing in my local DVD store the other day, I caught the denouement which looked atrocious so I hired something else instead. Why on earth is it being released at the cinema Stateside?
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Still not expecting this to be good. I'm just saying...
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I've seen this movie here in the Netherlands now for ages on the shelves of dvd stores...
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Please oh holy one don't let that be a second catastrophe for Avnet...
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(Preemptive strike)Added to which, Pacino has played way too many cops already. "Heat" should've been his last hurrah in that genre. Let's examine his contemporaries:Hackman: Had sense enough to retire; should have made "The Royal Tenenbaums" his finale.Nicholson and Freeman: Both crusting over, and making a forgettable Rob Reiner weakass comedy only pointed that up further.Dustin Hoffman: Bag of tricks empty; go AWAY, at least until the unintentionally hilarious "Rainman" sequel pounds the final nail in his and Tommy Boy's respective coffins.Clint: stick to directing. I wanted to reach through the screen and sucker-punch his withered mug for that cliched role in "Million Dollar Baby".Redford: Time to recede to Sundance Film Festival Elder Statesman.They ALL need to take a hint from Daniel Day-Lewis, who knew enough to partially retreat from acting a decade ago, and only utilize his skills when the high ground beckoned.
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simple as. Nuff sed.
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Oh, and the killer is the lesbian. They always are, Mr. Pachino.
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love the guy, but all he's played ever since the 1995 die hard threequel is different versions of john mcclane again and again. i could tell just by hearing him in over the hedge that he sounds tired and wants to grow his hair back.{sorry, snuck that one in there.} and i don't think nicholson or eastwood are done yet. they still have something good coming.
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And thus gained his power, via the Wendigo.
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Meet The Fuckers 3, anyone?
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Thanks for taking note, guys. Yeah, Bruce doesn't have much room to develop and maybe DeNiro will back off soon enough. I was thinking of actors at/around 70 years of age. Assuming they're still acting at that age and have been duly recognized, they have little else left to prove.Still, I don't see Shia LeBeouf pocketing a lifetime achievement award in the year 2050.
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This shit came out awhile ago on the BT scene.Shit it's no woner why I never really cared for the writers' strike.Very weak story and it reminds me of those cheesy Cinemax movies back in the day.Still think that blonde guy who played the death row inmate would have been a great Duke, but the way the GIJoe movie is going, he's been spared from that mess.Just not 88 Minutes.
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"Yes. Yes, you did." "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Never mind then."
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Apr 20, 2008 12:19:33 PM CDT
They should just bury Righteous Kill before it's released.
by knuckleduster
Trying to cash in on the Pacino/De Niro team-up. It's a slap in HEAT's face. Fuck 'em, I say.
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We need to get back on track your gettin you those great roles your known for.we need quality flicks like
heat
scent of a woman
devil's advicate
carlito's way as opposed to the recruit,2 for the money and this piece of shit -
His kids all have terrible acne and galloping heartbeats. From the milkshakes.
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In a couple of weeks. Until then, he's 39.
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I remember when you could act, fella.Sad.
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It was actually on TV in my country a few months ago and although I love Al Pacino I stopped watching after the first 15 minutes. It must be his worst film.
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...and I actually thought it was pretty good. There are certainly a lot of ridiculous plot turns and frustrating unrealistic choices made by Pacino's character, but as a fun thriller, it was quite gripping. It makes you really empathise with his paranoia as he starts to suspect absolutely everybody around him. Watch it and see for yourself. And no, it's not easy to se the ending coming from miles, it's still kind of a surprise.
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Will it be called 150 minutes?Because with Brenneman, Sobieski and Witt in it, I'll watch it. For free. On basic cable. Hell, I'll watch "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" just to see Alicia Witt as the least convincing cop in TV history.
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if you only watched the first 15 minutes, you're hardly qualified to describe it as 'his worst film', are you? Seeing as you haven't watched it.
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Go find it instead of wasting your hard-earned money. It sucks and is not worthy of your money.
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What harm could it do?
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She's a talented actress that doesn't typecast herself, but for some reason she hasn't been in anything good for a very long time. Perhaps it's because she doesn't typecast herself. Producers seem at a lost when it comes to talented actresses.
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Except I'd remove Freeman and Hackman. Freeman still has some good stuff in him, I'm sure. The Bucket List and Evan Almighty may say otherwise, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. And I'd be content seeing Hackman acting when he's 97 years old. He's the kinda guy who's good in any movie he's in, no matter how shitty the rest of it is. I even think he's a bit underrated. But the 60s/70s era great actors are starting to or all ready have lost their relevance. Nicholson plays one character now, Hoffman had a small bit of a revival playing a strange old guy, but that's cuz he is one. Deniro, I think, has become bored with acting and tossed in a couple of comedies, some bad, just to have some fun. Pacino, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be able to move on and stop trying to recapture his "coolness" of past years. Come on, Al, accept your age, take a smaller character role. Maybe something akin to the understated character that Michael Corleone was in One and Two. Oh, and I think the only guy that stays good and may even have improved with age is Duvall.
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Totally agree with you about Robert Duvall, he is a god amongst men. Never seen him be anything less than great in a film and am confident that I never will.
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Have you seen KICKING & SCREAMING? Duvall sucked in that, as did everyone else who had anything to do with that inspid piece of shit. Love Duvall, but damn, that movie is SHIT.
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On one hand, he tends to fall back on that wizened codger persona(think "Phenomenon", "Deep Impact", "Gone In 60 Seconds", "Open Range"). Which is... OK, but that's all it is.On the other hand, give him a role he can sink his teeth into like those in "The Apostle" and "A Civil Action", and he's masterful.He's certainly left his mark, but I think his best work is behind him.
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That makes it just a little better than Meet the Spartans.
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