Purely Joyful Movie!

Dreadfully Boring

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Well, I caught this film on Showtime and my expectations were low, as I hadn't heard of this movie, and quite frankly am not a fervent fan of Showtime. But what began as background noise quickly caught my attention and I found myself watching with increasing interest, until finally sitting down and really settling into the movie. There is an old world sensibility to this movie that really appealed to me, maybe it's a reference by the filmmakers to an older more classic era in cinema or perhaps it's that the characters are all played by actors you kinda recognize from other movies, I'm not sure.But it was really a great surprise and all extremely entertaining. Ray Barry was dry and slightly bitter as the lead, he didn't soften his character up too much or make him too Hollywood, you felt the sense of compromise he did, it was a really interesting portrayal and not what you'd expect at all.The film was clearly not a big budget affair, and I'm sure it could have and should have been slicker, and more polished with the money or whatever that comes with a bigger price tag. But, there was an edgy, angle to this that really appealed to me, and I think it's uniqueness was perhaps born of it's limitations.There is certainly a format to many recent indie films, they are very similar, almost always told the same way, even when they strive to be different - they are being authored and created by individuals who all seem to have sprung from the same gene pool - filmic geeks, comic book aficionados, the kid who was bullied at school who now returns to play out his revenge on the bullies of the world with his version of reality, the one where the meek and the geek inherit the Earth. Frankly I feel a disconnect with this type of film making.The Hit-man Diaries, Charlie Valentine, seems to be a throwback to an earlier style of filmmaking, an earlier concept of what makes a man a man. That cowardice and facing up to your responsibilities are easy choices and difficult as Hell to overcome. I liked the film a lot, it felt honest and cool, like a bitch slap from Lee Marvin or a knee in the groin from Charles Bronson.Is it going to be paraded at the head of a group of marching comic con internet bullying victims, almost certainly not. You probably need a set of cohones and a fairly decent appreciation of film prior to Star Wars to grasp the subtlety in the story telling.I highly recommend it, but watch it with this warning; Charlie Valentine is not a nice guy, he doesn't discover God, and he probably won't leave you feeling warm and fuzzy, but he will take you on one Helluva ride.Gary in Baker, CA -

...but the bad is pretty distracting.Though the cinematography is slick and attractive, the editing is extremely flawed. This leaves the film disjointed and choppy; certain scenes become complete non-sequiturs, some of the action gets muddy, and jump cuts occasionally get ahead of themselves. Another round in the editing room could seriously improve the storytelling, because the right elements for an extremely compelling and rewarding character drama are there, they're just poorly communicated. The structure of something great is present, but it isn't filled out.My second biggest problem was Raymond J. Barry. He was dull and often awkward as the eponymous gangster, there's only the occasional flash of the charisma and appeal his character is supposed to have. He delivers almost all his dialogue in an unsteady, disinterested mumble, and gritty realism may be unintelligible, but realism of that kind certainly puts a damper on the plot and characterisation. The other actors were uniformly excellent, especially Michael Weatherly who shone brilliantly in the last quarter of the film, though none of them have quite as much to do as they should. Danny and Charlie's Parole Officer both needed more development as individuals and a little more background would have helped the father/son relationship a lot.Give me a reason why Danny admires Charlie so much and I would have been more willing to go along for the ride with them. Their reunion and Charlie's allure and charm as a successful gangster was rushed past and barely present, respectively. Danny's first defining character trait is uneasiness with authority and a fervent desire to remain out of prison. Why does he then turn around and become a disciple of his father without any kind of intermediate process of rationalisation? Yes, he wants to hold on to his father at any cost, but where is the indecision and what about Charlie's behaviour resolves him? As it was, his hero worship and abandonment issues must be extrapolated and his anger with his father is more prominent than the idealisation that makes him want to follow in the old man's footsteps. I know where the story is coming from, because it is such a classic story, but I would have preferred to actually see it on the screen instead of inferring it.Basically, a clearer emotional progression was needed for Danny and frankly, I didn't find Charlie likable enough for his place in the story to function. He's despicable, but he should be charmingly despicable and I was not convinced he was charming.

First of all I was really looking forward to seeing this movie, I am familiar with all of the players in this film and had heard great things about it. I saw the trailer from the Sacramento International Film Festival and was quite intrigued.As a fiction writer I have to say the story was great, as a screenplay writer I have to say that it was great and it hit all its plot points right on. As an actor I would have to say that the players were at least a 7 out of 10, but direction defeated some. Where it starts to fall apart is with the editing, sound and direction. The cinematography had it's high points but seemed to be defeated by the direction, sound and FX.At points it was obvious that the editor and Foley were rushed to get this finalized.I came in with elated expectations and came away really angry about the final product. I say give it back to a real hard core editor/storyteller and see what comes out of their efforts.

I've seen Jesse Johnson's third and best movie (so far) at the "Action On Film" festival in Pasadena California. This little known cinematographic gem harvested the festival Best picture, Best action Picture, Best Cinematography and the Best Musical Score. Quite a feat for the team led by the talented screen writer and director Jesse Johnson who managed in only 18 days of filming (and with a budget that is considered petty cash in Hollywood) to come up with an action drama movie that isn't only well acted, captivating and entertaining for the action movie fans, but also adds a very human dimension to the classic gangster movie of the old days. Think of the main character Charlie Valentine as an aged Scarface who's ruthlessness and killing instincts are fading away with age and with the realization that in life there are other more important things than money, power and sex. The characters are well rounded and played wonderfully by the main characters, Raymond J. Barry (Training Day) and Michael Weatherly (Gun Shy). The cinematography is top notch - a special mention for the great camera work and image quality. And most importantly, it certainly looks like Jesse Johnson, the screen writer and director of Charlie Valentine who did an excellent job putting this story on screen, is becoming the new flag bearer of the British Invasion in American cinema. Rent or buy the DVD - you won't be sorry.