That was an excellent one.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The movie is surprisingly subdued in its pacing, its characterizations, and its go-for-broke sensibilities.

Don't ask me why, but I watched this movie twice. Maybe because it was set in Denver, where I grew up. The setting of this story seemed to be a very different place from the city of Denver familiar to me. Or perhaps I watched this production a second time simply to verify that this was not a great film. Fait accompli.There was some good acting in this production, no doubt, but the characters were almost all caricatures. And then there's the story itself. The Andy Garcia character has managed to extricate himself from the world of the mob and "go civilian". But then his old boss has him chased down to do one final "action"—not a "work", but an "action". He is supposed to not kill but frighten away the lover of the boss's son's former girlfriend so that the son (who has become a pederast--what?) can be reunited with the love of his life. Who does the Andy Garcia character call on to help him carry out the "action"? A team of misfit losers, all of whom have done time in prison and are therefore of questionable competence. Predictably, the incompetent team members prove incompetent here as well, and end up killing not only the guy whom they are supposed to scare, but also his girlfriend. The boss, who is a paralyzed, ghoulish Christopher Walken character, decides to "buckwheat" the lot of them, which we are told means make them suffer before they die. However, he gives the Andy Garcia character the opportunity just to leave town, which he ends up not doing because he's too busy trying to save all of the others.There is so much detail to this densely embellished story, but none of it really adds up to anything. I feel as though the screenwriter was trying to jam all of his interesting ideas into a single script. Sometimes less is more, and this story could have benefited from the removal of some of the colorful but ultimately irrelevant "script- stuff", for lack of a better expression. Did the son of the boss really have to be a pederast? Did the Vietnam Vet really have to use corpses as his punching bag? It was all too much. Like eating a dozen donuts and a bag of potato chips and a submarine sandwich and a candy bar, and maybe washing it all down with a couple of beers.Steve Buscemi makes a short appearance (maybe that's why I gave this a second chance?), and there is a sort of happy ending when the druggy- prostitute pregnant survivor of the story moves to Florida to raise her child and become a masseuse. Honestly, I don't even know what is worth reporting here. It would take way too many words! So let me just end by avowing that I definitely will not give this high-calorie, low nutrient production a third try.

When Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction hit the scene in 1994, it took filmmakers and cinephiles by surprise that a film involving murder, betrayal, and theft could also be so wickedly funny and hilariously in its conversational fluidity. Tarantino was fearless, not worried about halting the plot-progression for just a short amount of time so the characters could ramble or comment on something random and completely off topic. As simple as it was, it was surprising to many; here was dialog unrelated to the plot and central story being used with such confidence.Because of how Tarantino took convention and ordinary crime-drama filmmaking by storm, he obviously spawned many inspirations and "copycats." I only bring this up because, for reasons I have trouble understanding, people have written off Gary Fleder's Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead off as a Pulp Fiction ripoff. Since its release in 1995, the film has gone far under the radar and scrutinized, only to be viewed by the curious cinephile or a hardened crime drama fan; consider me both.The film stars Andy Garcia, a leading man I, and many, it appears, have forgotten about as much as we forgot about this particular film. He plays "Jimmy the Saint," an ex-con looking to get out of the business and run his own shop where people record their wills for their family and friends before they die. Catering to the business serves as his day job, until he's approached by his paraplegic boss "The Man With the Plan" (Christopher Walken), who requests his services for one more little odd job. Unsurprisingly, the job goes wrong, and this means Jimmy is in the hottest water. Now, Jimmy must find a way to secure his own future, as well as continue to maintain stable connections, while pleasing his newfound love interest (Gabrielle Anwar) through all this chaos. In the meantime, we are introduced to a wide variety of characters played by big-name actors: a quiet hit-man nicknamed "Mr. Shhh" (Steve Buscemi), ex-gangster "Pieces" (Christopher Lloyd), petty-thug "Big Bear Franchise" (William Forsythe), the loquacious "Easy Wind" (Bill Nunn), and the argumentative and angry "Critical Bill" (Treat Williams).The film bears a relatively age-old story, but the film is complicated by strangely vague dialog and an overabundance of characters with unique names. The dialog itself seems to be describing linear, straight-forward statements and requests and loading them with slang and alienating jargon that takes a great deal of time getting used to.Once one comes to terms with the dialog, at hand, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead becomes your average mob flick, comfortably paced, sometimes fun in a gloomy way, and often brooding and dark, like the dapper characters it focuses on. If director Gary Fleder and writer Scott Rosenberg (who's eclectic filmography includes the amiable Kangaroo Jackand the wildly misunderstood Pain & Gain) has anything down here, it's the films tone, which knows when to be comedic and when to be haunting at just the right times.Consider the scene when this particular operation goes wrong, and Jimmy and his gang land themselves in hot water. Up until this scene, the film has maintained a traditionalist mobster theme of being mildly dark and slightly comedic. When this incident occurs, it suddenly all goes black and the seventy of the gang's actions finally catch up to them. Fleder shows this nicely and packs a lot of character intrigue here with such a great cast.Films centered around crime and the mobster lifestyle are often broken up into three categories with cinephiles: the classics, Scorsese, and everything else. While Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead exists in the latter, it is nothing shy of an enjoyable and intriguing viewing. The actors possess enough charisma and charm to carry out a screenplay like this, Fleder's direction always seems to hit the right tones, and Rosenbaum's writing always finds ways to take dark and exciting turns. The fact that the film has somehow mingled its way into being mistaken for a clone of one of the most popular crime dramas of all time is quite a shame because of how much quality is in its product to begin with.Starring: Andy García, Christopher Walken, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Treat Williams, Steve Buscemi, Gabrielle Anwar, Jack Warden, and Fairuza Balk. Directed by: Gary Fleder.

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is directed by Gary Fleder and written by Scott Rosenberg. It stars Andy Garcia, Christopher Lloyd, William Forsythe, Bill Nunn, Treat Williams, Steve Buscemi and Christopher Walken. Music is by Michael Convertino and cinematography by Elliot Davis.Jimmy the Saint (Garcia) is a ex-gangster who finds one of his debts has been bought up by his ex boss, The Man With the Plan (Walken). The Man wants Jimmy to assemble a crew to put the frighteners on a guy who stole the girlfriend of his son, Bernard (Michael Nicolosi), who has been so traumatised by the break up he has taken to "bothering" young girls. Calling on four of his old comrades in crime, Jimmy feels it's a simple job that will finally clear him of his gangster debt whilst earning his hard up pals some cash. However, in fighting threatens to destabilise the group and when the "job" invariably goes wrong they all have to deal with the vengeful aftermath of The Man With the Plan.You wanna throw those pathetic yuks some scratch, I applaud your sensitivity.One of a number of films that surfed in on the wave created by Pulp Fiction, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead is a nifty and potent picture at times, with sharp dialogue, moments of brutalising and a fire-cracker of a neo-noir finale. Yet it's hurt considerably by the ridiculousness of the set up. Film hinges on a "shake down" arrangement that just comes off as a weak excuse for a film, in fact it's bad writing. There are a myriad of ways to set up a heist gone wrong and then have the crims be on the run for their lives, this set up is just pathetic. Buscemi's hit man is poorly conceived, with some glaring conflicting in the characterisation, while the Anwar (beautiful and leaving a good impression) love interest angle could have had much more made of it if the makers had had the courage of their convictions.Give it a name.Still, if you can allow the annoyance of the crappy set up to subside, then there's strong noir themes to indulge in here. A one time bad boy struggling to escape his past and characters stuck in a bleak destiny influenced rut they can't get out of. There's a pervading sense of depression hanging over the film, which in a twisted way makes for good film, while the character dynamics are strong because the characters are very memorable. Helps, too, that they have awesome names like Jimmy the Saint, Critical Bill, Franchise and Mister Shhh! Acting is very good, with Garcia earning his quality pathos stripes, Williams doing psycho with ease, Forsythe a mighty machismo presence, Lloyd resigned and pitiless and Walken turning in another in his long line of bitter scary bastards.Worthy of interest to neo-noir fans for sure, but frustration sits in the narrative to stop it being an essential viewing. 6.5/10

This is a good movie. What is a good movie then? It is entertaining and has a good story line and is acted out and directed well so that you don't have to do a thing but sit back and let this movie pull you into its world. It doesn't fail on that pull either. You will be introduced to thoughts and ideas in the underworld that are only known by those thugs that hang out there. Of course, these are men and women with a soul too and that is what comes across. Sure, they are on the wrong side of the tracks, but think for a moment that "there go I but for the grace of god" and you will be alright watching them go through their daily messed up lives...There are some stand-out performances and I would say that all actors give them. When it is their turn to act and convince us, they do. This is entertainment. The title throws you off, but after seeing the movie, you make allowances for it. One last thing. If you like malts, you know ice cream malts, well, have a pitcher ready when you watch this film. It is no fun to drink alone....enjoy