Ragazze al limite

I am one of the few outside of the Philippines who actually owns a copy of Beyond the City Limits. It's too bad this movie hasn't been released more widely, since it's not a bad movie. It's sort of a low budget clone of oceans 11, but with female lead characters.

There's nothing really unexpected or exciting about the film, the acting is above average, the editing/directing is slightly below average, and the plotline/script are average. It's worth watching, if only to see the gorgeous Alyson Hannigan. It's also pretty funny watching Alexis Denisof talk in a Russian accent. Quite different from his role as Wesley the Watcher in Buffy/Angel.

If you get a chance to see this movie, I say go for it, especially if you're a fan of Alyson Hannigan.

Ok, I just want to say, if Gaston wanted a Russian accent, why didn't she get a Russian person? I mean, I know that it's ok sometimes to change for a role, but Denisof's accent sucked. I am normally a fan of both him, and Alyson Hannigan, but please! The movie was a waste of time. I watched it twice, just to reassure myself that it really was crap and I didn't look over some hidden meaning in every scene.

I know that the same POV the entire movie gets boring, but how many times did the editor's have to change it? None of the scenes make much sense, either. I literally didn't get the point of half of them, unless they were there just to confuse the audience. I just hope that when I start directing, my movies won't get as many horrible reviews as this one did.

This film has absolutely no direction. I was a little skeptical of the concept but saw that it could actually work. But the story and dialogue just got lost and the film got muddled into the second act and fell apart from there. Any comedic or dramatic elements of the film got in the way of each other.

This film is an absolute mess. None of it makes sense or works; it can not decide its POV nor its tone and includes many unnecessary scenes that have nothing to do with the plot. What's that scene with the woman at the bus stop all about? Why is the 2nd security guard at the casino acting like such a hardass? Why is everyone so obsessed with sex? Why the sudden shift to the heroin story and where did this "I always wanted to own a restaurant" stuff come from? What on earth is Sophie B Hawkins doing here and why was she blackmailing the cop? WHO KNOWS?? The filmmakers obviously don't. I've seen better film on ponds.

The Russians smalltime crooks Sergei Akotia (Brian McCardie) and Yuri (Alexis Denisof) plan to hold up two million dollars from a casino with the inside information of the security guard Troy (Steve Harris) and the support of two dirty cops. When the two cops are killed, they decide to call off the heist and they kick out their girlfriends Misha (Nastassja Kinski) and Lexi (Alison Hannigan). Misha and Lexi meet an old friend of Misha, Helena Toretti (Jennifer Esposito), who is in a divorce process with the bored and upset detective Jack (Todd Field). The trio plots revenge against the guys and decide to rob the casino with Troy. But the plan turns upside-down with unpredictable events.

When I saw the names of Alison Hannigan (from Buffy), Alexis Denisof (from Angel) and the gorgeous Nastassja Kinski and Jennifer Esposito in the cast of this movie, I decided to ignore the bad reviews and IMDb Rating and watch it. Unfortunately, the reviews are right and this movie is really bad, with a messy screenplay and awful conclusion. The story is very confused, with a terrible direction that is not able to make a funny, or dramatic, or violent movie. There are some ridiculous parts, like for example when the two "Russians" argue in English with a weird accent. If they are Russians, wouldn't they speak in their native language while alone? The character of Alison Hannigan, Lexi, is awfully developed and never clear of her objectives and feelings. Brian McCardie looks like a cartoon with his character (or caricature?). I tried to find good and positive points in this movie, but with such unpleasant end with the fate of Misha it is impossible to like it. I have never read anything about this director, Gigi Gaston, but he was able to waste a good cast and I had a really bad experience watching this confused flick. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Além dos Limites" ("Beyond the Limits")