Puzzle

Movie was quite boring, didn't bring much to the screen...

It is EXACTLY like a 2 HOUR version of one of the boring CSI episodes. Just drawn-out over 2 hours!. Now don't get me wrong, I LIKE CSI, but some of the episodes are just too slow to bare!

I would not recommend this movie, and it is mostly boring-police dialogue. If you are looking for an ACTION movie, you have chosen the wrong movie, this movie is more like a detective-drama.

If you are looking for a movie that resembles SAW, SEVEN, or Silence of the Lambs, this is not the movie to see. Unlike those three movies, Chasing Ghosts has a bad plot, reasonably bad cast (Madsen was fine as his usual self!), and watered-down action (when there was any action!).

MOVIE : 3/10 - Didn't like the movie.

Madsen does Madsen like he always does, but here it fits the movie like a glove. The cinematography is outstanding; the Director of Photography deserves an Oscar nod for doing what he did on this budget. The music is spotty, one minute it is near greatness, the next minute it seems forced and mis-matched to the tension of the film. Still, the composer did an incredible job considering his budget. He did the whole thing on a Mac, with a MOTU Traveler using samples and a single recording session with strings only. The kind of atmosphere the director (Kyle Dean Jackson) was able to stir up with such a limited budget is remarkable.

There isn't a poor performance in the bunch, save one: Corey Large. Large has all the passion of a rice cake. The guy simply cannot emote, which is sad because Shannyn Sossamon gives a tour de force performance opposite someone giving her nothing. I am very interested to see what this young director will do next, because he certainly does have what it takes to make a good movie. Frankly I tend to believe that the writer, producer and (uncredited) second director Alan Pao had a LOT to do with this film's excellence. Here's hoping that we'll see many more good things from both Jackson and Pao in the future.

If you like neo-noir and Michael Madsen, then this will be entertaining.

First, it has a great cast supporting Madsen: Shannyn Sossamon, Gary Busey, Michael Rooker, and the always interesting Danny Trejo.

Sossamon did a really good job in this low budget indie. Madsen was great as a dirty cop that is handling one last case that may reveal his secrets. Corey Large is a mysterious cop brought in allegedly from Miami to help.

There is a big twist at the end a la The Usual Suspects.

Outstanding cinematography.

Chasing Ghosts is a shadowy neo-noir treat, a throwback to the hard boiled detective thrillers of golden age Hollywood. Michael Madsen even said in an interview for this that a lot of the time he bases his acting work on old school tough guys like Lee Marvin and Robert Mitchum, making him the perfect guy to headline such a deliciously nostalgic flick. Here he plays Detective Kevin Harrison, a good cop who has found himself entangled in a dangerous web of corruption. He's a good guy that happened to make a lot of bad decisions which led him into the company of treacherous people. He is dealing with a mysterious serial killer who is targeting high ranking mob figures, which in turn dig up old memories involving old partner and friend Mark Spencer (an implosive Michael Rooker) who he couldn't save. He feels like a father figure to his Rooker's daughter (Shannon Sossamyn) who is now an inquisitive journalist. He's also got a timid new partner (Corey Large) who tags along, not knowing the danger he'll wade into simply by being close to a guy like Harrison, who has danger written all over him. The plot thickens, then coagulates, then boils, hardens and gets shattered again by all kindly third act revelations and labyrinthine exposition that takes some patience and a love for this kind of genre stuff. Madsen makes a sympathetic, frayed protagonist who is anything but a hero, yet trying to right some pretty heavy wrongs that weigh on his soul. Gary Busey brings his trademark bugnuts weirdness as Marcos Alfiri, a powerful gangster with ties to Madsen's past. Meat Loaf is an energetic police captain, Lochlyn Munro another department grunt, Sean Whalen the obligatory perky, wiseass coroner, Patrick Kilpatrick is a going ho SWAT commander, and Danny Trejo shows up for a verbose extended cameo as another underworld figure. This one deserves way better than the scant distribution and lukewarm reception it got. It's neo noir done right, and doesn't disappoint.

The film has its merits and is quite an accomplishment for $1 million budget that it had. The story can be slow in parts but overall if you like the intricate puzzle story then you will enjoy this film. It is not a shot em up action movie so don't go in thinking that or you will be disappointed. The acting wanes a little for the young detective but overall the cast is good. Madsen plays a role that seems to peak at his real life antics sometimes. The direction is good considering the budget and limitations of being an indy. There were several times in the film where I forgot I was watching a LOW DOLLAR indy and it felt more like any other studio flick. I read an article that said the film was shot in something like 20 days so for that I am impressed. It is not the best movie this year but if you like old noir films and have a thing for Shannyn Sossamon, it is definitely something to catch. The last 20 minutes are GREAT if you have been attentive enough to follow the story up to that point.

Better than most....Not as good as some.