Played (2006)

Played (2006) -* *

Directed By: Sean Stanek

Starring: Val Kilmer, Vinnie Jones, Gabriel Byrne, Bruno Kirby, Anthony LaPaglia and Mick Rossi










Played was a decent crime thriller despite its budget shortcomings.

Ray (Rossi) is a small-time thief who is framed for a crime he didn't commit. When he gets out of jail, he falls back into the same life.

The budget for this movie was $338,000, so I understand why it was shot on video instead of film. I was worried about that because the usual Lionsgate (shot on video) output is usually terrible ("Green River Killer", "Heebie Jeebies"). It actually looks good in most scenes.

Mick Rossi does a fine job as Ray. But the big name stars are only in this for maybe five minutes each. Kilmer does his usual professional work. His dialogue was improvised and it shows. ("You're not gonna Taco, Ray.") Jones plays a good bad guy. Byrne appears stiff and looks like he wants to be anywhere else. I also noticed that almost all the actors are on the phone. It's pretty cheap just to shoot actors talking on a phone.


Overall, Played was a satisfactory crime flick, that's a good second or third choice at the video store.



Comeuppance Review by: Ty

The Contract (2006)

The Contract (2006) - * * *


Directed By: Bruce Beresford

Starring: Morgan Freeman and John Cusack











The Contract was a pretty good thriller.

Frank Carden (Freeman) is a hitman about to do another job when he is sidetracked by a car accident. His cover is blown and the authorities are bringing him to Washington. But Carden escapes into the woods and meets Ray Keene (Cusack) and his son. With the cops and other hitmen after them, they have to escape.




Freeman and Cusack put in their usual professionalism. It's fun to see Freeman as the bad guy. Cusack gets to kill a few people too. The action scenes are well-shot and the scenery in Bulgaria looks beautiful.



The only thing that's odd is why two top-drawer actors would be drawn to a project fit for Eric Roberts or Michael Pare, but it works.

The Contract is one of the biggest DTV movies of the year and it's definitely worth seeing. It's a good couch-potato flick.







Comeuppance Review by: Ty