.45

Picking out a great line in this film is very difficult. There were a lot of great lines in writer Gary Lennon's directorial debut. These are lines, of course, that you will not likely hear on his TV shows that he writes for.

Besides the lines, you had Milla Jovovich. I don't gravitate towards the tall skinny ones with the itty bitties, but she is hot, and she did a good job as a battered girlfriend. She was incredibly believable after the last incident, and as someone who was definitely in fear for her life.

Lennon's story has her finding a way out of her predicament that was sweet and sneaky. Using her hips, lips, and tits, she conned several people into soling her problem; including Sarah Strange ("Da Vinci's Inquest"), who played a bisexual (mostly lesbian) BFF to Milla that wanted much more, and Aisha Tyler (Charlie from "Friends," and the only reason I ever watched "The Ghost Whisperer"), She was a former battered wife that was now a counselor, and she was also very believable in the role.

Stephen Dorff (Blade) was also good, and I wish him luck in his quest for the impossible dream.

Well, that was a waste of 101 minutes. I never would have known that .45 existed, if not for the presence of Milla Jovovich. That ignorance of this movie, probably would have been to my overall advantage. It's safe to say that I am not a fan. 

.45 is basically an R-rated Lifetime Movie of the Week. The story is a messy mix of domestic violence, crime, revenge, double-crosses, and general pointlessness. I was massively disinterested within the first ten minutes, but I forced myself to watch all of it, because of my misguided aversion to not finishing a movie (unless I absolutely must, ex. Darkness). No one came out of this one looking good, even the pretty Ms. Jovovich. I'm struggling to think of a single redeeming quality...nope. I'm drawing a blank. Even if you're a die-hard fan of Milla, I still could not recommend this. She does have talent, but none of it is on display, here. It's been a few months since I've seen a movie that I enjoyed this little.

Milla Jovovich stars as woman who wants revenge on her boyfriend after he beats her up.

Unremarkable crime drama would work on a b-movie level but is sunk by a supporting cast that doesn't seem to be adept at acting. Then again they simply may not care because there really is no real intensity in the lot. The fact that they don't seem to care makes it so we don't care.the result is a film that is not particularly anything, it's just sort of there, like a piece of art that was bought to match a sofa, this was made just to create a pay check. Ultimately the sort of thing you'll forget after ten minutes.

Rich characters! Each character had a life a back story that I got to know enough of about. Usually I'm annoyed by narrative, it takes me out of the movie, but they weren't distracting at all. They were funny and smart and it was a creative way to get insight about the character instead of 'telling' dialog, which can get tedious. Love watching little films with a lot of everything: raw grit, action and heart. Milla was great, never seen her that emotional and focused. This was a 3-d performance for her. Read Gary Lenon's credits- good stuff for a directorial debut. He made efficient choices that tell the story. It's hard to do that the first time around. Didn't know Aisha Tyler was in it, another pleasant surprise. Her performance was subtle. The cast was authentic Big Al owned the role! I really liked this one.

In a dangerous neighborhood in New York City, Kat (Mila Jovovich) and her brutal smalltime criminal boyfriend Big Al (Angus Macfadyen) sell pistols and revolvers on the streets and deal stolen goods. Kat is addicted in having sex with Al and dreams on moving to the beach and start a new life. When the jealous and abusive Al beats her, the social assistant Liz (Aisha Tyler), Kat's bisexual friend Vic (Sarah Strange) and her acquaintance Reilly (Stephen Dorff) that has a crush on her advise Kat to leave Al. However, Al threatens to destroy her face if she dares to leave him. The smart Kat uses her power of beautiful and sexy woman to manipulate her friends and get rid off Al.

".45" is an amoral and cynical tale of manipulation and use of sex to achieve an objective. The story uses elements of Ken Russell's "Whore", with the characters speaking to the camera like in a documentary. Mila Jovovich and Angus Macfadyen give magnificent performances in the role of amoral losers. I liked a lot this bold movie, but it is recommended for specific audiences. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): ".45 – A Vitória é a Vingança" (".45 – The Victory Is the Vengeance")