Poolhall Junkies
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Movie Reviews of Poolhall Junkies
Movie Review: poolhall cool!
Summary: 5 Stars
just buy it, trust me it's cool! great story line, cool action ,funny too!
pluse it's got walken in it!
Movie Review: Great Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Very entertaining. A good flick.Movie Review: Rack 'em and Smack 'em
Summary: 4 Stars
Gregory Mars Martin (Callahan), aka Mars Callahan, has given us a chunk of his heart, and great waves of youthful enthusiasm. Callahan, an accomplished pool player, and his hustler buddy Chris Corso, wrote this screenplay. It was shopped around for over ten years, and now it has emerged as a sterling Indie; something to aspire to. It was filmed in Salt Lake City, but little was made of that. It could have been any large city. His directorial style is sideswipe close to that of Edward Burns; urban, hip, gritty, and intelligent. Hopefully Callahan has some other ideas, and he will follow up with new projects.
Callahan obviously loves movies, and he has given himself the lead part; Johnny Doyle. As it turns out, he is a gifted actor. Roger Ebert called him," McQueen cool.". Another critic, a cretin, called him," Vince Vaughn lite.". Ebert wrote further,
" This is a young man's film, humming with the joy of making it.".
One can't help but to notice when Callahan makes his first appearance on the screen that he does have a tall lanky hip young Christopher Walken persona. Brilliantly for the film, Walken himself was cast in the movie. In an early scene, when he and Walken share the frame, Walken said," I noticed you right away; the hair. Are we related ? " The movie is laden with other movie-lover's moments; tongue-in-cheek and over the top.
If a person likes to shoot pool, this film will be smoky eye candy. The cons, the chatter, the grifts, and the trick shots; all slip by smoothly. You can hear the echo in the pool room, and smell the chalk, the felt on the tables, and the cigar smoke. You hear those ceramic balls crash together in a macho symphony of staccato clanks; and what a lovely sound it is. Callahan in voice over in the preface, speaks of Johnny Doyle,
" The cue was part of his arm, and the balls had eyes. And he really believed that he couldn't miss.".
With Callahan in the lead, speaking his own written dialogue, one senses more immediacy, more reality in the pool hall scenes. As a director, he scored well, landing four heavy hitters in the casting; Walken as uncle Mike the millionaire, Chazz Palminteri as Joe the hustler, Rod Steiger as Nick the owner of the pool hall, and Rick Schroder as Brad the shark. Alison Eastwood was fine, as well, as Johnny's ladyfriend, Tara. This modest little film has all the grit, the validity, and the sting of THE HUSTLER, and in some subtle ways it scores higher than the Scorsese opus THE COLOR OF MONEY.
The plot, far from original ( a young man becomes a pool hustler, but learns to hate the con and yearns for the validation of turning professional), never the less is engaging in Callahan's capable hands. We can not help but care about Johnny Doyle. We want him to get his girlfriend back, and get revenge on the vicious hustler that ruined his life, working him like a pool whore, and then nearly breaking his left wrist in reprisal; and we want him to beat the daylights out of the stoic stud pro-ringer pool shark; and we want him to renew the faith that the pool hall owner has always had in him; and we want him to get his younger brother out of jail (Michael Rosenbaum), who got himself deep into a jam while trying to emulate Johnny.
Christopher Walken simply in a few brief scenes dominates the screen. He is more relaxed, more dynamic, and more focused in this role than he has been in years. He delivered one classic soliloquy that started with," Do you ever watch the Nature Channel ?". This speech will be a highlight for film buffs to review for the next millennium. He is one of a handful of actors, like Harvey Keitel, Tim Robbins, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, and Gary Oldman, that supports the notion that film truly is Art, and that Independent Films are the breath of life. For movie actors it used to be that only appearing on stage, doing live theatre in front of an audience, could produce that kick, that adrenilin rush. But now, it seems, that same high can be achieved when a star works cheap and takes chances in the celluloid world of the Indies.
Roger Ebert also wrote that this film was," enjoyably overwrought, and exuberantly stylish."; praise from Caesar. It certainly is worth a look. For me it ranks high in the short lexicon of billiard epics.
Movie Review: Excellent Cult Favorite....Highly Recommended !!!
Summary: 4 Stars
The story of how this movie got made is almost as entertaining as the result. A talented pool player, Mars Callahan, wrote the script and sold it, much like Quentin Tarrantino and True Romance, but the script languished on the shelf for ten years. At this point, Callahan decided to take personal control and get the movie made. Somehow, he persuaded noted stars like Rod Steiger, Chazz Palminteri, Christopher Walken, etc. to appear in it, while he would assume the role of author, star, and director. How he accomplished this feat would be an excellent subject for a documentary film (like Overnight, but this time with a heroic principle character).
Mars Callahan has remarkable swagger and presence for a relative newcomer, especially in the company of such a distinguished cast. His personality and appearance remind me of a young Christopher Walken, and their scenes together are riveting.
Regardless of the history, the resulting movie is a bit uneven but overall very entertaining. The roles are cleverly written (possibly why noted actors were willing to play them) and very well portrayed. The pool shooting is first rate. Indeed, they accomplish the difficult task of making the pool games dramatic, original, and suspenseful. There is a lot of humor, very little violence (by today's standards), and no skin/sex. Instead, the movie relies on a generally excellent script and skillful characterization to thoroughly entertain rather than shock, nauseate, or deafen....an accomplishment that is becoming increasingly rare.
The weakness, in my opinion, is that the younger brother (Michael Rosenbaum) and his three pool-playing buddies are a little juvenile, with banter and antics reminiscent of American Graffiti or American Pie. This is out of character with the generally sophisticated overall tone, but was probably included to broaden the appeal of the movie to include a younger audience. It does not really damage the film, but simply dilutes it a bit....at least for me. A younger viewer may feel the opposite is true.
The bottom line: this is an amazing piece of work. Amazing for the fact that it ever got made....amazing for who appeared in it....and amazing for its overall quality. Even if you are not a great fan of pool, you will be knocked out by the superb dialog, plot, and performances of Mars, Rod, Christopher (an absolute genius), Chazz, and the gang. This is a gem !!!!
Movie Review: "Rounders" meets "The Color of Money"
Summary: 4 Stars
The film starts out showing a young pool prodigy named John, coached by a well schooled hustler named Joe (Chazz Palmentari). The young pool shark wants to use his talents to go pro, but is convinced otherwise by his street mentor. The story fastforwards 15 years later where John ( Gregory 'Mars' Martin)is getting tired of the racket, and breaks free from Joe to go straight. John longs to go back to the life, but manages to steer clear when he receives an ultimatum from his girlfriend Tara ( Alison Eastwood) to choose between her and pool. Unfortunately, John's younger brother Danny ( Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum) seems destined to follow in his footsteps, and John must use his skills to get his brother out of a jam.Poolhall Junkies is one of those unknown gems that unfortunately only have a limited release in theaters. I was fortunate enough to catch this film, and I must say that it is one of the true sleepers of 2002. The story is extremely similar to the film "Rounders" and is very predictable. However, fellow fans of pool in general will eat this film up. The vast array of outstanding pool action and other hustler tricks make this film very enjoyable to watch. The film is also extremely funny and enjoyable overall. The director of the film Gregory 'Mars' Martin, not only did a great job with the choreography of the pool shots, but he also took on the tough job of playing the lead character. Great job on both accounts. The film's other main actors - Christopher Walken, Chazz Palmentari, Alison Eastwood, Rod Stieger, and Rick Schroder are all great as well.
If you are a fan of pool and gambling in general, or are just looking for a fun way to spend 90 minutes, you can't go wrong with "Poolhall Junkies". I highly recommend this film.