88 Minutes
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Movie Reviews of 88 Minutes
Movie Review: Good, but not great. Worthy of a rental.
Summary: 3 Stars
Best Part: Pacino,although not at his best, was the highlight of the film.
Worst Part:too predictable
POSSIBLE SPOILER
-Lesbian part seemed unnecessary and did not add to the film.
Movie Review: YOUR TIME IS UP
Summary: 2 Stars
I am a big fan of Al Pacino. There haven't been many times when I've seen a film he's starred in that I've been disappointed (and I won't name the two times that's happened that I can recall here). Pacino is one of the greatest actors we have working today and even in a tepid film such as this, he gives it his all.
88 MINUTES stars Pacino as Dr. Jack Gramm, a forensic psychologist who has just helped put away a serial killer we saw strike (in shadow only). Jon Forster (Neal McDonough) has been convicted and awaits the death sentence.
The story moves forward 9 years and Gramm is still at it. He also teaches a course at a college in the city the story is set in, Seattle. On the day of Forster's sentence to be carried out, Jack receives a cryptic message via his cell phone. He has just 88 minutes left to live.
While we have been given glimpses into Jack's life, his womanizing, his binging, his somewhat flawed character, nothing can prepare us for this and what follows. Jack attempts to locate who is sending him these messages and try and stop his own murder.
At the same time Forster receives a stay of execution and Jack's abilities are called in to question. When people begin showing up dead that are connected to Jack, the table is turned as the FBI task force investigating a new series of murders that are identical to those of Forster, suspect Jack. The clock continues to tick down as Jack, aided by just a few friends, searches for the answers.
Along the way we are offered something else. We are given a glimpse into the world of Jack Gramm. What is it that motivated him to take up this career to begin with? Was he guilty of witness tampering? Was he somehow involved in the murders? And did he set up Forster for the killings or was Forster actually guilty?
The answers to these question and others are all solved within the 88 minutes it takes for Jack to discover them as well. A bit of soul searching, a bit of sleuthing and a bit of luck bring us to a conclusion that offers several red herrings before the truth is revealed.
Pacino turns in a great performance, though perhaps not one of his best. But even here his abilities are a sight to behold. Along with him is a great supporting cast including Alicia Witt as a student aid trying to help, Amy Brenneman as his harried secretary, Leelee Sobieski as a promising student and William Forsythe as Jack's FBI associate and friend. Among them Forsythe has always been a favorite of mine and one of the unsung heroes of character actors working today.
If you are a fan of mysteries there is the chance that you will figure this one out prior to the last moments of the film unspooling before you. I was able to do so for the most part. I got the set up, just not the particulars. But that is what makes a mystery so involving. Trying to figure out just "who-dun-it". 88 MINUTES gives you the chance to figure it all out ahead of time. And with Pacino at the helm onscreen, you get the clues and a great performance all rolled in to one.
Having written this upon the DVD's initial release I've had time to think back and digest everything better than I did at first. Yes, the movie is solid film making. Yes, Pacino turns in a well done performance. But at the same time something seems lacking here.
Have you ever had a viewing experience where you thought "I kind of enjoyed that but yet there was just something not right, something just....". That is this movie in a nutshell. Perhaps a second viewing will make me find what I thought was missing. But my gut instinct tells me no.
Don't get me wrong, this movie was still better than half a dozen others I've watched. But at the same time, expectations when it comes to someone like Pacino leave this one lacking.
Movie Review: 88 Minutes that you'll never get back.
Summary: 2 Stars
It's not that this film is actually bad, but rather it is just disappointing considering the very talented cast and it's potential to be a riveting thriller that is lukewarm at best.
Taking a page from the TV series 24 Al Pacino has the last 88 real time minutes of this 1:40 minute film to figure out who his potential killer is before his time is up. He's a forensic psychologist with a long list of enemies as he's put many in jail with his expert testimony alone. There are some good twists now and then in this story and, as many have already pointed out, lots of red herring too.
The direction is brisk and unobtrusive, but the script lacks the punch to support the director's attempt to make things exciting. This is also one of those films in which the supporting cast is better than the main cast. Pacino seems to be bored with this film and literally looks like he's acting panic-stricken. I mean, I can open my eyes wide too, but that doesn't mean I really look scared, does it? This is what critics call a "phoned in performance" that is often done by top actors to keep themselves busy until their next terrific film. It's treated like a part-time or temporary job. Now, the presence of the decent looking and okay acting talent of Alicia Witt, the stunning and very talented Helen Hunt lookalike, Leelee Sobieski, and TV's Judging Amy who makes 40+ look like a fantastic age to be, Amy Brenneman, are all far more interesting to watch than Pacino is in this film.
This isn't a bad movie and will make a decent rental, but don't expect a whole lot from this film as you might because of Al Pacino's presence. He's way off his game here and his supporting cast really outshine him, even though that doesn't take much with his performance in this film.
FYI: While the film made a tidy profit having cost 30 million to make, although that is hard to believe, it made about 70 million here in the states, it still got yanked from theaters after only a few weeks. It couldn't even break double digits on it's opening weekend where it made just under 7 million. Apparently, the producers where not very optimistic about the film before it's release as its release date was continuously delayed. The movie was actually filmed in October of 2005 on a tight 45 day shooting schedule and finally released in April of 2008.
Movie Review: Tick Tock Al, It's The Sound Of Your Career Running Out
Summary: 2 Stars
I love Al Pacino and have watched him in many a bad movie. Even when the film sucks, like this one kind of does, he does something to make it watchable and entertaining for fans. Here he plays forensic psychologist Jack Gramm. In addition to his medical practice, Jack teaches a criminal studies class at a local college. He's a a bit of a ladies man after hours keeping company with call girls, his students (Alicia Witt and Lelee Sobieski), his secretary (Amy Brenneman) and even the dean of the college (Deborah Kara Ungar). It was Jack's crucial testimony years earlier that earned a rapist (Neal McDonough) the death penalty. On the day of the execution, Jack awakes to find a man on a motorcycle outside his house. When he arrives at work he sees that the motorcyclist has followed him. He then gets a call on his cell phone in which someone tells him he has only 88 minutes left to live. Jack starts an investigation that has his put upon gay secretary (Brenneman) making about a hundred phone calls and checking the records of the prison, his students, the woman he was with last night and so on and so forth. Jack is clueless as to who is taunting him and his paranoia causes him to run around campus like a madman snatching cell phones away from terrified students. Teaming up with one of his students (Witt), Jack attempts to prove that the murderer he put away is behind this latest threat. The film takes place in real time once Jack is threatened but it's never all that suspenseful. Jack takes the news in stride and he and Witt go to his apartment and basically chill for a half hour until he gets another phone call telling him where to go. Once the person's identity is revealed there have been so many ridiculous twists and turns that the film becomes laughable. The best scene involves an exasperated Jack yelling at an FBI guy (William Forsythe) who believes Jack is behind it all. "Did I blow up my own car? Did I shoot bullets at myself?", Jack yells. (His explanation of how his "DNA" came to be found on a murder victim is also pretty funny). Hell, in the bonus features Pacino admits that much of the film is illogical but that he was still attracted to the material for whatever reason. He says he had a good time making it but that doesn't guarantee that fans will have a good time watching it. The film was made way back in 2005 and shelved for nearly three years. It was directed by Jon Avnet who would reunite Pacino and DeNiro months later in 'Righteous Kill', another ridiculous film, but one that is much more entertaining than this one.Movie Review: Overcooked Pacino with too much hair, but still somewhat tasty
Summary: 2 Stars
Al Pacino should've spoken up more regarding the script is this ham-handed psychological thriller. Pacino plays an eminent forensic psychologist that has put many in prison or on death row. After receiving numerous notices that he has less than 88 minutes to live, while simultaneously being framed for the murder of a prostitute, PAcino franctically scampes around the city to find the real culprit.
The flaw in this was the movie itself. Suspension of disbelief wouldn't normally come into account on what appears to be an episode of Law and Order, or maybe closer to Without a Trace in this case. Pacinos driving alone would've taken up the entirety of his allowed time, assuming he didn't have a pocket teleporter or a police escort. The thriller aspect of the piece was to hammered in, with updates every 5-10 minutes, though an A for effort in actually keeping the correct time track.
Pacinos character felt ham handed and stale, and the most I can remember of it is hands running through hair in exasperation x20. The supporting cast vanishes almost completely into the background, with recurring characters that are so forgettable that you fail to recognize them the second time they appear on screen.
Despite all of this, 88 minutes managed to actually feel like a thriller, with a decent murder mystery thrown in. An overblown, surreal thriller, but a thriller none the less. If the plot had allowed for reasonable time frames, say "8 Hours," this film probably would've been as good a hit as Pacinos other cop dramas, but attempting to cram that much material into an hour and a half makes even the most forgiving and liberal plot hole watcher scoff.