Cut to the Chase

Cut to the Chase is a great crime drama. The first thing I told told my wife as we left the premier was that it reminded me of a great Elmore Leonard story. It wasn't trying to be Leonard. There was no copying. Instead it was the same feel. The dialogue, the characters were very much like Leonard. My wife also called it a love letter to Shreveport, the city where it was filmed. I agree. So thanks Blayne Weaver for making a movie that is truly enjoyable.

The story itself is straight forward. Max Chase, long term loser (played by writer/director Blayne Weaver) is in trouble with a crime boss. The setting is Shreveport, Louisiana. The man's sister is a local Assistant DA and has vouched for him to keep him out of prison. He needs his sister to help him pay a gambling debt. Only she has disappeared. Now Max has to find his sister and help her, or avenge her. The story has all of the great crime thriller tropes. We have the loser, the hard working sister, the deadbeat father, the organized crime boss, the southern DA, the thugs, and the bartenders. It is a fun film and I look forward to many more great movies from Blayne Weaver.

Hmmm, although I went to the same premier as the previous reviews, I must have seen a different movie. Don't get me wrong, this is an okay movie for maybe a Redbox rental, but it's pretty pedestrian and predictable in the storytelling. That does not take the away from the fact that the majority of the actors did a very commendable job with an average script, despite moments of overacting and unbelieveability from the lead character. However, it's obvious that the first-time producers did not demand too much of themselves or of the writers. This is evident in that the main selling point of the film is not the story but 'hey, we shot it local with local people and local locations". I will say that the mix of local actors and LA actors was nice, IF YOUR LOCAL!!! and like to see people from your church on the big screen with professional actors - and the performances of Lyndie Greenwood and Lance Henricksen stand out. So because of them I give it a solid 2. And the fact that Weaver tells the story using his hometown, with hometown actors is very commendable, but the performances don't elevate the story. This is just an okay plot, shot in an average way with nothing that leaves you wanting to see it again. (Ok, maybe Lyndie makes me want to see it again) Sorry to rain on the local,self-congratulatory moment, but take away the local angle, and it's very average - I would recommend seeing it if it comes to Redbox for $1.99 and Nazi Zombies was the only other movie available at the box, and you want to see your friends and local settings, but don't expect anything new. It feels like it was made so the people in the movie and on the crew could be 'real' movie makers and gather for a Q&A after the screening to take questions from their family members. They seemed to forget that actually telling a solid story still matters.

From the opening scene with Blayne Weaver (Actor/Director/Star) and Lance Henriksen, I was hooked. Both of them acted so well opposite one another and the dialogue was crisp and lighting was beautiful. The camera-work throughout was top notch for an indie film and looked lovely. The editing serviced the fight scenes and action well. Often times indie films do not quite get the camera angles or speed right with action scenes and it looks a little off. Weaver and his team did a great job with this aspect and the pacing of the entire film was very tight. Even the locations were very ripe with their own character. This is not normally a genre of film I am into as much but this one kept me intrigued throughout.

The story is pretty straightforward. Down on his luck Max Chase is out of jail and pulled right into a situation in which his sister is kidnapped and he has to go find her. This will not be an easy thing to do and somehow I do not think his parole officer would forgive the things he goes through in his attempts. Whether it was worth it and pays off, you will have to see.

I was not totally into a later twist but the film worked well enough that it did not overly bother me. All of the other actors did a great job and the two main females in the film (Cahill and Green) kicked ass! Green is currently tearing up the screen in Sleepy Hollow as well. I can picture any of these actors holding their own in bigger films and this film should help continue to propel them forward.

The great thing about this indie film is that it feels like it had a much higher budget than it did. Weaver talked about the film afterwards and with private investors and Kickstarter money, they were able to fund it and it looks 10x better than you would expect with the money they had. I love seeing indie films that just land with you and this is certainly one of them. It also makes me want to seek out other films by the director which is always a good sign. Keep an eye out for this one, I do imagine it will be widely available in the near future.

This movie is an edge of the seat type experience. It is formulaic, but the formula has worked forever, and the screenwriter throws enough curve balls, to make it original. Nobody in this film is perfect, as it is in life. I saw a Question and Answer session with 9 of the crew members and they are all dedicated to the craft in a way that leads me to believe that this writer/ director Blayne Weaver is going somewhere good. The cinematography and film editing were exceptional. Tim Smith, stuntman and actor also has a future…..He was wonderful….

This is a movie that will make you want to go for a nice jog the next day due to all the popcorn you will be stuffing in your face while watching. All the cast Was great and the Crime/Drama movie remind me of how actions movies used to be in the 90s which make this awesome. Props to Blayne Weaver for this one! I don't know how he chooses the cast he does in this but it works well. Lance Henriksen is such a wonderful choice in this as a top bad ass. Blayne Weaver was great as max because he is a character you want to hate but cant. You want him to fail but also succeed for certain reasons. You will Not feel bad for him in some instances and other you will. Anyways I don't need to give out more detail. This is just definitely worth a watch.