Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing Personal, March 8, 2000
By A Customer
`Nothing Personal', as this movie was originally and more aptly titled, is a low-key, darkly funny and engaging depiction of a dysfunctional 'family' of professional assassins in the throes of an internal power struggle. Claire (Kyra Sedgwick) and Nick (Stanley Tucci), a killer team with a romantic past, are sent to retrieve a wayward money-runner who has sold-out their boss (Robbie Coltrane). Thrust into the middle of a plot involving shifting alliances, challenged loyalties and crooked self-actualization theory, the attentive veiwer will be rewarded with many small moments that add up to a movie more substantial than it appears at first blush. Strong points: The Hoebers' taut script; Director Leitzes' willingness to allow us to deduce much of the movie's background story w/out condescending paint-by-numbers scenes or lame expository dialogue; an effective cast featuring Sedgwick and Tucci's gently expressed adult partnership facing an inexorable fate; Philip Seymour Hoffman's unctuously ambitious provocateur; John Ritter's brief but effectively weighty performance; and perhaps most impressive, Robin Tunney's momentum building depiction of the consistently underestimated `Kitty'. Weak points: Coltrane's `Boss' seems a bit scattered and inexplicably motivated; a few loose ends in the plot; a vaguely un-anchored setting devoid of police, witnesses or collateral damage. $8.50 moments: Response of two assassins to being ordered to kill Nick; Claire's turn-about at the tree (and the little boy who drops in); Nick's impression of Elmer Fudd. This movie's outlook and humor is reminiscent of some of the lack of "honor among thieves" and violence-based humor seen recently in `Out of Sight' and `Grosse Pointe Blank' (admittedly better movies). So, if you enjoyed those `adult' comedies, I'd wager you won't regret spending ninety-odd minutes with `Montana'. "$8.50 moment": the point in a movie when you feel you definitely got your money's worth (value determined by the current average cost of a movie ticket in NYC).
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More people need to see this., July 22, 2004
This review is from: Montana (DVD)
Aside from its refreshingly stripped-down plot, MONTANA is a pretty complex film. I say this because it works on so many levels, and is essentially impossible to pigeonhole stylistically. I suppose it's a crime drama more than anything else, but it's also hilarious, very violent, and not without a healthy dose of action fireworks.
Kyra Sedgewick is amazing as Claire, the only female part of a syndicate of hitmen. Her partner and possible love interest is terminally ill Nick (also played to perfection by Stanley Tucci). In charge of the whole operation is The Boss (Robbie Coltrane), and his assistant, Duncan (Philip Seymour Hoffman). When the Boss's mistress, Kitty (Robin Tunney) runs off, he sends Claire and his son, Jimmy (Ethan Embry), to go retrieve her. Once they find her, Jimmy attempts to rape her, and with nothing else to lose, Kitty shoots him in the head. This, of course, puts Claire in a very bad position.
Every aspect of this film is great. The screenplay (by Erich and Jon Hoeber) is witty, quick, very real, and devoid of convention. Leitzes's direction is down-to-earth, but hardly amateurish, and again, lacking any indie arrogance or MTV trickery. And you couldn't ask for a better group of actors -- there's a real chemistry there.
MONTANA is not going to change your life, but it is a truly exceptional film, and should certainly be unearthed from obscurity.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You gotta love it, May 2, 2004
This review is from: Montana (DVD)
It is easy to see why this movie has with DVD reached cult status. It is John Woo perfect on the conflict between loyalty and integrity, with only two-thirds of the blood. "I love bananas because they have no bones and I hate peaches, because they have stones" - you gotta love it.
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