Touches You

So much average

best movie i've ever seen.

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

Oliver Stone's brutal, sweaty, trashy, delicious desert set film noir is a treat, and after Natural Born Killers, his finest work. It's an underrated, demented trip into a one horse Arizona town populated by all kinds of freaks, low life's and unstable weirdos. Sean Penn plays a skeezy, self centred deadbeat whose car breaks down in this sun drenched hellhole, and throughout the film gets thrown through a wringer of unpleasantness, violence, deceit and greed. This is not a feel good film. It's a down n' dirty Southern American redneck nightmare fable as only the manic Stone can deliver, and he weaves a gritty yarn that will burn itself into your senses with its raw belligerence and scuzzy characters. Jennifer Lopez is a sexy, sultry wonder as a dangerous femme fatale who ensnares Penn's character. Nick Nolte is her monstrous husband, and relishes the role with a gravelly drawl and a morally bankrupt smirk. Powers Boothe as the deranged town sheriff and Joaquin Phoenix as an even more deranged local boy are excellent. Billy Bob Thornton in an u recognizable getup almost walks off with the film as the worlds weirdest car mechanic, and Jon Voight gives more humanity to his crazy old Indian role than it deserves. The score by Ennio Morricone is a haunting, eerie desert melody, and the jumpy, booze and sun soaked cinematography is a orange hued feast for the eyes. I consider this to be one of the most overlooked films of the 90's. It's not for everyone, but those who enjoy a dark, cynical underside of rural Americana and a good old fashioned, brutally violent neo noir will get a kick out of it. I still do every time I watch it.

Bobby (Sean Penn) is on his way to pay off a debt to a gangster who has already taken two fingers. His car breaks down as he pulls into desert outpost Superior, Arizona in the middle of nowhere. He leaves the car with Darrell (Billy Bob Thornton) the mechanic. He hits on Grace McKenna (Jennifer Lopez) but she's actually married to Jake (Nick Nolte) who catches them kissing. After punching him, Jake drives him back to town suggesting a scheme to kill Grace. A robbery at the store ends with his bag of money shot to bits. Darrell has his car ripped apart and wants $150 for the trouble. He calls the gangster who is not happy and sends a thug. At the diner, he talks to Jenny (Claire Danes) which provokes her boyfriend Toby N. Tucker (Joaquin Phoenix). Bobby goes to Jake with a proposal.Director Oliver Stone is throwing everything onto the screen but not enough of it sticks. He fills this with crazy characters. The music and sound is deliberately wacky. He's trying so hard that it almost hurts to watch this. The style is so random that it all gets a bit tiresome. The characters are not compelling and Sean Penn doesn't make me care about his character. The temperature may be hot but there is no heat about any of this.

Not as much as you'd think. It had a chance to work, but ultimately fizzled.I finally got around to watching U TURN, a full 15 years after it came out and sunk at the box office. You never even see it playing on cable, so I had to rent a copy. I just recently watched Stone's latest, SAVAGES, which I did like, but the American public apparently didn't. Anyway,I thought I'd catch up on missed Oliver Stone movies, and this was first up.This movie had a nice look, the acting decent, and the story was OK (for the first hour anyway), but then the drag out, double-crosses (and "triple crosses") just seemed to go on forever. It should have been better, but I just can't figure out why it wasn't. I really wanted it to end soon after Nolte took the direct ax shot, but we still had another unseen plot line to develop with Boothe.Cameos by Julie Hagerty, Laurie Metcalf, and a blink & you'll miss her Liv Tyler were helpful, J. Phoenix always brings it, and the Russian guys were amusing. However, only Penn's scenes with Billy Bob really seemed to hit with some punch. I've always liked Thornton, even when he's sleep-walking through his blockbuster paycheck roles.Anyway, I say take a pass on U TURN, as it's too long and the payoff just ain't worth the wait.

Compelling characters & cast drive film noir into excellent sunset.Have you every felt down on yourself. Nothing goes right during the day? Hmmmm? SEE his movie.With twists and turns along the highway of deceit and corruption, this is a great film to watch. With great dialog, acting, characters, and sound track/score I can't understand why this film didn't make more money at the BO.This dark comedy film noir is a character and cast buffet of delightful snacks. Imagine a town with: Hero on the run from the mob stranded in town, the local filthy, goofy rip-off backyard mechanic, a ultra hot sexy femme fatale, tough local sheriff, really crusty old local perverted rich guy, crusty old poetic blind man, cranky & flirty troublesome young couple, Russian mob hit man chasing Hero.Stir, simmer for two hours add Ollie Stone. Yummy! a great stew to be savored with a nice glass of Cabernet SauvignonGuys will need a cold shower after watching femme fatale Grace seduce Bobby while she is hanging her new curtains. (Does the carpet match the drapes?)EXTERIOR: DAY – JUNK YARDDarrell convinces Bobby that it will be hard to fix a blown radiator hose on his 1964 ½ Mustang. (Great Scene)