Liebe lieber ungewöhnlich - Eine Beziehung mit Hindernissen

Neil (Cillian Murphy) runs a vintage video store with a small group of friends. All of them adore movies and engage in arguments every day about which animation techniques are the best and so on. Although Neil has a girlfriend (Heather Burns), he decides he'd be better off without her and says sayonara over lunch. Good thing, too, for into his store walks a darling lass, Violet (Lucy Liu), who wants Neil to recommend a movie for a sick friend. The video man does so, hoping he will see Violet again. As it happens, Vi is one unusual lady and she arranges some further meetings with Neil with the utmost flair. Knowing he likes mysteries, Violet makes herself into a femme fatale and scares the willies out of Neil, by faking kidnappings, hiring thugs, and more. Somewhere along the line, the two fall in love but Neil never knows what Vi will do next to rattle his bones. Is there a future in such a relationship? As a fan of Murphy's, it was a rush to find this film at the price of one dollar. However, the good feeling soon evaporated, no fault of this fine and handsome Irish actor. He is good and Liu is downright adorable. But, although there are some memorable scenes and interesting premises, the flick still seems very disjointed and sloppily put-together. Too bad the screenwriter didn't ask for help, for a second writer might have found a way to increase its appeal. As it is, one scene follows another, without a focus. The scenery is pretty good, as are the costumes, and there is a few charming moments, such as the time Neil kisses Violet through a hole in the fence. Therefore, if you think Murphy is handsome or Liu is intriguing, you might want to give this film a whirl. Otherwise, even a dollar might seem too much to spend.

Watching the Detectives - Neil (the very talented Cillian Murphy) owns a rundown video store that specializes in obscure B movies and film noir. His life consists of watching movies and chatting while his life goes nowhere. One day he meets an intense free-spirit girl named Violet (Lucy Liu) who plays pranks on him compulsively. The film contains many delightful nods to gumshoe film noir.

The plot is simple, and it seems like the sort of film that was made for film buffs, with more references than you can shake a stick at. It even feels like the sort of film I would make, and doubtless director/writer Peter Soter speaks from experience. The premise is enjoyable, as is the chemistry between Cillian Murphy, who is the show, and Lucy Liu. She perfectly plays the "crazy" girlfriend. She's like fire. Violet burns brightly, but often burns the gullible Nick with her pranks. Nick reminds me of me. And I love myself, and love Cillian Murphy, so this film really spoke to me.

The films message, which is to get out and enjoy life, might rub some film aficionados the wrong way for criticizing the wholeness of their lives, so their umbrage is understood, though unfortunate. I know fully well that screens are no substitute for real life and take every opportunity to do something else. They are a nice distraction when things are stagnant though.

It's just all in good fun, often very good fun. The shenanigans that Nick and Violet get into are just too much. I wholeheartedly enjoyed this film. Watching the Detectives is cleverly written, often very funny and quirky and idiosyncratic as hell. As this is the case, it's not for everyone but eons better than most of what has come out this year. I'm dismayed Watching the Detectives didn't get a full release. I suppose there aren't enough ironic film buffs out there and fans of Cillian Murphy, whose performance makes the movie. This and Breakfast on Pluto are a great set of companion films. Watching the Detectives gets an A-

"Watching the Detectives" is a movie for movie watchers who like to sit around watching movies about people who sit around watching movies. Neil (Cillian Murphy) is such a person. He owns a small video store specializing in B-movies and other hard to find titles complete with a couch to just sit on and watch movies. But life gets in the way.

Intrigued by a cute girl who walks into his store and frustrated by the big video chain stores opening down the street, he follows her and ends up doing stuff. Unfortunately for Neil, things that Violet (Lucy Liu) usually gets into are illegal by nature. But fortunately for Neil, he's seen characters like Violet in his movies, and now he's given a chance to live them out.

I liked the character of Neil a lot. I liked the fact that he appreciated the comfort of his couch. He's cute and funny, and he would be smart if girls and life didn't get in the way. But I like Cillian Muprhy even more than I like Neil. He's got charisma and an unbelievably versatile talent that he can play just an ordinary guy. I didn't know that he could play ordinary with such a great comedic touch.

"Watching the Detectives" is a comedy for movie watchers - meaning you need to have seen classics like "Citizen Kane" and "Thelma & Louise" since this movie has a knack for giving away their endings. They probably also do it for a number of B-movies, but just ones that you likely haven't heard of. I would have appreciated a darker ending, but I still thoroughly enjoyed watching "Watching the Detectives".

Like the summary says - Watching The Detectives is strange, quirky, cute fluff. Like all of us folks on IMDb (as well as the characters in this movie), we watch too many movies. Too many bad movies. Too many similar movies. Watching The Detectives knows that so it veers off in a different direction and has some fun with the Romantic Comedy formula. It's a cute little movie. Could it have been better? Yes. Could the characters have been developed more? Yes. Could Lucy Liu been any cuter? I think not!! And to think she was almost 40 when she made this movie. Think of Watching The Detectives as a well made Indie film and you'll be pleased. It's already dated as the idea of a small, local video store catering to folks who like all kinds of movies is an idea whose time has unfortunately passed, but that's also part of its charm.

Lucy Liu is great. Cillian Murphy is OK (his look is more suited to post apocalyptic movies!!). The supporting cast is good. The music is very good. In fact, the scenes where music is featured were my favorite parts of the movie.

Give it a shot if you're looking for something lite and different.

This is an original movie with some amazingly funny and surprising moments, some preposterously bad acting and action, and a premise and resolution that really strains the imagination. Plus some very very good lines. It's a movie that plays, rather joyously, at 'being dumb' (Lucy Liu's nipple pops out of her dress and remains there for a whole scene) but creates hysterical situations and carries them off thru the sheer pleasure of Murphy's enthusiasm. Liu's athleticism is on subtle display and it is pretty amazing. It also has two of the best rock and roll moments I've ever seen in films; one, a great indie band in a club running thru the heart riff of a unique song and two, a highly produced backyard karaoke performance that perfectly resolves the needs of the film's moment. The ending is kind of forced but to come up with a real resolution of this story would take a writer of true genius. Summary: not so good, but you can't find this many laughs of this quality very easily. A must-see for a totally non-serious I-don't-know-what-to-do-today day.