okay, I just bought this movie, I can't really rent them anymore because of late charges so it's cheaper for me to buy them now, sometimes this has come back to bite me in the ass becasue now I own Hostel and white noise, but in this case, I'm glad I did.  I have already watched this movie twice, and I will probably watch it again in the next day or so.

This is not your typical Paul Walker film, I did like the fast and the furious films, but that's because of the cars, but this movie is unlike any other paul walker film, infact, it is unlike any film I have ever seen.

This is the most brutaly violent, sadistic, Nihilistic, depraved, grusome, disturbing film I have seen in a long time, or may have ever seen or ever will see.

Paul Walker plays a goon for the local New Jersey mob, after an extremely violent shoot out which involed a couple of crooked cops it is Paul Walkers job to get rid of the gun, but instead of throwing it away he hides it in his basement.  Bad mistake.  The local neighboor kid and his son's best friend Oleg, played by fellow British columbian Cameron Bright, steals the gun and shoots his abusive step dad, who happens to be john Wayne's greatest fan, he is such a great fan that he has a huge tattoo of John Wayne on his back.

Now the kid is on the run with the gun and it is up to Paul Walker to find it before the mob or the cops do.

This may sound like a simple movie, but it ain't, this is a fairy tale, the fictional town is called Grimy, named after the brothers grimm.

the movie is told in two parts, the paul Walker story and the Cameron Bright story, each have there own little adventures.

Then come a scene about half way through that has to be the most horrifing, disturbing thing I could ever imagine.  Oleg is kidnapped by a "mom and pop" serial killing pedophiles.  This part of the film is so weird and frighting I can not really put it into words, there has been nothing like this that I have ever seen on mainstream cinema.  

Oleg is smart enough to know something is up and steals one of the pedophiles cell phone and calls Paul Walkers wife, now for about 20 min she becomes the lead and has some great scenes.

when she discovers what these pedophiles do to children(the tools they use and such), her reaction would probably get an applause.  she see's all the different DVD'S of all the young children raped and butchered by this couple, and what's worse is that these sicko's have star ratings with each child.  

Then there is a scene at a hockey rink which out does "passion of the christ" in brutality, I remember seeing this in the trailer, but I didn't think they would show it.  I was wrong, not only do they show it, it happens several times.  I did not know the human face could GUSH so much blood.

I know most people will think this movie is moraly bankrupt, I think myeslf and Roger Ebert anre the only two people who like this movie, I checked it out at rotten tomatoes and most critics thought it was a depraved piece of masturbatory violence and mayhem, maybe they're right, but I have to give credit to the director for his courage and brilliant film making, this has 10 times the energy level of Natural born killers, Domino and Kill bill combined.  

There is also a cameo by a big hollywood star who is not mentioned in the credits and the director won't say who it is.  The character is called the "raggidy man"  My first thought was Alec Baldwin because the director's last film was the cooler"which is also great" but on closer examination I believe it is John Travolta.

If you like daring, crazy energetic movies I recomend this one, if you have a weak stomach I would say stay away.

wow, i didn't know it was like that.. I was thinking of getting this on pay-per-view tonight now i guess i will! thanks for the review!

yeah, the previews don't let you know what it is really like, and I think it tops scarface in the profanity department.  Plus the eding credits sequence is probably the best end credits I have ever seen, it's kind of animated and it goes through all these different type of fairy tales.

My friend would not shut the fuck up about this one, so I gave it a spin... and found it to be a big dissapointment.  I have to say, I am not a big fan of the fast, brightly colored editing decisions being used in alot of films these days ("Domino" would have been absolutely fantastic if Tony Scott had just toned it down a bit).  Not too mention, the entire movie felt very disjointed, like it's a series of skits sort of glued together.  However, I am in agreement with the pedophile episode, as that in itself could have made a good feature length flick... at least, better than this.

yeah, I can see your point, this movie is not for everyone, in fact, it's not for most people, I was just amazed of how different I thought it was and what it actually was, and that pedophile scene is still stuck in my head, I have never been so creeped out by a scene in my life, and the part where the kid is in the bathroom and you can see the couple through the wall except they morph in a way, onelooks like nosforatu, and the other like an alien, I was just like WHAT THE FUCK!

Oh Yeah! I'm so glad I saw this in the theaters!(One of the very few people) This is one of the best movies I've seen this year. I didn't expect it to be as good as it was. One of the subplots could've made up an entire movie. (The Crazy bastards that kidnapped Oleg) they were frickin' sick psychos. I'm glad she shot them. Who's the woman who plays Paul Walker's wife? I like her. This movie was so over the top that it's ridiculous.

Check out Lucky Number Slevin too.

I heard a lot of bad things about Running Scared so I skipped it, but I'll probably watch it on DVD some day.

Btw. if you like Vera Farmiga you should watch Dummy with Adrien Brody and Milla Jovovich. She's really cute in it and it's a good movie! She plays an employment counselor to Adrien Brody who's a 30-year old still-living-at-home 'loser' who's trying to follow his dream of becoming a ventriloquist(!). He falls in love with her and hilarity and awkwardness ensues.

One of the few good 'romantic' comedies, even though the third act is kinda typical.

I actually saw Dummy and i didn't realize it was her.

I may have to check this one out. I vaguely remember the commercials and it didn't look at all like the film a lot of people are making it out to be. Nevertheless, you guys have peaked my interest. I think I'll pick this up on my next trip to the video store.

i almost rented this movie a couple of times but being it is paul walker i never ended up getting it...

i'll have to check this one out

Quoted from SwapJack i almost rented this movie a couple of times but being it is Paul walker i never ended up getting it...

I think that's what a majority of do.  I think he was great in it though, nothing like you have ever seen him in before.

Really enjoyed this one and was not expecting anything from it. Stuck a review on my site http://www.seansshack.com under movies. Short and sweet review but shows this is one of the better movies out there and worth catching...

I saw this movie a couple of months ago and this changed my opinion of Paul Walker. He did a great job in "Running Scared" and it is an extremely unique movie. Lol yeh the sex when Paul Walker and his wife - i think - see eachother at the start is nicee. The storyline and plot was really strong, and the whole paedophile thing which was quite disturbing worked well. This added to making the film more intense and making the audience feel more for Oleg - the little boy in Birth and Godsend -. Was a great movie all round, but not for everyone. Don't be put off by Paul Walker. Give him a chance lol.

This was incredible! Definitely one of the top five of 2006. The plot was fantastic, the suspense was gripping, the twists were friggin' nuts, and the violence was of a shocking, ultra-brutal, realistic nature I haven't seen since a History of Violence. Paul Walker also blew me away. I always thought of him as a forgettable, mediocre actor up until now. This guy can act and, man, did his character have some big cojones. Standing up to a pimp with a gun standing ten feet away with nothing but a switchblade. Insane! and yet, I bought it.

Seriously awesome flick. I can't believe Hollywood is capable of producing something as ballsy as this.

This was my second favorite film of the year, truly amazing.  I think Paul Walker is proving he can act.  I think in time it will have a following, I don't think people know what they are getting into when they put it in the DVD player.

It was a pretty decent action flick IMO. Very intense throughout, but a bit clichéed and contrived in places.

But I love Vera Farmiga!

Quoted from Death Monkey a bit clichéed and contrived in places.

I disagree with that.  I didn't think there was anything contrived at all, I think this is one of the most original action films out there, they style, the performances, it was like nothing I have ever seen.

Well it's a few months since I saw it, but I remember hating the hooker with the heart of gold. That's one of the biggest stereotypes of all time. Also the kid seemed do some pretty stupid things with the gun, just so the plot could keep going. It's like Prison Break. They keep throwing ridiculous hurdles in the way, that don't really have anything meaningful to do with the plot, just to delay the payoff.

Aside from the initial action sequence the style of the film wasn't overwhelming, IMO.

SPOILER

I liked the creepy pedophiles, but I thought it was sort of out of character for Vera Farmiga to shoot them. I don't think the film had even hinted that she was capable of committing murder (with seemingly no moral qualms?).

A lot of small glitches for me, but overall I still though the film was entertaining and a good ride. Just not anything spectacular or novel.

Loved this movie!! I'm usually so weary of any Paul Walker films (except "Roadkill/Joyride" which is awesome), but this flick totally redeems him and also shows how great of an actor he truly is. I really think he doesn't pick enough good movies to show his acting range, but then maybe he isn't inundated with offers for good movies...

I bought this for my friend to make sure he checks it out. I believe that if you liked "Fight Club" you won't really be disappointed with this. The direction was fantastic, script was tight and I'd say there was a lot of originality here too.

Creepy, un-nerving, gruesome, sharp and sexual, this movie is a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

A  must-see movie which is truly deserving of some belated (underground) success... word of mouth people!!!

Andy x

PS - Stew, if you haven't seen this, we must get it next time!

After reading the stellar reviews you guys had given this, I'd meaning to watch it for awhile and tonight I finally got around to it.  I actually bought it for $6.95 at Block Buster, which is a bargain considering I'd gone in there to rent it for $4.95.

Anyway, thanks for the tip. It was great.  I’d never seen anything with Paul Walker in it before and I thought he was pretty good. I also thought the Russian stepfather was a well developed character for a supporting role; his connection with John Wayne was a nice touch.  

Cheers.   

YAY! Another fan!!! Woop-woop!!!

I've told TONS of people about this movie and so far, they've all loved it too. Glad you were able to check it out!!

xxx

Ugh, I didn't like this movie at all. I understand what this Wayne Kramer guy was trying to do, but it never really worked for me. It was stylish, but that was really all it was. I think my main problem with this movie was that it's just bad people doing bad things to people who were even worse. I didn't care if Vera Farmiga rescued the kid from those creepy pedophiles, coz the kid is an asshole. And mostly I was just hopeing that someone would shoot Paul Walker in the head, because if you ask me, he was a worse person than any of the villains. I guess it's okay for some movies, and it does work (there aren't really any likable characters in Deliverance for example) sometimes, but I guess I just like my movie heroes to have some kind of redeeming quality.

And would someone please explain to me that scene where Paul Walker is playing the kid music and the kid tells him that he is Russian? Walker snaps his head off, goes off on some out-of-nowhere patriotic bullshit tyraid about being American because he was born in a America. What, the kid's no allowed to be proud of his heritage? He's not allowed to accept his culture? In that moment, I almost turned the movie off because I was just so sick of Paul Walker's bullshit. I know it's not his fault really, he's just reading his lines (badly for the most part, don't know where all this "proving he can act" crap has come from) but still.

Like almost every movie -- I can think of one or two off the top of my head that lack this -- the movie did have some good things. Some of the angles, and the way Kramer shot the action was fairly impressive, the opening scene with the shotguns and what not was probably my favourite, and the shootout on the ice at the end was very well done. The cinematography was great, it was a great looking movie. Also, the scenes with the pedophiles were appropriately creepy, the highlight of the movie for me. Why couldn't the rest of it be like this? The end credits were also well done, but does that really count?

Overall, the bad outweighed the good for me. It was a series of out of the frying pan and into the fire situations, all leading up to an easily forgettable and entirely predictable ending that had my eyeballs doing sommersaults. Wayne Kramer is a promising writer/director, and with better material, I think he could really pull it off one day. I just didn't have a good time watching this movie, which is strange because this kinda stuff is right up my alley. Oh well.


Matt.