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by Jonathan McKee and Todd Pearage Rated R for disturbing violent content, brief nudity and language. Directed by Jon Avnet (Righteous Kill) Starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Amy Brenneman, Leelee Sobieski, Benjamin McKenzie, Deborah Kara Unger, William Forsythe, and Neal McDonough Jonathan's Rating: Skip it Todd's Rating: A Coaster Jonathan’s Word: Actually it was 108 minutes… Todd’s Word: O.K. here’s the story… Jack Gramm (Al Pacino) is a successful forensic psychiatrist and college professor whose testimony sent serial killer Jon Forster (Neal McDonough) to prison. On the eve of Jon's execution, Jack receives a phone call telling him that he has eighty-eight minutes to live. Meanwhile a copycat is killing women that Jack knows. Jonathan’s Word: This movie is just a repeat of SOOOOOOooooooo many other movies… it’s like a bad sense of de ja vu. Todd’s Word: I’m actually starting to feel sorry for director, Jon Avnet. Is it possible for him to make a movie that isn’t horrible (See Righteous Kill review)? How is it that T.V.’s Boomtown was so good and his movies are so bad? My wife and I got Boomtown on DVD and we are actually afraid to go back and watch them now. Jonathan’s Word: Boomtown rocked. It was pretty racy if I remember (like all T.V. these days), but very well written. And you’re correct. In this case, Avnet’s past performance is not a reflection of his recent work at all! The only thing that kept this film from becoming a “straight to rental” B-film was Pacino. Todd’s Word: Al Pacino is not great in this film. There’s plenty of his vintage screaming and “hurrah” type lines, but there are so many scenes that just fell flat. In one scene in particular, he is supposed to get emotional while telling the story of his sister’s death; it is honestly some of the worst acting I have seen in a long time. Jonathan’s Word: I honestly didn’t notice that… maybe because the movie was putting me to sleep. I just thought it looked like the typical case of “great actor choosing a bad film.” But in all honesty, I should have known that this film was bad when I noticed that William Forsythe was in the cast. That poor character actor has only had three or four noteworthy films in his entire career (and the guy has been in over a hundred films). Those are really bad numbers. Note this next time you’re looking at the back cover of a film at Blockbuster: Forsythe = crap film! Todd’s Word: I wanted this movie to be good (despite everything I had heard) but it wasn’t…it was terrible. Rent something good and use this one as a coaster. Jonathan’s Word: I agree 100%. Pull 1995’s Heat out of your old DVD collection and watch some real Pacino! SHOULD KIDS SEE IT? Nobody should see it. But kids definitely shouldn’t. The murder scenes are graphic and there are several scenes of nudity. 
Jonathan McKee, president of The Source for Youth Ministry, is the author of numerous
youth ministry books including the brand new Connect: Real Relationships
in a World of Isolation, and the award winning books Do They
Run When They See You Coming? and Getting Students to
Show Up. He speaks and trains at camps, conferences, and
events across North America, and provides free resources for youth workers internationally on his website,
TheSource4YM.com.
Todd Pearage is a movie buff at heart, but he's not your traditional film critic.
Todd is a blue collar film geek, from his job years ago at Blockbuster to his heartfelt online movie reviews. But
Todd isn't just a film geek. He has worked with middle and high school students since 1991 as a youth pastor in
Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches. Todd and his wife Lynda are both graduates of Philadelphia Biblical
University and have two children, Brianna and Caleb. Todd loves sports and movies and is always up for a good laugh.
He is a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and his favorite movies include Braveheart and Tommy Boy. Todd's reviews
reflect his love for kids and for his family.
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