Customer Reviews

Hell Cab

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

 

 

Will Kern's "Hellcab" is an excellent play by a talented writer, and like many stage productions, a risky transfer for the big screen, but the list of executive producers alone would indicate that several money-players in Hollywood felt the story was worth the effort. Is the movie up to the standards of the play? Probably not, but it is still a damn good film and perfect for those cerebral evenings where action and physical comedy take a backseat to highly literate cinematic entertainment.

I just saw this film in a pile of other unknown dvds at a liquidation store. It sounds like a horror film in the vein of Bone Collector. However, this is far from what you'd expect. It's about a taxi driver who picks up various people, most of them are Hollywood stars, and they talk about problems. It's not a bad movie and it's well acted but I wish they would have choosen a different title for the movie. They also say it takes on one day which is the longest of the year but it seems days pass before the movie ends. A minor problem but it is worth watching at least once.

This is the way it is--and we know that. Film consists of a series of vignettes--as it should, because that's the cab business, the way it is for any cabbie: people get in, people get out--and most you never see again (if you're a cab driver in any big city.)
And yet, this is what hurts the movie. The actors are not to blame, because this is one amazing cast; neither are the directors (there were two; it was co-directed) it comes down to the writing.

The reason Scorcese's Taxi Driver works as well as it does (for the most part) is because the DeNero character did a lot more than just drive around New York dealing with abnoxiius and/or insane fares; there was an actual storyline that went somewhere and took the audiance along for the duration of the ride.

An admirer of John Cusack, am collecting all of his films. This is a darkly humorous look at the adventures of a cab driver. Cusack's bit was great, but too short.

This movie is worth watching. It gives you a glimpse into true humanity through a day in the life of a Chicago cab driver.

Not to disagree with others on this terrific film, I believe that the producers and directors of this fine art film got it just right. To those people who take cabbies for granted and beleive that their lives are just boring non-descriptive airheads aimlessly driving through the streets of doom, simply waiting for that maniac to get into their cab and shoot, cut or mame them for life, this is a true to life glimpse of the way things really are for the drivers. Their real thoughts, dangers and anxieties are right on. Take it from someone who really knows about what it is like to drive a hack for a living and although this film is a little dark, that is how life is for cabbies. A little dark. Like my other favorite cabbie film, 'Driven', not to be confused with the Stallone movie, this movie shows the frustration of people dumping their problems on the driver as well as prying into his business and the constant fruitless efforts to help or 'not to help' some of the passengers, not to mention the true and real dangers. I found this movie to be as close to a day in a cabbies life as you can get with maybe the exception of even more drama. There is only so much that you can capture in a couple of hours. For anyone who ever thought about driving a cab or what it must be like, this is a drivers guide. Not pretty, but truthful. Paul Dillon as the main cast 'driver' has cleverly captured the demeanor, frustration, fear and comedy of a day in a cabbies life. Smart casting of smaller parts and cameo's by Michael Ironside, Laurie Metcalf, John C. Reilly, Gillian Anderson, John Cusack and Jullian Moore add to the experience. Although this movie was originally made a few years back and under another name 'Chicago Cab' I was pleased to find that the producers went back to the original title. John Cusack also, an executive producer of this movie plays a perfect villan near the end of the film. Well worth the fare!

We agree with Ian. This was a great movie with some very intense moments. We thought it was a shame that thy gave it this idiotic name. It propbably would have had a wider audience.

Although the packaging says it is fullscreen, the film is presented in a letterbox format. Aside from the cabbie, everyone else (Julianne Moore, John Cusack, Gillian Anderson, etc.) appears for only minutes as they take a ride through Chicago. Originally titled Chicago Cab.

I reviewed this one before I think. I have never been to a city, in traffic, or in a cab. The people were interesting, and that was really fun to see what it is like to ride around in a cab in a city. That was great.

Great story, of a full 24 hour period, with a cab driver and what he go's though out the work day.