Alicia I love this movie so much

Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

mjohnson64064 In Tijuana, dozens of innocent people are murdered, and the police are bent on blaming the local drug cartel. A human rights activist, played by Jeff Daniels, originally sent to monitor a union vote at an American-owned company, begins investigating the murders. He soon learns that the drug lord is a harmless, lovable fuzzball trying to earn an honest living. Meanwhile, the American company, trying to keep their business from becoming unionized, ends up at the center of the investigation in typical Hollywood sucker-punch style.Yes, it's an interesting plot, but Hollywood is really good at inserting its Anti-American bias into an otherwise perfectly good modern murder mystery.

fgh I won't write about the contents, others did that already - I'll write about the setting of the movie.I was very pleased to find a US movie dealing with multinational corporations, unions, murder, police crime and environmental pollution in the form of a crime mystery that really works. This, I mainly attribute to the well balanced way everything was handled: Multinational corporations pay very low wages, but on the other hand, without them there might be even less jobs in developing countries. Trade unions help workers to more rights and higher wages, but on the other hand the multinationals just move on when the wages rise, etc. pp. OK, drug lords and crime play a big part in this movie, too - but I am glad these things are not depicted as being cool or glitzy, like in other movies. What I don't understand is the IMDb label 'Thriller' - the German word 'Krimi' (crime movie) seems to fit better. And like some German crime movies, the crime is only used as a vehicle for all the other trials and tribulations happening to the characters.Watching all the street scenes and how people like the human rights guy might actual live in Mexican cities (where being abducted seems to be an almost daily experience) was much more believable and 'real' like, for instance, in 'Man on Fire'. Thumbs up for that.To find such a multi-layered view of things makes watching this movie a pleasure - although the topic is very sad. Unfortunately this was a straight to pay TV/video release in Germany, so not many people will have the chance to watch it.The only thing I missed was a real motive for the one shown as being responsible in the end. Maybe watching it a second time might help here.

jpschapira I really like to watch thrillers, if that's a name you can put to the films which contain action, suspense, mystery, drama; everything in one package. Sometimes we just call them suspense films. I like the "thriller" designation, especially because of the arguments I'm about to deal with here.I should say I like to watch thrillers because I'm expecting some adrenaline. I'm expecting to connect with a story, with the characters. "Seven" reached that goal in my expectations. It's an exceptional thriller. There are not much more thrillers that have captivated me. "Heat" is another one, maybe, if you can call it a thriller. So every time I sit to watch this type of film, I'm prepared. In cases of movies like "I Witness", things don't go very, or that well (referring to the other ones)."I witness" is not a good thriller. Not because it lacks the elements, no. It has them all; but they are not managed correctly. The action scenes are constantly repeated, the suspense is not felt (and this eliminates mystery), it's hard to believe the drama. Casting has united a strong ensemble here. Maybe the ones that made a mistake were the persons in the ensemble, at the time they chose to be in it.Some days ago I was talking about Jeff Daniels. We were discussing and I heard someone saying that he is always playing the same role. Probably. I like him as an actor, but I have got to think if he is really "choosing" his roles. He could be playing with them. He'll give you a good performance, but he is not really wanting to. He is so relaxed and disinterested; he doesn't seem to care.Some characters have big names but little participation. Portia de Rossi; I'm talking about her. I don't like her very much. She has that cute face but never seems to be comfortable in her roles or show any talent when playing them. Then there is James Spader; he seems to be drawn. He doesn't show any emotion, not even when he's having sex with a woman. Jordi Caballero, a sort of newcomer, finds the note for the role, although he overacts it most of the time.Then I should finish talking about the only impression the movie left on me, believe it or not. You could think I'm joking, but I was "thrilled" (not bad if a thriller causes that impression) with Clifton Collin Jr's performance. What an ability he has to create emotions at the time he has a serious look. He can be so sad and not fake it, yet make it real. I haven't seen him much, but I remember him in the little roles he played in "Tigerland" (very good movie, and one of Colin Farrell's best performances) and "The Last Castle". He was superb here.The movie was predictable and you could sense the ending. The most disappointing thing will be; that if you don't guess the ending, you won't be surprised by the resolution the movie shows to you. It will be just another possibility, like everything. Now that's not a good sign about a thriller, is it?

MovieFreek2003 Finally - an action/thriller flick that rocked me with a bona fide mystery! I hate "spoiler" reviews so I can't get into too much story. Needless to say, it's a top notch thinking man's action film. Jeff Daniels plays a Human Rights Watch type whose been demoted and sent to Tijuana because he punched out a journalist. This ain't no Greenpeace bleeding heart. He is one p***ed off and tortured tough son of a bitch. But Daniels never swaggers. He plays it with such subtlety and finesse, you know you're witnessing the kind of performance only given by actors who have the trust and confidence in their skills borne of years of experience. Clifton Collins is a Mexican homicide detective afflicted with the job of aiding Daniels in his investigation of a peasant massacre on the US/Mexican border. Collins has the same temperature of Latin fire as Al Pacino. His characterization is so convincing, it didn't even dawn on me until I saw the credits that this is the same actor who played Frankie Flowers the gay, sadistic assassin in "Traffic." He is an entirely different being - a star to watch. Spader mesmerizes by virtue of his edgy intelligence. He can ask for a drink of water and you are compelled to wonder about what he really wants. Portia De Rossi gives a gutsy performance as Daniels US government adversary, though it took me a while to get used to her playing a true hard ass. No Ally McBeal here.The writing was first rate. Maybe the bottom line best thing about the movie. I don't know who the writing team is - Colin Green and Robert Ozn - they don't have any other credits - I looked them up on imdb. It's kind of the best of old-school, 70s writing meets 21st century dialogue and pacing. I could picture these guys writing "The French Connection" as well as "Desperado." I do wonder, though, if the Ozn part of the team is the same (or related?) Ozn from the band Ebn-Ozn.It's by far the best thing Rowdy Herrington's ever directed. Miles above his Bruce Willis action flick - can't remember the name off the top of my head. He's very good with street action, makes it ring true without any tricks, never amping you up with manipulations or pyrotechnics. There's a moment where a union activist gets knee-capped, and I could feel the hammer drop. Cinematography and production values are filled with foreboding and dark secrets. At times, it's almost claustrophobic and creepy and then suddenly - there's sunlight.The only thing I'll give a 'fair' grade to was the music. It was sound design styled synth stuff, and for a film set in Tijuana, it didn't work for me. It wasn't bad, just the wrong color.