William Vincent

This movie is different. It does have some recognizable names in it and it might sound intriguing. But it might also bore you to death. Saying this was moving at a snails pace would be an exaggeration. Some people might call this "Artsy", some will call it waste of time. It's tough to say what corner you'll be belonging to.

But you will be able to tell, where your feeling about the movie lie, after a couple of minutes. Though you might not always be able to tell what the characters feel at any given minute. There was a very irritating scene with James Franco, where he is being asked things (mostly about his emotional state). It almost looks like he's about to crack up and laugh. Not something that seems fitting considering the situation he's in. That might be over analyzing, but watching this movie will bring this sort of thinking out of you

I give this a solid 7 out of 10 due to the fact that it was, in my eyes, a very original film full of emotion and body-language.

A must see art film.

James Franco shines in this subtle film that puts you through different moral standing that will make you ask, "why would he do that?", just as the characters in the story are asking Franco's character. Shot with a "real-world" aspect this plot lays in front of you waiting to be uncovered just as the end will lay in your thoughts.

If you have ever felt out of place or different in this crazy world take a look through this genuine character's eyes.

'SHADOWS & LIES': Two Stars (Out of Five)

James Franco stars in this unbelievably slow and uneventful artsy indie film about a man trying to free the woman he thinks he loves from a New York City organized crime syndicate. It's written and directed by Jay Anania who was one of Franco's teachers at New York University. The film also features Josh Lucas, Martin Donovan and Julianne Nicholson. It's the perfect example of too much style over substance.

In the movie Franco plays a small time crook named William Vincent who picks people's pockets and often throws it away. He draws the attention of a local New York City drug runner (Lucas) who is impressed by his skills and apparent lack of humanity. He offers William a job and then a night with his woman, Ann (Julianne Nicholson). William falls for Ann, even though he knows nothing about her, and this of course causes complications with his new employer.

The movie is extremely slow paced and very moody. There's very little dialogue and the film is instead content with just giving the viewer long camera shots of the actor's blank faces (mostly Franco). If you're a big fan of Franco and into his looks this might be enough for you but most others will be extremely bored. The directing is kind of cool, the cinematography is beautiful and the music striking but the screenplay is so poorly written. Nothing much ever happens, we learn almost nothing about any of the characters and as a result the film seems very pointless. It starts promising, it's beautiful to look at and it's nice to see Franco taking some different projects but he's not given anything really to work with here. The movie is almost a total waste of time with nothing to offer anyone except some nice photography and some long mug shots for die-hard fans of prettyboy Franco.

Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nse6Wm1EtZU

OK this movie is SO slow, if you are making a noir, you must demand excellent writing and story, not some mash up half-done gangster plot. A mopey Franco , a lot of meaningless blank stares. don't attempt things with this bad effort. "you sound like you're in a movie" was used twice, Really? I thought Lucas was a good villain, and martin Donovan held there own, but the leads had no real chemistry. Franco wasn't pulling his weight, although not totally his fault given the substandard script.

If you're into a lot of good camera shots over accordion music with odd fragmented cutaways that lend little to pushing the story forward than the movie is for you.

"When you need me to do something, you ask, I assume this is how this works." After a man called "William" (Franco) get caught lifting a stranger's cell phone, he gets recruited by the local mob boss (Lucas). While being asked to do simple little jobs "William" meets a beautiful woman, and his life changes. Going in I was expecting more of a gangster movie then this. Most of the movie consists of "William" walking around to voice over. This is a very, very slow moving movie, that in a few places seems to go nowhere. It is not a bad movie, but it has the feel of a foreign/art house type movie, and most people are not into this type of thing. If you are looking for an absolutely independent movie with big actors this is what you are looking for. If you want a great gangster movie full of action, this is not it. I would call it a little like "Public Enemies" without all the action sequences. Not that bad, not that good. I give it a C.

Would I watch again? - I don't think I will