Coldblooded (1995)

Wolodarsky hasn't a clue.He obviously tries to make a point about the self righteous attitude people have towards others. It's a good point.It was a point poorly made here.A bookie is promoted to hit man. Okay, there's the first clue we have that Wolodarsky doesn't have a clue. He must never have been outside his drawing room. The idea is beyond ludicrous. A bookie is the last person you would want for a hit man. A bookie is working with numbers and times. The bookie is the community's retired man, whom the law knows about, whom the tea party ladies know about, who performs the local service. Often, the mob does drag him in for their own profits, too.However, no one outside of the bubble boy community will believe a bookie would make a natural hit man by virtue of being a bookie.So, the premise is that the "new hit man" is an "everyman", but here again it fails. This "everyman", we learn at the end, is a complete psychopath.The movie spends over an hour on what Saturday Night Live could say in 30 seconds. The idea is that whenever someone is "whacked", the people who know have to "raionalize" it. They need to justify it.Indeed, nearly ever murder, ever atrocity, every war crime, is "self justified" this way. The people who learn of it must think the victim deserves it.It's not funny. It's not even dark humor. It fails miserably. It probably would have been a decent 2 minute sketch or short. But again, Wolodarsky just doesn't have a clue.

I was shown this movie last night by someone who had got hold of it on video somehow. At first I was sceptical about his praise, never having heard of it. But soon it had my full attention. Most of the other commentators have hit it right on the mark as a piece of top-drawer black comedy.Jason Priestley is extremely well cast as the nerdish but alarming bookworm turned hit-man. That distracted, rather troubled, stare lends him the sort of frightening expression one sees on those faces of homicidal delinquents all too often featured in the news. It really is creepy. And yet his personality is one of insecurity and psychological vulnerability. He is sexually inexperienced from an emotional standpoint, despite regular visits from a hooker. When it comes to addressing his feelings towards a girl he actually likes; he's lost. We see him blackmailing the ex-boyfriend for seduction and romantic tips, on pain of execution. Later he is even picking the brains of imminent victims. His body language is awkward and childishly gauche, very reminiscent of 'Frank Spencer' in 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'. In typical nerdy style he is completely lacking in ambition. He lives in a bedsit basement and is quite content there despite the huge pay rise when promoted to hit-man.Someone suggests he buys a suit to go on a date. And he goes and buys one suit. Priestley's character is groomed for a career in murder by an established and very capable assassin nicely performed by Peter Riegert. This tutor displays an excellent balance of patience and pathos, guiding his new protégé with a fatherly indulgence. But he is utterly ruthless in a world-weary way, whilst privately haunted by demons. 'The Man' is played to oleaginous perfection by ageing Robert Loggia. His is that kind avuncular charm, concealing an unutterable callousness that you've seen in plenty of other mafia movies. He's just so nice; you know he must be rotten to the core.And so the movie ticks along at its own pace and in its own direction, by an off-beat way that pays very little heed to precedent. You never know quite what's going to happen. I was astonished to see the great Micheal J Fox given little more than a cameo part, only to be obliterated without compunction. There was no DeLorean to save him this time around. The script goes along with it all. There are no really fancy one-liners, just good, steady, dialogue that seems entirely plausible when uttered by the players. The nearest comparison I can think of for this movie is the equally off-beat, violent, and darkly humorous 'Fargo'. And if that ain't a recommendation, I don't know what is.It's lack of availability on DVD is preposterous. Not only is the movie done a dis-service; a great deal of potential revenue is being lost. Don't miss it if you get the chance. This is a cult movie crying out for its audience.

this movie is completely underestimated. Jason Priestley really shocked me that he was able to play such a good character after what i've seen from him in the past. i highly recommend this movie to anyone with an intelligent sense of humor. the only thing I'm not too happy about is that this movie has not been released as a DVD yet but hopefully that will change. it's a dark comedy for anyone that is into them. one of the best ones i've ever watched. i caught this movie late one night about 3:00 in the morning knowing i had to get up for school at 6:00 a.m. and lets just say i had a rough day at school the next day. i couldn't take my eyes off of it from the first second i saw it. it's rare that a movie can actually have that effect on me especially that late at night. once again if you ever have a chance to see this movie, take the opportunity, Preistley is magnificent. Catch it on VHS at the video store if you have a VCR still

Nice. Quentin Tarantino without having a fit.Well, it seems there's no place for short comments. So I have to fill in some more words. Which is really this movie lacks in a rather smart way. Check out Jasmine's face when she's pointing a gun, near the end. You'll see what I mean. Words are just accessories.Let's see if now the comment is accepted.Nope. You have to bear with me a little more. And they have mandatory spelling check too!! I'm impressed. I think.The words laconic, concise, brief have no meaning for these guys.Let's see... check out the little pearls spread here and there inside the movie. Short humorous situations, well tempered. Sort of back to the basics film, clichés aren't annoying, just adequate. Eh, what do you think about that - adequate cliché. Of course i'm going to write anything here if they press me to!Finally! Not a moment too soon. Timing, yes, the movie displays good timing. What's the director name again?