Sex, Lies & Murder

Not hard to see why this movie is hardly know and why it never got released globally in cinemas. It's a very mediocre movie in basically every way imaginable and it just isn't that much special in terms of its originality, despite having an impressive cast in it.

The movie tries to achieve several things throughout but it hardly succeeds fully in any of them. For a thriller it's too light, for a comedy it's not funny enough and for a drama it's not serious enough. the movie tries very hard to be all those things really, with as a result a movie that you just whether don't know to laugh or to be shocked.

Besides it's story isn't very impressive or original. The movie tells its story from the viewpoint of the Nikki Reed character mostly, which makes it odd that we as a viewer never get to know or see what her characters true intentions with the things she does are throughout the movie. Not some very good film-making from the director's and writer's part, which are the same person by the way.

The movie is certainly watchable but due that it's also being really average with basically everything it is also easily a movie you can easily do without.

This movie would had even been lesser known had it not been for it's impressive cast-list. Actors like Alec Baldwin, Nikki Reed, Jeff Goldblum, Carrie-Anne Moss and Luke Wilson all make appearances in this movie. Alec Baldwin is really an actor who gets better with the years and also seems to benefit from the fact that he is getting older. In the beginning of his career he was still being looked upon as the baby-faced pretty boy from the Baldwin family but now he more shows what his qualities truly are. It also was good to see Jeff Goldblum acting again, since I hadn't seen him in anything recently. His particular acting style always remains a pleasure to watch.

Watchable enough little movie but just nothing too special really.

6/10

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Mini (Nikki Reed) is bored with her life. Her mother Diane (Carrie-Anne Moss) is a boozing gold-digger. Her latest catch is her stepfather Martin (Alec Baldwin). Mini is always looking for challenging "Firsts" and joins an escort service. Her client turns out to be her stepfather Martin. They begin a secret affair behind her mother's back and then scheme to get rid of her.

This tries to be a black comedy. It tries and tries but can't quite get there. The writing has nothing new and lacks funny jokes. The biggest problem may be Nikki Reed. She looks sexy in skimpy outfits but doesn't excel in comedic roles. She's better as the femme fatale. The movie is not quite dark enough to push the envelop of black comedies. This is all very familiar and simply less than good.

If you're a fan of this genre, you'll love this film. If not probably not for you, but one of the funniest films I've seen in a long time. Depraved, unrelenting, will probably scare the hell out of some parents or Christian fundamentalists who think Hollywood is glorifying deviant behavior in our teens.

The conceit of the film, a girl who will try anything once is very effective because you're always wondering where this philosophy will take us next. Without giving anything away, this idea mixed with an ethereal, driving score pulls you into Mini's world and you'll follow her anywhere.

The performances by all 5 leads are incredible. Baldwin gives his best performance in years and that's saying a lot because he's been doing great work. It's easily the best I've seen this year so far in any film by a male lead. He renders this macho, yet beaten down PR exec in a way where although he doesn't deserve our sympathy, he gets it.

Reed is astonishing. Part vixen, part little girl lost, the glee with which she sets about her goals, takes a character who is, in fact a sociopath and makes you respect and like her. Although what she does is without a doubt destructive there is an implicit understanding that she is surrounded by adults who only pretend to be moral. Her intellectual honesty is actually refreshing.

Her performance works in part because of Carrie Anne Moss' willingness to deliver one of the most chilling and hilarious performances in years as Mini's mother. The incarnation of Hollywood self absorption. It's clear that Mini wasn't born this way, she is a product of Diane's utter lack of mothering. Mini is an inconvenient appendage in Diane's life and Diane lets her know it whenever she can.

Jeff Goldblum is spot on perfect as their TV producer neighbor, whose lighthearted, Dionysian life is a constant thorn in Baldwin's side. Luke Wilson also gives as subtle a performance as he has in years. At first playing an incarnation of his sad sack Mitch from "Old School" and then switching on a dime to show us just how smart this detective has been all along. The look of muted terror on Baldwin's face when he realizes how he's been the recipient of Wilson's own PR play is priceless.

I'm sure some parents groups will attack it as encouraging teenagers to turn on their parents and to indulge in the darkest parts of society, but it really felt like a cautionary tale about what happens when kids know in their bones that they aren't loved.

Saw this at Tribeca Film Festival and was laughing the whole way through. This is a very unique film in that it dares to blend genres. Part pitch black comedy, part noir, it sucks you into the story and takes you along for the ride.

Nikki Reed's great in a role that could have been obvious. Alec Baldwin (always good) gives one of the best performance he has in years and Carrie Anne Moss is hilarious as the mom. Goldblum's role as the TV Producer neighbor is so damn funny and Luke Wilson gives a really subtle performance as the detective.

The twists and turns are a a blast. Definitely not a film for those who don't like black comedy, but those with more sick, twisted senses of humor should love it.

Mini's First Time is not the first time this film has been made and released with a target audience in mind. Mini's First Time, starring Alec Baldwin, Nikki Reed, Jeff Goldblum and Carrie-Ann Moss rehashes the same old dark humor American Beauty made mainstream. Equipped with almost an identical soundtrack as American Beauty, Mini tries too hard to be cool. Other than the excellent performances by both Baldwin and Moss, the film is bereft of any originality and seems to take itself to seriously for its own good. Nikki Reed, although young and annoying at first becomes more and more bearable as the film progresses, and towards the end is actually acceptable. Playing the young femme fatale, Reed lends her sexuality and small amount of talent to the screen, whilst simultaneously captivating my attention with her eyes. Goldblum plays the same character he's been playing the last few years, straight out of Igby Goes Down, complete with the riches and lust for infidelity. This film does portray the rich of the Hollywood hills very well, so well that after 10 minutes or so you feel like part of the group (morning drinking, promiscuity, and infidelity). These attributes have become so mainstream in todays wealthy, dark humor, family films that it does not seem to affect me anymore like it did the first time I sat down to watch Less Than Zero or American Beauty. The film does have an edgy direction, and sometimes interesting cinematography. Unfortunately the amateur narration, by Reed, takes away from some of the realism and leaves the film feeling dull at times. Of course, not all of the film is backwash, and the director Nick Guthe does show promise in his search for something original. Unfortunately Guthe did take the risk of being cliché, and with all intents and purposes hit the nail right on the target.