Life of Crime (2013)

Written and Directed by Daniel Schechter
Based on the book "The Switch" by Elmore Leonard
Starring John Hawkes, Jennifer Aniston, Yasiin Bey and Tim Robbins

Two common criminals get more than they bargained for after kidnapping the wife of a corrupt real-estate developer who shows no interest in paying the $1 million dollar ransom for her safe return.

This quirky heist comedy, complete with a star studded cast doesn't particularly stand out in the sea of other films like it. In fact, the entire time I was watching it, I felt as though I had already seen it, despite knowing for a fact that I hadn't. However, regardless of any cliché or overplayed thematic elements, it achieves the ultimate goal of every movie. It entertained me.

All of the performances were believable and the chemistry between the actors was strong. Every plot point, line of dialogue and detail put in to the story flowed naturally onto the screen. And as a bonus, it was pretty funny. It played much like a low-key version of the "Ocean's Eleven" movies.

All in all, Daniel Schechter delivers a solid, enjoyable movie. It may fail to make itself memorable to the average movie goer and I'm not even sure if I will remember it in detail further down the road. But for the hour and forty minutes I was watching this movie, I was engaged. And there are more movies than I care to mention that couldn't do that.

My Rating: 6/10

Open Windows (2014)

Written and Directed by Nacho Vigalondo

Starring Elijah Wood, Sasha Grey, Neil Maskell and Adam Quintero

A jilted fan finds himself pulled into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse after he accepts the opportunity to spy on his favorite actress via his laptop. A skilled hacker works his way into every aspect of the fan's life in order to control him throughout the night.

This movie is definitely interesting. It takes the fear of hackers and their obsessions with actresses and displays their computer onto the big screen. Filmed and edited entirely to only show the open windows (OH, I GET IT!) of programs on a computer desktop, the action never cuts away from what the protagonist is looking at on his screen. 

Instead, the director chose to only move from window to window, looking into various programs, phone calls and videos. The style of this movie is undeniably unique. And one that I feel will be copied in future movies. But that is where the positives end for this movie.

Sorry, Elijah

The entire plot seemed like it was attempting to be convoluted in order to impress, but rather than achieve that, it just felt simple and convenient. Many of the things that the computer hackers were doing  seemed overly fictitious and made up for the sole purpose of making the style this was made in less boring.

Topped off with terrible acting (Elijah Wood excluded), this movie had little going for it other than the unique filming style. If you want to watch a decent thriller film with a unique filming style, that happens to be starring Elijah Wood, might I suggest 2012's "Maniac". It's not amazing, but if you're looking for those criteria, that is a much better choice.

My Rating: 3/10