Catch.44
BLU-RAY 
.jpg)
|
Director:
Aaron Harvey Actors: Malin Akerman Bruce Willis Forrest Whitaker Rating:
 Printer-Friendly version
|
 |
|---|
WHAT'S IT ABOUT?
Tes (Malin Akerman), Dawn (Deborah Ann Woll), and Kara (Nikki Reed) are three gorgeous ladies, who just so happen to work for a local drug kingpin, Mell (Bruce Willis). When the film opens, they’re sitting at a diner, gabbing about sex- but things quickly take a violent turn and escalate into a Mexican standoff between the gals and some particularly violent opposition, including the enigmatic Ronny (Forrest Whitaker).
IS IT A GOOD MOVIE?
Remember the mid-nineties, how after RESERVOIR DOGS and PULP FICTION, dozens, if not hundreds, of indie filmmakers aspired to be the next Quentin Tarantino? Relatively few gems emerged in the years that followed, with loads of average to bad crime potboilers (THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU’RE DEAD, TWO DAYS IN THE VALLEY, BLOOD, GUNS, & OCTANE, TOUCH, etc.) not making much of a dent in the years that followed.
Writer/director Aaron Harvey is late to the game with CATCH .44, which the Blu-ray cover touts as “in the tradition of PULP FICTION & THE USUAL SUSPECTS”. In the tradition it may be, but don’t for a second think CATCH .44 is in anyway a noteworthy addition to the canon. It’s just a low-rent potboiler, with lots of wannabe “hipper-than-hip dialogue”, mixed in with burst of extreme violence and seventies pop-tunes, that is just a pale imitation of far, far better films.
The only saving grace here is the cast, which is pretty damn good for a film like this. Bruce Willis has fun in a small, sleazy role, although he really only has two big scenes. Forrest Whitaker seems to be having fun flip-flopping into different accents (including a funny, if a wee bit racist, Latino one)- and Malin Ackerman, as always, is not only easy on the eyes, but also manages to sell the dialogue better than most other actresses I can think of.
Writer/director Aaron Harvey is late to the game with CATCH .44, which the Blu-ray cover touts as “in the tradition of PULP FICTION & THE USUAL SUSPECTS”. In the tradition it may be, but don’t for a second think CATCH .44 is in anyway a noteworthy addition to the canon. It’s just a low-rent potboiler, with lots of wannabe “hipper-than-hip dialogue”, mixed in with burst of extreme violence and seventies pop-tunes, that is just a pale imitation of far, far better films.
The only saving grace here is the cast, which is pretty damn good for a film like this. Bruce Willis has fun in a small, sleazy role, although he really only has two big scenes. Forrest Whitaker seems to be having fun flip-flopping into different accents (including a funny, if a wee bit racist, Latino one)- and Malin Ackerman, as always, is not only easy on the eyes, but also manages to sell the dialogue better than most other actresses I can think of.
THE EXTRAS
Nothing except a commentary track .
FINAL DIAGNOSIS
Despite a talented cast, CATCH .44 is still really only worth seeing if you’re a hardcore Bruce Willis completist, or miss the nineties Tarantino knockoffs, that truthfully, this isn’t even as good as. Not recommended.
