Life of Crime

I enjoyed this film a lot. It's not ground breaking or stylish or full of violence. It's nice and easy with funny characters and some laugh out loud moments. A we'll put together, charming film.

A loose prequel of sorts for the criminal players of Jackie Brown, based on Elmore Leonard's novel The Switch. It's not Jackie, no two ways about it, and it's unfair to compare the two... unfair, but inevitable since they're so spiritually related. The stakes are much lower this time, with a simple kidnapping plot the main point of action and few of the deliciously tangled interwoven story lines of the Tarantino flick. In Leonard's hands that still made for a wildly entertaining read, but on the screen it feels a bit on the shallow side. This translation is missing the charm and finesse of its source material, too, and a little of that spice can really go a long way. John Hawkes manages a really convincing, greasy De Niro impression as the soft-hearted enforcer Louis, while Mos Def's take on mastermind Ordell Robbie (originally played by Samuel L. Jackson) is less indebted to his predecessor. Jennifer Aniston is good as the repressed trophy wife / tennis mom / kidnappee, but the rest of the cast just seems like they're wearing costumes and playing games. They take themselves lightly, so it's tough for me to see the situation as all that serious. It's fine, superficial at worst, but there's little wonder why it slipped under the radar without a whimper when it hit the screens a couple of years ago.

"So Richard i got a little joke for you, you might like this one, you too Lewis. A Dude goes to the doctor: Doctor says: Sr. you have to stop masturbating. The patient goes: Why? And the doctor goes: Cause i'm trying to exam you."

-Ordell

I first heard of this film when it premiered last year at the Toronto Film Festival, i believe this was actually the film that ended the festival. It's been a year and Toronto 2014 is a couple of days away and only now am i finally seeing this film. I'm not going to lie, the main reason i was interested in seeing this film, is because this is a prequel to Jackie Brown. I was curious to see if the tone was going to be the same and i was interested in seeing the same characters being portrayed by the different actors. I went in without much of an expectation just hoping to have a good time.

Life of Crime is Directed by Daniel Schechter and it stars John Hawkes, Mos Def, Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins, Isla Fisher and Will Forte. "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."

Life of Crime eventually ended up being released this year and it made very little noise. It didn't open in a great deal of theaters and it's one of those films that has already been forgotten. The critical buzz was not great either, the film was received with mixed opinions and there seems to have been a consensus that this was a passable film. But i have just recently re-watched Tarantino Jackie Brown, and though not favorite of his, i still got to say that's a pretty exciting ride with some characters that i would be glad to see again on the big screen, even if in the hand of another director and different actors.

Life of Crime isn't obviously as good as Jackie Brown and i think nobody was expecting that. It's a flawed picture that isn't exactly memorable or riveting but i think this is still a pretty entertaining little picture.

One of the surprises i had is that this time the film isn't focused on Ordell but it's actually more focused on Lewis. It's also interesting that Lewis character in this film is completely different from De Niro portrayed of Lewis in Tarantino's work. De Niro's Lewis feels almost like a bum, a no life and here Lewis is a bad motherf*cker, he seems to be way more dangerous than Ordell. And he has a heart too something we don't find in Jackie Brown

Ordell and Lewis though are the only characters present from Jackie Brown. The material from the two films comes from the same auteur but it is there where the two movies similarities end.

Life of Crime does share from it's own share of problems. I think one of the things that makes Tarantino's version more exciting is not only that his writing is much better than the one found here. Jackie Brown is a much more twisted story and it feels more exciting and it's also much more funny. This one is always amusing and there were some laughs here and there, the story is also twisted and we are never sure to whether the picture is going to move next but i felt an overall lack of energy. I guess it's because the lead characters just ain't as memorable here.

The characters here feel a bit lifeless when compared with characters such as Ordell and Jackie Brown in Jackie Brown. I don't blame it on the actors, i blame it on the screenplay that simply ain't as good. The performances here are fine, John Hawkes is a very underrated actor and it was good to see Jennifer Aniston playing a different role for change and by the way she plays it well. Faces like Tim Robbins also appear on screen and Isla Fisher, Will Forte and Mos Def all turn with decent performances. Just that non of them is particularly electrifying.

Life of Crime ain't a particularly dull or bad experience. It has some decent performances in it and it's in the end an entertaining amusing experience but i can't say it's much else. That's why this film as kind of been already forgotten. I would still say though that it is worth a watch.

Rating:C+

It's an interesting film that's trying to be a dark comedy but it's not as dark as I would have expected, which made the laughs long in-between.

I've seen this type of comedy in which the victim befriends the captives because their life was not as put together as hoped. This one takes a slower dramatic pace.

Their were some pretty top notch actors in the film like Tim Robbins, John Hawkes and even Mos Def. It's interesting that Jennifer Aniston took on such a small picture, but maybe they thought her appearance would put people in seats(which I guess is true).

Thought the story was good but the pace of the movie just puts me to sleep (Maybe I actually missed the really fun parts while snoring). Don't kill your time with this one.

Based on late Elmore Leonard's novel The Switch, 'Life of Crime' is an interesting watch, that is funny & finely acted, too! But the slow-pace, makes you feel restless at times.

'Life of Crime' Synopsis: 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.

'Life of Crime', at 99-minutes delivers a story of crime & deception, admirably. But, as I mentioned before, the slow-pace gets to you after a point. Right after the kidnapping incident, one expects the pace to get faster, but it doesn't. Fortunately, the final act picks up momentum. But better pacing was the need of the day!

Daniel Schechter's Adapted Screenplay has merit & the dialogue, are wonderful. Schechter's Direction is neat, as well. Cinematography is standard. Editing is the weakest link of the enterprise.

'Life of Crime' would've fallen flat had its casting not been right, but over here, each & every actor is perfectly cast. John Hawkes continues to perform brilliantly. Tim Robbins is tremendously despicable, enacting a moron to perfection. Jennifer Aniston is good, but looks aged here. Isla Fisher is first-rate. Will Forte is excellent. Mos Def is superb. Mark Boone. Jr impresses, as well.

On the whole, 'Life of Crime' gets some things right, not all. Watch it if you must!