One Day as a Lion

The headline names made me watch this one, and though it started out with a reasonably interesting premise, It became clear that the poor script and weak plot were not going to do anything remotely passable for anything entertaining.

It doesn't really go anywhere, and nothing much is done with the off-beat concept that's brandished in the beginning.

The story is very weak and I'm only surprised more wasn't done to wrest if from the vestiges of what can barely be considered mediocrity. By this I mean, there is nothing interesting about what happens nor does the story attempt to engage in anything which could be considered remotely interesting.

The script is "Meh" Here we have people engaged in what I often call 'Hollywood talk' where they speak to each other in sentences and style that we only ever see in movies, but doesn't amount to a hill of beans or bare any resemblance to verbal exchanges in real life.

The unfortunate consequences of the poor story and script mean there is nothing substantial to latch on to here, and despite the direction and performances being first rate (for the most part) they can't instil any excitement into what unfolds on screen.

This is one of those movies I would categorize as - A bunch of stuff happens then the movie ends - but nothing therein makes it an enjoyable entertainment piece.

It's not terrible, but its more something I'd have on in the background while training in my home gym or cooking in the kitchen. Definitely not something to sit down on the sofa and indulge in with a tub of popcorn and good company.

I think 3/10 is a fair score, maybe 4/10 at a push.

This movie is really refreshing, with a weird humour, turning up from weird situations with weird characters who aren't really what they want to appear.

With the result that what they intent to do never really ends up as planned.

These kind of movies are pretty rare, succeeding to walk on a razor blade on the edge of ridicule, you never know what you should take seriously and what to just laugh about.

Some scenes have great word battles, between Frank Grillo and J. K. Simmons, Scott Caan and George Carroll, the way they talk is hilarious, they want to be clever and cool, and they end up dumb and emotional, these contrasts make the main characters turn out to be somehow likeable despite the fact they are all losers and pretenders.

And then there is Marianne Rendón, who works as a barmaid, when her mother has become very rich by marrying 4 rich men who happen to die quickly. The mother thinks her daughter is a looser too, because she dreamed to be an actress and went to Costa Rica to learn acting. Really ? You get the kind of auto-derision in which the script swims ?

It turns out that in real life, Marianne is a great actress, and she showed it twice, and at the end of the movie in a most emotional way that made even the other actors in the scene stop her from continuing her show. She made me feel sorry and laugh at the same time.

Though it could have been a little better, I would say longer, yes the good time I spend with this movie felt a bit short, short and intense.

Jackie Powers (Scott Caan) is pushed into a hit on Walter Boggs (J. K. Simmons). He misses badly and kills the cook instead. He takes waitress Lola Brisky (Marianne Rendón) who is the only witness. His son is stuck in jail.

Scott Caan is trying his hand at writing. It's a bit of hit-and-miss. This one is trying to be a sly crime drama. The studio declares this to be an homage to Tarantino and the Coen brothers. That may indeed be the target, but it falls short. The dialogue and the flow need more work. It's a little rough. I do like these actors, even Frank Grillo, but they do struggle with the script.

A bunch of good actors doing a great job and getting nowhere. Feels wasteful and not utilising the potential at all - everyone is at their right place, everyone is doing more than decent job portraying their characters, but for what reason? There's no explanation to that - there's no any substantial background to the characters, they appear out of nowhere and disappear back to the obscurity without leaving a mark, and in the end there's no connection between the story lines, no reason to the actions, no bottom line and no overarching idea, just a bunch of human-shaped sketches on screen. Could have been something, but it wasn't to be...

Aside from a couple Swab trademarks and easter eggs (eg; chocolate bar with a Candy Land wrapper), it didn't really feel like Swab to me. Seemed a bit misguided and going nowhere. The script is a weak point, nothing daring, and the plot fairly nonsensical. Some of the acting was pretty good by the big names, and it was shot pretty well, but I didn't personally care for the pretentious nonthingness that made up the script. Swab is a bit of an acquired taste, and he has done several better films than this one. Big name bit parts aside, Marianne Rendon was a standout performer here, even with this script.