Last year, between the two of us, we watched an average of 317 movies.
This year our goal is to top that by watching at least one a day.
And as an extra special torture, we've decided to write about all of them.

24 April 2008

The Lookout, dir. Scott Frank (2007)

NIKKI says:
The pacing of this one stuck out the most. It very steadily tells its story, and I think it's testament to how well-written parts of it are that the pace doesn't drag it down.

It's quite slow getting going, but it's character driven, and perhaps atmosphere driven, that it works to build this dark world in which these dark people move about. The story isn't especially compelling, but the mood of the piece is at times.

If that makes sense...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is turning into Heath Ledger more and more with each film. Not only does he look like Heath, he's developing Heath's intensity. He's turning into a smart actor, and I enjoy watching him in most things.

So, the movie... Chris has a car smash that kills or severely injures his best friends. Following the accident, his brain is fucked up and he can't remember things properly, so writes down everything in his life in a little notebook. He can't connect with people, and lives with his blind friend, Jeff Daniels, while working as a bank janitor.

Chris's job makes him the target for a group of bank robbers. They cajole him into assisting with their robbery plans by taking him in, offering him friendship, and making him fall for a girl. He realises the benefits of the extra cash and goes along with the scam. But all, say it with me, is not as it seems...

It's a movie about a guy who deals with a poor decision by making poor decisions. It's about a lack of connection, about attempts made to steer straight. I enjoyed it, though I didn't love it. One of my main concerns was how movie-like the final reel was, with the shootouts and things. Something about those crisp, choreographed battle scenes just distracted me from the story.

What am I trying to say? The dude with the glasses, the all-out killing machine -- he only exists in movies. Look at Dog Day Afternoon -- now that's more realistic. These caricatures of evil men don't work for me -- even Matthew Goode's character was over the top and unrealistic. It was his connection to Lukas Haas in terms of his look and actions here that made me think of Brick. This was far more accomplished than Brick, but suffered from some cheesy bad guys.

Still, smart enough and dark enough to be enjoyable.

3/5