Good story, Not enough for a whole film

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Cleaner was a great film that would have gotten a much higher rating, if not for predictability. There are certain actors, when you see their names in the credits, you know, even before the film starts, that they are the bad guy, and that's exactly what happened here. Samuel L. Jackson stars as a former police officer, who was part of a dirty department. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before he was caught up in the corruption, so he decides to get out. Jackson decides to take on the unique, but very real profession of being a crime scene cleaner. One day, he's given a key and a job to do in an upscale neighborhood. Nothing is out of the ordinary, until the next day when he goes to get paid and discovers that the woman there has no idea what he's talking about. Now Jackson must discover who used him to cover up their crime, who was the victim, and why were they murdered? While I prefer Samuel L. Jackson in a more comedic role, he's just as good in a dramatic one. His strength has always been the ability to carry a film, no matter if it's dramatic or ridiculous. Despite being direct-to-video, Cleaner has a large supporting cast of stars that really help the film. A lot of these films tend to have newcomers backing the veteran star, and their weak performances bring down the quality of even the best written films. Here, Jackson is supported by the likes of Eva Mendes, Luis Guzman, and Ed Harris, all of whom are very believable, and all of whom help move the story along. Cleaner is intense, unique, and interesting, if you haven't seen a lot of film, you may not realize who the bad guy is, five minutes into the film, and you may be really surprised. As for me, it was like watching a movie that some amateur Netflix reviewer already ruined for me, and the suburb ending was lost.

As thrillers should it kicks off at a decent pace which eventually slows once passed the inciting incident. It lacks any real intrigue however or subplots breaking up the monotony of the main arc. Samuel Jackson stars as Tom Cutler and is the most engaging aspect of the film. An ex-cop turned crime-scene cleaner who is a widower raising an only daughter. This feels contrived to elicit the audiences' sympathy as to what happens to the protagonist. To some degree it works as it pulls you through the story wondering what will happen next thus compensating for the lack of intrigue. Everyone gives credible performances adding to the polish of many scenes.

At first I thought this movie was going to be a bomb. But after watching this movie further I was hooked to see how it ended. The story may not have been that strong but the cast made up for that in my opinion. I can name names but that would do an injustice to the rest of the cast. This is a movie for the movie fan that likes a a good crime thriller with a ......I don't give spoilers.You just have to watch yourself and see. I gave it 8 out 10. Would have been more if the plot was more solid. I gave it 8out of 10 stars but you have to be the judge of that for your self. If you are a Samuel Jackson fan you will love this one cause he is at his best.

Saturday, January 16, 2010 The Cleaner (2007)What a movie to begin blogging on! This movie had it all - gore, Samuel L. Jackson,mystery, guts, dark but hilarious humour. I loved it. Twists and turns that had insight into characters, as the plot unravels with misdirections and smelly fish. The plot has just enough 'predictable bad-guy' balanced with 'he feels like a bad guy, but he'll probably be one of those bad-guys guys who turns out to be a good guy at the end'. With friends, you are guaranteed to be kept guessing and joking and arguing throughout the movie , or afterward if you can bring yourself to interrupt the special silent moments of the film that are dialogue-free and thought provoking moments into the humanity of murder. The mechanics of the murder mystery are sound, using plausible plot devices, realistic police investigatory processes, and genuine-feeling character motivations.One special addition to mention the astounding talents of actress, Keke Palmer, whose genuine emotive quality and deeply-thought characterisation made this movie even more mesmerizing than it already was. See me at: http://www.blogger.com/profile/09375370735809683206