High Heat

I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised after watching this well-paced 84 min action-comedy film. This is newb filmmaker Zach Golden's second full length feature film as director, and he did not disappoint. It is also James Pedersen's first ever writing credit, and although not perfect, it was still fun. Although some characters were your typical cliched mobsters with cliched dialogue, it still worked, and actually had some laugh out loud moments. All casting and performances were spot-on and convincing, and Golden did a great job directing his cast, especially for a newb director. Even the action scenes were exceptionally filmed and well choreographed. The dark humor was mostly hit with a few misses. Johnson and Kurylenko (who looked stunning) worked very well together, as did Kaitlin Doubleday and Chris Diamantopoulos and their twin daughters, who were a hilarious family right out of the Griswold's playbook. Even the score and cinematography were great, especially for a B film. It's not a perfect film, but it's one of the better and more entertaining B films I've seen this year, and worth a one-time watch. It's a well deserved 7/10 from me.

I figured with Don Johnson in it the film (movie) would be decent but I was wrong. The actors are mostly forgettable. The script seemed like something a student writer would be encouraged to seek a different career over. Meandering, uninteresting, muddled, boring, flavorless, not comedic engaging or dramatic. I think someone had budget money left over and needed to spend it so they gave Don and Olga 80% of it and then hired volunteers to fill in the cast leaving them with just enough left over to rent a street, a parking garage, 4 vehicles, and part of a commercial kitchen.

In my next life I will not watch this movie.

I've never seen anyone make so much hay out of: 1. A section of a parking lot on Orange Grove in downtown Burbank, 2. A probable commercial kitchen and, 3. A maybe 1,000 sq. Ft. Soundstage.

You've got to give them Kudos just for that, if not for the most convincing catfight I've ever seen.

The animated opening works, all the actors are above serviceable, some of the pacing gets iffy, but more than half the jokes made me smile. Olga is still very watchable, and her facility with languages adds a veracity you don't often see. The twins are hilarious, as is Gary the masseur. Last but not least, while not incredibly original, it's got more originality and flair than the majority of big tent productions.

I'm guessing they shot this in a few days. Give them all a break. They entertained, and they punched well-above their budget tranche.

Bravo everyone.

Despite the run time is 1h24m which is in movie terms a little above being a short , you'd still feel the pace is really slow that you can do errands at time of watching and not miss much .

As for the plot , basically the upcoming hints are incorporated in trailers , so hardly a spoiler yet at least not from my behalf .

So they tried to kill her "kitchen" so this ex spy go on a hunt to kill all Mafia elements involved in this plot , they keep throwing at her multiple assassins but she get rid of them all .

If this doesn't remind you of John Wick (a lite version of him perhaps) then you probably haven't seen John Wick (Needless to say they do not reach the fight scenes level) .

Funny enough even both are Russians in their plots .

A one-location and "defend the fort" type of movie, with an attempt at colorful characters and a bunch of bad guys that rush in to their death under the pretense of a thin-layer of a story.

I'll be honest! The alluring, creative and simple intro credits won me over! Then the repetitive and dull dialogue started to lose me.. Doesn't help that most of the cast is comprised of boring roles (with a few exceptions that probably shine when compared) and their interactions forgettable. The pacing is meandering and the sporadic "action scenes" aren't worth it. Even if the camerawork is commendable. I also noticed strange and choppy editing cuts, including sounds abruptly ending.. as if rushed. And when Olga's stunt double is SO visibly-not-her on screen (and doesn't even look like her) for longer than she is, you mark this as a disappointing night.

If you see the SABAN Films logo, you tone down your expectations.