Rip It Off

Lame Canadian heist flick will be of interest to Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans since it stars not only Allyson Hannigan (Willow) but also features Alexis Denisof (Wesley on Buffy and Angel). The movie seems like it might have been inspired by Bound, but it's unconvincing and dull. Of the three female leads Hannigan comes off best by far, bringing a touching vulnerability to her part. Jenniffer Esposito, on the other hand, is dreadful. You never believe her for a second and are always too aware that you're watching an actress play a part--and a not very good actress at that based on this movie and Backflash.

Beyond the City Limits or Rip-It-Off, more like just rip-off, is supposedly a heist movie featuring surprising backstabing. However the only backstabbing I detected must have been done to the writer, because they were unable to finish the script. There is time spent on character development but it is wasted. No back-story is revealed, we have no idea how the characters know each other, and minus one character you (I anyway) have no desire to know them. The acting is akin to that you would perhaps see in your child or siblings kindergarten play. Minus the performance of Alyson Hannigan who plays a smack junkie who can't kick the habit giving her character a least a reason for empathy. I see that the guidelines for posting a review say no spoilers but with this plot (if you call it that) it is next to impossible. Consider this a P.S.A. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!

This film is an absolute mess. None of it makes sense or works; it can not decide its POV nor its tone and includes many unnecessary scenes that have nothing to do with the plot. What's that scene with the woman at the bus stop all about? Why is the 2nd security guard at the casino acting like such a hardass? Why is everyone so obsessed with sex? Why the sudden shift to the heroin story and where did this "I always wanted to own a restaurant" stuff come from? What on earth is Sophie B Hawkins doing here and why was she blackmailing the cop? WHO KNOWS?? The filmmakers obviously don't. I've seen better film on ponds.

I finally saw Beyond the city limits after a long search it has been released here in the Netherlands in the video rental. Not the best movie I have ever seen, it was certainly not the best performance the actors ever did, except for Jennifer and the lovely Alyson who are the real stars of the movie these two make the movie worth looking. Beyond the city limits will be released for sale in the Netherlands on 21st of may.

Ok, I just want to say, if Gaston wanted a Russian accent, why didn't she get a Russian person? I mean, I know that it's ok sometimes to change for a role, but Denisof's accent sucked. I am normally a fan of both him, and Alyson Hannigan, but please! The movie was a waste of time. I watched it twice, just to reassure myself that it really was crap and I didn't look over some hidden meaning in every scene.

I know that the same POV the entire movie gets boring, but how many times did the editor's have to change it? None of the scenes make much sense, either. I literally didn't get the point of half of them, unless they were there just to confuse the audience. I just hope that when I start directing, my movies won't get as many horrible reviews as this one did.