Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

p-stepien Aging contract killer Rose (Helen Mirren) is a terminally sick with cancer. Her stepson and lover Mikey (Cuba Gooding Jr.) aids her in her line of work, silently dedicated to the woman. During their last joint kill for mafia kingpin Clayton (played ruthlessly by Stephen Dorff) Rose finds herself unable to assassinate his pregnant wife and instead decides to assimilate her into her dysfunctional little household.Stylized with some noirish feel and a touch of European art-house Lee Daniels (of "Precious" fame) debut feature is a mixed bag rather brutally dissected by most critics as a failed adventure into weird and whack. However the general consensus is that Cuba Gooding Jr, Helen Mirren and Stephen Dorff lift the movie, the feeling among the professionals is that this is a failed mixture of styles and forms. Essentially the movie has a fairly standard film structure as an action movie, but the form differentiates itself from the norm, telling stories more with visuals then with dialogues. Here we are also treated with a fairly outlandish duo of leads, which create the ultimate movie taboo couple (mixed race, older woman and young man plus a hint of incest, not to mention we are supposed to sympathise with a pair of seasoned killers-for-hire). Ultimately the experiment does seem to provoke most critics to widespread ire at the audacity, which isn't helped by the amateurish execution of several key scenes of the movie.Verging on pretentious the reaction to this movie can be pretty extreme. Unlike "Drive" the novel take on an action flick moves subtly and uses exquisite movie language, whilst what "Shadowboxer" attempts is derailed by sub-par realisation and excessive experimentation. Despite the potentially groundbreaking script all these fallacies hit too many bad notes, essentially making the watch fascinating, but at the same time irking viewers to point out what's wrong with various scenes, gimmicks and ideas, instead of focusing on the story at hand.

Bob_the_Hobo I've never seen "Snow Dogs", thank God for small favors. I was actually walking into this one with Cuba Gooding Jr.s' recent DTV flops ("Hardwired", "Lies & Illusions") in mind, and I was curious to see what he was like in his hayday.Cuba and Helen Mirren are two assassins/lovers, who have been assigned to terminate the wife (Vanessa Ferlito) of a big-time gang boss (Stephen Dorff) after she may have slept with another man. Things change, however, when Mirren finds that the wife is pregnant, and she refuses to take the life of the baby as well. All three leave that night to make new lives for themelves, always on the run from the Dorff's role as the gang boss.Sounds like a simple plot, but Lee Daniels really went all out. "Shadowboxer" is kind of like a strobe light in that you know you should look away as to not damage your eyes, but it's captivating and reels you in to the point where you cannot tear your eyes away.Cuba Gooding Jr. apparently has less then 40 lines in the film, but he's got a presence on screen, which I suppose I can measure to Javier Bardem's role in "No Country for Old Men". Both are strong, imposing, and almost dead silent men who offer a strange mix of sensuality and power. Cuba's chemistry with Helen Mirren, who plays not only his step-mother but his lover, is both believable and fascinating. You don't see many younger African American men with older White women, which was a strong contrast throughout the film.The same is with J.G. Levitt's character of Dr. Don, whose girlfriend is played by Monique. Levitt and Monique show us their amazing acting skill as they makes that otherwise strange relationship believable.Finally Stephen Dorff plays the badguy, and what a badguy he was. His arrogant, ruthless on-screen persona is intimidating and frightening. He swears, kills, yet you can't help but like him, even as he tries to kill his own wife. Ferlito was very good as well. Her relationship with the duo that almost killed her is another strong contrast.In a phrase, "I loved it". The cinematography was beautiful and kept me tied in. The music was captivating. I'll be sure to watch this one again, and soon. I hope you will also.

mike_elston I did not find this, as some reviewers here suggest, a really bad movie. It has its redeeming features. But in the end I found myself frustrated and disappointed. It could have been so much better.The plot is an interesting one, and maybe one day a really good film will be based on a similar plot. I try not to include spoilers, so I'll say no more than the trailer does: Gooding and Mirren are professional killers who are faced with a dilemma when they are contracted to kill a crime boss's wife (Ferlito) who they discover is pregnant. The ramifications of their choice changes their lives. But though the film was billed as a thriller, there was little suspense, except in the final act, and the choices made by the three central characters, though necessary for the plot, simply didn't work. I could find no believable basis in the characters themselves for their actions. I'm sure you can explain their actions if you try, but for me it only works if you suspend your belief in the characters and admit "well, I guess that's the plot, so that's why they did it". The cinematography is striking, but the script, unfortunately, is pedestrian, one-paced, and cliché-ridden. Given the one-dimensional nature of the characters, the cast, Gooding and Mirren in particular, deserve significant praise for making much more of their roles than the material offers. If you are tempted to watch this for Helen Mirren, however, you'd do much better to pick one of the 'Prime Suspect' films off the shelf.Much is made in the film's publicity of the unusual relationships between the central characters, but they are barely explored and still less explained, simply taken for granted and illustrated in a few dramatically shot scenes.Given the plot, I didn't find the violence or the occasional nudity gratuitous. By its own standards, the film works: it's a good story (if somewhat unbelievable at times). I just wish the standards had been a little higher.

paddyolguin This is a movie you love or hate. I loved it. First, the "preposterous plot." Helen Mirren is a gorgeous woman. I had no problem believing Cuba's character would desire her in addition to be utterly loyal to her and dependent on her). I liked that the story's time-line was longer than just about any kind of crime thriller you'd see these days.This is definitely not a popcorn movie, and you will find yourself shocked at the violence and then moved by the touching scenes. Nothing is exploitive or gratuitous in this film. The grisly violence, intense sexuality and touching interdependence of the characters serve to underscore just how absurdly varying a life (or lives) can be.I think sometimes moviegoers expect too much from film. Not every movie is A Streetcar Named Desire. There were important, fundamental themes in this movie - love, lust, loyalty, guilt, shame... all brilliantly conveyed by the actors. If you have a problem with imperfect plots, rent a documentary.