Out of Sight

A-

This movie is based on a book by Elmore Leonard who also wrote Get Shorty. There are a lot of similarities between the two and if you liked Get Shorty you will like this one. There is great dialog here and cool music. But unlike Get Shorty there is also steaming romance in this one. George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez are both great in this movie. I wouldn't be surprised to see a Best Actress nomination for this very strong female role. Ving Rames is good in his understated support role just as he was in Dave and Striptease. A pot-head ex-con (Steve Zahn) plays the role of flake as well as it's ever been played and has some great scenes. There is a funny cameo by Michael Keaton and a smaller cameo by Samuel Jackson. I didn't even realize one character was Albert Brooks until the movie was almost over.

About two-thirds of the way through the movie I was thinking this is the best movie I've seen all year (and last year), but after that point it got bogged down in it's own plot. Plus, since it's a movie about a dedicated federal marshall and a dedicated bank robber falling in love eventually you have to have an ugly ending. Something's got to give.

This movie is a lot of fun to watch and except for one gratuitously graphicly violent scene of a guys head exploding (about the only reason for an R rating), this is a great movie for young and old, male and female (not little kids, clearly). If I remember correctly Get Shorty's violence was light-hearted and mostly comical. This movie seems to want to avoid the "cute" tag and be respected for a hard edge. It would have played better I think if it had stayed light. And the last 45 minutes of standard burglary/shootout stuff takes this movie from a 9 to an 8. This is the best movie of the summer. Make sure you see it.

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