Wanted to like this...

Toronto?

Funny, I've lived in Toronto my whole life, and I'm pretty sure the Golden Gate Bridge isn't here.

I was very intrigued by your Subject line ... because I wanted to like this movie too. And like you came away very disappointed.

I wasn't really sure why at first.

I mean, I really like Tea Leoni and thought her acting in this movie was very good. I very much like Ben Kingsley and thought his acting in this movie was good. And I think his work in Sexy Beast was absolutely superb. A local review gave this movie high marks and said we would see something of the Kingsley of Sexy Beast in this. I think there's something to that; but that's it. The advertisement I've been seeing sort of alludes to Kill Bill, wich I liked very much. The theme sort of makes me think, as it has others on this thread, of The Whole Nine Yards, which I liked very much. I was told that this movie would be full of dark humor, which I ordinarily like very much. I saw Mr Brooks a day or so after it opened, liked it very much, and thought its dark humor mordant and funny and deadly throughout.

Yet I found myself sitting in this movie and hoping something would appeal to me and really, nothing ever did. There were some moments I liked and some laughs I liked. But on the whole the hitman-with-a-drinking-problem motif, good for a laugh or two, wore out pretty quickly for me. Some of the humor (e.g. -- watch out for very minor spoiler here --) Frank taking a nap on a gurney looking like a stiff in the funeral home - is such an old and overused piece of humor that I actually sort of winced when I saw it. And after the 9th or so "funny look" of someone at AA hearing Frank talk about how much his drinking had affected his work as a hitman, I was getting downright bored. Those looks were funny once or twice or maybe three times. But again and again and again ... please. It's time to move on.

Having said all this, I'll admit that some of my own disappointment is because my expectations were so high. I mean, it's just not a bit fair to go into a movie hoping it would give you something that's as good as Kill Bill or Sexy Beast or Mr Brooks or even The Whole Nine Yards.

All the same, i came away feeling ... yes, on the whole, Bored. And that really surprised me very much. I'm one guy that really doesn't get Bored at movies very easily. I really don't. But this one actually Bored me. And that, to me, as a guy who goes to movies looking for many things - mostly Entertainment, sometimes Education, sometimes Enlightenment, sometimes Escape, sometimes just to See Something Funny - that one thing, Boredom, is just plain fatal in a movie for me.

Oh well. I'm speaking only for myself of course. And I do respect enormously the varying tastes of all.

I very sincerely honor anyone who liked this movie. And very sincerely honor as well anyone who, like me, did not.

All good wishes to all,

Charles Delacroix

I guess I was willing to suspend my disbelief long enough to enjoy it as an interesting flick that I thought was well-made and very well-acted. It didn't take me long to realize that I wasn't expected to take it as an example of realism. I mean, I wasn't expecting Goodfellas.

Now then. I haven't seen Shrek 3, Pirates 3 or Spiderman 3. Thanks for the recommendations, but I think I'll pass on those.

The last 25 minutes or so were a mess. The movie was slow but I am OK with that as long as it is building to some sort of interesting conclusion. That didn't happen here. 2 quick scenes occurred back to back that ruined it for me.

1. Tea Leoni appearing at the door of the house with a full ski mask on for no reason other than to create a situation where the guy inside thought she might be a hit man. It was an unneeded scene that was obviously set up to create a cheap moment of tension.

2. A sniper in a car aiming at Kingsley's character through a window at the AA meeting. He gets a perfect opportunity at a clear shot but fails because his rifle was not loaded. NOBODY takes a bead on a target with an unloaded gun, particularly somebody in the killing business.

The idiotic "happy ending" was not believable in any way. The actors were good enough to stick with it up until then although they didn't have much to work with. Most of the dialog was forgettable.

I also never believed the attraction Leoni had for Kingsley either. They meet at a funeral, have a short inconsequential conversation, and for no reason she accepts an invitation to go out with him. He then confesses he is an alcoholic and a killer and she is totally unfazed by this.

He falls off the wagon and stands her up and again she takes him back. The story never provides a compelling reason for them to be in love at all much less her reason to overlook the killer's obvious shortcomings. I understand it is a dark comedy but c'mon. This is not the first time I have seen Kingsley cast in a role where he is somehow totally irresistible to a young pretty woman. I don't buy it.

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