2008 Woodie Awards
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Save your money, '88 Minutes' is lame
by Garon Nemyre | Freelance Reporter |
Midway through Columbia Pictures' latest attempt at a blockbuster, "88 Minutes," Al Pacino's character is told by the one-dimensional villain to take a good look at his watch. These words spoke to me, so I took them to heart. For the next two hours of my life, which I will never get back, I found myself checking the time incessantly, hoping my pain and suffering would end soon. I'll admit I went into this movie with big aspirations, but I left wondering if Al Pacino had finally done it. Had he finally joined the ranks of Bruce Willis and Robert De Niro: A-list actors who will settle for D-list roles?
The premise of the movie isn't all that bad. In fact, on paper, writer Gary Scott Thompson, who wrote "The Fast and the Furious," might have even convinced me that it could work. But somewhere between putting pen to paper and actually filming the movie, a lot was lost. Director Jon Avnet settles for a burned-out Al Pacino stumbling through a wordy script, accompanied by a knock-off Molly Ringwald as his co-star cohort, Alicia Witt. The script tries to weave some deep-seeded tale but fails and makes you wonder if the movie should have been axed down and just called "8 minutes."
Pacino's character, the infamous Dr. Jack Gramm, is supposed to be a forensic psychiatrist responsible for putting away the likes of some of the world's most renowned serial killers; however, after watching the movie, you would never know that. Instead, Gramm appears to be more of a womanizing creeper of an old man who gets his kicks playing cops-and-robbers with the local authorities. And in doing so, he makes his fair share of enemies.
The premise of the movie isn't all that bad. In fact, on paper, writer Gary Scott Thompson, who wrote "The Fast and the Furious," might have even convinced me that it could work. But somewhere between putting pen to paper and actually filming the movie, a lot was lost. Director Jon Avnet settles for a burned-out Al Pacino stumbling through a wordy script, accompanied by a knock-off Molly Ringwald as his co-star cohort, Alicia Witt. The script tries to weave some deep-seeded tale but fails and makes you wonder if the movie should have been axed down and just called "8 minutes."
88 Minutes
| WHAT: | A poorly executed thriller about a forensic psychiatrist who only has 88 minutes to live |
| WHERE: | Regal Valley River Center Stadium 15 and Gateway Mall Cinemark 17 |
| WHO: | Al Pacino, Leelee Sobieski, Alicia Witt Galifianakis |
| RATING: | 1/2 out of 5 stars |
Pacino's character, the infamous Dr. Jack Gramm, is supposed to be a forensic psychiatrist responsible for putting away the likes of some of the world's most renowned serial killers; however, after watching the movie, you would never know that. Instead, Gramm appears to be more of a womanizing creeper of an old man who gets his kicks playing cops-and-robbers with the local authorities. And in doing so, he makes his fair share of enemies.
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