The Devil's in the Details

I give Ray Liotta thumbs up for letting his hair go gray, and that's the only positive thing I can say about this one. Poor acting, choppy direction, dizzy camera work, weak plot, uninteresting characters. I cannot tell you how it ends because I FF'ed through a lot of it, and don't care. The lead actor in this seems to mug a lot and is more concerned with his looks then how he can make the stultifying dialog come to life. The interspersed scenes from one time frame to the next is a half way decent ploy in a good movie, but it's not working here. Nice to see some actors are still working though. I always wonder how can I care of feel empathy for any character in a movie, and in this movie I'm still wondering.

"We're here to identify your moments. Your moments and events that lead you here into this room." After serving his country in a brutal tour Thomas Conrad is having a hard time adjusting to "normal" life. He is sent to see someone (Liotta) who will help him adjust. While there he begins to explore the problems he has had with his family as well as recalling his meeting with a drug cartel enforcer (Rivera) that changed his life forever. Going in I was expecting the normal B-action movie type plot and idea. I have to admit that this was actually not as bad as I was expecting and actually kept me watching and interested. The movie is pretty suspenseful even though the movie is pretty much played out in a way that you imagine all the action. Thtoughout the movie you see Thomas being tortured and talking to his family trying to save everyone but not the actual action, to me that is really a neat idea and adds to the enjoyment. I won't say it's exactly like reading a book, but it's close. If you like suspense and have a good imagination then this is a movie you will enjoy. Overall, an original type of action movie with a very interesting presentation. I liked it. I give it a B+.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Since returning from a tour of duty, soldier Thomas Conrad (Joel Mathews) has had problems with drugs and struggling with demons, and has been sent to Dr. Robert Michaels (Ray Liotta) for assessment. He ends up regaling a story about a fender bender with a Mexican man, Bill Duffy (Emilio Rivera) which lead to him being forced to talk his father, his sister and a rival drug cartel into going along with a plan engineered by the ruthless Duffy.

I never got into it myself, but it seems the popular show 24 has spawned a lot of amateurish, tiresome wannabe imitations, that try and be all hip and cool with constant displays of the time at the bottom of the screen and telling the story in reverse, that are spoiling the enjoyment of a lot of modern film. The Devil's in the Details would be one such example, really just a total mess of a film that had potential in the script, but just made a total jumble of everything.

The cast try and make the best of the material, with Mathews giving it all an energy and gusto that it really doesn't deserve, and a unfazed Liotta all grey, and as dynamic and forceful as ever, but it all amounts to nothing, a totally forgettable, disposable nothing. **

I was enjoying the story, the off-screen (and on screen) violence and action was gripping, the inter-weaved story and back story threads were engaging, building to an interesting climax...and then suddenly, nothing. Its like they ran out of film, money, time, patience, interest or all of the above. I can't believe they would have made this movie if this is a fair reflection of the screenplay. Disappointed, and puzzled.

why need 10 lines for a review?

Still disappointed, and puzzled.

I think my review is a valid review. Why should it be a minimum of 10 lines. Why force me to pad it...If this doesn't get accepted, I'll scrap it, and won't bother offering reviews in future.

The Devil's In The Details is an independent action/thriller that has some really good parts. One of my favorites is Ray Liotta. I have been a fan of his since his Goodfellas days and I have seen pretty much everything he's been in since. So it was nice to see him in this.

Liotta plays a military psychiatrist who is seeing Thomas Conrad (played by Joel Mathews) who is suffering from PTSD. So Conrad gets in an accident with this guy and all seems okay. But then the drama gets cranked up to eleven and all hell breaks loose.

Conrad is forced to get members of his family who work in law enforcement to help out a drug cartel. The plot gets a little convoluted but director Waymon Boone keeps the film moving forward at a nice clip. He does a good job of building tension and had a vision for this film that really came out in the finished product.

The story jumps around a bit with some flashbacks so you need to pay attention. But the pace of the film helps build tension and has you anticipating the next plot point.

As I have said this is an independent film so it didn't have a large budget. However, the cast and crew do a lot with what they have. I really liked this film and not just because of Ray Liotta. Overall, it was a good action/thriller with some nice plot twists and solid performances.