Sadly Over-hyped

Crappy film

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The main problem I have with "Scenes of the Crime" is that none of the characters are likable. They are all either gangsters or on the take. The film is extremely claustrophobic, taking place mostly inside a van or in a deli. The movie is also confusing, with lots of unseen characters being mentioned, and speaking of characters, none are really well developed. The presence of Bob Gunton, and R. Lee Ermey is a plus, while Jeff Bridges, playing against type, is a hard sell as a mob boss. The whole thing, although supposedly based on fact, is difficult to swallow, because it never feels genuine. Although the acting isn't bad, the entertainment value is questionable. - MERK

****SPOILERS**** Ripping off the Milton mob of $7.2 million dollars and killing Milton's son Kevin in the process was a big mistake for the Steven Wayne, Bom Gunton, gang and Wayne's partner Jimmy Berg, Jeff Bridges, who executed that robbery. Milton's top henchman Trevor Morrison, Brian Goodman, has a hit-man Rick, Peter Green, sent to kidnap and kill Jimmy Berg. Driving a van with Rick to the Berg home is part-time mob wheel-man Lenny Burrough, Jon Abrahams. Everything seems to go right with Berg taken with out a struggle and Rick getting a key hidden under a mailbox that will unlock a designated bus station locker that he was given instructions to go to. There's $250,000.00 in cash waiting for Rick, in that locker, after he did the "job" but then all hell breaks loose with the Wayne mob showing up and running down Rick and killing him with a silencer. In the middle of a busy street in broad daylight. There's still Lenny in the van with Berg and with Morrison in contact with him and giving Lenny orders on his cell-phone to stay put is not to let him go.The movie "Scenes of the crime" just stands still after that with both Wayne & Morrison negotiating for Bergs life with Lenny who up to then was an innocent bystander the main obstacle. After going back and forth for a half hour the two hoodlums come to the conclusion that the best thing that they can do that will favor both of them is to have Wayne sell Berg out. The trick is to convince him that his partner Wayne isn't doing that. This to get Berg to drop his guard and come out and surrender and eventually be killed by the Milton mobsters.Somewhat slow but interesting film about how the mob works and how the saying that "There's no honor among thieves" is so true. You soon also begin to realize that theirs a third party, besides Wayne and Morrison, who's more sinister and murderous then the other two. Who's manipulating everyone like puppets on a string without them ever knowing about it. Jeff Bridges is his usual competent self as Jimmy Berg who knows that trust is not a word that's worth the paper it's written on when it comes to dealing with mobsters like Wayne, his 15 year partner and friend, and Morrison. Berg realizes in the end that he was sold out and pleads for Lenny to shoot him dead instead of being given up and tortured to death by the Milton mob. Jon Abrahams is very good as the somewhat naive mob driver Lenny who thinks that he's only doing a job and not what the reality of his situation really is. That by having anything to do with the mob is like signing you life away to it with out a reserve clause. There's also a couple who own a deli, Carman & Raymond, Madchen Amick & Morris Chestnut, as well as two construction workers Martin & Louis, Nicholas Gonzalez & Justin Louis, who all get caught up with what's happening in the whirlpool of violence between Wayne & Morrison, and in the case of the construction workers, end up losing their lives. The ending of "Scenes of the crime" was a bit labored but it gave the movie an ending that wasn't as depressing and gloomy as the rest of the film which is supposed to be based on a true story according to it's prologue.

I recently caught this movie on cable. While the production values definitely had a lower budget, indie feel I thought the movie was quite good. I love small scale action drama movies and this was an excellent example...up until the end. The movie ends very abruptly and with a completely unnecessary cliffhanger that is resolved literally seconds later. To me it felt like an ending that was deliberately placed there by one of these possibilities:1. The production ran out of money. They wanted to shoot a better ending but simply couldn't due to budget.2. The studio pressured the director to make a cut, and so to spite them she literally took a meat cleaver to the film.When the realities of film making tend to stick their noses so blatantly into a movie it tends to ruin the rest of it for me.I give it a six out of ten, but I will definitely keep eye open for this director in the future.

I am a Jeff Bridges fan, I feel he is the most under-rated actor anywhere. So I took a look at this movie. Alright, but not what I expected because the beginning of the movie was pretty exciting. SPOILERS AHEAD! I agree with the person who said it was easy to predict what was going to happen because of the so called old man who looked like a bum paid 200 bucks to get rid of two painters. He needed the apartment. Jeff Bridges gets kidnapped and everything goes haywire. So we spend most of the movie listening to him trying to convince this poor driver to do the right thing. Parts of the movie takes place in a deli because they happen to be across the street from the scene of the crime. BORING. The movie was ok but don't look for any excitement after the first 15 minutes of the movie.