In the Shadows (2001)

This one reminds me of "that thing you do!". Fun to watch, romantic, not to complicated and entertaining. This DVD is a keeper.I got this DVD for free and didn't read the cover, so I didn't have any expectations. (I can only recommend this; don't read the backside of the DVD before seeing the movie...Let it surprise you) The story line was OK, despite a bit predictable.I'm not familiar with the mob, so a hit-man becoming friends with his mark (and daughter) sounds plausible to me. Modine wasn't there to kill Caan immediately; he had to wait until "the big boss" arrived. Leaving plenty time for bonding. Things went a bit to smooth for my liking, almost like a fairy tale. But I don't expect a movie to be real life footage. And there was enough violence to make sure it wasn't a fairy tale...Cuba had a minor role. He had to act like he was acting, which isn't easy, so it looked a bit unnatural, like it should. James Caan was perfectly casted, great actor.Joey Lauren Adams and Mathew Modine weren't type casted, which I prefer. In real life we can't always judge books by their covers either. Reminding me of Tom Hanks in "Road to Perdition"....

I saw this movie on Showtime one afternoon. It is a really good movie all things considered. I enjoyed Matthew Modine in a darker role than he normally has. James Caan was great acting self as stuntman Lance Huston. Joey Lauren Adams was well cast in her role as Clarissa, Lance's daughter. Lillo Brancato who I loved in Bronx Tale, seemed to be going through the motions. I didn't find Cuba Gooding Jr. a good fit for his role as a Draven the undercover cop. The movie is a little slow at first but it comes around in the end. I liked the ending, though most romantics might not. If you have the chance to see it I would recommend doing so. I give this movie a 7.5 out of 10.

I watched this film with anticipation. Could it get better, could it get any worse? Well the answer was NO on both counts.Cuba Gooding was obviously NOT a bad guy. Matthew Modine was wooden and not a sympathetic character AT ALL. James Caan usually looks good and he lived up to that...though his character was a blank piece of paper, no life, no substance.The array of Familia were cookie cuttered, I couldn't keep track of who was who. I finally started naming them bad guy in the limo, bad guy looks like Sinatra, bad guy stool pigeon and big fat bad guy.If it promised to be a mob movie, it failed. If it promised to be a love story.....ewwww.If it was meant to be a behind the scenes stunt movie....I can't go on...the best I can say is James Caan usually looks good.So I gave it a 2.

On the whole, I thought "In the Shadows" wasn't all that bad. There were times when the dramatics were a little overdone and the short part that Cuba played as a bad-ass international drug smuggler was really NOT believable. Poor casting there folks.James Caan, on the other hand, was quite easy to see as an aging stunt guru. I have always liked watching Caan in a cool, collected, everyday-guy-in-extrordinary-circumstances type of role. He truly shone in this film.Joey Lauren Adams was the one predictable dissapointment. C'mon, a Pediatric Oncologist? Not with her language skills.Overall, I felt it to be a good story. I can't figgure out why everybody else has panned it in their ratings. Sure it's not blockbusting break the bank material....but it was better than the 4.3/10 the rest of you folks gave it.My call: 7/10