Pavement

I just watched this movie on HBO with my friends on New Years. I must say that this movie is great in a way that you see that it is a new kind of killer. The motive is the scary part. I liked how they showed a great way to figuring out the killer by using simple tracking methods. If you are really into mysteries, this movie is good to watch because you also want to figure out the motive. Lauren Holly was good. However, this was one of the first films in which I saw Robert Patrick star with a great and sophisticated role. I would recommend this film to those that are into sophisticated mystery films.

For a mystery movie, I would have to give this movie a 4.8 out of 5.

The opening credits combined with music do a nice job of setting the tone for the movie. Then we cut to the first glimpse of the city, and it becomes blatantly apparent it is being shot with an awful brown filter. I hate filters—they're nothing more than a cheap way to set the mood of the scene.

This is the 2nd HBO original movie I've rented the DVD of in the past two days, and they must be shot with digital cameras because the picture quality is astounding…it's as if you're in the film. The editing give you a sort of off-balance distorted feel which aids you in feeling what the main character is feeling—very impressive. The music is engaging and successfully established a feeling of suspense. However, the slow-motion love scene was a bit random and pointless.

I enjoyed the subtle humorous moments between Sam (Patrick) and Buckley (Holly). I couldn't help but wonder how Buckley is a detective when Sam does her job better than her. As a die- hard fan of "The X-Files", I am well-versed in how to make a seemingly unexplainable phenomenon make sense and have the appropriate facts to support it. Buckley's revelation on the road after they track the killer through the woods for the second time was impressive —it finally showed her true color as a detective.

The film's momentum is disrupted by the fact that Alex Duncan just can't act. As a result, the last scene felt corny and contrived. But the main characters push the story along, so this divergence, while highly noticeable, remains minor.

VERDICT: Adequate character writing, however the plot, while intriguing and thought-out, remains underdeveloped. Simple and yet surprisingly clever—it certainly maintained my interest. Recommended to anyone who likes crime mysteries, but if it's a thriller you long for, you should look elsewhere.

5.5 out of 10.0

~AleXa~

man. this movie is bad. bad bad bad. there are so many things wrong with it i don't know where to begin. first of all, the writing is AWFUL!!!! it makes me want to shake someone. the acting is not the best either. i mean, i'm sure they are doing the best with what they have, but still. the plot is just plain stupid. its the worst reason i ever heard of for a killer to kill people. except maybe for "Saw". the situations are dumb too. the whole deal with the first suspect: what?!?!? they were trying to make this movie all edgy and bizzaro and they only accomplished one of those things. i recommend renting "Pavement" on a nite when you and your friends feel like getting drunk and making fun of something. spare the weird kid down the street. just watch this movie. here's a head start for you eagle eyed watchers: the killer's eyes change color in the last scenes.

"Pavement" is a very ordinary serial killer flick which sticks Holly out in front as a homicide investigator who teams up with Patrick as an Alaskan wilderness tracker (yeah, right) and together they set out to solve a killing spree with Capetown standing in for San Francisco. The film is full of nonsequiturs and plot holes, does nothing to distinguish itself, and fails to beg an emotional investment leaving the viewer little more than a detached voyeur. In addition the whole tracking thing is silly, the brief sex scene is hokey, and the production is slapped together with a scene here and a scene there cropped tightly so as to not reveal the Capetown environs. In spite of all that, the film does gather momentum, delivers some action and a wisp of suspense, and should make for a nominal no-brainer couch potato watch for those into murder mysteries. (C)

I doubt Film locations are Cape Town SA as stated in IMDB - but rather in San Francisco. I cannot place the mansion in the movie supposedly in Pacific Heights at 1923 Pacific Ave in the movie. Many shots are around different areas in SFO. The wolf attack early in the film is obviously a husky, much too small for a wolf and has wrong markings. Acting lacks chemistry between Lauren Holly and the tracker - leaving me with Direction/Production impression of 'Lifetime' TV movie feel - with a bit higher quality production could have been much stronger movie. Reflecting on dates, was made in 2002, so made just before original high def TV of 1080p in 2004 - yet not grainy or pixelated.