Slow Burn

There are some movies that if you do not just hand feed the audience, they assume that it is boring. Slow Burn has a lot of twist and turns the movie is to be taken just as the title "Slow Burn".

I enjoyed it and have watched it 3 times. The first time, I was involved with doing something else and when I would glance up, I was like oh, okay. But, you actually need to sit down and really get into this movie. Action good, plot is good. There are a couple of underlying plots that you have to watch for. You have all the things needed that people request, drug lord, corruption, love, and sex. As the plots thickens, the viewer should attempt to pull the plots away from each other. Just relax, let the movie take its course. Girls you have some of the top good looking men in the movie that's a plus. There are some up and comings in the movie, that with a few more times, they will survive on their on.

Wayne Beach's storytelling tactics are very particular but eventually effective. Characters are chameleon-like and plot is transparent and convoluted at the same time, reminding a bit John Grisham's novels adaptations. The twists capsizing everything over the last twenty minutes turn the conclusion into a big mess but heat is not lacking at all. Plot reversals and action flashes look like a fusion of "The Usual Suspects" and Hollywoood legal thrillers, besides this political/Court story also handles themes of racial confusion and conflicts. Not a stellar cast, but the movie is overall well acted (Ray Liotta has a pulse as usual).

I rented this on New Year's Eve to counter the boredom of Bowl games, and found the movie to be surprisingly good. There was a compelling and believable storyline (think of "Body Heat" set in a contemporary northeastern city instead of lazy Miami), it was well acted and a real thriller. I especially liked LL Cool J's performance, and Liotta was believable as the White urban politico. I also liked that the movie didn't shy away from comments (however simplistic) about race. Mekhi Pfifer was useful in his role and Taye Diggs was hilarious with his usual witty and sarcastic commentary. The female lead, Blalock also gives a believable performance as damsel in distress. The Desk Sgt. Drown character was quite funny. Comparable (but better) films would include "Double Indemnity" or The "Postman Always Rings Twice". This was a good yarn, well worth the 3 bucks I spent to rent it.

Here's a film that might have been a classic. The story had all the elements. But the direction could have been better and the main actress wasn't up to the material. The supporting actors didn't help either. With a different cast and a different director this might have been great. That being said, it is still worth a look.

I remember growing up on films such as The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, The Fugitive, films with enough plot twists and turns to keep things fresh and interesting. I was more than pleasantly surprised to see excellent performances from an otherwise pieced-together cast of Ray Liotta, Taye Diggs, LL Cool J, Mekhi Phifer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and of course Jolene Blalock. I enjoyed every minute of this film whose score and choice of background, and especially credit, music made it all that much more memorable.

Personally, I love films in, around, or about the city. Without giving anything away, Slow Burn deals with corruption and a little gang-related mystery; all the while providing that sense of empathy for Liotta's character that seems all too absent in modern films today.

No, this film is not for everyone, but if you can remember what it was like to be genuinely stringed along and interested in what happens at every twist and turn of those 90's film plots, then you should find yourself feeling that you got you're 9.50's worth on a Friday night.