A Lonely Place for Dying (2009)

Not just your regular action movie. There's more behind the guns and fighting than the usual "shoot em up" action flick. The story line is actually well thought out rather than an excuse for more shooting and gore. Great for those looking for action, story twists, chemistry between the main characters, and a story line to bring it all together.Some great names that I've never heard of before. Ross Marquand and Michael Scovotti were fantastic. Loved their chemistry on screen. Hope to see them in more movies in the future.The directing was very well done. Truly blown away that this movie was made on a small budget. Great quality and very well written.Very likely to keep most audiences interested through the whole film.

They don't make spy movies like this anymore! It feels so real and honest. I've read other reviews and all I can think is those people must be so old they've forgotten that this kind of movie IS original! When in the last 30 years has there been a spy film that focuses so much on characters? The characters are wonderful! Nikolai is both charming and a killer. I love even the smaller actors! The guy who plays the military man who is shot in the head and yells "I'M TALKING TO YOU!" is fantastic.SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT This is where I write about the plot so don't read it if you don't want to know the story.So the film is about a KGB double agent who is escaping Russia. His CIA controller refuses to help him and NIkolai is forced to sell secrets about the CIA to the Washington Post. When the Washington Post finds out the secrets are about nerve gas being used in Laos they agree to meet him in Mexico.I won't say the rest except to say that it is incredibly good. The words that come out of the actors is the best part. The story is very surprising. Yeah, it's a spy film and yes I've seen spy films before but this is such a great, smart, fun movie! There are twists and turns I never saw coming. This movie is definitely worthy of your time.

There is something to be said for a movie that grabs your attention from the word "go" and engages you for almost every moment you are involved. When said movie is of the independent ilk, accolades must be given. "A Lonely Place for Dying" is really a prime example of what independents can (and should) be.Writer/Director Justin Evans is fine-tuning his sharp signature style by involving the viewer on every level imaginable. I can't help but shower this film with praise. It leaves me anticipating what Evans will do next !One of the shining gems in this venue is Ross Marquand, who plays a soviet turncoat named Nikolai Dzerzhinsky. The year is 1972 and Nikolai has become disillusioned with the KGB He tries to get out by trading secrets, only to discover that what he's falling into may be a worse alternative !!! He eventually holes up in an abandoned Mexican prison, facing' down an assortment of "colorful" characters that could be either friend or foe.Tension builds as Nikolai figures out who wants him out alive, and who wants the prison to be his tomb. Marquand is very effective as a person who can be somebody's strong ally one instant, then torture them the next with an almost childlike glee.Ross Marquand gives a performance we (usually) only see from the most seasoned of actors, taking this movie to another level And completely transcending the independent genre in the process !Also on board here are: Michael Scovotti (who emulates a 1970′s agent so well that it's uncanny) and the always enjoyable James Cromwell Not to mention "The Crow's" Michael Wincott !"A Lonely Place for Dying" does not ever look, sound or feel like an independent film. The writing is superb, the scenery stunning and the lighting amazingly atmospheric. Sure, it's gritty when it needs to be, and often feels claustrophobic only to highlight moments of liberation. Evans provides a taut, suspense-laden roller coaster, and I'd be hard-pressed to say I have seen a better indie this year. Definitely right on target, "A Lonely Place for Dying" is a direct hit.

If you like Jason Statham movies like The Transporter, or if you like Guy Ritchie movies like Snatch, or if you enjoyed Chevy Chase in Spies Like Us, then I cannot see how you would not absolutely love "A Lonely Place for Dying", which has elements of all 3 of those movies. Making fun of Russian paranoia, the CIA, Mexican government corruption, and all 007 movies as well, this keeps moving through many surprising turns, but leaves you feeling good in the end, much like Guy Ritchie would do. My only problem with this film is that it has the dumbest title in the history of cinema- a title that tells you nothing about the film and that makes no one want to see it. By the time you see this, the title may have been changed. I hope so. Then they can find a distributor.