Machine (2007)
31KMachine (2007). 1h 30m | R
“If you like action or crime drama, you probably saw something on MACHINE, maybe the cover, and thought u0026#39;hey this could be cool. So what if itu0026#39;s direct-to-video, itu0026#39;s probably just the usual indie budget issues.u0026#39; u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThatu0026#39;s what I thought too. I was SO wrong.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is from the school of post-RESERVOIR DOGS filmmakers that believe all you need for a modern crime drama are some cool looking people shooting other people down with cool looking guns, all the while maintaining their cool. Now Iu0026#39;m not a big fan of RESERVOIR DOGS, but Tarantino at least had clever dialog, good blocking, gritty lighting, some nice camera moves, Harvey Keitel, and most of all, a story to tell – he knew guys looking cool and shooting off guns doesnu0026#39;t make a movie. So yeah, Michael Madsen was in DOGS; now heu0026#39;s been in this one, a real dog.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt is difficult for me to describe a film this bad. My viewing experience of MACHINE was something like this: u0026#39;Wow, thatu0026#39;s the worst camera-work Iu0026#39;ve ever seen…ever… itu0026#39;s really grainy, like that digital grain Michael Mann got for COLLATERAL with all those cool night scenes with Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise…except those guys arenu0026#39;t in this one, and this just looks BAD. Oh, thereu0026#39;s Neil McDonough, wow heu0026#39;s great as ever…wait, is that all we get of him?u0026#39; You get the idea.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe really astonishing thing was that Madsen and McDonough STILL knocked out good performances (the only reason thereu0026#39;s a star in my rating) – a credit to their professionalism. But when theyu0026#39;re not on screen (and thatu0026#39;s most of the time), then itu0026#39;s just a painful exercise in what not to do when making your own movie. Your uncle probably frames up a better shot with his little hand-held at family get-togethers, than what these guys did here. This DVD is not what you want to watch; itu0026#39;s what you use when you run out of coasters for your drinks.”
