Customer Reviews

Blood, Guts, Bullets & Octane

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

While comparisons with movies directed by Tarantino are justified, I really felt that this flick stood on its own and was not excessively derivative.

The filmmakers did an excellent job of creating two realistic leading characters and giving them a plausible world to inhabit. The movie is by no means short of action, but does not use fist fights and car chases as a end in and of themselves, but rather uses them to advance the plot.

Roger Ebert roundly criticized the ending of this film, I believe using the expression, "An exercise in desperation," but I felt that the ending was both entirely appropriate for the setup leading up to it and original.

Blood Guts Bullets & Octane is an exciting movie that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys smart action movies.

This is a good example of how someone can take a tiny budget, a fun idea, a skeletal story and a cast/crew of unknowns and whip together something fun and exciting. It's better than a lot of other action movies out there (although there are no typical ugly special affects, e.g., pyrotechnics, bullets bursting through bodies, etc.) The banter between the protagonists is a mixture of Quentin Tarrentino meets caffienated salesmen.

I don't know any of the cast, but most of them have lots of charisma.

Some may grouse that this movie was too self-conciously indie, too derivative of Resevoir Dogs or is just an ambitious person's calling card - but in my mind, it puts a lot of big movies to shame. It's certainly better than anything that goes direct to video.

If you wanted to improve this movie (remember, we're dealing with newbies here), the FBI personnel were used to tell the story. Their role as the storytellers was a little wooden, too obvious and not all that necessary - so I would trim their parts down.

Not much there in the way of budget and it shows, but boy does this little movie pack a wallop! The DVD is clean and grain-free and it helps when you can hear all of Carnahan's rude, abrasive, gut-busting dialogue. This one is a must for Indie film fans, a true breakout cult film, maybe the best since Repo Man.

I see this movie listed as one of the best of indie-film for'99. I never heard of it, so I track it down, watch it and amsummarily blown away. Top-notch acting and directing (especially good is G-man Ken Rudulph and harried lemon-lot hustler Dan Leis as Bob) Strong recommendations from somebody who sees a lot of bad videos, this one is a rare bird, and great! END

I recently saw this movie too. It was one of the most unique and captivating movies I have ever seen. I loved seeing many of our local celebrities up on the big screen! I can't wait until it comes out on DVD.

I saw this film at my local movie house. I must say it is one of the best films I've seen. The actors, the photography, and the high speed pace was unbelievable. And who can forget the "Man in Black", actor Michael Saumure, he was amazing. I can't wait to see what he does next.

For a fast-talking, humorous, gunfight-fest action movie today, it is difficult NOT to take lessons from Scorsese, Tarantino or Guy Ritchie. With this in mind, "Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane" took equal turns on each aspect and the end result was a very entertaining, slick, funny movie that lives up to the far-fetched nature which the title implies. When two of your typically desperate, inept used car dealers (whose eviction from their dusty, unimpressive lot is imminent) are approached by a shady, low-level criminal with a simple deal to watch over a car for a few days, they can't believe their luck! Firstly, they can't believe they could earn $250K for this simple errand... But mostly, they refuse to believe that they are NOT being set-up somehow. And this is where their wild imaginations takeoff.
Peppered over the frantic plot line, are characters rich in their motivations, speech patterns, outright (and humorous) vulgarity and penchant for pre-destined violence. Often, films such as this make the mistake of suddenly remembering to take themselves seriously and it ends up ruining the whole flick. "Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane" however, strikes a bit of a nerve in how many people who view it can most likely see how people like our two used car salesmen get themselves in such deep trouble due to their own over-active paranoia and desperation. I found this to be wildly entertaining, and thankfully devoid of ANY redeeming qualities in ANY of the characters.

How my ratings work:
5 - I really liked/loved it
4 - I liked it
3 - Could've been better/worth a look
2 - Just didn't live up to the potential
1 - Simply awful

This is the kind of movie that's good to watch on a slow and or dull day. It's no Oscar worthy film, nor is it an A list type film, but it is a fun B movie type film. People today don't seem to appreciate B cinema as much as they used to. This is a well put together low budget crime film made for a little over $7000, and it doesn't look like a $7000 film. The performances are over the top at times, but the actors have fun with it. Every crime film today seems to get compared to Quentin Tarantino. I myself love Tarantino's work, but people forget that he himself is a guy who takes material and ideas from other movies as well. Everyone takes from everyone, it's just a fact of life. For a debut film this movie showed off writer/director Joe Carnahan's talent as a filmmaker. His dialogue is whipe smart, even if a little offbeat at times, and his camera work is nicely energized. Of course his later work is much better, but few filmmakers hit the mark on the first try. Give the movie a shot; it won't be in your list of all time favorite films but it will entertain you.

I've immensely enjoyed Joe Carnahan's other works, particularly Narc and Smokin' Aces, and count Narc as one of the very best crime dramas in recent memory. When I heard Carnahan had kicked off his career back in '98 by writing, directing, and starring in a low-budget indie in the vein of Robert Rodriguez' El Mariachi, I got stoked at the idea of what he could do with a small budget (less than $8,000) and complete creative control. So I popped in Blood Guts Bullets and Octane one day and prepared to drink in its indie goodness.

The result? A cocktail with the sweet flavor of ambition but the aftertaste of a Quentin Tarantino/David Mamet knock-off.

It's not that the dialogue doesn't work; if anything it works too much, is too frenetic, too hyper. Whereas early Tarantino and Mamet use language to explore human emotion and build character, Carnahan uses it to make his characters sound snappy and witty but without revealing any true depth. He seems willing to have the characters use as many words as possible to get their ideas across, trying to mask it as characterization. It's like asking your buddy what he wants on his pizza, and your buddy proceeds to itemize every topping imaginable and why pepperoni trumps them all. Dude, just say you want pepperoni and let's phone it in. It gets frustrating, for sure. The non-linear format of BGB&O is another nod to Tarantino. Carnahan has two or three storylines going, another tip of the hat to all the hip post-modern crime indies that cropped up after Tarantino hit the scene in '92. The acting is pretty solid, especially Carnahan himself, who has some surprising acting chops. His direction, along with his eye for stylized shots and skillful editing, prove to be the big strengths of the movie. What's especially nice about watching BGB&O is that you see these strengths mature in his subsequent movies, Narc and Smokin' Aces.

This movie is very ambitious and inspiring. As Carnahan proved with his later movies, he can write snappy dialogue that fuses with his ambitious style and intriguing premise to create a very entertaining movie. Blood Guts Bullets and Octane was just the warm-up lap to get him on his way to making good crime movies on bigger budgets. Rent this movie if you want to see a young up-and-comer with a lot of promise.

For an indie pic, this movie was a lot of fun. There's not a lot of production value and some of the acting could be described as wooden, if you're being generous. I really enjoyed it, my friends really enjoyed it.

Movie watching is supposed to be a form of entertainment; some people take it way too seriously. Meet this movie with middling expectations and you might find it surprisingly enjoyable. I sure did.